Fantasy The God's Avatars ~Closed~

[Astralmoone]

“First discovered in 1840, Ozone is a natural sanitizer that has the distinct clean air smell often found after lightning storms.” The professor at the bottom of a large audience hall was pacing back and forth, hands tucked behind his back as he gave his prepared class lesson. He paused to the left of his accompanying PowerPoint and adjusted his glasses before continuing, “Who can tell me which physicists discovered that lightning created ozone?”

Taylor glanced up from her sketch pad as silence reigned around the auditorium. Her deep blue-green eyes scanned the different sections curiously. The other students were all in varying levels of attention. Some were chatting with others around them, others had their heads bowed and were looking at what was most likely their phones as they texted during class, and a few seemed to be taking notes on the lesson.

Taylor shook her head, tucking a stray strand of red hair behind her ears and glanced back down at the sketch she was doodling. It was a picture of the professor standing in front of the PowerPoint. He had one had raised and seemed to be in midsentence, all around him were small bolts of lightning and little O’s with wings, standing for the three oxygen’s required to build an ozone molecule. After another painfully long pause, the professor gave up on the idea of getting someone to answer and continued on with his monotone speech until the bell mercifully interrupted him. Students gathered their items quickly; those that had been watching the clock were already out the door before the bell finished its buzzing.

“Freedom!” A young woman jogged up alongside Taylor and slung her arm over her shoulder. “Another day of Mr. Kendrick’s down…Only eternity to go. Why are we in his class again?”

“Because chemistry is a required pre-req." Taylor automatically responded, with a shrug of her shoulders, "Eh, he’s not-“

“Don’t you dare say not that bad.” The girl glared down at Taylor, her eyes flashing slightly. “He’s a bore. He drowns on and on. I swear if he passed away while talking, we would not be able to tell the difference between him and his corpse delivering the lesson.”

“That’s so harsh, Maisy.” Taylor slipped her backpack off her shoulders as they neared a long green bench lining one of the campus sidewalks. She dropped it onto the plastic seat and sat next to it, kicking her feet up on the seat.

“Harsh but true.” Maisy hopped up onto the bench, sitting balanced on the back support rather than the seat itself. “I honestly do not understand how you manage to stay awake. I was just glad I managed to sleep without snoring.”

“If you were sleeping, how do you know you weren’t snoring?” Taylor gave her a wicked grin as she turned and sat regularly on the bench, digging through her backpack. She pulled out her sketch pad again and leaned back, looking at the gardens that were spread out in front of them.

“Ooo, Taylor you’re awful.” Maisy pouted and leaned over, watching curiously as Taylor flipped through the spiral-bound pad “Hey! That’s today.”

Before Taylor could protest, Maisy stole the sketch pad and held it up looking at Taylor’s drawing from class. “Hmph, I would not say you paid any more attention in class today than I did.”

Taylor pouted, her full lips pursing as she glared at Maisy. Taylor was a stark contrast to her friend. Where Maisy was the ideal image of a blonde with a pretty face, Taylor had freckles and overly bright eyes. Where Maisy had the perfect straight blonde highlighted hair, Taylor had curly dark red hair that always seemed to frizz up at the most random times. Maisy was lithe and athletic where Taylor always felt bulky and uncomfortable in her skin. She was not fat but had a rather distinct hourglass figure that she had not quite figured out what to do with yet. While she enjoyed hanging out with Maisy, she usually found herself feeling out of place or embarrassed around the other woman.

“You may consider it not paying attention, but the picture represents our lesson. They’re my study notes.”

Maisy turned the picture over so it was facing Taylor now, skepticism on her face. “Study notes…It’s a cartoon.”

Taylor made a face at her friend. How many times did she have to explain this to Maisy? “The pictures help me recall class. Look…The PowerPoint behind him has the dates ozone was discovered and by who. The little trio of O’s represents the ozone molecule. The lightning bolts explain how lightning helps excite the oxygen molecules and creates ozone whereas the water vapor shows-“

“Alright, alright I get it.” Maisy held up a hand laughing and handed Taylor back the sketch pad. “Geez..you nerd.”

“Each picture is a story.” Taylor protested, taking the pad back and moving to a new page. “The images have a meaning behind them.”

“Bah..whatever.” Maisy hopped down from the bench and stretched her arms above her head, “I gotta head out. I’m going to be late for the next class. God, what was I thinking lining my classes up back to back. It’s so boring.”

“Least you’re out by 1, my last class doesn’t get done until four.”

“Well…someone decided to go for a boring dusty degree. I, on the other hand, opted for fun. It’s not too late to switch and do fashion with me.” Maisy grabbed her bag and started walking away.

Taylor wrinkled her nose at the idea, “I happen to like literature, thank you very much.”

“Eh..Whatever you say..” Maisy waved a hand over her shoulder without looking back at Taylor.

Taylor pursed her lips, looking after the woman before glancing back at the garden. “Stories are important! There is so much to learn from them. Everything and everyone is a unique story to tell.”

Taylor looked at the flowers, the students milling around them and then back down at the paper. Keeping the image locked in her mind, she began to sketch. As she drew, the sounds of the world faded around her. She lost herself in the drawing, tuning everything out. It was several minutes before she looked back up, wanting to double-check the details of the rose bush she was working on. A startled scream left Taylor’s lips before she could stop herself. Looking up, she came face to face with a young man, his face mere inches from her own. Taylor scrambled back, but instead of pushing into the benches back, she found herself landing on the ground.

“Whoa, whoa, sorry there...Didn’t mean to shock you.” The young man held up his hands, giving a mischievous grin that said he was anything but sorry.

Taylor glared back at him, about to tell him off for getting into her personal space, when something made her stop. Her attention left the man and focused on the area behind him. The school campus she had been drawing was gone, replaced by a large waterfall lined with trees and flowers that seemed to glow in the bright daylight. Her attention flicked to the river flowing away from the waterfall's base as white fish jumped into the air. As its scales caught in the light, rainbow reflections glittered the air around the creature. The last of the reflections were still fading even after the fish hit the water again.

Taylor looked around her for the bench she had been sitting on, but it was gone. Instead she seemed to be sitting on a large patch of lush green grass, flowers the shapes of gold stars dangled from the tip of each blade. Large trees loomed over her, thick leaves shading the area they were in. Small pink vines curled from the trees, each giving off a soft glowing light. Her backpack was the only thing that still gave any hint that she had been at school.

Taylor pushed herself to her feet, brushing dust off herself, before looking back at the man still standing in front of her. Like everything else, he too seemed to be giving off a subtle glow. Unlike the plain light blue jeans, black converse, and blue tank top she wore, he wore a much more exotic ensemble. A large white robe hung around him, with a light blue shoulder cape clasped around his neck and ending at his elbows. Brown leather belts crossed across his chest, while another hung around his waist, supporting small bags, and a couple of items that may have been knives if Taylor did not know any better. His hair was a chocolate brown and pulled back into a messy half-bun, with several braids running along the sides of his head. Locks of hair that had not made it into the bun were draped around his head, going down to just below his shoulder blades.

He walked over to her after a moment and smiled again. “You certainly are an interesting one.”

Taylor looked at him confused and noticed he had picked up her sketchpad. Out of habit she sputtered something about taking it back and reached for the drawing pad. He held it up out of her grasp, a grin crossing his lips again. “These aren’t half bad.”

Turning away from her, he began to walk towards the water, flipping through the different pages. “Stories, you say?”

“Those are mine!” Taylor huffed, feeling frustrated now. She paused to sling her backpack over her shoulders and then tramped after him. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

He kept flipping through the pages, seeming to ignore her until she caught up to him alongside the river. “You mentioned that all people are a story.”

Taylor paused mid-motion, her hand still poised to pull at the sleeve of his robe. “Were you eavesdropping on me?”

“Yes.” He shrugged and passed her back the sketchpad. “You caught my attention. You’re right, you know. We are all stories in the end. Each person has a journey, a story to tell, and create as they see fit. I have…chosen to interrupt your story.”

Taylor glared at him as she took the pad back and put it into her backpack. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, but-“

“Oh, that’s exactly the point.” He laughed and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, “Telling you who I am is like turning to the end of a book and reading it. That’s no fun and it ruins the point of a good journey.”

“Right…” Taylor shook her head slowly and took a step back from him, “Listen..I should be going..”

He sighed softly and his shoulders drooped at that, “You’re not wrong. There is plenty to be done still. The other’s stories are being interrupted just now. You should find them, after all, what is a good quest without those to share it with?”

Taylor took another step back, feeling uncomfortable suddenly. Who exactly was this person? She looked around the clearing again, trying to find anything familiar. After a moment, she reached down a pinched herself, disappointed to feel that it hurt. So she was not dreaming then?

“You will need to find them.”

“Find who?” Taylor looked back at him frowning, “What is going on?”

“So much..and so little.” He laughed at the glare she gave him, “Find them. Discover who I am. There is work to be done, wrongs to be righted. That is the goal of your story, m’lady.”

“You’re crazy.” Taylor shook her head slowly, “I don’t know what you think is going on…But I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person.”

He laughed softly and looked at her, “Oh this is going to be more fun than I’ve had in years. I might actually…feel something if you end up dying. Do not disappoint me, young storyteller.”

Finally starting to lose her temper, Taylor could feel her cheeks growing hot with anger. She stepped towards him, opening her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted before she could. The man reached a hand out, moving faster than she would have expected. His palm slammed into her chest and she found herself falling backward. She hit the river with a loud splash, the cold water enveloping her. Taylor sunk for a moment, stunned as the world went silent and dark. After a moment, she struck out and kicked for the surface.

Taylor drew in a gasping breath once her head broke the air. The moment her lungs were capable of it, she began letting out a torrent of curses, “You son of a bitch!”

Taylor looked around confused, noticing instantly that the area around her was dark now. Instead of daytime and light, she was under a sky of stars, two moons glowing brightly in the sky. What the hell was going on? She floated there and turned in a circle, relieved to see a beach a little way in the distance. How in the world had she ended up in an ocean?

Shivering, Taylor began swimming for the shore. The man’s words echoed in her mind. find them. Find who exactly? What had he meant by other’s stories being interrupted? Taylor was more confused than ever when she finally made it to the shoreline. She pulled herself dripping from the water, freezing as she held her backpack close against her chest. She looked around and could see torches along a dock to her right. The lights lead to a wharf where empty stalls were standing. A few people seemed to be milling around the area, but nothing looked familiar. Where the hell was she?

 

[Edric Yuma]

Bryan was blind. He hadn't always been blind, though - in his freshman year of high school, a freak accident during a demonstration in science class had left his eyes scarred and unable to open or see. Before that, he had been popular; he had a girlfriend, played on the football team, and hung out with friends every weekend. But when he was blinded, something changed, and the social life he knew began fading away. Bryan distinctly remembered the sound of his ex's voice as she broke up with him - pity and disgust was audible in her voice.

He spent the rest of his years in high school as a recluse; not out of anger or sadness, but because something changed within him when he was blinded. While relearning to do old tasks with just his hearing, he had realized something - not being popular - or part of the cool crowd - wasn't so bad. He didn't feel as if there were expectations for who he could talk to or what he could say anymore. And even though his friends at school had drifted away, he and his childhood friend and neighbor, Oliver, had gotten much closer. They always hung out together and talked about the deepest things; Oliver, who had gotten much more popular at his school, and Bryan, who had become much less popular at his school. They had a connection, something that Bryan treasured and knew Oliver did, too.

That's why adjusting to college had been so hard on him. Without his friend, Oliver, Bryan found it much harder to cope with being alone in a constant sea of socializing. But at the end of the year, Bryan had finally felt like he had a place - he joined a board game club, where he found a group of friends he could have fun and goof around with. He finally found a good workout routine, and was happy with his improvement through the year. But that's when the incident happened - one that changed his life forever.

~

"Cya, Bryan!" A chippy voice called from a couple meters away. Bryan waved back in the direction of the voice, smiling. "Cya next week, Sarah!"

With that, he got out his white cane and began walking back in the direction of his dorm, scraping the cane along the ground as he went and using its sounds to detect changes in texture and location. It was 24 blocks of pavement before he reached his dorm, so he counted in his head like he usually did, going up one every time his white cane signaled the passing over of a crack in the ground.

But suddenly his cane stopped making noise. Confused, Bryan paused his walking and tapped his cane in various areas to orient himself. However, for some reason, nothing he was touching made any noise. That's when he heard the voice.

"BRYAN WALKER. WELCOME TO MY DOMAIN."

A dark, bass voice boomed in his ears, but he strangely couldn't feel his eardrums vibrate. It was as if the voice was being directly transmitted to his head. Bryan recoiled from the level of noise suddenly entering his brain from the complete silence before. "O-ow... Hello?"

As soon as he said that, Bryan felt the environment around his skin change. The stagnant air suddenly started moving again, and the cold wind prickled his skin. That was strange - it was nearly summer time. Soft footsteps began padding the ground behind him, and Brian whirled around to face the person. "Where am I? Where's my dorm?"

The bass voice spoke again, but it was at a conversational volume this time, and the voice was oddly silky and off-putting. "Odd... you're much less afraid than you are confused."

Bryan gestured in what he hoped was a "duh" gesture. "I mean, it's not like I've been harmed or anything! I figured if you wanted to kill me and take my money, you already would have."

The silky, bass voice spoke again, but this time it was behind Bryan, and he had to whirl around again to face the voice. "Ah... it's because you're blind. You can't see what I look like right now. Normally, it's enough to send a normal human spiraling into paralyzing fear and anxiety. Interesting... how's this?"

Suddenly, flood of visual information entered Bryan's mind, and for the first time in years, Bryan could see. He looked around - he never saw his university before, but he knew this wasn't what a college campus looked like. Everything around him was a sea of bubbling acid, seething and writhing. Bryan gasped and took a step back, and then he saw the man where the voice had come from. He was dressed in a tattered football shirt, and even though his voice was low, his face was that of Bryan's former girlfriend, twisted and deformed into an abnormally large, toothless smile. His eyes had no pupils; instead, a dark, static-like void filled the spot where his eyeballs should have been. It was revolting, and Bryan wanted to look away, but he didn't.

"Ah... yes, that is the reaction I was expecting when you first arrived. Embrace the fear, conquer it...." The man disappeared, leaving behind a black smoke, then reappeared to Bryan's left in a swirl of the same black smoke, floating over the sea of acid. Bryan took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself. This wasn't the first time he had been alarmed by the sudden change in his senses. It was easier this time around, but it didn't help that what had made him blind in the first place was all around him. And although he hadn't noticed it at first, since he hadn't used his eyes for quite some time, Bryan realized everything he saw was in blacks, whites, and greys. He couldn't see any color.

It wasn't too bad, though. If anything, he should be grateful to the man for giving him his eyesight back, even if it was only in blacks and whites. "What do you want from me?" Bryan demanded.

The man cackled, an unnerving sight as Bryan watched his former girlfriend's contorted smile stretch beyond human limits and emit a hiss for laughter. "Attitude... I like it.... Welcome to my domain, Bryan. Here, whatever you fear the most becomes what you see. But...." The man snapped his fingers, and suddenly the acid around Bryan disappeared, leaving the two of them in pure darkness. For some reason, though, Bryan could still see the man. He no longer had Bryan's ex's face, but in the place of that was a well-groomed, muscular and tanned man dressed in a black suit and black tie. His long hair was slicked back behind his head, and a perpetual smirk etched along his sharp jawline. The only thing that hadn't changed was his eyes. They were still the same black, static-like void.

"As long as you use my power, the fear goes away. You see, I am the God of darkness and fear."

Bryan wanted to reply "Yeah, and I'm the God of this dick," but he wasn't quite sure it would go over well. After all the crazy stuff that man had just done on top of bring Bryan to some random area full of darkness, he still wasn't quite sure that man was actually a God, but he also wasn't sure that man was human. "Ooookay... if you came here just to tell me that, can I-"

"I've been watching you, Bryan. You're like me. Rejected from people you thought were your friends, simply because of how you looked." The man walked closer to Bryan, his void eyes staring straight through him.

"Well, you didn't have to put it like that, but yeah... can I go now?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "You only go when I say you can go."

Bryan said nothing. That guy had way too much attitude and power for him to try anything else.

The man adjusted his tie. "I gave you your eyesight back by granting you some of my power. Use my powers wisely, and I will give you more." He leaned in, his void eyes mere inches away from Bryan's. His face suddenly broke out in a grin. "Excellent... your eyes are just like mine now."

Bryan was glad he couldn't see his reflection at that moment. That would have been a scary sight to see. The man leaned back and vanished in black smoke, this time appearing in behind Bryan. "I've shown you two ways to use my power; that's enough. Goodbye." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the same black smoke that had appeared around the man when he teleported began rising from the ground and curling around Bryan. The last thing Bryan heard before his eyesight vanished again was, "Teach our enemies to fear the darkness."

Suddenly, Bryan's white cane was back in his hands, and the air around him smelled and sounded different. In the distance, he could hear the lapping of waves against the shore. Where was he? A beach? How had he gotten here? "What the fuck?" He asked aloud. He reached out with his free hand and waved it in front of his face. Nope, nothing. His eyesight was gone again. Was that a dream? But how had it felt so real? And where was he now? He tapped his cane on the ground, but instead of the clicking of stone that he was used to, he felt a soft thud as it touched the soft surface of what felt like sand. Because of the years he spent blind, his hearing had sharply improved, and Bryan could tell that to the left of him was the ocean. To the right... well, he heard people walking around and speaking, but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Should he get nearer and ask questions about the area?

 

[Heavenchi]

P S Y C H E
"That'll be twenty-five dollars and forty-two cents," Psyche chirped as she carefully potted a plant for a customer. With a small smile, she took the money, waved the customer good-bye, and skipped out the back of the garden shop eagerly. Despite the plethora of plants inside, Psyche was always drawn to plants that resided in their natural habitat, rooted firmly in the Earth. Something she oddly envied. After shooting a quick glance at her surroundings, Psyche swiftly made her way inside a hollowed-out tree that stood in the back of the garden shop's vast backyard. Once inside, she nestled in a corner and closed her eyes.

Today was rough on Psyche. Her bike's tire had blown out on her way to work and she had left her phone at home. She'd have to walk back home and her shift didn't end until late at night. Her brother's words rang in her head about working closer to home. She would've but the pay and the access to nature made the trip back and forth worth it.

So deep in thought, Psyche didn't notice herself sinking into the ground, her toffee-colored skin tingled but she paid it no mind, her thoughts focused on this month's expenses. A sudden jolt however, caught her attention. She was falling. Her eyes flashed open, but she was merely greeted with darkness. A screamed seemed to escape her lips but she heard nothing.

"Hear no evil, speak no evil, fear no evil," commanded a feminine authoritative voice from seemingly inside her mind. Psyche desperately wanted to question what was going on, but her focus was on the landing. She reached out for anything to latch on to but felt nothing.

"I will give you your old sight, but new sight as well. I will let you hear what is said, and what is not. You will feel your own and others. You will know what you don't know, and understand what you do. Do what you will, but be reborn."

And with that, Psyche landed with a thud on a bed of dandelions in an unknown valley.

"What the hell?" gasped Psyche as she frantically jumped up, desperately trying to analyze her new surroundings. Psyche had no idea what had happened. One minute she was worried about bills, the next she was falling and being lectured by . . . . . a deity. Psyche couldn't explain how she knew that, but she just knew. With a shake of her hand, Psyche plopped back down and hugged her knees to her chest. She had no desire to get up anytime soon. Wherever she was would have to wait until Psyche was mentally prepared to explore. Until then, Psyche kept her knees close to her chest, and her face in between. The only thing exposed was her dark blue fro and back. Psyche was thankful she wore her black tank top dress that reached her knees, it made her feel solid, secure. Something she appreciated in a time of mystery.

 

[Enolx]

“And joining us again, today we have Angelo Dante,” the TV host announced “You may know him from his lead role in Bone Built Utopia or the well known TV classic The Queen’s Guard. Give Angelo a round of applause.”

Angelo walked on stage and waved to crowd before shaking the host's hand and taking his spot in a large fluffy red chair. After crossing one leg over the other, he leaned back and waited for the crowd to settle, along with the host.

“It’s good to have you back Mr. Dante,” the host proclaimed “Nice to see you are as good looking as I remember.”

Angelo laughed before saying “Yea, I made sure to get a pump before walking out so I didn’t let you down.” The host and the crowd went into their own fit of laughter and it was only when that stopped that the host continued.

“So Angelo, your new movie, tell us about it.”

“The movie is called Love your Enemy, and I play Leonardo Maxwell. Leonardo or Leon for short is an art teacher at a local community college who has been an assassin since he was a kid. In one of his early jobs he kills his mark, and his targets daughter sees him make the kill. The young Leon then tells the girl to hate him because it will be the only thing that will keep her going. Years later Leonardo saves a girl from a drunk rapist after she finishes her shift at the bar, and who else could that girl be. The story then follows the two of them getting to know each other better, and developing romantically while neither remembers their previous encounter. Will she find out? What will she do if she does learn? I hope you will go to the theaters March 2nd to find out."

The host slow clapped as the crowd roared. “You can narrate my life whenever you're ready.”

“Jim Hanson butters his bread one side at a time,” Anglo said in a coarse rough accent "Sourdough, it's always sourdough."

“Don’t laugh crowd, you know you would watch it," Jim interjected as the crowd chuckled "So Angelo, what is the story between you and Ms. Charlene?

Angelo sighed, letting himself sink deeper into his chair before uncrossing his legs and popping up to the edge of his seat. "Alright, let me ask you guys and ladies a question in return," Angelo said with a slight grin "I promise it won't be fun. If you saw your significant other with another man or woman at a fairly private cafe, what would you do? Extra info, the other person is about three years younger than your significant other, they seem close, and are having a good time. Exchanging drinks, food, and stuff. "

"I think I know where this is going," Jim smirked before pointing to a member of the audience "What are your thoughts Miss...."

"Brenda," the audience member answered after a mic was brought over to her "I think I would storm in there and get some answers." The crowd clapped at her answer as it mirrored many of their own beliefs.

"Would you have raised a little hell," Angelo asked "Came in hot?"

"I might be a little hot."

"Well as long as you don't call your SO a liar and tell him you are leaving to go sleep with another man out of revenge when he tells you that the woman he is with is his sister, being a little hot is fine."

"Damn," Jim said "That is more than a little hot."

"I thought so too," Angelo said "So that's why we aren't together anymore. She just isn't the one for me. I'm sure it was a one time thing and she didn't mean it, but my mom said when god gives you a sign you listen, cause you don't know how many more of those you are going to get."

"Wise woman."

"I have quotes for days."

The crowd let out a laugh and Jim looked to the clock to see how much time he had. "Ok so after all of your misadventures, how does Angelo Dante like to unwind?"

"Nice soft pitch after that last one, thanks Jim"

"I aim to please."

"Alright, so with the trouble I have with women, I decided a while ago to take up drinking." A laugh and a few cheers came from the crowd "And since I have far too much disposable income, I might have developed a problem....and a brewery. Other than that, I have fallen in love with surfing. While you should not mix the two of my hobbies. One after the other...in the correct order, is quite nice. Also surfing is way harder than it looks, but don't let that stop you. Nothing is better than and early morning or a late night on the water. You could also get a boat I guess, but where is the fun in that."

After another quick check Jim got a signal to start wrapping up. "Thank you for the interesting dive into your love life and I will expect a bottle of-"

"Say no more fam," Angelo interrupted before waving to someone off stage. A woman then walked out onto the stage, and placed clear bottle with a bronze liquid in front of Tim. "I played a pirate last time I was here, so I brought you rum this time. Thanks for having me and to all you lovely people in the crowd, you have been great. Thanks for putting up with my jokes and stories as long as you have. Go see Love your Enemy if you are so inclined March 2nd, and stay tuned after the commercial break for our musical guest, my friend from across the water, Kelvyn Colt."

Angelo sat on the beach outside his house. His surfboard sat to his right with the leash tied around his ankle. To his left sat an assortment of half filled alcohol bottles inside of an open cooler topped with ice. After grabbing one of the bottles he drank deeply until he put it down with a satisfied sigh. Then, against all common sense and reason, Angelo popped to his feet, grabbed his board, and made his way out to the water. Soon effortless paddling left him far away from the shore.

Moonlight lit Angelo's frame as he sat on his board. Droplets of water caused his dark skin and black hair to shimmer in the reflected light. Even with the cold night air, Angelo was warm and content in his wet suit as he kicked his feet under the waters surface. With the constant bob as small waves passed under him, the gentle light of the moon, and the solitude of the ocean, Angelo felt at peace. Out here he was able to leave his many troubles behind. As he looked up to the sky, the will to sing came over him so he decided to put on a concert for the surroundings that gave him as much love as they did.

"Real love's so hard to find
Just when you think you've found it
The illusions in your eyes

That's why I love the moon
Every night it's there for you
It's constant
Unlike these human beings
Who lie about what it seems to be..."


"He's mine," a strong tenor declared.

"Nope," a more feminine voice casually rebuffed.

"He embodies me far more than you. He was an Olympic swimmer. Look what he is doing literally right now!"

"Nope. He is mine for sure."

"You are-"

"Nope."

"Impossible," the tenor growled.

"Let's do this, we don't interfere and we will see who he is truly the representative of."

"No interference? How will he know what he is doing?"

"Your worry is why I know he will be mine. He will be mine because that is his way. I have no doubt."

"Fine. I can't wait. I just can't wait." the tenor huffed only to be met with smug silence.



Angelo woke on his board floating on motionless waters. He opened his eyes with a smile and then confusion spread over him as he saw two moons in the sky above him. Angelo first wondered if he was drunk, but quickly threw away that idea. He knew what being drunk was like, it was one of his favorite states of existence in the last few years, this was not that. In fact, he was so sober that he found himself instinctively deciding what drink he would make for himself when he got home. After a moment, he took his eyes off the unfamiliar sky, and looked around. He was not in the ocean anymore, but in a small pond...on the top of a mountain. He quickly turned around just to confirm what his eyes were seeing. No matter what direction he looked, he could see massive swaths of land. Forest, lakes, towns, distant mountain ranges, and even what he assumed was the ocean. He paddled to the edge of the water and made his way on the a fairly sizable plot of land that circled the pond. Flowers he didn't know glowed in the moonlight, and the air smelled much fresher than the air of his urban home. As he made it to the edge, he looked down over the side and took in his surrounding. Below him he saw large strips of undisturbed nature and could make out small...villages? He looked around more and found what might be a different sizable cities at different points off in the distance. The main point that stuck with him was that there were no lights. Well there were lights, but not- LIGHTS. Each one of those cities should be like a beacon in the night, but all of them were fairly dim as compared to when he saw cities from his plane window.

"Ah," Angelo said "I guess I died." He then let out a laugh. "Welp, that's what I get for drinking and swimming. Never saw drowning as the thing that would get me. Man I feel good though. I wonder if this is heaven or if this is more of a reincarnation type deal. Maybe hell is nice? Whatever, might as well enjoy the night and wait for Jesus or someone to fill me in on what happened. I am also surprised I'm not naked. Guess your spirit has what you died with," He then looked to his surfboard " Or on" He then hopped back on his board and pushed himself out to the center of the pond to enjoy the rest of his night. Surprisingly, even with the unfamiliar location, he still felt at peace and decided to continue his song from earlier.

 

[JustJazzy]

The day started as it normally did for Ryan, with the exasperating buzz of the alarm on his desk and the muted sounds of an argument a room over.

For a couple of moments more he laid still. He let his eyes fix dully on a spot on the ceiling, let himself soak in a couple more minutes of warmth underneath those covers. The continued buzz of the alarm disturbed that melancholy moment enough for him to finally get up with an irritated little huff, propping himself up with his elbows as he slammed his hand over top of the noise-maker to quell its tiresome buzzes. The brunette dully took in the time - 9:31 - before throwing himself into his normal morning motions - getting dressed, making up the bed, briefly taking a glance at himself in the mirror overtop.

Last night's late, late shift had left his normally bright caramel skin with a ghostly, green-tinted pallor, his normally spirited hazel eyes were heavy-set and lined with a laborious exhaustion he felt with each ill-advised movement. His normally curly hair was messy, frizzy. He let an exhalation slowly spin from his lips as he exited the room. As soon as he'd rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen, the argument died down, the room's two inhabitants assumed desultory smiles they pointed hastily in his direction before turning back to their meals, quiet for once.

The kitchen smelled good enough to the prevent the bits of irritation that were beginning to prickle at the brunette's mind from taking to the air. For now he settled for taking a plate, helping himself to some of the leftovers on the stove. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table opposite his two roommates, expressing his annoyance at them through only a passive-aggressive glances as he shoveled a bit of scrambled egg (slightly cold, but still edible) into his mouth.

Internally, he was screaming at them for taking part in yet another loud argument, (what was it they were even arguing about this time?), another incident that their neighbors would for sure be complaining to the landlord about. But the fact that the two had saved him breakfast was enough to quell that fire, for now.

"Morning, Rhino," Meena threw out, passing him a more genuine smile once the silence had persisted for too long. "you sure came in late yesterday. But good to have some extra hours, right?"

Rhino nodded absently-mindedly, more focused on the biscuit he was chewing on then the conversation taking place. Meena didn't seem to mind though, lips tilting into an amused smile.

"You sure like those biscuits, huh? They were just made them this morning from moi. Though that was thanks to no help from this one who had to complain about every single noise this morning." she snorted, tilting her head in the direction of their other roommate sitting at the other side of the table - David.

The guy in question didn't look like he really appreciated being called out as he glanced up from his phone before practically slamming the device down by his half-empty plate.

"I told you I had a physics project due at 9, and you choose to wake up at 8 and start clanging pots around the kitchen? Couldn't have waited a couple of hours at least?"

"Well, you didn't have to work at the kitchen table. You could've gone to the library, or even your own room. You know, the one you're paying for that's not a communal living space?"

"That's not fair and you know it, I would've -"

"Guys," Ryan broke in, abruptly standing and pushing his chair out from under him with an audible scrape. "this is like the sixth morning. And you're not even arguing about anything..." he broke off, massaging his temples with fore-finger as he felt an itch starting somewhere in the back of his head before pressing on.

Another migraine. It was the fifth one he'd had this past couple of days, and even now he wasn't sure where it was coming from. Maybe it was all the extra shifts he'd been taking, maybe it was the stress of not knowing what direction his life was going right now?

"Another one?" David intoned, concern contorting his pale face briefly. "hold on, I'll get you some Tylenol."

"Nah," Rhino waved it off, shutting his eyes as if that would somehow take the pain away. "doesn't do anything. It would be waste."

Despite his words to the contrary he could already his roommate moving from his chair, out of the room. For a couple of seconds there was naught but silence, the kind of silence Rhino was learning to appreciate even more now that he was living with people. It was broken in moments however as Meena coughed briefly, before asserting her voice into the silence.

"Maybe you should think about going to see a doctor? Or just call your dad, maybe even both of them, your parents?"

Ryan's eyes fluttered open as he shook his head slowly, sitting down to steady himself before regretting the chain of motions as dizziness settled its heavy hand over his senses, a sort of nausea curling his stomach.

Just breathe, breathe.

"Nah. I told you, I'm not going to be the one to initiate anything with either of them. I'm on my own for reason, okay Meena? If I call them about anything, they'll think - " he broke off as David re-entered the room, set a couple of bottles in front of him along with a water bottle.

He was again opening his mouth to argue his previous point about not needing it when David shook his firmly. "You need to try something, dude. Don't you have another shift to work around 12?"

He didn't answer, just unscrewed the cap of one of the bottles and popped it in his mouth. That seemed the steady his roommates, if only slightly as the room's mood tilted back towards calm.

"Well.. I have a class in thirty," Meena murmured, taking one last biscuit as she gathered her things. "so.. I'll see you guys around lunch maybe?"

"See you then." David murmured flatly, Rhino echoing similar convictions as Meena made her way out.

Finishing up his plate slowly, Rhino got up to deposit it in the dishwasher. His roommate stopped him with a wiggle of his fore-finger.

"I'll take care of it. You should go lay down for a bit."

Rhino forced a smile. "Thanks, Dave. Means a lot."

His room was a mere couple of steps away but today the journey felt more arduous than one he'd ever taken before, especially with that continued throbbing in what felt like the base of skull. Once he'd made it back over to his bed he plopped right on top of it, made sheets and all and shut his eyes. Sleep was hard-attained for Rhino as the next thirty were spent forcing his mind into submission, forcing himself into a calm.

Eventually though, he found himself in a dreamless slumber.
..

When Rhino awoke again the migraine was gone. The room was darker (though that was probably owing more to the pulled curtains) and his alarm was showing a time he hardly believed even with the second glance.

"1:00?" he muttered, sitting up and practically throwing himself out of the bed. "shit, shit."

The next couple of moments were almost a blur as he pulled his dark, non-descript sneakers on, pulled his backpack off the hook and onto his shoulders and threw himself out the door, towards where his bike was locked. He unlocked it and begin pedaling, pedaling.

Faster, Faster. Can still make it, can still make it.

Already though, he could see his managers disapproving face floating in his mind, he could see his job going up in flames along with his hopes of paying off last months loan, maybe enrolling in another couple of classes.

He could see his father's barely hidden glee as his lips delivered reprimand after reprimand. "Well, you live and you learn son. But I told you that life isn't for everyone. Especially not for someone like you, whose been given so much. You wanted to pay your way through that school we didn't want you to go to? You saw how well that went. Lucky for you, there's always home to come back to."

Rhino shook his head fiercely, the wind beating against his eyes hard enough to make them water.

"That's not gonna happen," he murmured to himself. "not gonna happ-"

He broke off as another migraine started, this one more intense than the others.

It was intense that Rhino squeezed his eyes shut, squeezed down on the brakes too quickly. The bike stopped, he didn't.

He was flying in the air then, going higher and faster than he ever had before. So high that when his eyes opened, he was registered how tiny everything looked underneath him - the people, the paved streets - before his surroundings abruptly changed.

It was like he'd blinked and it was gone. Now he was descending downwards, but slowly. The wind, the breeze that held him was gentle, comforting and tinged with with blue sparks of something foreign, some unfamiliar. Somehow it felt almost...

"Magical. Yes." the voice that started towards him was a deep, authoritative one, another unfamiliar thing he likely would've balked at if this sense of calm hadn't taken to his senses, gripped his mind gently much like the blue wind. "set yourself down, control it. You don't want to float up there forever now do you?"

"No," he intoned lowly, glancing about himself as if he could pinpoint the source of that voice. "I don't."

His only response was a low chuckle.

Rhino let his eyes trace the area far underneath him, a grassy uninhabited plain resplendent with a shimmering blue dusting much like the one surrounding him. But the blue on the ground was moving, flying, shining, almost alive looking. It was hard to tell what it was from how far up he was. He wanted to get closer, he wanted to see.

Somehow he knew that the blue-wind would listen as he pointed his eyes towards it. His body followed, faster than he could've imagined, almost euphoric. It was like.. flying what he was doing. But not like how he ever could've imagined.

"Slow down, boy. You don't want to be a pancake, now do you?"

Euphoria turned to panic as Rhino struggled to stop himself from hitting the ground, struggled to control the blue-wind. But it was suddenly unyielding at his touch, wrestling with him for control as he found himself going faster, faster. Even as he fought with the blue-wind, Rhino shut his eyes as he neared the ground prepared himself for a painful collision and.. bounced? He bounced a couple more times before getting to his feet, noting that the blue dusting disappeared once he had.

The ground underneath his was suddenly bare apart from the grass. Gone was the blue-dust, the hint of different. It was weird how disappointed he suddenly felt.

"There, there now," the voice said again as the area lit up again around him with the blue. "you'll get it, eventually."

"Get- Get what?"

His voice was met with yet another chuckle.

"Who are you?" he tried, eyes tracing space around him as desperation touched his senses. "show yourself!"

The area around him shimmered blue, before another being stepped through it and into the space in front of.

It was.. A man, a boy around his age even. His skin was darker than Rhino's own, his hair as blue as the dust still shimmering in the space around. He was tall, young, but his eyes, brown, green - they kept changing colors - were somehow older than he looked, timeless even.

Rhino stepped back as his throat went dry, felt something akin to both fear and wonder.

"Who are you?"

The guy waved off the question, looking a little annoyed.

"That, is the least of your concerns Ryan. You're not here to hear about me. You're here because I chose you for something special, something remarkable."

"Sorry." Rhino tried, then felt stupid as the man smiled as if that were somehow the most amusing thing he could've said.

"No matter. You need to get started," he shook his head into a laugh that rippled through the grass, sent the blue into the air. "you were the last to arrive after all. But, I'm confident you'll find each other," the man's eyes focused on his own as his expression changed once more into more serious, gravely so. "you won't disappoint me. I'm sure of it."

He waved a hand and Rhino surroundings changed again. The sky over him was dark now, alight with stars and two moons that gleamed somehow menacingly. The ground underneath him was sandy, uncomfortable. He pulled himself to his feet, confusion taking to his expression.

Where was he? What was this?

Glancing upwards at the sky once again as if to confirm the fact that there were indeed two moons Rhino stilled to steady himself.

Okay, he needed help. He needed to find something, people.

With that resolve in mind, Rhino begin to move, dusting the sand off his arms, his back. Already he could see a couple of figures looming on the beach, one in particular wielding a cane rather unsurely.

"Hey," Rhino started towards him, for some reason relieved as he speed up, though fast movement was difficult on this sand. "hey," he repeated, voice taking an agitated, louder tone that had a couple of heads looking towards him.

 

[Astralmoone]

Taylor took a slow deep break to calm herself as she stared around the beach in confusion. She would have reached down to pinch herself again, had she not already been shivering with cold. If this was not a dream, what could possibly explain what just happened? How could it have gone from morning where she was to evening in a matter of minutes? For that fact, how were there two moons?

She stood there a moment longer, allowing her mind to spiral, before squaring her shoulders, determined not to stand around doing nothing. Taylor glanced down at her backpack and worked the zipper open, pleased to find that the water had not made its way inside her bag. It was sweet justification after all the crap Maisy had given her about a multi-functional backpack rather than a cute one. She dug around until she found her cell phone. The device, on silent, still seemed to be working though the time read 11:37 am. She flicked down the screen and scowled, seeing the “No Service” scrawled across the top. Ignoring it, she dropped her thumb to the call menu and dialed 911, but nothing happened.

Cursing under her breath, Taylor dropped her cell back into the bag then zipped and slung the thing over her shoulders. She started towards the pier ahead of her, looking curiously at the torches lighting the wooden dock. It was hard to see any details ahead of her, the city itself seemed to be surprisingly dim. Most of the light emanating from the city flickered in the sky, likely coming from torches like the ones she followed. Much of the city view was cut off by a large wall that, as she drew closer, Taylor realized was made up of stone running what had to be over thirty feet tall. Small hills of sand and sea grass surrounded her, forcing her to keep close to the pier where the sand was relatively flattened out.

Her shoes made wet squelching sounds as she walked on the sand, overly loud in the odd quiet. She hiked her way up a small two-foot cliff of sand that seemed like a wannabe dune, using a handful of grass to help herself up. Standing at the top of it, she had a closer view of the stalls she had seen earlier. She realized the view came from a large opening in the wall. Sounds began to reach her of people murmuring laughing or talking. A few minutes more of walking and she could see the people more clearly.

Three men leaned against large wooden doors that hung on either side of the wall opening. Behind them were the stalls and what looked like marketplace, currently deserted. A fire gleamed behind the men, and several others sat there laughing and talking with each other. It was their outfits that made Taylor pause and duck back down by the pier. They were dressed in clothes that reminded Taylor of a medieval fantasy.

She peaked out again, more carefully this time, looking at the closest guard, the fire light making it easy for her to see him now. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a deep V that had leather ties hanging loose around his collar and brown pants that hung-over leather boots. Layered over this was a light tan overcoat hanging down to his shins with no sleeves that was held in place by a rope tied at his waist. Hanging from the rope was a small sheathed knife. He wore a long piece of cloth tied around his head, pulled tight over his forehead but draping loosely behind over the back of his neck. Each of the men were dressed similarly, but several of the others had an additional layer of sectioned leather armor over their outfits, arms, and legs. Each of the men standing had a spear in their hands.

Taylor ducked back down again as she saw the guards start to look in her direction. She sat down in the sand, her mind running through the facts. If she were to assume that she had been dropped into a medieval town, what would that mean for her? She did not know the rules of the area, what was happening or anything useful.

Taylor nearly laughed in frustration. This was insane! Pushing that fact aside, she forced herself to focus. Assume she could take what she saw at face value, she should treat her situation as fact, and deal with the why's and what the fuck's later. She was in a medieval world. There were guards blocking the city entrance. There were not people milling around. It was late at night. What could she conclude from a setting like that? If she were reading a book or watching a movie, what would these facts tell her? Perhaps there is a curfew or specific requirements to be able to enter the city. With no one wandering outside, the most likely case was a curfew. The men wore armor and had weapons, they had to be guards. Another issue was her attire. The clothes she wore would bring up issues. Two moons meant she could not simply be in the past, she had to be in another world and time. Did they have magic or did their world reflect her own? What were their prejudices and dress codes?

Questions shot through her mind and she forced herself to slow down and take a breath. She did not know enough to safely approach the guards. She could conclude that. It was chilly, but not freezing so she could survive the night, assuming there were not any random sand monsters in this area...if there were monsters at all. She needed shelter and a fire. Could she even light a fire? She had not been camping since she was a kid. How did one light a fire without a lighter? For a moment Taylor wished she were a smoker, maybe then she would have a lighter on her.

Forcing off the what if’s, she stood to her feet, realizing she should not be sitting in the open. She tried in futile to wipe sand from her jeans, but the wet material was now coated. Frustrated, Taylor looked around, gaze following the wall of the city. Could she follow that to any sort of trees or shelter? It looked like there was some sort of forest or jungle a way off past the city, if the dark blob on the horizon accounted for anything.

Taylor moved away from the dock and the light, squinting to try and see by the moonlight. Luckily, it was slightly brighter than the nights she was used to, both moons giving off a decent amount of light. She had only walked a couple of minutes; the guards and their noise still present in the distance when she noticed a figure ahead of her. He had been blocked by the angle she had been hiding. Taylor froze for a moment, eyes going wide. He wore normal clothes, well normal as in 21st century. Taylor broke into a job, starting towards him. She did not call out just yet, realizing they were too close to the guards to make noise. As she got closer to him, she noticed he was also holding a long thin white cane. She hesitated for a brief second, weighing the need for quiet with the need not to freak the guy out. If he could not see her and just heard someone running at him, that carried potential issues.

Making her decision she spoke up, but kept her voice low, “Hi, sorry. I come in peace and all that.”

Taylor was about to say more but was cut off by someone calling to them. She turned and saw another man walking towards them from closer to the water, also wearing normal clothes. As he called again louder, Taylor held up a hand to try and warn him, hissing a quiet, “Hey shut up!”

Too late though, there was a commotion behind them and, as Taylor glanced over her shoulder, she could see the guards starting in their direction.

 

[Edric Yuma]

Bryan was about to step towards the hubbub of voices when he heard foodfall along the sandy beach he currently stood on. Something stopped him from calling out, just as something had stopped him from calling out to the hubbub of voices he had heard further up the shore. Even though it was a beach, and even though it was summertime back at his college, the atmosphere around him sounded oddly... wild. The chirping and humming of insects was far louder than he remembered it, and the howling of animals in the wilderness was much more frequent.

His location had been changed by the man who had given and taken away his eyesight, and Bryan wasn't sure where he was now. His best guess was a relatively uninhabited island - even though he heard more voices up the shoreline, there was no music being played over a speaker at the bar or the sound of wheels as a car drove past. It was just the sound of people talking and animals buzzing, and that was unnerving to him.

Suddenly the footsteps up the sandy shoreline stopped. The heavier plop in the sand meant the person making that noise had likely sat down (or punched the sand really hard, but he ruled that out.) The footsteps weren't too far away, so Bryan was pretty sure the figure would have already spotted him by now. If so, why didn't they say anything? Isn't a blind man standing confused along a beach enough cause for action? Unless it was an animal... no, an animal wouldn't have made that rhythm of footsteps in the sand. There must be a reason why the figure was staying quiet, and so fare that person hadn't disturbed him, so he decided to stay quiet, too. Perhaps the person was dangerous and simply didn't want to be bothered.

However, just as he thought that, he suddenly heard the sound of the figure starting to approach him, much faster than the pace they had been at before. He started backing away as they approached, unsure of why the figure was rushing at him, but then she spoke, telling him she "came in peace." Bryan smirked at that in spite of himself. What kind of greeting was that? She was whispering, so he copied her volume when he spoke, the half-smile still on his face. "Hey, I'm Bryan. I also come in-"

He stopped and faced the shore again. Someone else was approaching. "Um... hello?"

His mind briefly drifted on his appearance. Was his cane the reason why strangers were so comfortable approaching him? That usually was the case - he liked to imagine it made him seem more harmless. When was the last time he had cared about his appearance? After briefly regaining his eyesight, he had realized how unkempt his appearance was - he was currently in a baggy white shirt and some jeans, and even though he could only see in grayscale he had noticed his skin was much paler than he last remembered. That was probably because he was staying indoors more often nowadays. The only thing that hadn't changed was his black hair - because he could feel it, he always made sure to keep it at the short, buzz fade that he had had during his football years.

The person called out to Bryan as he approached, causing Bryan to snap out of his thoughts. He sounded stressed - was it because they weren't supposed to be on the beach? Was he a security guard or something? "Er, hey - I'm sorry, I'm a little blind - can you tell me where I am?"

However, he suddenly heard heavy, metallic movements from further up the shoreline, and Bryan turned again to face the noise. It was further off - why were the people wearing such noisy attire? The footsteps were also unnaturally heavy as they hit the ground - the new people approaching were either massively overweight or wearing some pretty heavy clothing. These footsteps were approaching from where he had heard voices before, and Bryan remembered that the female voice had decidedly avoided whoever was in that direction. Maybe he was supposed to as well, seeing as she was the only one who had approached him in a semi-friendly manner.

Bryan turned back towards the female voice. "What's going on? Who's approaching right now? Are they friendly?"

 

[Heavenchi]

P S Y C H E
After what seemed like an eternity, Psyche finally compelled herself to get up. Where was she? Another world. The intrusive thought caused Psyche to physically jump. How'd she know that? With a shake of her head, Psyche decided she needed to get moving. After a quick glimpse at her surroundings, Psyche realized she was in a - village. A heavy huff was Psyche's response to her newfound knowledge. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd continue to know what she didn't know.

"Wait, a village?" Psyche inquired out loud, taking a double-take at her surroundings. Indeed it had the features of the beginnings of civilization. With a large castle in the background and stone houses in the foreground. It was truly a blast from the past. "I wonder If I'll fit in," Psyche thought, glimpsing at her dress. Although it was plain, if she was truly in another world she'd need to look like she belonged. Look left. Almost immediately, Psyche followed her thoughts and upon squinting, she saw a clothesline near a small creek. It was a bit far, but Psyche had nothing better to do.

"I'll pay them back later," Psyche thought as she walked towards the clothing. No, I'll forget. Though it wasn't the best revelation, Psyche knew her subconscious was right. She didn't have the best memory. On her way to the creek, Psyche couldn't help but notice the freshness of the air she breathed. In golden sandals, Psyche could feel the emerald grass and she had to admit, it felt nice. So entranced, with the pollution-free environment, before she knew it she had arrived.

"I'll be taking this," Psyche muttered, quickly snatching a sheer crop-top with appealing embroidery that covered most of her goods. In addition, she took a burnt sienna wrap. Although it was short, it covered what was needed. With a quick glance around, Psyche deemed it was safe to change without the fear of being caught. It only took a few moments, and once she was done, she squatted to look at her reflection in the water.

"You look good, If I do say so myself," she teased to her reflection in an attempt to ease her nerves. It was her way of coping with stress. With a deep breath, Psyche re-examined her environment. She didn't know what to do now. Head to the entrance. Okay, the entrance it was, but where was it? Psyche paused, half expecting a thought to pop up and tell her but to avail. How inconvenient. With a grunt, she decided to follow the stone pathway she had noticed earlier. Deciding zoning out would be a good past time, Psyche focused on the beauty of the nature around her. Vibrant flowers decorated some of the fronts of the houses she passed, and it put a small smile on Psyche's face. This place was nice.

"Hey, you!" snapped an agitated masculine voice. Such a call startled Psyche from her thoughts and she looked at the origin of the greeting in fear. It was a guard, accompanied by another. They wore metallic suits of armor and possessed swords at their hip. They stood by a fire and looked rather menacing.

"It's another one," commented the other guard heading towards Psyche with haste. Another? What were they talking about? Were there more people like her? So much for blending in, she thought as the man grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards the fire.

"We're rounding you newcomers up even if you are a seer," stated the grouchy guard. Paralyzed with fear, Psyche complied, only nodding at his commentary. Wait, seer? She wanted to correct him but the word sort of fit. Anyhow, Psyche's thoughts soon turned to the thought of others. Hopefully, these other "newcomers" were nice.

 

[Enolx]

"Ooooooohhhhhhhh
Ooooohhhhh and they come unstuck
Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man"


"Dear god of the night and goddess of the song," Davriel prayed as he hiked up the side of the mountain "I don't know which of your creatures is singing at the top of Ka'ahkel, but please grant me safe passage." Davriel wasn't easily scared, but there was just something about how beautiful the distant song was and the way it carried through the moonlit air. The kill he carried seemed heavier as he approached the summit. The song continued as beautifully as it was before, but was now louder in Davriel's ears. He sang the song in his head when the chorus came again and he began to worry that he did not ask the proper god for protection. "I am a fool, lord of the waters, if this is one of your sirens, please grant me protection," He prayed again as his eyes finally crossed the plane of the summit.

In the center of the Ka'ahkel pond Davriel saw the creature. It laid upon a massive white and black leaf, and Davriel noticed that the black stem from the leaf extended out of the water and wrapped itself around the creature's ankle. The creature had a human shape, but had a protective armor or skin that covered all but its head, hands, and feet. The skin was the same white as the prime moon and had some symbols that he did not know the meaning of in blacks and grays that looked like fire. "Flames of black run through the creatures second skin," Davriel worried inwardly "I guess the god of the night was the right call." Other than the creature's outer skin, the creature reminded him of one of the Atan people. The Atan people came from the sands across the Hibel mountain range, and Davriel happened to be one of their race. Like the creature, he too had dark brown skin and curly wool like hair. While the creatures hair was styled in a strikingly beautiful fashion, the locks of hair the two had were the same." Does the creature mimic me to draw me in closer," He wondered as he made his way closer, curiosity overpowering fear "If so it is working." Closer now, Davriel noticed the jewelry the creature wore. It reminded him of the things he had seen Atan nobility wear, and he even saw the beads and jewels in the creatures hair. Suddenly he realized that this might not be just a creature, but a god taken a human form. Knowing what was in the waters of that pond, the idea that the creature was a god was making more sense. Unsure what to do next, Davriel did what he always did in precarious situations, opened his big mouth. "If you are monster or god make yourself known," Davriel declared to the creature.

The sound of a shout as he finished the song snapped his attention from the sky. Angelo looked over to see a man about 5'5 in old styled clothes, carrying a dear over his shoulders with relative ease. The man reminded him of some of the men he had met when he went down the Jamaica. Age had added wrinkles to the man, but his dark skin was still strong and young. His arms and legs were large and his massive salt and pepper beard paired well with his dreadlocks. At first Angelo was pumped to see that god was basically a squatter Morgan Freeman, but quickly through away his hype when the man asked what he was. "God would already know, so he ain't god," Angelo said to himself as he sat up on his board and paddled to turn himself towards the man. "Not a god," Angelo said with a smile, happy to see another black person "And while some women call me a monster, I am not that either. Just a normal dude. The name is Angelo Dante, nice to meet you."

"Enduring Angel," Davriel questioned after hearing the creatures name.

"You speak Italian," Angelo answered surprised that the man knew the definition of his name.

"I do not know what Italian is, but I do speak the old tongue of Atan," Davriel answered suspiciously wondering how this..dude knew the ancient speech.

"Sai cosa significa?"

"Sì."

"Well fuck," Angelo started "This is getting stranger by the second. So I'm not really from here, so do you think you can tell me where I am, or better yet everything about everything."

Davriel put down the deer he killed and relaxed a bit. Did this person have amnesia, or was he actually a monster luring him in still. "Tell me about you first."

"I guess that's fair. Like I said, the name is Angelo, and I come from New Orleans, Louisiana. I guess I should go a bit farther than that. I come from a planet call Earth, which is the third... planet? Students my very edu...Yea, third planet from the sun in our solar system. New Orleans is a city on that planet where I was born, but I moved to another city, Los Angeles, for work and school and that is where I have been for the last eight years. I was surfing on the beach outside my house, before I woke up here. I assumed that I died, and that this was the afterlife so I was waiting here enjoying the night until god or whatever came and filled me in. I also thought you were god for a second, but then you asked if I was, so now I'm starting to doubt the whole I died thing."

Davriel was stunned by everything the dude said. While the dude could have been a madman, it didn't feel like that to him. The man's confidence and attractive personality seemed to draw Davriel in with its sincerity. He knew con men, and Angelo didn’t feel like that. He had seen of summoning magic before, why would it be any more of a stretch to believe that this man had come from some summon. The only issue with this thought was that he had only seen monsters summoned before. Nothing summoned was ever good, but he didn't get the same feeling form Angelo. As a man of his words, he decided to give the man the answers he wished. Talking couldn't make this worse could it?

"This world is called Damalous and it is also the third plant from the sun. My name is Davriel Sabriel and I am from Aket, the capital city of the country of Atan. Right, now we are in the country of Elden on top of the sacred Ka’ahkel mountain. Below us a ways is the village of Hammel that I have called home for the past two years. On another note, I am not sure how you are still alive or if you are, but you might want to get out of the water.“

Angelo listened with wide eyes as he learned about the world he now resided in. “I guess I didn’t go to heaven and it’s more of a reincarnation type thing,” Angelo thought “Score one for the Buddhist it seems. Sad I don’t know much about Buddhism, might have given me some answers.”

Angelo found himself yanked out of his head when Davriel mentioned getting out of the water. It was at point that he looked down into the water. Down below the surface of the water two giant sharp yellow glowing eyes locked with Angelo’s own. “Ah I see,” Angelo declared casually before shaking his head as he paddled himself around and away from the creature in the water “Ugh uhm Satan, not today.”

When Angelo got to the side of the pond, the creature emerged from the water. Angelo saw it as a mix of a fox, a dragon, and a fish. It had a long slender body with neon blue fur on the bottom of its body and fish like scales on the top which were pale or a neon blue. It had four dragon like legs with yellow claws that were tipped blue. Along its scaled fox like head, it had a catfish’s, or eastern dragon’s, dangley feeler things and neon blue fins with yellow markings that were like a lions mane. The other fins went down the creatures back glowing all the way down to the creatures furry, but dragon like tail.

“So yea, just having that thing look at me from the water is not cool,” Angelo said to himself as he got out of the water “But out of the water, that is pretty sick. Fantasy world it is, dope. Now let’s not die again.”

Angelo made his way over to Davriel as the creature snapped up part of the deer into its mouth. He jumped a bit at the crunching sound, but other than that he wasn’t too bothered, he liked shark week. Davriel’s casualness around the creature also helpEd ease him a bit. Angelo extended the hand that wasn’t holding the surfboard out to Davriel. “Thanks for filling me in,” Angelo said “You are both a metaphorical, and possibly literal life saver.”

Daveril let out a hearty laugh that reminded him of his dad before taking Angelo’s hand and answering. “Glad, I could help. I’m also happy you aren’t a monster. Wasn’t sure if I could fight something that even Mizu didn’t go after.”

“Would you mind if I asked you to help me out again,” Angelo asked?

“You are free to ask what you will.”

“So like I said, I’m not really from here. Do you think would can help me get set up here? I don’t know much about this place and I wouldn’t even know how to get started making a life for myself here. I also don’t have the tools or knowledge to survive out here clearly. ”

“If you’re ok with hard work and rowdy customers, I might have just the thing for you. I own a tavern in the village I mentioned before, Hammel, if you help me out I can offer you a little pay and a room.”

Angelo beamed at Davriel’s words. “Thank you very much. This is honestly the best thing that could happen to me. Thank you Davriel, I won’t let you down.”

The creature jumping back into the water brought Angelo’s head back up from his bow. He looked back to see the creature mostly in the water, but with its head poking out and sitting on the edge looking at then. “Well damn, that’s adorable,” Angelo said to himself as he watched the creature..Mizu?.. lick it’s mouth.”

“We should get going,” Davriel stated “It’s a long walk home. I can give you a history lesson on the way. Also, while it’s on my mind, what is a dude?”

Angelo laughed as he walked with Davriel. “This will be a fun walk.”

 

[JustJazzy]

Slowing as he reached the guy - a sort of relieved smile upturning his lips ever so slightly - Rhino nodded hurridly before realizing the guy wouldn't see it considering as he'd said he was blind and all.

"Right, sorry. So we're on some kind of beach, not sure where since the sky is all - " he broke off to chuckle before realizing the guy would probably want some kind of description. "let's just say there are two moons. That's not normal, right?"

Another figure - a girl - popped into his line of sight and he felt a more genuine smile tug at his lips as she murmured some words in his direction, not really soaking in their meaning because he was so relieved to see two things that were his idea of normal here. They could probably group together, maybe he could try the signal on one of their phone's since his was still out of commission, back at home.

The relief begin to morph into confusion as strangely dressed men (what were they, in some novel set in Medieval times?) traveled into his line of sight, heading in their direction. Glancing at the ginger-haired new-comer as he finally begin to piece together exactly what she'd been trying to tell him, Rhino let his lips shape a guilty 'o'. Going off of her reaction alone, Rhino determined that these guard's probably weren't going to be the friendliest, lost-people or not.

"Friendly, uhh..." he broke off again to glance at the girl before angling his body in the opposite direction of those men. "No, I don't think so. So we should -" he broke off for a second, surprised by how calm his voice sounded despite the stress that was beginning to pinch at his nerves, the adrenaline beginning to course through him. "run. Yea, run."

Glancing at the the other two as if to verify they were going to match his plan, Rhino turned and started into a sprint. Behind him he heard the guards let out aggressive noises before their footsteps begin to sound behind him, louder. They were probably giving chase. Deciding to not let his thoughts fixate on what would happen if he were to be captured Rhino focused on lifting his feet, trying not let his movements be too hindered by the sand.

It would probably be easier to get away if he focused on reaching a less sandy point Rhino thought, eyes already wildly seeking out something that would fit that location.

He was jumping into another step when the pain hit (another migraine?!) settled over his skull with enough pressure that Rhino almost felt like it was going to implode. He barely registered he'd stopped moving, barely registered his body's hitting the rough sand underneath him before everything went black.

 

[Astralmoone]

Taylor looked from Bryan to Rhino, feeling dumbfounded as they both continued to speak after she had told them to shut it. Sure, they did not know her, but couldn’t they have just listened? Taylor closed her eyes, shoulders slumping as the noise from the guards made it obvious they had been noticed. She opened her eyes and turned to look behind her, seeing that they were running towards them now. Her mind instantly went to work, trying to decide what to say to them when they arrived. There was no way they could outrun the men, not in an unfamiliar place.

Her calculations crashed abruptly to a halt as Rhino glanced her way. She started to ask him a question but trailed off in disbelief as he simply turned and bolted. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Her mind raced again as she surveyed the sandy dunes around them. Her gaze swept to the wall of the city and followed it to the jungle looking area she had spotted earlier. This surveillance lasted a brief second before she reached out and grabbed Bryan’s hand. “We need to run now.”

“The ground ahead is flat and sandy but clear of any rocks.” She tugged him, trying to be gentle, but needing him to move. With Rhino running away, the guards would think they were guilty of hiding something. They would not believe her or Bryan if they claimed to know nothing, not now at least. She glowered at Rhino’s retreating back, mentally cursing at him as she and Bryan began to run in the opposite direction, towards the trees.

“Slight incline coming up from a sand dune.” She puffed out, trying to audibly guide Bryan. Taylor ran hard, not needing to look behind her to know they would be too slow. The guards would catch them, there was no doubt. She looked at the path ahead and called back to Bryan again, “Decline coming up. Grass and rocks to your right, stay straight.”

She was starting to breathe hard already, her lack of athleticism becoming glaringly apparent. Her gaze drifted towards their left and she was startled to see Rhino had collapsed on the ground a ways off. Several guards were already approaching him. What had happened? Looking forward again, she saw they were nearing the end of the city wall, the trees beginning to loom in front of them. The footsteps were right on their heels now, and Taylor pushed harder, trying to keep them ahead of the guards.

They had just cleared the wall when pain exploded at the back of her head. She screamed, dropping Bryan’s hand as she was yanked back by her hair. She hit the ground hard, air puffing from her lungs in a rush, leaving her winded. Dizzy, she stared up at the guard who still held the handful of her hair.

He let go of her, glowering as he leveled his spear at her chin. “Kwanini Ulikimbia?”

“E-Excuse me?” Taylor looked up at him confused as the man spoke. Her head pounded where her hair had been pulled. She looked past the man at the other guards that had surrounded Bryan and were currently trying to talk to him.

“Nijibu. Kwanini ulikimbia??” the guard repeated, glaring down at her as he prodded the spear end against her throat.

“I am sorry.” She held her hands up, a pit dropping into her stomach as she realized they may not speak English. “I don’t understand you.”

The guard knocked the side of his spear against her wrists when she moved, causing her to yelp in pain and quickly drop her hands again. “Aundro!”

Taylor winced and broke off her protest as he leveled the spear against her throat again. “I don’t understand!”

Another guard walked over to them and looked down at her curiously, “He is asking why you ran.”
Relief flooded through Taylor as the man spoke. “Oh thank god, you speak English!”

The man’s nose wrinkled in confusion at her exclamation, “What is…English?”

Taylor was about to snap a snarky response but stopped herself and reworded it, “The language we are currently speaking..it’s what I learned to call English.”

The guard paused at that and then shrugged, “Here we call it Kiingereza.”

“Aundro!” The guard holding the spear snapped again, causing the other man to look at him and grin. They traded some conversation back and forth, giving Taylor a chance to look around. The men that had gone after Rhino were returning now, one of them carrying them on his back.

“We did not do anything wrong.” Taylor looked back at the one that had been speaking to her, “Please let us go.”

“You were out past curfew, you ran from guards. You have already done two things wrong.” He raised an eyebrow looking back at her.

Taylor mentally cursed again at his words, feeling frustrated. She had been worried about a curfew. Damn it, why had that man run?! How could she talk herself out of this one? “We are strangers here, unaware of the laws of the land. Hell, I don’t even know where here is. Aundro, right? That’s your name?” She took a guess at this and was pleased when he nodded. “Listen, I….woke up here on the beach. I have no idea how I got here or what happened.”

Aundro shook his head at that, “I find that hard to believe.”

“But believe it you must.” She insisted, feeling foolish. She wanted to start shouting at him, insisting she was not from here and there had to be a mistake, but she kept a firm grip on that part of herself, not liking the idea of being burned as a witch or something equally insane.

Aundro looked back at the other guards who had gathered now. He ignored her for a few minutes as they discussed back and forth what to do. Finally, the one holding the spear lowered it and reached down, yanking Taylor up to her feet. He pushed her towards Bryan who was standing with two guards on both sides of them. She saw then that his hands had been bound in rope.

“Wait, Aundro, please you have to help us.” Taylor called over the guard but he waved her off.

“We don’t have to do anything, Mwanamke .” The guard on Bryan’s right spoke up as he stepped towards her, holding the end of rope that was attached to Bryan’s hands. He tugged Taylor forward and began tying the rope tightly around her wrists as well.

Taylor tried to protest but cut off as her backhanded her, sending the world spinning around her. Taylor grimaced at the sudden salty taste of blood, her lip stinging where the skin had broken. She tried getting the other guards to talk to her, but they either ignored her or did not understand what was being said.

She, Bryan, and Rhino were ushered into the city, but they moved quickly so Taylor barely had time to take in the sights of the buildings around them. At the front of the city, the buildings started out small, hard to make out in the evening light. As they wound through the city, the buildings grew taller and the area darker as more light was blocked out.

After several minutes of walking, they came to an open area, a large stone building looming in front of them, torches lighting the entrance. At this point, several of the guards split off, heading back the way they came while the remaining four, pushed the others inside. The light from the torches inside made it easier to see, but Taylor found her eyes watering at the smell of grime and smoke that assaulted her face. Still they were pushed quickly forward, through a dim room that had a few tables, chairs, and several men snoring in them, to a door that was bolted shut.

One of the soldiers removed the bolt and opened the door, revealing inky darkness behind it. He paused to pick up a torch from the side of the door and then started into the darkness. Taylor was pushed after him, squinting as the torch light dimly illuminated the stone staircase they were walking down. She felt herself growing sick, shivering in the cold dank air as they came to the bottom of the stairs and firelight glinted off rows of cells. The smell, if possible, was even worse down here, a mix of rot, grime, body odor and worse.

They walked past several cells, pulled to a stop at the third one by the ropes still binding her and Bryan. Another guard stepped forward and unlocked the cell doors and Taylor felt a weight on her back as someone suddenly pushed her hard. She stumbled forward, trying to keep herself from falling. She almost succeeded, before Bryan was pushed into the cell and the rope that bound both their hands went tight from the tension. The tug sent Taylor off kilter and she tottered to the side, landing hard on her hip. Taylor grimaced as something wet hit her face, the stink of it overwhelming. She scrambled back up, turning towards the guards as they threw Rhino into the cell.

“Hey!” she tried to call after them, but they ignored her again. Without a word, Aundro locked the cell door and walked away. Taylor stared after them in horror, watching the torch light fade away. It grew increasingly dimmer as they retreated up the stairs. The light was nearly gone by the time the sound of a door opening and closing echoed back, and then they were plunged into inky blackness.

 

[Edric Yuma]

Bryan frowned, then laughed as well after the man's reply. "Two moons, huh... well I'll be damned. Looks like maybe that freaky self-proclaimed 'God of darkness and fear' sent me to a weird place. What a dick."

Suddenly, however, everything changed as the two men in metal gear arrived, seemingly unfriendly judging from the reactions of his two new acquaintances. The dude told him to run, then ran away himself, tripped, and (judging from the sounds of the sand) stopped moving. "Uh... dude? Are you-"

He was cut off by the woman grabbing his hand and pulling him along. He ran as fast as he could with her, using his cane in a more abbreviated fashion to guide himself as he went. However, as they continued running, it became clear the woman was getting exhausted. He didn't say anything, as forcing her to respond would only make it worse, but he knew it was a matter of time before they were too slow and the men who were chasing them caught up. As he racked his brains for a solution, however, he realized the guards had gotten far too close. "Watch out!" He yelled, but it was too late, as she let go of his hand with a scream. Someone had lifted her off the ground, as her obvious struggle made no impact with the ground.

Someone else shoved him in the back, a metallic force pushing him into the sand and making him drop his cane. Just as he struggled to get up, however, a hand grabbed him by the shirt and roughly pulled him up, the breath of the person running down Bryan's neck. "Wait a second - this one's a cripple!" The man shouted to the rest of those who had been chasing. Another one of them laughed and said something in a different language that Bryan didn't understand.

Bryan felt the blood rush to his head. He no longer felt embarrassed by the fact that he was blind, but being called a cripple, as if he was unable to do anything, made him angry. He shoved the guard away and brushed the sand off himself. "Look, guys, I get it. I'm fucking blind. But what's you're problem? Making fun of someone who is blind is not cool, dude. Just arrest me and be done with it."

The guard who had spoken earlier in English laughed. "A fierce cripple, too!" He grabbed Bryan by the shirt again and forcefully shoved him backwards, sending him stumbling into other guards who caught him and bound his hands behind his back with ropes. "Don't worry, we would never let a cripple get away from us. It would hurt our pride too dearly."

Taylor was trying to reason with another guard, but Bryan knew there was no point. The guards had somehow already made up their minds that they were doing something wrong, so they were going to get arrested no matter what. He sighed. Even in a world with two moons, law enforcement sucked at their jobs.

~

After being led through a smelly prison for what felt like forever, they were finally thrown into a cell together, with the woman hitting the floor first, and then Bryan, and lastly the man. Bryan got up off the floor, making a face in disgust. "This place smells like shit."

He faced in the directions of where he had heard the woman and man land. "Are you guys alright? That really sucked - I never thought I'd be thrown in a smelly prison without hearing just because guards thought that I could have been doing something wrong."

He thought back to how this had all started - how the man who had somehow given him eyesight had transported him to an island with two moons. What was his problem, and how, even though that man was batshit crazy, did everything he say so far sound check out with what he was experiencing? He groaned. Maybe if everything else he had said was true so far, Bryan actually could use that dude's power to see again. But how? "I've shown you two ways to use my power" was what he had said. Well, if Bryan was honest, that dick really showed him nothing at all. Maybe he could try replicating that feeling? Bryan concentrated hard on trying to recall what he had felt during that moment, but all he could remember was the immense fear and uncertainty of seeing his distorted ex's face again.

"Fuck," Bryan muttered. That was probably just a lie. There was no way a true god of darkness would want to give powers to a blind man. He turned back to the other two. "Well, while we're stuck in here, we might as well make a good use of our time - shall we introduce ourselves? We obviously are all very confused about what is happening, so maybe we can work together and figure something out. I'm Bryan, and I arrived at this island after a crazy dude who said he was god sent me here. I didn't believe in magic, and I don't believe in gods, but I'm guessing I might have to in the very near future."

 

[JustJazzy]

(maybe a couple of minutes after being thrown into the cell...)

Rhino woke up to darkness, suffocating and endless no matter where his eyes turned.

Under his head was no pillow, but instead ground - hard, unfamiliar, even a little.. damp? If that wasn't troubling enough there was also the smell to contend with - a mix of body odor, sickness, death. Instinctively reaching for his nose - face contorting with unspoken disgust - as he pulled himself upwards as if to cup his knees, Rhino felt a little moan drift from his lips at the pain the motion elicited in the area from his neck to halfway down his back.

It was light pain, ignorable pain, so Rhino pushed through it to pull himself into seated position, hands finally clasping around his knees. The fabric there - his work jeans, dark, cheap, and reliable - had a small hole in one of the knees that Rhino reigstered within moments of touching them, a deep sigh escaping from his lips. Thoughts of work though strangely comforting right now were a waste of time though - Rhino focused on instead clearing his head, blinking into the cool darkness - as if that would help his eyes adjust more quickly - and tried to ignore the smell.

He took in what he could see of the area around him as the memories of the events prior to this rushed into his head all at once. He remembered the beach, the ice-cold relief of slight familiarity, then the guards, maybe a hint of the pain that had taken to his head. He winced in spite of himself at that remembered pain, unconsciously massaged both temples as if to steady himself. None of those memories really answered the question of where he was currently though so Rhino instead focused scrutinizing eyes into the space in front of him, tried to focus on making out the shapes.

His eyes fixated on one of the dark shapes nearest to him, jumping ever so slightly as it shifted randomly and an expletive came from its direction. The fear went away fairly quickly as the shape, it, continued talking and Rhino registered the voice to be a slightly familiar one, a masculine one - the guy from earlier, the one with the cane probably. At the mention of 'we', the implication that more people were occupying the smelly space Ryan glanced around again, trying to make out any shifting shapes, anything remotely human looking.

Luckily his eyes were beginning to slightly adjust through the choking darkness and he could make out what seemed to be another other shadow person - whoever they were - in the space nearest to the guy. Giving a brief nod in its direction before realizing the uselessness of the gesture, Rhino instead hurried into an intonation.

"Stuck here? So we got -" he broke off, slumping ever so slightly as he came to a conclusion about the events that had taken place prior, his back touching something hard, a wall he took a moment to let his hand graze over. Stone cold, damp. "we didn't - Dang, ok. Well, nice to meet you then, Bryan. Crazy story but.. I can relate to it, if that's not too weird? Last thing I remember before the beach was some crazy dude too. Some blue stuff, magic, floating.." he trailed off, noting how crazy he probably sounded. Probably better to stop while he was ahead, regardless of whether the dude related to it or not. They could both be crazy, right?

"Right. Well my name's Ryan, Bryan," he paused as a soft sort of smile touched over his lips at the similarities in their names. It was probably an entirely inappropriate emotion to have considering the circumstances but Rhino decided he didn't care. "but usually people call me Rhino. Easier to remember and more interesting honestly."

 

[Enolx]

“So you are an actor,” Davriel said surprised “I guess that would explain the attractive personality. What-“

“Fuck nature,” Angelo howled as another sharp point of something made its way into his bare foot. From just the short time after making it down the mountain he had become a master of stepping on sharp objects. “The will to burn down this forest is strong.”

“Sorry my friend. I promise we will get you some proper attire when we make it home.”

“No need to apologize. It’s my fault for living a pedicured life devoid of foot calluses. I’ll figure out how to step right at some point.”

“Yes, that will be very important when you start hunting. What is a pedicure?”

"It's when you have the rough skin taken off of your feet and get your toe nails cleaned and clipped. What do you mean when I start hunting?"

"If you don't hunt, you don't eat."

"That saying is, "If you don't work you don't eat" where I'm from."

"It's the same back home, but moon goddess is big around here so that is way they say it. I like the ring of it so I decided to keep using it."

"Yea it doesn't really seem to different. Fuck it, when in Rome?"

"Rome is a place from your home I guess."

Yea, its used in a idiom, a saying. It basically means behave like the locals or try to fit in."

Very wise-"

"FUCK!" Angelo pulled a spiny seed from his foot, and Davriel laughed.


Angelo woke mid day to the sound of the floor creaking as Davriel walked through the den of his home that Angelo had set up shop in. After the night he had yesterday, Angelo was surprised to wake up refreshed and not in pain. There wasn't another bed, so he had sleep on some blankets. They were large and thick for the cold winter nights, but since it was late spring, Angelo didn't need the warmth. In fact, the weather was so nice that he decided to go to sleep in just his underwear. "Morning Davriel," Angelo said as he stretched "What's the plan for today?"

"Today we will walk you through your new life and introduce you to some of the people of the town," Davriel answered "You remember what we talked about yesterday?"

"Yup, the name is Angelo Sabriel. I got sent down to learn your trade by my father, Damri, your brother. I'm a little different since all I have really known is Atan, but really look forward to learning about the world on the other side of the High Stones."

"Not bad."

"Characters are what I do. This role's easy anyway." Angelo said before changing his accent to match Davriel's which seemed to be a mix of Italian and American English "I promise I will not let you down Uncle."

Davriel let out a whistle and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well then Angelo, get your clothes on and lets get the day started."

Angelo wore a light, nearly pure white, linen shirt with a V-neck cut that went down to the center of his chest. There was a string that crossed the gap left in the shirt like shoelaces, and had two end falling down on both sides of the gap to tighten the shirt. With his shirt, he wore tan pair of very baggy pants that were too small length wise for him. Since these were Davriel's clothes, that made since. Angelo decided to take two bolts of cloth to tie the ends of his capris to his legs and another around his waist to keep the over sized pants on body. His shoes were basically tan Toms, which was his favorite part of his new outfit. Davriel said that they were slippers that were worn at high society functions back home. He had bought them as a gift for his brother, but hadn't been home to deliver them yet. That was fine with Angelo since the shoes were a perfect fit, and felt great as well.

After getting dressed, the two ate breakfast and went outside. Davriel led him through a light workout and then a run through the forest after. "You are in pretty good shape," Davriel said after the two returned from their run "Do you know how to use any weapons?"

Angelo took a drink of water before answering. "Funny thing actually. Me and my buddy would have archery competitions whenever we got the chance to meet up, so I can shoot a bow fairly well. He and his family were hunters so they would take me out to their deer lease every so often. A deer lease is a place that you can set up another home on a specified hunting area. You can't just go out into the wild and hunt where I'm from. Anyway, so yea, I got that and the spear. In one of the shows I was apart of called the Queen's Guard I played a character that used a spear and chain. While the chain stuff was a lot of Hollywood magic, I actually learned some spear fighting for the role. Got taught by the guy who played Darth Ma....you have no clue who he is. Yea, I got those two."

"Ah, not bad. We will teach you to fight after the morning routine from now on. Got to make sure you don't die in a tavern brawl if it happens." Davriel then looked him up and down taking in his sweaty but still attractive visage. "Yea, I'm sure you will get into a lot of trouble with looks like that. I hope you aren't like your father in that regard. Blasted man couldn't walk the streets without getting me into trouble. Anyway, lets go, we have a lot to do before opening."

The two walked down a dirt path towards the smell of fresh baked bread. Soon they were at a large building with many women huddled around it talking and holding sacks. "This is the bakers home," Davriel proclaimed "The owner is a perky woman be the name of Jannet. You can-" A piercing squeal came from the various women as they noticed Davriel and Angelo. "I'm going to have to get use to getting cut off around you."

"Who is this Mr. Sabriel," a middle aged woman with freckles, brown hair and lovely green eyes asked looking at Angelo.

Angelo gave the woman a playful smile and there were light squeals and murdering from the other women. Davriel sighed and then gave her a smile of his own. "This is my nephew, Angelo. My brother, without telling me, sent him to live with me for a bit and learn. I'm showing him around-"

"We could show him around," A group of girls declared quickly "It would be our pleasure" another added "And we know this town like the back of our hand."

Angelo didn't say anything, but grinned at Davriel. "You two are just alike," He sigh as he put some green chips in Angelo's hands "Make sure hes back at the tavern before opening. I still have a lot to show him." The various women shrieked again before throwing themselves on Angelo's arms and walking him down the streets.

"Those girls are going to eat him alive," the green eyed woman sighed with a hand on her face.

"I have a feeling that he is use to this kind of thing," Davriel answered "So Mrs. Jannet, can I get a few pies and loaves from you?"

"Of course, come inside darling and I'll show you what I have cooking."

 

[Astralmoone]

Taylor turned in the direction of the other two, squinting in the dark to try and see them better. Even as her eyes began to adjust to the blackness, it was still difficult to make out more than their silhouettes. She remained silent as they introduced themselves, her mind still railing against the fact that they had just been thrown in a cell. Bryan was right, this was all very confusing. What the hell had happened? And how? How was just as important of a question.

Taylor sighed and shuffled along the cell bars until she made it to the wall and then she slid down slowly, feeling exhausted suddenly. “Bryan and Rhino, huh? Nice to meet you both. I’m Taylor.”

She fell silent again for a brief moment, thinking over what Rhino said about magic and gods. Come to think of it, Bryan had mentioned something similar. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the similarities could be important. None of this made sense and any clue may help. Focusing back on them, she lifted her head and straightened slightly, a reflex more than anything else as she knew she could not be properly seen.

“I think Bryan is on to something…We should recap what we know and maybe it will help us piece together some semblance of…something useful.” She huffed and ran a hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers caught on wet tangles. She so did not want to know what that was. “For example, I was at school before I found myself here.”

She quickly explained her encounter in the gardens, recapping the little that the man had said and how he had pushed her into the water. “He told me to find the others…While we still do not have all the facts, I cannot help but wonder if he was talking about you two…Though, as you can tell he certainly did not give me much information. In fact…He mentioned nothing about magic or gods. Rhino, you mentioned blue stuff and magic...Bryan, you said a god sent you here? What did he look like? Did we run into the same person or different do you think? Although, whoever you both talked to certainly gave you more information than I got. My encounter simply told me to find them and right wrongs, like what the fuck do I do with that? And then he freaking dumped me in the ocean. Stupid idiot...What if I did not know how to swim or anything?”

Taylor finished with a huff and crossed her arms, feeling frustrated at the lack of facts. She did not like feeling out of her depth. She was missing vital information, information that might help her piece this puzzle together. That was assuming there was something to piece together. What if she had gone crazy? There were stories all over campus of seniors mentally breaking near exams. Goodness only knew how stressed she had been. What if she snapped mentally? What if this was all in her head or she had dementia and was hearing or seeing things. Was that how that worked? Could this all be a mental breakdown? That idea nearly had her hyperventilating. She forced herself to take a deep breath, reaching down and pinching her arm. She needed to get her shit together. Panicking had not helped earlier and it would not help now. Either she was crazy or she wasn’t, but what good would panic do during a mental breakdown anyways? Crazy or not, she might as well get accustomed to the ride and see where it took her; there was not really an alternative anyways.

Taylor shook her head, forcing herself to focus back on the other two. Man, she wished the guards hadn’t taken her stuff. While none of them had been bodily searched, their bags had been confiscated prior to being hauled down the stairs. “Oh also, do either of you have a phone? Mine was still in my backpack. Damn guard took my backpack before hauling us downstairs. I swear if they take any of my shit I’ll find a way to kick their ass.”

 

[Edric Yuma]

Bryan smiled. This was better. Having some time to regroup and think was nice, although the smell indicated to him that it was probably better he couldn't see at the moment. He chuckled at Rhino's remark. "Ryan, huh? That's too close to mine - I'm going to have to claim intellectual property on that one. Let's go with Rhino." He turned to the woman's voice. "Hey Taylor! What's good, friends? This situation is kinda fucked up for us to be meeting, but I'm sure you are both very talented and attractive individuals to have been sent to the middle of butt-fuck nowhere to create world peace and whatever. Although I'm sure whoever sent us here is now kicking themselves in the butt since our first step was getting imprisoned."

Bryan tried to lean against the wall, but he felt something sticky so he pulled away and continued. "So Rhino had some magic shown to him and Taylor was told to find us... I, on the other hand, was told to 'teach our enemies to fear the darkness.' Not gonna lie, I think whoever talked to me was the edgiest, and from everyone's situation we definitely were talking to different people. I was also shown magic, but it wasn't blue. Actually, nothing was blue, because for the brief moment his magic or whatever let me see all I could see was blacks and whites. Also, he shapeshifted, manifested my worst fears, and teleported with black smoke. Not sure at all how that relates to anything you guys experienced, but I can definitely conclude we all met different people. If they are indeed gods, then they're pretty ass at their job for sending us over with no explanation."

He sighed and slowly paced back and forth. It helped him think. "So, any ideas on how to get out of here? I was promised powers from the dude I talked to, but so far I have no clue how to use powers nor what my powers are."

 

[JustJazzy]

"Rhino it is, then," Rhino murmured, the soft smile that had touched over his lips for a moment morphing into a more genuine one as he briefly let go of the stress of their situation for a moment of shared humor. Then he was back again as the girl, Taylor, suggested that they tell each other their stories.

Although he wasn't fully for recapping the story of the blue magic and the 'man' in its entirety out of fear of triggering another of those migraines, Rhino pushed back his reservations in favor of looking for a connection between all of their stories, some kind of matching puzzle piece that would lead them out of all this. After the girl, Taylor, finished telling hers Rhino told his, mentally drawing out the similarities between hers and his, the mention of others, of them being chosen. But for what exactly?

Then Bryan was telling his as well, the mention of darkness standing out the most, the mention of being shown your 'worst fears'.

"Sounds like a nice guy," Rhino half-joked, pulling himself to his feet slowly, lightly. "Yea, I'd love it if things would be a little more spelled out. Like how many of us there are supposed to be, is it just us or are there others? Or how do we even get home, do we even get to go home after this? And - " he broke off as his mind touched on something the girl had mentioned.

"and could we really die here? Middle of nowhere?" that was a dark train of thought that Rhino really didn't want to stay in, especially not while they were in a dark, dank cell of all places.

Taylor mentioned phones and Rhino shook his head heavily, grasping onto the subject to distract himself from that bit of darkness that had arisen from his thoughts. At the mention of powers from Bryan, Rhino was drawn back to the dream, the blue magic and all the floating. He shut his eyes, tried to visualize that stream of blue dust circling him. Opened his eyes - there was nothing but darkness still. But something in him told him to try again though a larger part of him balked at the idea of these supposed 'powers' this change in the ordinary he'd become so accustomed too in his life.

He kept his eyes open this time, tried to visualize the blue, the feeling of floating, of calm. And without warning the area around him was suddenly alight with blue dust that lit up the space, twinkled with mysterious ardor.

Rhino felt his mouth drop open wide with shock and also a strange sort of excitement that came from within because he did it!

"That's the - That's the blue dust I was talking about." he managed to the others, though his eyes stayed fixed on the blue in front of him, the alive, wild feeling of it. He reached a hand out to touch it, watching as it danced away just out of his grasp as if it were some sort of game they were playing. It felt like a test almost, and Rhino found himself continually trying to grasp it, wrest for control and just as his hand finally closed around it he found himself aglow with it, the blue intercircling him.

Just as quickly as it had flickered on it was suddenly off, they were back in the darkness once again. Before Rhino could even feel disappointment it was back, the headache though this time it was a surprisingly more tolerable pain that touched at only the base of his skull. He ignored it for the most part, managing a sort of strained smile towards the others.

"I can bring it again, I think. I'm just not sure what to do with it, if that makes sense? The most I've done with it was fly, and even that was difficult without the other guy helping."

 

[Enolx]

“How long have you been in town,” one of the girls asked.

“I just got here last night, Angelo answered “I passed out as soon as I made it to uncle’s house. My father didn’t tell me what a trip it would be. Now that I’m here though, what can you ladies tell me about my new home?”

“Its really different from the big city, but you will love it here,” a different girl stated “We might not have a lot of fancy stuff or magic, but our nature is second to none. Hammel is known for it’s trees after all.”

Angelo’s eyes rose at the casual mention of magic. He wasn’t surprised about the mention of it, but by how she just threw it into conversation. He then decided that this was probably a point that he should press the women on. “Ah, the magic thing is a little sad,” He announced “I was really looking forward to see if this side of the stones was as magically gifted as the tales back home said.”

“Well I doubt it lives up to your stories,” An older woman started “But we do have many places of magic on our side of the....stones. Ah, that is so cute to say. The stones, I love it. Anywho, most of our major and some minor cities are built around a different type of of magic. Reinheart, for fire magic, Lindor, if you want light magic, Yadel, for medicinal practitioners, and so on. If you travel a half a day from here you can reach Gadain, the city of plant magic.”

“That sounds fantastic,” Angelo beamed “I can’t wait to be able to explore. Thank you for your insight. While I’m at it, anything I should look out for, and is there somewhere I could get some clothes from here? My clothes were destroyed on the journey down. I also would like to design some styles of my own if I could?”

“You like the fashions?” A girl said shocked.

“I do. Style is one of the most important aspects of life.”

The girls squealed and pulled him quickly along. “The goddess of love really made you perfect,” An entirely different girl proclaimed as she wrapped her arms around on of his “We know just the place. Are all city men like you?”

Angelo smiled as he was pulled along. “Probably not.”

After a short time, the group arrived at a clothing store. It was exactly like some of the stores from the old district back home. It was the size of a house, with a wooden porch, and a large glass display window that showed three outfits.

“This store belongs to Vera’s mom,” the girl from before continued, pointing to another girl in the ever growing group. “Everything is stunning. They get stuff brought in from big cities, and of course make beautiful stuff themselves. Vera is basically a magician with a needle.”

The woman Angelo now knew as Vera blushed at the compliment before offering a soft thank you and motioning for them to go inside. Angelo met with Vera’s parents and after talking to them about working together on some clothing and designs the group was off one day again. They hit all the major spots for the town, the river, the guard station, a few food vendors, most of the girls homes, blacksmith, carpenter’s home, and last the mayor’s home. On their way back to the tavern the girl who first took his arm, Ariel, leaned in close to him.

“So, are you trying to be one of those too,” she whispered.

“One of what?” Angelo whispered back, actually unsure what she was talking about but saying it as though he was questioning her knowledge.

“You know, a .......hunter. My dad is the mayor and I over heard him talking about what Davriel was.”

“Who knows,” Angelo said mischievously.

After many goodbyes and promises to meet up tomorrow, Angelo finally made it inside the tavern. There he saw Davriel cleaning some cups behind the bar. Angelo made his way to the bar and sat down in front of Davriel. “So I see you left out a part about you being a hunter,” Angel said firmly “Were you going to tell me?”

“I was not,” Davriel answered “Who told you?”

“You first.”

“Tomorrow,” he answered as he threw a cleaning rag at Angelo who caught it out of the air “For now you have more pressing things to learn about.”

“Fine, tomorrow it is.” Angelo then set himself to cleaning the tavern.

 

[Astralmoone]

Taylor remained silent as the other two spoke, her mind playing through their story calculatingly. Mentally, she collected the pieces that they presented, adding them to the growing list of what she knew, or could infer. It was a pathetically short list of knowledge, she had to admit. They were sent here by beings that thought themselves gods…or were gods. There could be any number of people transported to this world. They needed to find each other, or had they already found each other? Obviously, it seemed like there was some sort of quest or something they should be going on, but the details were not enough to go on.

Her thoughts ground to an abrupt halt as the air in the cell filled with a glowing blue light. Her eyes went wide as the dust seemed to shimmer and float through the air. Looking over at Rhino, she had to admit she was impressed. Out of curiosity she reached down and pinched herself hard, biting back a sigh as the motion stung, still not dreaming. “So…magic is real then.”

That made one of the questions on her mental checklist a bit easier. Magic existed, so what did she know about it so far? It was tied to the gods, or at least gods could access magic and maybe grant powers. Magic here was not tied to elements. That was evident based on their explanations of what they’d seen and now with the blue dust in front of her. This revelation lead to a whole new slew of questions. How did magic work? What were the limits? If they had each been given abilities, then what were hers? The questions stacked in her mind, the mental list building in the span of a heartbeat.

She was still wondering these questions even as she glanced around at their small cell. The glance was brief as the dust flickered back into darkness, but it was enough to tell her she was not going to be moving from her spot. The cell floor was covered in a layer of something that had resembled hay, but the glow was not quite bright enough to make out details. There were small odd piles scattered around the cell that looked squishy. The ceiling was low, and the bars went all the way to the top. While grungy, she was relieved to see that there had not been any human bones or skeletons, just a few piles that looked suspiciously like decaying rats. No bones meant they did not leave people to die down in the cells. Encouraging. That meant they might have a chance to talk their way out of this, maybe.

She focused back on Rhino, his words registering in her mind. “You said you used the abilities to fly?”

That seemed really cool and for a brief moment she found herself wishing she had the ability to fly, only to remember she absolutely hated heights. It would not be the best power for her. Even though it was dark, she found her gaze drifting back over to the cell doors. She racked her brain for ideas, a frown drawing across her lips. If he could light up the area, could they find something to help them escape? Even if they did, what good would that do? She doubted any of them were strong enough to overpower the guards that were outside the door. Perhaps he could light up the cells to give them an idea of what was around them, but between the smell and sticky feel of the cell around them, she had a suspicion that they were better off not knowing what exactly they were surrounded by.

Taylor sighed after a moment, her shoulders slumping. “I’m not sure what the best course of action would be. If we light the area, we might be able to see something that could help us from the cell. But then we’re faced with the problem of where to go next or how to get past the guards. It did not look like there were any skeletons around us when you lit up the cell a moment ago. This leads me to believe that they won’t let us die down here, hopefully.”

She did not say that it could mean that they just did not let the corpses rot in the cells. It was very possible they left people to die and then just dragged the bodies out later. The thought was not an appealing one. Then again, their point that the gods had brought them here to accomplish things was a good one. Would the gods interfere with anything going on or happening to them? Would they provide a get out of jail free card? Or were they on their own to puzzle through this. Based on her interaction with the god earlier, she would assume she was on her own, but it was an important point worth remembering. “I would hope that means someone will talk to us in the morning, but I suppose there are no guarantees. There are too many variables.”

It was strange, as she stood there thinking about her options, she could see numerous paths and ways things could potentially play out. The best way her mind could explain it was if she were looking at the timeline of a choose your own adventure book. There were so many threads and lines that interconnected, it felt overwhelming. Did they try and escape? Did they fight the guards? Did they wait until morning? Did they die here?

Taylor cut the line of thought off with a frustrated huff, sinking down to the ground, pulling her legs to her chest. She leaned against the bars, looking back in the direction she figured the other two were at. It was too much to think about at the moment. Stressing about their current situation would not fix anything anyways. “What do you guys want to trying doing? I think whatever we decide, it should be agreed upon by the three of this. We seem to be trapped in this together for now…”

 

[Edric Yuma]

Bryan listened intently to the conversation, but was surprised when Taylor and Rhino suddenly pivoted to talking about "blue dust" and "magic" as if it was no longer a possibility but a certainty. If he was hearing correctly, Rhino had just somehow shown Taylor and himself that magic was possible. He listened as Taylor continued speaking her thoughts, but he briefly drifted to his own. If that was the case, and the three of them were somehow linked due to their similar backgrounds and unfamiliarity with the place, then how was he supposed to use the powers he was told he had?

He turned towards Rhino. In the small cell and cool climate, the little bit of heat coming from the two others', their smells, and their sounds were enough to give Bryan information about where they were. "Rhino, just now you did something that surprised both you and Taylor, presumably magic. How did you do that? From what I can tell, we all met different people who used different kinds of powers, and if what my experiences and what Rhino just did are indicative of any sort of pattern, then Taylor and I must also have some sort of connection to this magic. Maybe we can use this time in the cell to figure out how to use those powers."

He turned back to Taylor. "My personal opinion is to just wait it out for a day. We can use that time to see if you and I truly can do the same things Rhino can, and if they don't come for us after a day we can still try to break out. What do you all think?"

 

[Astralmoone]

“God damn son of a-” Taylor cursed in frustration, a string of words slipping from her as she tried desperately to ignore the itch slowly crawling down her cheek. The dull achy itch had gone from annoying to an insane burning that was spreading agonizing slow from her damp forehead down almost all the way to her chin on the left of her face. She had heard mention of medieval torture devices and the stocks and it had never seemed like that big of a deal to her. Then again, that had been when she was reading about them from the comfort of her desk at school or home, not after being stuck bent over in a stock for the last two hours. The books had it wrong, it was not the annoying taunts of the villagers or their smug looks, it was the damned uncomfortableness and the itching and the bugs! It made her want to scream.

At the end of the night, Rhino, Bryan and she had ultimately agreed to wait out the evening and see how things went. It had been one of the longest most dreadful nights Taylor could ever remember having. There was no place in the cell to get comfortable or away from the rotting smell that permeated the air. In the end, she had settled for a corner backed against the bars, her knees pulled tight to her chest trying to take up and touch as little area as possible. At some point she must have drifted off, but she could not pinpoint when. The last thing she remembered was listening to the others shuffle in the cell, each with their own challenges of getting comfortable.

Taylor had found herself jerking awake, heart pounding and head aching as the jail cell door gave a loud metal squawk as the door hinges ground from opening. Taylor had sat up, blinking in the torch light, staring at several guards that were standing there. As she'd moved, she realized her head must have been laying in something wet because she could feel something dripping down the side of her face, pulled by gravity now that she was sitting. Taylor had grimaced and brushed it off, feeling an oily smear across her skin but had not been given time to do much more before they were shuffled from the cell.

They had been ushered back through the halls and the building they’d come through the night before, this time going through one of the side doors to a small audience room. There had been a large bored looking man sitting in a massive wood chair, swirling a cup of wine in his hands. He had not even looked at them as they were dragged into the room. Several people milled about standing over several lined up wooden benches.

The next few minutes had flown by as a whirlwind. Taylor and the others had been dragged up in front of two men who began asking them questions in the same language as the night before. Each of them had tried to explain that they could not understand. The guards had exchanged a back and forth with the bored looking man who shrugged uncaring. There had been a bit more discussion until another guard was pulled into the room to act as a translator. It had been explained that they owed a fine for being out after curfew. Taylor and the others had tried to explain that they had not known and they did not have money. The guards had presented their belongings and after another incomprehensible back and forth, it was determined that they would be put in the stocks for three hours in exchange.

The first thirty minutes had not been so bad, but the aching in her back and legs had begun to grow unignorable. The guards, after having pulled out what they wanted from Taylor and the other's belongings had dumped the bags at their feet. After a while, several children had grown curious and came up to try and look at their things. When one got close to Taylors belongings she had tried to shoo him off. When he continued to get closer, she had kicked at him. This had caused the kids to come back with small rotten tomatoes and other things Taylor did not want to identify. They had chucked the items at the three of them and one tomato had smashed on Taylor's head. It was not painful, but the liquid had run through her hair and begun dripping down the side of her face. This had started the itch that was driving her crazy and attracted bugs. With her hands and head locked the way they were, all she could do was wiggle and curse the situation.

She tried focusing on the hustle and bustle of the town around her, to take in any information she could, but the itching was so overwhelming she found it hard to think. Taylor felt she might go crazy, though she figured she was probably overreacting. By the time one of the soldiers came to release them, she felt she could cry with relief. The first thing she did was reach up and rub at her face. It took everything she had not to scratch herself raw.

As she straightened up, a cramp instantly hit her back and she had a new problem to deal with. She found herself gasping and instantly shrunk back down, rubbing at the spot. It took another few minutes of stretching out her limbs before she was able to focus on the others, who seemed hunched over with similar issues. “Well…that fucking sucked.”

 

[Enolx]

After a quick rundown of the three alcohols the bar had, Angelo had little time before the patrons started entering the tavern. Most were exactly as Angelo had expected the men of a lumber town to be. Tall, wide, and with upper arms and chest as strong as the trees themselves, the men were a sight to behold. Angelo now found himself worried about what he would do if he did get into a fight. When most others from the town started to come in after the lumbermen, Angelo turned a questioning look towards Davriel. “It seems you are good for business,” he answered, “Go around back and get the extra tables and chairs. Not everyone is going to fit inside here, so start setting up places outside.”

“Of course, Uncle,” Angelo answered before moving to his assigned task. As he stepped out of the tavern he was greeted by the girls from earlier in the day. “Hello ladies, thanks for stopping by. If you give me a sec I’ll get some more tables set up.” Another group up guys near the girls had a tall blond walk towards Angelo after he overheard the exchange. To Angelo's surprise, he and his friends offered to help grab the furniture and Angelo gladly accepted.

After thirty minutes, the tavern had become a village festival and Angelo found himself jolting back and forth delivering drinks and food. He was having fun as he remembered his time as a waiter and fell back into the role. Davriel kept up with Angelo’s pace and smiled as he saw how well the boy was doing. Angelo gave him a grin and head nod in response, and also gave a smile as thanks to the green-eyed woman who assisted them from behind the bar, who he earlier learned was named Jannet. How the woman fell easily into the work led Angelo to believe that this was not her first time helping out. It made him wonder about her relationship with Davriel, which was a fun thought for him to entertain during lapses where he wasn't entertaining guests.

When things started to slow Davriel and Angelo were mingling more than working and basically became guests of the tavern themselves. "Hey my boy," Davriel called out to Angelo from across the tavern "How about you sing a song and show these Grassers how it's done?"

Angelo let out a sigh as he put down his drink and stood up from the bench he was sitting. "If you wish Uncle," He answered reluctantly leaving his current group. He bade his way over to the bar and sat down on top of it so he was seated above the others in the tavern.

"Ohhh, Father tell me, do we get what we deserve?
Whoa, we get what we deserve

And way down we go..."


Even after the whirlwind that was the night before Angelo woke up as soon as he heard Davriel make the floor creak. "Same as last time," Angelo asked from the floor.

"Oh," Davriel answered, surprised that the boy was up already. "Yeah, if you can."

Angelo got up from his bed and pushed his hair to one side of his face. "Yea, I'm good. I am no stranger to late nights followed by early mornings. Let's go; you have some explaining to do anyway."

After their run, the two started training, and it was while Angelo was practicing knife forms that Davriel finally spoke up. "A Hunter is an Atanian who has trained in the art of hunting down and killing beings and creatures of magic. After a tragic event in my homeland before the new king rose to power, an Atanian set out to kill the being who caused the horror in his home. On his journey, he developed himself and learned secrets of magic that were unknown or never connected. With his mission completed, he returned to his home and later shared his knowledge with a select few. This man was the first Hunter and from his knowledge, sprang the now fear-inducing group. Stab faster and plant your front leg."

Angelo did as he was instructed the next time he ran through the form. "So why are the Hunters so hush-hush here," Angelo asked as he continued through the movement again "They seem like they came up as a response to a problem."

Davriel smiled for a moment at the boy before answering. "In a world where magic gives strength and station, someone who can take that away is always feared. Also, nowadays, the Hunters are under the direct control of the King who has been using them for aggression more and more as time passes."

"I see," Angelo replied before stopping to stand in front of the man "So can you turn me into a Hunter?"

"Why?" Davriel questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Cause if I'm going to learn from you anyway, I might as well learn it all. Always better to know more than less, in my opinion. Is there a problem?"

"Physically, no, but there is one more thing you have to be able to do."

Davriel pulled out a pack and rolled it open. When he did, Angelo as assaulted by various floral and earthy smells. It was as if he had walked into a Bed Bath and Beyond during a perfume sale, and everyone was getting samples. When Angelo flinched back and covered his nose, he saw a smile creep onto Davriel's face. "You will still have to do all your other work as well," Davriel said, "And this will not be easy."

"Lifes hard," Angelo answered, "So what's first, and can you put that away."

"The same thing and more," Davriel replied quickly with a grin "And with time, you will get used to these smells. Now let's get cleaned up and breakfast in us before we start the day. I will explain the importance of this pack as we go."

Angelo then spent the next year under the watchful and unyielding eyes of Davriel.