Fantasy World of Arstider // Closed

[ZombieBaee]

Marxine Augustine

"I-I will try?" Marxine spoke weakly in response to Neve's suggestion and turned back to River with defeated eyes. However his words quickly caused them to go wide and the kiss on her cheek only flustered her more. "I just don't want to end up making it worse Riv." She fought against her own mood and forced herself to give him a small smile as he patted her hair, moving her focus from his face to the wound on his chest and starting to get to work. "You know, you really are a thorn in my side sometimes. But it's a thorn I would rather not live without, ever. So don't be this reckless again okay?"

Closing the wounds was harder than Marxine thought it would be... despite River's trust in her she was still scared. It was such a delicate balance that she had to create with her fire, heating the palms of her hands just enough to close the wound but not cause burns to the skin around the wound. Then before she could finish the second bullet wound in his leg, Aspen and Neve were returning with bad news. The moment that the words left Neve's mouth, Marxine knew that River would act out and she reached out to hold his shoulders against the tree. "Stop thrashing around! You'll risk reopening the one I already closed and you're already making the other one bleed more! Stop!" His outburst was at least proof that he was feeling slightly better which meant that Marxine was back to hiding her soft side behind sass and sarcasm. "Don't be fucking stupid River! Didn't you hear Neve?" She stopped to raise a brow at him, "Ember left a sign of who took her, that means she was able to take the time to do that. She likely went willingly to negate any violence. Plus... Remember your father's reaction when Ember was named and not you? It was like he knew... like he was happy. They won't hurt her. Even if Fern is a fucking creep."

Marxine finished his wound without warning before standing up and holding her hand out to him, "You know Aspen is right too. We will find her, but not like this."

The next morning everyone ate in silence before heading out and Marxine couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You guys have to lighten up. Give Ember the benefit of the doubt, she's not stupid and she's not weak. Honestly I think she could have kicked Fern's ass in a second but didn't. She'll be okay until we can figure out our next move."

They reached the tower and Marxine looked up at it with a scowl. "That's a great plan and all but honestly will it even work? Or will we try it and fall to our deaths."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Ember Siegfreid

Despite knowing that she was a prisoner Fern didn't tie up her hands together or make her feel like a prisoner. He wasn't nice to her by any means but he also wasn't mean to her like he was to the previous council. Yet she feared for her life every minute she was with him, she knew that they wanted thher bee powers and what lengths they would go to for them. They traveled all night across the dangerous lands and Ember knew she was officially separated from her friends and on her own. How was River doing? She was sure he was healing just fine. After all, she was doing this so River wouldn't get found in that state.

The sun was high in the sky as they approached gate to a foreign Kingdom. It wasn't Inverno and it was Zomer, and considering where Fern was she could only assume she was in Vasna. Fern was going on about her behaving herself and Ember gave a small nervous nod as they made their way to the large castle. Guards met them and escorted through the castle and straight to the throne room, her heart racing anxiously in her chest the entire time. As the large doors opened she silently said a prayer once more for River's healing, for safe travels for the group, and prayed she wasn't executed.

As they entered the large room she was shocked to find her uncle sitting at the throne like he had been waiting for them. She was trapped there, essentially. After he interrogated her about the location of the others she stuck to her guns and refused to tell him anything, whether it be about their journey or where they were headed. Truth be told she knew very little, Aspen was the one with the diary that was supposed to lead them to the council's tower. When they couldn't get the information out of her he had the guards escort her to her room, saying that they'd talk further later.

Ember's room was on a higher floor in the castle so she couldn't possibly sneak out. And she wasn't comfortable using her powers to help her get to the ground. Not that she knew where she'd be going, anyway. Ember gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her long hair as as she cracked the window to let in the spring breeze in. This was supposed to be Astoira's and Ash's home, it hurt her heart knowing that it was stolen from them. She'd have to do some recon while she's here to try and get some useful information for the others.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Neve Juniper

The tower was massive and quite intimidating. But hey, at least they found what they had been searching for! Astoria came up with a plan and in order for Aspen to get them out into the middle of the lake they had to actually get there. It was clear that the tower was only possible with a combination of power. Neve created a large enough to fit everyone floating iceberg so that Aspen could move all of them. Once to the middle of the lake Astoria and Ash were able to take them up higher. At the last stretch of their journey to the tower Asher and Marxine used their fire abilities combined with what strength River had to float them the rest of the way.

By the time they reached the balcony she was sure they were all exhausted. The lake was large and the tower was high in the clouds so they all had to exert their energy. The last council members were hundreds of years old, they've barely had their powers for a few weeks. At least they made it...well, most of them made it. They had to figure out a way to find and save Ember. "I guess we can say we're home." Neve was really trying to keep everyone hopeful but she knew it was hard right now. She opened the heavy wooden door and walked inside the top floor of the tower. The top of the tower was covered in windows so it was light and they were able to see around. There were bookshelves fully stocked with old looking books, a table that looked like it was meant for brewing potions, four large mirrors hanging from on the wall, and a spiral staircase that led down to the lower parts of the tower.

"Oh, my." As Neve approached the mirrors she noticed that they had names at the bottom of them, names of the Kingdoms. Gently she touched the glass of the Inverno mirror and bat her long lashes as the mirror distorted from an image of her to the image of the snow covered kingdom. The next image was of the throne room, though she went red in the face as she seen her brother sitting on the throne. It wasn't so much that he was on the throne, growing up she had always thought he'd be the King when the time came. It was the fact that he was trying so hard to capture them that it caused Aspen to lose his home. Still, she remained calm and watched the mirror. Dante was speaking to their mother, her father not even in the throne room with the two of them. "Fern went after the lot of them, said he'd return to his kingdom with them to present them to Aldrich. When they send word I'll go and retrieve Neve and Aspen. We'll need to figure out how to get Aspen's powers transferred to me." With an angry huff she turned away from the mirror, her cheeks red with anger. There was no way she'd let him get his hands on Aspen. "Will one of you check Vasna to see if Ember's there?"

 

[Sir Damien]

River Siegfreid

After Marxine closed his wounds he fell into the deepest sleep of his life despite his protest. He hated the fact that he was the only one that wanted to go after Ember. Only, he wasn't. He knew the others were right, that it was useless running after her and not knowing where they went. And Ember did leave a clue which meant she did go willingly. Plus, it did seem like Ember was in safe hands with his father. He always favored Ember and he seemed happy when her name was called. She was probably more safe with him than River would be in his current state. Still, that didn't stop his dreams from being plagued by nightmares of the possible outcomes.

For most of the morning travel he was silent, deep bags underneath his eyes. Despite the fact that his wounds were closed and his color had returned to his face he still felt weak, understandably so after the mass amount of blood he had lost. "Fern seems like an absolute creep and I don't want him near Ember. What if my father forces her to marry him or something? We have NO clue what these psycho's have planned for us, but considering what happened to the last council I can assure you most of our fates won't be pretty if they have something to say about it." The conversation seemed to end there as they entered the clearing to see the tower high in the sky.

The plan to get into the tower was made and executed. Neve provided the transport, Aspen transported them, and Marxine and Asher provided the heat for River. Unfortunately Ember wasn't there to assist with the wind, which left it all on River's shoulders. Thankfully all he had to do was create a large, heavy stream of wind to float them up to the balcony, though it left him more exhausted than he was. "Shit. I'm ready for bed already." River limped slightly into the tower after Neve and looked around.

"This is where the council lived?" River instantly moved to the bookcase so he could gently pull out a book. The books appeared hundreds of years old and were frequently used but were somehow in decent condition. Some of the books even appeared to be in a different language. However before he could address the books he noticed Neve and the mirror. "Shit. That's incredible." Quickly he tucked the book back in its place before making his way over and watching the mirror focus in on her brother. What he had to say was disturbing and gave him goosebumps. From the sounds of it though they had an idea on where Ember was. "So we can just SEE into our respective kingdoms from here? That's insane."

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marxine Augustine

Getting into the large tower was trying but at least they had done it. Astorias initial plan had worked but it wasn’t easy and Marxine could tell that it had taken a lot out of all of them, especially River. The inside of the tower was more amazing than the outside, everything had a very clear aura of wonder and magic and she couldn’t stop herself from her jaw dropping slightly as she took it all in. “I mean I guess this is how I would want my house to look too if I lived in solitude and only came into the kingdoms every few years. My gods.” Neve had been the first to approach the mirrors and Marxine turned to them with a raised brow as the image began to change in the glass before the white haired woman and voices began to ring out.

“Return to, went after, transfer.” Marxine reiterated the words Dante had said before turning to River with a reassuring smile, “Nothing Dante said leads me to believe Fern meant anyone harm when he came looking. It sounds like they need us alive, they’re not looking to kill us, at least not yet, they need the situation controlled. So I’m sure that means Ember is okay but Neve is right... Astoria should check Vesna.”

Marxine turned and glanced at the mirror for her kingdom for a moment, curiosity taking over her thoughts despite the need to handle the Ember situation. She was so interested to just see what Autumn looked like not to mention to verify what was going on with her father... she hadn’t seen anything from her home in five years now. But for now her focus needed to remain with Ember’s safety.

 

[EclipseRosee]

Astoria Primrose
Astoria was beat by the time they reached the top of the tower, not only was it physically draining but her anxiety of falling wasn’t helping as River lifted them all through the air. Once her feet were back on solid ground however, Astoria took a few moments to be proud of herself. Something she thought up had helped the group... more than just growing apples for the horses. It felt nice to contribute, even if she was scared her plan would go poorly. The inside of the tower reminded her a lot of royalty, it was much more magical than anything she had ever seen but the view was beautiful and everything was ornate and light. A lot of the objects seems foreign to her but she didn’t feel uncomfortable around them like she would have before all of this mess.
Neve brought everyone’s attention to the set of four mirrors, Astoria running her fingers over the border of one before her attention was drawn suddenly to the one before Neve due to the sound of a scary voice. It was Neves brother, discussing something about Fern looking for them. “So does that mean he wasn’t specifically after Ember?” Marxine chimed in next and Astoria nodded. “I believe she’s right, plus if he had been here to hurt anyone he wouldn’t have taken her. He would have just done it and then tried to find more of us.”

The idea of seeing her kingdom in the mirror scared Astoria but it was necessary at this point... she was scared to see something she loved so dearly being handled by a dark force that she could do nothing about currently. Astoria turned to the mirror that read Vesna at the bottom and brought in a deep breath as the images began to form in front of her. Instantly she recognized the space that was shown, it was the throne room in her own castle. A room that she was very used to seeing her parents sitting in but now was covered in rubble and held someone who very much did not belong in her fathers seat. Rivers father, Embers uncle, sat there. He was lecturing someone, who the scene backed up to show was Ember standing besides Fern.
Astoria’s face contorted into a glare as she listened. The man was grilling Ember for information on the group and thankfully Ember kept herself safe while not divulging any information that could give away their location. Just from what they could see it didn’t appear as if anyone in the room had any intention of hurting Ember, which was great. However Astoria couldn’t help but wonder how the throne room ended up in the state it was... what happened. Where were her parents? They couldn’t have anything to do with this and had fled safely from Inverno from what she was able to watch during the initial terror at the crowning ceremony... but if her castle looked like this.

“Fighting happened there.” Astoria said the words almost absentmindedly, “I-I really thought that if Fern had taken her to Vesna it would be easier. I thought he would have taken her to some hiding hole somewhere. But they’re just THERE. In my HOME.” Anger bubbled in her chest as she turned away from the mirror and wiped hot tears from her eyes. “I’m going to end them if Ember doesn’t kick their ass first.”

 

[KAYDEN]

Aspen Rift



The group was able to finally get into the tower, a tower that once inside was familiar to Aspen in a way. Not in a way like he felt like he had been here but in a way like he could remember stories maybe? Maybe their comments about story books and this tower weren’t too far off. “This is insane. I’m standing here but I honestly cannot believe it’s real.” The diary was clutched at his side as he walked around the first room, it seemed like this was the area most used by the council but he had to imagine that in this behemoth of a structure there was more living spaces and who knew what else. The diary was pretty much of no use now, everything else was too vague to decipher without more information but he had to imagine this was the place to find it, after the found Ember that is.



The others were gathering around the mirror in front of Neve and Aspen turned as he heard the familiar voice of his ex best friend. Transfer his powers? “So they know more about what happened when the council died than we do, despite us being the ones with the powers. That’s not great.” He reached out with his free hand and clasped Neves shoulder gently. “If Dante wanted this shit he should have done better way back then. I evaded him once without being a badass, he can fucking try me.” It was a sad attempt at making a joke to calm Neves nerves but wasn’t that what he was good at?



The next little while went with Astoria finding information on Ember and then the others sitting around and talking out a plan. By the time the sun was starting to set Aspen felt ready to rip his fucking hair out. “Knowing that Aldrich is there too is what’s hard. I mean that guy is very clearly the mastermind here. I really think whatever we do needs to be done while avoiding a fight as best we can. And that means ACTUALLY avoiding it, it can’t end up like what happened in Inverno. This time we don’t need to get caught to divert attention from the kids. This time if we get caught, already down one person, who knows what will happen .”



Aspen leaned his head back again the cold wall and sighed. “Thankfully this part of

No mans land is fairly close to Vesna I believe but I really think the best thing to start with is getting Ember a message that we’re going to help her.”

 

[ZombieBaee]

Ash Maidenhair

“I can go.” It was the first words that Ash had said since the group arrived at the tower. They had gotten inside, viewed the images in the mirrors and discussed for hours now but once Aspen finished his thoughts was when Ash finally spoke. It was the first time he truly felt like he had a good idea. Honestly part of him felt responsible for Embers kidnapping, it was his brother after all who had done it. Ash was thankful to have seen that it appeared that Fern was keeping Ember physically safe but that didn’t excuse what was going on and it didn’t keep Ash from feeling like shit.

“If Astoria gets seen in Vesna people will spread the news, they will know she’s there for noble and valiant reasons. They know she loves them.” Ash started, “But if you guys send me back looking angry and beat. I can sell the villain story... I mean technically Astoria did leave me. Fern knew something about this back then so he would believe that I turned on her because of it and want to help him. At that point I would be stuck in Vesna too, playing the role, but I think he would give me free enough reign to still be able to get away to meet with you guys in a few days.”

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Neve Juniper

As much as Neve was against sending in Ash the group agreed as a whole that it was the best plan. None of the others had a chance in Hell earning Fern's good graces. It was decided that Astoria and Asher would escort Ash to the kingdom in the morning, Marxine would patrol around the tower with River since he insisted on joining her instead of resting, and Neve and Aspen would search the tower for any clues about the prophecy. Honestly, Neve didn't want to stay at the tower. She wanted to go and be apart of the rescue team, but she knew that something in this tower could help them and two set of hands were better than one.

The next morning after breakfast she made sure everyone was packed for their travels before letting them go on their way. The wait for them to come back was nerve wrecking, but when they were ready to come into the tower they'd send a signal to Neve and Aspen to assist in getting them back in. They just had to wait for the signal. Meanwhile, while they waited in the tower, Neve and Aspen traveled floor to floor of the tower to search for clues. The tower was massive. The top of the tower seemed to be the smallest and only got bigger the deeper the floor got. The floor below the top was a living space, the floor below that holding eight bedrooms fairly decently sized bedrooms.

The bedrooms didn't have many personal items, it didn't seem like the previous council members were too sentimental. Though, she supposed none of them had any personal effects on them either. Only the diary of Aspen's mother. The floor Neve was currently searching was a large library with floor to ceiling bookshelves. There were several rows and covered ever wall, even a ladder to wheel around to reach books in the room. Half of the books she couldn't read though, so she was just mindlessly picking up book by book and skimming through it. It had been a few long hours since she started her book hunt, so when she plucked out an old looking book and felt the bookcase shift Neve immediately hopped away from the shelf holding the book.

"What in the world?" The bookshelf extended outwards and moved to reveal a stone ominous room. The room was bare save for the candelabra in the corner and a peculiar looking crystal ball in the middle. "Aspen!" Neve hugged the new black cloak to her along with the book as she walked into the room to observe the see through ball. "Is it like one of the ones the fortune tellers use? How do you operate it?" She glanced down at the book and it had a crystal ball on the front of the leather binding, but when she opened it she found it to be one of the books in an unfamiliar language.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Ember Siegfreid

The only thing more upsetting than being a prisoner was the news she was given the next morning. There wasn't a choice she could have made, no, her uncle and Fern informed her of what they will be doing with her. "Marriage." Ember scoffed and paced the room they had locked her away in. When her family passed away and she was 'adopted' her she knew her fate would be marriage to a noble, possibly one from another kingdom. When she was named queen she foolishly thought that was a worry she could put behind her. Now she was being forced to marry Fern of all people! But she was the one that got her into this situation, she was going to have to figure out her own way out.

Just as Ember was peeking out from the window at the top of the tower she resided in she heard a firm knock on the door. "Miss Ember, Fern-King Fern is requesting your presence in the throne room." The guard seemed to fumble with actually calling Fern king and that somewhat made her hopeful. At least people recognized that he wasn't their king. Astoria was the rightful ruler of the kingdom. "Right. Yeah, I'll be out in a second." Quickly Ember shut the window before turning to walk to the door. It had been a few hours since she had returned to her room from their meeting this morning, she was hoping he wouldn't have called for her so soon.

The last thing she expected when she walked into the throne room was to see Ash standing there. At first she thought she was dreaming, but after blinking a few times she realized it was real. "I-uh." Since her uncle returned to Zomer after making his decision on what to do with Ember Fern was on the throne, and he seemed to almost have a smirk on his face. Like he was enjoying this moment. "Ash what are you doing here?" Were they caught trying to rescue her? That was the whole reason she left the damn fern, to let them know she'd be okay and to not follow! As much as she was happy to see him she also wanted to kick him for coming.

 

[Colt Voltage]

Asher Forrest

Sending in Ash for this dangerous of mission made everyone extremely nervous. Of course Astoria wanted to go and find out what happened to the kingdom but she couldn't go around by herself. Neither one of them were even very good at fighting either! It only made sense for Asher to go, plus he wouldn't be able to sit still if he wasn't there for Astoria. So the next morning after everyone had breakfast and made sure their bags were packed they made their way out of the tower. Asher, Marxine, and River worked together to use their cloaks again, this time to glide them down across the lake and towards the land. Astoria and Ash were able to make a platform for them to land safely near the horses.

The travel to Vasna didn't take but an hour or two. Ash went in first on his horse so he wasn't seen traveling with others, Asher and Astoria entering the kingdom shortly after with the hoods of their cloaks pulled up. Asher being seen wouldn't be alarming, most people in the kingdom save for the guards wouldn't recognize him. Astoria was the identity they had to conceal the most, and if it was compromised Asher would be there to get her out safe. Ash there was no promise he could rescue...but he seemed confident that he could do this. So all Asher could do was trust him. They had to rely on him to rescue Ember.

After putting the horses behind some trees Asher let down his cloak and looked over at Astoria and felt his heart ache for her. The kingdom looked like it had been attacked. Houses and shops, the cobblestone, everything appeared to be damaged. "So, where do you think we should start? If you direct me to the market I can ask around there to see what happened." Though he could make a few assumptions on what happened. Fern ganged up with River's dad, attacked Vasna when they refused to bow, and took it when they yielded. "We'll get you back home eventually and we'll fix up the place, okay? Everyone will get home safe. I promise." He gently grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

 

[Sir Damien]

River Siegfreid

There was no way in Hell River was just going to sit in the tower to 'recover'. Just as everyone was busy doing their part River was hellbent on doing his part as well. He'd stay and patrol around the tower with Marxine, though he wished they could all just storm the castle. In the morning he helped glide everyone across the lake ot the horses, waving to the three as they rode off on the horses. That allowed him and Marxine to begin their venture around the large field and border of the forest. "Well, at least the weather is nice. And I have some pretty nice company so, I suppose lucked out for my task for the day." River shot Marxine a small smile before heading out on their walk.

The field was large and walking around it took a while, but the sun was shining brightly and shined warmly upon them. At first the walk was quiet. River felt like an asshole for getting injured as bad as he did, for making Marxine worry about him like she did. He felt like an asshole that Ember put her safety in jeopardy just for his sake. He just felt like an asshole, and he was tired of feeling like that. He didn't want things awkward between him and Marxine anymore, either. "I feel almost fully healed. I even like the cool scars of your handprint, thank you for them." River tried to lighten the mood with a smile. "What do you think we should do with the traitors when we resolve this? I mean, we're going to come out fine I know we will. I just don't know what we do after that. The traitors are mostly family members. Do we lock them away for life or execute them?"

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marxine Augustine

The morning following their first day in the tower they each set off on their separate tasks. Neve and Aspen stayed back inside while the others made their way down to the real world below before splitting up as well. Marxine and River were tasked with checking out their surroundings and keeping a patrol of the area in case any one got close to them but honestly it seemed like people avoided this area, or maybe they just didn't know it existed.

"Yeah yeah, don't try and sweet talk me River, I'm still mad at you." Marxine's words didn't match her face, a sly smile appearing across her lips as she walked besides him along the perimeter of the forest. "It doesn't seem like the crazy weather really gets around this place like it does else where in no mans land, that's good I guess." She shrugged and took a few quick steps ahead so she could turn and walk backwards as he spoke. He had been quiet, both of them had been quiet, for the first part of the walk so his words caught her slightly off guard, especially with their context.

"I think you need to just slow down and be sure you are before you push yourself too far. I also think I don't want you to do anything stupid like that ever again..." Marxine stumbled a bit as she lost focus walking and slowed down, turning around to walk normally by his side again. She knew that if he hadn't pushed her out of the way that it would have been her who was shot but still... she would have rather it been her. At least for Marxine she had dealt with similar wounds before. River changed the subject abruptly and Marxine couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Are you asking me if once their caught, would I take my free shot at your father? Oh hell yeah. I would have before now as well. He was always so awful to you, and treated me like I was no better than scum on the bottom of his shoe! I should have known then he was insane! I mean I am fucking awesome, he must be insane to not like ME. I mean come on, we tried to give him the perfect daughter in law and he said no thanks. What a psycho." In her joking, Marxine nearly completely missed what she had let slip out and suddenly she was very thankful that they were walking side by side again so she could let her hair fall and veil her embarrassment.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Ash Maidenhair

Ash was truly terrified of his idea to get to Ember, honestly being near Fern was one of the last things he wanted to do right now, especially going alone, but it seemed like their best if not only hope to get inside the castle without an insane amount of force. The following morning Ash was silent as they had breakfast and prepared for their journey with Neve's help. The travel wasn't far and likely once Ash was inside the castle he wouldn't need much, but Asher and Astoria could be hiding for who knows how long as the waited for him to return.

They reached the outskirts of the kingdom together before Ash said his goodbyes to Asher and Astoria and made his way into the kingdom he once called home... and hoped he soon would again. His presence made some people gawk and gossip, he couldn't help but wonder what types of things the people had heard about the events in Inverno. Ash tried his best to pay it no mind however and soon he found himself in front of the closed gates of the castle. It looked awful, it was clear that Astoria's parents held nothing back in trying to keep out the traitors... it made him even more worried about what had happened to them. The guards outside were one's that he did not recognize, which only helped deepen his anxiety.

At first the guards were fully prepared to take him and throw him in a cell, but his fake story of deceit and hatred must have played out well enough because soon enough he was headed for the throne room, walking freely though the guards did keep close.

Ash was in the middle of his story to Fern and River's father when Ember walked in the doors behind him. It was hard not to drop the act, ask her if she was okay and make sure they hadn't hurt her in any way. Ember looked okay, besides her apparent shock at seeing him standing there. "Why am I here? Hah. I'm honestly surprised you're surprised." He crossed his arms across his chest and gave his best glare, "You watched what they did to me. You were there when Astoria chose to completely throw away everything we had for some low life." Gods he hoped that she understood this was all an act. "She's clearly not of right mind, something very wrong happened when they were picking the new leaders and I want to help get back on the right side of things. I mean if Astoria can do this and they can crown a literal criminal like that Marxine, maybe the council needed to ... be removed."

Fern came up behind Ash and slapped him on the back with a curt laugh before speaking, "There is my little brother! I always knew you could be a real man!" The words made Ash want to scream but instead he let out a laugh of his own before turning his face to Aldrich, "I'm here to help, in any way that I can."

 

[KAYDEN]

Aspen Rift

Once the others had left from the tower, Aspen and Neve started to take a look around the place. Everything about it was honestly very odd, it was mystical but still very plain in ways. The rooms seemed like a bit of a blank slate and Aspen couldn't help but wonder if the council members had any form of personality at all! Hell, there wasn't a single piece of decor that could have been personal! Aspen was hoping that this searching could have at least been EXCITING, finding some dirt on the council members would have been morbid but at least fun.

Neve had been searching in a large library while Aspen finished up going through the bedrooms which much like he expected were sadly plain. Once finished he made his way downstairs and entered the large library. Neve was no where to be seen yet so Aspen chose to start wandering the aisles of books looking for anything to stand out to him. It was only a few minutes later when Neve yelled out and caused Aspen to nearly jump out of his skin. His first thought was danger but honestly how could someone have gotten in here without them noticing? Unless it was someone who was already here...

Aspen's feet moved quickly, carrying him to the area that Neve had yelled from, when he arrived to find her untouched and standing in front of a secret passage he let out a long sigh. "Hey, new rule, when you yell... let's come up with a way for you to let me know that you're not being murdered okay?" He reached out and messed up her hair before stepping into the room behind her and peering over her shoulder at the book. "Wait you've found other books like this here? Really?" His eyes skimmed the page and he let out a grunt. "This looks like some books my mother used to read to me from... when I was very young obviously. I can recognize a few words but not enough to fully understand. This here." Aspen reached out around Neve's side and rested his chin on her shoulder as he pointed to a phrase, "It says that one with power can use. Kinda, there's more words there but I think that's the gist of it. And this says that truth is unlocked with ones own self."

"Gods I know I lost my memory and all but I'm really starting to think I didn't know my mother at all... what was she doing with her nose in all of this stuff?" Aspen sighed before continuing, "Anyways I think to use it you have to be one of the council members, or maybe just someone with powers? I guess we would be ignorant to think ONLY the council has any weird shit going on. I also think to see anything you have to be honest with yourself? But like deep honest? I dont know Neve... this may be out of our wheelhouse."

 

[EclipseRosee]

Astoria Primrose

The idea of sending Ash into the kingdom alone was killing her inside, of course he wasn't truly alone, Astoria and Asher would be within town limits and Ember was at the castle but still. Who knew what would happen? What if they didn't believe his story? What if they did but just didn't care and chose to kill him anyways? They hadn't chose to hurt Ember yet but... she was related to Aldrich, Ash was related to Fern who didn't seem to like the idea of family much these days...

The morning they set out was rough, Astoria was still a nervous wreck. She hoped that the travel time would help calm her nerves but honestly the closer they got to her home the worse she felt. She could feel that something was wrong there, in her bones... it almost hurt her heart to feel the despair that seemed to be coming from her once warm and welcoming kingdom. Once at the outskirts of the Vesna, Ash left on his own and left Astoria with Asher to wait... that was the worst. Now she was anxious, scared and impatient.

It was finally time for Astoria and Asher to head into the town and it took everything from her to not start sobbing. The streets had signs of war... people had boarded up windows and guards who were not her own walked the streets harassing people. The two of them found a secluded space to hide their horses before heading further in and the only thing that pulled Astoria out of her daze was Asher squeezing her hand, "What? I'm sorry..." She frowned slightly and adjusted her hand so her fingers laced through his, "The market is closer to the center of town. It surrounds town square outside of the castle gates. There are some vendor's there that I've known forever, our family liked to hire townsfolk for a lot of our things rather than outsourcing for the sake of glamour. They would offer information without question... if they're still around."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Ember Siegfreid

It took a moment for Ember to connect the dots. At first she was confused, thought that he had come to save her and got caught. His words were saying the complete opposite though, and for a brief moment she felt a small spark of anger in her chest. But Ash wouldn't do that. Ash was sweet, kind, and gentle... for the most part. This had to be a rouse. Ember had to go with it and try not seem suspicious. "Right, I guess I thought you were too much of a lap dog to run off after that. I didn't think you'd be a traitor though." It was painful to say that and she prayed that Ash didn't knew she didn't mean that.

"Ember, that's enough. We all know the former council wasn't fit to be in charge. He seems to have come to his senses and realize who's truly right for leadership." When her uncle spoke Ember bit her tongue. Was this why she was called to the throne room? She appreciated knowing that Ash was accepted by Fern and Aldrich but she was sure that they had a more sinister plan calling her there. "May I be excused then?" "Ash will help with the preparations for the wedding. It will be our first celebration under the new world order. Maybe having someone you're familiar with will make you more cooperative? I would like everything to go over smoothly. Ash, you'll accompany Ember through the next few days and make sure she gets on board with the wedding."

As irritating as it would be to act like she was on board with marrying Fern of all people, it would be nice to have a familiar face with her through the process. Ember had no clue if she was going to be able to escape the castle in time or not, she had to prepare for the worst. "Right. Thanks, wonderful. I'll need to have some council with him, then." With a frustrated sigh she turned from her uncle and Fern and walked out of the throne room. As much as she hoped they'd take them somewhere ground level it seemed like that was a distant dream, as both her guard and Ash's guard escorted them up to her room. It seemed like that was the only place she was allowed while she stayed disobedient, but there was absolutely no way she was going to support her uncle or Fern.

The room was large and had a sitting area with a couch, loveseat, and table. As soon as they were both in the room and the guards closed the door on the two of them she quickly threw her arms around him for a tight squeeze. "You're crazy, I didn't mean come after me." Ember pulled away with a small smile before she moved over to the couch. "From the sounds of it there are other prisoners that get meals served in their rooms and I'm hoping that that's where Astoria's parents are locked up in. Obviously I haven't gotten free reign of the castle, that's just what I hear from listening at the door."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Neve Juniper

"Oh, sorry about that." Neve couldn't help but smirk as she looked over at a Aspen who looked like he ran a marathon. "Yeah, it's impressive. Who would have thought the council had secret rooms?" Her cheeks heated as his chin rested on her shoulder, obnoxiously aware of how close he was in such a small space. However she tried to focus in on what he was saying. "Your mom read this to you as a child?" Her finger lifted to the words that he had just read and she shook her head. "My parents had tutors from across the lands in to teach us different languages. I've never even seen something like that. So your mom knew where the tower was, and she knows how to read some old language. Any chance your mom was a council member? Or knew one of the members enough to where they taught her their ways."

Neve approached the ball and held out her hand to touch the crystal. immediately the crystal lit up and started to create a visual scene inside of it. It was Inverno's throne room and Neve was chained behind her back. As she stood in front of Dante she looked exhausted and bloodied from battle. Dante spoke of her bowing and once again she refused to join him and refused to fight him. He gave her one more opportunity and yet again she refused, so Dante stood with his blade drawn. Just as Neve was forced to kneel he held the blade to her neck, and as he drew his blade back Neve quickly fell back away from the crystal and into Aspen's arms, her body practically shaking like a leaf.

"I-I don't like that thing." Mainly because it was right. If she faced her brother in battle she didn't know if she could defend herself. Was that her fate? With a couple deep breaths Neve calmed down and finally let go of the grip she had on Aspen. "Maybe it's best if we don't touch that. Does the book say if that's a for sure future at all?" It concerned her that Aspen had to see that, she didn't want him knowing that she was hesitant about what to do with her brother.

 

[Sir Damien]

River Siegfreid

It didn’t surprise River that Marxine wanted him to take it easy. Hell, they all kept telling him to just relax and recuperate from the wounds he received. But how could he relax when everyone had a job? It was bad enough Ash, Asher, and Astoria had to go rescue Ember without him. He felt virtually useless, the least he could do was patrol the perimeter. Plus, exploring the tower with Neve and Aspen would have just bored him. Aspen had a grumpy disposition and Neve was, well, cold as the ice powers she possessed. Not that River was much more pleasant, but. He still preferred Marxine’s company. “I’ll be fine, quit worrying about me so much. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I couldn’t stomach seeing you get injured; whether it happened to you before or not, it won’t be happening while I’m with you.” River may have been a prickly man but his mother raised him to be a gentleman.

However there was something that stopped him in his tracks as he walked side by side with her. “Come again?” They had tried to give his father the perfect daughter in law? That only meant that her father had offered her as a bride for River. And his father refused? Was that why he arranged a marriage for her? “I...was unaware of any union offered between us. My mother suggested it before her passing, I had even suggested it shortly after. He never wanted to hear it though.” River let out a heavy sigh and could feel the anger boiling up from inside. The wind around them began to pick up as he tried to take a calming breath. Not quite everything made sense but he was beginning to understand the bigger picture. Aldrich was never concerned about River getting married, it always seemed like it was about a husband for Ember. Like he wanted to make sure her life was safe and secure, meanwhile it seemed like his father wanted River miserable!

“If I had any say in it we would have run away to a chapel and be wedded that way.” River let out another heavy sigh and watched as the wind quit shaking the trees so roughly. Once he resumed his walking pace he made it by her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, walking in sync with her. “I’m truly sorry for all the pain he’s caused. We’ll be able to serve justice soon enough.”

 

[Colt Voltage]

Asher Forrest


It was clear Astoria was distraught by the state of her kingdom, and it honestly broke Asher’s heart. He wished he could distract her from everything right now but it just wasn’t possible. So, when she intertwined her fingers with his he smiled and gave her another reassuring squeeze. That was all he was able to do for her. “Don’t be sorry. We’ll head to the market then. Just stay close.” With that said Asher walked through the street and headed towards the market.

The roads were tattered, and it appeared as if many of the trees and several homes were torched. It was a sight he wished he could protect Astoria from. But it also shows what monsters Aldrich and Fern were. Hell, all of them were monsters for being apart of this. And the guards harassing people were also part of the problem! As much as he wanted to confront them though he knew he wasn’t quite in a position to help. Anything he did right now would put everyone in jeopardy. “We’ll fix all of this up in due time.” Just as he said that they passed a sign that labeled the market, though the place didn’t seem quite as busy as he imagined. Only a few stalls were open, and most of the buildings seemed locked or boarded up.

They weren’t more than six feet into the market when he noticed a group of guards going through and identifying each person at either the stalls or the few people walking through. Quickly Asher went into flight mode and looked for a quick route out of there to avoid getting spotted. Just as he was about to make their escape he heard a mans voice. “Hey you! Quick, get in here before they find you.” It seemed like their only way out at this point, and the man was in one of the boarded up shops. “Better then getting caught by the guards right?” Asher shone a small smile at Astoria before quickly making his way into the open door, holding onto Astoria so they weren’t separated at all.

Hopefully this guy was one of the loyal ones, he had a good feeling about it. “Thank you. What are they doing? I’ve never seen guards giving vendors a hard time before.” Asher peeked out from behind the board as he watched the guards continue to make their way down the road.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Marxine Augustine

A lot of emotions began to swell in Marxine, the embarrassment, the slight bit of anger that began to well up at the mention of her banishment, confusion and then finally a bit of an unfamiliar feeling that made her heart feel full. “Did she really?” The words were really quiet as they walked and River continued. “My mom said something similar, of course back then I was so young still... I don’t think I fully understood the seriousness of marrying someone but even then...” Even then Marxine knew she wanted it to be River that she married.

Marxine has been so intent on hiding behind her hair that she hadn’t noticed River stop walking until the wind picked up around them, it caused her hair to swirl and at first she thought it was just the crazy weather in no mans land. However on further inspection she discovered it was actually River. “R-Riv, hey come on.” She watched with wide eyes as he took a few calming breaths and slowly walked up to join her. They resumed their patrol and suddenly Marxine felt the comforting weight of River’s arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t be sorry, in hindsight I suppose it was all for the best. I would have felt like a real asshole to trap you in a marriage for my own saftey... and it would have made me sad for it to only be for that.” Marxine let her head fall against his shoulder for a moment before sighing. “I’d want it to have been something you wanted ya know?”

A moment later she cleared her throat and made a sad attempt at changing the subject, “Gods we are awful at patrolling, I’m not paying any attention...”

 

[ZombieBaee]

Ash Maidenhair

This entire thing was already making Ash sick to his stomach. He wasn’t sure how much he longer he was going to be able to stomach being in the same room as his brother and Alrich. Thankfully Ember’s words seemed to push things in the right direction and soon enough the two of them were being escorted out of the throne room. Ash wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Ember had caught onto the reasoning for his presence but it seemed like she was playing along a bit.

Ir was pure luck that Ash was given the task of helping a ember with wedding preparation, though he was scared to ask her for the specifics of the wedding itself...

The guards lead them to Embers chambers and finally the two of them were left in privacy and Ash was able to take a deep breath, though only for a moment before the wind was knocked out of him by Ember’s hug. He let a small laugh out before squeezing her in return and finally cracking a smile, he let go and leaned against the wall as she moved to sit on the couch.

“You know damn well we wouldn’t just let you be taken. Plus if I didn’t come, River was ready to fight everyone himself which I think we both know would have ended badly.” Ash smirked and moved over to where she sat before running a hand though his hair, his face falling a bit. “So want to fill me in on this wedding? What the fuck happened in the like day and a half you were gone Ember?”

 

[KAYDEN]

Aspen Rift

“From what I remember of my mother she was an infinitely normal person outside of that one memory of the fortune teller. Though I’m now realizing that some of the things I once thought was normal are very much not.” Aspen eyed the book for a moment before continuing, “She must have known one of them, I would assume at least. But I don’t think she ever had powers or anything. I mean I feel like she would have had some issue hiding that... I would think at least.” Aspen had gone through a lot of his life not missing his parents, he never really knew them or remembered them. But now he found himself wishing she was here... to help them through this and explain some of the missing pieces in this whole fucked up situation.

Neve approached the crystal and Aspen moved his eyes from the book to the swirling images within the ball. It was a short scene that was horrible and difficult to watch, Aspen himself felt ill, he couldn’t imagine how Neve felt after watching her own death. Especially with it being at the hands of her own brother... “Neve I’m sure that...” Aspen stopped talking as Neve backed into his arms and the scene went dark, without thinking he wrapped his arms tightly around her torso and pressed his cheek against the top of her head, trying to calm her down. “I’m sure that’s not set in stone. There’s no way it is because if I’m around there is no way in hell I would let him touch you okay? “

Aspen freed one of his arms to reach out a grab the book, waving it in front of her eyes before speaking up once more. “Let’s go analyze this some more, upstairs and not in this scary room. I’m sure it will give us more answers about what you saw and how we can use it better. Plus I have to imagine this is what my mother meant when she discussed a prophecy... but I don’t know how to see what she saw...”

Neve finally loosened her grip and Aspen stood up straight, dropping his arms to his side before taking her hand and gently leading her away from the room and back up to the space they had all first discovered. “Let’s just focus on this now, no use in dwelling on the future you saw until we know exactly how that thing works.” Aspen tried his best to reassure her as he sat down at a table and opened the strange book.

 

[EclipseRosee]

Astoria Primrose

Astoria wasn’t sure what had happened until she heard the click of the door behind her. She had been so focused on keeping her head down and trying to keep her emotions in check. They had been there such a short time and already she could feel her anger causing her power to spark, she wanted to hurt the people who did this to her home, she wanted to demand answers, find her parents, protect her people. But she couldn’t... not now... and she didn’t know when she would actually be able to do anything for them. Back in no mans land she had promised those children a place for them if they wanted in Vesna yet this is what it looked like! It was all so awful and angering.



“W-what?” Astoria looked up with the sound and quickly discovered she was surrounded in familiarity. “Of course this is better than being caught.” She gave Asher a small smile as she slid the hood slightly back on her head and turned to face the shop owner with a bit of caution. However the moment she discovered who it was she let out a small weep and tossed her arms around the old man in a big hug.



“Giovanni! I’m so happy to see you old man. I can’t believe you’re here!” As much as she hated to admit it, she assumed he would be one of the firsts to be arrested with her parents no longer in rule. Giovanni was the previous royal advisor, retiring to own this shop in the town. He wanted a quiet life, to just be happy making his ceramics. Until now he had that... this shop used to be one of the places Astoria was allowed to go as a sick child because her parents trusted him. Giovanni was family. “Asher this is Giovanni, he’s a family friend. I can’t believe we actually ended up here... with everything going on outside it’s a miracle that any one is still an ally. Though I can’t blame anyone either...”



Astoria dropped her arms from the man and took a step back, peering around the boarded up shop with a small frown. “I’m glad you’re safe. What happened here though, what have they told you?”



“Oh sweet girl, I’m glad to see you as well. And it’s nice to meet you young man...” Giovanni chuckled as the young queen gave him a hug and introduced her... friend... “Vesna didnt even have time to prepare Astoria. Your parents returned with the news of what happened and mobilized our guard but Fern and his soldiers were only about a day behind. I think the fighting went on for about a week before your mother called for surrender. She’s been arrested, taken to Inverno from what I’ve heard. I unfortunately have no news of your father.”



Astoria listened to the man with a frown, taking a seat on a bench as the news of the past few weeks made her knees weak. “Gods.. I never thought I would see war in my lifetime. Let alone in Vesna...”

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Neve Juniper

Was it war? Is that where she had been caught? Normally Neve would fight. The only thing that would make her give up was, well, if all she cared about was taken from her. If her silence meant the safety of others she would stay silent, she wanted to protect everyone. And there would be no way she surrendered to this new tyrannical rule. But why didn't she fight her brother? It hurt to know that she was that weak to him. "Y-Yeah. I don't think I'll be going back in there for a while." Neve gently held onto Aspen's hand as she followed him out of the library and to the top of the tower. "I'm uh, sorry you had to see that. Can I just ask that we don't tell the others? It's fine if they want to see their futures but if that's what mine is then I'd rather keep it between us. You know, once until we figure out how it works and all." It was more embarrassing than anything, really. Having Aspen see her die was more mortifying than knowing her own brother kills her.

Just as she was going to sit at the table she remembered something she had found earlier in the day. "I was going to save this for later, but at this point I want to drink my feelings." Neve walked over to the brewing stand and reached down into the cupboard. The cupboard had a few bottles of wine inside of it, so with a bottle in one hand and two glasses in the others she returned to the table. With a small sigh she sat down, popped the cork, and poured two glasses of red wine. "Cheers." She clinked her glass with his before taking a long drink of hers. Was drinking the most healthy way of coping? Probably not, but it was the only thing she could think to do. "Alright, what's the book say? I was hoping this tower had something to help us, not make things even more complicated." Her light blue eyes narrowed as she focused on four symbols in the book in an order. "Those are symbols for season, I know that much at least."

As she took a long drink of the wine she had a realization hit her. "Hey, those symbols are by the brewing stand. Any chance they're related?" Neve practically bounced up from her chair and ran back to the stand, looking behind it and seeing the symbols in a row on the wall. After a little push she was able to move the stand to stand in front of the wall. The book had a certain order to the symbols, so she hesitantly touched the spring symbol. It started to glow, which was slightly terrifying, and proceeded to press the next few symbols. Summer, Autumn, and finally winter. The stone wall opened to reveal a large room with four pillars. "What do you think those do?" After the crystal ball incident she wasn't going around unknown things anymore.