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Post by Shinko on Jul 30, 2018 16:00:38 GMT -5
Round 16: A Named Enemy Though all of the creatures entered the cave system through different tunnels and passages, gradually they found their paths converging from smaller passages to larger unified pathways once again. Ultimately, there were three tunnels in the labyrinthine Whispering Cave that terminated in a single massive chamber. Where the rest of the caves were dark, lit from above by blue-white light, this one was lit brilliant gold from seemingly all sides. The walls themselves were stone, but they were veined through with glimmering, smooth lines of tiger’s eye. Though at a casual glance it looked not unlike the veins of precious and semi-precious stones in the crystal crags, a harder look revealed that the lines actually formed into crude shapes. Images, like the cave paintings of neolithic humans, but made from the glimmering stone of the cavern itself. They were animals. Beech found her eyes drawn to a shape on a stalagmite that was small, long legged and striped along the spine- a thylacine. Yellowtail and her pack found themselves peering at a line on one of the wide columns in the shape of a bipedal reptile with a rough approximation of feathers- deinonychus. Rui was drawn to a shape on the ceiling near one of the tunnel entrances, like a horse with the head and wings of a dragon. And the creatures weren’t just called to their particular symbol on the wall, ceiling, or floor of the cavern. When they looked at it, they saw more than just the crude little drawing. In the lines and glimmer of the tiger’s eye, they saw fleeting visions of an era long gone by. Their ancient, distant ancestors, living wild in environments entirely unlike Naelus. The hushed voices of those long-dead creatures echoed from the drawings, reverberating around the cavern and out into the tunnels beyond. At the center of the room was a wide, glittering pool of crystal clear water. In the middle of the pool, submerged to their ankles, were four huge stone animals with eyes that glowed golden. There was an eagle, wings mantling; an elk, head held high and one forehoof raised elegantly; a lion, rearing on its hind paws with front claws unsheathed; and a giant tortoise, standing with it’s side facing out in a defensive posture. All four statues' mouths were gaping wide open. From the maws of the eagle, lion, and tortoise flowed the selfsame water that swirled in the pool at their feet. The elk, however, gave no water, a slightly darker dampness of its mouth and teeth the only indication it too had once contributed to the pool. The guardians who were present in the cavern, alive and dead, found that when they looked into the glowing golden eyes of their totem creature, they saw flashes of animals in all shapes and sizes- previous guardians, who lived their lives in service to the Spirit as their present counterparts did now. “The island remembers,” spoke the voice of the spirit, sounding for once in their ears rather than in their minds. “In this place I keep the long record of that which has been lost to the outside world. I will share the memories stored here with you, that you may understand the nature of our enemy.” As she spoke, the images on the wall seemed to move. Jewel bright creatures shifted, twisted, darted about, until the images each individual picture called to the viewer blurred and merged, showing the residents of Naelus a single, unified vision. It was an odd one, at first; they found themselves transported to the dark depths of the ocean. Tiny creatures, like horseshoe crabs but far more segmented, scuttled along the seabed. Primitive jellyfish floated idly in the water. Creatures like tiny eels ate off the rocks. Massive buglike shrimp with curling jaws snatched up the smaller creatures, eating them. “In the beginning, life was a constant struggle. Each organism striving against the other, eating of the same resources and oftimes eating of each other. Offspring were produced and immediately abandoned to fend for themselves; either they would survive or they would not. It was a harsh world. An unforgiving, uncaring one. “Then, something changed. One day, amidst the fighting, struggling, self-above-all-else existences, a single creature did something new. It recognized one of its own kind. And it decided to spare them. From this singular act came more; brooding one’s eggs; defending the helpless young; establishing social groups that worked together for the common good.” The images that the residents of Nealus saw shifted. Fish began to swim in schools. Primitive amphibians stood guard over their nests of eggs. Young things played together, practicing social skills. “It was from this evolutionary about-face, this selection for nurturing and love, that I was born. Naelus; in the old tongue, it translates roughly as ‘Mercy.’ Giving of your own time and resources and health for the sake of another. That is who and what I am. “But though the evolution of nurturing instincts gave many creatures a greater chance to survive as a species, it could not prevent their inevitable subsequent decline. I watched thousands of creatures rise to glorious triumph, only to vanish into extinction. I was born in mercy, and live as the embodiment of it; I could not remain idle as the world allowed so many of its beautiful, wondrous creations to fade where once they had flourished. But I also could not stop that fading, because one who was greater than I had made it so; death and life are as one, neither able to exist independent of the other. For herbivores to live, the plants must die; for carnivores to live, the herbivores must die; and for the plants to live, the animals must die to nourish the soil. For wonderous new species to rise, others must fall and empty their old niches. “I could not prevent this cycle- but I could save the final survivors of each species. I could take them away once their numbers fell too small to recover, to a place apart from the time.” Images appeared of sickly, weak, dying animals. They walked or flew or swam into a descending fogbank, and as they moved forwards a spark lit in their eyes; intelligence. Understanding. Curiosity and imagination. The animals looked to one another, and for once saw not prey or territorial competition, but others like them. Others who just did their best to live, as they all did. “I gave them wisdom, that they may understand one another. That upon this island, Mercy might reign, and even if some animals would die to feed the living, none need die needlessly. None need fear being outcompeted, none need lose their battle for survival. Naelus became a place where all of the majesty of what had once lived could be remembered, even if beyond the mists time eroded them away forever. “But She did not appreciate my efforts.” There was no image now; only the sensation of something vast, powerful, and very, very old. “We early gods called them the Old Ones. The younger gods, the gods dreamed into life by the imagination of humans, named them ‘primordials.’ As individuals they have no names; they are too vast to be encompassed by the bounds of something as crude as words. But over time, many have tried to assign them names. Our enemy is one of the old ones; She has been called by the lips of her followers here on Naelus ‘Mother,’ as a shorthand for one of the names given to her by men; Mother Nature.” The Spirit’s presence seemed to shudder, as if in awe, or perhaps fear. “She is Life. She is Death. She is every tiny microorganism floating in the sea, every speck of moss, every fern, every flower, each and every creature of fur, feather, flesh and scale to walk or every have walked the earth. Life evolves on the death of that which came before, and so grows stronger for all of its failures. But for time immemorial I have stolen Mother Nature’s failures. I have kept from Her their final fatal spark. And now, She has come to take what is Hers. By her followers she spreads corruption, robbing the children of Naelus of my gift of mercy. Turning them once more into animals which would put their survival and that of their own first and only, no matter the cost to anything else that lives. She sows seeds of mistrust and dissension, awakening the terror that corrupts even without the aid of the shadow, driving the animals to murder and madness for the sake of survival. “I do not pretend to know her intentions; perhaps she will wipe out all life on the island. Perhaps she will simply banish the mist protections, and leave my little ones exposed to the ravages of Her world beyond. Perhaps she will return all of you to the places where once you would have walked, and allow you to survive or die by your own merits. Whatever the case, many, many will be lost. And I will not allow it.” The visions faded, the tiger’s eye images on the wall becoming stationary once more. “The world must not forget the beauty of life, no matter how strong and fearful death may grow. Find them, my little ones. Find the last of the shadow-sowers, and break Her power that I may banish her beyond the mists once more.” A brilliant golden light briefly blinded all of the animals gathered in the heart of Naelus… and when it cleared, they found themselves standing upon the surface once more, under the blanket of a cloudless, starry sky. They were in the lowermost level of the crystal crags, a single line of exposed yellow-orange tiger’s eye in the wall behind them. To be continued...
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Post by Shinko on Jul 30, 2018 17:00:16 GMT -5
Twas dark and murky ‘pon the blasted isle Moonlight ruled the quiet of the night When creatures dark of deed and quick of gile Gathered to spread their wicked blight For if they had not crossed a line before With all the blood shed at their cursed feet Any chance to go back was now no more Their path was set; there would be no retreat Blood of the healer sunk into the soil The lionheart unwittingly their pawn Victory within grasp thanks to their toil Soon the isle of mists would be long gone “So be it then; no more will we hold back, Henceforth the Sowers go on the attack.”
* * *
Dog was good boy; he swore it true! Always taught good things to do. by friend he knew in life before he washed up on this sandy shore.
But he was feeling strange tonight. He kept to growl; he kept to bite. This was bad boy, he had been told. Friend would have been ver’ quick to scold.
But dino friends were in great danger. Dog refused to let by strangers. Any who got close to nest would face a shep that was quite stressed.
Dog wished that he could play with friend, but was no time; he must defend! He heard a movement in the brush, and charged the stranger in a rush.
Bark! Growl! Snap! He lightning quick, does not back off even when kick! Dog guard the little dino fam and show what a good boy he am!
He bring fang down upon small neck- wait; why there two? Oh what the heck. If two are there, he will bite two. Treat lizard thing like toy to chew.
* * *
Below in the heart Stand four statues proud and strong Among them, a hart
From the elk’s mouth springs A shimmering crystal stream Once more rides the hart
Seconds from surface While in transit from the caves Chosen a new hart
Though one has fallen There is another yet still You can help, dear hart
So do travel they To heal what has been broken Lion saved by hart
* * *
Thunder of the feathers white was used to universal fright when others beheld her might. But not the strange not-wolf thing.
He had come into her nest become family like the rest though she claimed he was a pest in truth she liked the wolf thing.
For days and nights played and slept through woods with the hatchlings crept. and Thunder had to accept he was her strange not-wolf thing.
But something spooked him badly the hatchlings watched on sadly as their friend frothed quite madly and shadow snared the wolf thing.
Thunder had heard the stories of murderers most gory to bring some strange god glory, it seemed they’d hurt her wolf thing.
Fury white hot as the sun made great Thunder turn and run she would find the cursed one who’d hurt her sweet, dumb wolf thing.
She’d heard tale of wretched ghosts serving the god that haunts the coasts. She’d demand the rest of their sick host, Wreak vengeance for the wolf thing
Dog, an innocent resident, is now CORRUPTED Verso and Recto are now DEAD Muuri has been PURIFIED A new HEALER rises Optional Scenario 1: So you want to go to war, Sowers? Fine. Thunder says TO WAR. She is presently searching for the ghosts of the currently dead sowers to try and force from them the identities of their living companions. Feel free to run into her, fill her in on recent events, and if you’re a sower ghost who feels like it, meet a very, very angry megafauna carnivore!
Optional Scenario 2: A lot has happened- like a lot. Help animals that were hurt or trapped during the hurricane, and discuss recent goings-on.
Mandatory Conditions: It is the morning after the hurricane. Fog still lies thick over the island, and everything is muddy and damp. The river is well beyond its usual banks and downed trees are everywhere.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 30, 2018 18:51:13 GMT -5
Te Tai had never despised anything so thoroughly as he now despised...nature itself, apparently. Not only did she take Kohimu from him, but she sought the downfall of Naelus, and everything good its Spirit stood for. There were far too many cats and birds, and Naelus could at times feel like a cage imprisoning him with memories, but there was so much beauty here in spite of it all. Why should the firebirds and Sha suffer for a dispute between gods? Why should the glorious tyrannosaurus be forgotten? It seemed far too petty for such a powerful deity to deny the world this one small ounce of mercy, which caused harm to nothing and nobody. Younger his humans' gods may have been, but they would never have behaved in such a manner. I may not be powerful enough to vanquish Mother Nature herself, Te Tai thought, but I can certainly slay these sowers. For every species nature would take as dust, for the Spirit of mercy she has wronged, and for Kohimu. His limbs weakened. He forced himself to stand strong but, for a moment, the taniwha's gaze clouded as sorrow swept anger aside: I slept while you died. I didn't even try to save you this time. You deserved better, Kohimu. I'm so sorry. Don't be, dearheart.Te Tai has arrived in the Crystal Crags with the others! His face looks very much as it always did, but any creatures which don't know him well probably won't recognise him at first due to the changed everything-else. Tagging Celestial Liou and Shinko , in case their little trio are still together and keen to engage? If not, no worries! Tai will STRIKE DOWN DEM SOWERS WITH RIGHTEOUS FURY!!!!!! Provided he can pull himself together long enough to do so. But what's this? A mysterious bolded voice??!?? Stay tuned for more after these messages! EDIT: Clarification for characters nearby- the ghost of Kohimu hasn't suddenly materialised in front of Tai, or anything like that. I promise I would specify, rather than do an Attempted Dramatic Cliffhanger, if it was going to affect interactions.
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Post by Shinko on Jul 30, 2018 20:24:16 GMT -5
Quicksnap, exhausted from the days events, had opted to sleep in the crags that night instead of trying to hike up out of them, and then further up to his usual place in the meadow. He slept like a boulder, not waking up until it was light again- or as light as the misty mornings on Naelus ever got. He started to climb his way up the slope, wincing as he saw multiple places where the rain had caused huge slabs of the cliff to crumble or slide away. He hoped no one had gotten trapped under any of this… A soft noise caught his attention, and he peered around for it’s source. Spotting a small opening in the cliff wall, the kaprosochus lumbered over to it and poked his head it. “Oh!” Beech squeaked from within the amethyst cave where she had hidden Taakeyrr several days before. “Snappy!” She trotted over to him, making herself solid so she could butt her head against his shoulder, and he rub against hers in return. “I saw you in the Whispering Caves, but I couldn’t get to you through the crowd,” he rumbled. “I saw you too,” she admitted. “But I got distracted; the sower-cat was there.” “What? I thought she was dea-” he hissed. “Right. Sunfire said something about sower ghosts. Wonderful. Just what we need.” “I tried to catch her, but she got away without telling me anything useful,” Beech said, hanging her head. Quicksnap propped her chin with the end of his nose. “No need to beat yourself up, it was probably a long shot to begin with. I doubt we’ll get much out of someone zealous enough to die for their cause.” The thylacine sighed. “Yeah, true… what did you think? About all that in the heart of the island?” Quicksnap clunked his jaw, lying down in the mouth of the cave. “It’s… a lot to take in. Our enemy is life… but also death? Life and death? How are we supposed to fight that?” “The way the spirit said to, I guess; taking out the sowers.” Beech padded over to the huge chunk of amethyst in the wall, looking at her reflection in it. “I hate it; that something that’s supposed to be life thinks it’s bad for animals to live. It’s dumb. The dilophosaurs thought maybe these gods thought differently then we do, but that’s way weird.” Quicksnap growled his agreement. “I don’t get the logic either. But I can tell you I don’t intend to roll over and let this ‘Mother Nature’ have her way. We’ll put a stop to this, one way or another.” She turned back to him with a smirk. “If you can ever stop goofing off with the raptors long enough to get anything useful done.” “Hey, I’m heaps useful!” Quicksnap objected with a laugh. “Driftstone and I caught the first sower, remember? A little respect Beech, sheesh.” She gave his cheek a jaunty lick. “I’ll think about it, old man.” More seriously she added, “I’m thinking of going up to the Waterfall Basins. They’re saying the river flooded yesterday and I’m worried somebody might’ve gotten washed downstream.” Quicksnap hissed. “Wouldn’t be surprised. The cliffs here are a wreck. I was thinking about searching to see if anyone got buried.” “Good thought,” Beech agreed. “Should we meet up again later? Sunset maybe.” “Sure- my territory?” “I’ll be there.” Quicksnap watched the ghostly thylacine hop back up the cliffs, then turned and began to amble along at a more sedate pace. He sniffed the air for any out-of-place animal smells, occasionally shifting toppled boulders gingerly to check under them. Aimed at Rabbit ♠Beech and Quicksnap reflect on what all has happened, and where they go from here. Beech heads off to the mouth of the Waterfall Basins to check for any animals washed there by the flooding, and Quicksnap lingers at the Crystal Crags, where a few rockfalls and mudslides might have caused issues. Have at him, Rabbit~
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jul 30, 2018 21:50:36 GMT -5
“I can’t believe this. We are up against nature.” “I know, Kopi. I was there with you.” Kopi and Tash were going around Naelus, looking for any animals that may be trapped in the wreckage. They had had a long day yesterday, but they were ready for today. Tash was still a little sore from the wave hitting her, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t deal with. Tash now fully understood what happened yesterday. Kopi died. Her brother died. He was a guardian of Naelus. Everything had gone by so fast, she didn’t realize what happened. She knew what happened for a full day, but it didn’t hit her until now. Since she knew what happened, the impact was dulled, but it still hurt. At this point, Tash had to accept what happened. She was fine with accepting it, but she’d rather have her brother alive. “No, Tash, you don’t understand. This is a primordial,” Kopi went on. “Primordials are everywhere. They exist without belief. They’re just there.” He looked down at the ground. “We’re standing on nature right now. Nature is mad at us.” “Kopi, please calm down, I don’t want you to freeze the ground again,” Tash quickly said, half out of fear, half out of annoyance. Kopi sighed. “I’m sorry, Tash. I’ll try to remain calm.” He sat down. “Primordials are powerful. Their power isn’t set on belief like other gods. Nature isn’t simply going to go away.” “Who told you this?” “Mochi. That blue rabbit I was talking to at the Waterfall Basins when there were blessings.” Kopi laid down on the ground. “And Spirit is fighting against her. We’re fighting against her and her sowers.” “I know, it’s a lot to take in.” Tash laid down next to him. “It’s rather daunting.” “It is.” Kopi turned to Tash. “It’ll be okay, though. We already caught three sowers. We just need to catch the rest.” Tash tilted her head. “How many sowers are left?” “I don’t know, but we’re going to catch them all.” Tash got back up and stretched. Her back was sore. This must have been what Kopi felt over the last couple days. Kopi got up and did the same. His back no longer hurt, but it only felt right to do so. “Hey Tash, do you want to split up?” Kopi asked. “We can cover more ground that way.” Tash stepped back. She didn’t expect Kopi to ask that. “You want to split up?” Kopi nodded. “If you want to, of course. I just think it’ll be easier to find other animals while we’re apart.” He waited a few seconds to see if Tash responded before he continued. “If you don’t want to, we don’t have to, of course. It’s just a thought.” “If you want to, of course.” “Thank you.” Kopi smiled. “If you find Juno and his family, tell them I said hey.” Tash chuckled a little. “I will.” With that, Tash flew off. Kopi turned and walked in another direction. He was worried about Tash, but she’d be fine on her own. Tash could fly, she had six sets of claws, she was fast. There wasn’t anything to worry about. This was what Kopi, the guardians, and the rest of Naelus was up against. Nature. Mother Nature, as Spirit had said. Kopi knew that the animals were going to fight her off, but how? Spirit had faith in the residents of Naelus, so Kopi had faith in her. She knew what she was doing. What would the other guardians have done? A fast and agile cheetah that could run fast and fight off mean-spirited animals. A giant salamander that could swim against strong currents, giving them a different place to bring a fight if needed. A quick-witted scimon who hopped from tree to tree, able to get into areas most could not and to slip away if something went wrong. These were the guardians of the past, plus many more. They were able to perform great and powerful skills, even if they never had to use them. And there was Kopi. He couldn’t even swim without the blessing Spirit had given him a few days ago. The moment he learned he was the healer, Kopi freaked out. Kopi was proud to call himself a guardian, but after learning about the other guardians and what they could do, Kopi was left confused. How did he fit in with all these other animals? Kopi sat down and looked up at the sky. It was foggy and he couldn’t see far, but it didn’t matter. “Spirit…” Kopi began. “Naelus… Mercy- whatever you want to be called. I am proud to serve you as a guardian, but I don’t understand why. The guardians of the past could do amazing things. Why did you choose me, of all animals, to be one?” He didn’t expect answer and was he going to wait for one. He wanted to find animals that could have been trapped in debris and that couldn’t happen if he was sitting around all day. The cunicanine continued to walk through the island and eventually entered the crags. Kopi hadn’t been here until all the animals were brought back up to the surface last night. It had been somewhere he had always wanted to check out, but he was either too scared or too busy to do so. As Kopi walked, he spotted an animal in the distance. This animal looked familiar. Kopi hopped closer. The type of animal it was escaped him at the moment, but it looked like Quicksnap. Kopi and Quicksnap had never spoken, but Kopi had healed him of corruption several days ago. He had been meaning to check on Quicksnap for a while now, to see how he had been doing after getting healed. “Quicksnap!” Kopi called out. “Quicksnap!” He ran to Quicksnap as fast as he could, slowing down as he grew close. “Quicksnap…” How was he going to start? Quicksnap had no idea who Kopi was. Or did he… “Do you know who I am?” Kopi and Tash are talking about the fact that they're practially up against a primordial. (Hey, look, Kopi's god lesson with Mochi came in handy.) They say it's rather intimidating, but Kopi's optimistic, saying that they'll catch the sowers. Kopi suggests that they split up to cover more ground. Tash is reluctant, but goes with it. While Kopi's alone, he thinks about the past healers. He's confused about how he fits in with them and even asks her (not really directed at anybody) about it. Kopi continues on his way, comes into the Crystal Crags and comes across Quicksnap ( Shinko ), who he wanted to check up on. So Kopi runs up to Quicksnap and asks if he knows who he is. Meanwhile, Tash is free if anyone wants her. ^^ Also, fun fact, while thinking of animals to have as past guardians, my first thought was GIANT SALAMANDER.
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Post by Celestial on Jul 31, 2018 6:17:20 GMT -5
Svar should have felt something when they reached the heart. Indeed, he had found himself hypnotised by the beautiful images that decorated the walls. It should have felt claustraphobic but it did not. The chamber was like a world onto its own. So engrossed was he that he would not have heard the Spirit speak if her voice was not all-encompassing. She told them about their enemy, a primordial of great power. The alpha and the omega. In the tongue and the faith of the former believers of his god, she would have been called Rod. The Spirit, however, referred to her as Mother Nature. It should have terrified Svar to his very core. This was an enemy they could not fight, not on their own. Not even the Spirit seemed strong enough to fight her. Instead, all he could feel inside him was a deep, all-consuming numbess. Perhaps he was still reeling from the death of Kohimu. Perhaps the shock and the enormity of the revelation had sent him beyond panic. Or perhaps he had simply seen first-hand wars against the gods, and had suffered because of that. It was what humans called battle fatigue: after some time, it all becomes far too much and the only response is to shut down. In fact, he did not even realise when the Spirit had finished talking and they were all deposited outside, under the starry sky, in the Crystal Crags. Svar remained silent and still, frozen as he tried to process the revelation. He fluttered away a short distance and stared into space, trying to dig out some feeling from the enormous, numb hole that seemed to consume him. He did not even realise he had fallen asleep until he awoke to the morning fog clinging to his feathers. Svar flapped his wings, trying to shake it away. His light had returned and he was shining like a beacon through the mist. Panic welled up in him at the thought of being seen, followed immediately by relief that he could just feel something once again. Nevertheless, he did not linger out in the open long, taking off into the air and circling around to make sure he was safe. Mochi and Renpi were still with him. In the morning light, Renpi still looked odd. Svar idly wondered how long it would last. Beyond, from the air, he could just see the sea. As he did, a stab of fear came through him. Te Tai...the larger taniwha was still out there. Kohimu had said the two could feel each other so it was likely Te Tai knew all about what he had done. It was only a matter of time before he found Svar, and when he did...the firebird's feathers fluffed up as he shuddered. Perhaps, as a gesture of goodwill, he ought to go find the taniwha first. He landed beside Mochi and Renpi, his crest drooping and his head bowed. "Thank you for staying with me yesterday. I feel...not better, but not worse. But I have a favour to ask," he paused. "I am going to find Te Tai. I am going to tell him what I did and beg for him to forgive me. But I would like you to accompany me, just in case he...takes it badly," an involuntary shudder overcame him again. "Just the thought of his jaws crushing me is enough to terrify me to my core." *** Morag had finally found shelter after she met the sower cat. It was a comfortable little miniature cave held together by several thick trees. Warm, cosy and dry, she had slept through the entire storm, and the wave that had swept so many other creatures away did not touch her. She crawled out with a huge yawn and was immediately greeted by a droplet falling on her nose. The haggis sneezed and snuffled. The day was misty but fresh and pleasant. Her stomach rumbled. Time to find some breakfast. The haggis scuttled away, snuffling at the ground as she tried to find some worms. After the rain, they were practically crawling out of the ground and she was quite full. Flowers, however, were more of a challenge. Many of them had been knocked off by the storm. The most she could find were a few scattered, soaked petals. There was so much debris littered around the island. It was good that she was small but many other, bigger creatures were probably having a much harder time. In the distance she could hear Thunder roaring and groaning. Poor dear did not sound happy. However, even Morag knew better than to get in the way of the T. Rex when she was on a rampage. Wisely, she turned the other way and scurried underneath some fallen litter. As she cleared it and looked towards the blue sky, she saw a white shape against the canopy. Six legs and moth wings...why, that could only be an artacat. "Hello up there!" Morag lifted up a claw and waved, flicking her ears. "It is quite a mess around here. The storm was terrible. Glad to see you're alright," she looked back towards where another roar from Thunder echoed. "You know what that is all about? She sounds a little bit angry." Svar feels numb all throughout the events of the narrator-post. He is eventually thrown back out onto the crags, where he eventually falls asleep. The morning brings some relief but he realises he needs to go see Te Tai. However, he is too scared to go alone. So he asks Mochi( Shinko) and Renpi( Liou) whether they could come with him to make sure Te Tai does not kill him. Meanwhile, Morag had missed the whole cave adventure and wakes up after the storm. She hears Thunder being all upset and wisely heads in the other direction, running into Tash( Rabbit ♠), who she is happy to see is okay. The haggis asks what's going on.
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Post by Shinko on Jul 31, 2018 7:45:44 GMT -5
Quicksnap gave a start when someone called his name, and looked around. His surprise was compounded when he saw the one approaching him- a little creature glowing blue, almost totally see-through. A ghost.The kaprosochus had heard nothing of any more sowers killed, and this little creature was neither a scimon, a cat, nor a procoptodon, so Quicksnap felt he could reasonably assume it was probably one of the sower’s victims. Poor thing. “Sorry, little friend,” Quicksnap rumbled, turning fully to face the newcomer. “I don’t think I recognize you. You definitely seem to know who I am though- what’s up?” * * * Not much grass grew in the crystal crags, but Mochi hadn’t wanted to leave Svar after promising to stay with him. So the rabbit scrounged for the few places where scant tufts of greenery could be found, managing to get if not a full breakfast at least enough to take off the edge of their hunger. Svar woke up sometime after Mochi had, and took off into the sky without a word, circling overhead. Mochi wondered briefly if he was going to leave, but the firebird came down again shortly and asked if the rabbit and Renpi would come with him to talk to Te Tai. Mochi wanted more than anything to lay down and rest- their breathing was coming in shallow gasps and each one hurt something fierce- but nodded all the same. “I don’t know if I can swim out that far- or at all,” the rabbit admitted. “But I’ll come with you as far as I can.” * * * Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOMThe colossal white-feathered form of an angry tyrannosaurus was not something the residents of the Endless Meadow had been hoping they’d see again so quickly after the last time, but Thunder being as she was she didn’t particularly care what anyone else thought. Lifting her head high, she gave a low-pitched, bellowing cry that carried for miles. “ Sowers! You have hurt my family, and sealed your own fates! I will find you, and I will rend you like the cowardly meatbags you are!” Rabbit ♠ Snappy does indeed not recognize Kopi, but reasons the lil guy probably isn’t an enemy and responds politely. Celestial Liou Mochi’s hurting still, but agrees to help as much as they can. Also… Thunder has arrived.
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jul 31, 2018 11:49:23 GMT -5
Quicksnap didn’t know who he was. Kopi was expecting that, but it was worth asking. Kopi was sure that stories about him being the healer have been going around the island, but everyone had had a long day, between the storm and the cave exploration. Most of the time, he hid behind his totem, anyway. The only one who saw him without his totem up with Xsabaskis. “My name is Kopi and I am a guardian of Naelus,” Kopi began. He hopped closer to Quicksnap. “To be more specific, I am a healer. I wanted to check up on you…” He paused. “After I healed your corruption…” Kopi looked around for anybody nearby. There wasn’t anybody that he could see. His voice lowered. “After you killed Beech…” *** Tash flew around the island. She wanted to remain low so she could see other animals better, but she did fly up higher than she would have liked to avoid debris. She could have walked, but she didn’t want to deal with the mud. Her legs were still a little sore and she was going to avoid walking when she could. The artacat heard a loud roar in the distance. While she wasn’t on the ground, she could still feel its vibrations. Just what was that? It was a dinosaur, to be sure, but who? Whatever it was, it was certainly big. Tash wasn’t very familiar with the dinosaurs on Naelus, the only one that she could think of right now was the giant albino one. Tash never met her, but had heard about her in the past. What was her name? Thunder? Oh, if that was indeed Thunder, something was making her upset. Tash wasn’t going to deal with her. Tash continued flying, doing her best to ignore Thunder’s booming. She looked down at the ground, hoping to spot animals. She did eventually come across a haggis. Tash slowed down and flew a little lower to see that it was Morag. "Hello up there!" Morag lifted up a claw and waved, flicking her ears. "It is quite a mess around here. The storm was terrible. Glad to see you're alright," she looked back towards where another roar from Thunder echoed. "You know what that is all about? She sounds a little bit angry."Tash flew down to get a better look at her. “Than you, Morag. I’m glad to see you’re alright, too,” Tash replied. She looked up at where the roar came from as well. “I don’t know what’s making her so upset. I would check on her, but I don’t know if I want to talk to a mad dinosaur right now.” She sat down and scratched behind her ear before she continued. “Where were you during the storm? Did you find shelter?” Kopi knows Quicksnap's secret. =D ( Shinko ) Meanwhile, Tash is flying around, hears Thunder, and decides she's not going to deal with her right now. She comes across Morag ( Celestial ) and goes down to talk to her. She says she's glad Morag is okay, says she doesn't know why Thunder's so upset, and asks if Morag found shelter during the storm.
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Post by Shinko on Jul 31, 2018 12:50:31 GMT -5
Quicksnap’s expression went from polite curiosity to startled horror in about two seconds. He took a step back, flinching in on himself in an effort to make himself look smaller- an odd and singularly futile gesture from an animal so large. “Th-that was… that was you? Oh Spirit, please tell me you haven’t told anyone else! I-if I attacked you I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it! I just, I c-couldn’t control myself, I was so angry and-”
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jul 31, 2018 13:50:00 GMT -5
"Quicksnap, Quicksnap, it's okay, it's okay," Kopi quickly said. “I know it’s not your fault. If anyone’s going to understand, it’s going to be me.” Kopi took a step closer to Quicksnap and sat down on the ground. He looked up at him and smiled gently, ready to listen if he needed to talk. “You didn’t hurt me. It just took me some time for me to hunt you down and heal you. The worst you did was make me lose sleep. I was tired the next day, but that was all,” Kopi explained. “Granted, it didn’t help that my sister woke me up the morning after by pretending to be a snake.” The cunicanine forced a laugh, hoping to easy any tension that was building. “I was okay. Don’t worry about that. “And I didn’t tell anybody, either. If there wasn't talk about a corruption, I wasn’t about to bring it up.” Kopi looked down at his paws. “If I may ask, though, does anyone know you were corrupted, other than you and I?” Kopi tries to calm said panic and asks if anyone else knows about Quicksnap's secret. (How successful he is is up in the air.) ( Shinko )
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Post by Shinko on Jul 31, 2018 14:20:29 GMT -5
The kaprosochus slowly calmed down, though he still didn’t seem quite willing to look Kopi in the eye. “I’m… glad I didn’t hurt you. And I’m very grateful you found me. I remember a flash of yellow light, was that you?" He sighed. "At the time I was… terrified. I didn’t understand what had happened, just that I’d suddenly gone crazy and then just as suddenly it stopped and…” He looked down at his feet. “Taakeyrr. I… I told Taakeyrr, after what happened to her. I’ve known Kassissis’ pack a long time, and I didn’t want Taak to feel alone.” He lay down then, still resolutely not meeting the cunicanine’s eyes. “But I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else, and… Beech herself doesn’t remember.” Rabbit ♠ Quicksnap thanks Kopi for healing him, explains that he told Taakeyrr he’d been corrupted, but not anyone else… including Beech.
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Jul 31, 2018 15:01:16 GMT -5
Kopi eagerly nodded. “Yes, that flash of light was me.” He closed his eyes and thought about what he was going to say. “I’ve heard corruption was scary. One minute, you’re fine and the next, you’re acting out of your mind. I don’t know what it’s exactly like to be corrupted, I’ve never been corrupted myself, but nobody should have to go through that. “I’m glad you talked about it with Taak, though,” he went on. “She’s been hurting after she was corrupted and having a friend that knows what she went through could help.” Kopi paused for a brief moment. “Nobody should feel alone about this.” Quicksnap then went on to say that nobody else knew about his corruption. Not even Beech knew. Kopi’s warm expression began to fade away. He didn’t know Beech didn’t know Quicksnap killed her. All this time, he thought she knew and accepted it like he did. Kopi knew exactly killed him. How did Kopi remember his killer if Beech didn’t hers? Was it because he was a guardian? Then again, Kopi was killed by the Lionheart. That would be very memorable no matter what. “Quicksnap, if anyone needs to know about this, it’s Beech,” Kopi informed. “She’s going to find out eventually.” Kopi tries to comfort Quicksnap ( Shinko ) about being corrupted and informs him that Beech is going to find out what happened at some point.
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Post by Tiger on Jul 31, 2018 21:36:33 GMT -5
The heart of Naelus was not what Taakeyrr had expected. Admittedly, she wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but the glowing stone in the walls and the ornate stones shaped like the animals who represented the guardians’ powers were a surprise. The dilophosaurs filed out of the tunnel their underground river chamber had joined, moving out of the way of other, smaller animals. Taakeyrr found herself drawn to take a few steps toward the water-spitting rocks, through her stomach dropped when she realized the deer was no longer contributing to the pool. It didn’t take a genius to guess why the water had stopped. Though by that logic, it was strange that the eagle and lion statues were still flowing. They must only stop when the power’s gone entirely, she thought. I still have some left, Muuri must, too… Her eyes trailed up the stream of water coming from the eagle’s beak, to the glowing gold stones of its eyes - and she gasped and tensed in surprise as, for just a second, she could no longer see the cavern but instead saw flashes of animals she simply knew were past Eagle Eyes - they went by too fast for her to fully identify them all, but she recognized some - a cave lion, a gigantic owl, a three-legged gryphon, a massive otter the size of one of the smaller wolves, a microraptor, some sort of dolphin, a gull, an eagle-like bird with lightning on its wings, a dragon with a scar that looked to have destroyed one eye, some sort of weasel, a deinonychus whose red accent feathers seemed to have gotten out of hand and nearly covered her legs… “Taakeyrr?” The visions left as quickly as they’d come and flashed by - for as short a time as it had taken, however, Taakeyrr felt almost winded, humbled and astonished by the sheer number of animals. She knew Naelus was old, ancient, even - her kind had been here long before most of the animals on Naelus. But to see the number of Eagle Eyes alone that had been made in that time, and to know they were one tiny, infinitesimal part of the population, probably not even one for every generation… “Taakeyrr!” She flinched and turned to Xsabaskis, who was watching her with a stern tilt of the head. “Sorry - sorry, I’m fine, I just…” she glanced at the shaped stone, careful not to make eye contact again. “I just saw something.” Xsabaskis rumbled with slight dissatisfaction, but didn’t pursue the obvious brush off. “There’s a shape that looks like us on the wall.” “There is?” Xsabaskis led her to it - a line shaped like a bipedal dinosaur, with a long neck and tail and, sure enough, the distinctive dilophosaur crests. Taakeyrr wondered if they reflected size properly, but it was hard to find other animals whose size she knew to compare - there were so many, and no small number of living animals in the cave, either. A sudden voice drew Taakeyrr’s thoughts away from the wall carvings. She recognized it; the voice that had spoken when the guardians had summoned the Spirit with their lights - but much closer now, somehow. The dinosaurs were used to thinking of themselves as ancient inhabitants of Naelus - but even their concept of ancient was an almost unimaginable amount of time away from where the Spirit’s visions began. It was...incredible. Awe-inspiring. Humbling. ...Then came the bad news. Xsabaskis stated it plainly as they separated some from the crowd in the Crystal Crags. “So. The sowers and this god want us to...turn back into beasts and be stupid as fish again.” “Or...maybe just wants to finish off our species,” Taakeyrr said. “It’s not good either way, and...I don’t understand why any animal here would want to help her do that.” Soaitsae suggested, “Perhaps that’s one reason the Spirit showed us her story; it could be that this Mother is lying to the sowers. It would be interesting if it slowed them down.” “And if it doesn’t?” Xsabaskis growled. “Then we keep doing what we have been - trying to find the last two sowers so we can break this god’s...well, no; she must be a primordial, mustn’t she? So we can break this primordial’s connection to Naelus.” “I wish the spirit could just tell us who they are,” Taakeyrr complained. “...There’s probably a reason she can’t - “Like them having powers of a god-thing that’s stronger than her?” Xsabaskis cut in. “ - but it’s frustrating!” The dilophosaurs were quiet for a moment. Xsabaskis looked around, and Taakeyrr could see her sister’s face tighten as she fully took in where they were. With a low, rumbling sigh, she said, “Let’s get out of the Crags. Before something else bad happens here.” ------- The raptors would normally have lingered near the big crowd and searched around to hear what the other animals had seen and discovered during the adventure through the Whispering Cave. Today, however, with their minds full of strange images and foreboding knowledge, and several of their number, including the chicks, possibly in danger, they made a quick retreat. It was also uncomfortable being around Sunfire’s pack; they had been twitchy and suspicious in the cavern at the heart, despite clearly being confused and perhaps a little disappointed that it only contained water-spitting stones and elaborate carvings. “What did they expect?” Driftstone had whispered to Shadowstep. “To find an actual gigantic heart that they would have to defend?” Shadowstep had given him a light smack with his tail and chided, “Do not take me for a fool - I know that is at least one of the things you thought might be here.” There was quite a lot less teasing on the way back. The damage the huge storm had wrought was certainly sobering; the raptors had never seen anything quite so destructive aside from, perhaps, a large, angry dinosaur - and even that couldn’t destroy the entire island the way this storm had. It seemed rather clear this was evidence of the sower-god’s power growing stronger, and none of the raptors much cared for that. Their part of the forest was almost unrecognizable, weak trees brought down by the wind and the waves, and their scent markings nearly washed entirely away by the rain and, again, the wave. It was fortunate they could sense each other’s location and could simply navigate in the direction of the cluster of other raptor presences; for long stretches of the journey, it felt like they were in unfamiliar terrain. Windteeth, the males, and the chicks were not moving toward them. Yellowtail seemed focused but not uneasy - Driftstone, however, was not so confident. They at last found the familiar tree they had been using as a creche - bark torn away in huge clawed strips from the entrance. The chicks were lingering in the enlarged opening, scraggly but alive. Windteeth and Sunspeckle were up and watching as the rest of their pack stepped into view. Nettleback was between them, lying awkwardly on his side and taking shallow breaths. “Thank the Spirit,” Windteeth said as she got to her feet. “We didn’t know if what we sensed was you moving or you floating out at sea until you got close!” “The Spirit took us to the Whispering Cave,” Yellowtail said, her eyes on Nettleback. “What happened here?” Windteeth clicked and shifted from foot-to-foot. “Nettleback blocked the entrance to the creche, for the hatchlings. The water couldn’t pull him free, but it did strike him with a branch while it dragged half the forest back with it.” She hissed. Sunspeckle added, “There’s something wrong with his chest now. Only on one side, and it seems to hurt him to breath. The pain he talked about sounds like the kind our sister had when she fell in the river and was washed into that stone.” “I remember,” Yellowtail said, and went to sniff at and check on her mate. Driftstone decided to go check on the hatchlings, stopping to give Windteeth a nuzzle. “What happened to the entrance?” he asked. “He got stuck - or at least, couldn’t pull out with his chest hurting so badly. We had to claw more space for him so we could get to the hatchlings.” Windteeth tilted her head at her brother. “How did you get from the Whispering Cave to here?” “...I think our mother should tell that story,” Driftstone said. “But apparently there is more to the caves than the gulls ever found, and the Spirit brought us there to tell us more about the sowers.” Shadowstep sighed behind him. “Driftstone, you cannot say ‘Yellowtail should tell the story’ and then tell the story yourself!” His mate gave him a nudge with his side. “We should check the hatchlings. And begin creating impressive names with the word ‘storm’ in them for one of Wolfthorn’s siblings.” ------- The dilophosaurs heard and felt the tyrannosaur roars well before reaching their den. Xsabaskis looked between her sister, who was simply staring in the direction of the sound with wide eyes, and her father, who was showing some of his teeth in a wince. “...That’s Thunder again, isn’t it?” Soaitsae showed a few more fangs and shut his eyes. “It does sound like her.” “How many mobs are going to happen before everyone realizes they’re a bad idea?!” Taakeyrr demanded. “Who made the tyrannosaurus angry twice?” “Who was even up here to cause a mob?” Xsabaskis asked. “This seems odd. ...I know nobody really wants to, but...should we go check it out?” “We had better. And if the raptors started this, I am having words with them.” Thunder was not hard to find, but she was hard, emotionally, to approach. Soaitsae had an easy time telling his daughters to stay back...putting himself out in the open to potentialyl face her wrath without any sort of cover was more difficult. But he took a deep breath, told himself he was much more agile than a tyrannosaur if he needed to run, and forced himself out of the trees. “Thunder!” he shouted. “What’s going on?” He refrained, barely, from adding a this time to his question. ...yeah idk exactly what I’m doing this round? =D Dilophosaurs reflect on what they saw and learned. Nobody is pleased about fighting Nature itself but there were are. The Whispering Cave raptors return home. Nettleback suffered some cracked or broken ribs because I already did a leg injury, but everyone survived. There is some snark. Cut back to the dilophosaurs, who hear Thunder, reluctantly decide it’s their moral duty to investigate, and Soaitsae approaches the beast in question to ask her what’s up 8O ( Shinko)
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Post by Shinko on Jul 31, 2018 22:08:20 GMT -5
Quicksnap hissed. “Oh, right, yes; when she didn’t even know who I was, I was just going to say ‘by the way, I tore your leg off and tossed you into the face of the cliff under the falls.’ That would have gone over so well!” He stood again, eyes narrowing. “And by now, by now what’ll she say? ‘It’s been a week, why didn’t you tell me before now? Why did you wait so long?’” He smacked his tail into a loose rock, sending it toppling down the cliff. * * * Thunder heard Soaitsae, and looked down at him with a growl rumbling in each syllable of her speech. “I’ll tell you what’s going on; I’m going to tear these cretins limb from limb!” She stamped a foot, hard, on the ground, bellowing again. “I have minded my own business, kept to my clutch and my trees, and the little fluffy canine has stayed with me and entertained the nestlings. But I guess these… what have the coelophysis called them, shadow-sowers? They decided to bring their war to me.” She was pacing, each footfall creating a small tremor in the earth. “They cast their magic on the canine. It went from a stupid, happy, harmless lump of fur to a frothing maniac that kills anything that comes close to the nest.” Her feathers bristled. “The chicks are distraught. And I am furious. It was not a tyrannosaur, but it was under my protection. And they dared…” Rabbit ♠ Quicksnap says it’s not that easy. Tiger Thunder explains her dilemma. Tash and Celestial’s Morag might be in hearing distance.
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Post by RielCZ on Jul 31, 2018 22:51:58 GMT -5
YESTERDAYHer eyes were fixed on it: the dragon-horse etching. "She must have been a great leader," Rui said to herself as she admired the image. Why else would she be immortalised on these cavern walls?The living dragon-horse thought back to the sowers, and particularly their leader whose persona had been discussed by others in the caves... fierce, menacing, bloodthirsty... Rui shivered. It all seemed so senseless. A waste. She hated what they wanted to do to the animals on this island. This island of Mercy, where its inhabitants were taken to live in harmony, away from Mother Nature -- as Rui, like the others, would learn from the Spirit of Naelus. Mother Nature: a being of awesome power, yet awesome destruction. That was whom the citizens of Naelus were fighting against. The fight against an entity as clearly powerful as nature seemed almost pointless in its arduousness and seeming impossiblity -- but in spite of the Spirit's fear of the primordial, she showed them all brilliant, evocative, uplifting images of bygone eras. The Spirit believed the citizens together could win against Mother Nature; Rui noted this. "LIGHT SHALL ALWAYS DISPEL THE DARKNESS!" the longma chimed as they were all sent back to the Crystal Crags. TODAYIt was very foggy and damp; she was happy she had her fire breathing capabilities back, but knew she couldn't use them to burn anything in these wet conditions. Not that anything needed to be burned. Rui spent a good deal of the morning cleaning up after the storm, helping out fellow citizens, and -- as she was part horse -- using her strength to move toppled trees off of individuals and borrows and the like. All the longma pitched in, to varying degrees. The tribe of longma in which Rui was a part did a headcount in the Meadows. Thankfully, everyone was accounted for; and the distant rawring of the feathered-lizard-giant did not deter too much from their aims to clean up. Rui, though, felt compassion for the feathered-lizard-giant. Something must have happened to her to set her off like this. She flew up just in time to hear the feathered-lizard-giant's explanation. "BE NOT AFRAID, FEATHERED-LIZARD-GIANT!" she shouted to it. "YOUR WAR IS THE ISLAND'S WAR. BUT WOULD YOU LIKE HELP TAKING CARE OF YOUR YOUNG? LIGHT BELONGS TO THE YOUNG!" Rui sees the longma cave etching and something stirs within her. She feels that this longma must have been a great leader -- unlike that of the sowers, who wants destruction and bloodshed. She feels it's almost pointless to fight something as clearly powerful as nature; but notes the Spirit believes the citizens can do it if they band together. LIGHT SHALL ALWAYS DISPEL THE DARKNESS! *** Rui spends the morning cleaning up after the storm, and generally helping around. She hears the feathered-lizard-giant's ( Shinko) explanation and asks if she needs help taking care of her young in this time of trouble.
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