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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 11:38:23 GMT
 | Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
Dorian stood motionless in front of the heavy doors of the Londinium Library, one of the only landmark buildings left intact and refurbished to a modest appearance since the Catastrophe; a spark was in his eye as he contemplated the first step towards the entrance, hands clenched into balled up fists by his sides, nostrils flaring as he caught the brief scent of new book smell wafting out of the gaps between the door and it's framework. "Time to actually get started on something worthwhile to Adventurers and Landers alike," he muttered under his breath, eyes slowly closing over as he took in a heavy breath, attempting in no small way to calm his nerves. He was unsure just as to why he was so worked up about this simple journey, or the task he had set before him, but really his mind was contemplating just how successful he would be. His current mindset had began culminating back when he had first explored the Bunker dungeon beneath the outer reaches of Londinium; Sayha had tagged him along on the journey, and they had encountered a not-so-friendly Adventurer from one of her previous endeavours, a Druid by the name of Morgana. Dorian had... attempted to reason with her, perhaps violently, but alas she would not budge. And this did not sit well with the Shaman. Sayha had explained the background behind her experience with Morgana and her ilk, a Miasma-corrupted posse of Adventurers - perhaps even Landers as well - hell bent on destroying this new world. As one such person now stuck with living here, Dorian obviously could not let that happen, but there was also countless others to think about that would suffer under their mentality. As Adventurers, they could not die, but reasoning with them and bringing them back from the darkness was easier said than done, as the Bunker confrontation undoubtedly proved. However, Sayha had raised an interesting point during their final moments together that day. "If you really want to help people like Morgana," she had begun, having noticed and discussed his qualms with outright killing the darkened Druid. "You need a better understanding of what Miasma does to people and things; and first-hand experience would probably be best for you." While these words were, at the time, simple suggestions and a bit of advice, Dorian had listened to them all the same. The Miasma Realms were what Sayha had directed him too; a horrifying place ruled by Corruption and darkness, heavily guarded and monitored by the guardians of the Dimensional Theatre back in Avon, where the Realms were housed. And so, Dorian had given himself the obvious task of venturing into the strange Miasma-tainted locale, and investigating the effects of both raw dark mana, and the system of Corruption that was utilised by the likes of the Heretic. However, there are complications that arise, one's that need to be solved before the Shaman can even consider attempting such a mission. After all, getting into the Realms wouldn't be too difficult, but getting out again was tricky; excluding the fact that there would no doubt be creatures of Miasma haunting the locale, but should he suffer too much Corruption, either from prolonged exposure to the Realms or from other unknown sources, the guardians would not allow him back into the city. But, besides this daunting fact, the more pressing issue was the land itself within the Realms. Dorian had yet to meet anyone who had so much as stepped foot into the strange dimension, let alone journeyed further in; even if he had met someone who had performed such a feat, it would likely not be something that they'd be open to discussing. But, with little else to go on, his only hope was that somewhere in the vast database of the Londinium Library, there would be maps or descriptions of the Realms, sketches of landmarks or buildings or anything that would help him with setting up a suitable path of attack; after all, one should never go anywhere dangerous without ample preparation. You do realise you've been standing on your own this whole time, right? Aurelia's voice brought the Shaman back to reality, the fox tail's patience wearing thin no doubt at having to watch him simply stare at a closed set of doors for what no doubt seemed like hours. Shaking his head and removing himself from his prolonged reverie, Dorian released a tentative sigh as he stepped forward the last few measures, grasping the handle upon the door and pulling it towards his chest. With a soft knocked sound of wood turning against metal, the entrance opened up to reveal the interior to the grand building. Stepping inside, Dorian closed the door behind him, not looking back for one second as his eyes stared unblinking and open wide at the array of floors filled with various bookshelves, stacked with tomes of what would no doubt be untold knowledge. "Why have I never stepped foot in this place? As an aspiring Scribe, this should have been one of my first stops!" A puff of air escaped his lungs, finally closing his eyelids as he once again caught himself losing track of the situation; he was on a mission here, and he could not get distracted now, not yet. With renewed determination, his head fell softly towards the strangely familiar receptionist desk, an older Lander woman sat idly behind it. The librarian was an astute lady, still keeping quite a youthful look, yet giving off an air of wizened age about her form; from his initial glance, Dorian would put her at around mid-forties, possibly older. Her hair was bunched up into a messy bun atop the back of her head, with circular framed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Behind the lenses, her eyes were locked in a stare that pierced down at was no doubt a selection of returned books on her desk and paper files that would eventually need to be sorted back into their appropriate locations. Dusting himself off and attempting to look as formal as possible, the Shaman swiftly approached, a focused determination in his step. Hearing the clack of leather boots on stone, the librarian's head lifted from her work, eyes holding their piercing gaze as they now directed at Dorian, the intrepid Adventurer stopping just a few inches shy of the front side of her desk. "Can I help you, sir?" Her voice was almost supernaturally calm, with an air of irritation laced among her tone, as if she had somehow been disturbed from what had been otherwise occupying her time. Bowing his head respectfully to the woman, the Shaman followed up with a nod of acknowledgement, directing his hand upwards towards the multitude of bookshelves that lay strewn about the floors above them. "I was hoping to find some documents on Miasma, as well as it's effects; more specifically, the phenomenon known as Corruption," he began, his gesture slowly dropping to rest his hand atop the polished marble surface of the librarian's desk. Her eyes instantly swivelled down to where his palm had stopped, squinting with an eerily peaceful rage that looked as if she were attempting to burn the appendage off with her mind; realising his mistake, Dorian quickly took his hand back, letting it fall by his side and remain still and aimless. Swallowing hard, he nodded his head again before continuing. "I would also like to read up on any excerpts you have in stock that focuses on the Miasma Realms, if that would be possible."With a roll of her eyes, the Librarian nodded, extending her hands forward to the pile of notes in front of her, flicking through the pages with sudden, swift motions, her fingers a steady blur as she read over the information. Without saying another word, she pulled out what Dorian believed was the page she was looking for, before turning in her chair and scanning the floors towards the top of the building. Lifting her arm up, she pointed with a stern, agitated finger towards the darkened, dimly lit section towards the left, no doubt an area that did not see as much attention these days; ignorance is bliss, as the saying goes. Giving a thankful bow of his head, Dorian turned and rather quickly walked away from the woman and her desk, keeping his back turned as he power walked towards the stairs; that was not someone he would be idiotic enough to mess with, that was for certain. Glancing back up every so often at where the librarian had pointed to earlier, the Shaman found his way up the staircases that led him gradually from floor to floor, the clack of his boots hitting the stone floor making soft echoes that reverberated through the Library. A few times brought a wince to his features at the sudden noise, his body bracing as he waited for a sudden berating from the librarian below. Nevertheless, he was focused and ready; whatever he needed to discover, he would either find it here, or not at all.
Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 18:59:09 GMT
 Sayha was finally getting used to the taste of tea, and it was about time considering that she had been drinking the stuff for months now. She had always preferred lemonade or just water; a force of habit from her days taking martial arts lessons. Coffee, however, was not in her enjoyable drink spectrum.
“I still have no idea how you can drink that,” Sayha said after taking a sip of her tea to the person sitting across from her. She as well as her companion Yuki and her company were sitting in their regular café. For once, it hadn’t been Sayha’s idea to meet up. It had been the Sorcerer’s idea.
“Well, I drink bitter drinks because if I drank too many sweet things, my personality would be even sweeter than it is,” Saiph responded with a smirk, drinking his pure black coffee.
“People like you worry me,” Sayha rolled her eyes, setting down her tea cup, “Now, as much as I enjoy our small talk, you said you wanted to talk business. So speak.” At the noise of setting down her cup, the small Myobu’s ears perked up slightly. Yuki was curled up on the table, relaxing. She was watching Sayha and Saiph with interest, but she had opted not to say anything to Saiph.
“Oh, right,” Saiph nodded, putting down his own coffee mug, “So there is a certain someone who I believe has information on the group you’ve been tracking down. However before they give me any information, they want something in return rather than an ‘I owe you.’”
This caught Sayha’s interest immediately. “What kind of information does he have?”
“Well, I can’t tell you because he wouldn’t say anything about it at all,” Saiph sighed, “Though are you interested?”
“What does he want in return?”
“He wants information on something called the Elemental Theory… specifically Miasma.”
“So he wants to know what the group is doing as well, or at least understand it.”
“It’s a plausible theory,” Saiph nodded.
“I’ve only done minor research into Miasma,” Sayha explained, “but I would have to do some more detailed research for the rest of the Theory. I know of it, but I don’t know it specifically.”
“Well, I shall leave that to you,” Saiph nodded, about to get up.
“Not so fast,” Sayha responded, putting her foot on one of his legs so he couldn’t get up, “You are helping me.”
“Let me guess, you want the company of a charmer so you won’t get lonely?”
Sayha scoffed, “I have that already with Yuki. It’s a lot of information, and I’ll need someone to schlep for me. I also know for a fact that you’re not doing anything else productive today so you can assist.”
The two of them studied each other before Saiph finally spoke again, “Fine. Besides, it could help me better understand how magic works in this game. Might give me an edge in a fight.”
“Whatever gets you to help is fine with me,” Sayha nodded, standing up, “The Library had quite a few books on the subject if I’m remembering correctly so we should head there first.” That day, she had opted not to wear her Vanity gear, and she had her fleet jacket hanging on the back of her chair. After she pulled it on and zipped it up, Yuki jumped up onto her shoulders to take her normal spot, laying down with her head to Sayha’s right. Saiph stood up and adjusted the strap where his rifle hung and nodded when he was ready.
Sayha took the lead and headed through Londinium towards the Londinium Library. Rather than take the main roads, she took the back channels like always. Saiph knew of her dislike of crowds and said nothing. Then again, Sayha had made it very clear to him what would happen if he did try to make fun of that.
Through the back channels, it didn’t take too horribly long, though it probably would have been faster had they taken the main roads. That, however, didn’t’ matter very much as they were now on the steps to the Library.
It was a rather spectacular building in all honesty, and it even warranted Saiph to do a drawn-out whistle. It was several stories tall, and Sayha knew there were more stories underground. There were thousands of books, and Sayha had only touched the surface of what information was stored there. However, the librarians knew her very well from her regular visits. “Let me guess, you’ve never been here?” Sayha turned to him as she pushed the doors open,
“Can’t say I have,” Saiph replied, “Though maybe I’ll come back.”
“Now only if the knowledge would go to your head instead of your ass,” Sayha responded, giving the librarian at the front desk a slight wave.
“Come now,” Saiph responded, “If I was equally intelligent to my head as I was a smart ass, I would need a second body to contain it.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Sayha rolled her eyes, heading to the left of the desk. There was an area upstairs in that wing where they kept their books on elemental magic and things of that nature. Sayha had only been in that section briefly as most of her research materials had been in the opposite wing.
That area was rather dark, and not as well-lit as the other half. It was not any sort of surprise though as the area wasn’t well used. Actually, the entire wing wasn’t that much visited, despite the renovations that had been done. That, Sayha wasn’t sure why.
Sayha found the stair case and began to head up. She could hear Saiph’s footsteps echo behind her. After a few floors, they reached where Sayha had intended. There were bookshelves upon bookshelves, and it would be easy to get lost there… so first things first. Sayha found the area where the tables were can claimed one after quickly dusting it off.
“Yuki, stay close, but feel free to explore,” Sayha said to the little fox on her shoulder who nodded. She jumped off her shoulder and took a place on the table for a moment. Though rather than stay on the table, she jumped down onto the ground and began to explore the area like Sayha had said.
Sayha turned to Saiph who seemed to be rather in awe of the amount of books there. “Careful,” Sayha warned with a smirk, “A bug may fly in if you keep your jaw dropped for too long.”
“Well, I have quite the pest repellent so I don’t for see that happening,” Saiph shrugged.
“Whatever you say,” Sayha shrugged, “Let’s get started.”
Sayha headed towards the bookshelves and began scanning the titles, grabbing books that could potentially be useful. After taking a stack of books, she returned to the table that she had cleared off and set the books on the table. Saiph wasn’t in sight at that moment, but that didn’t matter much to Sayha… though hopefully he was doing something useful.
Just as she was about to flip through the first book, Yuki caught her attention. “<Someone’s coming up the stairs>,” she said. Yuki was on the floor near the table when she turned around and headed off back towards the stairs. It was her way of telling Sayha to follow her. Sayha stood up again and silently followed her to the stairs. Yuki had the habit of telling Sayha when people were near… though it wasn’t really surprising. Sayha was pretty secluded where she lived, and visitors were very few and far between. Having Yuki alert her when she was home was useful. When she was in the city and there were tons of people everywhere… it wasn’t as useful, and she had told Yuki as such. However, she kept doing it nonetheless.
Though it was interesting since that area of the library was rather unused… it could be either friend or foe… maybe it was someone who knew more about the Elemental Trilogy and Elemental Theory.
Yuki stopped at the stairs and looked up at Sayha, her ears twitching slightly. Sayha now heard the echoes of the footsteps of the person coming up, and she could see the outline. Sayha smiled slightly and waited for the figure to notice her, “Fancy seeing you here, Dorian.”
“Ah, if it isn’t my mentor,” Saiph’s voice spoke, and Sayha turned to see Saiph with a book in his hand, “Nice to see you again, Dorian.”
“Huh, you two know each other,” Sayha said turning back to Dorian, “Well, that makes introductions easy then.” Yuki took that opportunity to jump onto Sayha’s shoulders and take her place once more just before Sayha took a few steps back so Dorian would be able to step off the stairs if he so chose to.
 Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def    Words: 1475
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2016 4:08:49 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Was the universe here just full of coincidences, or was fate just really in tune with the world at large? Dorian couldn't tell, but either way had to be true, especially after his realisation of not being alone in traversing the steps to the darkened section of the Library. As his footsteps echoed off the staircase up to the last floor, he heard a familiar sounding voice from up above, eyes glancing upwards to spot a face he hadn't seen since the festivities in the Moon Dance Forest. A gentle smile curved over his palette as he spotted the Assassin, though laced under his breath was an amused chuckle at the circumstances of their meeting.
"Well well, how interesting... You aren't reading my thoughts are you, miss Sayha?" Dorian stopped halfway up the stairs, his hand left idle on the railing beside him as he stared up at the elf who currently blocked his path. "You'd be surprised as to just how convenient and... coincidental this is," he began, gesturing his thumb over his shoulder as he explained. "I came here on your recommendation after all; recall, if you will, the Bunker?" He waited for a few seconds, letting her mind draw back the memories of their escapade some time ago. "You were the one who told me to investigate Miasma and the Realms themselves, and... well, here I am."Another voice rang out from behind the assassin, a familiar one as well; Saiph, the sorcerer he had mentored some time ago, was reading through one of the books from the section Dorian had been headed to. "Ah, a pleasure to see you as well, Saiph," he replied, bowing his head respectfully to the pair of Adventurers. It seemed the world was not only full of coincidences, but was inevitably quite small as well, as the trio seemed to know one another already; Dorian knew Sayha and Saiph, and of course they knew each other. The Shaman did not question this anomaly; he had learned not to question the universe and it's meddling. The Assassin kindly stepped to one side, allowing Dorian to finish the last flight of steps up to the top of the stairs, moving off the climb and onto the stone floor where the others had remained. "In any case, I see you two had the same idea; shall we study Miasma together, or am I incorrect in my assumptions on your purposes here?" The Shaman glanced across to Sayha, having now noticed the new companion that sat upon her shoulder. A Myobu, as it were, Dorian was familiar with the animals, having seen them frolicking through the forests around his home in Moon Dance. "And a pleasure to meet you as well," he uttered, bowing his head to the fox and giving it a gentle smile. Without waiting for the two Adventurers to respond, Dorian decided to get to inspect the bookshelves within the darkened sector. From initial glances, it seemed like most of the pickings had been taken from the shelves by Saiph and Sayha in their own research beginnings, though the lack of light didn't help in evidencing this. The Shaman brushed his finger over each spine, reading the covers and checking for anything that might help in his study here in the Library. He managed to gather a hefty pile of books from the shelves, stacking them into his hands and carrying them back over to the others. "You wouldn't happen to have a table sectioned off, would you?" Dorian asked, glancing between the two of them; he wasn't sure if they had said yes or not, but he posited that an extra Scribe on hand wouldn't hurt their chances of finding useful information. "Best we keep all our research together, if we're to be working with one another." Once he had said his fill, he followed their directions, once they had given them, and planted the pile of books he had gathered beside their own collection. From his inventory, he pulled out his handy Scribble Book, a hand-crafted notebook he had made for himself as one of the first crafts from the Scribe recipe list. This would work well for notes, he thought to himself, wondering what the others were waiting for and hoping they would be accustomed to joining him at the table; not that he had given them much of a choice.
Notes: Books, glorious books! So anxious to read them!
Word Count: 732
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2016 7:33:38 GMT
It seemed Dorian was just as surprised to see Sayha as she was to see him. He had mentioned that it was rather convenient and coincidental that she was there. However, Sayha didn’t particularly believe in coincidences, but she didn’t disbelieve in them either. His explanation afterwards, though, made things make more sense. He was there on her recommendation after the Bunker incident. That as well as her Tunnel incident with Hiro were still fresh in her mind even though it had been at a month or so ago. Of course, that was also the reason she was there… to get information on Hecate’s group. She would explain that in due time. Dorian also took the time to greet Saiph who had materialized nearby, and then he had moved onto the floor that they were on instead of standing on the stairs.
Dorian proposed that the three of them study miasma together, and Sayha wasn’t against that. “That sounds like a good plan to me,” Sayha nodded, “We’re also doing additional research other than simply Miasma, and I can explain that once we’ve settled down.”
“And I am here along for the ride,” Saiph continued, “At least for the most part. Sayha seems to make me out as an intellect.”
“Well, your butt seems intellectual enough,” Sayha rolled her eyes at his comment. Then Dorian bowed to the Myobu on Sayha’s shoulder, saying it was a pleasure to meet her.
“<I like him>,” Yuki said to Sayha who just gave a small smile. Then, Dorian asked if the two had a table sectioned off.
“Yes, we do,” Saiph responded first, “It’s off to the side.” Saiph gestured to where Sayha had come from. “I’m going to see if I can find any more books before heading over there.” With that, Saiph, disappeared into the many bookshelves.
Sayha then turned and walked past the bookshelves back to the table that she had commandeered. Yuki jumped down onto the table and claimed one of the spots that was near the wall, curling up and watching Sayha, her ears flicking every once in a while. Sayha, however, scarecely noticed this as she went into her default research mode.
The first stage was to go through the material and determine what the good information was and what was not. It was the easiest stage for Sayha as she just went through the book, spot checking to see if there was anything useful that caught her eye. If there was, she set the book in a separate pile. If it wasn’t very useful, she put it in a second pile. Once she had her pile of books sorted, she took that chance to pull out her notebook from her inventory as well as her Quill Pen. After flipping through and finding a blank page, she set the notebook off to her right and pulled one of the books she deemed useful from the pile and set it to the left of the notebook.
Sayha then heard the thump of books on the table. She glanced up to see Saiph return with a few books. He took a seat next to Sayha and began to flip through what appeared to be the book he was reading when Dorian first arrived. Not long after, Dorian himself arrived.
“Well, I shall add that we are also researching something called Elemental Theory as well as the Elemental Trinity,” Sayha said to Dorian once he had taken a place, “Miasma is a part of the Theory as well as the Trinity, but it is simply a portion of those concepts.” Sayha was going to go back to reading when Saiph spoke up.
“You see,” he started, “There’s a long story to it, but I’ll break it down simply for time’s sake. I am an information trader at the very core. Over the years I didn’t level, I networked with many people, adventurers and Landers alike. If you’re looking for information, either I have it or I know someone who has it. Of course, all information comes at a price. Usually, it is simply information trading, but sometimes gold, goods, or services are traded. To me, people are both customers and clients. From what I’ve heard, you’ve run into the druid named Morgana, correct? Well, I have been working with Sayha to gain more information on the group that she is a part of. I found someone who might have information relevant to the group, and in exchange, they want information regarding the concepts that Sayha explained.”
It was fair that the reason the two of them were there was explained, though Sayha wouldn’t have added in the whole information trading thing. She didn’t find it exactly correct to what she did. She simply listened for interesting rumors that could potentially lead somewhere else. After all, rumors had initially lead her to find the mansion where she first met Hecate. Rumors had also lead to the Ice Cavern and the strange non-dream dream.
“I know the basics of the Elemental Theory from past research,” Sayha finally said, “It is pretty much the breakdown that all magic comes from either Anima, Psyche, or Miasma. Miasma is not like Anima and Psyche though as it is actually their opposite.”
“<Miasma is the darkness, the shadow to one’s light>,” Yuki said, and Sayha passed on Yuki’s words.
“Dorian, you’re familiar enough with Moon Dance Forest,” Sayha continued after relaying what Yuki said, “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Oni or maybe even faced one. Oni are the dark feelings of those in the Forest in physical form, though I think that Oni could be almost considered physical Miasma monsters. They are nothing but darkness and are beyond saving.”
Sayha finally went back into the book that she had opened, not saying anything further. Saiph seemed content to leave the conversation alone for the time being, but he patiently waited for Dorian to see if he had any questions that needed answering before the research continued.
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 1001
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2016 10:04:44 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Dorian had only just set down the pile of books he had collected, when Sayha and Saiph greeted him with the explanation that they had promised earlier. Glancing across at their ends of the table, he picked out that they had gathered quite a collection of novellas and books that would undoubtedly prove useful, and the Assassin was already in the process of sorting through them to find the one's that would be most fruitful. Dorian set down the book he had just grabbed for from his own pile, instead turning his full attention to listen intently to everything that both of them had to say. While he knew all of the basics on the Elemental Trinity, his interest was piqued by the prospect of finding out more on Morgana and her ilk. After all, the Shaman was eager to try his hand at bringing the Druid back from the shadows, once he had fully investigated the Miasma Realms. Having nodded his head to all of the brief info on Anima, Psyche and of course their opposing force, Miasma, his interest was brought back when Sayha posed her theory of the Oni in the Moon Dance Forest; having lived their for several weeks now, he was quite familiar with the creatures. Shaking his head in the Assassin's direction, he turned himself completely, gracefully swinging his leg over the bench they were seated on and repositioning his body so that he was straddling the seat, facing Sayha with all of his focus. "The Oni aren't Miasma, not as far as I know," he began, leaning against the table with his forearm laying along it's edge to support his form. "You are correct in assuming I have had experience with the forest, but not as much as I would like, considering I live quite far within it's borders. I don't know if you've ever been to the lake, but if you were to visit again, you'd find my place there..."Dorian stopped himself short as he noticed his discussion going on a little bit of a tangent, his lips pursing as he closed his eyes and re-centred himself on the topic at hand. "While they are dark creatures, the Oni, not everything in this world is attributed to the works of Miasma. The Moon Dance Forest and it's nearby surroundings are an incredibly spiritual place, and the spirits can be very straightforward." His hand began to slide back and forth along the wood panelling of the table, tracing the small gaps between the planks. "Just as in everything, balance must be, and so while light spirits of course exist, there must always be the shadows. The temptations of the forest. The Oni, and their kind. Demons, some call them, but the truth is not so dramatic."Sayha and Saiph both seemed to return to their own research, to which Dorian simply nodded and corrected his seating on the bench, turning his attention back to his scorned pile of books, left unread due to the idle conversation that had just occurred. Reaching out his hand to grasp at the first title, he lifted the cover up to his vision; it was a basic guide book on Miasma, an easy read designed for younger Landers who are just starting on their journey into the outside world, but it was a better start than any. He began to flip through the pages, holding the spine level in one hand and using the other to delicately swipe each page across, his Scribe-trained eyes scanning over every inch to drink in as much preliminary information as possible, a gentle hum starting to pick up from the back of his throat to fill the newly formed silence. Once he had reached the last pages of the book, he gently closed the covers back up, brushing his hand over the leather upon it's front as his eyes read the title once more. Setting the book down in a secondary pile to look through more extensively later, he moved back to his original pile, grasping the leather-bound tome at the top. This one would likely prove to be more informative, according to it's title; a collection of reports and findings by a Lander who had studied the adverse effects of Miasma and Corruption on various different animal subjects. While the Shaman wasn't too fond of the idea of using animals in such a way, the deed had been done, and by some other perpetrator; the least he could do is not let those creature's sacrifices be in vain, and study just what the Lander had discovered. Once he had flipped through the tome and briefly read over some of the reports, a slightly disgusted cringe had developed on his features as he closed the book, begrudgingly setting it down atop the secondary pile. He only three more books left that he had grabbed from the bookshelves, a much smaller pile than he originally had thought he gathered, but 'twas to be expected when Sayha and Saiph had already cleaned out most of what was useful here. "Hmm," he murmured against the closed pattern of his lips, glancing over the next title. 'The Miasma Realms' was all it had etched into the leather on it's front. Short, sweet and straight to the point; still, it could be pretty much things he already knew, so he kept his doubts about it as he flicked open it's front cover and began scanning the pages. Eyes wide and surprised by his findings, he glanced over to Sayha and lifted the now closed book, showing her the cover with the title emblazoned on it's front. "We might want to go through this one together," he uttered simply, nodding his head before adding the book to Sayha's pile of books, the one she had set aside from her own collection to go through in more detail. Smiling softly, he turned back to the last two covers he had picked out, eyes drinking in the letters that formed the titles. 'Mapping Avon' and 'The Dimensional Theatre: What is it Hiding?' were what he had managed to find, his eyes first falling on the latter. Setting the first book down, he flicked through the pages of the one now in his hands; as he went through it, his features gradually fell into a disappointed glare. It was merely a book of superstitious nonsense about the Arcane Bard, pretty much all of it a gathering of nonsense and old wives' tales. Grumpily chucking the book onto Sayha's no-go pile, not even bothering to make one of his own, Dorian huffed as he moved to the last in his pile, read before as 'Mapping Avon'; after the first and hopefully last dud he had just read, he did not have high hopes for this one. Opening the cover, it was at first as he had suspected, basic maps of Stratford-Upon-Avon and it's surroundings. However, as he continued to flip through, there were brief pages of notes and unforeseen maps of a sprawling landscape, one not even the Shaman had stepped foot in. Eyes scanning over the pages, he noticed a few scrawled pieces along the margin, occasional mentions of Miasma and Corruption. Perhaps these were the mappings of the Realms he was looking for? He could not know for certain, not yet. Closing the book and setting it into his newer, 'run through in more detail' pile, he turned to Sayha once again, giving her a smile. "I think I've done well, anything good in your piles?"
Notes: Ready to read...!
Word Count: 1257
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2016 22:54:04 GMT
It seemed that Dorian had spent some time in Moon Dance Forest after all. She hadn’t been completely sure, but this confirmed it. However as he spoke, he mentioned he had only lived there for a few weeks which really wasn’t very long at all. Though Sayha listened to what Dorian said, realizing that his experiences in the forest were definitely different than her experiences. “You see,” Sayha started once he was done speaking, though her head was still looking down at the book she was reading, “I, too, live in Moon Dance Forest, and I have for a few months now. I’ve been near the lake you live by, but I don’t go into that portion of the forest very often as I live on the opposite side of the forest, closer to the border as well.
“I’m not trying to put down what you’ve experienced, but please trust me when I say that the Oni are physical forms of negative thoughts and feelings. It was quite the experience staring down a level 20 monster when I was only level 13 as well as seeing two level 40 monsters as well. I will say that you’re right that they’re probably not Miasma, but one of my first lessons in the Forest was that everything is connected. Even though they may not be Miasma, I think we could potentially learn more about Miasma by studying them and possibly any records of them. Though for that kind of information, I doubt we would find it here in Londinium. We’d have to go to the Village and probably talk to the Elders, but they might not even want to release that information so we may end up piecing that together from scratch. As for spirits and they being straightforward…” Sayha glanced down at the Myobu on the table and smiled slightly, “I can assure you that not all spirits are straightforward, and not everything is as simple as it appears. The longer I’ve been in the forest, the clearer that has become to me. Whether or not Miasma and Oni are connected remains to be seen, but there are commonalities that cannot be overlooked.”
Sayha made a mental note to herself to see if she could talk to Elder Yamamoto about the Oni, though that would probably take some time to do. However, for the time being, Sayha stuck to the book that she was in. The book she was reading had some rather decent information on Anima, and she began to take notes from what she read.
Anima, in the simplest terms, was life. In terms of Adventurers and Landers, Anima was health. However, not just people had anima. Anima was dispersed in many places, especially in places such as untouched forests or even caverns. That sounded rather interesting… and it made her think of both the Tunnels and the Bunker. Maybe Miasma needed to feed off anima in order to survive. It was a thought that she jotted down, and she hoped that one of the other books in her piles would lead to some more information.
Just as she was going to continue to flip through the book, Dorian caught her attention. He was holding a book entitled The Miasma Realms, and he suggested that they look at that one together. He added it to Sayha’s pile of books, and she nodded but decided to continue going through the books she had been looking at… coming across a term called “Soma” that she had not heard before. She continued to read that section when Dorian spoke up and asked if they had been able to find anything good in their reading.
“Nothing yet on Miasma,” Saiph responded first, “The book I’ve been reading talks about how Psyche can be subdivided into three sections. Those sections are the Classical Trinity, the Nature or Natural Trinity, and the Spiritual Duality. I believe the Oni you were talking about earlier refer to the Darkness in the Duality as opposed to Miasma, but I could be wrong.”
“That would make sense,” Sayha nodded, “The book I have is rather interesting, speaking mostly on Anima. Though what it says made me think that Miasma might need Anima in order to survive. Anima isn’t just health for people, but it also can be found in and around the world itself. Specifically, in places that haven’t been inhabited in a while… for example, the underground area in Londinium. Also, there’s something called ‘Soma’ that I haven’t quite figured out. It is somehow linked to Anima, but I’m not quite sure how. What have you found out, Dorian?”
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 771
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2016 3:16:30 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Dorian listened to the two Adventurers and their findings, though it helped him little in terms of information; but such was the trouble of the fact that they were all looking for something different. Saiph and Sayha were here for information on the Elemental Trinity, whereas he was in search of more details on Miasma before he began a trip into the Realms. But, the Assassin did bring up an odd bit of data, that Miasma fed on Anima, which brought a spark of inspiration to the Shaman's visage. "That sounds like something to look into... I don't really know too much about the more intrinsic ideas behind Anima, but perhaps studying it will give us a better idea of what Miasma is and how it works.""As for what I found..." Dorian turned to his smaller pile, only three books within it, excluding the one he had added to Sayha's. "I managed to find a trio, if you don't count the one on the Realms I added to your pile for us both to look at." He grabbed his small selection of books and lifted them up to go through each one, marking them off in his mind. "This first one is a basic survival guide of sorts; from what I skimmed over, it seems to just be a rehashing of all the basics of Miasma, but it wouldn't hurt to look at even briefly, in case there is anything we have so far missed." Pulling the first book away, he gave it another scan with his Scribe-trained eyes, before slipping it under the last book of the pile. His hand fell on the second book, the one that had drawn his more disgusted expressions. "This one... Let's just say it wasn't a pleasant read, even without going into the heavier details." He held it out for Sayha to look at, before continuing with his explanation. "It's a journal, a collection of scientific reports if you will, that explores some Lander's investigation into the affects of Miasma and Corruption on living 'specimens'; ie. he uses animal subjects to document in a way the dangers and side effects caused by interacting with the substance." A shiver ran down the Shaman's spine, as he took back the book once the Assassin was done looking over it. His eyes fell upon the bound cover, before it too was slipped under the pile, bringing him tot he last one. "This one is more for me, really," he began, lifting up the tome and opening it to one of the centre pages, a large mapping of Avon inside of it. "On the surface, it just looks like a basic cartographer study of Avon and it's surroundings; but, there are maps in here of places I've never heard of, depictions of vast wastelands, strange scribbles about Miasma in it's margins." He flipped over to one such page, the small writings hard to read despite him holding it up to the elf's features. "Like I said, it probably wouldn't help you guys in your search for info on the Elemental Trinity, but since I'm planning on delving into the Miasma Realms soon, it might be just what I've been looking for." With that, the last book was slipped under his pile, his hand waving over the collection and adding it into his inventory. A thought crossed the Shaman's mind after he had finished detailing his findings, his body moving to stand up from the table and walk towards the railing nearby. Gripping the metal, he glanced down over it to look at the depths of the library below, eyes scanning the various shelves and books that dotted the floors beneath their own. "These places normally have archives, right? For books that aren't on the shelves?" Posing his question, he glance over his shoulder at the duo still at the table, a mischievous smirk dancing over his palette. What are you planning, Dorian? Aurelia's voice was brimmed with concern and worry, but the Shaman merely rolled his eyes and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Oh shush," he whispered under his breath, obviously talking to the Shikigami. "Seems only fair we take a look down in the basement," he continued, this time speaking up to address Saiph and Sayha. "At least, that's where I assume this Library keeps it's archives, since there isn't any attic." Dorian looked up above at the ceiling only a few metres higher than the floor they were currently on, just to double check; no semblance of an attic or stairs up to one could be found, solidifying his idea. "I'll meet you both down there!" Giving a beckoning wave for the two to follow, he swiftly turned with a graceful edge to his gait as he descended down the staircases, his footsteps echoing somewhat as he heard the concrete reverberate off of his walk. If you were planning to sneak in, maybe you shouldn't have put on such loud boots. Aurelia's snide remarks brought a chuckle to her persona, causing Dorian to simply release a groaned sigh of irritation.
Notes: To the basement, we go!
Word Count: 848
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 5:46:47 GMT
Dorian seemed interested in what Sayha had found regarding Anima and Miasma, stating that they should look into how Anima works more. She had planned on doing that as part of whole theory research, but she didn’t bring that up… at least not yet.
Dorian seemed to find a few things which was more than Sayha could say for herself or Saiph. The first book he explained was kind of like a survival guide of Miasma. Though for Sayha, she thought it sounded much more like an intro slash tutorial to it. She wasn’t quite sure if it would be worth going through or not; she would just have to scan it over herself to see if there was anything worth it. The second book, however, caught Sayha’s interest right away. She flipped through the pages briefly as she listened to Dorian. It was a series of reports on the effects of Miasma. It made her think back to the monsters she saw when she was with Hiro exploring the underground tunnels. Instead of setting the book aside, she kept the book in front of her as she planned to look it over.
“If it’s okay, I want to look over this one myself,” Sayha said to Dorian, “I encountered monsters like the ones described in the book when I was exploring the tunnels. I would like to find out more about what happened to them.”
As Dorian brought up the last book he discovered useful, he explained was more for himself. It was a map book of sorts, and it wasn’t hard to tell that he planned on taking a trip to the Miasma Realms. It would be a trip that Sayha would want to take in the near or far future… and probably not alone. It would have to be an expedition of sorts… though she could plan that later.
“Miasma is part of the Elemental Trinity,” Sayha explained after he said that the books probably wouldn’t help the research, “It’s just not the only thing in the Trinity.”
Under his breath, Dorian said to shush, and a small smile formed on her face. The comment was probably for his Shikigami, Skrowe. The little scarecrow was quite entertaining when he was around… though Yuki might think he was a toy if he were to be summoned.
Sayha pushed the funny thought of Yuki chasing Skrowe and was about to start reading again when Dorian asked about the archives, “Yeah, there’s an archive in the basement of the building… though some of the underground isn’t stable according to the librarians here.”
Dorian said he’d meet them both down in the basement, giving a wave before heading off.
“So what’s the plan, boss lady?” Saiph finally spoke up. Sayha glanced at him, and he was turned to face her, “Maybe going with Dorian will give us more insight than anyone else. He seems very perceptive to me.”
“Go on ahead,” Sayha nodded, “I want to do more reading with what’s already been found.”
“Suit yourself,” Saiph nodded, standing up, “Do try not to get lost.”
“I usually don’t get lost,” Sayha waived him off and continued to read the book in front of her. The research book. She knew it was going to be dark, but it was a lot darker than she thought possible. In the back of her mind, she thought about Noctis, an acquaintance of hers that was a Heretic. He was nothing like Hecate… at least not what she could tell… and she quietly prayed that it stayed that way. She was starting to think of Noctis as a friend, but she hadn’t quite decided on that.
However, Heretics weren’t the direct cause of her concern. It was the Corruption that was. Just like anything, there were different stages, each with their own side effects… some of them quite disturbing. Despite the macabre details, Sayha kept on reading, hoping to find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.
“<What are you hoping to find?>” Yuki’s voice made Sayha glance at the little spirit fox who was looking concerned.
“I’m looking for answers,” Sayha responded, “Answers to questions that need to be answered.”
Yuki tilted her head slight, “<Are you sure they need to be answered? Will they make things easier?>”
“I don’t know,” Sayha finally sighed.
“<Then you should not know with your friends,>” Yuki said very matter of factly, “<I’m sure they’re waiting for you>.”
Sayha didn’t say anything at first… though she knew Yuki was right. She stood up, pushing her chair away from her. She didn’t say anything as she began to make her way towards the staircase with Yuki following right behind her.
Saiph had made his way through the maze of bookshelves and down the stairs, acutely aware that his footsteps echoed… though not as badly as Dorian’s. After he made his way down the stairs, he caught up with Dorian. “Our assassin friend will be joining us in the near future, but we shouldn’t wait up on her,” Saiph told him, “She may take her time with the research. To be honest, it’s a bit concerning. I haven’t known her as long as you have, I believe, but I can tell when a person is obsessed with something. Sayha is obsessed with a heretic group… I’m sure you’re aware which one. She needs to be told to back down or at least share the burden with other people. She won’t listen to me, not by a long shot… but she would probably listen to you.”
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 928
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 6:30:50 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Dorian's journey down the stairs was thankfully not taken alone, as the collection of a second set of echoes greeted the Shaman's ears from back where he had come from. Judging by the fact there was actual sound and not just a stealthy female Assassin sneaking up on him, he gathered that it was either Saiph alone or with Sayha. His own footsteps were a little louder, thanks to the hardened leather of his boots, but his ability to remain light on his feet aided some in keeping his steps from becoming too much of a nuisance. As the Sorcerer caught up with him, he quietly smiled and made a marginal bow of his head to greet him respectfully, as the last few staircases appeared below. Saiph explained that the elven Assassin would be joining them soon, and that she was quite ingrained in her research; she had borrowed one of the books from his pile, the details on Miasma experiments on a selection of monsters, not just Corruption beasts like the Night Wolf and the Black Essence. Nevertheless, she had rightly corrected him that Miasma was a part of the Elemental Trinity, and so he had gladly lent her the tome for her to go through in more detail, though his expression showed concern for what he had seen on the pages. It certainly wasn't light reading, and he felt a little bad leaving her alone to go through it at her own peril, but Sayha was a tough girl; or, at the very least, she was good at appearing as such. As they lowered down the last few steps, the Sorcerer continued on, citing the very worries that Dorian was just discussing in his mind, but an interesting thought was mentioned. Saiph seemed to believe that he could talk some sense into the Assassin, persuade her away from her obsession. A creased brow and a frowned expression on the Shaman's face showed he thought otherwise. "I may have known Sayha for a while, but if there's one thing I have learnt from that, it's that she can be... stubborn." This was of course not meant to be an offensive remark, though Dorian couldn't help but feel glad that the elf was not in ear shot of their conversation. "I doubt she'd listen to me any more than you, Saiph. For all the charm people think I have, I seem to have developed a lousy track record in terms of actually saving people from things that will lead to trouble."His mind thought back to his encounter with Morgana down in the Bunker, who had proved just as stubborn, if not more so, than how he had described Sayha; whether it was brainwashing, Corruption, or just outright dedication and loyalty to her leader's cause, the Druid had not been able to see the path she was undoubtedly falling down, and the bottomless, inescapable pit she was inevitably going to disappear into. That experience was one of his driving forces to explore the Miasma Realms, to get a better understanding of the substance and it's effects, in hopes of perhaps saving at least one person from it's hold. But Saiph was right, Sayha was in deep with her determination to defeat Hecate and her ilk, and perhaps here and now, she took priority. "I don't know if she'll listen to me, Saiph... But, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't try," he muttered in final reply. Those were along the same words he had told himself and Sayha back in the Bunker, when he chose to try and save Morgana; that had not ended well, however. Perhaps this was a time he could prove - mostly to himself - that he was capable of being the beacon that the Sakura Tree Spirit had told him to be, that he had promised to be. But, for now, it was time to get into the archives, and for that they needed permission; with Saiph in tow behind him, Dorian approached the librarian at her desk once again, a soft smile on his lips as he made to lean against the rich mahogany, before flinching his hands away and thinking better of it. After discussing his desire to explore down below, the librarian begrudgingly parted with her old, rusted key, which was - though old and worn - quite archaic in design. Giving a thankful bow of his head, he gestured for Saiph to follow his lead, taking the key and moving towards the staircase nearby that led to the larger, sinister archives below. Each step down got a little bit quieter, sound seemingly reverberating less as they moved under the surface, disappearing into the dark until they were greeted, on their left, by a large, thick door. Inserting the rusted key into it's slot, he turned the device, waiting for the familiar click before pushing against the wood and grinding the entrance open. "After you, sir," Dorian uttered, motioning for Saiph to move inside ahead of him. Following him in, his hand quickly moved to his mouth, covering it over to protect from the thick layer of dust permeating the air; it was immediately clear that this place had not seen much attention recently, the lights dotting the shadowed shelves giving only dim beacons to follow in what looked to be a labyrinth of books. "All right... You go left," Dorian directed, pointing towards the path created by the towering bookshelves towards the west. "And I'll go right. See what you can find, then meet up with me in the middle; usually places like this have a desk area situated in the centre of the maze for study and research." With a soft nod and a gentle cough as some of the dust leaked in past his hand, the Shaman parted ways from Saiph, moving down his aforementioned, designated path.
Notes: ---
Word Count: 977
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2016 4:49:34 GMT
It didn’t take Sayha long to go down the stairs to find that no one was waiting for her there. She hadn’t expected to see Saiph or Dorian there to be honest, and in a way, she was glad she didn’t see them there. At that point in time, she was mentally conflicted. She wanted answers… though Yuki had asked her rather valid questions. Do her questions need to be answered and will they make things easier if they were answered. The first one was where she was really confused. Knowing the answers would help make some things clear and make things more… understandable… at least Sayha guessed that was the word to use. In a way, that answered the second question. However, there was just something in Sayha’s mind bugging her about the idea of not knowing. She wanted, or maybe rather needed, answers… then maybe she would be able to figure out a plan… though plans had never been her strong suit.
Suddenly, Yuki jumped up onto Sayha’s shoulders bringing her back to the present. Sayha was still at the bottom of the stair case, and there was no one around her… well, no one other than Yuki. Sayha took a deep breath and made her way towards where the entrance to the basement archives was. When she got there, the door was already unlocked so she assumed Dorian and Saiph got the key from the librarian at the front desk… the person there was the only person she believed had a key. She made her way down the set of stairs. When she reached the bottom, she could see the dust just hanging in the air. The dust didn’t bother Sayha at first, but Yuki gave a slight sneeze after a moment. The sneeze caused Sayha to chuckle slightly.
Since neither Dorian nor Saiph were in sight, Sayha chose to make her way randomly through the bookshelves, scanning them to see if there was anything useful.
Dorian had been less than enthusiastic at Saiph’s suggestion of him talking to Sayha though it really wasn’t of much surprise. Sayha was indeed stubborn as Dorian had mentioned.
“Charm is not the way to get her, I have learned,” Saiph spoke finally, “Telling her exactly what you think does to a certain extent… but the best way is simply doing what you way. Action if you will.”
When Dorian and Saiph had reached the bottom of the stairs in the archives, dusts was all around, making Saiph cough slightly. Dust was one thing he didn’t particularly care for. Though Dorian didn’t seem too distracted by it. He instructed Saiph to go towards the right, and he did. He began to scan the shelves, hoping for something to jump out at him in terms of usefulness.
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 465
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2016 11:43:28 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
After having left Saiph to explore his side of the large, expansive basement, Dorian began his own journey down the side passage that formed the outer circle of shelves. His eyes scanned over the various spines that stuck out, reading the titles that were emblazoned in the leather, carved out and in some cases tipped with gold lettering, in order to make it easier to read against the darker bindings. Without a steady source of light, he could only strain his eyes in scrunched up squints, attempting to decipher the letters off of the shelves. Anything that looked remotely useful, he collected and stashed into his inventory, sectioning it off within the digital database to make it easier to grab later. "A few of these don't even have titles," the Shaman observed, stopping at one stage to notice yet another blank spine, having encountered several of them in his initial search. Forced to pull this one off the shelf, he opened up the dusty cover, coughing slightly as it puffed up into his face. Waving his hand in front of his mouth, he glanced down at the page he had opened up to, eyes going wide at what he saw; drawn into the margins and across both pages was a human face, solemn and calm with no expression, simply staring up at him with blank, vacant eyes. When he flipped the page over, another face was across the pages, in the exact same position... but something was off about it. On a hunch, Dorian flipped through the pages rapidly, and found that each double page was the same face, but with a slight tweak each time. "What in the world is this book meant for?" Pondering the question he had spoken into the musty air, he quickly reverted back to the first page, the same solemn face implanted over the papyrus, but with it's eyes closed. Releasing a confused sigh, he began to flip the pages through all the way from cover to cover, not unlike flip book animation. In a grotesque and horrifying reveal, the same solemn face rapidly changed, it's eyes opening slowly, then it's mouth, before the last double page at the back of the book sprung out, revealing a terrified, screaming visage. Shocked and mortified, the Shaman dropped the blank tome to the floor with a loud clatter of leather slapping upon the stone floor, his heart racing at what could have been a prank, or worse... a warning. Shaking his head, he took in deep, long breaths, slowly calming his body back down to a settled state. "Note to self; be weary of books with blank covers," he muttered under his breath. Rubbing his hand over his clothed chest, he glanced either side of him to look down the passage behind him and the way ahead, checking to see if anyone had seen the exchange. With a sigh of relief, his only consolation was that Saiph did not see nor hear his obvious freak out. Even better, Sayha had not passed by him; that would have been a much more difficult embarrassment to face. Having steadied himself, Dorian continued through the passages of bookshelves and tomes, collecting what he could into his inventory as he went before stumbling onto a long, outstretched corridor that let toward the centre of the room. Following it, he heard the gentle sound of his footsteps clacking over the concrete, listening to it reverberate and echo as he approached the centre; the room seemed to amplify sound from the centre out, for some odd architectural reason, and after his previous ordeal, it was enough to give him a slight chill, shivers running down his spine before he quickly got a hold of himself, releasing a warm breath of air to calm his nerves. "You're a Shaman, Dorian... act like one." I couldn't have said it better myself. Cursing under his breath, the Shaman of course remembered that Aurelia saw his little incident, shaking his head dejectedly. Continuing forward, his emerald hues took in the new locale, a large circular clearing situated at the centre of the archived maze of bookshelves; in the very centre of the circle, a large research table was set up, with several chairs strewn about around it, perfect for the intrepid group. Glancing around, Dorian saw neither hide nor hair of Saiph or Sayha, though he trusted they would be arriving soon; leaving no time to waste, he flicked his wrist upwards through the air, opening his interface and moving across to the stack of books he had left within his inventory. Approaching the large table, he emptied out the collection onto it's oaken surface, spreading out his findings and glancing over them with excitement. "Right... Now to wait for the others; and not a word of what happened earlier, got it?" The Shaman glared mentally at the Shikigami watching, who merely nodded her agreement, a giggle echoing through his mind.
Notes: Yaay for references!
Word Count: 825
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2016 15:55:23 GMT
Sayha thought it was strange to see many books without any labels on their spine. However strange might not have been the correct word. Disturbing? Unsettling? Or maybe it was just a feeling that couldn’t be conveyed by words… either way, Sayha was rather suspicious of the entire situation considering the books that did have titles were really weird titles like “How to Murder a Mango” or “A Person of the Land’s Guide for the Misfortunate.”
“<I think you picked an interesting section to look at>,” Yuki commented. Despite her words, Sayha knew Yuki wasn’t necessarily liking the fact that they were at where they were at. Her tail was twitching agitatedly and her ears also twitched from time to time.
“You can go back upstairs if you don’t like it so much here,” Sayha tried to soothe the fox by petting it.
“<I’d rather stay with you>,” Yuki nuzzled into Sayha’s hand which made her smile slightly. At least she offered.
Sayha decided to continue looking through her section, and that was when she found a book that looked rather interesting so far. It had a design on the spine without a name, and when she pulled it out, the design was larger on the cover… still with no name. When she flipped through the book, there weren’t words but rather images. In the first half of the book, the images showed beautiful landscapes, but in the second, it showed images of ruin… though some of the images were familiar. She went back to the first part of the book and compared them to the second portion. They were like before and after images… and Sayha had no idea what to make of it. As much as Sayha wanted to look into it, she was after something completely different. She put the book away but noted the location for a later date. She would come back when she wasn’t with anyone else but Yuki and investigate it further.
Sayha continued to move through her section until she found a few books labeled as journals. She flipped through them to see the words Miasma, Anima, and Psyche. It was good enough for now… especially because the longer she was in the archives, the more uneasy she felt. There just something just not right.
It didn’t take long for her to find Dorian who had put all of his books on one of the tables. Saiph was not in sight… at least not yet. Hopefully he didn’t get lost.
“I found a few, but not a whole lot down here,” Sayha said walking over to where he was, “This basement gives me the creeps… I think we should head back upstairs honestly.”
Saiph got lost… or at least he felt lost. Most of the books in his area were unlabeled and the ones that were had nothing on the Elemental Trinity, but rather creepy looking images. The person or persons who designed the books were obviously insane.
Saiph decided to head to the center where Dorian said to meet up but when he walked over to there, he saw that Sayha had beat him there. Instead of walking right in, he decided to let Dorian talk to Sayha. Hopefully he would have some luck talking her out of her obsession.
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 549
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2016 1:12:41 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Dorian spent the last remaining moments on his own to sort out the large pile he had accrued from the archives, various books on Miasma and the areas beyond Avon; a detailed mark-up of the Dimensional Theatre was in the mix as well, which he hoped would shed some light on the nature of the Miasma Realms themselves, though after the failure of the last book on the Arcane Bard's crowning glory, he wasn't expecting much with this one now. Nevertheless, he had taken it with him from the shelves and sorted it into a pile of books on Avon and it's landmarks. The next sorted stack was focusing on Miasma itself and the uses and/or effects of Corruption. Finally, the last pile formed was the smallest, but it held possible details on the Realms and maybe even more specific map data for it. Owing to the fact he had to open a lot of the books again to check what they were - thanks to them having blank spines, just like the creepy face book he had found earlier - time quickly went by him as he heard the gentle, soft clack of footsteps. Lifting his gaze from his books, he saw the vague silhouette of Sayha approaching him from the shadows. As her appearance became clearer, his mind started to wander back to what Saiph had been talking about earlier; with the Sorcerer late to arrive, this was probably his chance to try and talk to the Assassin, and perhaps get her to see the dangers of her... obsession. Sayha's voice quickly brought him out of his reverie, his eyes blinking rapidly as he transitioned from mind palace to reality. "Ah, good, yes... I managed to find a fair amount from my initial search, so I probably found the Miasma section, I suppose." Chuckling softly, he stood up from the table, dusting himself off as the Assassin approached him, speaking of returning upstairs as soon as possible; but alas, Dorian had to shake his head. "I don't think they'd let us take these books out of the archives; this place is locked up for a reason," he muttered in reply, scratching at the back of his neck slightly as he once again had to recall the book he had found with the screaming face. "We'll just have to work fast and scribble down as many notes as we can."Moving forward to meet Sayha halfway, his eyes glanced over her shoulder where he noticed the silhouette of Saiph waiting in the dark; apparently he had seen the opportunity as well, which meant Dorian would not be able to avoid it. Glancing back to the elf in front of him, he gestured for her to sit down at the table before moving to sit down next to where he had indicated her towards. "Listen, we need to talk... About this heretic group." Turning his body to give her his complete attention, Dorian gently placed his hand on her shoulder, making sure she knew he had her best interests at heart here before he continued. "From what I've seen, you seem to have become... for want of a better word, obsessed," he began; when it came to telling the hard truths, it was best to treat it like a band-aid, rip it off in one go and let the pain disappear as quickly as it arrives. "I know this is a problem, and these Adventurers are dangerous, but you don't want to go down this dark path that they are dragging you down." His hand indicated towards the books around the table, some strewn about, others stacked in neat piles from earlier. "This research, it's important, I know that, but you can't let this mission of yours take control of you. Your intentions are good, but I can bet you that Hecate would have started her cult with good intentions too. This is what happens, Sayha. The obsession becomes a dark tumour on your heart that you can't get rid of. Unless you act now."With that, he made a gentle pat on her shoulder, a small part of him waiting and expecting for her to lash out at him, but he needed to say his mind. Sliding away from her to give her room to think, he made a glance up at where Saiph was hiding, making a subtle gesture for him to tell the Sorcerer he was welcome to return now. "That being said, best we get started on all this research, hmm?" The Shaman quickly slipped his hand into his jacket, rummaging through the cashmere lining till he found the inner pocket; once there, he retrieved his notebook, bound and leathered to keep his notes sturdy, and slid the first pile of books towards him, as his mind focused instead on taking in as much information as possible.
Notes: Deep and meaningful.
Word Count: 810
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 4:09:11 GMT
It seemed that Dorian was pretty well organized when Sayha arrived. He looked up, explaining that he must have found the Miasma section… and that sounded about right. Sayha hadn’t even thought of trying to figure out how the archives had been organized. However, there wasn’t much of a point on dwelling on the thought since it was over. Dorian continued though, commenting that they probably wouldn’t allow them to take the books out of the archives since it was locked up.
“Fair enough,” Sayha shrugged, “Notes are good, but I think I may be able to talk the librarian into letting us borrow one or two. They know me pretty well… I may spend more time here than I should.”
Sayha set the books she found on the table next to where Dorian had placed them… though now she was curious as to where Saiph was. After all, Saiph had come down with Dorian before Sayha had made her way down. Just as Sayha was about to go look for him, Dorian walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, saying that the needed to talk about the heretic group.
Dorian said that she had become obsessed with the group, and she didn’t need to be dragged down by them. He knew that the research they were doing was important and that her intentions were good, but she needed to get rid of her obsession. After a moment, he patted her on her shoulder again, saying that they should probably get started on the research.
“I agree,” Saiph spoke, coming from behind Sayha, “Sorry I took so long, but it seemed I got lost for a moment or two.”
“Sounds about right,” Sayha rolled her eyes. Though without saying much more, she took a chair at the table that Dorian had claimed at took out the books that she had found… and the book with the weird design was one of those books. She set that book underneath her stack and took one of the other books and began to flip through it… though what Dorian had said was echoing in her mind. Saiph at some point had taken the seat next to Sayha, and Yuki found a clear spot on the table to curl up and take a nap.
Sayha wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond or what she was supposed to say to what Dorian had said to her. Though he was right, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Her search really had kind of taken over her life… though the thought of Hiro came to her mind.
Hiro was busy with guild work and such… but he felt the same way about Hecate… but his anger with the group hadn’t taken him over. It was hard though, dating a guy who was regularly busy. However, she had known that going into the relationship so there wasn’t anything she could say about it to him.
It would be something she would need to fix… she needed to go back to her poison research and actually work on said research. Her research with Fletcher had gotten cut short so she really needed to make and study the only known poison recipe.
After a moment though, Sayha’s mind stopped wandering and focused on reading. However, she found it hard to concentrate because she thought about the random book that had appeared in her inventory. It had been the one she looked at earlier, but she intentionally put it back… it didn’t make any sense to her.
((Personal Note: AP to here Claimed))
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used: Words: 595
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 10:39:12 GMT
| Dorian HP: 100% MP: 100% |
Sayha had become quite the philanthropist here in Londinium it seemed; not only was she eagerly exploring underground bunkers full of Miasma, taking down a heretic group of Adventurers who endangered the Unfounded Kingdom, but now she was in high regards with the lady librarian... Though, as she admitted, the last one may just be from spending perhaps a little too much of her time here in the Library. Nevertheless, Dorian was grateful to have the Assassin along for the ride, experienced as she was with the world, and it seemed she would be able to save them a few books. It would be good to take one or two of these tomes home with him, for secondary readings; one can never be too careful when dealing with Miasma. The Sorcerer in the shadows entered the room quite quickly after he had finished, which probably threw off their façade, but fortunately - or unfortunately, as the case may be - Sayha said nothing on the matter, including what Dorian had attempted to tell her. Then again, he didn't expect any immediate answer; well, he did, sort of, but not a friendly one. It was good to see that the Elf was at least thinking about his words, which meant he had gotten through to her. Now it was just a game of waiting, patience in seeing whether he would actually have made any change whatsoever. But, whatever may come, he at least said the words. She could not ignore the danger now, only face it or prevent it... or willingly succumb to it... Shaking the nightmarish thoughts from his mind, the Shaman turned to his books for some peaceful comfort, dragging across the first leather-bound tome and creaking open it's old, dusty cover. This was thankfully one of the named variety, a gold-print title etched across the spine - though given it's age, the gold had faded into a pale yellow; he only knew it was gold because flecks of the original colour could still be seen here and there - labelled 'A Plague of Corruption'. At first glance, he had thought it a fictional story, something political perhaps, but the truth was far worse... It was a diary remade into novella form, recounting the days of a Miasma plague that had hit one of the older villages in the outskirts of Sarum. "Hmm," he murmured against his lips, a soft vibration that broke the silence that had fallen over the trio that now sat at the long table in the centre of the bookshelf maze; all of them had various books out and were etching notes, just as Dorian was with his quill, the Blaze, and his scribble book, a fresh double-sided page open for him to work on. Flicking through the first few pages, he realised that the diary was of a Warden-in-training; he had been raised in the village, and part of their early training is sending them to deal with a case of Miasma. The recruit - his name in the diary labelled as 'Lazward' - was a rather egotistical and flamboyant young male, who joined the Wardens on promises of grand events and adventures. He was sent back to his village, when word of a Corrupted individual staying there got out. Judging by the title, this was going to be a tragedy, by any standards. His first few entries are simple non-descriptive accounts of his days back in the village, his family and their reaction to his new Warden attire, his... flirtatious encounters with several girls who had become infatuated with him due to his new physique and ability with a sword. Wait... did he mean actual swordsmanship, or...? Dorian was beginning to realise why this book was down here in the archives, his cheeks going red as he quickly flipped in a few pages. Things remained rather dull as Lazward avoided investigations; that was, of course, until three people died from mysterious circumstances. Finally willing to get up and look into it, the young Warden-to-be found all of them had been infected with Miasma, and fell to Corruption. As the days - and, by extension, entries - moved on, things got less and less cheerful in Lazward's tone of writing, as the title stated plague began to set in. After a week of people dying, the last straw was Lazward's own mother passing away from Corruption; finally, he sent a letter back to his commander in Stratford, calling for aid to stop the Miasma from spreading. The diary continued on, going into graphic details of the victims as Lazward experienced his first autopsy by the village undertaker and doctor - an odd combination of roles, a fact even the young Warden was perturbed by - and the Shaman quickly realised he was naive to think mere innuendo would banish a book like this into the archives. The gory explanations of the internal organs and the devastation Corruption had caused on the bodies of the Landers, this was certainly not to be put in the reach of children. Finally, the last few entries explained how the Wardens came in en masse, collecting those who had been infected or showed signs of infection and quarantining them, making sure the plague spread no further. After more thorough investigations by the more experienced commanders, it was discovered a Lander Heretic had been the 'cause of the infestation, tainting the water supply through the use of controlled bursts of Miasma. "Wait a minute," Dorian muttered under his breath, as he read that Lazward explained how the Heretic managed to escape the Warden's clutches. The village was saved, barely, and Lazward was put through more... intense training, which the Wardens would instigate on recruits thereafter to ensure something like this did not happen again. But what intrigued the Shaman more was the use of water to spread Corruption. Thinking back to the bunker, Dorian recalled how Morgana was creating a sort of... liquid form of Miasma, the bucket that Sayha had destroyed evidence of her experiments. Could this be an early example of the devastation such a thing would cause... Even worse, could this be a link to the very group Hecate had formed now, in present time? He could make no firm accusations yet, but the possibilities were concerning. Leaving the book open, he glanced over at the detailed notes he had etched across his double page in his notebook, as he slid the open tome across to the Elven Assassin. "You may want to look at the last few entries in that, Sayha... I dare say you'll have the same déjà vu that I just did."
Notes: What a twist!
Word Count: 1108
Tags: @shadowsaiph Coded by @serenityspace of LH |
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