Key Quest change the tides
Messenger

Age: 28 | Height: 5'0" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#43
Ashetta
THE STORMBRINGER
   In the blink of an eye, it was no longer Remi the man that held her, but Remi the... manticore? She didn't get the chance to marvel at him, at this wide eyed boy with feathers in his hair she had met on a rooftop who was now her brother. Who was now a warrior. There wasn't time to mourn for what he had been through or celebrate this man he had become.

   She could only survive.

   Remi! All light vanished, and she nearly shifted in her panic. The little bird's heart was racing too fast, her wings beating blindingly against her will in the mane of the manticore. Buried, trapped, trapped, trapped---She couldn't breathe, fuck, fuck---

   Remi's voice sounded in her head, and she barely registered it. The plants? They're dead! She gasped back to him, fiercely and desperate to believe it. The plants, they had to be dead, because then she had died for nothing. Because that's what was happening, wasn't it? She'd die down here. Wild fear dominated all that she was, and she wanted to shift, needed to. Dig and claw at the stone and rubble, she needed to get out, out. Remi held her securely, and she couldn't move. Remi-- Her mental voice was ragged. Afraid.


Welp. She's having a panic attack. #useful
this is where the end is written, every battle scar forgiven
howling in the wind, tingle in your skin
thunder and the rain as the storm rolls in & destroys it all
Are you ready for the landfall?
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
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#44
Deimos
THE RESURRECTED SWORD
How did you survive? they ask
How long did you suffer?
how dark did they tint your dreams?
The open sky beckoned, beatific rapture in the sun, in the gaze of the horizon, blue and blue and blue, not stone, not rubble, not venom – but there was only one pair of footsteps behind him – one, one, one Amalia, and it was just enough to make him breathe slightly easier, no matter how the poisons seeped into his lungs, clawed at his throat.

But then – why weren’t there more? Where are they? curled and coiled in his mind, a vicious cycle of apprehension, frustration, and consternation he had to push down, had to smother, beneath the wiles and machinations of a war-torn abyss. This was a battlefield, and he had no intentions of burying comrades, allies, friends, anytime soon. We had a plan surged against his clenched jaw, against his silent tirades – but it didn’t really matter, not here, not now. There wasn’t time to dwell.

The beast, the heathen, the sword turned around immediately, listening, staring, daring for them to clamber up the steps, only a little behind, only a few paces, a clawing tirade brandishing itself along his chest, intertwining along his soul, his core, his entity, when the crashing rubble ricocheted and resounded from below.

He ran, glancing only backwards at Amalia, at Ronin, to ensure they were following because there were no spare moments, not when they could be buried, not when lions and wolves were beneath ruin. Zuriel followed, the enigmatic cast, the glow of her horn, pervading and persisting, striving to heal them all, more and more, before they plunged back down, before more strength and fortitude were required.

Deimos leaned down, at the crumbling wake, and knew it wouldn’t support his figure, his brawn, his physique. So calculations spiraled, glancing back and forth between walls and stairs, between steps and the open world, between those left and those scattered. “I am going to make a pulley system,” he intoned, after a space of silent thoughts, expressed outwardly now, piercing gaze traversing from one to the other, then his fingers were pulling apart his bag, fishing out the rope he’d brought. “When you go down,” because he knew, he understood, without a shadow of a doubt, what they intended to do, an unsaid proclamation, “take the rope. Loop it around either of them, or a rock you cannot move, and I will pull them up.” It was too risky for them to be carried – unless either Remi or Ashe shifted into something lighter; and would they have the capacity to do so, buried and wounded?

His hands fixated on Amalia’s gas mask, adjusting it, and then shifted again, a glow in his palms as he began forming a stake, pushing it down into the ground, a swiveling pulley at its center, churning the rope through – handing the end to them. Be careful was another implicit sentiment, but they didn’t have the seconds for that either.

----

Zuriel tries to heal them. Deimos creates a pulley system to pull up Ashe or Remi, when Amalia/Ronin go down to find them (or to tie on a heavier rock) so he can lift them up. He hands them the rope.
- until you had blood glistening on your teeth
- until your suffering paled in comparison to their own
- until you learned to enjoy the sounds of screams
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
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#45
AMALIA
THE SHIELD OF SAFRIN
i think it's beautiful how a star's light
travels the universe long after it dies
Fresh air, safety, warmth, the sky- Amalia follows Deimos up, the staff clutched tightly in her hand, unable to see anything through the clouds of smoke except the crimson light and the steps before her. She does not realize Remi remains until she is halfway up the stairs, and by then it is too late to turn back, too important to see the sun again, to liberate Deimos and Ashe before trying again. Emerging into the open, she catches her breath, anxiety and adrenaline running through her veins, fear for her friend threatening to drown her. It will be fine, he will be fine, Vi, I beg you, let him be fine.

Remi is the strongest person she knows, kind and unassuming as he is, and Ashetta...

...Ashetta...

...Ashetta is not there.

For a moment she is frozen, petrified, afraid. Where is the assassin? Where is the lion? Black eyes stare at the rubble, horror rising behind them, anxiety like a flood. To Deimos and Ronin she speaks in a trembling voice, unable to look away from the Spire, from all that the faltering building contains. "Remi stayed behind. He stayed, and Ashe..." Ashe stayed too.

Frozen between terror and success, Amalia might have crumbled as easily as the spire itself were it not for Deimos' voice behind her, steady and guiding, leading and sure. She turns around, black eyes glassy, the ringing in her ears fading slightly as his hands caress her face, adjusting her mask. When you go back down... and ah, he knows, because the Shield is already formulating plans, the functional portion of her brain churning out ways to begin the rescue. She nods and takes the rope in her hands, turning back to the yawning chasm, letting Deimos to his work.

The rocks are unsteady, and you have to be smaller. Closing her eyes, Amalia reaches into herself, looking for the smallest version she can be and shifting down to that. The form that opens its eyes is different: fur and tail like the leopard, but tiny and dexterous like the owl. She has never been an otter before, but just as the others do, so too does this skin fit perfectly across her soul.

Gripping the rope between her teeth, Amalia descends once more. Vi, please protect them; Mort, don't take them, Rae, Caido, Safrin, Ludo, tell me they're okay. Prayers, because they are all she can offer, all she can do besides try. At the bottom there is nothing but stones and a strange dome, and for a moment panic wells within her. Remi? Ashe? Are you okay? she cries, hoping her mental voice will reach them, find them still alive. Nimble and slight, she is easily able to circle one of the larger boulders, looping the rope around its width before tying it off with nimble fingers. Don't worry, we're going to get you out!



Amalia shifts to otter, prays to anyone who's listening, and takes the rope to tie around the biggest rock on the Remi/Ashe mound. She also calls out to them through the Attuned bond to make sure they're ok
That's what I want to be in this world —
someone whose light lingers after I'm gone

Coding base by Sky!
Ronin Taliesin
the Supernova


Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 14 - Strg: 58 - Dext: 70 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
SUGAR - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
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#46
RONIN
THE FALLEN STAR
Ronin was buried and Ronin breathed. The duality of his existence both within the Spire and without it was nothing compared to the panic that gripped him as the walls came tumbling down onto his husband and his sister, as footsteps pounded against the stairs towards him. Even as Deimos and Amalia emerged, they needn't tell him what had happened - he was down there still, a flickering but bright light in the mounds of earth and rubble.

"Go," he managed as the pulley system was created and Amalia took the rope. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his forehead; he was more use with his astral form even now. Beneath the Spire, close to the manticore and the hummingbird, Ronin provided light in the darkness to shine through all of the cracks in the stone; a beacon for the otter to aim for.



Ronin uses his astral projection and his starlight to help Amalia find them.
now don’t you lose hope
I swear I never dream that we’re alone
I swear I still believe but I don’t know


Age: 6 | Height: | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#47
key quest

Luckily Remi 's control of the earth and the hulking form he shifts into protects both himself and Ashetta from the falling ceiling. Though the plants are truly gone now, the rocky-cavern that the manticore and hummingbird find themselves in traps the last of the lethal poison and both inhale a lungful in their tiny hovel.

Zuriel manages to heal Deimos and Amalia before they begin their pulley-system. Amalia scampers down the stairs with ease in her new shift and with light from Ronin is easily able to tie the rope around a boulder.



Plants: -10.5/697
Ronin: 66/66
Deimos: 94/110
Amalia: 107/154
Remi: 149/300
Ashe: 36/119

Your new initiative order is: Remi, Ashe, Deimos, Amalia, Ronin.

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
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#48
this is my broken heart and my bleeding start
this is the way i've come to know you
this is my winding road and my way back home
The plants are dead, and for a moment the manticore wants to drop to his knees with relief. He can feel his heart hammering in his chest and wishes desperately that he had fingers so that he could feel Ronin's own heartbeat as well. Ashe's panic broke through his temporary reprieve, and through the bond soothing thoughts and calm surged from the alchemist to the fluttery bird pinned against his half-feathered half-furred chest. They are all dead. He agreed with a gentle whisper into her mind. We are alive. We are okay. He continued, infusing his words with love and the strength of his new shift to convince her that they would make it out alive. Coughing as the last of the poison burned his lungs, Remi tensed as he tried to hold the small bird as gently as he could.

Cocking his head slightly at the sound of Amalia's voice, Remi flexed a wing tentatively against the boulders around him. He could probably shove them all aside, but if Amalia was out there (and Ronin now too, judging by the starlight, not that Remi could injure him in this form), flying boulders might not be terribly smart.

We are alright. Remi called silently to Amalia, a smile in his voice. The plants are all dead.

Then, to Ashe: I am going to shift and move the boulders. Just stay where you are. Wings around the hummingbird became hands, lion's paws and legs became feet and knees knelt against the ground, and a full mane became a dusty halo of curls. As soon as his magic was within reach, Remi pushed outwards against the stones meaning to hold each as it was and raise it gently away.



Remi shifts and uses mastered earth magic to slowly move the stones away from he and Ashe.
Remi Taliesin
THE ALCHEMIST
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Messenger

Age: 28 | Height: 5'0" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 7 (lvl 3 Attuned) - Strg: 10 - Dext: 27 - Endr: 19 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#49
Ashetta
THE STORMBRINGER
   Remi assured her they were alive, they were okay, but gods she couldn't breathe. Tiny lungs struggled for air through the poison trapped with them, and she tried to see anything, tried to wriggle her way up so that she could just see over Remi's wing. She couldn't be trapped down here, couldn't be left in the dark, buried, forgotten, not again, she couldn't forget her name again. Her mind lurched for an empty space in her heart and her soul, searching for that bright tether that had gone so silent and dark. Kalt wasn't there, though, and she was trapped, trapped.

   Amalia's voice sounded then, another beacon for her focus. Remi was with her. She wasn't alone, and she wasn't going to be left here. Her body trembled against Remi as he shifted, her heart in a frenzy now. Remi, I can't---I can't--- She wasn't sure what it is she was trying to say. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't stay down here. Couldn't remain in this tiny, helpless form. He didn't understand, he didn't know, did anyone know? Had she ever told anyone? Why hadn't she ever told anyone?

   Stay where you are, Remi had told her, but she couldn't, oh, gods she couldn't. Her ears were ringing, everything in her seized with ice, seized with panic. The hummingbird's form flickered unreliable, growing larger before meeting the resistance of Remi's hand. Her wings beat against his chest and his palm, and.. and then there was light, brilliant like starlight as it filtered through the boulders. Ronin? she gasped, the hummingbird's small form shuddering. He was out there, he was right there. They're getting you both out, she told herself, again and again.


Ashe is following instruction (barely) and staying as she is. Still panicking.
this is where the end is written, every battle scar forgiven
howling in the wind, tingle in your skin
thunder and the rain as the storm rolls in & destroys it all
Are you ready for the landfall?
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
BELIAL - Mythical - Peryton (Blend) ZURIEL - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
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#50
Deimos
THE RESURRECTED SWORD
How did you survive? they ask
How long did you suffer?
how dark did they tint your dreams?
Amalia descended, and he held his breath, waited, hands on the remains of the rope, on the pulley system compiled and composed, ready for the moment where he was needed. He didn’t bother with prayers, with faith, with hope, clenched his jaw, fell into silence, even as Ronin partly-remained, astral projection gone into the stones and basement once more, corporeal, tangible entity still nearby.

And the warrior felt useless again.

There was nothing to fight here – just rocks and rubble – until he could feel a tug at the end of his line, and quickly responded, pulling against the weight of the boulder, maneuvering backwards along the grass, muscles brandished and undulating from the new, sudden onslaught. With a greedy eagerness, their taut motions dragged, tugged, and hauled, aided by the pulley’s system, intending to bring the stone up further and further. Then he could set it down, disentangle the rope, and send the cord back down again, a rinse and repeat method for as long as his strength held out.

--

Deimos tries to tug up the boulder and throws the rope back down!
- until you had blood glistening on your teeth
- until your suffering paled in comparison to their own
- until you learned to enjoy the sounds of screams
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
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#51
AMALIA
THE SHIELD OF SAFRIN
i think it's beautiful how a star's light
travels the universe long after it dies
We are alive.

A choked sob of happiness stops Amalia in her tracks, the rope quivering between her paws as she finds her way around the largest stone. You idiot! Amalia exclaims, relief in her mental voice softening the insult. Vi's beard- ok. We're going to pull out some of the larger stones so you can save your strength. Ronin's light and her enhanced senses make the work easy, and she ties the rope with surprisingly nimble claws before moving out of the way, hoping not to disturb the rubble.

As the boulder rises Amalia turns to the refracted Ronin, nodding to show that the others are well, wishing she could speak to him too. But she is afraid of shifting while the ground is still unsteady, more secure with her reduced weight and nimble otter feet. As the rope comes down once more she moves to tie it around another of the larger stones, hoping to help the humming bird and manticore as best she can, to spare their strength and prevent any further injury.



Amalia ties the rope around another of the biggest stones
That's what I want to be in this world —
someone whose light lingers after I'm gone

Coding base by Sky!
Ronin Taliesin
the Supernova


Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 14 - Strg: 58 - Dext: 70 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
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#52
RONIN
THE FALLEN STAR
It was all Ronin could do to sit and provide his flickering light (growing weaker with every ounce of energy and concentration lost), though the hunter did glance up at the sound of pattering feet coming close. The sight of the otter was confusing at best, and it was written all over his face, but as he spotted the rope and the way the creature nodded at him, he realised who it must be. "Amalia," he mumbled, managing a shaky smile and letting himself relax ever so slightly at the knowledge that Remi and Ashe were still alive in there.

As evidenced by, with the help of the pulley system and mastered earth magic, the boulders and craggy rocks finally begin to move.

"They are alive." Up in his physical body near Deimos, he managed to grind the words out. At least the warrior would know, then, that his efforts were going towards something.



Ronin continues to provide light and informs Deimos that Remi and Ashetta are ok!
now don’t you lose hope
I swear I never dream that we’re alone
I swear I still believe but I don’t know


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#53
key quest

What's this? A mostly successful basement KQ? How about that. Wonders never cease.

Through magic and ingenuity, the hovel of rocks are lifted away from Ashetta and Remi, freeing them from what might have become their rocky tomb.

The plants are all dead. The walls and ceiling have only slightly collapsed, and no one has died. How marvelous.



Congratulations on a successful KQ! All participants receive +2 stats of their choice.



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