Sweat streaked the mousy grey mare’s coat in thick, clumpy streaks as she stalked through the winding canyons that served as Solterra’s southern border. Days without any sort of central leadership drug on in a nondescript blur, though she repeated the tasks she had been given in the past dutifully, if mindlessly. To a stranger, the empty passages of the Elatus Canyons might seem monotonous and winding, each twist and turn identical to the last, but she passed through them as thoughtlessly and listlessly as some wandering apparition. There was purpose to her paths, a method to her apparent madness developed from years of walking these passages at the sides of her fellow warriors. It seemed that the court had grown smaller without a leader; normally, she would be flanked by three or four of her kin, but she had spent much of the past few months in relative solitude. She wasn’t sure if the others had left, released from the loyalty that had bound them to their previous leader, or if they had simply set out to work on her own, but the Day Court felt short-handed and quiet – in any case, Seraphina wasn’t too worried about it. Solterra was vast, and she knew that she was not alone. It did, however, mean that she had to shoulder duties that were not initially her own. In a culture of warriors, particularly one situated in the midst of a desert, healing herbs were always in short supply; she wasn’t looking for velvet mesquite, per say, but if she stumbled upon any, she wouldn’t be opposed to bringing it back with her.
The midday sun beat down on her back, distorting the reddish walls of the canyon that rose up alongside her in rippling waves. She could hear the low whistle of wind bustling through the narrow passages just up ahead, and, though she knew she would be forced to crouch to make her way through them, she was grateful for the shade that she knew the enclosed spaces would provide. Seraphina dipped under a smooth arch of striped stone, weathered from years of sand and storm; the walls gave her little more than three inches of movement on each side, and, if she were claustrophobic, she imagined that she would be in a panic. As she was, Seraphina pressed on with the same monotonous neutrality that she used to approach absolutely everything, snaking through the passages until she came out of them, stepping out into a wide, craggy segment of the canyons.
Her gaze darted rapidly across the scene splayed out ahead of her, checking the narrow ridges scattered sporadically across the walls for any sign of life. Initially, she found nothing of interest; however, her eyes came to a rest on a somewhat spindly, bright green shrub that she recognized as her quarry. Unfortunately, it was on a ridge approximately twenty feet up, so she had some climbing to do. Gritting her jaw, Seraphina trotted over to a ridge that she was relatively sure she could clamber onto, and, with a kick of her hindquarters, propelled her body up onto the shallow outcropping. From there, it was a matter of working her way up the side of the canyon at an angle, pausing each time she reached a substantial enough ridge; there wasn’t room for error, but this was hardly the first time she’d climbed the walls. Cautious, meticulous paces eventually led her to the ridge that supported the velvet mesquite. She only needed the leaves and gum for medicine, but, given the difficulty of extracting gum alone and the benefits the rest of the plant provided, she decided that it was more economical to take the entire plant with her. Gripping the trunk in her jaws, she gave it a sharp tug, and, fortunately, she managed to pull it from the ground without upsetting the ridge or losing her balance. She deposited it on the ground in front of her hooves, and, sucking in a breath of hot, dusty air, directed the entirety of her concentration at the bush. She didn’t use telekinesis all too often, but she certainly wasn’t going to carry the bush back to the court in her mouth; it lifted gently into the air alongside her, twisting and bobbing in the gentle breeze. With that, she took a moment to use her present elevation to confirm her bearings. Seraphina liked to think that she knew Solterra like the back of her hooves, but she knew just how easy it was to lose all sense of direction in the canyons.
The Terminus Sea had quickly become one of her favorite places in the realm. It was as though her thoughts drifted away, out into the open waters and disappeared; her troubles and cares sinking like stones beneath the foamy waves until they were nothing but darkness amidst darkness. The salt would eat at them over time, grinding away until the there was nothing left at all. The breeze ruffled the feathers of her feet, brushing her hair against her shoulder like a lover's gentle caress as she lifted her head into the brine filled air.
It was a scent that she had never known before finding her way to the Dusk Court, sharp and distinct enough that it did not allow the creeping thoughts of home to climb across her consciousness like ivy vines. Her movement was slow among the rocks, careful to lift her feet so as not to trip on the various rocks scattering the sand in this particular area of the beach. Most of it was clear, making an easy path for one to run if they so wished, but Inara ventured closer to the tide pools and more secluded areas. It was here that she felt, perhaps, a deity might hide his precious relic.
The two others that she had arrived with, a stallion and a mare, were somewhere out there. They had been her guide and guardian, a trusted pair of friends from the old nation -- her mother's final parting gift to a daughter she had set free at last. She was not sure that they would stay with her forever, because even after many months of travel together they both held wariness towards her. Perhaps for her resemblance to her sire, or her lack of conversation with them. She simply was not sure what to say.
A lifetime of silence and seclusion had suddenly burst into absolute freedom, with no one or nothing to direct her path. She felt as though she had walked circles her entire life, only to be told to run in a single direction in a split second. And she supposed that she could have chosen to go back to her father, to follow through on his marriage arrangement to some unknown son of an unknown ally...but she found that she had not wanted it at all.
She relished in the freedom...even if she had no idea what do with it. Perhaps that was what drove her to search out the relic, a whisper among the courts. She needed something to give her an edge, to help her keep that precarious freedom she had found. Somewhere in her head, she knew it was entirely possible that her father was still looking for her -- and he would not hesitate to bring her back under his power. She had to find a way to make herself strong.
As the sun began it's descent below the sea, a slight movement caught her eye causing her to pause in her slow meander across the beach. Her ears twisted forward, attentive and alert as she lowered her heavy crown to investigate a seashell nestled between a pair of rocks. The shell was brilliantly colored, a combination of cream and swirling orange stripes, that twisted to a point and...it was moving. Once...twice, the shell rocked itself despite the lack of breeze this close to the ground. Inara regarded it with curiosity, slowly extending her muzzle to give the shell a small bump so that it rolled from it's wedged position and onto the sand before her. The shell, as if utterly shocked by the experience, froze...until something small and foreign to her began to crawl out and right itself.
Utterly fascinated by the tiny orange creature, the mare moved closer still, her auburn hair falling forward to brush along the sand and entangling the gritty pieces into the ends. The hermit crab froze again once it noticed the woefully large creature staring back at it, the pair locked in a stalemate of fear and curiosity.
ooc: first post with Inara! Feel free to join, and I'm sorry if it's a little rusty -- I haven't written horses in years it seems. also pls ignore lack of coding, i'll find some eventually.
COLD WIND gusted through the mare’s mane, a not-unwelcome departure from the desert heat that she was so accustomed to. Seraphina had travelled through the Arma Mountains before, accompanying envoys and historians, but walking the thin, precarious trail that dipped and wove through the rugged peaks still put her on edge. More unnerving, however, was the ever-present sense that she was trespassing, regardless of whether or not the Night Court actually had a Sovereign or a functioning set of laws. When she had walked these trails in the past, she had always had express permission to be doing so, and the thought of wandering into the lands of the Night Court without it made her stomach twist into knots. Wrong, wrong, wrong. She had managed to swallow her inherent opposition to her current invasion in favor of something that was not quite curiosity. Even in a land as vast as Novus, rumors spread quickly, and she had heard that a relic of Tempus, the first god, had emerged, though any specifics of its location were lost on her. (Though, she supposed, if it was a relic of the time god, it could be in many places at once, or constantly moving – she wasn’t especially philosophical, however, and spent little time considering it.) A relic of Tempus was bound to be quite powerful, and it was her duty to see if it presented a threat or an opportunity. In either case, she needed to return it to the Day Court, should her attempts to find it succeed. Seraphina did not want to risk allowing something with the potential to be so powerful to fall into hands that would misuse it.
She hugged the mountainside as she picked her way up the trail, eyes darting to keep careful watch on her surroundings. Much as she wanted to keep them trained on the icy, slick ground below her hooves, Seraphina was well aware that danger could present itself in many forms, and she was unwilling to allow herself to be caught off-guard, particularly in foreign lands – not to mention that, for all she knew, the relic could be somewhere in the mountains. She came to a momentary halt on a craggy ridge, shielded from the wind by a large overhang that dripped with icicles. The sun hung low in the sky, spreading rays of brilliant red-gold and peach across the sky; soon dusk would come creeping in, then night, and she would admit that she wasn’t looking forward to navigating the trails in the dark. For now, however, even Seraphina could admit that the view from her perch was stunning. Lands that seemed so large when she wandered through them sprawled out in miniature as far as the eye could see, cut open by glistening rivers and streams and coated in forests that looked like little more than weeds; she was looking down at Terrastella, at the moment, but if she turned just a bit she could find the familiar, golden sands of Solterra, glistening like a sea of diamonds in the dying light. It was rare for the woman to pause to enjoy the view, but she had never been alone in these lands. Solitude brought with it observation, and, with observation, appreciation. Seraphina knew that she couldn’t linger, however, and after a moment’s silence continued on her way. She needed to cover as much ground as she could before darkness fell.
Once you have purchased an Armor item from the Agora, you must respond to this thread with the correct form below in order to have your item recognized. For more information on the restricted item process, please read this guidebook page.
If you need to update an item, please visit this thread.
<u><b>Information</b></u>
<b>Character receiving Armor:</b> LINK TO CHARACTER ACCOUNT
<b>Have you purchased the 'Armor' item?</b> YES OR NO
<b>-- If no:</b> IF 'NO' TO ABOVE QUESTION, HOW DID YOU OTHERWISE OBTAIN IT? IF A CONTEST PRIZE, LINK MUST BE INCLUDED
<b>Description of Armor:</b> BRIEF ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION FOR RECORDS PAGE
<b>Is the Armor, Outfit, and Accessories section of your character's profile filled out?</b> YES OR NO
<u><b>Agreement</b></u>
I understand that I can only change my character's Armor once every IC year (eight months), and that I must contact staff before doing so. If I am found using Armor other than the one described in my profile, my purchased item will be revoked without refund. I am not able to mention my Armor in my IC posts until the staff have redeemed the item.
Three days had passed since the ember was swept into a quiet new continent, and while he remained rattled to his core he also felt as though a vibrant tide of peace had washed over his salty skin. A purpose, no, an actual life was now his to call his own, reclaimed from the greedy teeth of his captors - what was he to do with it? Here the lad stood blooming into manhood in a land to begin anew. Where in heaven or earth was he to begin?
The wise one who sat in a nest of feathers upon his withers had been urging the boy to explore, to seek, to experience. There was a wealth of life and truth within the forests, and hearts and souls were plenty throughout the land. To begin, though, was a task proving nearly impossible. Which way was safe? Which way would he find these wonders his bonded spoke of? How was a boy to know. "Jus-" Dohv had had enough of the indecision, so gave a booming hoot through their bond. Scampering up the equines neck and taking his place upon the stallions poll, a paw clutching the boy's ear like a staff, he spoke again into Damascus's mind. "Jus' FLY! Yer wings'll take yew somewhere!"
Damascus - who was quite alarmed at his friend's scolds - spooked into a lofty pace, soon to unfold his sail-like wings and take to the wind with a beat or two of those black and gold pennons. "Okay!" Damascus would reply eagerly, his starry eyes searching the ground as their altitude gained. What he was looking for he didn't know; perhaps just anything that caught his eye.
The warrior's flight took them above the cloud cover and daringly close to the sun, following it's searing gaze for what could have been a number of hours (it was not uncommon at all for Damascus to loose track of time while flying). He found it immensely therapeutic, the sun warming his face as his wings held the advantage of the wind currents, never allowing him to fall below the floor the clouds provided.
It was when he noticed the sun was waning that he became aware of just how much time had passed, and with a slight gasp he aimed his course downwards. Perhaps he expected to see oceans or mountains... not desert as far as the eye could see.
Except for one magnificent oasis that stood out like a jewel in mud. "Oh 'mascus!" Dohv came to chirp "Look at THAT!".
With a smile now fixed upon the blackened brute's face, Damascus keenly allowed his wings to sail him down to the sand until his hooves struck the dry surface of the oasis's perimeter, starry eyes gazing hungrily at the plant life and crystalline water. "Fish!" Damascus would soon exclaim upon noticing a figure in the water, charging forward with bounding strides (It was just a rock, though). "Fish see I, Dohv" Damascus spoke out loud to his bonded, allowing his left wing down to let the jerboa hop onto the sand beside him. "You look, Dohv, fish see swim"
@Avdotya
Once you have purchased a Minor Mutation item from the Agora, you must respond to this thread with the correct form below in order to have your item recognized. For more information on the restricted item process, please read this guidebook page.
Minor Mutation (Original Item)
Code:
<blockquote>
<span class="officialheader">Redeeming Minor Mutation</span>
<u><b>Information</b></u>
<b>Character receiving Mutation:</b> @CHARACTER - LINK TO CHARACTER ACCOUNT GAINING THE ITEM
<b>Have you purchased the 'Minor Mutation' item?</b> YES OR NO
<b>-- If no:</b> IF 'NO' TO ABOVE QUESTION, HOW WAS IT OBTAINED? IF A CONTEST PRIZE, APPLICABLE THREAD LINKS MUST BE INCLUDED
<b>Does the Appearance section of your character's profile clearly detail the mutation they are receiving?</b> YES OR NO
<b>A brief description of the mutation:</b> A SINGLE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF THE MUTATION YOU ARE REDEEMING
<b>How many Mutations does your character currently have?</b> NUMBER OF EXISTING MUTATIONS AND MUTATIONS YOU ARE ADDING
<u><b>Agreement</b></u>
I understand and agree to all of the following: Minor Mutations do not give any offensive or defensive benefits to my Character. I understand that I must wait until staff approval before writing my character in IC posts with their mutation, and this may delay character acceptance. If I am found writing my character with a Minor Mutation other than the one(s) described in my profile, my Minor Mutation Item will be revoked without refund.
There was no word for heaven nor for earth, the time of day given not a single thought as the black and gold sails of our protagonist fell below the last star. Above was the universe; a speckled domain of unnamed gods and monsters and below, a carpet of peach-coloured clouds lit only by the sun sinking in the west. It was this high territory that night became day, the stars fell away, and Damascus of the dungeons would last touch moon tide.
Like a burned leaf scattered upon the wind, Damascus begins his story above these clouds in the fragile realm between heaven and earth, tired wings flaying with a BOOM among the wind to break his fall. "OOF!" the stag had bellowed, a quadruple of legs swinging and dangling tiredly under his heaving ribs. He was alive. He was free. Bricks, iron, and chains were behind an entire veil of planets; that old life and what once was was now literally a world way. Dohv, who had frightfully tangled himself tightly within the blackbird's feathers finally peaked his long-eared head out, tiny paws clasping onto the shaft of a feather for some extra security.
"We made it!" the jerboa had spoken through their bond, wide eyes cast downwards at the unravelling landscape.
Just a glimpse of the ocean below was enough to cause the child to gasp, raking in a heavy breath through his mouth while his front feet widened atop a cloud in a failed attempt to stand upon it. Wingbeats lifting him from the false floor, Damascus craned his head low in an attempt to steal yet another glimpse of the world beneath. There were oceans on this globe too it would seem and, just as the gulls sounded their fanfare from the pine and cliffs below, an entire landscape fell beneath the retreating puffs of cloud. Golden cliffs warmed by a dusk sun, a towering structure on the furthest point of the coast. A truly beautiful place.
It was a warm breeze and the drumming of waves upon the shoreline that greeted the slave to solitude, to safety, to the cornucopia. Wingbeats of a free man echoed over the last of that rosy cloud top, his black, tired sails flattening as he aimed his flight townwards to the lush cliffside fields now appearing within his view. What kind of creatures would inhabit this land? Any pegasi? Any equine folk at all?
Hopeful as ever Damascus touched upon the ground with a huff and grunt stemming from an exhausted body and mind, his limbs nearly buckling completely under his hefty weight. The length of his tail was soon to fall beside him, the heavy appendage dragging along the tired form of the lad as he set off upon the cliff in search of life.
YAY!
My first ever Damascus post. I feel like this was utter horseshit but we'll get there.
Open to ANYONE!
OOC: Anyone is welcome to join me! Vale would love to meet a new face! <3
V A L E
THE STARS IGNITE
Streaks of pale saffron and warm apricot were slowly infringing upon the deep periwinkle blue of the sky, signaling the beginning of dawn and the sun’s slow rise to glory. The golden, hay-like grasses of Eluetheria were heavy with thawing dew; the night’s crisp air was slowly heating to a refreshing climate indicative of spring. The deep emerald conifer trees surrounding the plains were littered with deciduous trees whose leaves were only starting to sprout again.
The rays of the sun flashed against amethyst feathers, revealing the mare standing halfway beneath the shade of an evergreen, and halfway exposed within the long strands of grass that sashayed against her ivory limbs. Thick hair unbound, it waved lazily on the morning breeze, shrouding her observant gaze with the wind’s every change of direction. The fiery appendages extending past the length of her wings behaved similarly, small tufts of feathers chafing against each other. Her mismatched eyes were unfocused even as they gazed out at the land before her, her mind quite obviously ruminating elsewhere.
She was far from the tranquility and security of the Night Court. Her pensive wanderings had eventually brought her to the free land between Delumine and Solterra, two kingdoms she had yet to visit and familiarize herself with. No matter where she traveled or what company she kept, her thoughts kept straying back to the memory of flames against her flesh, to the ghost of a stallion painted with midnight and stars. Her thoughts kept betraying her.
With a frustrated stamp of her bronzed hoof, she broke into a sudden gallop, brows furrowing in determination almost as if she could outrun her past. Her large wings stretched to their full potential, the sun reflecting against the deep hue of her feathers. She didn’t take flight; she had only desired the feel of freedom between each plume, the power beneath her hooves as they threw up the fragile dirt of a new season. With her attention on her grounded flight, her mind emptied. She became a part of the land, not a creature haunted by the loss of love, the deceit of family, or the burden of prestigious titles.
The distant sound of thunder brought the mare skidding to a halt, hooves kicking up a cloud of dust. Her salmon-stained muzzle softened into a smile as she pinpointed the source of the disturbance; the burly brown bodies of a herd of bison now occupied the opposite end of Eluetheria. Pricking her ears, she let out a rather undignified snort, signaling her presence to the ungulates and to any other creature currently roaming the expansive plains.
Every inch of her was soaked to the skin, and every muscle in her wings screamed with pain. Sweat and rainwater stole away her body's dwindling warmth as she fought a losing battle against the unseasonable storm that raged over the coastline, blown inland by ocean winds. There was nothing but churning darkness below her, a hungry sea that would swallow her up without a second thought if she gave up now. Legs thrashing helplessly below her, the stocky pegasus strove desperately to stay aloft, though her wings felt like lead weights with each stroke. There was nothing left in her, not even adrenaline, just a primal will to survive, to deny the ocean it's claim on her life.
Worse than the physical agony, though, was the mental pain of loss. Java's terrified cries as he was dislodged from her back and sent spinning into the darkness still rang in her ears. He had been the closest thing she had ever had to a friend, the gentle calm to her firey storm, and she had let him down. He was gone, and it was all her fault. She screamed her helpless rage to the heavens as she battled the winds that tossed her about like a leaf. The ocean couldn't go on forever, there had to be land somewhere. She just had to stay above the water til then.
There--beyond the darkness below her, a scrap of pale grey. Sand? A coastline?
Safety.
With a few precious embers of hope now stirring within her, she angled herself towards the rapidly-approaching shore. As it drew closer, she squinted through the driving rain and found herself looking upon a sea of sand, rather than water. Belatedly, she realized she was coming in too fast. The winds were driving her towards land, and her wings had no strength left in them. She flared them out, shouting at the new surge of pain, but it barely helped slow her uncontrollable descent. There was only enough time for one thought to cross her mind before she made contact with the ground.
This is really gonna hurt.
And it did. Mercifully, Aryel's exhausted body won out over her mind, and she lost consciousness right before the crash.
The disheveled girl hit the ground on her right side, outstretched wing barely avoiding being crushed beneath her weight. She tumbled forward, pulled for several feet more by her own velocity, until she finally came to rest on the rain-soaked beach, a mass of feathers and fur. The storm would rage on through the night, finally abating in the wee hours of morning. When a grey dawn arrived, the sunlight would find her still lying there in a twisted heap, one wing spread out across the sand while the other was tucked loosely at her side, hindquarters half-submerged in the lapping surf. The only sign that the scruffy creature was still alive was the shuddering rise and fall of her sides.
Once you have purchased the Active Magic item from the Agora, you must respond to this thread with the correct form below in order to have your item recognized. For more information on the restricted item process, please read this guidebook page.
Active Magic (Interactive Item)
Code:
<blockquote><blockquote>
<div class="tcat"><center><font style="font-size:20px; font-weight:bold;">Redeeming Active Magic</font></div></center>
<u><b>Information</b></u>
<b>Character receiving Magic:</b> @CHARACTER - LINK TO CHARACTER ACCOUNT GAINING THE ITEM
<b>Have you purchased the 'Active Magic' item?</b> YES OR NO
<b>-- If no:</b> IF 'NO' TO ABOVE QUESTION, HOW WAS IT OBTAINED? IF A CONTEST PRIZE, APPLICABLE THREAD LINKS MUST BE INCLUDED
<u><b>Thread Specifics</b></u>
<b>Opting for a Quest?</b> YES (SPECIFY TO WHICH: STAFF-WRITTEN SHORT QUEST, MEMBER-WRITTEN SHORT QUEST, MEMBER-WRITTEN EXTENDED QUEST) OR NO - IF YOU CHOOSE NO, YOU WON'T RECEIVE THE ADDITIONAL +1EXP AND CANNOT QUEST LATER ON FOR THIS ITEM
<b>-- If yes to staff-written: Do you want the Quest set in the past or present?</b> PAST WOULD MEAN YOUR CHARACTER IS "GAINING" THE MAGIC FOR THE FIRST TIME - PRESENT WOULD BE A QUEST *WITH* THEIR MAGIC
<b>-- If yes to staff-written: Do you have a specific land you'd like your quest to be in?</b> LEAVE BLANK IF NO QUEST. IF YOU HAVE ANY PREFERENCE FOR LOCATION, LIST IT HERE - OTHERWISE STAFF WILL CHOOSE THEIR OWN LOCATION FOR THE QUEST
<b>-- If yes to staff-written: How would you like to gain this Active Magic?</b> LEAVE BLANK IF NO QUEST. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA FOR YOUR CHARACTER TO GAIN IMMORTALITY? IF YOU HAVE ANY PREFERENCE, LIST IT HERE - OTHERWISE STAFF WILL CREATE THEIR OWN PROMPT FOR YOU
<b>One/Two-word description of Active Magic:</b> FOR STAFF TO PUT IN THE RECORDS & YOUR CHARACTER'S POSTBIT
<b>Opting for having a related Parvus Magic?</b> YES OR NO, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO INCLUDE THE PARVUS MAGIC - ITS A BONUS
<b>-- If yes, give a brief description:</b> MUST BE RELATED IN SOME FASHION AND MAKE SENSE, CANNOT BE ACTIVELY CONTROLLED, MUST BE WRITTEN OUT IN PROFILE TOO
<b>Is the Magic section of your character's profile filled out?</b> YES OR NO, MUST DESCRIBE BOTH THE ACTIVE AND PARVUS (IF PARVUS WAS OPTED FOR)
<b>How does the Magic relate to your Court?</b> EXPLAIN HOW YOUR MAGIC CAN BE LINKED TO YOUR COURT'S IDEALS AND WHY YOUR CHARACTER WOULD HAVE THIS MAGIC
<u><b>Agreement</b></u>
I understand and agree to all of the following: I have read all rules and guidelines set forth in the Guidebook for Magic. Staff will work with me through private messages until my Magic is deemed acceptable. I am not able to use Magic in my IC posts until the staff have formally approved this redemption, replaced my Active Magic Item with the Tiered Magic Item, and recorded it under the Magic Records. If I am found writing my character with a Magic other than the one described in my profile, my item will be revoked without refund.
