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Moving onward from the swamp - and I'm very happy to have left it behind - I cross the creek that I had once stumbled on before. I do not see the stallions that were there when I once visited it. I continue past the creek, leaving the low banks behind me and continue to what seems like a new land. As I've been traveling I've noticed that each place I go has a certain... feel to it. Like perhaps they are ruled by different lords? Gods? I'm not sure how Novus is put together, but I know that've seen a good portion of it. Cliffs, fields, creeks, peaks... there's a lot of exploring that I've done, for certain, and I wonder if I will be able to keep it all together in my mind. Rostislav the Explorer, I'll be!
I find myself confronted with a river, luckily calm in the afternoon's sun. Birds sing and I think I even see fish swimming below the surface. It's wider than the creek and certainly deeper, and I wonder if fording it is going to be a safe option. I glance downriver and find it narrows, enough perhaps that traversing it won't be so horrible. It's a crazy idea but I think perhaps that a running start might help... Maybe. I start up a canter, then break into a full gallop as I approach the bank. A better leap than I could have hoped for gets me over half-way across. I crash into the water with the grace of a hippo and immediately start swimming across. The water is deep, but the current slow, and I reach the other bank soaked but unharmed. Sturdy hooves and legs drag my carcass from the water and I shake out like a wet dog.
Continuing forward I reach something new and strange. Similar to the Dusk Court I had stumbled upon with Weir, I find what must be another Court. A circular area marked by tall columns, a pool of water encircled with stone in the middle of it all. Small, mostly roof-less buildings crop up within the marked area, but I don't bother just now to explore them. Instead I stop at the pool of water and stare at my reflection in the strangely clear water. Maybe my reflection will talk back and tell me what where I am or where the relic is.
WC: 398
Tag: @Weir (if you want!), open
Rostislav
more than a drunken fool
06-18-2017, 05:33 PM
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While plenty of people question the wisdom of Roland Deschain's obsessive and eternal quest for the Dark Tower, few fail to understand the urge that drives him toward it. There is a certain transcendent magnetism woven into the fabric of monolithic structures and, as our primitive ancestors trembled in awe as lightning struck the mountaintops, so too did Martin feel the weight and significance of the Dawn Court even before he had a name to call it.
He stood before the Court's weathered stone walls, blue eyes tracing the inexorable upward creep of vines along its surface. His tail switched across his flanks at a slow, metronomic tempo.
There were ghosts inside that masonry, he thought.
A splash nearby interrupted the budding introspection before it could properly take root. Martin's head and attention snapped away from the castle as one, pausing only to weigh curiosity against caution before treading softly toward the source of the disturbance. This land had as yet offered him no reason to expect danger, but the unicorn was not about to walk straight down a dragon's throat like a lamb to slaughter.
What he found was definitely no dragon, but rather someone not entirely unlike himself, staring intensely into a puddle of water as though straining to wrest the (undoubtedly numerous) secrets from its depths. A stippled path of wet hoofprints and the damp-dark of his ruddy hide betrayed him.
Tilting his head quizzically, Martin intruded softly, "Pardon; do you know what this place is?"
And why, the young stallion offered only to himself, did he feel like he belonged here?
@Rostislav - please excuse this post written entirely on my phone ^^;
06-26-2017, 03:32 PM
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I lift my gaze from the pool, as I realize that I am no longer alone. I've been so lost in thought that I did not even hear the stallion's approach. I turn my crown and stare at him, curious if the question he presented was one because he was also lost, or if it was some sort of accusation regarding my presence. His tone did not betray his intention, and so I was forced to take it at face value. Feeling rather disagreeable, I answered as plainly as I could. "No." I give no indication of any emotion, and at first, I turn back toward the pool of water as if our bit of conversation is over. Is this a drinking pool? Watering hole type thing? Meh.. doesn't matter. I turn away from it, including my whole body in the process this time. I walk toward the stallion and eye him as I do. Cream colored, golden horn and hooves, with a turquoise tattoo to match his turquoise eyes. Were I more artistically inclined I might have commented that the pairing was quite fetching and he was a very handsome fellow. (But really, do you see me as the artistic type? Not so.) I stop when I am parallel to him, and glance over my shoulder. "But tell me, dear boy, do you?"
I continue on past, and walk over to a large column, some remnant of an ancient civilization I presume. It's huge around, like a large oak tree, and very tall. Made of some type of stone, I assume, for I know little of the construction of buildings. I rub my body up against it, scratching a subconscious itch, and it does not move, not an inch. There is no give like a tree, no life within it. I turn my eyes upon the stranger again, still leaning against the column. I don't prompt him for an answer, but simply wait, expecting that he will say something again even if it is not in direct reply.
WC: 339
Tag: @Martin Comments: He's feeling sassy :P or I am.. IDK
Rostislav
more than a drunken fool
06-26-2017, 06:59 PM
Played by
Staff [ PM] Posts: 309 — Threads: 165
Signos: 989,640
A Random Event Has Appeared!
As Rostislav begins to rub against the sturdy column, a single loose rock is pried from its side, well above the horses' heads. As it clatters to the ground, something shiny can be seen in the place it left.
It is up to you to determine what it was hidden within the column. Both @Rostislav and @Martin may redeem two common items of their choosing or 250 signos! Simply post in the Signos Redemption Thread with what prize you'd like to claim and a link to this thread.
Happy writing!
To tag this account: @*'Random Events' without the asterisk.
Please be advised, tagging the Random Event account does not guarantee a response!
06-27-2017, 01:06 AM
Played by [ PM] Posts: N/A — Threads:
It was a not-entirely-enjoyable predicament, to be facing down with a chilly stranger in a strange land, wondering exactly who you might be pissing off if you happen to tread on someone's toes. He could guess that Rostislav probably didn't currently live here on account of knowing as little about the place as he, but he might be important elsewhere. The risk of a misstep was too great to indulge his knee-jerk urge to answer the ruddy stallion's chilly quip with open offense.
Reasonableness it would be, then.
"No I don't," Martin echoed with as much certainty and a fair bit less dismissiveness, a crease etching itself into his brow in response to the other stallion's subtle joust. Honest ignorance had never bothered him; much of his childhood would likely have been hell otherwise.
But the bay stallion's appraising eye prickled along his branded flesh, igniting in him the old unwelcome sensations of otherness. The gilded unicorn straightened guardedly, turning to face Rostislav as he inspected the weathered column. "But if that's the case, what are you searching for?"
At about that moment, a loose chunk of stone from Rostislav's improvised scratching post clattered to the ground, exposing something glittering within.
Martin craned his neck up at it with a huff of mild surprise that adequately encompassed the combined wonderment at the sight, annoyance at the other stallion's vandalism, and more abstract appreciation for the glory of cosmic coincidence that he felt in that brief moment of recognition. Ignorant as he was of whatever telekinetic powers he had acquired upon crossing the boundary into Novus, Martin reared up briefly on his haunches in a vain attempt to get a better look at what the column seemed so eager to offer up to them. If the pair of them took whatever it was from the premises, would that make him a looter? Was its former owner still alive to care?
No, Martin. Don't be silly.
@Rostislav
06-28-2017, 11:41 AM
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Sometimes I'm surprised what I get away with in this world. My attitude, my carelessness. The stallion who had disturbed me - "the rather fetching one" - resisted taking the bait that I left out to lure him. He stays calm even when I snub him, and he tells me he knows as little of this place as I do. It seems that he is not from here, and that we are both equal strangers. My attitude subsides, and a casual smiles flits across my face. He asks what I'm searching for, and I'm just about to tell him when something falls from above me. I squeal in surprise and jump away from the column with more agility and grace than one would expect of a heavy set beast. I glance up at the top of the column, staring at it accusingly and wondering if it is going to drop anything else on me. When I am certain that my crown is safe - and out of the corner of my eye I see the other stallion rearing to look up and try to get a better glance - I move forward to investigate the item on the ground that has now caught my attention.
I take a cautious step toward it and extend my nose, sniffing and huffing as I try to detect what it is. It looks like simple stone at first, but there's.. something inside. Still focused solely on the stone, I nudge it with my maw. I gasp and step back as it cracks like an egg on a stove, and I look toward the other stallion with alarm. A second later the stone falls away to reveal a perfectly spherical object that's the color of iridescent gold. I wonder if it is solid gold, and if it has value or purpose. Nothing is certain. I swish my tail with annoyance at the unanswered questions. "Well," I speak to the creme brute, barely glancing him as I watch the gold sphere with care, "I was going to say I was searching for the relic of the gods. Do you think this could be it?" If he thinks I'll share the relic with him, he couldn't be more wrong. But how do I know if this is the relic? Are the gods going to descend?! I glance up toward the sky, but nothing happens. Huh.
WC: 394
Tag: @Martin
Rostislav
more than a drunken fool
06-28-2017, 05:57 PM
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How would they have known if what Rostislav had unwittingly uncovered was 'the relic of the gods'? Martin felt particularly loath to speculate. He had, after all, been raised under the mistaken assumption that he was divinely blessed, and the lifelong superstition had done him far more harm than good. His only attempt at direct communion with a deity had proven fruitless, and he was not about to tell the bay stallion before him that the true mark of a divine artifact was a gnawing, pervasive sense of cosmic futility.
That's not exactly the kind of speech that rouses the soul.
Martin was thankful, however, that the knot of tension between them unraveled upon discovery of the strange trinket. He could now be a participant in, rather than the object of, scrutiny, and Rostislav himself seemed to loosen up after the moment of brief startlement. Martin, who had never enjoyed much in the way of material possessions of his own, regarded the sphere with more of a quizzical glimmer in his sea-blue eyes than a covetous one.
He shrugged in response to Rostislav's question, thoughtfully sizing up the other stallion as he glanced skyward. A soft smile tugged at the corner of the unicorn's mouth as a more complete image of his as yet unnamed companion came into clearer focus. He knew how to carry himself, this one. Martin knew a couple back home in the vale's guardian corps that had been similarly inclined.
"Whether it is or not, I'm not particularly fond of taking things I haven't earned." And that's the gospel truth.
@Rostislav
06-30-2017, 09:24 PM
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The other stallion does not seem as interested in the object as I am. But then, I suspect our goals and motivations are not exactly aligned either. I turn my attention away from the object to catch his reaction. It seems to be one more of casual curiosity, as opposed to desire. He answers my question without certainty. Neither of us seem to have answers regarding much of anything. But at least in my case that is to be expected. I am a newcomer to this world of Novus and so, SO much is strange to me. "I'm not particularly fond of taking things I haven't earned."
I step forward to nose the gold object. Luckily this time it doesn't break. It's surface is cold, smooth, and shiny. I lift my head again and look over the stranger. He seems like a fellow with an interesting story behind him... quiet, unpresuming, with some sense of dignity, I guess. "That's noble of you. I don't disagree, in general. But I'm also quite happy with the old 'finders, keepers' motto." I walk toward him and stop a little bit away, gesturing back at the sphere. "If you wanna earn it -- want to fight me for it? For shits and giggles? If so, let me introduce myself as your opponent, Rostislav." Because why the fuck not. I haven't had a good fight in ages and I have a feeling I'm going to need to oil up the old battle gears to establish myself in this place.
WC: 253
Tag: @Martin Comments: omg it's so short, forgive me!
Rostislav
more than a drunken fool
06-30-2017, 10:50 PM
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Martin's mother Cassia had very much intended for her son to follow in her hoofprints and join his elder sister in the guardian corps. He didn't mind - he enjoyed combat training and looked forward to testing his strength and his will against his classmates. His insatiable curiosity had never felt particularly sated by cloistering himself away and studying the history of the vale, and he of course had little natural talent for healing. Battle, it turned out, was a career path that aligned his interests almost perfectly with those of his parents.
Walking away from them all and - by extension - his future among the vale's protectorate had been a shock to him perhaps most of all.
The gilded unicorn grinned at Rostislav, reining in the eagerness at the opportunity to test himself against the skills of another horse for the first time in quite a while - and this, a complete stranger. Well before his fourth naming day he had learned enough about his prospective opponents that sparring had become more of a dance than a contest.
This should be a proper contest.
"Well met, Rostislav. I am Martin, and I accept your challenge. However..." Glancing around him at the various stone structures surrounding them, not the least of which was the column from which the now-contested trinket had emerged. Even if the thought of battling here did not strike him as the height of disrespect to the court itself, there was too little space here to really fight. Martin wrinkled his nose. "Perhaps we should remove ourselves to a more suitable arena?"
@Rostislav - to the Steppe!
07-02-2017, 01:51 PM
Played by
inkbone [ PM] Posts: 73 — Threads: 1
Signos: 25,195
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