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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 1, 2021 22:29:20 GMT -8
Riley gazed down the amalgamation of their psyche, reading and shifting their Bastion. Direction was assumed as they worked through the demands of their mind's chamber to obtain they key and locate the entrance- exit? The sense of a world crumbled away to the dust and ashes between thought, as the Avatar is dissolved through the Gate—the atoms that once held together piecemeal ideas of the collective mortal consciousness—the ones that decided you exist—stretched and tangled with recollection. They were motes floating on a solar wind of oblivion as the true scope of where one trekked was conceived in that brief moment of unmaking.How cold it was, so far from the edge of the Thorns. The soul wept to be connected again with the collective nodes of memories, ideas, and dreams, and that instinct allowed the Lost to step onto the only thing that made sense.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 2, 2021 11:46:24 GMT -8
One could get lost here, not only physically but in the wonder of it all. The ethereal Moth took a breath in to focus themself.
Where to go?
The Road was beyond reason and far beyond the moth's skills to learn it or see it on the terms of dreaming. So instead, they needed more.
The laws of Reality meant nothing here. Yet divorcing that from one's understanding is easier said than done.
The Moth called out into the unknowable, their voice impossible a long-forgotten song. Less a voice, more the idea of a song. It recalled haunting memories of flowers and gardens, masks, and lavish consumption. The desire of being wanted.
They didn't weave a road, per say, but instead pulled forward tangible memories of their past. Navigating memories were easier than oblivion.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 4, 2021 14:34:05 GMT -8
Their skin began to flake in peel as the scaled twisted into chrysanthemums, but nothing immediately came of it; still just cocoons that rustled with pieces of Riley's will. Thoughts fluttered to the hum of the Brightone's song and glow, and the flowers erupted into moths as they sent themselves into the cosmic expanse. The song travelled on several wings, dissolving as darkness took them with the fading notes. No path remained to follow for long. Riley understood that the Hobgoblin Lucas planned on summoning (the one that had cleaved its way through the Test of Guile with a cheeky loophole) would only be able to find them if they are with their Ivory Gate. The projection of themselves existed everywhere and nowhere at once as they contemplated the puzzle, creating surroundings only by their force of will— I think, therefore I am. The image of a tangled road was darkening as the sheer power of the Skein starts to weigh on such a will, seeking to remove the mite. The other issue would be that because they are a projection, the Hob can assist Riley but ultimately cannot carry them unless they pay the price to meet some sort of Agreement with the plane at large. The environment fighting Riley is a byproduct of the Changeling attempting to cheat the toll. As thoughts of just how this last thread of Fate had dealt them a bad hand, because of a simple, human mistake when forgetting the Silence of Winter, the Brightone's light glowed hot with stress and anger. An entity flashed as they divined the magic bureaucracy that was trying to take their life.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 6, 2021 16:46:42 GMT -8
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 7, 2021 10:56:27 GMT -8
"Where are you..."
Riley muttered to themself self glancing into the Skien for any sign of the hob.
The song path kept diminishing faster than anticipated.
Stay calm, focused.
They breathed slowly, letting the song come forth once more. Slow and steady was better than nothing.
As the light from the song produced a simple road, Riley followed it, pausing as it faded to let out another burst of notes.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 7, 2021 17:26:54 GMT -8
The quiet click might as well have been a gun being cocked in the roiling dark, prompting Riley to wheel around and behold the living wood with gnarled sockets holding bone baubles. It seemed agitated to leave the protection of its invisibility, ducking and flinching flat to minimize itself from whatever may lurk on the horizon. However, a Contract had forced it into service, and it needed to somehow get the Moth back to the holder of its leash. It was in a hurry, batting at Riley's ankles before an unsettling pause as the Gravewight's Litha assistant tested the width of Riley's femur with a measured clasp. A few clicks of approval rustled through the bark as it settled on the matter that it would be getting something at least, if this didn't turn out.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 8, 2021 9:33:05 GMT -8
The Brightone heart skipped a beat as the hob batted at their Ankles.
"Shi-" They took a breath, realizing it was here to help.
Not wanting to waste time, Riley Followed the creature's guidance, Not Entirely aware of the intention of its grip on their leg.
Using its clicks and gestures, the Darkling took the aid of the hob to navigate the roads.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 11, 2021 22:34:10 GMT -8
The path fades behind with billowing dust that swirled in an unseen, grander current. The only thing solid was The Road, until the path forward appeared to be coming to an end as space and time curved into an unseen horizon. The Hobgoblin skittered to a halt, backing into Riley as it moved away from the dead route, and clearly alarmed at the prospect of falling into the vastness of the Skein. An about-face was directed, and the Moth's heart sunk with the flickering of their glow as they saw some of the coils become purposeful and animated in its movement. In a flicker and a flash, a viper-like mouth stretched languidly, rearing up before the pair of faerie-creatures, before biting into the Road instead. The Hob clicked, collected skulls angling as the serpent began working its way through the path, chewing away the exits like an aggressive termite. Chunks of stone-like Road had blistered off around them; unsteady and drifting away, but providing alternative routes if one were willing to take the athletic risk required. The moving coils of the creature were barbed and shining like oil-slick, diving shadow to shadow like pools of its own reality. If the serpent finished its course, it would be like cutting the tether—dooming the pair to drift into whatever reality lay beyond understanding. The Hobgoblin froze, lacking imagination and needing direction to assist them as it eagerly nudged Riley to do something.
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Riley Sorsa
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 12, 2021 9:32:45 GMT -8
Riley watched, dumbstruck by the massive serpent. It was something out of Myth, and its size drove terrible awe into the Darkling, making them feel small beyond reason.
The Brightone eyes glanced into the expanding void around them. It would be easy to step off the path, let the endless nothing, the endless everything swallow them up. Beat the ghosts to the punch and become nothing before they got their way. It would just take a step.
No.
Riley bit hard on their inner cheek, pulling them from the thought. They had come too far, done too much to just give up. Linden needed them, and right now, Fawkes, of all people, needed them. And they weren't going out that easy, not without a fight.
The Moth turned to look at the headhunter of a hob and gestured.
"Mind your eyes, then follow me. Got it?" Riley didn't wait for its reply before rolling their head to the side. The sound of popping rang out as the Dancer dropped their weight.
"Three. Two. One"
They counted down before suddenly their vermillion glow exploded into a vibrant brilliance.
It wasn't going to stop the Wyrm, but hopefully it would give Riley and the hob an opening to start making the run along the rocks. Picking up speed, the Darkling swooped low before leaping to the next part of the road.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 13, 2021 15:10:01 GMT -8
At Riley's warning, the Head Hunter snapped shut; it's base becoming a smooth trunk before vanishing. The clouds rippled as serpent let out a guttural hiss, maw pulling back from the Road.
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Riley Sorsa
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 14, 2021 8:57:08 GMT -8
Riley landed, crouching low, dispersing the impact of the leap. Then, glancing quickly up at the Serpent, the darkling sneered.
"shit," they hissed. They had a window; they couldn't waste it.
"Come on!" Riley called to the Hob before setting off in another burst of speed.
The Bright One felt their stomach turn as the earth beneath their feet began to rotate. The road piece they were on slowly rotated in the void of the skien. The Moth's eyes darted between the chunks of road, making quick gut calculations of their next moment.
With a grunt, Riley throws themself off the spinning road. Crossing the gap, they only briefly can see the chaos of everything and nothing below. Nothing was more motivating than oblivion.
The Moth's flight was short before they landed in a roll, coming up to their feet and looking up to see the situation with the wyrm.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 14, 2021 13:06:14 GMT -8
The cosmic beast shuddered, tasting the air as it swept and arched across the expanse.
The heat pits lining its jaw smoldered like hot coals as it angled and honed in on the leaping moth.
The great face lowered, blocking their path and locking eyes with Riley as the Bright One beheld The Void.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 14, 2021 14:11:02 GMT -8
The serpent doesn't appear to be interested in eating Riley, or else it would have done so already without issue. Rather, its focus has been cutting off their retreat and consuming the connecting nodes of the Skein. It tried to take their essence.
Perhaps this monster feeds off of psychic energy, which in this case is dreams and memory, and is looking to take its nourishment from the Dream Avatar. Riley's imagined flesh is useless to it. The bonus was that that means it likely has little to no interest in the Head Hunter, given that the Hobgoblin wouldn't be able to provide such things as imagination and emotional memory.
It likely eats Bastions for the evening, resulting in people waking up suddenly, and scavenging the echoes left on the Roads. If Riley doesn't get away, they will forget who they are and what they are trying to accomplish here. If the serpent leaves with such a treasure in its gullet, the chances of finding it again in this abyss... well, lets not think of that.
It needed more enticing prey, or to lose interest in the Bright One while they made their escape across the crumbling Roads.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Dec 15, 2021 9:50:52 GMT -8
The Moth gasped as it felt the world eater try to consume them, no, not them, their memories, their mind. They felt the cold glare pierce them, drawing at their essence. Taking a reflective step back, the Moth processed what was occurring.
Their eyes flick to spiraling stones left in the wyrms wake. Riley felt the ingrained Darkling survival instinct crawl its way up their spine.
The need to not be seen.
Riley let the glamour flow through them; their vermillion light swelled. . It bent the light around the Darkling. Then, for a moment, there was a shimmer, and the Moth was gone.
Now out of sight of the Wyrm, or hoping they were. Riley moved quickly for the next part of the road, Leaping the chasm.
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Post by Krakenbox on Dec 15, 2021 22:43:21 GMT -8
The serpent bit at the stone, sending eddies and Riley flying on their weightless platform.
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