[F23-PP] A murmur of stars

[Nisahime 0]

Flames dance in corners of the room, crackling gently as objects continue to burn. Casting the entire place in that same shade, as the heat was nearly overbearing. Even above, a chandelier continues to sway, simply from the display of outrage. Rattling and threatening to fall as it shifts back and forth. Pools of gold, superheated and turned nearly to vapor, slowly ooze out of corners. Gold that once were sconce hanging on the walls, and could no longer hold shape.

A black outline of a figment of the girl's mother, cut down and then vaporized. Elda eyed the woman that had claimed the altar, a placid and yet kind locking of eyes. Quite the scene, akin to that of a soldier storming a monarch. But despite its appearance, it couldn't be farther than the truth. The woman that blonde tank was staring down, desperately trying to fathom who she was. Black and long hair, perfect and yet it wasn't as it poured past her hand. Leaning into her hand, using that gilded throne for support. Eyes intense and white with powers beyond comprehension, as they inspected all of who Elda was. A look of joy tied to her lips "My My, aren't we curious?". One of pride in the first success and what it would mean.

"First a correction, best not get off on the wrong foot. I am Morrighan. In times of strife, where man needs to fight a war they cannot possibly win. When they are peeled into the depths of Tir Na Nog then I am sought and divined for purpose. It comes down to the hearts of man, where 'courage' to stand and fight is in short supply. Fate has a way of being domineering, all consuming. You cannot defeat fate, if you fall within its gaze. It is not easy to fathom my existence or my origin, best to leave it at that." Eyes flicker for a moment, as she blinks slowly, and for a brief instant one can swear they saw a pair of black wings.

"This 'game' is the most accurate representation of that, a war that cannot be won. You believe that it would have ever allowed you to succeed? That it was 'fair' or 'just'? No my dear Elda, as real as your troubles against fate outside this place, you were nothing more than a plaything. A rat in a maze with no reward." Morrighan shifts just a bit, sliding her legs apart and allowing the dress to fall between them before exchanging the fold. There was a sense of power to her words, one of undeniable truth. It would be unclear if she was correct, or if she was totally batshit insane. Even still, she clearly believed what she was saying.

A turn of her head, cascading hair shifts and slides past effervescent white eyes. Still producing light of their own, lit like a candle and burning away. "Your guild members, I hadn't the slightest inkling of the connection between you. Who you have named, it's simple. Like you..." Morrighan begins to raise from her seat, the shield at her side vanishing and being stored away. It was formed and now can be called when she needed it. Contract was made. "Are capable of resisting, capable of rebellion. Of standing against odds stacked against them, despite the chance of success. Despite it all, against tyranny that cannot possibly be bested. Against fate itself, a decision to rebel."

Steps clap as bare feet begin to move, in a rhythm as without regard to any sense of safety or any concern to what Elda might do, the woman approached her casually. "But for you and those you've named to ever have a chance at success, you would need granted control of your fate. Beside the fabric of it, you at least would stand a chance. The truth is, my jurisdiction over this realm is limited. So much so that for the lion's share of my time here has been in captivity. I am a threat, and despite what I can do within the given parameters and bend it, there still are rules that even I must follow. Both within a sea of numbers playing god, and outside it."

Reaching out and placing a ginger hand to the girl's cheek, an embrace akin to that of a mother. One that wasn't going to betray her trust. As the girl would lean into it, complacent against a nurturing of that flame still burning away within her chest. Morrighan releases, and begins to walk in the chamber. Her voice continued to carry for eons, echoing with a boom that couldn't have such volume, and yet. It did.

"Freyd, The Messenger. Has served me well despite his reluctance. Troubled just as you are, stricken just as you. His fate is within his own grasp, both physically and beyond. It is because of him we are even having this conversation. Sweet child, he is to be your guide. The first of many to fight against everything, uninhibited by fate's grand design." That same clapping of naked feet, wandering the large room and occasionally locking with Elda again.

"Freyja, was my greatest work. Truth is...she was destined to die, unbridled fury. From her own failures, the gold strand of her soul was clipped at the end. I simply intervened, first by accident. But not really, a piece of me found its way to her. While I was still imprisoned." A pause, eyes wandering before locking with Elda again.

"Evidently, even with my blessing, she found herself imprisoned the same. Lost from my scope, due to my confinement. She was supposed to be my messenger but couldn't be. It wasn't until I broke free from my prison that I was able to rectify that misappropriate error. Tuatha..." Raising her right arm, sees the boy appear on the far end of the room. Kurayama snickers, as black fog billows from where his feet should be. Sat upon a table that smoldered around him, as that dark vapor billowed and coagulated in a pool beneath it. No actions other than that trailing, finding her way around the room that she had yet to visit before now. Given that Elda had accepted, far before this encounter, this undeniable truth, it was much easier to deal with. "Is mine to command, and was the gift I gave your sister to save her life. Nothing more, and he has done well to encourage her growth."

Lifting her arm and ripping clean Elsinoré from the ether, the image of scythe that she had little issue holding aloft. But the image seemed unstable, turbulent, as it seemed to distort and fragment by simply existing. "Just a little more, and an honest resistance in her heart of hearts, and she will be just like you." A lift sees that weapon dismissed, eager to answer all the girl's questions, for she had earned that right. After all, she had given Morrighan everything she asked of her. Her influence when it came to the girl was exactly what she needed.

"Shiina, bless her heart. After a little scuffle and issue within one of this game's most trivial trials, she was disheartened. She wanted to do more, determined to make a difference despite her limitations. Resistance, and yet the girl had no troubles accepting me. Giving the girl her own fate was simple, finding her and guiding her: simple. I gave her the strength to encourage you all, to keep your morals high, and her voice the power to move mountains. You've seen her, haven't you? The reason why she is blonde however, well..."

Lifting her opposed left arm, in a wave, shows a new face that only one face had seen since the game's start, a small child to the same tone as Elda. Folded legs as this girl sat crisscross on the red carpet, flames seeming to concern her none. "Elda, meet your sister. Anna." Morrighan dismisses it, knowing full well this would come as a shock. "She desired to help you from beyond, and Anna had more than earned her right to make such a request of me. So sister, that makes us family, as much as Tuatha makes Simmone. The girl lives on through me." Anna waves excitedly from her seat, a smile that was so earnestly happy. "Shiina's fate was released, allowing your sister to walk this world, always whispering in the girl's ear and pushing you all toward salvation."

Back toward that throne, as two relatively friendly faces stand and usher with the maiden of black. "So Elda, this game does not accept the direct approach. I cannot attempt to unwind or shatter it as I have in the past, else it will fight back again. But it is through you, and those that you meet, that I can spread. You, like Freyd are now my messenger. Perhaps you will be a more willing participant? I will continue to offer my strength to you, as I collect all that I need. Even still, I hear the wishes of man, and desire to set you free. You all will return to Erinn once I grow stronger through you and those like you. You will leave this nightmare. As the Hand of Fate, Although my power is limited, I will guide you through this labyrinth of a tyrant and shatter the walls that confine you."

Edited November 22, 2021 by Nisahime

[Eruda 0]

Emotions flow through her as she sees Anna. The odd thing was, Elda was not shocked in the least. Giving what Griswold had told her, it wasn't if she was going to pass, it was when. Walking to Anna and sitting next to her. Keeping eyes locked with her sisters as she speaks. "So Anna and Tuatha lives on through you, that to me means that they have passed in the real world. What makes a soul suitable to do this." Morrighan was using Firm Anima to... Reform... "You are the Cardinals worst enemy, Freyd made it seem like there were multiple links of you, me and Freya included." Eruda was trying to wrap her head around everything. Thinking outside the realm of possibility with a turn of her lips. Like she thought before, Morrighan was beyond this world. 

There were things that shouldn't exist in this game, but it did. This included this woman. As crazy as this entire thing was she had to keep an open mind. "You were in captivity, released by... Who." Sitting there next to her sister never looking away from her. "Okay, please correct me is I get this wrong... You are a unique individual, came into this world and the cardinal saw that you were a threat and captured you. In doing just that you split, these souls that were or are inside of you split which was what Freyd would be seeing. Not sure how it works, but tracking was used in this case I assume. Those souls are connected with my guild members and the only way for them to truly exist is if they have the courage to believe in something that is beyond their capabilities, Fate itself." With a sigh, she gets to her feet and glances at Tuatha, the one that kept her sister alive. It was a lot to take in but the more that she understood the calmer her mind would be with all of this. Walking to stand in front of Morrighan now, "You are here to help with the undeniable odds of escape from this hell that was rigged from the start. I ask you now, how many souls are living within you and what happens when they are all collected by my guild." She knew that she was part of that, but if she did have someone in her, she wanted to figure it out for herself.        

Edited November 23, 2021 by Eruda

[Nisahime 0]

"Correct." Sat upon that altar for a second time, reveling in how the girl was taking what was given. "Suitability comes down to a certain strength of heart, courage." The woman twists and allows her head to fall into a slightly collapsed hand. Leg's crossed and still revealing that one bare foot. Still that inquiry poured in. It seemed as though despite obvious strides toward understanding, Elda still wasn't quite processing it all. "I can be considered as much, yes, depending on one's outlook."

Where Elda would need to ask all these questions, there would need to be none returned. For within that contract, the girl's heart was made to bear. Proven and shown. Even still, she seemed infatuated with Anna, which was of course expected. It wasn't every day that you got to meet your own kin for the first time, and possibly the last. "My release from captivity was a happy mistake. A prison spread too thin, it couldn't keep enough power to hold me with that festival of stars. I took advantage, I am sure you saw the shower? The split happened. At that moment, not before save but one sliver. Freya found that missing piece. But don't misunderstand, my dear, you and your guild are not the target. My influence is not limited to whatever flag you carry."

Elda comes up to boot, as Morrighan twists and peers over her hand. A piercing white gaze locked with the girl's own. "It isn't a finite thing, dear Elda. It's ever-changing, ever-growing. You are the first, but certainly won't be the last. All that find that same courage can come to rest in me, and the shapes I take. It's best if you accept what is, and hold faith, then attempting to place a number to infinity. Every soul that departs within Tir Na Nog or Erinn, in a tragedy bending fate itself, an act of heroism great enough. That is who finds salvation. Infinite in its growth. Don't be concerned, you are still you, and Freyja is still your sister. Think of it naught of possession, but an extra set of hands to help you pick yourself up and carry on."

[Eruda 0]

A simple smile, she felt warmth and not just that flame, knowing that something like Morrighan walks this world. "I thank you, for all your help an honesty. I will use this information wisely in hope to spread your faith." One last glance to Tuatha, "Thank you for saving my sister." A sincere smile, giving to him as she walks toward Anna. "I really hope that you are well now and know that you were very loved," it was a bit scary knowing that here sister was here now, she hoped that when Anna passed, it was not too painful. I huge relief lifted off her chest, knowing that her guild was not in danger from Morrighan and she would try her best to allow that idea of Fate to not be in vain. Elda will work harder than ever, knowing that they had something like Morrighan watching over them all. Another glance toward Morrighan before she wakes into this reality once again. Pulling her head up from that red table she smiles. A sigh as she glances down at Raserei, "We have some work to do." Eruda cleans up those papers before heading out of the guild hall with a yawn.

Another yawn, she would decide first to get some actual sleep. Walking home to the house that she shared with Raidou it, it was somewhere that she was able to relax. With everything that was said and all this new found information it would do her no good if she couldn't get some form of real sleep. Arriving at the house after a warp gate was taken she lays down on the couch, in the living room and fall right asleep with Raserei laying at her feet.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Eruda

[Setsuna 0]

LIfe is always changing, under a different set of stars

Footsteps scamper in the streets below. Each one clear to the eardrum, finite and defined. Peaceful through force, as a brilliant moon stuck large in the black above. A night like most others, peering past a screen slightly opaque and covering a girl's face. Silver hair bleeding past the shoulders, and with it a slight glimmer on the air. It slams shut to reveal a single extended digit, pale white in its complexion. Cold, unfeeling as it curled back up. "I miss you..." The words an admittance only to herself, as the greyed out and inaccessible names still haunted her. Rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, remaining the aura of strength.

Awake, and yet not within a blizzard. Washed white beneath its gaze, chilling her to the bone with its existence. Attempting to move, and yet her arms and legs would not listen. Eyes advance to see, but could not. All that remained was the bitter cold that embraced her skin, unable to break nor bend. A pain racked each and every bit of that flesh, burned brighter than even the deepest wound. Lost and trapped, within a prison of her own design. One that would not listen, one that would not comply. But for most that would resist it, fight against their bonds, Setsuna had accepted them as fact. Everywhere but here, she was so strong. But not here. This was what she deserved, after all, after her weakness in that one moment. The one instance where it mattered most.

Setsuna | HP: 740/740 | EN: 92/92 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 4 | LD: 1 | FLN: 16 | | FRSTB: 40 | RSKY: 8

Spoiler

Setsuna, The Frigid End
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 33
HP: 740/740
EN: 92/92

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 4
Loot Dice: 1
FLN: 16
FRZ: 56
FRSTB: 40
RSKY: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Shiva's Embrace - Skadi [T4/Demonic/Katana] Fallen 2, Freeze 1, Frostbite 1
Armor: Azuresilk Kunoichi Wear - Ghost [T4/Demonic/Cloth] Evasion 2, Risky 2
Misc: Kunoichi Wrapping's [T1/Demonic/Trinket] 3 Accuracy, Evasion 1

Skills:
Katana R5
Cloth Armor R5
Charge

Active Mods:
Blindside
Vanish
Surprise Attack (Assassin)
Athletics
Untraceable

Addons:
Ferocity
Nimble
Stamina
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Parry
Disguise
Frozen Hide

Battle Ready Inventory:
The Rising Sun (Mass Heal Crystal) x1
Bird Seed (T2/Rare/Snack) Vitality 2 x2
Teleport Crystal x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

[Nisahime 0]

A bit of a struggle as she passed through a flurry of sleet, hair being caught within the fight and flailing around aggressively in its vigor. Each and every step vocal, breaking a layer of fresh frost that was so bone chilling. An exhalation reveals her breath, a hot mass from cracked lips. "How strong is this storm?" Morrighan comments, even for her, it was hard to pierce. The owner, wished to keep all at bay and as such it was requiring much more power to tap it. She disappears into that blizzard, seeking the source of this attack on her senses.

Evidently, she finds what she's looking for. A column of ice, one easily a couple feet thick. Beneath it, the faint silhouette of something trapped inside, as if in amber. Raising a black gloved hand, and placing it against that pillar of cold. "Nigh impossible to find, as expected as the messenger." The voice was immediately swallowed by the howling of snow, the most hostile here at its focal. The woman's eyes flare in white, mirroring the white stuff barking as it swirled around. "Daughter of the frost, burdened and buried pain, I can barely reach you. Can you hear me in this state?" Running her hand down the surface, slicing off some of the white film that was keeping it cold. A face with eyes shut, locked shut because that was how they were born. "Speak to me, child, and allow me to ease your burden." Eyes hot and ivory as it speaks through that prison.

[Setsuna 0]

A voice and once it hits the cold sets in deeper. Within her head, she reaches out and the words ring between her ears. "Leave me be, I belong here." Bones ached in this darkness, this prison of ice that would allow her no movement. It was her choice to be here, she had no reason to resist. She didn't own the right. Not until she had fulfilled her promise, not until she made that mistake rectified. The cold would grow deeper, as temperature dropped across the whole of this nightmare.

Horrors played within her confinement, a reflex response simply to her confirmation. That cage grows just that much tighter, suffocating in its existence. Pain, sorrow and tears refused to fall away, stuck inside her. Unrelenting and persistent like the surrounding storm, who knew what this place looked like before that moment. "Go away." Another scream within the space between her eyes, a doll stuck in time. A time that she would never escape. That color and frost would continue to push away others, threatening to freeze them to. It was by intention, to drive them back and keep them from looking too close. Else she ran the risk of breaking, of splintering and losing herself completely should they break that glass. The girl needed to remain trapped in that glass for just a bit longer, survive long enough in stasis to see vengeance served. That was it, after she could thaw and nothing would be left. She knew it.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Setsuna

[Nisahime 0]

The storm brewed just that much thicker, that much more violent. A single star forms from her hand to the glass, as her eyes maintain that candle like glow that mirrored the backdrop. "Is that true? Then why do others consider you a friend? If my voice can reach you child, then let me aid you." Sliver of white as Morrighan struggles to remain standing, keeping that arm placed against the construct. Hairline fractures begin to form, splitting and darting up that ice. "You want to let them in, but you were afraid of what will be left behind if you do." she speaks, as this network of vines begin to climb toward the highest point.

"The failure was not yours, it was one of fate. It was destined to happen, that robbery and your existence within these binds. A product of fate being outside your control. Yet now your fate is your own to claim, and somewhere in this ice you know that." Her hand begins to slip into the ice as it begins to lose solidity, the cracks becoming large enough to break. "Embrace them, allow them to view and mend that broken heart. You are afraid the pieces will melt completely. I know it stings, but I need that determination of yours. I require that oath of purpose, and I need you to stand and fight. Set them free, make it your mission to rewrite history. Spit in the space of the face of the fate you've been given and I will see it done. Find me, Maiden of destruction, Frigid End, Daughter of creeping death and I will thaw you and make sure the pieces remain."

[Setsuna 0]

The breeze on a midnight air plays through silver hair, it seemed she had dozed off. Her face felt a bit sticky, her eyes burned even still. Reaching toward her head and claiming a bit of cloth around her nose. Pulling it down with an index and thumb, glancing down to the weapon across her lap. "If I allow you to do anything, I am afraid there will be nothing left." There was a simple acknowledgement mixed with denial. How could this thing be so sure? But the idea clung on the forefront of her thoughts, albeit skeptical. "How did you invade my dreams, what right do you have to make demands of me."

Was what that woman said true? Could she fix what fate had fucked up? Was this always meant to happen? The girl's legs collect beneath her, and she leaps from one roof to the next with relative ease. Peering up into the vibrant blue moon. "Fine, I'll see whatever power you have. I'll claim it for myself, even if it is that one alone." Setsuna quipped to no one into that sapphire ball. There was interest purely as a weapon, the thought of being to invade a dream world and make attacks on the heart directly seemed quick to the palette. At worst, the woman was lying, a creature attempting to prey on her. If that were the case, Setsuna wasn't the slightest bit concerned. She's killed before, and it wouldn't be hard to do so again.

[Raidou 1]

Just one more day

Soft tapping of a glass rod into a bowl, as flakes fall from its end. A few flakes added into a large basin of glass, being mixed into a bubbling mixture and causing it to shift shade. "That should do, now I just need to let it sit overnight." Midnight air, a small clock reading back in a set of blue colored digits pertaining to night. 3 am, but that was pretty common practice, to burn the midnight oil. Lifting a small girl, and ushering upstairs with her, he manages to get her into bed. Into his own, as he removes a pair of glasses. Clattering upon a table to the side of that bed, before removing the robe off his shoulders. It's folded and placed carefully next to those lenses. Meticulously and precisely in its place. Falling into the mattress as his eyes grow heavy, a day done and another soon to begin.

A sea of blood, of death and dismemberment. Flames burn without concern in the corners caught in brush. Adorning his shoulders was that crimson flag, and slamming against his blade in sparks was something. Something without shape nor color, only a shadow. A replica. It was faceless because it needed none, for it was a representation. One that Raidou understood on more nights than this one. It was a repeat offender. Weapon shifts, and clashes again, and he can feel his arms ache as he was pushed to his limits. No words, no safety. Only a variable wall placed and an anger unbound.

Raidou | HP: 920/920 | EN: 110/110 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 92 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 2 | BH: 50 | LD: 6 | BLGT: 32 | REC: 8 | TAUNT | V.D.: 101 | V.O.: 151

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 77
HP: 920/920
EN: 110/110

Stats:
Damage: 11
Mitigation: 92
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 2
Battle Healing: 50
Loot Dice: 6
BLGT: 32
REC: 8
TAUNT
V.D.: 101
V.O.: 151

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Ebon Star - Vanguard Revenant [T4/Demonic/Straight Sword]: V.O 2, Taunt, Blight 1
Armor: Red Wander's Resolve - Sympathy [T1/Demonic/Cloth] 2 Evasion, 2 Vampiric Defensive
Misc: Vision of Wisdom - Whisper [T4/Demonic/Trinket] Evasion 1, Recovery 2, Accuracy 1

Skills:
Straight Sword R5
Cloth Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Howl
Searching R5
Fighting Spirit

Active Mods:
Detect
Athletics
Vengeful Riposte
Tracking
Justified Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Nimble
Ferocity
Precision
Focused Howl
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Parry
Survival
Forgotten King’s Authority
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x2
Vocal Augmentation - Resonation [Tierless/Perfect/Support/Instant] +15% HP x5
Valiant Decree - Crescendo [T1/Perfect/Debuff/Instant] -10% Final Damage x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

[Nisahime 0]

The stink of copper washed into the dirt turned mud from the amount, flames danced in sections and provided just the smallest amount of light. The sounds of attack after attack, grinding and thumping as it is dragged against other metal. To some it may have been haunting, but to Morrighan it was almost liberating. Each step felt sticky beneath her feet, as the ground was slightly moist.

Her eyes catch it, the fluttering of a red robe squaring off against a titan mountainous by comparison. The slight gloss of crimson with every blow casting off light, earth-shattering and yet wasn't. Halted dead. She'd found a warrior, where even in his dreams he was fighting. "What an interesting realm." The woman remarked, a prod to see if she could be heard. But it seemed as though her words found no purchase, as attack after attack continued to play out in a show. Her eyes begin to wash white, an attempt at piercing the veil and reaching the ears of that boy. Again, she talks: "Can you hear me, soldier? How deep does this conflict trouble your perceptions?" Flames grow brighter, and on the air, faint trails of red begin to ooze out of pores in the floor. The woman doesn't seem to be appalled, troubled, in the slightest. On the contrary, she mixes her fingertips through some of that lingering red sheer. This was what she sought, and this boy was it. Pure, unbridled resistance to fate's design, plain and simple. This man was her Cuchulain.

[Raidou 1]

Blast after blast as his feet slide and connect over and over. Sparks fly, ringing loosely, but he can hear no sound from the blows. Nothing but a vacuum of space, where without end he fights. He's been in this dream before, and every time he fights until the sun rises. Here, however, would be the first time he would remember it existence. A voice on his flank causes him and the shadow he was engaged with to stop and lower blades. As his head would turn, a pair of glasses hung upon his nose begin to slide down. "I can hear you, but why can I?" Raidou immediately twists into speculation, as the glasses are shoved up that bridge. The creature, takes a step into the flames and revealed was the faceless lord also having heard the voice from the woman.

A shared interest, causing the battle and bloodshed to cease if for but for a brief instant. As the black figure takes a step into the light, it lowers a grim looking orangish red colored blade, mirrored by the silvered red one in Raidou's clutches. Both seemed on edge, scanning this perpetrator in this dream world.

"Mom?"

From the black, speckled and glossy creature with long jagged teeth.

"It's a trick."

Immediately, the boy in red dismisses it.

"Look at her face."

It beckons with a strange mix of twinned voices, circling the woman. The voice akin to that of a hiss, a man trapped in a monster.

"It cannot be real."

Raidou assures himself, not allowing a facsimile the reward of belief.

"What else is real?"

That creature spits toward himself, eying it with rage fueled and coal burning eyes.

"That's just it, everything and yet nothing is."

White filled lenses shielding a pair of eyes from view.

Both stop, eying the woman with entirely different auras. Whereas the one that took the figure of man seemed objective, and skeptical, the other seemed convinced and emotional.

[Nisahime 0]

As the other half would grace the light, revealing itself, as Morrighan allowed them to walk around her like wolves. "Chains as real as any, you are battling yourself." The reflection came immediately, as she'd only managed but a short ceasefire between the two. A coy smile with vibrant white eyes, as she shifted between the two, addressing them each. Reason and emotion, Skepticism and Confidence. They were segmented, compartmentalized. Divided.

"Yes, at one time I was your mother, my little lightning bolt. But not anymore. Now you are trapped here, fighting to decide what is right. Your heart says one..." Looking to the black amalgamation with a pause. "And your thoughts say another." A shift into those silver mirrors that block eyes from view. She'd have to appeal to both, and that was quite the affair. "A fissure divided you in twain, fate has toyed you with in a way nearly unmatched. And yet my voice has reached you, which means that one I have touched has reached you. Even still you fight yourself, unsure which is the correct course. Do you remain on the path you've walked and stick to those volitions? Or do you try and make amends? However..." The woman stops.

Brushing a hand through her hair, and revealing a glimmering star as that hand extends. "The goal remains the same, and whichever path you chose to take. Each suit me, but a decision must be reached, Son of the Storm. You are still my bolt of lightning, and I wish your success. I told you once, that the world was yours to change. Now change it, with the strength I provide. Find me, prodigal child of thunder, and I will help you reach your choice."

[Raidou 1]

Snapping awake to the sound of birds, his hand rushing to his face. "A dream?" Raidou remarks to an empty room, and strangely he had slept in. Moving his legs to the end of the bed he fell in, they find the wood floor. His eyes shut harshly before he blinks. "This is a first." he comments, sliding off the bed, adjusting the fabrics to be straight. "My mom..?" His hands slow as they move across the bedding, correcting it and pulling it tight.

His head shakes in refusal. "There is no way." as arms move to clutch a pair of lenses. Unfolding the sides and finding them around his ears, sliding beneath his hair. A flutter of a red robe as it's unfurled over his right shoulder and pulled tight around the neck. Stairs creak as he slides down them, working his way back into common practice despite anything that had transpired. The wanderer was trying to rationalize it, finding it only as perhaps his mind playing tricks on him in a way he was all too familiar. For a moment, his thoughts linger, and he almost contemplates using a skill on the woman's face. But doors open on the guild hall, revealing a few faces more than ready to start moving on with the light of the day. A mental thumb tack is placed into it, as he was already quite behind on his standard set of chores. A nod to Simmone as she and a pair of NPC children rush past him up the stairs. "Maybe later, it's worth looking into."

Thread Closure:

17663/30=588*5=2940
17663/300=58 Seeds
Kasumi
(2940*7=20580*1.55=31889)/3=10633 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Gaius
(2940*6=17640*1.55=27342)/3=9114 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Nisahime
(2940*3=8820*1.65)=14553 EXP
10*1.5=15 Materials
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996a
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996b
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996c
Griswold
(2940*6=17640*1.55=27342)/3=9114 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Freya
!2940*8=23520*1.55=36456)/3=12152 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Sam
(2940*7=20580*1.55=31889)/3=10633 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Freyd
(2940*13=38220*1.55=59241)/3=19747 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
10*1.5=15 Materials
Simmone
(2940*6=17640*1.55=27342)/3=9114 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
10*1.5=15 Materials [Freya]
10*1.5=15 Materials [Sam]
10*1.5=15 Materials [Simmone]
10*1.5=15 Materials [Eruda]
10*1.5=15 Materials [Setsuna]
10*1.5=15 Materials [Raidou]
Total: 90 Materials

T4 Perfect Weapon #202002a
T4 Perfect Weapon #202002b
T4 Perfect Weapon #202002c
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005a
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005b
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005c
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014a
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014b
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014c

Eruda
(2940*7=20580*1.55=31889)/3=10633 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Setsuna
(2940*7=20580*1.55=31889)/3=10633 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds
Raidou
(2940*11=32340*1.55=50127)/3=16709 EXP
58/3=19 Seeds

Tags:
Kasumi
ID:201988 | Battle:2, Craft:6, Loot:6        
ID:201989 | Battle:1, Craft:5, Loot:16        
ID:201990 | Battle:2, Craft:2, Loot:8        
Gaius
ID:201991 | Battle:1, Craft:2, Loot:10        
ID:201992 | Battle:8, Craft:8, Loot:7        
ID:201993 | Battle:2, Craft:4, Loot:3        
Nisahime
ID:201994 | Battle:3, Craft:10, Loot:5        
ID:201995 | Battle:10, Craft:5, Loot:11        
ID:201996 | Battle:9, Craft:10, Loot:20     
Tags: 2   
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party, 
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996a
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996b
T3 Perfect Armor/Shield #201996c
Griswold
ID:201997 | Battle:1, Craft:2, Loot:15        
ID:201998 | Battle:4, Craft:8, Loot:11        
ID:201999 | Battle:1, Craft:2, Loot:15        
Freya
ID:202000 | Battle:10, Craft:4, Loot:16        
ID:202001 | Battle:10, Craft:12, Loot:17        
ID:202002 | Battle:8, Craft:12, Loot:11        
Tags: 2 
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party, 
T4 Perfect Weapon #202002a
T4 Perfect Weapon #202002b
T4 Perfect Weapon #202002c
Sam
ID:202003 | Battle:4, Craft:10, Loot:5        
ID:202004 | Battle:7, Craft:4, Loot:6        
ID:202005 | Battle:10, Craft:11, Loot:9     
Tags: 2    
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party, 
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005a
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005b
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #202005c
Freyd
ID:202018 | Battle:8, Craft:1, Loot:14        
ID:202019 | Battle:6, Craft:12, Loot:17        
ID:202020 | Battle:9, Craft:1, Loot:2     
Tags: 1
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party
Simmone
ID:202006 | Battle:1, Craft:1, Loot:20        
ID:202007 | Battle:9, Craft:7, Loot:4        
ID:202008 | Battle:5, Craft:12, Loot:10        
Tags: 1
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party
Eruda
ID:202009 | Battle:5, Craft:3, Loot:19        
ID:202010 | Battle:4, Craft:8, Loot:3        
ID:202011 | Battle:6, Craft:10, Loot:19        
Tags: 1
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party
Setsuna
ID:202012 | Battle:1, Craft:12, Loot:8        
ID:202013 | Battle:5, Craft:4, Loot:15        
ID:202014 | Battle:9, Craft:11, Loot:7     
Tags: 2    
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party, 
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014a
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014b
T4 Perfect Weapon #202014c
Raidou
ID:202015 | Battle:8, Craft:10, Loot:14        
ID:202016 | Battle:1, Craft:8, Loot:2        
ID:202017 | Battle:6, Craft:4, Loot:20     
Tags: 1
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party