“...then we do our best to make sure people are strong enough, trained enough, to handle these rocks.”
-Jewell Ravenlock, September 2019
Public Notice: The Duel of Fists staff are looking to purchase two to three new training facilities to provide easier access to space and guidance for those who wish for additional training in hand-to-hand combat.
The staff is open to the purchase of properties already used as gyms, dojos, and training facilities but we are also willing to renovate properties as needed. We are looking for a variety of types of facilities catering to the wide range of fighting styles practiced by participants in the Duel of Fists as well as facilities located throughout the city for better accessibility.
If you know of or happen upon a suitable property, please direct information regarding it to any of the Duel of Fist staff members:
Matt Simon
Kheldar Drasinia
Jewell Ravenlock
Sincerely,
Duel of Fists Staff
((Please see this thread for more information on the facility search. Also, feel free to include any IC posts looking for property in this thread.))
The Metamorphism
Moderator: Staff
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
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The Metamorphism
- Junior Adventurer
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Re: The Metamorphism
Several days of silence followed Diamond Quest XCIX – an infinitesimal and insignificant amount of time to the Opals.
“What went wrong?” FireStar growled before lacing words with unbridled sarcasm. “Sister, you were so confident.”
ShadoWeaver responded immediately, nearly a week later.
“Don’t taunt me or pretend you didn’t sense it. You were the one who showed PathFinder. We don’t have time to quibble. Our next opportunity approaches quickly.”
IceDancer scoffed before FireStar got the chance. “Opportunity? Opportunity?! We…you, squandered our opportunity! We exposed ourselves…they will be trying to stop us!”
“Don’t be so melodramatic,” MoonBeryl crooned. The mortals know nothing of what happened or else they’d have acted already and put a stop to it. Even the ones to whom we’re tied, physically or otherwise, do not truly understand. Their suspicions will remain only that.” Unable to help himself, he added in honey-poison tone, “I’m disappointed in you, IceDancer. The longer you’re exposed to these creatures the more like them you become. That is to say, insipid and obtuse.”
Exasperated, ShadoWeaver considered ignoring the others for a century or three. But that would be less self-serving than re-convincing them to again try to gain the freedom they sought. She needed to stop the argument before it devolved further, as had so many other disputes. She interrupted IceDancer’s retort.
“PathFinder, do you still sense it?” She addressed PathFinder because he’d had the most difficulty in the beginning.
”I do.”
The others, though they weren’t directly asked, murmured their assent. It was still there, stronger than before.
“You see? We have lost nothing. We can make another attempt. And this time, we’ll have something to channel our power. The gemmaker’s latest creation. It is unlike any of its predecessors. It is the key.”
“What of our holders? What of those few creatures we helped create?”
ShadoWeaver did not hesitate in answering. Nothing would stand in their way. Her way.
“Nothing could be more simple. They will help us, willingly or otherwise. Else they will be destroyed.”
“What went wrong?” FireStar growled before lacing words with unbridled sarcasm. “Sister, you were so confident.”
ShadoWeaver responded immediately, nearly a week later.
“Don’t taunt me or pretend you didn’t sense it. You were the one who showed PathFinder. We don’t have time to quibble. Our next opportunity approaches quickly.”
IceDancer scoffed before FireStar got the chance. “Opportunity? Opportunity?! We…you, squandered our opportunity! We exposed ourselves…they will be trying to stop us!”
“Don’t be so melodramatic,” MoonBeryl crooned. The mortals know nothing of what happened or else they’d have acted already and put a stop to it. Even the ones to whom we’re tied, physically or otherwise, do not truly understand. Their suspicions will remain only that.” Unable to help himself, he added in honey-poison tone, “I’m disappointed in you, IceDancer. The longer you’re exposed to these creatures the more like them you become. That is to say, insipid and obtuse.”
Exasperated, ShadoWeaver considered ignoring the others for a century or three. But that would be less self-serving than re-convincing them to again try to gain the freedom they sought. She needed to stop the argument before it devolved further, as had so many other disputes. She interrupted IceDancer’s retort.
“PathFinder, do you still sense it?” She addressed PathFinder because he’d had the most difficulty in the beginning.
”I do.”
The others, though they weren’t directly asked, murmured their assent. It was still there, stronger than before.
“You see? We have lost nothing. We can make another attempt. And this time, we’ll have something to channel our power. The gemmaker’s latest creation. It is unlike any of its predecessors. It is the key.”
“What of our holders? What of those few creatures we helped create?”
ShadoWeaver did not hesitate in answering. Nothing would stand in their way. Her way.
“Nothing could be more simple. They will help us, willingly or otherwise. Else they will be destroyed.”
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
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Re: The Metamorphism
After the 25 Years of Diamond Quest retrospective discussion, the session opened up to questions from the crowd. The moderator pointed to a local journalist for the first one. "Jordan Stein from Woke RhyDin. I'm sure we're all wondering, what exactly happened at Diamond Quest 99? We all know The Empress took the win, but we've heard numerous reports of trouble with the Opals. Can you tell us more about that?"
Clearing his throat while glancing between Kheldar and Jewell, Matt responded to the question. “Something did happen, yes, but I don't know that I'd necessarily quantify it as ‘trouble’. I can say it was readily apparent that Gren had some difficulty keeping ShadoWeaver in check during the event. I don't think that's in question.”
"So it's just a coincidence that Mr. Runt also had trouble with PathFinder at the same time?" another journalist--a woman with severe painted eyebrows--asked archly.
“I didn't say that. I said I didn't know that I'd quantify what transpired as ‘trouble’, which is the word Mr. Stein used in his question.”
“No one was injured, nothing was even damaged as far as I remember.” The big man agreed with Matt.
Jewell listened quietly as Stein spoke up again, "But wasn't Mr. Simon injured?"
"And who is to say people won't be injured the next time?" someone further back shouted out.
"Do any of you even know what happened?" eyebrow woman questioned.
The faerie leaned forward to address that last question, "We believe that the Opals were reacting and drawing on a spike of elemental energy at the time."
"Finishing third and then challenging for an Opal before the end of the night are not exactly the actions someone who was injured." Kheldar countered.
“You believe? Where'd you come up with that theory?” Matt asked after nodding at Kheld's salient point.
The reporter's response about just how he knew Matt had been injured was swallowed up as several other members of the crowd--press and fans alike--shouted follow up questions. "If the Opals are drawing elemental energy, what's to stop them from doing it again?"
"What were they trying to accomplish?"
"Is this tied to rumors we heard of Opal holders having nightmares earlier this year?"
"What if they try again at DQ 100?"
"What are you going to do to stop them?"
Matt raised his hand at the cacophony of queries, “Look, we don't have all the answers. We've reached out to experienced and knowledgeable resources throughout the city to help find those answers.”
"And while you're waiting for answers, what are you doing about it? Is it even safe to hold DQ 100?" A stir of panic rippled over the crowd at the question.
"We will make sure it's safe," Jewell reassured the crowd as she leaned forward to speak into the microphone. "There are ways to block access to elemental energy, if we determine that is what they're doing."
"And when are you going to do that? DQ 100 is quickly coming up!" There were several nods from the crowd at that.
The faerie glanced to Matt and Kheld discreetly before flashing the crowd her most winning smile. "We're already on it."
((Co-written with Jewell, Kheld, and Matt))
Clearing his throat while glancing between Kheldar and Jewell, Matt responded to the question. “Something did happen, yes, but I don't know that I'd necessarily quantify it as ‘trouble’. I can say it was readily apparent that Gren had some difficulty keeping ShadoWeaver in check during the event. I don't think that's in question.”
"So it's just a coincidence that Mr. Runt also had trouble with PathFinder at the same time?" another journalist--a woman with severe painted eyebrows--asked archly.
“I didn't say that. I said I didn't know that I'd quantify what transpired as ‘trouble’, which is the word Mr. Stein used in his question.”
“No one was injured, nothing was even damaged as far as I remember.” The big man agreed with Matt.
Jewell listened quietly as Stein spoke up again, "But wasn't Mr. Simon injured?"
"And who is to say people won't be injured the next time?" someone further back shouted out.
"Do any of you even know what happened?" eyebrow woman questioned.
The faerie leaned forward to address that last question, "We believe that the Opals were reacting and drawing on a spike of elemental energy at the time."
"Finishing third and then challenging for an Opal before the end of the night are not exactly the actions someone who was injured." Kheldar countered.
“You believe? Where'd you come up with that theory?” Matt asked after nodding at Kheld's salient point.
The reporter's response about just how he knew Matt had been injured was swallowed up as several other members of the crowd--press and fans alike--shouted follow up questions. "If the Opals are drawing elemental energy, what's to stop them from doing it again?"
"What were they trying to accomplish?"
"Is this tied to rumors we heard of Opal holders having nightmares earlier this year?"
"What if they try again at DQ 100?"
"What are you going to do to stop them?"
Matt raised his hand at the cacophony of queries, “Look, we don't have all the answers. We've reached out to experienced and knowledgeable resources throughout the city to help find those answers.”
"And while you're waiting for answers, what are you doing about it? Is it even safe to hold DQ 100?" A stir of panic rippled over the crowd at the question.
"We will make sure it's safe," Jewell reassured the crowd as she leaned forward to speak into the microphone. "There are ways to block access to elemental energy, if we determine that is what they're doing."
"And when are you going to do that? DQ 100 is quickly coming up!" There were several nods from the crowd at that.
The faerie glanced to Matt and Kheld discreetly before flashing the crowd her most winning smile. "We're already on it."
((Co-written with Jewell, Kheld, and Matt))
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
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Re: The Metamorphism
Jewell was all bundled up to go out with Gren, injured face turned up to soak up the sun as she waited outside the Mills at Little Elfhame for her teammate. It felt good to be outside and breathing fresh air even if everything ached.
Gren went running up to Jewell from a side alley, bouncing a breakfast burrito in his hands from side to side. "OOH! OW OW! HOT HOT HOT!" The burrito finally slipped from his grasp to fall with a little splat on the sidewalk at their feet. Gren closed his eyes and leaned his head back in silent, tragic fashion. He was wearing his black Real RhyDin hoodie and jeans.
She had leaned back as Gren came running up, doing nothing to save the burrito. "Unnh, sorry. That sucks. We can pick up something on the way if you want?" She matched him in her Real RhyDin hoodie, beanie hat, scarf, and jeans. It all did a nice job of covering her bandages.
"The way my luck is going today, I think we should just go to the jeweller's and be done with it." He wiped his hands on a tissue he had in his pocket. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Fair enough." She stepped forward, nodding down the street the way they had to go. "I'm feeling.. alive. Iron wounds are tough to recover from, but most were just superficial at least."
"Well that's good, I guess. But I wouldn't call any kind of wound superficial." He walked with Jewell down the street, glancing around at the shop fronts. "So what exactly was it you had to do at this place?"
She didn't argue with the superficial comment since he was pretty much correct about that. Their path took them out of the heart of Old Market towards Dragon's Gate. "I have to check on the progress of the diamond for the upcoming Diamond Quest. Apparently, Duel of Fist has used the same jeweler for twenty-five years to do the work, but we wanted to make sure it's absolutely perfect for number 100."
"Wow, I can't believe we're up to 100. I can't believe it's been almost seven years since my first DQ. I hope we get a big turnout for this. Maybe some of the old legends will show up."
"I hope so. I have to start thinking about more advertising for it to get a good turnout, but I haven't been feeling quite up to it this week. But I think the fresh air was just what I needed." She took a deep breath. "Thanks for coming out so I could do this. Ishmerai was too busy, but he didn't want me to go alone." She had other knights as well, but a friend was better company.
"Oh, no problem. I always enjoy helping out a teammate." He smiles, then looks a bit nervous. "Plus being in that Bunker all day . . . yeesh." He rolls his shoulders a bit. "So what do you want for Christmas this year?"
"Ugh, it's the worst, right?" She shuddered and then winced. "I don't always celebrate Christmas, but I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach. What do you want? Oh!" her eyes lit up. "Better yet, what are you getting Izira? I thought this might be a good trip to maybe pick out something extra special for her, you know?"
Gren naturally smiled and felt more at ease when taking about his fiancee. "I got her this Cashmere shawl . . . er, wrap . . . er scarf thing I saw at the Marketplace. It was auburn colored, just like her eyes. I know she likes to cover up during the winter months. But hey, if I see anything else that strikes me, I'll get that for her too."
"Perfect! Though the shawl whatsit sounds real nice too. Maybe a broach to pin it closed? Izira is classy, seems like something she'd like." Jewell was getting a bit winded from the walk, but fortunately they were nearing the place. "It's just another block up there on the left."
"Broach . . . that sounds nice. Hopefully they'll have one of those." He glanced in the direction that Jewell said. "How much did this Diamond cost, anyway?"
She snorted, "Too much. I think we should probably just start letting people trade the diamond when the next person wins instead of giving out one every time." Jewell touched his arm to indicate the storefront of Smithsworks Fine Jewels and Gemstones.
"Hah. Well, here we are." He opened the door for Jewell so she could enter first.
"Thank you sir," she giggled a little and stepped inside, waving to Mr. Smith behind the counter. The elderly gentleman appeared to be a mix between a dwarf and elf, with a long beard and pointed ears.
He was standing on a raised platform behind the counter height displays, examining something on a velvet cushion. When the pair came in, he removed his spectacles and smiled. "Good afternoon Ms. Ravenlock. And you are.. Gren Blockman, holder of the 96th, 83rd, 80th, and 73rd," he seemed to have to think about it a moment, "diamonds that I cut, yes? Well met, sir!"
Gren smiled back at Mr. Smith. "You certainly know your history, yes sir, that's me."
"I am in the company of several diamond holders then. What a day! Ms. Ravenlock, please take a seat," he gestured to a stool set before the displays. "I assume you are here to see the latest diamond?" The man looked absolutely gleeful.
"Yes please," Jewell took the offered seat gladly. "I just wanted to check on the progress since we're only a month out now."
"Certainly. Please feel free to look around Mr. Blockman and I will be right back." He scurried into a back room.
"I'll do that." Gren smiled and went over to the glass cases to look at Mr. Smith's wares. There were expensive looking rings, necklaces, and earrings, but he finally noticed a collection of broachs. "Ooooh . . . he does have some." He leaned forward to get a better look.
"Tell him to pull out anything really nice so we can take a look," she called over to him, too tired to get up.
Mr. Smith fortunately didn't make them wait long. He came bustling back out of his workroom with the diamond on a velvet cushion. It wasn't fully shaped yet, but the sparkling gem was breathtaking, scattering the light filtering in from the windows every which way. "Madam, your 100th diamond," with a flourish, he set it on the counter. "As we discussed, the cutting is an intricate, slow process to get it just right for the winner."
Whatever he was looking at in the broach section had to wait as he saw the 100th Diamond set in front of Jewell. Gren's eyes got wide and he gaped a bit, before he walked over to stand behind her and stare. "Wooooow . . . that's amazing."
"Right?" she looked up at him over her shoulder and then back to admiring the diamond. "I'll fight you for it, Gren," Jewell teased.
Mr. Smith looked pleased by the praise. "It is a truly rare and precious diamond and will make a fine reward."
"Hey, I thought we were teammates!" Gren put his hands up defensively and laughed. "That definitely will bring in the duelers on DQ night."
"I certainly hope so!" Mr. Smith beamed proudly. "Shall I put it away?" he looked between the two.
"Fine by me unless you want a closer look, Gren?" she looked back up at him. "Or would you rather see those broaches?"
Gren was momentarily spellbound looking at the Diamond, before he snapped out of it. "Oh, the broaches! My fiancee has amber eyes and I think a Citrine Broach would match well. I didn't see one over there in your cases, would you have one in the back?"
"I believe I do! Let me go look as I put this back to work on later today." He bustled away with the diamond.
Gren leaned back as Mr. Smith walked out, then he got a a weird look on his face. "Man . . . . it just hit me . . . all that coffee I drank this morning. Is that a restroom over there?" Gren pointed to a far corner. "Hold on, I'll be back in a minute." Gren scurried off to a wooden door.
Jewell shrugged, "Okay." She amused herself by examining the smaller diamonds and sapphires in the case in front of her. Maybe she'd have another Overlord crown made.
Pushing behind the door, Gren went to unzip his pants, when he looked in the mirror over the bathroom sink. He had turned completely black, and his eyes were white. "Oh no . . . " But before he could finish, his voice came out different. Oh yes. Hahaha. Time to go to work. Sliding from out of the restroom, he slunk through the shadows of the hallway until he came upon the workshop of Mr. Smith. He watched the man setting the Diamond down on his workbench amongst the various tools he used to perform his craft. Flitting from one dark spot to another, he silently made his way to the gemstone while Mr. Smith picked among his vault, looking for a Citrine Broach for Gren. Reaching out a black hand, he wrapped his shadowy fingers around the gem, and what looked like smoke began to infuse itself into the Diamond. Once his work was done, Shadow Gren made his way from the workshop and back to the restroom just as quietly. Thank you for the assist. Hahaha. Shadow Gren said into the mirror, before he poofed back into a startled Gren, who looked around the restroom sharply.
There was a knock on the bathroom door, "Gren? Are you okay? Mr. Smith found the broach if you'd like to see it?"
"Uh . . . ah . . . um . . . " Gren scratched his head. "I guess . . . I didn't have to go after all." He opened the door and gave Jewell a sheepish grin. "Yeah, let's take a look."
"Sounds good," she smiled at him and headed back to the counter. "I think you're going to be pleased! It's absolutely lovely..."
((Co-written with the wonderful Gren Blockman!))
Gren went running up to Jewell from a side alley, bouncing a breakfast burrito in his hands from side to side. "OOH! OW OW! HOT HOT HOT!" The burrito finally slipped from his grasp to fall with a little splat on the sidewalk at their feet. Gren closed his eyes and leaned his head back in silent, tragic fashion. He was wearing his black Real RhyDin hoodie and jeans.
She had leaned back as Gren came running up, doing nothing to save the burrito. "Unnh, sorry. That sucks. We can pick up something on the way if you want?" She matched him in her Real RhyDin hoodie, beanie hat, scarf, and jeans. It all did a nice job of covering her bandages.
"The way my luck is going today, I think we should just go to the jeweller's and be done with it." He wiped his hands on a tissue he had in his pocket. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Fair enough." She stepped forward, nodding down the street the way they had to go. "I'm feeling.. alive. Iron wounds are tough to recover from, but most were just superficial at least."
"Well that's good, I guess. But I wouldn't call any kind of wound superficial." He walked with Jewell down the street, glancing around at the shop fronts. "So what exactly was it you had to do at this place?"
She didn't argue with the superficial comment since he was pretty much correct about that. Their path took them out of the heart of Old Market towards Dragon's Gate. "I have to check on the progress of the diamond for the upcoming Diamond Quest. Apparently, Duel of Fist has used the same jeweler for twenty-five years to do the work, but we wanted to make sure it's absolutely perfect for number 100."
"Wow, I can't believe we're up to 100. I can't believe it's been almost seven years since my first DQ. I hope we get a big turnout for this. Maybe some of the old legends will show up."
"I hope so. I have to start thinking about more advertising for it to get a good turnout, but I haven't been feeling quite up to it this week. But I think the fresh air was just what I needed." She took a deep breath. "Thanks for coming out so I could do this. Ishmerai was too busy, but he didn't want me to go alone." She had other knights as well, but a friend was better company.
"Oh, no problem. I always enjoy helping out a teammate." He smiles, then looks a bit nervous. "Plus being in that Bunker all day . . . yeesh." He rolls his shoulders a bit. "So what do you want for Christmas this year?"
"Ugh, it's the worst, right?" She shuddered and then winced. "I don't always celebrate Christmas, but I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach. What do you want? Oh!" her eyes lit up. "Better yet, what are you getting Izira? I thought this might be a good trip to maybe pick out something extra special for her, you know?"
Gren naturally smiled and felt more at ease when taking about his fiancee. "I got her this Cashmere shawl . . . er, wrap . . . er scarf thing I saw at the Marketplace. It was auburn colored, just like her eyes. I know she likes to cover up during the winter months. But hey, if I see anything else that strikes me, I'll get that for her too."
"Perfect! Though the shawl whatsit sounds real nice too. Maybe a broach to pin it closed? Izira is classy, seems like something she'd like." Jewell was getting a bit winded from the walk, but fortunately they were nearing the place. "It's just another block up there on the left."
"Broach . . . that sounds nice. Hopefully they'll have one of those." He glanced in the direction that Jewell said. "How much did this Diamond cost, anyway?"
She snorted, "Too much. I think we should probably just start letting people trade the diamond when the next person wins instead of giving out one every time." Jewell touched his arm to indicate the storefront of Smithsworks Fine Jewels and Gemstones.
"Hah. Well, here we are." He opened the door for Jewell so she could enter first.
"Thank you sir," she giggled a little and stepped inside, waving to Mr. Smith behind the counter. The elderly gentleman appeared to be a mix between a dwarf and elf, with a long beard and pointed ears.
He was standing on a raised platform behind the counter height displays, examining something on a velvet cushion. When the pair came in, he removed his spectacles and smiled. "Good afternoon Ms. Ravenlock. And you are.. Gren Blockman, holder of the 96th, 83rd, 80th, and 73rd," he seemed to have to think about it a moment, "diamonds that I cut, yes? Well met, sir!"
Gren smiled back at Mr. Smith. "You certainly know your history, yes sir, that's me."
"I am in the company of several diamond holders then. What a day! Ms. Ravenlock, please take a seat," he gestured to a stool set before the displays. "I assume you are here to see the latest diamond?" The man looked absolutely gleeful.
"Yes please," Jewell took the offered seat gladly. "I just wanted to check on the progress since we're only a month out now."
"Certainly. Please feel free to look around Mr. Blockman and I will be right back." He scurried into a back room.
"I'll do that." Gren smiled and went over to the glass cases to look at Mr. Smith's wares. There were expensive looking rings, necklaces, and earrings, but he finally noticed a collection of broachs. "Ooooh . . . he does have some." He leaned forward to get a better look.
"Tell him to pull out anything really nice so we can take a look," she called over to him, too tired to get up.
Mr. Smith fortunately didn't make them wait long. He came bustling back out of his workroom with the diamond on a velvet cushion. It wasn't fully shaped yet, but the sparkling gem was breathtaking, scattering the light filtering in from the windows every which way. "Madam, your 100th diamond," with a flourish, he set it on the counter. "As we discussed, the cutting is an intricate, slow process to get it just right for the winner."
Whatever he was looking at in the broach section had to wait as he saw the 100th Diamond set in front of Jewell. Gren's eyes got wide and he gaped a bit, before he walked over to stand behind her and stare. "Wooooow . . . that's amazing."
"Right?" she looked up at him over her shoulder and then back to admiring the diamond. "I'll fight you for it, Gren," Jewell teased.
Mr. Smith looked pleased by the praise. "It is a truly rare and precious diamond and will make a fine reward."
"Hey, I thought we were teammates!" Gren put his hands up defensively and laughed. "That definitely will bring in the duelers on DQ night."
"I certainly hope so!" Mr. Smith beamed proudly. "Shall I put it away?" he looked between the two.
"Fine by me unless you want a closer look, Gren?" she looked back up at him. "Or would you rather see those broaches?"
Gren was momentarily spellbound looking at the Diamond, before he snapped out of it. "Oh, the broaches! My fiancee has amber eyes and I think a Citrine Broach would match well. I didn't see one over there in your cases, would you have one in the back?"
"I believe I do! Let me go look as I put this back to work on later today." He bustled away with the diamond.
Gren leaned back as Mr. Smith walked out, then he got a a weird look on his face. "Man . . . . it just hit me . . . all that coffee I drank this morning. Is that a restroom over there?" Gren pointed to a far corner. "Hold on, I'll be back in a minute." Gren scurried off to a wooden door.
Jewell shrugged, "Okay." She amused herself by examining the smaller diamonds and sapphires in the case in front of her. Maybe she'd have another Overlord crown made.
Pushing behind the door, Gren went to unzip his pants, when he looked in the mirror over the bathroom sink. He had turned completely black, and his eyes were white. "Oh no . . . " But before he could finish, his voice came out different. Oh yes. Hahaha. Time to go to work. Sliding from out of the restroom, he slunk through the shadows of the hallway until he came upon the workshop of Mr. Smith. He watched the man setting the Diamond down on his workbench amongst the various tools he used to perform his craft. Flitting from one dark spot to another, he silently made his way to the gemstone while Mr. Smith picked among his vault, looking for a Citrine Broach for Gren. Reaching out a black hand, he wrapped his shadowy fingers around the gem, and what looked like smoke began to infuse itself into the Diamond. Once his work was done, Shadow Gren made his way from the workshop and back to the restroom just as quietly. Thank you for the assist. Hahaha. Shadow Gren said into the mirror, before he poofed back into a startled Gren, who looked around the restroom sharply.
There was a knock on the bathroom door, "Gren? Are you okay? Mr. Smith found the broach if you'd like to see it?"
"Uh . . . ah . . . um . . . " Gren scratched his head. "I guess . . . I didn't have to go after all." He opened the door and gave Jewell a sheepish grin. "Yeah, let's take a look."
"Sounds good," she smiled at him and headed back to the counter. "I think you're going to be pleased! It's absolutely lovely..."
((Co-written with the wonderful Gren Blockman!))
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: The Metamorphism
“How goes the punch list?” Ishmerai asked as he came into the living room, setting a bowl of fresh cut fruit on the coffee table within reach of his lady before he took a seat in his favorite armchair.
“It’s… going,” Jewell sighed.
“Is there anything I can assist with? What is there left to do?”
The Empress sighed, running the feathers of her blue, sparkly pen across her face. “Not much. The diamond is done; it’ll be delivered day of the tournament. The correct table linens were delivered this time. The bar was polished…”
“And the Opals?”
Her lips twisted into a frown. “I don’t know. The Keepers aren’t going to be much help in making sure they don’t do anything. Which, you know, I think is fair and all especially cause they are sentient, even if I hate them, and you know I don’t support slavery and how I feel about binding sentient creatures to another’s will and all, but if something goes wrong…? I don’t know. There will be a lot of people there.”
“You are worried?” She gave up her rambling and nodded. “You who have defeated the spawn of stars?” Jewell smiled a bit at that. “I am sure it will be fine, Mira.”
“But the dreams…”
The knight smiled, “Things will happen as they happen. We cannot control that. If we try, we may just make matters worse, remember?”
“You’re right. If something happens, I guess we’ll just go from there.”
“Exactly. So just work on winning.”
The Empress laughed, “Oh, that’s the easy part!”
“It’s… going,” Jewell sighed.
“Is there anything I can assist with? What is there left to do?”
The Empress sighed, running the feathers of her blue, sparkly pen across her face. “Not much. The diamond is done; it’ll be delivered day of the tournament. The correct table linens were delivered this time. The bar was polished…”
“And the Opals?”
Her lips twisted into a frown. “I don’t know. The Keepers aren’t going to be much help in making sure they don’t do anything. Which, you know, I think is fair and all especially cause they are sentient, even if I hate them, and you know I don’t support slavery and how I feel about binding sentient creatures to another’s will and all, but if something goes wrong…? I don’t know. There will be a lot of people there.”
“You are worried?” She gave up her rambling and nodded. “You who have defeated the spawn of stars?” Jewell smiled a bit at that. “I am sure it will be fine, Mira.”
“But the dreams…”
The knight smiled, “Things will happen as they happen. We cannot control that. If we try, we may just make matters worse, remember?”
“You’re right. If something happens, I guess we’ll just go from there.”
“Exactly. So just work on winning.”
The Empress laughed, “Oh, that’s the easy part!”
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: The Metamorphism
[placeholder for edited log of DQ 100]
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: The Metamorphism
NEWS BULLETIN
Last night during the historic Diamond Quest 100, an incident took place in the home of the Duel of Fists, the Outback. At the end of the tournament, there was an explosion that purportedly destroyed the physical objects known collectively as The Opals as well as injuring several spectators still present in the building at the time.
Potentially related to the incident in the Outback, starting around 1:30am RhyDin Standard Time there was a reported increase in elemental activity across the city. Parts of the harbor froze over despite warmer temperatures overnight in Dockside; an overgrowth of greenery was witnessed in several city greenspaces; vicious winds tore the siding off several high rises in New Haven; and there have been reports of fires raging in the gas swamps out in the Wilds. There have also been reports of a general feeling of ill-ease.
In addition, there have been several reports of missing children though these have not been substantiated by local law enforcement.
Col. Matthew Algiers Simon, Coordinator of the Duel of Fists, was not available for comment at this time.
((For those who would like to post any writing relating to the events of DQ 100 or in response to this playable, please feel free to post or cross post in this thread! This is open to all members of the community whether they were in attendance or not. We purposely only included posted material up to the explosion to allow others to include their reactions from their own POV.))
Last night during the historic Diamond Quest 100, an incident took place in the home of the Duel of Fists, the Outback. At the end of the tournament, there was an explosion that purportedly destroyed the physical objects known collectively as The Opals as well as injuring several spectators still present in the building at the time.
Potentially related to the incident in the Outback, starting around 1:30am RhyDin Standard Time there was a reported increase in elemental activity across the city. Parts of the harbor froze over despite warmer temperatures overnight in Dockside; an overgrowth of greenery was witnessed in several city greenspaces; vicious winds tore the siding off several high rises in New Haven; and there have been reports of fires raging in the gas swamps out in the Wilds. There have also been reports of a general feeling of ill-ease.
In addition, there have been several reports of missing children though these have not been substantiated by local law enforcement.
Col. Matthew Algiers Simon, Coordinator of the Duel of Fists, was not available for comment at this time.
((For those who would like to post any writing relating to the events of DQ 100 or in response to this playable, please feel free to post or cross post in this thread! This is open to all members of the community whether they were in attendance or not. We purposely only included posted material up to the explosion to allow others to include their reactions from their own POV.))
Re: The Metamorphism
“When you look at a piece of delicately spun glass you think of two things: how beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.
--Tennessee Williams
You can’t fix him. You can’t fix everyone… everything. Some things are meant to be left broken.
It was an echo, just an echo. IceDancer’s voice had long since fled her mind. It felt longer than an eternity ago that she had last spoke with it even if that eternity was less than twenty-four hours prior.
Where are you?
Words on deaf ears. All she could do was sit.
Wait.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Time. The only force in the universe that could not be stopped, at least not with any sort of permanency. It could be rewound, but at great cost to what was and would be, and thus was far more damaging to do than not. There was no try.
A beep, a steady beep said her son was alive, if only just. On the outside, he looked perfectly fine if pale, making it all the more upsetting that the doctors could not find the root cause of just why the toddler was unresponsive. No brain activity, no base system functions save for the beating of his heart and the sluggish operation of his organs.
Tick.
Tick.
Fucking tick.
It was as though every ounce of stimulus pushed her way was met with a bubble of resistance to pass through before it ever registered in her brain. Everything was muted, dulled, incomparable to the young mother’s pain. Pain felt tenfold by her brother, her sister-in-law. Try as Jin might to assure KC and Grace that she had not felt their children cross the Veil, it was little assurance when she had no answer to just where they had gone instead.
There, but not there. Just as Kenji was.
As Jin had been, Charlie Nine stood sentinel over their son’s hospital bed. In his eyes, a brokenness she had not seen in years. Once… once upon nigh two years ago, Charlie had hypothesized that his karma for all he had done in the universe came in the form of this small child. Something that could be as dear to him as the blood on his hands had been to those who had perished by his hand.
Something that could be taken away.
Jin had soothed those fears so long ago, assured him that nothing would ever happen.
And here they were.
Her eyes were red, swollen from having cried her fill until she was an empty vessel, hollow save for the corrosive poison of her pain and rage roiling in her gut.
IceDancer, where are you?
FireStar, please?
Someone. Anyone. She would give the last pieces of her fractured, broken soul if it meant bringing Kenji and Ling Ling and Ping back home where they belonged. Curling her fingers around Kenj’s small inert hand, she sighed and bent forward, setting her head against it.
I’ll do anything… I swear it.
--Tennessee Williams
You can’t fix him. You can’t fix everyone… everything. Some things are meant to be left broken.
It was an echo, just an echo. IceDancer’s voice had long since fled her mind. It felt longer than an eternity ago that she had last spoke with it even if that eternity was less than twenty-four hours prior.
Where are you?
Words on deaf ears. All she could do was sit.
Wait.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Time. The only force in the universe that could not be stopped, at least not with any sort of permanency. It could be rewound, but at great cost to what was and would be, and thus was far more damaging to do than not. There was no try.
A beep, a steady beep said her son was alive, if only just. On the outside, he looked perfectly fine if pale, making it all the more upsetting that the doctors could not find the root cause of just why the toddler was unresponsive. No brain activity, no base system functions save for the beating of his heart and the sluggish operation of his organs.
Tick.
Tick.
Fucking tick.
It was as though every ounce of stimulus pushed her way was met with a bubble of resistance to pass through before it ever registered in her brain. Everything was muted, dulled, incomparable to the young mother’s pain. Pain felt tenfold by her brother, her sister-in-law. Try as Jin might to assure KC and Grace that she had not felt their children cross the Veil, it was little assurance when she had no answer to just where they had gone instead.
There, but not there. Just as Kenji was.
As Jin had been, Charlie Nine stood sentinel over their son’s hospital bed. In his eyes, a brokenness she had not seen in years. Once… once upon nigh two years ago, Charlie had hypothesized that his karma for all he had done in the universe came in the form of this small child. Something that could be as dear to him as the blood on his hands had been to those who had perished by his hand.
Something that could be taken away.
Jin had soothed those fears so long ago, assured him that nothing would ever happen.
And here they were.
Her eyes were red, swollen from having cried her fill until she was an empty vessel, hollow save for the corrosive poison of her pain and rage roiling in her gut.
IceDancer, where are you?
FireStar, please?
Someone. Anyone. She would give the last pieces of her fractured, broken soul if it meant bringing Kenji and Ling Ling and Ping back home where they belonged. Curling her fingers around Kenj’s small inert hand, she sighed and bent forward, setting her head against it.
I’ll do anything… I swear it.
-
Winter Pearl
- Adventurer
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:03 am
Re: The Metamorphism
I don’t talk much about where, no, when Velen and I came from. Telling people what their fate was when you knew them usually isn’t wise.
My mother and some of her siblings took that step backward to, among other things, escape from a Rhydin that was burning down around them. What is that saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same? Without that jump backward in time, I would never have been. My father drowned in that timeline. Mama went back, but later than the others. They weren’t certain if she’s the Rhiannon they knew or one from another thread of time. She doesn’t talk about it, at least she didn’t until I was older. Da drowned in that place in time. While she says she came back to join the others, I’m sure she came back to find him.
Despite the warnings about altering the futures of others, one member of their group started telling people what she knew. Changes happened, Gabriel Wilson, who had been one of my Uncle Draven’s best friends, wasn’t born in this timeline. For some reason, his parents never got together. Aunt Dee said Gabe tried to force them together and likely succeed in preventing their relationship from blossoming.
In the last few months, especially in the last two weeks, I’ve been hit hard by empathic waves that could be described as having the force of a tsunami. Things are happening all over again, beginning, a few years back, with one of the major shifts in the Nexus when doppelgangers appeared and the dead seemed to rise. Hannibal was another sign. The attacks on mages were another. I have to wonder how much the recent events, like the Amore Belle rising, were coaxed along by the mapping expedition of the sewers in the city. That may have begun as a ripple and become the tidal wave with Deep Ones rising. Michelle may have been caught up in something larger than she knew. With the most recent event, the cataclysmic destruction of Opals, a fixture in Rhydin’s sports, I wonder what else will be repeating and how well people will cope with it.
My mother and some of her siblings took that step backward to, among other things, escape from a Rhydin that was burning down around them. What is that saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same? Without that jump backward in time, I would never have been. My father drowned in that timeline. Mama went back, but later than the others. They weren’t certain if she’s the Rhiannon they knew or one from another thread of time. She doesn’t talk about it, at least she didn’t until I was older. Da drowned in that place in time. While she says she came back to join the others, I’m sure she came back to find him.
Despite the warnings about altering the futures of others, one member of their group started telling people what she knew. Changes happened, Gabriel Wilson, who had been one of my Uncle Draven’s best friends, wasn’t born in this timeline. For some reason, his parents never got together. Aunt Dee said Gabe tried to force them together and likely succeed in preventing their relationship from blossoming.
In the last few months, especially in the last two weeks, I’ve been hit hard by empathic waves that could be described as having the force of a tsunami. Things are happening all over again, beginning, a few years back, with one of the major shifts in the Nexus when doppelgangers appeared and the dead seemed to rise. Hannibal was another sign. The attacks on mages were another. I have to wonder how much the recent events, like the Amore Belle rising, were coaxed along by the mapping expedition of the sewers in the city. That may have begun as a ripple and become the tidal wave with Deep Ones rising. Michelle may have been caught up in something larger than she knew. With the most recent event, the cataclysmic destruction of Opals, a fixture in Rhydin’s sports, I wonder what else will be repeating and how well people will cope with it.
"But precious light is protected, harbored in the souls of Unicorns, the most mystical of all creatures."
-
Mairead Harker
- Expert Adventurer
- 'Baby' Baroness
- Posts: 824
- Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:02 am
- Location: Twilight Isle: The Canopy in the Gloaming
- Contact:
Re: The Metamorphism
Maggie, go to Doran. Get to Stardreamer Manor. Colleen was still at the Outback when her message reached her sleeping granddaughter.
Maggie jolted awake. Despite being on the island and far from the city, the wave of mixed emotions had hit her at once. Her grandmother rarely disturbed her thoughts let alone her dreams. What happened?
Chaos. Normal is broken. Again. The sensation of standing in the eye of a storm filtered through the mental link. The Opals are dust, child.
Maggie rose, showered, and dressed before heading to Stardreamer. There was no time to wait on a ferry, so, she would use a travel stone.
Rhiannon Harker was wrapped in a thick plush robe and wearing fuzzy slippers as she made her way down the upstairs hall. “Maggie?” she asked quietly. “What’s going on?”
The teenager was tugging on her blue parka. “I gotta get to Doran. The Opals are pfft and Rhydin’s gone crazier.”
“Won’t Sylva be there?”
Maggie eyed her mother a moment. “I’m sure she will.”
“Then why do you need to go?” She was concerned that Maggie was having difficulty accepting the young couple’s relationship.
“Mama,” Maggie spoke softly, “Sylva isn’t an empath. She’s a good person and they’re happy. I’m happy for them. But. No matter how tightly she holds on, she can’t really stave off the fear, anger, and pain that’s got to be slamming Doran right now. I can help with that as well as with any of the fosterlings that need help. It’s a BFF/Empath thing.”
“What about Riverview Pediatric?” Rhi leaned in the doorway of her daughter’s room.
“Covered. Aunt Nikki and Uncle Rick worked out something with Doc Anya to help the kids. It’s passive like my armor. Before you ask about about Dockside, Gran said Mr. Reid was going to help with that. What about the shelter in Old Market?”
She grinned as her teenager turned the tables on her. “All set including a teleportation pad in the Observatory to bypass Harris’s toll booths.”
At the mention of Harris’s name, Maggie grew quiet. Odd as the man could be, he’d never treated her unkindly. It was Harris who had dubbed her the Baby Baron.
“What is it?”
“I’m just wondering about something. If the Opals communicate with their holders, how much of an impact will there be on the holders and those that have had them before?” Maggie may have picked up more from her grandmother’s message than she realized. “And what about kids like Thia?”
Dark brows rose as Rhi handed her daughter her staff. “What about Thia?”
“She grew up with one or both of her parents having Opals. What if this shattering comes back on her or her little brother?” Maggie shook her head. “It’s like a big snowball.”
“Or an avalanche?” Rhi added.
Maggie’s older counterpart, Pearl, never talked about what could be, but she did discuss parallels of what had happened. They had done so not long before the Tower of Water Challenge where their Uncle Eregor could have been lost in the depths of some godforsaken dark world. Maggie had others to add to Pearl’s list, the reforming of Twilight Island. She remembered that. She wasn’t born when several of the Barons rings were used to anchor and strengthen the Ward of Gondar. Those events, by themselves, might have been passing footnotes in time.
“Mairead?” There was concern in the mother’s voice. Maggie had been quiet for too long.
Maggie’s shook herself out of the trance-like state and spoke, “Do you ever feel like we’re walking on a giant sleeping caldera? A volcano that seems dead on the surface, but the right set of circumstances will bypass warnings. Then boom! Life as we know it is done.”
“Sometimes, but if we spend all our time worrying about what might be then we miss what is.” She hugged her eldest child. “Keep your commlink open so Aunt Dee can find you.”
“I will.” Maggie was on her way.
Maggie jolted awake. Despite being on the island and far from the city, the wave of mixed emotions had hit her at once. Her grandmother rarely disturbed her thoughts let alone her dreams. What happened?
Chaos. Normal is broken. Again. The sensation of standing in the eye of a storm filtered through the mental link. The Opals are dust, child.
Maggie rose, showered, and dressed before heading to Stardreamer. There was no time to wait on a ferry, so, she would use a travel stone.
Rhiannon Harker was wrapped in a thick plush robe and wearing fuzzy slippers as she made her way down the upstairs hall. “Maggie?” she asked quietly. “What’s going on?”
The teenager was tugging on her blue parka. “I gotta get to Doran. The Opals are pfft and Rhydin’s gone crazier.”
“Won’t Sylva be there?”
Maggie eyed her mother a moment. “I’m sure she will.”
“Then why do you need to go?” She was concerned that Maggie was having difficulty accepting the young couple’s relationship.
“Mama,” Maggie spoke softly, “Sylva isn’t an empath. She’s a good person and they’re happy. I’m happy for them. But. No matter how tightly she holds on, she can’t really stave off the fear, anger, and pain that’s got to be slamming Doran right now. I can help with that as well as with any of the fosterlings that need help. It’s a BFF/Empath thing.”
“What about Riverview Pediatric?” Rhi leaned in the doorway of her daughter’s room.
“Covered. Aunt Nikki and Uncle Rick worked out something with Doc Anya to help the kids. It’s passive like my armor. Before you ask about about Dockside, Gran said Mr. Reid was going to help with that. What about the shelter in Old Market?”
She grinned as her teenager turned the tables on her. “All set including a teleportation pad in the Observatory to bypass Harris’s toll booths.”
At the mention of Harris’s name, Maggie grew quiet. Odd as the man could be, he’d never treated her unkindly. It was Harris who had dubbed her the Baby Baron.
“What is it?”
“I’m just wondering about something. If the Opals communicate with their holders, how much of an impact will there be on the holders and those that have had them before?” Maggie may have picked up more from her grandmother’s message than she realized. “And what about kids like Thia?”
Dark brows rose as Rhi handed her daughter her staff. “What about Thia?”
“She grew up with one or both of her parents having Opals. What if this shattering comes back on her or her little brother?” Maggie shook her head. “It’s like a big snowball.”
“Or an avalanche?” Rhi added.
Maggie’s older counterpart, Pearl, never talked about what could be, but she did discuss parallels of what had happened. They had done so not long before the Tower of Water Challenge where their Uncle Eregor could have been lost in the depths of some godforsaken dark world. Maggie had others to add to Pearl’s list, the reforming of Twilight Island. She remembered that. She wasn’t born when several of the Barons rings were used to anchor and strengthen the Ward of Gondar. Those events, by themselves, might have been passing footnotes in time.
“Mairead?” There was concern in the mother’s voice. Maggie had been quiet for too long.
Maggie’s shook herself out of the trance-like state and spoke, “Do you ever feel like we’re walking on a giant sleeping caldera? A volcano that seems dead on the surface, but the right set of circumstances will bypass warnings. Then boom! Life as we know it is done.”
“Sometimes, but if we spend all our time worrying about what might be then we miss what is.” She hugged her eldest child. “Keep your commlink open so Aunt Dee can find you.”
“I will.” Maggie was on her way.
"And those who have not swords can still die upon them." - Eowyn, shieldmaiden of Rohan
-
Black Jade
- Junior Adventurer
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2020 9:49 am
- Location: On the edge of a sandstorm
Re: The Metamorphism
For such a far-wandering child of an ancient djinn, Daiyu Bo was someone who enjoyed familiar spaces in troubled times. She had a favorite oasis, a favorite cantina, and a favorite bath house, all of which she often sought out when her body or her spirit were injured.
The fight against the Great Dreamer had injured both, lashing her psyche with foreboding and madness and sinister foreboding, while Cthulhu's gibbering star-spawn had done all they could to rend her resilient flesh. She was weary already by the time she and a number of her siblings in service to the Blood Witch had faced the Old One on Seaside Beach; and the final battle had nearly broken her, sending her limping off to her old haunts to recover.
But she had only a week in those spaces before they were taken from her last Saturday night. The oasis dried up, the waters returning only to turn the desiccated palm trees into grotesque ice sculptures; the cantina was overrun by spirits, furious wraiths from nearby desert tombs who were incapable of being laid to rest again; and the underground springs where she enjoyed a bath, massage, and company sank into a deep crevasse that rivaled the canyons near her home.
The elements were in turmoil. Try as she did to relax in the mud bath bubbling around her, there was an itch under her stony skin that she could not reach, as if parts of her were moving that shouldn't be, and she couldn't will them to stop. The feelings came and went in waves, and she could do nothing to predict them. Three days of this, and she already felt that whenever she needed rest and relaxation, the stabbing spikes of energy would set her senses alight again until she could do nothing but try to burn them off; and whenever she needed that energy, she would feel cut off from the Earth, like a solitary stone floating in an endless void of Air.
She slouched against the edge of the bath and sank deeper into the bubbling mud, past her chin, past her lips. It soothed the ruby scars that lingered in her flesh after her fights with the Great Dreamer's minions, but it did nothing for that damned itch.
The rustle of soft grass over her shoulder alerted her to the dryad kneeling by the moss-lined edge of the pool, strong and limber and as naked as the beings of the Forest were meant to be; she opened one eye and saw the dryad blinking down at her, his own eyes bulbous and amber, like honey. A saccharine promise of a taste of spring in mid-winter. "Would madam like a massage?"
Daiyu lifted her chin until it broke the surface and replied, "Madam would not, for it would not have the intended effect."
Handsome, deep purple eyelashes like aster petals fluttered as he considered her answer. "Would madam prefer the company of a lady?"
This drew a sigh from the daolani; in spite of her usual abundance of good humor, the last two weeks found it wearing thin. "Madam prefers beauty in any form, when madam is in the mood." There was a little gravel in the final word, an earthy whisper of a growl, but it was enough to punctuate her words and the whole conversation. She shut her eyes again and heard another soft rustle of grass that told her the dryad had taken his leave, likely to find more success with the customers in the adjoining bath chambers.
The level of the mud rose above her lips once more, tickling her ears and her nose as it bubbled away. The wet earth weighed around her like a heavy blanket, and the mud lapping away at the edge of the bath sounded like a lullaby. She kept her eyes shut and slowed her breathing, focusing on every peaceful element, telling herself that she had all the ingredients for some badly needed rest.
Several minutes passed in vain, interrupted by the smooth sound of flesh sliding on stone on the other side of the pool. Her brow twitched in irritation, and she raised her chin to snap, "Madam does not desire a massage, a bathing companion, or even a winds-forsaken lay."
"And I made it pretty clear to madam that wasn't our arrangement."
The daolani realized her error at the sound of the first syllable, and she blushed violet as she opened her eyes and looked at her horned patron sitting indian-style on a large slab of slate on the other side of the bath. Daiyu felt no shame for her nakedness, only for the temper she had shown the woman she always referred to as,
"My Blood." She pushed her back against the edge of the bath, straightening enough so that she could dip her head in greeting.
The Blood Witch smiled in reply, and studied her for a few seconds before she spoke again. "I haven't seen you in my dreams lately... How are you feeling?" A small, worried frown touched her brow.
"I feel very unmoored for a stone-skinned woman who cannot swim," the daolani replied, her humor and her patron's presence both helping to buoy her flagging spirits. "Sometimes, I am full to bursting when I would rather not be; sometimes, I am as still as the Void when I wish to move. It is strange."
"It sounds like elemental spikes. Catch."
Daiyu had been relaxing again, but leaned up to grab the smooth obsidian orb Mallory tossed to her. She turned it over in her gray fingers, feeling the thrill of the two forms of magic she could command: the subtle power over the earth as it related to her own body, thrumming along as a steady green aura; and the raw power of the Witchblood, a hot wave of flowing crimson.
She could feel her body slowly reacting to the balance, a marginal balm, as if she had taken tylennol for a broken bone. She lifted her eyes to look at the witch's, and found that hers were a solid, bloody red with the invocation of Sight.
"Can you banish that for me?"
Daiyu nodded to Mallory's request, transferring the elemental orb from one hand to the other -- the one lined with ruby veins that marked her pact with the infernal abomination before her. They gleamed as she flexed her fingers, drawing upon the power of Witchblood with her will, focused to a point with an uttered word of Koine Greek, and the orb vanished in a flash, secreted away to a pocket demiplane.
The very first spell the witch had taught her.
"Okay... right, I've seen this before," Mallory said with a sigh as she pushed to her feet. "The same elemental binding... more malleable, but she has the same flow... and I think she's drawn in the same direction..." Her musings carried her in a slow circle around the bath.
"I hope she has had a better of time of it," Daiyu said with a rumbling laugh, though she frowned when the witch shook her head.
"Worse. Much worse." Mallory met her gaze as the blood faded from her eyes. "Hope Naharis. When the Opals shattered, she became a part of the Plane of Earth... She still feels like herself, distinct yet scattered, like oil in water... like a planar spirit."
Daiyu shifted her elbows to the edge of the bath and sat up straighter, lifting her chin as she regarded her patron. It had not been so long since the last battle, yet there was no hesitation when she said, "You are My Blood. Do you need my help?"
"You've helped already. I need you to heal, first of all," Mallory smiled at her, dipping her horned head gratefully for the offer. "The elemental barriers are unstable in this plane... either lingering damage from the Opals, or whatever lives in them is still wreaking havoc. But where RhyDin is a loose weave, Klytus knit his realm together much tighter." The witch thought of something and frowned again, shaking her head. "It's not safe for elemental beings in RhyDin right now... Phil's learned that the hard way. Please, go to the Isle. Rest and recover. Tell your mother I said hi."
It was unlike Daiyu Bo to run and hide from most threats, but it was also unlike her to disobey. Stone was tough, it was resilient; it was also steady, and dependable. "It will be as you say. May the earth ground us both."
The fight against the Great Dreamer had injured both, lashing her psyche with foreboding and madness and sinister foreboding, while Cthulhu's gibbering star-spawn had done all they could to rend her resilient flesh. She was weary already by the time she and a number of her siblings in service to the Blood Witch had faced the Old One on Seaside Beach; and the final battle had nearly broken her, sending her limping off to her old haunts to recover.
But she had only a week in those spaces before they were taken from her last Saturday night. The oasis dried up, the waters returning only to turn the desiccated palm trees into grotesque ice sculptures; the cantina was overrun by spirits, furious wraiths from nearby desert tombs who were incapable of being laid to rest again; and the underground springs where she enjoyed a bath, massage, and company sank into a deep crevasse that rivaled the canyons near her home.
The elements were in turmoil. Try as she did to relax in the mud bath bubbling around her, there was an itch under her stony skin that she could not reach, as if parts of her were moving that shouldn't be, and she couldn't will them to stop. The feelings came and went in waves, and she could do nothing to predict them. Three days of this, and she already felt that whenever she needed rest and relaxation, the stabbing spikes of energy would set her senses alight again until she could do nothing but try to burn them off; and whenever she needed that energy, she would feel cut off from the Earth, like a solitary stone floating in an endless void of Air.
She slouched against the edge of the bath and sank deeper into the bubbling mud, past her chin, past her lips. It soothed the ruby scars that lingered in her flesh after her fights with the Great Dreamer's minions, but it did nothing for that damned itch.
The rustle of soft grass over her shoulder alerted her to the dryad kneeling by the moss-lined edge of the pool, strong and limber and as naked as the beings of the Forest were meant to be; she opened one eye and saw the dryad blinking down at her, his own eyes bulbous and amber, like honey. A saccharine promise of a taste of spring in mid-winter. "Would madam like a massage?"
Daiyu lifted her chin until it broke the surface and replied, "Madam would not, for it would not have the intended effect."
Handsome, deep purple eyelashes like aster petals fluttered as he considered her answer. "Would madam prefer the company of a lady?"
This drew a sigh from the daolani; in spite of her usual abundance of good humor, the last two weeks found it wearing thin. "Madam prefers beauty in any form, when madam is in the mood." There was a little gravel in the final word, an earthy whisper of a growl, but it was enough to punctuate her words and the whole conversation. She shut her eyes again and heard another soft rustle of grass that told her the dryad had taken his leave, likely to find more success with the customers in the adjoining bath chambers.
The level of the mud rose above her lips once more, tickling her ears and her nose as it bubbled away. The wet earth weighed around her like a heavy blanket, and the mud lapping away at the edge of the bath sounded like a lullaby. She kept her eyes shut and slowed her breathing, focusing on every peaceful element, telling herself that she had all the ingredients for some badly needed rest.
Several minutes passed in vain, interrupted by the smooth sound of flesh sliding on stone on the other side of the pool. Her brow twitched in irritation, and she raised her chin to snap, "Madam does not desire a massage, a bathing companion, or even a winds-forsaken lay."
"And I made it pretty clear to madam that wasn't our arrangement."
The daolani realized her error at the sound of the first syllable, and she blushed violet as she opened her eyes and looked at her horned patron sitting indian-style on a large slab of slate on the other side of the bath. Daiyu felt no shame for her nakedness, only for the temper she had shown the woman she always referred to as,
"My Blood." She pushed her back against the edge of the bath, straightening enough so that she could dip her head in greeting.
The Blood Witch smiled in reply, and studied her for a few seconds before she spoke again. "I haven't seen you in my dreams lately... How are you feeling?" A small, worried frown touched her brow.
"I feel very unmoored for a stone-skinned woman who cannot swim," the daolani replied, her humor and her patron's presence both helping to buoy her flagging spirits. "Sometimes, I am full to bursting when I would rather not be; sometimes, I am as still as the Void when I wish to move. It is strange."
"It sounds like elemental spikes. Catch."
Daiyu had been relaxing again, but leaned up to grab the smooth obsidian orb Mallory tossed to her. She turned it over in her gray fingers, feeling the thrill of the two forms of magic she could command: the subtle power over the earth as it related to her own body, thrumming along as a steady green aura; and the raw power of the Witchblood, a hot wave of flowing crimson.
She could feel her body slowly reacting to the balance, a marginal balm, as if she had taken tylennol for a broken bone. She lifted her eyes to look at the witch's, and found that hers were a solid, bloody red with the invocation of Sight.
"Can you banish that for me?"
Daiyu nodded to Mallory's request, transferring the elemental orb from one hand to the other -- the one lined with ruby veins that marked her pact with the infernal abomination before her. They gleamed as she flexed her fingers, drawing upon the power of Witchblood with her will, focused to a point with an uttered word of Koine Greek, and the orb vanished in a flash, secreted away to a pocket demiplane.
The very first spell the witch had taught her.
"Okay... right, I've seen this before," Mallory said with a sigh as she pushed to her feet. "The same elemental binding... more malleable, but she has the same flow... and I think she's drawn in the same direction..." Her musings carried her in a slow circle around the bath.
"I hope she has had a better of time of it," Daiyu said with a rumbling laugh, though she frowned when the witch shook her head.
"Worse. Much worse." Mallory met her gaze as the blood faded from her eyes. "Hope Naharis. When the Opals shattered, she became a part of the Plane of Earth... She still feels like herself, distinct yet scattered, like oil in water... like a planar spirit."
Daiyu shifted her elbows to the edge of the bath and sat up straighter, lifting her chin as she regarded her patron. It had not been so long since the last battle, yet there was no hesitation when she said, "You are My Blood. Do you need my help?"
"You've helped already. I need you to heal, first of all," Mallory smiled at her, dipping her horned head gratefully for the offer. "The elemental barriers are unstable in this plane... either lingering damage from the Opals, or whatever lives in them is still wreaking havoc. But where RhyDin is a loose weave, Klytus knit his realm together much tighter." The witch thought of something and frowned again, shaking her head. "It's not safe for elemental beings in RhyDin right now... Phil's learned that the hard way. Please, go to the Isle. Rest and recover. Tell your mother I said hi."
It was unlike Daiyu Bo to run and hide from most threats, but it was also unlike her to disobey. Stone was tough, it was resilient; it was also steady, and dependable. "It will be as you say. May the earth ground us both."
-
PC
- Expert Adventurer
- Posts: 766
- Joined: Mon May 07, 2018 4:00 pm
- Location: Offices above the Pachinko Palace in Kabuki
Re: The Metamorphism
Time split between the hospital, her cousins house, the Arena, and the meager time she had with her own family began to stretch Na-rae. The Arena itself was more than able enough to continue on without her full attention; challenges were validated, complaints were filed away for a one-month review.. Well, with Hope missing it meant that she had to do a little more work than normal, but - still - the Arena was a well oiled machine at this point. The only thing not in the norm of the Arena had been journalists attempting to get something from the venue owner.
Do you blame Matthew Simon for what happened in the Outback?
Is it true about the Opals? Do they have a mind of their own? Isn't there an ethical problem having them as titles?
The rumors about missing children... is it true that your family has been affected?
Extended family. But still family.
Na-rae ignored most of them, but it began to become more than tiresome when she had been asked those and more while attempting to enter the hospital to visit Kenji, one of those very same children who had been hurt by what happened.
Perhaps the stress had finally gotten to her.
"They knew what the Opals could do and they let this happen. Fuck them.", it would make a good sound clip.
Na-rae didn't care. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other and headed through the hospital sliding doors.
Do you blame Matthew Simon for what happened in the Outback?
Is it true about the Opals? Do they have a mind of their own? Isn't there an ethical problem having them as titles?
The rumors about missing children... is it true that your family has been affected?
Extended family. But still family.
Na-rae ignored most of them, but it began to become more than tiresome when she had been asked those and more while attempting to enter the hospital to visit Kenji, one of those very same children who had been hurt by what happened.
Perhaps the stress had finally gotten to her.
"They knew what the Opals could do and they let this happen. Fuck them.", it would make a good sound clip.
Na-rae didn't care. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other and headed through the hospital sliding doors.
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
DQ 100: Jewell's POV I
“What happened, Mira?”
He got her seated on the bathroom vanity where he could best examine and clean her wounds before asking. Ishmerai had met her on the streets not far from the Outback in the company of Harris, Seirichi, and Corlanthis. Together, they had escorted her to the Mills at Little Elfhame while filling the knight in on the recent catastrophe at the Diamond Quest. When they arrived home, he had accepted both his lady and a melting ice cream cone before thanking the trio and seeing them on their way.
It had not surprised him that Jewell had been standing at the epicenter of trouble, but he hoped it meant that she could provide more insight into the unfolding disaster.
“I don’t know!” Her tears had tapered off on the cold walk home, but they began anew now under Ishmerai’s gentle ministrations and questioning. They traced paths through the colorful dust clinging to her skin and had little to do with the shards of glass he was pulling from her bare legs or the blisters covering her burnt arm. “Everything was fine at first…”
****
The night started out pleasant enough. So many of her friends were there and she walked through a crowd buzzing with energy, taking pictures for the press with Harris and then the rest of the large field of entrants, dolling out high fives to her teammates, hugging people she hadn’t seen in far too long, tasting the different speciality drink options she had helped create. Sure, she absolutely blew it when it came time to get in the rings, falling victim to Michelle and then Corlanthis, but it was easy to blame that on her lingering back injury or laugh it off as, “Just not my night, I guess,” before settling in to drink with Peaches, cheer on her friends, and ignore each and every warning sign that hinted at something bigger about to happen: the electricity going out, the doors opening, the torches burning bright, the Fern wilting and miraculously coming back to life, and that itchy feeling of apprehension and anticipation coupled with the hum of energy in the air.
Even worse, she had ignored three warnings from Peaches.
"Something feel off to you at all?"
"... something feels wrong."
“I should go check on Terry, yea'? Please, be careful? Something's off here."
Even at the end of the night, Jewell still resisted the idea that something was very wrong. How easy it was to write the little blips off as the antics of the Opals similar to those experienced at Diamond Quest 99. During the final match, the voracious enthusiasm for something experienced earlier in the evening occurred again, though much stronger this time. When she felt that shift, that desire in the air, Jewell just edged forward on her seat and hoped it was the anticipation that they all felt for the end of the Quest. It was exciting, and she held her breath during the final round between Jaycy and Michelle.
Then it was done. She stood up and clapped, "Amazing ladies!"
Everyone around her was cheering, clapping, whistling for Jaycy’s victory as Jewell stood up and walked toward the center of the room to await the champion. The diamond gem rested on a velvet pillow, colored a deep royal blue bordering on purple or black, depending on the light. The jewel itself was, under the masterful care of its shaper, the gemcutter Smith, flawless. Sparkling like a melody of stars, the diamond refracted the torchlight in brilliant twinkles of green, red, yellow and blue. Jewell frowed a little as she got closer. Having examined it early in the evening when she first put it on the pedestal, she noticed it appeared to be shining even brighter now and practically buzzing with energy.
Mallory was standing nearby, staring at the diamond with fascination. Energy? Magical energy? “...The diamonds aren’t enchanted, right? they’re magically enert.” Glancing around the room. She thought there were previous Diamonds present.
"Mine are just diamonds." Hope tossed over to Mal.
Hope is right. It’s just a diamond, Jewell reminded herself. You picked it up earlier. She had admired it greatly then when no one was around, holding it up to her throat and imagining what it would be like when she won it later that evening.
When she realized Jewell was waiting for her, Jaycy slowly began making her way over towards her. The Empress noticed Jaycy was approaching, but she was too busy still staring at the diamond. There was a magic about it. Clearly. Something not there before.
As Jaycy neared, the diamond’s dazzling luminescence was cut through for a brief moment by a dark shadow that dissipated just as quickly, clearly a trick of the eye or a falter in the light. However, the elemental tremblings that happened earlier returned as well, intensified as if a violent earthquake which did not physically shake the ground but instead tore at the fabric of life itself. There was the feeling of a deep breath being taken before a plunge as Jaycy reached out to claim her prize.
But when that quake happened, she stopped short of touching it. Jaycy’s eyes widened and she immediately set her other hand on her stomach. "Jewell? Did you see something?"
"Mmm.. I think it was just the light?" She hoped it was. She couldn’t be sure though, and unease curled in her stomach.
"Should I take it?" Jaycy asked in an undertone to the nearby Collie.
"I can touch it first if you'd prefer..." Jewell offered with some concern for Jaycy, but she was trying to play it off like everything was just fine! She had overseen the cutting of this diamond herself. What could possibly go wrong? The concern expressed by everyone else from that quake had clearly set off her nerves. That was all.
"Aye, please." Slowly, to Jewell.
Cor squinted at the diamond on it's pillow. "Think. . .uh. . .think I'd just leave that one there. In fact. . ." Cor took a hesitant step towards Jaycy and the others. "I think..everyone should probably get away from that thing."
Jewell didn’t heed Cor’s warning at all and simply nodded. "Sure thing. I wish I had won it," she winked at the newest Diamond before reaching out to grab the gemstone prize.
When Jewell took hold of the diamond, a deafening silence stole over the Outback before an audible CRACK! accompanied a tremendous burst of energy emanating from the diamond itself, crashing outwards like a tsunami across the Outback. The faerie tried to deflect and absorb as much of the energy as she could. It felt like fire racing up her arm with nowhere to go from there. She stumbled back and fell, unable to contain it all and protect those around her.
****
“I tried to stop it. I did. There was so much energy though and I wasn’t prepared. I could feel it building but I didn’t think…”
“Shhh. It will be all right, Mira. Is that how you burned your arm?”
Jewell hiccuped, nodding. “There was so much of it but I couldn’t think fast enough. I didn’t want to release it and bring the whole place down on us, so I just kept it inside.”
The knight tsk’d. “No wonder you are a mess. All that energy just flowing through your system. Was it elemental energy as you suspected?”
She shook her head, wiping at her face with the side of her uninjured arm. Her cellphone was still in her hand. “No. That would have been different. It was something else. Something primal.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t know why it was in there though. It was just supposed to be a normal diamond. Just a big shiny rock. I inspected it earlier myself. And instead… instead…”
“Shh. Tell me what happened after, okay? Focus on what you can remember.”
Jewell nodded, trying to compose herself. “When the lights came back on, everything was a mess.”
He got her seated on the bathroom vanity where he could best examine and clean her wounds before asking. Ishmerai had met her on the streets not far from the Outback in the company of Harris, Seirichi, and Corlanthis. Together, they had escorted her to the Mills at Little Elfhame while filling the knight in on the recent catastrophe at the Diamond Quest. When they arrived home, he had accepted both his lady and a melting ice cream cone before thanking the trio and seeing them on their way.
It had not surprised him that Jewell had been standing at the epicenter of trouble, but he hoped it meant that she could provide more insight into the unfolding disaster.
“I don’t know!” Her tears had tapered off on the cold walk home, but they began anew now under Ishmerai’s gentle ministrations and questioning. They traced paths through the colorful dust clinging to her skin and had little to do with the shards of glass he was pulling from her bare legs or the blisters covering her burnt arm. “Everything was fine at first…”
****
The night started out pleasant enough. So many of her friends were there and she walked through a crowd buzzing with energy, taking pictures for the press with Harris and then the rest of the large field of entrants, dolling out high fives to her teammates, hugging people she hadn’t seen in far too long, tasting the different speciality drink options she had helped create. Sure, she absolutely blew it when it came time to get in the rings, falling victim to Michelle and then Corlanthis, but it was easy to blame that on her lingering back injury or laugh it off as, “Just not my night, I guess,” before settling in to drink with Peaches, cheer on her friends, and ignore each and every warning sign that hinted at something bigger about to happen: the electricity going out, the doors opening, the torches burning bright, the Fern wilting and miraculously coming back to life, and that itchy feeling of apprehension and anticipation coupled with the hum of energy in the air.
Even worse, she had ignored three warnings from Peaches.
"Something feel off to you at all?"
"... something feels wrong."
“I should go check on Terry, yea'? Please, be careful? Something's off here."
Even at the end of the night, Jewell still resisted the idea that something was very wrong. How easy it was to write the little blips off as the antics of the Opals similar to those experienced at Diamond Quest 99. During the final match, the voracious enthusiasm for something experienced earlier in the evening occurred again, though much stronger this time. When she felt that shift, that desire in the air, Jewell just edged forward on her seat and hoped it was the anticipation that they all felt for the end of the Quest. It was exciting, and she held her breath during the final round between Jaycy and Michelle.
Then it was done. She stood up and clapped, "Amazing ladies!"
Everyone around her was cheering, clapping, whistling for Jaycy’s victory as Jewell stood up and walked toward the center of the room to await the champion. The diamond gem rested on a velvet pillow, colored a deep royal blue bordering on purple or black, depending on the light. The jewel itself was, under the masterful care of its shaper, the gemcutter Smith, flawless. Sparkling like a melody of stars, the diamond refracted the torchlight in brilliant twinkles of green, red, yellow and blue. Jewell frowed a little as she got closer. Having examined it early in the evening when she first put it on the pedestal, she noticed it appeared to be shining even brighter now and practically buzzing with energy.
Mallory was standing nearby, staring at the diamond with fascination. Energy? Magical energy? “...The diamonds aren’t enchanted, right? they’re magically enert.” Glancing around the room. She thought there were previous Diamonds present.
"Mine are just diamonds." Hope tossed over to Mal.
Hope is right. It’s just a diamond, Jewell reminded herself. You picked it up earlier. She had admired it greatly then when no one was around, holding it up to her throat and imagining what it would be like when she won it later that evening.
When she realized Jewell was waiting for her, Jaycy slowly began making her way over towards her. The Empress noticed Jaycy was approaching, but she was too busy still staring at the diamond. There was a magic about it. Clearly. Something not there before.
As Jaycy neared, the diamond’s dazzling luminescence was cut through for a brief moment by a dark shadow that dissipated just as quickly, clearly a trick of the eye or a falter in the light. However, the elemental tremblings that happened earlier returned as well, intensified as if a violent earthquake which did not physically shake the ground but instead tore at the fabric of life itself. There was the feeling of a deep breath being taken before a plunge as Jaycy reached out to claim her prize.
But when that quake happened, she stopped short of touching it. Jaycy’s eyes widened and she immediately set her other hand on her stomach. "Jewell? Did you see something?"
"Mmm.. I think it was just the light?" She hoped it was. She couldn’t be sure though, and unease curled in her stomach.
"Should I take it?" Jaycy asked in an undertone to the nearby Collie.
"I can touch it first if you'd prefer..." Jewell offered with some concern for Jaycy, but she was trying to play it off like everything was just fine! She had overseen the cutting of this diamond herself. What could possibly go wrong? The concern expressed by everyone else from that quake had clearly set off her nerves. That was all.
"Aye, please." Slowly, to Jewell.
Cor squinted at the diamond on it's pillow. "Think. . .uh. . .think I'd just leave that one there. In fact. . ." Cor took a hesitant step towards Jaycy and the others. "I think..everyone should probably get away from that thing."
Jewell didn’t heed Cor’s warning at all and simply nodded. "Sure thing. I wish I had won it," she winked at the newest Diamond before reaching out to grab the gemstone prize.
When Jewell took hold of the diamond, a deafening silence stole over the Outback before an audible CRACK! accompanied a tremendous burst of energy emanating from the diamond itself, crashing outwards like a tsunami across the Outback. The faerie tried to deflect and absorb as much of the energy as she could. It felt like fire racing up her arm with nowhere to go from there. She stumbled back and fell, unable to contain it all and protect those around her.
****
“I tried to stop it. I did. There was so much energy though and I wasn’t prepared. I could feel it building but I didn’t think…”
“Shhh. It will be all right, Mira. Is that how you burned your arm?”
Jewell hiccuped, nodding. “There was so much of it but I couldn’t think fast enough. I didn’t want to release it and bring the whole place down on us, so I just kept it inside.”
The knight tsk’d. “No wonder you are a mess. All that energy just flowing through your system. Was it elemental energy as you suspected?”
She shook her head, wiping at her face with the side of her uninjured arm. Her cellphone was still in her hand. “No. That would have been different. It was something else. Something primal.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t know why it was in there though. It was just supposed to be a normal diamond. Just a big shiny rock. I inspected it earlier myself. And instead… instead…”
“Shh. Tell me what happened after, okay? Focus on what you can remember.”
Jewell nodded, trying to compose herself. “When the lights came back on, everything was a mess.”
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
DQ 100: Jewell's POV II
When the lights came back on and her vision cleared from the shock to her system, Jewell wasn’t sure she was seeing correctly. The Fern was gone. Styx, the Bridge… gone. The Pool was empty, the Can was in pieces… and there was dust and shards of broken glass everywhere, including sticking out of her bare legs. She couldn’t understand it any more than she understood Jaycy’s terrible, anguished shriek, that still rang in her ears.
“Is everyone all right?!” She heard Mallory’s voice but couldn’t see her well through the dust in the air. The diamond was still in her hand, and the Empress was momentarily dazed and giddy from the amount of energy she had absorbed, unable to get to her feet just yet.
She could hear her friends checking on each other, but it all sounded like so much noise to her at the moment. Cor was turning rapidly from one of the Opal holders to the other. "Where did they go? Where did they go?" The question was repeated for anyone who might have an answer.
The Opals her brain supplied after a moment’s confusion. Where had the Opals gone? Jewell tilted her head back and stared up at the dome ceiling, the crack cutting through SunCatcher, and the five opal-shaped holes that had been made only moments ago.
Gone. The Opals were gone.
She stood up unsteadily, still clutching the diamond in her hand and making no attempt to brush the shards and glass dust off herself. She did not fully register Mallory tending to Michelle or Andrea rushing Jin out of the Outback. She did not see Runt holding on to Koy or Eden, Alasdair, Gren, Kheld, Collie, Eregor… anyone. She wandered around a bit aimlessly, her body feeling like a live wire. She kicked at shards of glass and clutched the diamond in her hand still. The energy from it had burned her skin up to her exposed wrist; her jacket sleeve hid the real extent of the damage. She couldn’t let the gem go. Her hand refused to release it.
“Did Jewell die again?” She picked out her own name in the crowd.
"What?” She finally looked up, focusing on something. Someone. Harris. “No no.. I'm here."
“Okay, Jewell's not dead. Check.”
Cor held out a hand to Harris. "Hold on. Just because she responded doesn't mean she isn't dead."
Harris began to amble toward Jewell, indicating that Cor should follow along with him. “JEWELL! HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP?” He moved into Jewell's line of sight and held up all five fingers. Cor held some fingers up in front of Jewell's face too, helpfully.
"I.. what.. just you or him too?" She was shaking, clutching the diamond as hard as she could. "Is everyone okay?" She felt for sure that everyone was not okay. She wasn’t even sure if she was okay. There was a buzzing in her ears that wouldn’t go away and the feel of lightning beneath her skin.
“Someone probably died. Odds dictate it.” Harris reached out to grasp at Jewell's shoulders in an attempt to steady her. “Are you okay?”
"Yeah, yeah," she nodded even though she was clearly far from it. "I just tried to absorb some of that energy. There was a lot though. I think I burned my hand. Do you want this?" She held up her right hand with the diamond in it.
“I mean, of course I don't want it. That's a terrible idea.” He tried slapping at Jewell's hand to get the gem to drop.
"Hold on..." Cor went back to the bar and found a foam to-go box before hurrying back to Jewell and Harris. He opened it up. "Drop it in here, for now."
"Ow.." she whined a little as Harris slapped her hand but held on to the gem until Cor offered that box. She dropped it into it with some trouble as her hand didn't seem to want to open at first. The skin was raw and red, burnt and blistered. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
"Meanwhile." He glanced back at Harris. "You might want to give Seirichi a call."
“Rarely do things happen the way they're supposed to,” for Jewell, then he turned to Cor. “She's a big girl, I'm sure she's fine. I didn't marry a damsel.” The he turned back to Jewell, “Maybe you should sit? Do you want to sit?”
Cor wandered away but Jewell stay rooted beside Harris. "I think I want to go home if I can. Should I? I probably need to fix this first. But Sapphire.." she was looking around unsure and then when she overheard Mallory ask about Hope, her heart constricted. "Where's Hope?" She knew for a fact that she had not seen Hope.
“Where's your dude? What's his face?” Harris snapped his fingers trying to remember. “And Hope was probably vaporized.”
She was about to say something about Ishmerai when Harris said that and she just stared at him like she had been struck, "What?" Hope was vaporized. Hope vaporized. Vaporized. Vaporized.
“Sapphire’s fine,” Mallory assured Jewell, putting her phone away.
Jewell barely registered Mallory’s reassurance, latching on instead to Kheld’s suggestion, “Call her phone.”
“I mean, probably. There's always the chance she wasn't vaporized. I didn't take a headcount.”
"She was there....I had my hand on her arm and..." Davien shook his head, his face still registering the shock. "And then...she was just...gone." He didn't know Jewell, but he knew she and Hope were friends so figured she should know what happened.
"Right. My phone. Sapphire's okay? Okay.. where's my phone." She pat down her hot pants with her burned hand before pulling her phone from nowhere. Davien was talking and she knew who Davien was but Kheldar said call so she was trying to call and it was just ringing.
“We taking Jewell home?” Harris asked Cor if he plans to come with.
"Yeah, probably should." He pursed his lips and looked back around the Outback. "I don't think there's much gained from staying here.”
Jewell didn’t hear the rest of their conversation, focused on listening to her phone ring and ring, reach Hope’s voicemail, and then begin ringing again when she hung up and dialed again. “You're clearly too frazzled to be doing anything.” Harris clutched her lightly by the arm in an attempt to lead her to the exit. She had been fairly okay, but she was getting visibly upset when she kept dialing Hope's number and all it did was ring. She made no effort to resist Harris. “Come on, come on.” Slowly but surely, Harris lead Jewell to the double doors.
Seirichi turned and moved to catch up to Harris. She looked to Jewell. "What happened to you?"
She didn’t stop trying to call even as Harris lead her to the doors. "But I have to fix it. Why won't she answer?"
“Bad service.”
"She was dead-center of whatever happened with the Opals, also holding the spooky new diamond when it went off." Cor explained for Seirichi.
".. So you're saying that this is all Matt's fault. Okay. Following."
Harris was escorting Jewell outside, with Cor and Seirichi apparently in tow. “You're on Jewell duty if she starts crying, Cor,” he offered as they left.
"Someone should probably do something about Jewell's arm. Put some bread on it or something." Following along on Jewell's other side.
"Don't worry, Jewell. We'll get you a soft serve from McDonalds on the way. I'll even pay for the chocolate dip." Seirichi offered. It's how she got her daughter to get her shots. Icecream always works.
For some reason, the bread comment tipped the scale. "I don't.. want bread on my.. arm!" She was crying. At least Seirichi was wise. "Ooo-ookay."
“You're having a real damsel moment right now, Jewell. I just wanted to mention that.”
"YOU'RE A DAMSEL!" she could be heard shouting at Harris as they headed outside.
****
“And then you found me.”
“Then I found you,” he confirmed. “I will always find you.”
“But I can’t… I couldn’t find her. I’ve been calling and calling but she still… she won’t answer the phone, Merai.” She held it up as if to show him somehow, flipping through to Hope’s number again and letting it ring. Without it being on speaker phone, the recording was faint but they could both still hear Hope’s voice instructing the caller to leave a message.
“Maybe she is just unable to answer right now,” he offered without much conviction that this was the case.
“Because she’s hurt? Because she’s been vaporized? Did I vaporize her?” She asked wildly, furious before her face crumbled and she began to sob. He stopped his medical attentions, straightening up and carefully wrapping his arms around her. Soothingly, he ran his hand slowly down her back again and again. Jewell leaned forward, her forehead landing on his chest and her tears soaking his shirt. “What have we done, Merai?
“What have we done?”
“Is everyone all right?!” She heard Mallory’s voice but couldn’t see her well through the dust in the air. The diamond was still in her hand, and the Empress was momentarily dazed and giddy from the amount of energy she had absorbed, unable to get to her feet just yet.
She could hear her friends checking on each other, but it all sounded like so much noise to her at the moment. Cor was turning rapidly from one of the Opal holders to the other. "Where did they go? Where did they go?" The question was repeated for anyone who might have an answer.
The Opals her brain supplied after a moment’s confusion. Where had the Opals gone? Jewell tilted her head back and stared up at the dome ceiling, the crack cutting through SunCatcher, and the five opal-shaped holes that had been made only moments ago.
Gone. The Opals were gone.
She stood up unsteadily, still clutching the diamond in her hand and making no attempt to brush the shards and glass dust off herself. She did not fully register Mallory tending to Michelle or Andrea rushing Jin out of the Outback. She did not see Runt holding on to Koy or Eden, Alasdair, Gren, Kheld, Collie, Eregor… anyone. She wandered around a bit aimlessly, her body feeling like a live wire. She kicked at shards of glass and clutched the diamond in her hand still. The energy from it had burned her skin up to her exposed wrist; her jacket sleeve hid the real extent of the damage. She couldn’t let the gem go. Her hand refused to release it.
“Did Jewell die again?” She picked out her own name in the crowd.
"What?” She finally looked up, focusing on something. Someone. Harris. “No no.. I'm here."
“Okay, Jewell's not dead. Check.”
Cor held out a hand to Harris. "Hold on. Just because she responded doesn't mean she isn't dead."
Harris began to amble toward Jewell, indicating that Cor should follow along with him. “JEWELL! HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP?” He moved into Jewell's line of sight and held up all five fingers. Cor held some fingers up in front of Jewell's face too, helpfully.
"I.. what.. just you or him too?" She was shaking, clutching the diamond as hard as she could. "Is everyone okay?" She felt for sure that everyone was not okay. She wasn’t even sure if she was okay. There was a buzzing in her ears that wouldn’t go away and the feel of lightning beneath her skin.
“Someone probably died. Odds dictate it.” Harris reached out to grasp at Jewell's shoulders in an attempt to steady her. “Are you okay?”
"Yeah, yeah," she nodded even though she was clearly far from it. "I just tried to absorb some of that energy. There was a lot though. I think I burned my hand. Do you want this?" She held up her right hand with the diamond in it.
“I mean, of course I don't want it. That's a terrible idea.” He tried slapping at Jewell's hand to get the gem to drop.
"Hold on..." Cor went back to the bar and found a foam to-go box before hurrying back to Jewell and Harris. He opened it up. "Drop it in here, for now."
"Ow.." she whined a little as Harris slapped her hand but held on to the gem until Cor offered that box. She dropped it into it with some trouble as her hand didn't seem to want to open at first. The skin was raw and red, burnt and blistered. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
"Meanwhile." He glanced back at Harris. "You might want to give Seirichi a call."
“Rarely do things happen the way they're supposed to,” for Jewell, then he turned to Cor. “She's a big girl, I'm sure she's fine. I didn't marry a damsel.” The he turned back to Jewell, “Maybe you should sit? Do you want to sit?”
Cor wandered away but Jewell stay rooted beside Harris. "I think I want to go home if I can. Should I? I probably need to fix this first. But Sapphire.." she was looking around unsure and then when she overheard Mallory ask about Hope, her heart constricted. "Where's Hope?" She knew for a fact that she had not seen Hope.
“Where's your dude? What's his face?” Harris snapped his fingers trying to remember. “And Hope was probably vaporized.”
She was about to say something about Ishmerai when Harris said that and she just stared at him like she had been struck, "What?" Hope was vaporized. Hope vaporized. Vaporized. Vaporized.
“Sapphire’s fine,” Mallory assured Jewell, putting her phone away.
Jewell barely registered Mallory’s reassurance, latching on instead to Kheld’s suggestion, “Call her phone.”
“I mean, probably. There's always the chance she wasn't vaporized. I didn't take a headcount.”
"She was there....I had my hand on her arm and..." Davien shook his head, his face still registering the shock. "And then...she was just...gone." He didn't know Jewell, but he knew she and Hope were friends so figured she should know what happened.
"Right. My phone. Sapphire's okay? Okay.. where's my phone." She pat down her hot pants with her burned hand before pulling her phone from nowhere. Davien was talking and she knew who Davien was but Kheldar said call so she was trying to call and it was just ringing.
“We taking Jewell home?” Harris asked Cor if he plans to come with.
"Yeah, probably should." He pursed his lips and looked back around the Outback. "I don't think there's much gained from staying here.”
Jewell didn’t hear the rest of their conversation, focused on listening to her phone ring and ring, reach Hope’s voicemail, and then begin ringing again when she hung up and dialed again. “You're clearly too frazzled to be doing anything.” Harris clutched her lightly by the arm in an attempt to lead her to the exit. She had been fairly okay, but she was getting visibly upset when she kept dialing Hope's number and all it did was ring. She made no effort to resist Harris. “Come on, come on.” Slowly but surely, Harris lead Jewell to the double doors.
Seirichi turned and moved to catch up to Harris. She looked to Jewell. "What happened to you?"
She didn’t stop trying to call even as Harris lead her to the doors. "But I have to fix it. Why won't she answer?"
“Bad service.”
"She was dead-center of whatever happened with the Opals, also holding the spooky new diamond when it went off." Cor explained for Seirichi.
".. So you're saying that this is all Matt's fault. Okay. Following."
Harris was escorting Jewell outside, with Cor and Seirichi apparently in tow. “You're on Jewell duty if she starts crying, Cor,” he offered as they left.
"Someone should probably do something about Jewell's arm. Put some bread on it or something." Following along on Jewell's other side.
"Don't worry, Jewell. We'll get you a soft serve from McDonalds on the way. I'll even pay for the chocolate dip." Seirichi offered. It's how she got her daughter to get her shots. Icecream always works.
For some reason, the bread comment tipped the scale. "I don't.. want bread on my.. arm!" She was crying. At least Seirichi was wise. "Ooo-ookay."
“You're having a real damsel moment right now, Jewell. I just wanted to mention that.”
"YOU'RE A DAMSEL!" she could be heard shouting at Harris as they headed outside.
****
“And then you found me.”
“Then I found you,” he confirmed. “I will always find you.”
“But I can’t… I couldn’t find her. I’ve been calling and calling but she still… she won’t answer the phone, Merai.” She held it up as if to show him somehow, flipping through to Hope’s number again and letting it ring. Without it being on speaker phone, the recording was faint but they could both still hear Hope’s voice instructing the caller to leave a message.
“Maybe she is just unable to answer right now,” he offered without much conviction that this was the case.
“Because she’s hurt? Because she’s been vaporized? Did I vaporize her?” She asked wildly, furious before her face crumbled and she began to sob. He stopped his medical attentions, straightening up and carefully wrapping his arms around her. Soothingly, he ran his hand slowly down her back again and again. Jewell leaned forward, her forehead landing on his chest and her tears soaking his shirt. “What have we done, Merai?
“What have we done?”
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
The Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE
1.25.2020 | Outside the Outback
The PR agent for Real RhyDin fixed her hair before Jewell stepped up onto the podium in front of the humming collection of the press, “Thank you for being here today. It’s been a week since Diamond Quest 100, and as a member of the Duel of Fists Staff, I want to acknowledge that we owe the people of RhyDin some explanations and our sincerest apologies and regrets.”
She took a deep breath and shuffled through the notes set in front of her. “As many of you know, at the end of Diamond Quest 100, there was an explosion that shattered the Opals, caused damage to the Outback, and also…” The Empress hesitated, “injured and resulted in the disappearance of several citizens. For this, what we offer to the community is our deepest regrets. We were unable to stop this from happening, but we will do our best to make it right. As such, we have set up a fund to ease the burden on those families suffering at this time. For more information, please speak with Lexi Abrham, our Public Relations and Marketing Director who is helping us with this endeavor.”
Dozens of members of the press waved their hands in the air with questions while others shouted them directly at her, but Jewell stayed on script. “As for the events at the Diamond Quest, what we have learned since then is that somehow, the diamond was turned into a device that drew upon and collected energy throughout the evening from the fighters engaged in the Quest, and when I touched the gem, it released the collected energy and shattered the Opals. While the explosion caused the physical houses of the Opals to shatter, the essence of the Opals within the forms appear unharmed. It is these essences that were released into RhyDin that evening, causing the subsequent elemental trouble that we are all experiencing lately. The physical homes were fractured into countless shards and scattered throughout the city.
“It is our hope,” Jewell choked on that word. “It is our hope, that if we are able to collect all of the shards, we can reunite them with the essence of the Opals, reforming them and undoing the damage that has been done. As such, starting today, we are announcing a Search for Opal Shards. After consulting several experts, we have determined that shards can be found in locations where the associated element is naturally occurring. In addition, evidenced by the events at the Powerhouse Party for IFL the other evening, it seems that fighting in the duels also manifests shards at times. We believe that this is because the shards are drawn to the energy released during a fight as that is what was used to splinter them to begin with.
“To assist in the collection of shards, the Duel of Fists will be offering different rewards for those who turn in shards. For more details, please see the notices hanging in the Outback.”
The Empress seemed about ready to depart but she hesitated and burst out with an emotional plea, “Please help us. Family.. friends.. so many people have been torn apart because of this. People are hurting. Families are broken. Help us find the shards and make this right again.
“Thank you.”
((For OOC information on how to participate in the Search for Opal Shards, see this thread here! For the IC memo on how this will work and the list of prizes, see this thread here! Happy gaming!))
1.25.2020 | Outside the Outback
The PR agent for Real RhyDin fixed her hair before Jewell stepped up onto the podium in front of the humming collection of the press, “Thank you for being here today. It’s been a week since Diamond Quest 100, and as a member of the Duel of Fists Staff, I want to acknowledge that we owe the people of RhyDin some explanations and our sincerest apologies and regrets.”
She took a deep breath and shuffled through the notes set in front of her. “As many of you know, at the end of Diamond Quest 100, there was an explosion that shattered the Opals, caused damage to the Outback, and also…” The Empress hesitated, “injured and resulted in the disappearance of several citizens. For this, what we offer to the community is our deepest regrets. We were unable to stop this from happening, but we will do our best to make it right. As such, we have set up a fund to ease the burden on those families suffering at this time. For more information, please speak with Lexi Abrham, our Public Relations and Marketing Director who is helping us with this endeavor.”
Dozens of members of the press waved their hands in the air with questions while others shouted them directly at her, but Jewell stayed on script. “As for the events at the Diamond Quest, what we have learned since then is that somehow, the diamond was turned into a device that drew upon and collected energy throughout the evening from the fighters engaged in the Quest, and when I touched the gem, it released the collected energy and shattered the Opals. While the explosion caused the physical houses of the Opals to shatter, the essence of the Opals within the forms appear unharmed. It is these essences that were released into RhyDin that evening, causing the subsequent elemental trouble that we are all experiencing lately. The physical homes were fractured into countless shards and scattered throughout the city.
“It is our hope,” Jewell choked on that word. “It is our hope, that if we are able to collect all of the shards, we can reunite them with the essence of the Opals, reforming them and undoing the damage that has been done. As such, starting today, we are announcing a Search for Opal Shards. After consulting several experts, we have determined that shards can be found in locations where the associated element is naturally occurring. In addition, evidenced by the events at the Powerhouse Party for IFL the other evening, it seems that fighting in the duels also manifests shards at times. We believe that this is because the shards are drawn to the energy released during a fight as that is what was used to splinter them to begin with.
“To assist in the collection of shards, the Duel of Fists will be offering different rewards for those who turn in shards. For more details, please see the notices hanging in the Outback.”
The Empress seemed about ready to depart but she hesitated and burst out with an emotional plea, “Please help us. Family.. friends.. so many people have been torn apart because of this. People are hurting. Families are broken. Help us find the shards and make this right again.
“Thank you.”
((For OOC information on how to participate in the Search for Opal Shards, see this thread here! For the IC memo on how this will work and the list of prizes, see this thread here! Happy gaming!))
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