| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:23:32
Halruaan Sunset and The Courage of Ordinary Mortals
**Journal Soundtrack: “Greenheart, Auridon Sunrise, Arkay Watches, and The Towers Cast Long Shadows” by Brad Derrick
24 FEB 2020
Halruaan Sunset and The Courage of Ordinary Mortals
**Journal Soundtrack: “Greenheart, Auridon Sunrise, Arkay Watches, and The Towers Cast Long Shadows” by Brad Derrick
She laughs as she takes a long sip of her mead. “Jarus, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” she says as he tells yet another story of how he seduced some poor barmaid while she had visited Halarahh. She had missed her friend and was glad to be back with the group. The sun was setting at the edge of the sky and she could think of no other sunset more beautiful than this. Reds, purples, pinks and blues intertwined like a painters love story with his oil and canvas. She leaned back and stretched out her feet near the crackling fire. “Do you think it will always be like this Jarus? I mean, from now on, even while we search for my parents?” He sits next to her and takes a swig of his mead. “Honestly, probably not, you know how it is, we are magnets for chaos Shayzala. But, with Maximus and the guys with us, there is nothing we can’t accomplish, I mean, we saved the world Shayzala, what can’t we do?” he rested his head on his bedroll and stared at the sky. She contemplated this statement while peering over the fire towards Vex. He saw her staring and winked and smiled as he and Klath discussed various arcane magics. She smiled, chuckled, and rolled her eyes. She remembers the time he sat with her at the temple of Ilmater after she had been tortured alive by Natasha. He had listened to her process her experience, confess her guilt for breaking, and reveal her vulnerable side. He never once judged her. “Do not be ashamed,” he had said to her. Simple words but at the time, it felt like the most soothing salve ever made spread upon a raw open wound. She was lucky to have met him. He had been there with her through so much, knew her deepest traumas, her worst fears, and always lifted her up, even when he himself was suffering. No other man could know what she had been through. He was the first dragonborn she had met and he had quickly stolen her heart. She settled in, sighed contently, sipped her mead, and watched the sun move deeper under the horizon. The sound of the guys’ laughter filled the air as she and Jarus enjoyed nature’s beauty. “You know Jarus, whatever happens, at least we have this moment to just…be, ya know?” He grunted softly in agreement . Her eyes fluttered, and for a moment she felt as if she would drift off to sleep.
Her leg jerked quickly, like when you have a dream where you are falling and are awakened right before you crash. She blinked and noticed the sunset was gone. Shouting surrounded her. It was freezing and her head felt fuzzy. As she tried to focus she noticed Jarus standing next to her, seemingly trying to adjust to the new environment as well. As her eyesight cleared she started to focus on what was going on around her. Men were screaming for someone named Sahil and shouting “Who are you?!” Were they talking to her? Was this real or was she dreaming? She looked down and her mead was gone. She looked around at the stone walls, ice quickly starting to form and spread around them. Her heart started to beat faster. “Jarus, where are we? What the hell is this place? What the **** is going on?!” His face looked just as confused as hers must have. “I… I don’t know,” he said, his breath forming in the icy air. The familiar rush of adrenaline started to kick in. She knew they didn’t have much time, soon hypothermia would be setting in and they wouldn’t stand a chance. “Listen, I have no idea what is going on, why we are here, or who you are but we have about four minutes before we are all completely frozen,” her voice wavered at first but steadied. She was used to chaos…like Jarus had said, it followed us everywhere.
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:36:18
Eyes Wide Open
Song "Keep the streets empty for me" by Fever Ray
02 NOV 2020
Eyes Wide Open
As we face this large set of doors, my mind wanders to a distant memory…
The Drow rips off my pants, exposing my nether regions. My heart quickens and I almost whimper. She retrieves another instrument from the leather satchel and before I can look at it I close my eyes….Searing pain shoots through my body as she jams the sharpened object up inside me. I cry out in pain as she violates me repeatedly. I cry out to my God, I cry out for my friends, and finally…I cry out for mercy…
That was only a small sliver of what Natasha had done to me over several days in the underdark but somehow that particular memory was the one that used to haunt my thoughts and dreams…
Every…
Single…
Night…
That is, until our last rest…
Something in me had changed. Leira had given me the freedom to start exploring what I wanted and with this new found freedom, I almost felt euphoric. After my discussion with her in the infinite stairwell and again in the cave, for the first time, my mind started to think beyond just the healing and caring for others. I started to think about my own desires, wants and needs and along with this I thought about my own justice, what I wanted for myself. I started to re-write that memory with me seeking out and killing Natahsa, that evil horrible creature. This was not a thought I had ever had before. In my previous faith, I was not allowed to do harm, so what was the good of even pondering the idea that I could exact justice for myself?
However, I am different now. My mind is now open to the various possibilities of all of the things I can do without godly consequences. Now, my choices to do what I feel are good and right are even more empowered. For doesn’t choosing a path on your own accord make it even more fulfilling? If I continue to choose good without being told to do so, doesn’t that make that choice even more powerful?
Along with my freedom to choose, I was surrounded by individuals who felt the same. No more “Don’t do that Shayzala,” or “Not right now,” or “Just hold off.” Here, I can make a choice and not be chastised for it. And do I also miss my friends and family? Of course. And I will continue to try and stay alive so that I may be with them once again? Absolutely. The difference now though, is I have a voice, and no matter what time or timeline I am in, or plane of existence I am on, that I can assure you, will never be taken again.
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| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:33:55
Homesick
17 OCT 2020
I could see it happening again. That brief glazed over look on the guys faces as memories were being pulled from them. I had felt the tug again but continued to shake it off. Shino and Chand complained that they didn’t feel right. As I inspected them I could see no damage, no concussion, nothing physically affecting them. “What the **** is happening,” I thought to myself. Again, precious memories had been taken. I mentioned to Jarus I hoped that Vex and Maximus would come and find us somehow and he said, “Who?” My heart sank, I remembered he didn’t remember Vex, but now Maximus? “Maximus? Klath, Konogal?” I said. He stared at me, confused. “Well of course I know Klath, our friend, who are those other guys,” he said. “They are our friends, you just don’t remember,” I said and he grumbled something. “I wouldn’t lie, Jarus!” I snapped back. I put my fingers to my temples and slowly rubbed them, taking some deep breaths. I had never felt so frustrated. I had all this power at my fingertips and it still wasn’t enough. We needed to do something, to get out. We all discussed the artifacts in the room, who would talk to them, who had the strongest will to withstand possible control. I knew I probably could but with my lack of arcane knowledge it would have to be someone else. Epaphus volunteered and we all waited as he interacted with it. I could see the hairs stand on the back of his neck. We all waited for a time. As this happened we talked about the blackness that encased two sides of the room, what to do, what it is. All of it seemed to lead to nowhere. Epaphus finally returned with thought taker. He had exchanged a memory for him to use it. “It was empty,” Epaphus states and then explains what that must mean. As we contemplated what to do next, Chand decided to tough the darkness. He disappeared and then returned. He seemed different. Things happened in kind of a blur after that. Chand had interrelated with the other artifact, disappeared, reappeared. He looked upset, different, sad. Danjo placed him in a maze and we discussed what we would do once he made his way out. He re-appeared once again. This time he seemed depressed, morose, scared, anxious, nervous. I wanted to help but he wasn’t ready to talk. Seeing people I care for hurting and not being able to help pained me.
This seemed to be my feeling as we continued to venture though this hellscape. Epaphus and Chand seemed to go into a combined telepathic battle with the artifacts and without the knowledge Shino provided, my powerful heal spell would not have worked. Chand completely changed, confident, sure of himself and whatever that terrible ****ing artifact was, it sure didn’t like me poking around. Not to mention our interaction with an ancient deity, our future possible deity and now we are debating on some supposed legend known as pandorum. Although, weirdly, while I was in the room with the magic vials, herbs and oils, I felt strangely at home. It made me think of mom and dad, where they must be and how much I missed them and the shop. I hadn’t dabbled in apothecary since right before we got here. I remember I was going to ask the guys to help me find my parents who had gone missing the night we were relaxing by the bonfire, the night Jarus and I were pulled from our world and into this one. Well, if our world then, and our world now, still exist.
But now, I stare at a purple shard that had been behind a door that required the answer to some introspective riddle. The party seems divided now, no doubt in how seeing this thing has affected each of us. It seems that Shino and Jarus feel adamant that we leave this thing alone. Maybe we should, maybe we shouldn’t, but in any case, we’d better think quick because just like every encounter we have had since Jarus and I have gotten here, death is always just around the corner waiting.
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| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:30:10
Levexaurix
15 OCT 2020
Levexaurix...
“Who is Vex…” Jarus said…
“Jarus No!!!” Vex screamed out as Jarus fell. The look in his eyes...despair. I could see it in his face, he felt powerless. His eyes pleaded to me to save him. For me, death was a part of my life. People died and either I could bring them back or I couldn’t. Before my time with this group, I had been a battle medic. I had seen people die in my arms on a daily basis. When I was younger, I always felt defeated if someone died, even if I had saved 100 before them. Now, death didn’t sway me and I was grateful for even one life saved. Vex however, did not live the death life cycle and I could see how helpless he felt. I knew I could bring Jarus back and my heart ached for how Vex must have been feeling. We all gathered around as I completed my prayer to Ilmater and Jarus gasped back to life. As I held him tight while he sobbed in my arms, I stared at Vex. He was relieved, his fiery eyes portrayed gratitude and relief. The same look he gave Maximus when he saved me from the brink of death after Natasha mutilated my body. Those eyes, I will never forget those eyes…
I wondered if I’d ever see him again. Touch his long silvery hair. Spend the night curled in his arms…
“Who is Vex?” Jarus said, his face puzzled like I had just asked him about some obscure deity. I blinked as my mind re-focused to the present moment. My heart sank. How could he not remember Vex?! Vex, his friend, my husband, our loving companion from our long lost timeline. My mind raced. As I continued to think about what was going on, I kept feeling a tug at my mind but was able to brush it away. Danjo had mentioned that Shino was forgetting things. I closed my eyes. This place, this terrible ****ing place was stealing our memories. Time was twisted and we were all exhausted and losing our grips. If we didn’t act soon… I shook my head, refusing to give into defeat. We must move on, we must survive. Even though we were meant to save the world, in this moment, I say, **** the world, we need to save ourselves.
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| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:28:05
Treasure Room Telepathy and the Unknown Evil Shadows of the Champions for Good
12 MAY 2020
“I don’t know if we can trust them,” Shayzala spoke freely to Magenta. Being able to communicate telepathically had its advantages. They were settled in the treasure room for a few bells to rest and recover. She and Jarus had only known them for a short time, but time seemed to drag on here in the spire. She leaned against him on the floor, her head resting gently on his coiled body. She had spent plenty a night sleeping against Magenta in her past life and just being near him again eased much of her fear and anxiety but still did not ease her worries about her new found ‘friends’. She tried to get some sleep but his words whispered in confidence earlier in the day still bothered her. Magenta responded in a low soothing voice, his words were always chosen so carefully thus it took a while for him to respond. “Young one, I can sense your trepidation and understand the fear that is rising inside you, but even with the information I have provided you, I think we shouldn’t be hasty to judge these men…” She sighed, “I know I know, I just, I don’t know how to resolve this conflict I feel inside given the information I now have…” her words trailed off. Magenta smiled and stared off into the dark room,“let me share something with you my young companion.”
“Long ago, when I was just a young being of 250 years, I had very little experience with humans, which was unusual as our kind are often mentors to races we feel need guidance and support in all things lawful and good,” he spoke slowly and precisely. “I decided to venture around the various planes and found myself in Faerun, specifically the Forest of Amtar to begin my journey of mentorship and “goodly” duties. We couatl often travel invisible so as not to disrupt the various species that inhabit the area. At that time, the forest had two main humanoid inhabitants, the Trunadar and the dusk elves of Dambrath. The Trunadar were also called “star people” and were considered good, though they sometimes raided logging camps and settlements. The dusk elves were typically less moral and often conducted evil acts and sometimes hunted the star people for sport. Now, I, being young and cocky, decided to show myself to the star people to support and guide them, after all, they were good but just a little misguided, and thus aligned with my own beliefs that have been passed down to me for thousands of years through each death and life of my fellow couatls.” He paused and took a long, slow breath, still smiling. “Oh, young one, at that point in my life, even with the knowledge of thousands of couatls buried deep inside my soul, I was not entirely right,” he said, slowly lowering his head and turning his gaze to me. “A few months into my mentorship with the Trunadar, I was traveling through the forest at night. It was such a wonderful hot and humid forest and I decided to find myself a snack. I came upon a small waterfall with a quick moving stream. There was a raiding party camping out near the stream, a particularly nasty one. We had seen them before, coming through the forest seemily just to hack, slash, and kill. They were cooking some sort of wild creature on a spit over a fire and they appeared to be some sort of orc species. In my mind, they were evildoers and thus held no worth. I remained invisible and watched them a bit. After a bell I noticed movement across the stream. One of the members from the tribe I was mentoring was watching the raiding party, hidden and camouflaged in a bush. I watched to see what he would do. I noticed he was watching something approach the stream. It was a child, a human orc child. I had never seen a human orc child before and wondered how a human and orc even mated. It must have wandered away from the raiding party. Before I could blink, the child fell into the stream and I immediately looked at the Trunadar to see if he was going to save this child. He did not, he stared at the young one struggling in the water, gasping for air. His eyes blank, unforgiving, as if the child was nothing. I began to move quickly as I could not allow this innocent being to die. Before I could reach it, I saw a black mass swoop in, swinging from the thick hanging vines of the forest, and snatch up the child. It was one of the dusk elves. I immediately thought he was hunting it to kill it and I raced forward. But before I could reach him, I halted. In disbelief I stared as the dusk elf gently scooped the child into his arms, swung himself closer to the raiding party, lowered him down behind a bush and gently pushed him towards the adults who were drinking and laughing around the fire. As soon as the child wandered closer it began to cry and one of the adults scooped it up, puzzled as to why he was soaked and immediately began to soothe him. I was awestruck. The dusk elf slowly made his way back up into the thick foliage of the trees, watched for a moment and then was gone. I looked back over to the other elf and he slunk away into the bushes. My mind was racing. What had I just witnessed? Had an evil creature just saved a child? Did this horrible raiding party made up of gruff, violent orcs just soothe and comfort a half orc runt of a child, showing it care and nurturing? Why did the Trunadar not help the child and seemily leave it to drown?” Magenta took another long, slow, melodic breath and smiled softly. “Now tell me Shayzala Bellasong of Halruua, battle medic of the Shining South, worshipper of Ilmater, healer of the fallen, and lover of humanity, why do you think I have shared this story with you? Hmmmmmm….?” She smiled and took a long deep breath and said softly, “It is because, my dear wonderful sweet companion… sometimes, ‘good’ people do bad things, ‘bad’ people do good things and sometimes, we cannot predict which will be which.” Magenta nodded softly, smiled and said “I knew the first time I was summoned to your side, we were destined to do great things together Shayzala, even if sometimes, those things will test our values, beliefs and that which we stand for….nowwww…” he said while yawning, his large serpent jaw opening to reveal his huge glossy white fangs and lowering his head to her lap “nowww, lets get some sleep, for I predict in a few bells time, we will be tested on those very things…yet again…” She snugged in and slowly stroked his scales and feathers until she was fast asleep.
Magenta could hear Shayzalas breath become slow and methodical, her eyes fluttering as she drifted into deep slumber. He glanced around the room to the others, checking on them, analyzing them as some slept and some stood guard at the door. He had failed to tell her the rest of the story. How even though he has lived another 250 years, that this particular tale is a rarity in his experience. Though he is more open than his lawful brethren, more accepting of occasional misgivings from the humans, he has seen through history that one still must be cautious of those whose auras seep evil shadows, even if they themselves are not aware of it. He glanced at Shayzalas sleeping face one last time before he drifted off. “Yes, my young companion, get plenty of sleep,” he thought to himself, “for you will need it, as I know that the evil aura that emanates from four of our new companions will test you and even test myself…”
**Side note: Some of the timelines in Magenta’s stories don’t add up regarding his age and the point in time he visited the forest. I did this for a few reasons: One, he is a native outsider that travels between various planes and time can work differently on various planes and to leave it open to mystery as to how couatls calculate time. Two: Eventually I want to write more about his own adventures on the different planes so I didn’t want to limit him to a single timeline. :)
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| cpthero2 |
Posted - 08 Dec 2020 : 00:25:35
We Honor the Slain and Reclaim the Souls
24 FEB 2020
We Honor the Slain and Reclaim the Souls
**Journal soundtrack “Anequina Beckons” by Brad Derrick and “ Beauty of Dawn” by Malukah
Tjordiir hands Shayzala the head of his fallen comrade. She takes the head gently in her hands. Her touch is delicate and respectful as she places it on her bedroll on the ground. She sits cross legged in front of the head. “Danjo,” Tjordiir says softly, peering down at his friend. She can see the sadness in his eyes. His face is worn and ragged. He and his friends have been fighting for their lives without rest. She knows this look, she has seen it too many times on the faces of her friends. She sighs deeply as she studies the face in front of her on the bedroll. “Danjo,” she says softly as she runs her fingers along the wrinkles of his eyes. He appeared to have been an older gentleman, from a land she is not as familiar with. She cleans his skin gently and prepares the diamond dust. It has been a while since she has had to call a spirit back to its body, lets hope the magic needed encounters no barriers. She relaxes her body, closes her eyes, binds her red cord around her hands and begins to chant:
Oh Broken God, The one Who Endures,
it is I your divine subject, once again to implore;
I ask for this man’s life to once again be restored.
In the fugue plane, does his spirit await?
Grant me the power once again to tempt fate.
Flesh, blood, bone and spirit combine,
Form whole this man’s body with power of the divine!
Shayzala feels the warmth of the magic pulse through her body. Waves of energy wash over her as euphoria sets in. She can feel the divine energy course through her as she chants her sacred spell. Just as she feels the spell about to release into Danjo’s remaining flesh, a harsh rigid jolt grips her body. Her connection feels strained, she tries to hold on, channeling all of her energy through her body to the point of exhaustion. Something is wrong, something is blocking her connection. Her face grimaces as she is shunted out of her trance. Her eyes blink open as she hears an unfamiliar voice. “Oh you want him back?” the voice says mockingly. “I can give him back, all you need to do is ask me, not your martyred god, the crying one!” This bald man steps forward, his tone disingenuine as he mocks her and her God. She can feel the energy in the air shift. This is not an ordinary man, he is powerful and his aura is filled with deception and mistrust. “Accept my power, accept the truth! I can bring him back, or I can simply leave him be, what will it be?” She looks around the room at the forlorn faces staring back at her. Time seems to start slowing down, sounds become like distant whispers. As if stuck in slow motion, she can see their mouths moving, surely beckoning her to bring their friend back. Her gaze meets that of the powerful one, she digs deep in her mind to figure out who he may be. Something seems familiar but alas, she can’t quite place it. She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, time speeds up and she can hear clearly again. “I said will you accept my power?!” he says angrily. “Yes, I accept that you have power,” she states, staring without blinking. This seems to satisfy him for now and the rush of divine energy once again rushes through her body and the spell suddenly releases. “See, that’s all you had to do, this is happening because I am allowing it, remember that,” and he disappears. “What a ****ing asshole,” she whispers under her breath. She refocuses and watches as Danjos body begins form almost instantly and he jolts awake, his eyes shooting open, staring into hers. “There you are, “ she says in a soft, comforting voice as she smiles gently. She quickly casts a calming spell to ease the transition from death to life. He stares at her for a moment and then sits up confused, upset, and clearly traumatized from his spirit being called back to his flesh. Shayzala soothes him the best that she can and his friends gather around to comfort him. “Shino, where is Shino,” he says over and over, his voice sounds worried, sad, and guilty. She stares at the faces of his comrades, their faces overcome with grief. She sighs…and begins to prepare herself for yet another resurrection.
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