____________________The Wind Whispers...|| tab The scout's directions hadn't exactly been difficult to follow, but it had been rather...roundabout. One might wonder why they'd moved so far out, ranging in the forests skirting the titanic walls of the Battlements of old Kirigakure. Would Shadow find such views...nostalgic? These walls had been built in his lifetime with Jutsu that would likely never grace this world again, and their construction, let alone the defenses that guarded them, would likely be something never again done in this world. Magic now ruled this world, with new rules and limitations that hadn't existed before. So seeing them now, did it mean anything? tab Whatever the answer would be didn't matter in the long run, not then. Following the instructions to the letter led Shadow on a merry walk around bogs and thick growth that might have caused some anxiety, seeing as they resembled plants he'd once seen defending his home. But after much time they parted to reveal a waterfall, at the base of which lay a large pool that bore an otherwordly glow from somewhere in its depths. The sun had fallen several hours before, and with the thick foliage above the exact time of night was difficult to place. The light from the pool, and the cataract itself that refracted it, served as the only light here. tab The instructions said there would be mist. Right now that hadn't proved to be the case, so what was his next step?
Royal Taorito
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:59 pm
❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...Thev don't know mv heart. Thev don't know mv heart.❞ ❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...They don't know my heart. They don't know my heart.❞
【S I X T E E N⦁S I L E N T⦁G U A R D I A N】xxxxx◢ S h a d o w H ú n y i s t í r ◣xxxxx【B - R A N K⦁T I N K E R - T R A C K E R⦁I N K B O R N】
[x] While I moved at a hurried pace, I did take time to try to account for where I was. The landscape was almost unrecognizable. The great walls weren't where they were supposed to be, making it difficult to identify any other familiar landmarks. Some I could find but most had been worn away by time or altered by magic. Regardless, the directions I was given avoided the walls as much as they could. Which I couldn't blame the scouts for; dangerous magics were trapped within and any wrong move could trigger them. The land in general felt dangerous, the mana having seeped into the earth itself. It fueled the things that lived here now, which I noticed from uncomfortably familiar plants.
By the time I reached the destination, the sky had grown dark, and the thick forest almost pitch black. Thanks to the nature of my appearance, my eyes were able to pull in what little light existed and allow me to navigate despite the dark. But the closer I got the less it was necessary. An unnatural glow shone through the waters of the roaring waterfall and the pool at its base. But the scene didn't really fit the information I'd been given. There was no mist except what the falls threw up, making the air glitter with moisture. It was almost a beautiful sight, something to save for later when I wasn't concerned with my objective.
Skirting around the edge of the pool, staying vigilant for any threats--part of me was still convinced that this was a set up to draw me out and ambush me. But all remained quiet as I approached the falls themselves, close enough that the spray was starting to soak me. Turning in a slow circle, I searched for any sign of where to go or what to do. And then I saw it, the light of whatever caused the glow refracting off of a thick fog that oozed from a path into the mountain. A caverns behind the falls? Drawing my tanto from its scabbard, I took a couple of cautious steps inside.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. ❞
Stats: Power [4] || Agility [5] || Intelligence [5] || Mana [4] • Physical| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: +0.5 • Magical| Strength: +0.5 x Speed: +0.5 • Illusion| Strength: +0.0 • Arcanist Spell Cost: [-5] Mana • Simple and Unnamed Attack Cost: [-5] Stamina
Techniques Used: ✤ [Prepared] Ink Transport - C The user writes "transport" on a piece of paper with mana-infused ink. The user then places it wherever they would like to transport to, be it a location or on a specific person, such as an opponent's back. By concentrating a small amount of mana, the can transport to the paper's location, for purposes such as to silently attack an opponent or to reveal to their comrades the enemies location.
✤
Current Objectives: ✤ Find Jack.
Items of Note: ✤
[ e x p ] 14,400 x|x [ r y o ] 0,400 x|x [ m a n a ] 600 / 600 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 550 / 550
[ m o o d ] neutral x|x [ h e a l t h ] fine x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] none
____________________The Rhythm Hunts...|| tabShadow tread carefully upon the slick stones as he wandered ever closer to the falls and what lay beyond. When he carefully observed he found a thin path that led behind the falls, something that would require placing one foot in front of the other constantly to stay secure. And beyond...well, more mist. Thick mist that carried the scent of water and earth, of moss and mildew, and the overwhelming scent of life itself. Powerful enough to stain his tongue with its passing it resembled what he would have normally found at any other such natural alcove anywhere else he'd been in his life, save for one thing. tab A small, antique lantern, within which many small insects that glowed with the same light as the pool swam through its interior. Swam, for their movements sent ripples around them much they way they would have had they been in water. tab The lantern produced enough light to also reveal the damaged mask of a lone Kraken Division guard, which a closer inspection would reveal to have been damaged by teeth. Beyond, further into the mist, the depth of the cave was quite obvious, though peering through the mist was difficult at best, useless at worst. With closer inspection, however, Shadow might notice that the mist faded from the light of the insects...
Royal Taorito
tab the scout's directions hadn't exactly been difficult to follow, but it had been rather...roundabout. One might wonder why they'd moved so far out, ranging in the forests skirting the titanic walls of the Battlements of old Kirigakure. Would Kagerou find such views...nostalgic? These walls had been built in her lifetime with Jutsu that would likely never grace this world again, and their construction, let alone the defenses that guarded them, would likely be something never again done in this world. Magic now ruled the lands, with new rules and limitations that hadn't existed before. So seeing them now, did it mean anything? tab Following directions led the pair into the thick of the forest where trees thicker than a horse drawn carriage blotted out the sky, making vision difficult at best without some level of artificial light. Yet as they moved something strange happened: the plants moved away from the pair, leaning back to avoid coming in contact with them, though the trees had little say in the matter and merely shuddered where they came in touch with them. Would Kagerou remember some of these plants that moved around their group? The last she would have seen it was on an island a whole lifetime ago, where plants fed upon the imbalance in creation and became something else.
Aritaryn
HeadlessKoko
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:08 pm
To call her feelings for these walls that loomed besides them would have been a lie. Time and again, Kagerou would find her gaze drifting from her surroundings to the walls above. To say that she was distracted wouldn't have been the right description. She remained as alert looking up as she did around. In fact, she was more wary of the walls and anything behind them than her immediate position. There were a lot of memories to this village, memories she had confronted countless times already on their journey to here but had yet to be wholly organized.
She couldn't say she hated the place, however, no matter what other emotions swirled within, nor did she dislike being here. This was, after all, a homecoming of sorts, and if not, then the goal she had been aiming for these past few months.
Granted, her most direct reason for returning "home" certainly soured the taste a fair bit. Somewhere, behind these walls, Shadow was lost and Kagerou knew better than to hope that there was nothing to worry about. She would not let the Sero take someone she cared for... or so she wanted to say, but she knew better than to pretend she was the same person as in the "past," and to know such only tightened her chest.
"The plants," Kagerou noticed and asked the scout that led her, "Why do they move as they do?". Of course, she meant the way they swayed and, when she laid a hand upon those that could not avoid it, shuddered. It drew familiarity, but of the vague sort, and she could not pinpoint it among the many jumble of memories that collided within her. However, she felt somewhat certain that this trait hadn't been a signature trait of the Sero's. While she was asking questions, she added, "Also, why this route? It's rather roundabout to our destination." A few guesses she could come up with why. The roundabout route was the more efficient one. The roundabout was the safer one. However, she wanted to know what the other side knew.
____________________The Rhythm Hunts...|| tab Giving a nearby plant a wide birth as they moved by, the masked scout raised they're nondescript voice to explain, though in a cautious tone. "These plants appear to be of the carnivorous sort, ma'am," they began, falling immediately into terms of respect for reasons unknown. Swatting at a small fly-like insect as it flew too close to their face they continued, the fox-like mask giving little away. "They can sense us in some strange way we can't discern. These appear to be more docile than others, which is the reason we travel as we do. The others...give chase..." A shudder passed through the scout as they recalled whatever horror gave them that description before continuing on. tab To [Artitaryn], it felt like the world was damp, in some ways muted and in other ways lit like a nova. The scents of this place were everywhere and of a variety he'd never experienced before. The scent of earth existed, but was quite fresher than he'd experienced nearly anywhere else. Here the ground was spongy, almost imperceptibly so were it not for his senses being stronger without his vision. Yet that might give him pause itself, for as they moved forward he could see the color of water beneath them spreading on, and on, and on, what might well be to him uncomfortably close beneath their feet. tab As Kagerou cast her gaze about it might well suddenly dawn on her a couple of important facts. First, these plants seemed to ignore her companions for the most part, instead swaying their way in rhythm to her movements. Secondly, the walls that surrounded old Kirigakure were definitely in sight but they were angled the wrong way. It wasn't that they were outside of the walls, they were in fact within them. Yet given their distance they'd traveled already it might come as a shock, given the village barriers had been merely three miles by two miles in size, and they'd traveled further and were only now seeing them. What that meant, well...that would depend on her.
Aritaryn
HeadlessKoko
Posted: Fri May 14, 2021 9:44 pm
A light hum through ever-smiling lips as scarlet eyes flickered to and fro the walls. They felt off and yet not. At first, she had thought it had been because of the passage of time or that her memories had distorted. However, after seeing more, she realized that she had simply had to see things from a different point of view. They were not without the walls but within. "Hm...," she mused aloud for reasons various, "The distances are not right.".
"Anyways," leaving her companions to muse over her words by themselves, Kagerou returned to the point mentioned by their guide, "There are plants that give chase?". A memory, more vivid than usual as it came from her younger days, stood out to her. It led her to inquire, "What are these like? Are they humanoid?". She did not just ask for their other features, their all too human shrieks of agony as they are destroyed, the corpses locked within.
And the swaying flora? She did not know what to make of it yet. Though, it reminded her of that strange obsession displayed by the... living plant back in Fire Country.
