► The Farm

[Lanfaer]

_______________The Narrator Whispers...Kokuei... ||

tab There came another fump! followed by a flash of green light as the target of Levi's ire brought its axes together and banged them together. The green light erupted in a bubble that expanded rapidly, overtaking the meadow in seconds and causing all sounds to stop. The air became thick, syrupy, difficult to breathe in and even more difficult to move in, as if something were pressing in on their bodies from all directions at once. Instantly all became silent as every sound, even the beating of their hearts, became still as a winter night.
tab The giants, however, did not seem to want to heed the advice of their own actions, and moved forward through the syrup in such a way that the air appeared to distort around them, flowing over them like oil on water. As they moved, however, the barn doors in the distance began to open slowly, causing no sound, and thus no waves of light, yet clearly visible from the sheer magnitude of light flashing from within it in an almost strobe-like pattern.
tab As it did so a sense of calm would come over the trio within the Farm, and with it, a feeling of...knowledge. Perhaps a memory of their former lives, a touch of what used to be, but somehow they would feel something come back to them [+150 Experience to All]. From this light came another sensation: hope. A strong feeling of hope calling to them from barn and the strobe light with.

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Arrow35

malaevas

Pad Chief

 

[Dopy Grimes]

Lanfaer

Pad Chief

I Am The Leader Of Amegakure.

Levi

Toya

Familytillifindasongforhim

But Most Importantly!

Levi smiled warmly at the boy's valor! The child had taken the front line all on his own. This intrigued Levi who had stopped in his tracks to observe the attack. The way the boy seamlessly dove into the ground and struck the beast from below was a feat of courage and wit! Levi would move his hand to fiddle with his imaginary mustache before he realized that he no longer possessed facial hair. "Hoho! Silly me." He laughed before the explosion of green sound occurred. "Hngr!" He grunted as pressure pushed against all dimensions of his body. "Oh dear this is cumbersome haha...." He managed to say through some effort. The sight of the creatures moving forward towards him without being affected by whatever was keeping him in place did not bode well either.

"The Lord is my shield and His word is my sword." He began his prayer with his eyes closed. "I take it upon his light to guide me through the darkest of times and his darkness to shade me when the sun boils my skin." After the words were spoken the once leader of the land he now stood upon would feel a sense of calm unlike anything else he'd felt since the explosion turned his body into nothingness. Knowledge would seep into his mind bringing back memories of countless battle he both fought and coordinated. Jutsu also came back into his mind. Struggling, Levi moved his hands towards each other to perform a series of hand seals. "I will not perish until His will is done." A flash of light and flames would erupt around Leviathan. His body felt different. Power reminiscent of before but no where near what he used to possess. The technique being used to suppress him now felt lighter than before yet it was still imposing. "I shall smi-" Levi would start but a voice within him made him yield.

Wrath. Follow the light. Levi never questioned the voice of God within him. His focus immediately shifted from fighting the creatures to reaching the barn. The Lord could only do so much to aid him. With his new found vigor the boy would try to run towards the barn while his "Burning Rush" technique was still active.

The Envoy of God!

 

[Pad Chief]

The sword made contact with flesh. He could feel the resistance of its flesh. Different in quality from the slight resistance the ground provided when the sword moved out and yet missing a certain quality.

Camael twisted his blade before withdrawing it back into the earth. Something about the attack had felt wrong. Was the resistance slightly too weak? There didn't appear to even be a jerking motion to register the sword. As Camael considered this he began feeling his body being slowed down. As though the resistance of the earth around him was growing more similar to how it had been previously. This was clearly very bad. Camael knew he could hold his breath for a little longer but the physical exertion it would take to swim through the ground was much greater than he'd anticipated.

Yet there was something he could feel even if he couldn't see it. There was hope yet. Camael began to swim towards it with all his might. His body ached with each movement but the alternative of having to fight, be caught or killed by those creatures was much more awful. From what he could tell they didn't even feel pain. As he approached the source he pulled himself above the earth and began to crawl. The physical exertion of swimming through the earth which had become so thick had worn him down.

Panting and knowing he didn't have a second to spare Camael crawled across the threshold, into the light and into the unknown.

Lanfaer

malavaes

 

[Lanfaer]

_______________The Narrator Whispers...Kokuei... ||

tab Hope. It was an emotion that burned bright as a beacon for the wayward travelers as Levi sprinted with fire licking at his heels and Camael swam for all the life he could muster until, at last, both crossed the threshold with a final burst of energy...and the world went quiet once more. And free, for the pressure was removed from their bodies, the air returning to its previous gaseous state. The light dimmed as the doors to the barn slammed shut with a boom of finality that echoed within the spacious accommodation they now found themselves. For all intent and purposes it was a barn, build well, sturdy, and yet filled with implements of horror. Hooks and chains seemed to be a staple of the decor, along with red and black streaks that formed ancient words, runes and symbols everywhere that they could. Standing in the center in a clearing of hay, a perfect circle, knelt what appeared to be a glowing suit of armor with motes of light that danced around it with soft, sweeping motions. The feeling of hope and safety radiated from it with such a degree that it was palpable, though as the doors slammed shut and locked behind them the figure did not move. Instead a booming voice came from all around, echoing as if from within a cavernous distance. "WELCOME TO THE FARM," it began, it's voice neither male nor female, neither warm nor cold. Instead it left the taste of joy, of glory, within its tone. "LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE A NEW SOUL HAS GRACED THIS PLACE. YOU ARE SAFE HERE, FOR THE MOMENT."
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Arrow35

malaevas

Pad Chief

 

[Dopy Grimes]

Lanfaer

Pad Chief

I Am The Leader Of Amegakure.

Levi

Toya

Familytillifindasongforhim

But Most Importantly!

Flames erupting around his body, Levi was overcome with joy. The Lord had once again shown him mercy. The pressure around his body disappearing the moment he stepped int the barn. Falling to his knees the boy would begin his prayer completely ignoring those around him.

"Blessed be his will unto my feeble existence for I am nothing without his unfathomable power and holy guidance. I thank you Lord for showing mercy to this foolish mortal. Your name and light will shine upon these dark and forsaken lands for as long as I live. As the great prophet of Chaos wrote in Prometheus 2:11, 'Never question The Holy Father and his methods no matter how bleak life may appear or how low you fall. God will always be there for he is never absent." Levi would continue with his arms raised without paying attention to the armor or the boy who had fought alongside him.

The Envoy of God!

 

[Pad Chief]

Camael looked around as he took deep gasping breaths. Each one a sign that he was still alive.

The first thing he noticed was the voice in his head. Not again. How many things had since learnt to get inside his head before he'd awoken though he had to admit this voice was unusually pleasant. In fact when was the last time he had been awake. Being alive here now made absolutely no sense if he even began to consider it. It seemed better therefore to cast that thought out of mind and focus on what was being said. He still had no idea what the older boy was talking about.

Based on what the voice was saying this place had been abandoned by everyone except the entity that was its main inhabitant. The creatures outside did not or perhaps could not come in. Given the pair had been welcomed in here Camael judged that their chances of survival were much better inside here than outside. Wherever that may truly be.

It was notable to Camael that the hooks and chains had runic markings on them but not blood and gore. Perhaps it had all been tidied away before they'd arrived but this too seemed unlikely. There was only a suit of armour, a voice and the implements. There was no sign of anyone else living here. The circle of hay containing the armour was unusually perfect too. It tended to suggest that nobody lived here at all. The voice must come from somewhere however. Camael decided he should address it.

He began to move towards the circle careful to not come into it and towards the suit of armour.

"Where are you? Who are you?" Camael demanded of the voice. "Where are we?" He asked what was probably the most pertinent question at this time.

Lanfaer

malavaes

 

[Lanfaer]

_______________The Narrator Whispers... ||

tab The cold air of the barn stirred as if a soft breath exhaled against them, ruffling their hair and clothing as a soft breeze. Silence fell for a moment before the voice came again, this time as the armor's helmet rotated silently to stare directly at the pair of them, though there appeared to be no eye slit in its face plate. Instead it's stare was more of a sense than anything else. The voice came again, this time not within their skulls but neither to their ears. In short, it was almost as if they experienced the message on a primordial level, as one might expect to feel from a deity. "WELCOME. I AM ANDREAS, A SPRITE OF HOPE AND GLORY. AND YOU, TRAVELER, ARE NOT WHERE YOU ARE MEANT TO BE. THIS IS A PLACE FOR THE DEAD, AND THE DEAD ONLY." As the voice fell to an echo it remained still for a moment longer before its attention turned to Levi, though again it was but a feeling. "WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME, AND THE NEXT LEG OF YOUR JOURNEY."
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Arrow35

malaevas

Pad Chief

 

[Arrow35]

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Lanfaer

malaevas

Pad Chief

Kokuei:
As I was about to swing the monster just.... Just vanishes. I look around, slowly, trying not to create more ripples that seem to summon the beast and see figures on the horizon. There appear to be more people here, but they seem to be unaware of what is going on, even more so than I am. What should I do? I can't move towards them, more of the beasts will show up, or the one I was about to fight will reappear. I can't call to them for the same reason. The ripples appear to be caused by sound more than movement, but to get over there silently would be nearly impossible to do at any real speed, at least in my current state. FUUUUUCK.

As I ponder what to do I see the monster appear in front of them, axe ready. s**t. Thats not good As I make up my mind to move towards them, I see one figure make a massive fireball directed at the monster. But the flames don't do anything. Instead, they are absorbed by this....this....thing that has them in its sights.

Then bad turns to worse and I know I need to make a move. I see a second monster appear, and both figures assume a fighting stance, before one disappears and the other charges. I start moving, slowly and carefully, towards them, disturbing the grass as little as I can, until I'm moving silently as a shadow. As I move, I refresh myself on the jutsu I can remember and have learned since waking up. I don't have anything that I think will work on those beasts, but I must try.

As I get comfortable with the silent movement again, I pick up speed. I move as fast as I am comfortable towards them until suddenly I cannot move. I've only made it about 10 meters, when the air turns syrupy and I find myself unable to move. Then a light appears as the barn I am closest to opens, and a mysterious light pours out. Not knowing how or why, I feel memory returning and hope building. The beasts disappear and the air returns to normal. As soon as it does, I make a mad dash for the barn, not caring about the sound, and make a dash into the corner as soon as I cross the threshold. I move into the shadows, They've always been good to me and my clan, and observe as things progress, waiting for the best moment to speak up.

I put my knives away once more, and pull out my note book and write down some of the runes and symbols that appear the most. Then I listen to the entity calling itself Andreas as it talks, watching the others and taking in the surroundings. A most curious situation I have found myself in here.  

[Dopy Grimes]

Lanfaer

Pad Chief

I Am The Leader Of Amegakure.

Levi

Toya

Familytillifindasongforhim

But Most Importantly!

Levi smiled at the words Andreas recited to him and his compatriots in the land of the dead. "God is good all the time and all the time God is good! He has sent us the Spirit of Hope and Glory!" The boy misunderstood sprite for spirit. Or maybe he just took it as God's Tongue. It was hard to tell really. Levi's mind was ocean of ideas that he could never focus. That made it difficult for him to decide what was religion and what was madness. However he did not understand what the sprite meant when it welcomed him to his new home when the place was only meant for the dead. "Hoho! I am in a pickle, Andreas. Being dead os quite unfortunate we must change that quickly!"

The Envoy of God!

 

[Pad Chief]

It was hard to tell but it seemed that this other tall boy was dead even if he had said so himself. That didn't make much sense though because he was clearly living. He walked, he talked and all the other things Camael typically associated with being alive.

Was he breathing however? From the corner of his eye he stared at Levi to see if he was still inhaling and exhaling and further to that if it was making any sound. Typically living people breathed and that was the one thing Camael could think of which he might not have noticed.

With all the strangeness going on he was willing to accept that he might be in some sort of land of the dead.

From the corner of his eye however he noticed a figure he hadn't noticed before. Perhaps he had been too exhausted from being underground to have actually noticed that there was a third person or fourth counting the suit of armour which seemed to be something not really able to be accurately described as a person. Camael decided to just ignore it for now. It was a human and that alone was some comfort here.

"Sprite of Hope and Glory? What does that mean?" Still mostly bewildered Camael continued asking what he knew were worthless questions to see if he could glean anything at all about his current predicament.

Lanfaer

malavaes

 

[Lanfaer]

_______________The Narrator Whispers... ||

tab The great sprite's voice continued, its head turning slightly to look towards the figure who had stepped into the shadows. "SPRITES ARE MANIFESTATIONS OF EMOTIONS, YOUNG ONE," it began, the voice taking on a barely perceptible twinge of amusement. "OF THE POSITIVE ONES. I AM A MANIFESTATION OF HOPE AND GLORY, A MIXTURE WHERE OTHERS ARE PURE. I PROTECT THIS PLACE AS A BASTION FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEANT TO BE HERE, AS YOU, AND THE NARA BOY, NOW EXPERIENCE." Without truly turning the sensation of something looking at Levi would reach the male, something that felt...strange, in a way there was no name for. No true description. "DEATH IS NOT SO EASILY OVERCOME, RAINLORD. IF TO LIFE YOU WISH TO RETURN A JOURNEY YOU MUST UNDERTAKE, ONE THAT MAY LEAVE YOU BEREFT OF YOUR IDEALS AND YOUR SOUL IF NOT CAREFUL."
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Arrow35

malaevas

Pad Chief

 

[Arrow35]

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Lanfaer

malaevas

Pad Chief

Kokuei:
Well. Hiding didn't last too long. Apparently this "Sprite" knew he was here all along. I sigh and take a step out of the shadows, hopefully to the surprise of at least one of the others.

So you knew I was here huh? I suppose I need more practice erasing my presence again after all this time. You said we are in the land of the dead? How did we get here? I had some sort of beast drag me here from the side of my companions, who I must imagine are most worried about me. And why are we here? Is there some sort of trouble that you have chosen us to help take care of? If thats the case, why us? Surely there must be someone more capable. I don't know about the others, but as far as I am aware, I have only been out of the suspended animation state for a day or two, and have minimal combat ability.

Also, I gesture around to the symbols and runes surrounding us, what are all these symbols all around us? Some of them seem familiar but they all appear to be older than we are, and I know I am somewhere around 500, if not older at this point. I pause and try to come up with more thoughts, but also give the spirit a chance to respond, making sure to take notes on anything he says in response to my questions.  

[Dopy Grimes]

Lanfaer

Pad Chief

I Am The Leader Of Amegakure.

Levi

Toya

Familytillifindasongforhim

But Most Importantly!

Levi took in all of the information the spirit was giving him in silence while he rubbed his chin. The spirit was truly sent by God himself to know he was in fact the leader of Amegakure. Or was at some point. Lord, is this another test? Is my faith wavering? Must I- His thoughts were cut off by the jutsu he had been using ending abruptly. The flames that surrounded him vanishing as he fell on one knee feeling a sudden surge of weakness overcome him. "Oh dear. It seems I've over done it haha...Nevertheless you speak true Spirit. Nothing comes easily to those who seek glory." He struggled to get back on his feet but managed to maintain his balance. Adjusting his suit the boy pulled his hair back trying to keep his composure in front of the others. "Just point me in the right direction and the Lord will guide me."

The Envoy of God!

 

[Lanfaer]

_______________The Narrator Whispers... ||

tab The armor remained silent as motes of light swayed about it, dancing to a tune only they could hear. The voice did not speak for several moments until the graceful glide of well-oiled metal on metal sounded as the armor rose from its kneeling position into a standing one. It's helmet turned as it did, returning to facing forward in a slow and regulated movement until it snapped with a suddenness that might startle some into proper position. Raising one gauntletted hand and leaning its head down to cast its 'gaze' upon it the Sprite continued, it's voice an intonation. "YOU WERE BROUGHT HERE BY THE VICTIMS OF THE BUTCHER MAESTRO, NARA, WHO ESCAPED THIS REALM FOR A TASTE OF LIFE. IT REMAINS HERE, IN ONE OF THE BARNS WHERE THESE GLYPHS WARD THE TOUCH AND REEK OF CORRUPTION." The words, especially the last, carried a hint of righteous fury that couldn't be smothered. "HERE YOU ARE SAFE, BUT THE GATE WILL HAVE YOU SOONER OR LATER IF YOU REMAIN. IF YOU WISH TO RETURN YOU MUST FIND THE VICTIM WHO TOOK YOU HERE AND HAVE THEM TAKE YOU BACK."
tab Lowering its hand and turning at last with surreal movements that ended with such stillness as to appear false the Sprite continued. "AS FOR YOU, RAIN LORD, YOUR PATH TAKES YOU FAR FROM HERE. TAKE THE DOOR BEHIND YOU AND MOVE AS FAST AND AS FAR AS YOU CAN TO THE DARK REACHES. THERE YOU WILL FIND A CAVE WHERE YOU MAY TRAVEL TO THE YOUNGEST OF THE DEAD REALMS. THERE YOU WILL FIND RIFTS APLENTY THAT WILL LEAD YOU HOME, BUT IF LIFE IS WHAT YOU WISH YOU MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE THE LIFE OF A TRUE BELIEVER."

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Arrow35

malaevas

Pad Chief

 

[Arrow35]

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Lanfaer

malavaes

Pad Chief

Kokuei:
So that cow thing was a victim. I wonder what this Butcher Maestro is. I sit and ponder what I have been told and think about how this means the world has changed. Sprites, spirits, and such, it all seemed so strange, like it had always been there in my head, but never before had it actually BEEN there.

So I have to find this Victim that took me from my comrades and have it return me? How will I know which one brought me here? And, actually, what is this Butcher Maestro? They sound dangerous and I would rather avoid anything like that for a while. I move towards the walls facing away from the sprite. and for that matter, you said these symbols ward the touch and reek of corruption, correct? How? Are the symbols themselves the power? Or are they imbued with a kind of Chakra that empowers them? And what does each one mean? How do they work? This kind of thing could prove to be very important if I am to restore my land and help to restore humanity to our world. I look towards him expectantly, with my sketchbook open and already making notes of the glyphs and their order, doing my best to ensure accuracy. I secretly think to myself that if I can begin making puppets I will need to have a defensive focused one and maybe these wards would prove useful, especially if they do not require Chakra to utilize. And perhaps some of them could even be turned to offensive use, if the need ever arose.