ORIGIN

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

________________

The small alligator hatchling had turned, facing the water, once he was a few feet up on shore. He'd seen the silver bird dive, and heard all go silent.

And he had seen the massive, monstrous glory that was Aquarian erupt with the power of a tidal wave.

He stared.

It is enormous! Did it eat that bird?! That vast size... that power! I want to be that creature--I want to DESTROY it!

Awe overtook him, and excitement, and a sort of triumph. Dragon felt that, one day, he would be something like this creature (he wouldn't), that he might be so vast (he wouldn't) and so terrifying (definitely not). He scurried to the water's edge and attempted to let out a deep and bellowing roar, a challenge to the behemoth surging through the waves toward them in a giant arrow of darkness.

What came out was a shrill, defiant squeak.

It was like him! It was a predator, vast, ferocious. It was also coming this way.

Dragon stared, then swiftly scurried off into the long grass to one side of the edge of the marsh. Then he turned, staring over the swamp, and let out another tiny roar-squeal, fear and thrill welling up inside of him, and bringing with it his magic.  A rush of superheated air left with his breath, and unless there was methane to ignite over the marsh, all it would really do was send shimmering hot air rushing forth over the water in a tiny and exceedingly non-effective display of Dragon's "power." Satisfied, and half-hidden in the grass, he "roared" again.

"SQUEAK!"

________________

After using so much magic for the first time, Fallah had felt very ill. As the group had neared Cetus, the buzzing just made the feeling worse. It was too much, just all too much. The lynx had stopped to rest against a wall, panting. Its head spun for a good bit, but slowly it regained its energy. The cat couldn’t focus on all it was missing inside Cetus because of its state, however, as soon as it got to feeling better, it knew it would have to go right in and help Fisher and the big black. The spinning slowed and although Fallah was still feeling tired, it was just enough to excuse rushing in to help everyone else.

The noises had been loud enough for the cat to follow as it ran. It had to fiend its friends or they would all be in danger! Just as Fallah came across the other gembounds, however, the buzzing stopped. For a moment, the lynx spotted Fisher and the big friend, but as the surface of the water erupted, chaos ensued. Large blue eyes stared at the beast, their owner frozen in pure terror. It was all kinds of greens and shiny and yellow and did it EAT that bird?! Fallah’s maw fell slightly ajar looking at the beast. The moment seemed to last forever, just Fallah and the beast… but then the beast was suddenly gone. The lynx gasped, noticing the shadow. What to do? What to do? Fallah ran to the long brown friend, "Fisher," it breathed, looking over its friends to make sure they were okay, "Stop it. Zap Magic, bzzt." The last part came out as a hiss as the cat's eyes narrowed. Fisher could help, right? Fallah couldn't do much, but surely it couldn't swim well if it was frozen! Turning to the water, Fallah took a deep breath and let loose its magic, silently apologizing to the bird in the monster's belly.

"speak"

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

A little more exploring brought Tamelyn to the center of the marsh, where she was surprised to see two other Gembounds. The first was a large black canid that she didn't recognize, and the second was--"Fisher!" she shouted excitedly, prancing towards him. "Didja find the buzz yet?"

Then, things went bad.

A bird Gembound had entered the scene, evidently irritated at the buzz. Tamelyn didn't blame him. He stabbed at the water with his large beak, and the marsh suddenly exploded. A creature, larger than she could fathom, broke the surface and swallowed the bird. Tamelyn froze for a moment, mouth dropping open at the display. As if in a dream, distant and silent, she watched the dark shape slide towards the other Gembound.

Fisher.

No.

No!

No more killing, no more danger, no more hurting her friends! "Get out of the water!" she shouted at the others. "Get away!" She turned back to the shape as it advanced towards shore. Rage flared in her chest, galvanizing her limbs as she began to jump and splash, creating as much disturbance in the water as possible in an attempt to draw the creature's attention away from the others. Her gemstone sparked as her sheer desire to keep the others out of harm's way fueled her magic, causing the water around the monster to spark and pop.

Electric buzzing filled the water around Aquarian's head, though Tamelyn was equally affected. Her ears went numb and were filled with a high-pitched buzzing, even worse than the original buzz, and her vision was filled with stars. Despite this, she continued to pitch and splash in the shallow water, channeling more magic into the air and water around the beast.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

Fisher had reached the water, the sound of buzzing so deafening in his ears. When the bird-- a strange bird he had never seen before-- dove in and out came a huge monster, he felt his stomach drop to his paws. For one of the first times ever, Fisher wanted to run, run, run and never come back. It was only when Fallah, the lynx who he had become quite well acquainted to in such a short time, told him to do the Bzzt thing, that Fisher came back to his senses.

The brown mustelid nodded at Fallah-- he trusted her with his life. Which was saying something. He sniffed as she began to freeze the water, the electric building up in his fur. Suddenly, a feeling of electricity came out from beside him and with alarm he recognized Tam. He hadn't heard her-- the noise of the buzzing was so loud-- but now he realized. They had to fight! Together they could do this! If Fallah and Tam were both paws deep into the battle then surely he could only help. Though Tam's quick thinking and use of high volt left him disoriented, all he had to do was hit the dark shape in the black water. No big deal.

He could do this. He wouldn't let his friends down! Feeling and almost feeding off of the other electrical gembound's power, Fisher summoned one of his most powerful spells and let it loose on the beast. "Let that bird GO!" He yowled, tail lashing, afraid that this thing that made the buzzing, the thing he lived for, was actually a terrible monster. Maybe they could have befriended it-- but he had saw it. It was just like Snake, the monster who had tried to eat him once. There was no reasoning with things that ate gembounds. He knew it too well.

;;post roll

...So when the bolt of lightning came ripping off his skin and suddenly made him feel a sharp, biting pain, the poor noodle's paws crumpled under him and he tumbled right into the water. It hurt so bad-- the water was cold and slimy, but it made the heat on his fur cool instantly. He couldn't move though-- between the disorienting spell from Tam and the icyness of the water and ZAPPING himself-- his muscles all seemed to disobey him, twitching uselessly in the shallows of the marsh.

________________

There was so much happening at once.

A deer, bristling with static shocks, the way Fisher was. A cub, he noticed--just from the corner of his eye, and mind--squalling for help from a sandbank. And, of course, the massive, sleek black monster hurtling toward them beneath the surface of the black marsh, the water barely rippling above.

He focused, briefly. From beneath, he knew--by instinct, and without thought--a shadow would look like a being, no question. Now, he had two tasks--no, three, he realized, turning to watch Fisher crumple into the shallows. The fisher, he knew--the brown order-giving friend--would drown like that, shivering beneath the surface. He had been hurt, somehow, hurt already.

And the cub, it was out, stranded, in danger. Black's instincts kicked into overdrive, his priorities ordering themselves swiftly, logical and foolishly fearless brain rattling from thought to thought.

First, though, there was the matter of this beast...

They don't need to be perfect. Just enough that the creature thinks there are more of us standing in the water, where we are not.

And the shadows he gathered were far from perfect--they flickered and rippled, taking the shape of Gembounds' silhouettes. Black was creating a shadow puppet show, of sorts, of shapes on the water's surface--nearer to the shore. He used what he had--a deer, a dog, a large lynx, repeated two or three times, so that the shadow puppets dancing on the water would hopefully look, to the water monster, like prey standing idly there. With the rippling of the water, perhaps their flaws wouldn't cause them to be recognized for what they were. If the creature fell for this trick, jaws would erupt from the water and close on thin air, buying the other Gembound a precious few seconds to act.

He could only hope--there was no time to waste in watching it. For now, he rushed forward, half his mind on the barely-recognizable shadows. Black splashed loudly through the shallows, plunging heavy muzzle beneath the suddenly-colder water (ahh, he noticed--the lynx was back!) to snatch Fisher up by the scruff of his neck, then turn and rush out toward the stranded lion cub, splashing loudly as he went. Behind him, the illusions of shadowy silhouettes remained shifting slowly over the water's surface.

He reached Usui, clambering onto the sandbank and not even bothering to shake out his coat. Instead he stood alongside him, like a big horse-puppy, staring down expectantly--the Fisher still firmly gripped in Black's jaws by the scruff of his neck.

Black waited for Usui to hopefully get the hint and clamber on, the way Fallah had, so he could ferry the two away from the beast, to the shore and to safety.

________________

((ooc--I have permission to grab Fisher!))

The beast made a beeline for the shore. The surface of the water rippled furiously as his long body wormed through the marsh, pointed snout eager to claim another victim. Then, it felt another disturbance in the water. Something sharp. Electrifying. Numbing. Aquarian thrashed his head beneath the surface, and his fury rose - lemon yellow eyes, so bright and large, could be seen even under several feet of water. There were shadows, and they must have been the Gembounds that were attacking him! Aquarian didn't waste any time directing himself towards the dancing shadows on the surface. He shot out of the water, gaping jaws bursting into the air with a piercing cry. But there was nothing in his jaws - no, he'd fallen victim to Black's shadowplay. Furious that he'd been fooled, the beast writhed before diving back down again, sending another monstrous splash to the shore. The sheer force of the upheaval would cause a titanic wave to consume Black, Fisher, and anybody else in the water.

Aquarian twisted back around and started heading towards the Gembounds from the East end of the shore. While his shadow was still visible, he moved faster this time. His target was Tamelyn, and as he drew near, he again exploded from the water and dove at her, wide jaws aiming to swallow her whole.

Post Roll Edit:
However, his mark was off - the ancient swimmer missed, crashing into the shore and sending a spray of mud and debris at Tamelyn. He had become vulnerable now, exposed as he attempted to right himself and return to the water.

You have engaged Aquarian!
The way this battle will work is that Aquarian will have a set number of hit points. If your characters are rolling to attack him, your roll will detract from his hit points. Aquarian will also be rolling to attack someone every post he makes. Here's the catch: only the next 15 posts will count for this battle (NOT including GM posts). Use your rolls and posts wisely!

Aquarian currently has 250 hit points.

Usui's mewling only caught the attention of one character, notably, the wrinkly mastiff. No one responded to him immediately though, not even the dog. They were too engrossed in the current situation. His chalky green eyes widened in horror as the heron dived into the source of hum without second thought and got swallowed whole by this gigantic beast. He squeaked in terror, and backed up the bank a little. The sudden spray of water made him drenching wet and the little cub stumbled on his gangly paws in sudden disorientation, water dripping off his features somewhat mournfully.

The young one then witnessed a spectacle as different ones of them used magic. Fisher, the brown cat-like thing he had tried to talk to, did something terribly wrong though and landed into the water. Usui looked at him in shock, not moving one inch - knowing full well he was too small to drag Fisher out. Instead, he watched on as the mastiff grabbed Fisher by the scruff, then clambered over to him to offer a ride. Without further ado, Usui bunched his little manly muscles and hopped onto the mastiff. Being a complete newborn, he wasn't very big at all, and would have been relatively light. When the second wave of attack came, the beast headed towards the deer and he got angry. How dare it continue to attack! Usui tucked in his head, then stretched it out in an angry roar that came out as a straggly indignant snarl.

Thank goodness the beast missed her! Nonetheless, it had managed to throw a spray of debris over and now it lay on the river bank, out of its element. The boy had to do something! And then, he remembered the split rocks. If he managed to break the rocks and pebbles along the bank on which Aquarius was one, hopefully some shrapnel would cut his scales or a soft spot, or at least destabilize him...

But he was doomed to failure. The newborn babe had already exerted his magic once and it eluded the grasp of his very paws. Nothing happened when he tried to channel his energy to zip zap the rocks. Frustrated, the cub lashed out his tail and clung to Black, eyes wide in horror as he could only witness what was happening.

((ooc -- I wasn't sure whether to wait for Silver, since he's... well, inside of the monster!))

________________

The tiny alligator watched as the massive monstrosity crashed onto the shore some ways away. It was biting and snapping at the air--missing everything, thankfully. The strange thrill of bloodthirst and triumph raged through the tiny hatchling and he found himself darting forward, eyes blazing, lurching into the water and arrowing with thrusts of his broad little tail toward the thing.

He was little, but that didn't matter--even the smallest things had power. It was just a matter of directing it, he knew. Or rather, that's what he would have thought, were he thinking at all. No, he was rushing toward the monster a thousand thousand times larger than him simply to attack it.

He was a dragon, after all. He would be like this thing--no, he would be better!--once he was all grown up. He'd show it what he was made of!  

Dragon reached the area around the back of the monster's head as it thrashed--and leapt onto him, a tiny annoying flea of a thing, scurrying quickly down toward his eye. His claws gripped on, every twitch from the Guardian of Cetus nearly flinging him off--but he managed to get his tiny, squeaking face with his bloodthirsty little blazing eyes right into the monster's own, well, eye.

And his magic welled up.

A blast of superheated air burst toward the eyeball. He hoped that it would blind the thing--at least on one side--but he couldn't stay to be sure--he was already falling, splashing onto his back in the water.  Damn. He'd hoped to fully melt the thing out, but now he wasn't sure if he'd managed to do anything at all.

Of course, he didn't run away--he'd fallen oddly, and anyway, he was a dragon. He turned and roared another challenge--or rather, he squeaked, the sound lost in the tumult of the fight.

It was unlikely that the hatchling had had much of an effect at all--but hey, he'd tried, right?

________________

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

For once, her magic struck true when she really needed it to. The beast twisted and reared as her voltage messed with it's head, and the large canine's shadows had successfully distracted it. It writhed and thrashed in the water, sending off waves that knocked Tamelyn off her feet and caused her to fall head-over-heels in the shallow water. She emerged spitting and sputtering, drenched and smelly with marsh gunk, but she wasn't out of the fight yet. As she righted herself and shook droplets from her pelt, she lifted her head to see the cavernous open mouth of Aquarian barreling towards her. Tamelyn's voice came in a fear-choked squeak. "Oh poop."

But it seemed luck was on her side today. She dove to the side, and the beast missed, beaching himself in an explosion of mud. Now she was filthy, in addition to being soaked, but she barely noticed. The beast was on their turf now! Triumph surged in her chest as Tamelyn turned and reared, giving a war cry that carried through Cetus.

"GET HIM!"

Her lifted forehooves came down, attempting to ram into where she guessed the monster's stomach to be. She was young, and small, but her spindly legs already carried a good deal of power, and her hooves were pointed and sharp.

Wham! went her hooves as they bit into Aquarian's side. She bludgeoned him again and again and again, a new vicious rage rising in her. Part of her hoped that enough blunt force trauma to his guts would get him to vomit up the unlucky bird he had swallowed, if the poor thing was even still alive. No matter what, she wanted to hurt this creature for what it had done, wanted to make it suffer and regret ever showing it's ugly face above water.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

The world was chaos outside his fleshy prison. Silver kept himself tucked, his breath held as long as possible, quick and short when he did have to breath- in case the air was poison here. In the beast's stomach. Oh lord, he'd be digested soon! Oh gosh, oh not good, oh no! The bird twisted slightly, wide wings covering himself... he wouldn't be saved. The others didn't even know him. They'd sooner kill him along with the beast. This sea beast. This monster.

There was only one thing left to do. He'd have to save himself.

That topaz helm began to glow, and the bird tucked tighter together, long legs pressed against his chest and tail tucked down beneath long wing feathers. He'd summon what energy and magic he had in him for one final escape attempt. Focusing in on himself, he'd hold until a decent amount of energy was built up, and then, in one huge thrust, he'd push outwards with both body and magic...

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Dragon

Fallah

Tamelyn

Fisher

Black

Game Master Madison

Usui

Dragon

Tamelyn

Sillver