ORIGIN

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Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

The beast was writhing and screaming, the water foaming as his coils thrashed about them. With a final mammoth effort, it surged out of the water, coiling itself about them and delivering a screeching roar that shook the cavern. Tamelyn staggered to the side, crazed eyes watching as it's scaly length surrounded them, cutting off all escape. They were trapped.

...Fine, then. If she was going to die, she'd stick in his throat going down! She braced herself for the worst, but was startled when the beast spoke, it's words barely discernible through the growl of it's voice. It demanded to know what they were, finally seeming to consider their shouted orders. She saw it's neck flex, the muscles working to finally spit up a sodden, stinky ball of feathers. With a gasp, Tamelyn stumbled towards the bird, managing to ignore the smell for now. She nudged him worriedly. "Get up, get up! Are you okay?" It didn't matter to her that she didn't know this Gembound. She wanted to make sure he was still alive. She took a protective stance above him, keeping the bird between her forelegs and staring challengingly up at the monster. He wasn't eating anyone else today.

Fisher and the dog spoke to the beast, and Tamelyn's eyes strayed back to her friend, looking him over to make sure he was okay. He looked a little charred, but that seemed to be it. She was relieved that he had escaped further harm. Aquarian's next question made her tilt her head in confusion. "What d'you mean 'of what'? I hatched from a shiny rock." She looked over the attending Gembound. "We all did, I think." Tamelyn had been self-sufficient from birth. She had no words for, or even concept of, parents or siblings. There were friends, yes, and best friends, hatchmates, like her beloved Arkrael.

But no family.

Moving past the beast's strange question, she stomped a hoof, laying her ears back. "Why'd you try to eat the bird? What'd he ever do to you?"

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

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Black stared up as the great guardian dropped its head to peer at him, and he couldn't help but take a couple quick, stumbled steps back. Then he held his ground, tense--but the thing didn't attack. It spoke, tilting its head to peer one great eye at him. His mind worked, churning the question over slowly; the others spoke, but he hardly heard them.

Children of what? We are young, therefore, we are children. What are we children of? We were born from the stone. The others have rocks. I do not.

(For Black did not know that his stone was hidden within his body).

He glanced at the nearby deer as she spoke, his mind in agreement. He looked forward, again. Eventually, he spoke, these thoughts rumbling forth slowly but inexorably.

"Born of stone. Children of rock."

And he cocked his head to one side, eyeing the great beast quietly for a moment, again as others spoke. The memories whirled through his head again: the buzzing, the water, the scurrying, the shivering darkness above the tunnel in which he had been born. This was not the thing that had fled. What had fled, had fled from this. Perhaps it had fallen down, down and away through the water, after all? Whatever had run from this, was it loose in the tunnels they'd left behind?

Head still tilted, the Black Dog addressed this as best he could--he wished to know what this thing was, and what it had to do with the thing-that-had-run. His words were again brief and to the point, though slightly more cryptic, this time. He slowly sat down, legs trembling with exhaustion now that his adrenaline was wearing off--but his focus, as he spoke, was absolute.

"You are not the darkness."

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He had been shaken off, tossed aside, and then sucked in with a tidal surge. He sputtered, blinking away water--perfectly ready to rejoin the fight... in fact, excited to--but then he saw that the fight had, rather abruptly, stopped.

Why've they stopped?!

He arrowed to the shallows, propelled by his powerful tail, then scampered up among the others. Like them, he was now trapped in Aquarian's coils. He looked up and around at them, his large, gold-green eyes unblinking. Then he looked up at the monster, tilting his head and calculating.

It ought to at least be crippled, he thought. If not dying! Certainly he'd beat it in a fair--

The creature's head swung low, just overhead, to peer at another Gembound, and Dragon flinched. Hard. In fact he flattened himself briefly to the ground, moving again only when he realized that he wasn't about to be eaten.  He scurried around so that he could see the thing's face, again.

Oh, wow, look at those TEETH. And those claws! And these scales. And--had he hurt its eye? Well, -that- one looked fine, anyway--

It was asking what they were. Children, of what? He scrambled a little closer, peering almost straight up into Aquarian's eye, utterly and stupidly fearless once more.

"I don't know, but can I be whatever you are?" he chirped, bright-eyed and perfectly serious.

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assuming Dark spoke before Tamelyn and Usui, hope that doesn't mess anything up!

The low rumbling in his throat emerged as a constant growl, moving in and out in time with his heavy breaths. It took a few moments for the dog to answer, but when he did, Aquarian found the answer to be quite unsatisfactory. Born of stone. Children of rock. Weren't they all. The growl increased in volume, displeased with the dog's words. They did not answer his question. His great head inched closer to the dog, tempting to swallow him whole for his answer - and then he had the gall to make another claim. If only the dog knew the true relevance of what he'd just said. Aquarian's eyes widened, and then he withdrew his head, tilting it back with a booming, chattering laughter. The sound shook the room, until it cut off and Aquarian immediately pointed his snout back down at the group. "WE ALL ARE. FOOL!" He snarled, snapping his teeth at the dog.

Immediately, another one had spoken, the small lion. Aquarian swung his head towards the feline, looking him up and down. He only reinforced what the dog had said, that they were born here from stone. But that - that wasn't right. They must have had creators. They could not be forged from stone alone, could they? The deer spoke after, she too believing that they had come from nothing but rock. Hatched from stone! Like a made monster, but who were their creators? She asked why he ate the bird. The little alligator wanted to be like him. They obviously didn't know. They didn't know a thing. This was an outrage. His snarl only grew, fury mounting again within the beast. He swung his head back up to the ceiling, eyes darting around the space. "WHAT IS THIS JOKE?" He roared, calling out into the nothingness. Even the buzzing had ceased. "CREATOR! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? CREATOR!" Aquarian's shrieking calls grew louder and louder, more desperate as he screamed into oblivion. Nothing answered him.

The silence only fueled his anger.

"NEMEAN! CREATOR! ANSWER ME!"

His shrieking voice echoed through the room. It bounced back at him, demanding answers, screaming names that seemed to belong to no one. Aquarian's wide eyes stared past the cave ceiling. He slowly began to shrink, rapidly beating heart a quaking thump against the still marsh air. His body lowered as realization of his fate had set in. How could they? Betrayal. They betrayed him. They left him. His lips curled, and the beast erupted in another furious roar, louder than ever before. It made the entire cave tremble. How could this have happened? Did it happen while he slept? How could they just let this fate consume him? His angry roar tapered away into a mournful cry. He had been faithful.

Aquarian's eyes suddenly darted back to the Gembounds. The beast struggled, caught between rage and desperate sadness. "HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?" He cried, but they wouldn't know. They were just children. He looked out to the jungle. The buzzing... The buzzing brought them here.

He was wrong.

One of them remained.

The fury swelled in him once more. "YOU HAVE MADE A FOOL OF ME!" The beast howled into the cave air. "I AM NOT A DEVICE FOR YOUR GAMES! YOU KNEW!" Aquarian shook his head, let loose another angry roar, then dropped his front half back onto the ground. The impact of his body hitting the mud sent quakes beneath the feet of the Gembounds. He slithered around the group; as his moved, his coils followed, slowly freeing them from his grasp. "YOU ARE MY QUARRY NO LONGER." He hissed, eying each creature as he glided past them. "I HAVE BEEN BETRAYED!" The beast scowled. His head swayed to and fro as he circled around the creatures again. "AQUARIAN'S ALLEGIANCE IS YOURS! FEED ME AND I AM YOURS!" Aquarian chattered. He slowed only momentarily, raising his snout up to the emptiness of the cave around them. The monster let loose another shattering cry. Defiance. He then swerved his head back towards the marsh, and his body followed its course. Aquarian dove back into the black water, surprisingly graceful against the surface now. The rest of his body would slip into the marsh until the very tip of his frilled tail disappeared. There was stillness.

Quest Complete! Aquarian has been unlocked as a neutral NPC. He will aid your characters should they provide him an offering of some kind (food, treasures, etc), but if they come seeking him or disturbing his waters without an offering, they may find themselves in trouble.

You are now free to have your characters exit this thread.

Others spoke and the monster roared. It roared loud words that Fallah could barely make out because of their sheer volume. The cat's ears stayed flattened against its skull and it clung to Fisher with a trembling desperateness. The monster grew near to the big bark friend, but Fallah couldn't react. The lynx's body had used all its energy, it seemed, it could only hold onto Fisher for now.

Even though many gave answers, none seemed to appease the monster. Slowly the monster came to the realization that it had been betrayed, then tricked. As it boomed above, Fallah couldn't find the energy to say anything. the feline had already said many more words than it was used to and the whole process had been a strain. The beast would withdraw into the waters after saying they could feed it in exchange for help, but these words wouldn't register with Fallah until long after everything calmed down. Only one word, or maybe not really a word, stuck out to the lynx.

Nemean.

Fallah didn't know what that word was, but, by context, maybe it was another monster. The monster said "creator", so maybe Nemean was a word for creator, or maybe Nemean was a creator? Fallah would ask Fisher, but not now, not now. For now, Fallah wanted to go somewhere and sleep, or maybe vomit. The lynx looked to Dark, then to Fisher, "Come... Away... Please" it practically begged, though its voice was low. Though Fallah was a creature of solitude, this was not the time to be alone. Fallah needed friends and rest.

"speak"

-exit fallah-

The cub crouched down, his entire body quivering involuntarily with every loud blast, scream and outrage that this tormented beast had within him. Needless to say, a twisted form of relief filled Usui though. At least Aquarian’s anger was directed at someone other than his fellow gembounds. Another thing caught the boy’s attention – and that is, the words of the large creature. Creator? Nemean? Usui had never heard of these things – and furthermore, the other creatures had all hatched from rock like he did. Pale green eyes widened as he felt his little brain start to tick. There was more to…existence? And why was Aquarian in such anguish? "The Fallen,” he muttered. Aquarian was a powerful thing that had fallen here against his will. Usui felt a bit sorry for this sad creature. Powerful he was, but with realization of who he was, some feisty part of his soul had seemed to turn towards the darkness in rage and defiance.

Aquarian released them from his grasp and spoke, or rather, gave them a direction. Feed him huh. What could satisfy such a huge creature? He eyed Arkrael and the large mastiff. Even something their size would be insufficient. The lion swiped his ears as Aquarian disappeared into the depths, attempting to physically rid them of the irritating hum that still left an echo in his memory. The air was now stale and silent as a swamp could be. It was the first silence he had heard, having been born into a world of bzzt and noisy humming. It was sweet and lovely and Usui felt happy and relieved.

There was nothing else for him to do. "S’long then,” he called to no one in particular, then he rushed over to the mastiff that had offered him a ride and nudged him on the shoulder. Done with his farewells, the boy left, hoping to get a good rest and to clean out his dirty, soggy fur.

-Usui Exits-

The world shook violently around him, but Silver floated limply in defeat, unresponsive. Suddenly, that clenching sensation again, his world caving in on itself, and he was forced back into confined darkness. A churning motion, a horrible groaning sound, and Silver considered if maybe this creature had a third stomach- and maybe this one would kill him instantly. He would be so lucky.

Instead, he was forced through musclular tubes until he passed teeth and landed in a mess of slime and guts on the cave floor once more. He landed on his back, curled, wings folded and stuck together at the ends. He gasped first, breathing in that sweet sweet fresh air, then the bird kicked out and panting, collapsed his weight across the floor in a mixture of exhaustion and shock. His peace didn't last a second before a white and brown figure, much taller, on four legs, came rushing at him, demanding he get up. Get up!? He could hardly keep his eyes open and she wanted him to stand up!? Was he okay? The bird turned his head with some effort towards the deer and snapped his beak together.

"Ssslime you, furry." He muttered, words slurred, incoherent. He swung a wing at the deer's face to 'share' some of his experience with the annoying, pestering creature. The deer rose her head though, so he barely brushed her chest fur before letting himself droop back to the floor in a heap again, just focused on breathing and being alive more than anything else. There was speaking around him. Suddenly, the beast shrieked and the bird flinched awake. He rolled onto his stomach and scuttled backwards to better hide himself beneath the doe.

The beast seemed to have a melt down of sorts. It- he? He screamed some name- Nemean? - and Creator and shirked for its attention. Nothing answered. The beast screamed again. The bird flinched. Then the beast screeched at them that he'd be their... friend? Cohort? The bird struggled to his feet then, groaning audibly as he examined his ruined feathers, covered in slime. He shook his wings, then stepped out from under Tam. He looked up to watch the beast dive back into the water and she shuddered at the thought.

But then again, this was his home... if the beast... Aquarian, rather, was also living here, he'd be protected now. Protected by a beast that had tried to digest him. Yes, that seemed like a great thing. The bird gave a cryptic laugh at the thought but the sound of his own voice surprised him- he sounded like shit. He stepped forward with a wing pressed to his soggy throat, then he turned his gaze to the deer.

"Thank you." He croaked. "Will you leave too, deer?" He glanced towards the leaving bodies, and then back up at her. "Silver... stays. Aquarian protects me now... so I stay." He didn't seem fully awake and honestly, exhausted and sore, he turned back towards his nest. The buzzing was gone. The monster was friendly now. He'd enjoy this peace and quiet.

- Exit -

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Black flinched back as the monster swung its head about and roared, but he listened intently to each of its words.

'We are all darkness,' he said. And we are--I know that I am. My heart is that of darkness, and the shadows well up from within when I call upon them. I am Void. But this thing was not the thing in the waters below, I think.

Black looked around him, as the creature which called itself Aquarian retreated. The others would live. He immediately sat, ignoring all else, staring at the dark water and losing himself in thought as he rested his limbs. This bore immediate contemplation.

Nimean. Creator. Games. Betrayed. And that last--'you knew.' Something has used him. Something has dragged us to him. Something wished us dead by his maw, for its amusement. It would have hurt it as much as us. Or would it? There was something else. There was grief, I think, in its cry. It is... different. It said feed it. We must feed it.

With that thought, Black abruptly stood--and remembered where he was, that the others were milling about, frightened and exhausted. He looked them all over, one by one.

"The Dog will go back down. He will seek that which would betray. He will seek that which would lead us to our ends at its maw, at the expense of both. He would seek that which would die in the black water. The Dog must also rest. If you come, he will protect you. If you do not, the Dog will go alone." He spoke matter-of-factly, and sniffed and eyed the others, ensuring none were too injured that they could not move. He eyed Fisher, in particular, but it seemed that the deer, at least, was very interested in looking after him.

"The Dog will carry you if required,"

he added.

After a few moments, with or without comrades or a carried Fisher, he would pick his way off back toward the tunnel which led to Pisces, retracing his steps.

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(( ooc - exit Black. He will go to this thread here to hunt. Anyone from this thread can follow along if they want.))

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Dragon was, in turns, awed, amazed, frightened, intimidated, and jealous of the marsh-monster as it roared, spoke and cried out. When it turned and submerged, he felt a great sense of urgent loss.

"NOO! Come back!" he squeaked, scampering after it. In fact, he galloped right into the water and dove, propelling himself after it with his broad little tail. He hadn't learned from it yet! He didn't know what it was! He only had its name--Aquarian--and the knowledge that it had been tricked.

-I- wouldn't have been tricked, he thought smugly.

It was gone. It was simply too fast in the deep black, and Dragon felt a mixture of sharp fear at what might be lurking beneath, and sadness to have lost the thing. But it said it wanted food! That it would be theirs!

He'd just have to find something so powerful that the big thing would be his first. He could be the Emperor of the--... What were large, scaly monsters called? A word flashed dimly through his mind, and he seized on it at once. Dragons! Yes!

In fact, that's what HE was. He was a dragon.

He surfaced with a little gasp, and with fiery and determined eyes, swam with strong tail-strokes back to shore. Clambering up onto the mud, he shook himself like a little dog, sending water droplets spraying in a fine mist around him. He then eyed the others, sharply.

"I AM DRAGON," he declared in a fierce squeak--before turning and galloping off into the long reeds toward dry land.

SOON, they would know his power!  ...Soon!

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((ooc -- exit Dragon))

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

To her relief, the bird was alive. To her chagrin, he wasn't in the best of moods. It was understandable, though, given that he was covered in bile. The beast ignored her irate questions, roaring at the ceiling and making her ears ring. He seemed to be trying to talk to someone, this "Nemean" or "Creator" or whoever. She didn't know anyone by that name, but her curiosity was piqued. When she was no longer in searing agony, she'd come back and ask this Aquarian a few questions.

With a thunderous crash, the beast dove back under the marsh, leaving them in silence once more. The bird spoke to her again, finally showing a bit of gratitude. It was enough for her. "Y-yeah," she said in response to his question. She tried to smile at him, though her face was drawn and haggard, and starting to look a little bit grey under her fur. "I think I-I need to lie down." Now that the distraction of Aquarian was gone, the pain was growing again.

She looked up as the black dog spoke, declaring his own intentions. His manner of speaking was odd, but she said nothing. His offer of protection seemed nice, given that she was in no condition to run or leap at the moment, but she still had [i]some[i] dignity left. Besides, he had arrived here with Fisher and the lynx, those were likely the two he was more concerned about. She bleated at him quietly to catch her attention. "Pl-please take care of Fisher," she said to him. "He's my friend too." She looked back towards her noodlefriend. "See you later, Fish," she called to him, winced, then stumbled away from the bird and back to Arkrael's side, leaning against her for support. Before she could leave, the small reptile she had seen worrying the beast's eye popped out of the water, declaring that he was a "dragon". She wasn't sure what that was, but maybe it was the same thing Aquarian was. In that case, "Dragon" had a lot of growing up to do. She grinned at him, but he was already skittering away back into the marsh. It was time for her to go too. Leaning against Arkrael, she made her limping way out of Cetus, hoping to at least get somewhere comfortable before she bled to death.

-exit Tam with Arkrael-

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

(If Ark is doing anything particular, I can edit my post)

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Tamelyn

Black

Dragon

Game Master Madison

Fallah

Usui

Sillver

Black

Dragon

Tamelyn