Another wisp appeared below her in the sea of darkness, illuminating a bright, white, cervine figure. She knew his shape, even from afar.
While down there the spider noticed the black river, one which Pride and Miru took no issue with leaping in.
Then, a red glow caught her attention. It was coming from the stone slab on her back.
The dog shifted from paw to paw, staring over the edge of the cliff. Oh, oh, this had been a bad idea. He had failed, already, at protecting the kitten that he had come to protect, and things were going bad quickly.
Ears twitched, picking up first, on pawsteps, and then on a nonsensical voice. The fox was approaching the edge of the cliff, babbling as she apparently was wont to do. Or, perhaps, he was just too dumb to understand, that was possible as well.
No... no, she wasn't going to - he lunged forward, attempting to grab her tail, but then she was plummeting, fur glowing brightly as she fell through the dark like a falling star. He flinched back, unable to watch, fearful of seeing her be dashed against stones. And then - and then the childish hybrid leaped as well, gliding down slowly, leaving only him on the ledge.
He paced along the edge of the cliff, listening as there was one splash, and then two - and three. He continued to pace, whining low in his throat, fur rising to stand on end. His tongue licked at his lips, and he whirled to pace again, finding his paws on the ledge of the cliff
and, before he could second-guess himself, he jumped. Wind whipped passed him, Will o' the Wisps dancing desperately around him. The water closed over his head, and he kicked desperately, head breaking the water as he gulped in mouthfuls of air. The dog's legs kicked in a pathetic doggy-paddle.
One by one those who plunged hit the water.
It was cold, and thick, and black. The air just above was misty and full of whispers. As the first of them splashed in--and it was impossibly deep, impossible to know how deep--the whispering mist began to rise and thicken, reaching even those who had remained behind, or were upon the walls.
Images flickered once more, twinned with linked emotion: a rage that slowly built. Frustration. Anger. Even hate.
Thothaga would sense--no, know--of a great city beneath the black water. A black city, perfectly rowed and ordered by rigidly lawful fools, ignorant and ignoring all wisdom. If only she leapt in--if only she dove down, to where the water parted and the air began--she could put an end to it. She could be Queen, and remake this city in her image, with wisdom and with magic. Deep down, in the black, this fate surely awaited her.
Miru's world began to swim with insects. They swarmed over the water's surface, some diving down, some buzzing through the air--nipping at her mind, their wings blowing through her fur and into her ears. There were too many--too many to bite, or chase. To her, too, the solution seemed simple: to dive down. To escape them; to kill them.
Yoosung would see other canine figures all around him, swimming in the dark and diving down--far down. But they did not want to play with him--nor help him. They were not friendly. They were smart; they were magical; they were better than him in every way. They brought with them an unnatural hatred, a jealousy, though perhaps the good-natured dog could ignore this emotion.
Wilder saw the Spire, far below. It shimmered, and it glowed, yet--as Thothaga felt before--there were Others down there, in the depths. They were destroying the Spire--harming it--taking its magic. The urge to swim down and stop the tiny fiends--the hatred that came with it--were both strong. Yet even before this, her magicka glimmered, and she saw brief glimpses of other things--from another source. Another magic: her own. The Gembound swimming, striking out through the black water. One by one, sinking, falling away, swimming down--dying, drowning. Choking away their last gasps into the depths below. Another glimpse: the Gembound swimming, a hole--a stair--hidden in the darkness at the waterline.
Pride would see shapeless, sinister figures beneath--in a place of air far below the water. They were harmful, sinister; they wished to keep ignorance, and violence, and death, within the caves. He might even die, going down there--but this was, at last, his chance to stop it. To bring some peace and wisdom to the world.
Shango, last of all, would see a place dry and void of water. A place where storm and rain never reached. A hateful place, a detestable hell, never-changing, soundless and lifeless. He could bring the storm. He could bring the sound and the water.
No exit was yet visible. But surely, one must lie somewhere within the darkness.
Gembound present may roll to seek an exit to this room. Those who might be deeply-affected by the visions may choose to roll to test whether they will succumb, or resist. (This is left up to player discretion.)
@Yoosung @Miru @Wilder @Thothaga
As she plunged like a comet to the depths the final threads anchoring her to reality faded away. There was nothing left, just the passage of time. Had she done well? Had her final act as a cognizant being been helpful to the others? Without even the sensation of wind through her fur as she fell it was hard to tell.
All was silence for seconds that felt like an eternity until all at once everything came back in a single glorious splash. Speck by speck she could feel the veil crawl away, taking on a vile form like a bug as her senses returned. Eyes shot open, vision clouded by a choking swarm of insects but working nonetheless.
The swarming curse would have been an insurmountable torture any other time, but for now it was proof that she was a part of the world once more. Whether that would still be the case in five minutes was up for debate though, she would have to move fast!
The floating fox first considered diving down to get the insects off her- no doubt it would work but no doubt they would also be waiting for her as soon as she came up for air. No, she needed a more permanent solution.
Yes, if she could get on dry land and find a way out she could probably use fire magic to burn the irritating little bugs to cinders. Destroy them before they had a chance to settle, before they thought to try to reform into that veil that had taken away her senses.
She never wanted to be in that state again.
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If her own magic had failed her, if she had not seen the vision in the water, of the stairs and of the drowning, perhaps Wilder may have jumped in the water herself and swam towards the Spire, towards the creatures destroying it, taking the magic. That was not their magic that was her magic only SHE could have that magic it was hers, h̵͓̿é̵̖r̵̥̋s̶̤̚ ̷̝̾ă̶̹ḻ̸͋o̵̘͝n̶͚͐ḛ̸͗...
She made the decision, though, as others began to swim. The only way they could go was forward and she saw an exit before them, hidden, yes, but there was a way to get out or, at least, continue.
She took a deep breath and stood up. She hesitated for just a second, but then she took the plunge, as the others had before.
Pride stared down, the imagery but a surface shimmer. The powerful current beneath was the false emotion surging with it, drawing him downward, feeding his rage and righteousness.
His pride.
He took a breath, readying himself to dive. Only Wilder's words caused him hesitation: he wavered, paddling there at the surface. For a long moment, the stag stared downward, his ragged breaths and thumping heart the only things that he could hear.
Then--slowly--he closed his eyes. He took the kitten's warnings to heart and steeled himself, and with an effort of will past anything he had ever done, he forced himself to stay afloat.
To let the evil that dwelt beneath continue to exist. To let it-... no. It isn't real. She's right. He gave her a wild-eyed nod of gratitude, his nostrils flared.
"A trick-... yes. Yes, it is. Thank you."
He looked around, doing a brief head-count--where was the spider? Had they lost her already?--then struck out ahead. He could not swim forever, and he was already exhausted from swimming too much. His legs trembled, jelly-like, and he struggled forward. He had to find a way out, and soon.
Shango was not an intellectual sort, and as such was easily overwhelmed by emotion. The idea that, below the churning black surface, there was a place dry of rain was somehow offensive to him at the most primal level. No storms?! Bone dry?! Horror and fury gripped him, and down he dove, his feather-scaled wings folding against his back as his slender form paddled downwards.
His ghostlight eyes pierced the dark beneath, but the place he saw in his mind never seemed to draw closer. Thirty seconds he was submerged, then forty... His lungs were aching, burning, yet still he thrust downward.
He reached for his magicka, determined to send his storms surging downward, into the dark below.
By the time he reached it he was choking and coughing, floundering in the black--but it was raining, and wet, the mist billowing about in waves.
Miru was the one to find it, though Wilder's warnings clearly helped the others.
The stairs were there: a narrow path up and out, extending from beneath the surface of the black waters, up into a shadowed beyond.
Those managing to ascend would find themselves facing the same direction they had done before, if their sense of direction was strong enough to tell such. The walkway was long, narrow, and tight: claustrophobic to the smallest of them, and dangerously narrow to the largest, needing a cautious squeeze to get through.
There was no telling where it might end; it seemed to go on, and on, and on...
@Yoosung @Miru @Wilder @Thothaga
When Wilder watched the hybrid dive deep into the water, she stopped swimming for a moment as a train of fear smashed into her thoughts. No, he didn't listen! He was going to drown, fall into illusions and fear and be lost forever! She kicked out as best as she could, preparing magic to pull him back to the surface but he didn't give her a chance, breaching the water before she could cast a spell.
She wanted to tell him off for being reckless and warn him not to do it again but Wilder couldn't speak. She was so tired, she was so exhausted. She saved all of her breath to keep herself above the water as she kicked out towards the staircase. She finally found it, her paws hitting the surface and she immediately lunged forward, throwing herself against the solid ground, not caring that the path stretching before her was small, even for her. She just took a moment to breath and catch her strength back.
After a moment of recovery, she stood and began to squeeze her way down the walkway, finding it relatively easy, considering how small she was, but it was pretty uncomfortable. She kept glancing back and pausing, in case one of the larger creatures needed the help of her magic to get through.
Just below the murky surface, city was beckoning her. She moved closer to stream's edge, contemplating on whether to jump in. She hated getting her paws wet, but she hated the city's orderly ignorance even more. It absolutely deplorable. They were slaves to their own laws and stupidity! She could make it better, lead them towards the light. She could be their queen!
But the cursed water, it held her back. She would surely drown, right?
Her claw hovered over the black water as she contemplated on whether to jump, when Wilder's cries shook her free from the trance.
Miri had spotted the way forward, and Thothaga followed the others through. It was a bit of a squeeze for s three foot spider with a large gem and she hoped that she didn't come all this way to get stuck. What an unclimatic disaster that would be.