ORIGIN

The doorway was nothing spectacular: it simply was an arch chipped into the stone, leading into a gullet of seemingly-infinite darkness. No sounds of life—so characteristic of the Cave at large—rustled from within. It was almost like Tunnel K, impossibly barren and dreary. All that was missing was the mist. Note the lack of impending dread on that list, as Garnet-Delta was sure to start feeling as if something were—

"EMUH SEES YOU."
The massive owl-beast dissolved into a bout of hooting laughter behind the invisible little beastie.

Toxic eyes fixed on it like a twin pair of spotlights, leering down over a hooked beak. He gave it an appraising once-over. The entropic cascade of his quills melted away, transmuting into a cloying sanguine mass creeping over them.

His voice lost all its mirth as he spoke again, "WHY DO YOU BOTHER EMUH?" Eyes narrowed, feathers rustling and shifting against his flanks.

@Garnet-Delta

Overseer Garnet-Delta knew that something lay within the darkness, and its heart stopped as the being within addressed it directly. Fur prickled, but the feline held its ground, barely flinching from the miscalculation. Red sense? Or some other magic? Either way, its tail twitched, swishing behind it as it whirled around to face the bright lights that bore down on it.

For a moment, it saw a massive quilled bird, but the form shifted and changed. How? Lips drew back into a snarl, but its magic hopefully hid the expression. Emuh? Is that what you are? Crimson eyes watched the pulsing, cancerous mass that spread across the feathers. The winged cat took a breath, made its fur lay flat, and then let its magic release its hold on its form, bleeding back into view.

"Well, well," it declared, "You bested me, Emuh. What is this place? And what are you doing by all by your lonesome here?" Bested was a strong term, but better to play on this Emuh's ego, get him settled into over-confidence. If it wasn't seen as a threat, then perhaps it would get answers the easy way.

... deep down, an uneasy stirring made its gut tense. It did not glance for the exit, but it ran calculations in its head all the same as it feigned casual conversation.

The owl-beast cocked his head one way, then to the opposite. An appraising glance quickly soured, but business was business—and this one could prove to be interesting in a test. It certainly lacked the blind bravado of some other contestants. "OF COURSE EMUH WOULD," he crowed regardless, eyes narrowed, before he sprung to oh-so-dutifully offer an answer.

"A HALL OF TRIALS." He whisked his way forward, talons barely grazing the ground. "A PROVING GROUND." Large as he was, the arch's girth swallowed him until he was little but eyes. "TEST OF WILL AND MIGHT AND MAGIC."

With no small amount of flair, Emuh threw his wings outward, the inky-black feathers catching the dim light.

"THIS," he crowed, "IS THE PLACE OF ASCENSION."

Emuh lurched forward, shadow falling harshly upon Garnet-Delta, and offered, "YOU-HOO SUCCEED AND BECOME ASCENDANT, OR YOU-HOO-HOO FAIL AND SUFFER. EMUH DOES NOT CARE." A subtle shrug accompanied the last part, more verbal than physical.

Putrescent green orbs, unmoving from the little beast, cooled abruptly; "WILL YOU MAKE AN ATTEMPT, THEN, OR WILL YOU-HOO FLEE?"

(Two could play at the ego game.)

@Garnet-Delta

This place? A hall of trials? Dangerous, the Overseer thought. It had wisely avoided Hydra growing up, had never quite dared to risk its own life in the face of 'proving' itself to some unknown entity. Am I trapped? It thought, fur prickling subconsciously as Emuh's silhouette nearly blotted out the remainder of the light bar shimmering eyes.

But... Ah, Garnet-Delta's ears pricked all the same at the word: ASCENSION. Ascendant, a beautiful word, one that promised... Hm, and the consequences of failing? Suffering? Could it-- would it-- risk death? Somehow, it sounded like that wasn't the case. It was a challenge, but not, life or death.

Simply success or fail.

Regardless, as Emuh hooted down at it with what it could only assume was scorn, suggesting it might attempt to flee, the winged feline spat. "Hah!" Was that a joke? (All of the sudden, Emuh reminded it of nothing more than a dramatic puffin, playing meaningless games.) "You promise Ascension, Emuh?" The Overseer asked with bite to its words. "You best not disappoint."

With that, Garnet-Delta's wings flared out at its sides, and it kicked off into the air, flapping its wings-- and fully expected some sort of fight.

It certainly didn't expect what came next.

@Game Master Navy

Simply success or fail, indeed.

Emuh shuffled his wings as one adjusts their coat, a peal of crowing laughter barking out of his chest. "OOH-HOO-HOO, EMUH BEST NOT DISAPPOINT?" Putrescent eyes narrowed, voice dropping low, "LIKEWISE." He strode forward once, looming even as Garnet-Delta took to the air. The preparation did not go unnoticed.

The illusion of blood dripped off the owl-beast's slick black feathers, and spattered against the ground as he spun on his heel. Talons ground against the earth as inky wings spread wide and carried him into the corridor's oppressive darkness. There was little but a trace of him to be seen, and not even magically enhanced sight could pierce that blackness.

As with every trial, there was the grind of stone-on-stone, the earth churning and yielding its way into an entirely new shape. The stink of iron and the sound of liquid sloshing filled the air. Then—silence.

—
The hall bloomed into dim lighting, cast shadows intense, but faded. A path roughly as long as a gymnasium and two-thirds as wide stretched out in front of the airborne Garnet-Delta. On either side of it was what may as well be bottomless pits.

Along the path were a series of... contraptions:

The first was what appeared to be a large ring of jagged, rusted metal teeth surrounding a flat plate. Its base seemed to be perfectly blended into the floor, unmovable. Atop the plate was a stone bowl filled with a vaguely sweet-smelling, white liquid. It would perhaps be... startlingly appetizing. One could barely see the ridges of some shiny object in the middle of the bowl.

The second was a fairly big stone—flat on the bottom side—held up by a sturdy-looking piece of wood. A string, pulled taut, was attached to the stick, and tied to its end was a gleaming bit of gemstone: cherry-red, crystalline and jagged on the top side, and in the shape of a circle.

The third was a simple box. A loop small enough to fit snugly around the Overseer's neck sat in the only open side of it; it was attached to a thin line and a stake, which was then attached to a scraggly-looking, bent tree that was incredibly out of place. Something glittered from inside the box.

Directly in front of the cat hybrid was a wide, raised pedestal with three circular impressions, approximately the size of one's palm and an inch deep.

All down the corridor, there were various—and familiar—Lessers milling about: tunnel runners, walleyes, bush rabbits, oh my! Each of them kept a careful eye on their surroundings, unwilling to relax for a single second.

... and, there was a more sinister sort of presence—like the feeling of being watched. But, was that just Emuh... ?

Sorry for the delay! Here you go <3
@Garnet-Delta

Likewise? Clever bird.

Garnet-Delta quickly lost sight of Emuh as the black owl took flight, his mass disrupting the wind and challenging Delta to keep aloft. Head cranning, it searched the darkness, and nearly reached for its reserve of magic to find in the chaos-- and then, the silence deafened it.

Dim light was near blinding, as large pupils frantically shrunk. A mild hiss of annoyance and a swish of a tail, as the tunnel abruptly appeared to be a room much larger than Garnet-Delta had expected it to be. Had Emuh done this? What magic could alter a cavern so drastically?

Crimson eyes locked on the three immediate objectives, and with some caution, the feline glided toward the pedestal before it. Prey that it swept over as it observed went scampering away, clearly on guard, and the cat chuffed at them. Landing delicately upon the lip of the pedestal, its wings flapped and tail swept for balance.

All of this seemed... too straight forward. Three indents, three traps. The lessers would be easy enough to manipulate to test the dangers set before it. Perhaps there was a catch, however, and Garnet-Delta did not seem keen to overlook a detail. The smell of the white liquid made its nose twitch even from afar... But it wouldn't be distracted. Keeping an eye out from its perch, it drew upon its magic and locked upon a walleye.

No resistance came when its magic sank its teeth into the rabbit's bloodstream. Without batting an eye, Garnet-Delta sent the walleye streaking toward the most obvious of the objects: the glistening cherry-red gemstone tied to the stick holding up the stone.

It had no reason to care if the lesser would get squashed by the stone. The magic-driven blood had only one purpose, to get the stone free from the trap. It was, perhaps, the cave equivalent of opening a door with a gunshot to the lock. There was no delicate touch, only excessive force.

@Game Master Navy

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

[non-graphic] animal death

Delta's magic took root in the walleye's bloodstream, and it drove deep. The rabbit shrieked as it moved without its own commands, limbs spasming in a poor attempt to regain control. Its eyes flashed their whites, rolling in their sockets. A cacophony of fretful noise echoed from the other Lessers as they scattered, looking for an apparent assailant—but, they saw only the feline hybrid perched innocuously atop the stone pedestal.

Situated before the trap, the walleye stretched its neck out, buck teeth seeking out the edge of the gemstone with confidence only a creature under another's influence could have.

The garnet's control slipped just as it found a good grasp, and the walleye bolted. A limb tangled up into the line connected to the red gemstone, and with a horrific snap! the stick propping it up broke.

The falling stone's crashing muffled the terrified screech of the rabbit as it was crushed, and the disc-shaped stone rolled away from the growing pool of blood beneath it.

1/3

@Garnet-Delta

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

graphic themes

Excessive, but effective. Garnet-Delta watched with satisfaction, long ears swishing at the sound of the crunch, and the scent of blood... tantalizing. It was a shame there would be no easy way to the shattered bones and pancake of flesh beneath. Still.

The feline hopped down, striding with a calm, collected energy toward its prize. There was not a single flicker or ounce of thought given to the life that had been snuffed out. The only thing that mattered to Delta, it seemed, was this little gem. It snatched the stone between its teeth and turned, pearly white toes staining crimson. Ears swiveled, listening for danger, and then it took flight back to its perch. Confident now, the cat slotted the stone in to one of the holes.

Nose twitching, the feline turned back toward the playground for its magic, whiskers twitching. Who would be next, hm? Perhaps one of the deer, for the box? The feline's stone glistened as it pulled on its blood-magic once more, seeking one of the tunnel runners. Larger, harder to control, Garnet-Delta felt the beast try to buck... But, its claws sunk in deep.

Garnet-Delta drove it toward the box with the noose. Horns first, the slick, furless greyhound of a lesser was forced forward-- if it was lucky, would the loop only catch a horn and snap it? Or would it be hung like a stuck pig by the throat? Maybe it would only catch the snout before tightening-- oh, as far as the trial goer was concerned, so long as its own neck wasn't on the line, what did it matter?

It was the best TV the little feline could create, and it wondered if Emuh was appreciating the show.

@Game Master Navy

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Game Master Bunny

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Game Master Bunny

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Game Master Bunny

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