ECHOES

the whispered words

The caves had, in recent days, inherited a certain chill that tended to flow through them once a year. Fog began to shroud some of the damper regions, leaves turning crisp and gold and then falling to tumble by the waysides, piling at the tunnels' edges.

Some years, a sense of lingering magic--often something dark, ominous--felt as though it tugged at the very fabric of reality, here. But those who knew the cave well--knew it for its centuries before--knew too that these touches had barely scratched a surface best left untouched. It was not that it was dangerous, no. But some of it was... unwelcome.

Some echoes were best left silenced.

*

At last, however, the lingering magic had swollen, the long-hidden cave pregnant with power, and now? Now, the echoes burst free, scattered through Origin, blinking into eerie existence throughout the caves. Each little wisp of half-forgotten magic turned, the shapes of lost Gembound taking smoky shape, moving toward Pisces... and to an overgrown wall at its rear.

As they went, they spoke.

The ghostly shape of a white owl flicked through Polaris. The echo of a voice faded in and out as her silent wings carried her. '...the caves secrets and lore, its history as well...' and then she vanished.

In Orion, the flicker of a red stag stumbled up, his voice a croak. 'You should... not have to see me like this...'

The shape of black and white dog with the delicate grace of a prince picked its way through Leo's Forge.

The shadow of a black leopard with silvered eyes... a raven formed of nothing but smoke, cawing raucously... the flash of a huge, snarling lizard... hounds and birds, cats and primates and equines, all fading in and out as ghostly images, yet should the stream be followed, they all came...

...Here.

Here, to this wall, where magic had shrouded an inocuous curtain of moss. It was not that it was even particularly well-hidden; it was simply... forgotten. Now, it was being remembered, and it would not be hard to simply push past that hanging moss.

And beyond-?

Beyond this hole in Pisces' wall-?

Beyond--beyond lay slivers of silver water curving gently over peaceful stone, lichen shrouding the quieter patches of rock. Whispers seemed to gather here, the fog drifting gently forward. Here and there, thick stands of bamboo hid the next curve from sight, providing a little oasis of shelter.

It didn't feel dangerous, despite the eerie nature of the echoes of those who had gone before. There was, instead, a peacefulness to the dim quiet. A sense of calm rest, though whispers--barely heard--danced along the stone and across the water.

The question was--who would follow?

Who would see these ghosts, these spirits, these echoes--and choose to follow their exodus... or their pilgrimage?

*

Gembound may freely join this Event thread. There is no danger; anyone joining in is free to see brief echoes of long-dead (or not so long-dead) Gembound, and hear brief, often nonsensical snatches of words they may once have spoken, as these echoes move toward--and through--Tunnel Q. They are more likely to see and hear those they knew in life, or those they are somehow linked or related to.

The wyvern slinked through the quiet wet of Pisces, the patter of droplets falling from rock her only herald. She was much like a ghost herself, her shimmering fins like a long tattered gown, her dark eyes echoing some supernatural hollowness. A dead thing walking. She had observed this herself, and took great comfort in the thought; Better to be detached and mysterious than small and vulnerable.

He found himself the first to follow, surprisingly. His pace had been languid, and despite his youth he had some understanding of how quickly Gembound caught on to such abnormalities. Perhaps they'd been drawn in different directions - He quite liked the idea of investigating alone, but he made sure not to get too attached to the possibility. He'd bump into someone eventually, whether he'd like to or not.

Thyme had wandered from home, further than she was meant to. She was very sure of that, but the question was did she care?

Not enough to return, clearly. At some point she had passed the threshold of time spent away from her parent's watchful eye, and so she knew at her journey's end was a stern lecture, perhaps the harshening of the current restrictions of her movement. So why waste the opportunity? For a lesser punishment? Puh-lease. Life is short - according to adults, at least. She wasn't too sure herself.

Another, maybe more important factor to why she wasn't heading to Orion: She was lost. Really, really lost. She had stumbled through a tunnel at some point and that was all she could recall - she didn't have a handle of navigation, not at her tender age. All she could do was follow the noises swirling through the caves, her keen little ears swiveling this way and that.

She squinted at the hole in the wall - it could lead back to Orion. She doubted it. She glanced warily at the other Gembound, unable to recognise the familiarity in his pale hue and long antlers. To Thyme, Gaheris was a stranger; Unpredictable. She was quick to glance away when the gaze was returned. All of a sudden, going home seemed to be a better option than whatever this was.

Thalassa was third [and the last of my characters I'm throwing at this thread lol].

She was less inclined to wait for a sign, but she studied her company with some amount of interest. She recognised the features of both an aquatic and flight-capable creature in Gaheris, though the heft behind her wings and awkwardly long anatomy implied a preference for water. She got a blink from the hybrid, the closest thing to an acknowledgement of this kinship.

Thyme was regarded with a marginal increase of attention. A cub, clearly, and similar to her company in appearance. But aside from the peculiarity of her attendance [where were her caregivers, if the wyvern was not one of them? What kind of parent takes their child along to investigate the echoes of ghosts?], she did not capture his attention for long. Perhaps she'd make a good improvised light source.

Without a word in greeting, Thalassa followed the noises through the tunnel's entrance.

A distant shape had faded in and out, and that patched black coat and silvered eyes had brought Pride jerking sharply to his feet and breaking into a springing gallop after it. A clatter of hooves had brought him to... empty rock, the ghostly figure he had seen gone.

Hope had crashed into distress, but after frantic searching he'd come to realize something else was at play here. Is my mind breaking-? he'd thought, at first, and--grimly determined--set out to follow the here-and-gone-again shadows as they drifted toward Pisces.

Perhaps it is a summon from Tenzin, he wondered, but--no, that did not sound like something the ice phoenix would do. Nor was it his magical domain, he thought. He even thrust his magic for the next ghostly figure that he saw, trying to test if it had a mind to read, a presence, if it were sapient and aware and perhaps leading him on, somehow.

But now that he was here--now that he was gently pushing past a curtain of hanging foliage, his analytical mind flicking over the details of this place--he began to realize it was something other than he'd realized. It was--for better or worse--not about him. His silvered gaze settled first on Gaheris, then on Thyme. Family, and--This one shouldn't be here, he realized abruptly, blinking down at Thyme. "You've wandered a little far," he offered softly. He hesitated, glancing off ahead--should he guide the child back home..? But there was something about this place. It feels-... safe, he realized, blinking.

"I'll look after you," he settled on, at last, offering nods to the others present, then shifting to stick close to the mantivern child.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

Rex came quiet, the soft thuds of his feet gently cautious. His head was held low, eyes wide with wonder.

He hadn't lived long enough--or been unlucky enough--to see those around him die. These echoes, then, while ghostly, didn't frighten or alarm him. He was captivated, if careful.

He found that others had arrived here just ahead, sized from small to quite large, colored in many hues, and none of them seemed to know any more than he did about what was going on. Or did they-? I should ask, he decided, and gently cleared his throat. "Hey. Does anyone know what's going on?" Both the greeting and the question were friendly--it was clear that Rex, for one, had no clue.

art by Gortys, edited by me!

Fracture my spine

Ever since the fateful match where it had failed to charm the second-rate version of its sibling's most cherished friend, Creo had refused to leave Leo unless dragged along for yet another desperate attempt at reintroducing cheer to empty eye sockets. It sulked wherever Karambit left it to lay, whether on blood-smeared beaches or in delightful mud pits. No amount of flattery or promises made of familiar fun and games inspired it to run about. At this point any sense of curiosity being regained seemed the wish of a fool determined to ignore the reality set in front of them: a twisted but gentle soul no longer occupied a vessel of oil-streaked bone.

But that couldn't be, surely? Not when it had finally acted of its own free will. Calls of greeting and the simple desire to play echoed off tunnel walls like the monster's chorus of voices had never been silenced and the worst had never occurred.

Heedless to the chill nipping at flesh, Karambit had stumbled into a nearly blind chase after its miraculously revived relative. Sight robbed of color, every blotch brighter than cold stone and large enough to count as family received the full brunt of buzzing relief and slicing claws eager to shed the nostalgic scent of fellow meat monster blood. As often as it approached the wrong target, tackled terrified strangers or smacked against a solid rock face, optimism didn't flag. Forced to conjure up hope for so long, being supplied with it gave an energizing boost that wouldn't run out anytime soon.

"Crrreeeeooo," it screeched as it burst past the moss curtain and flew toward the throng of Gembound bodies. None of the mishmash of silhouettes resembled whom it pursued. "Crrreeeeooo. You'rrre hiding? Wherrre arrre you?"

Spindly legs rooted around. Unable to distinguish where one creature ended and another began, these were quite the potential hazard.

And swear that you're mine

Some say the shadow's reflect one's heart. Perhaps these ghosts, shades, echoes, whatever you call them, reveal something about the ones who saw them.

There are none that are familiar to Tourmaline, however - no faces of friends or allies. Simply mysterious and forgotten Gembound of long ago, begging her to not meet the same fate they did. Or perhaps simply asking to be remembered by someone living.

Karambit would blaze by too fast for her to make out much about it, but the others waiting at the mossy curtain were far more distinguishable. Several creatures bearing antlers, one a dragon like a certain old friend. None of them were ones she knew, however.

"So, will we follow... that thing?" she asks the gathered, before poking at the curtain of moss. Maybe she could see something, about the past of the opening...

Richter wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of disembodied voices. He'd been greeted by one before, after all, when he had blundered out of his chrysalis and into the vast unknown. There were differences however, important traits these new whispers lacked: cheer, a gift, and most importantly substance. His welcomer's presence had engulfed the tunnel he'd first fallen into, overwhelming and unable to be ignored, a full being despite invisibility. These seemed more like pieces of many someones cast about on a cold, winding breeze. Pulled along by curious ears, he followed them and soon found himself treading water-slicked ground.

He had trekked through Pisces before when the world had been far more mysterious for him—it was proven a mystery still as each intrepid hop forward brought moss drapery closer into view and awareness. Ears flopped to one side as a tilted head regarded this sight previous trips had never revealed. He might've been sucked into gazing forever at that curtain, pondering how it had ever been missed on such a frequent basis, if a massive hovering entity stinking of decay hadn't barreled past. Then no choice was given other than to leap out of the way.

Landing neatly a fair distance away from the last spot he'd occupied, Richter looked about for confirmation he wasn't the only witness to whatever had just blown by. Claws drummed upon the stone band embedded in his neck. Every successive hit against the hard surface worked as a calming mechanism and diminished remaining startlement until at last he worked up the nerve to address the questions brought forth. Since fellow Gembound often appeared as nomadic as himself, this was a first experience at handling a crowd.

"I—well, I, um... think we might be safe to have a look beyond," he said, pointing to the swaying moss in the entryway. "Those shadows drifting around don't seem to be much harm to anyone. Uh, unless they're leading to something more solid. Then I reckon that would hurt, right? At least that'd be what I'd expect."

Unable to provide a better answer, he avoided eye contact for a second and rubbed at his neck to gather thoughts.

"But, it'll be fine! What—erm, whoever—that was, much as this might not be the nicest to say, did seem big enough to guard us from the worst. Any problems past that there hanging moss they'll meet first which'll save us a whole mess of trouble. And I mean, if you've any doubts," he reasoned, "I'll head in now too. If I don't come back this way to see you, you'll know there's reason to worry."

The whispering echoes hadn’t woken up Wilder, but it had woken Vaati, light sleeper that he was. And through him she heard them and he only had to nudge her awake to realize that what she’d thought was something that had slipped into her dreams had actually been in the here and now. She looked up in wonder at the ghostly figures flying overhead, tentatively touching it with her magic to ensure that this was, well, not a certain bad thing. Only when she felt assured did she follow, ears perked and eyes bright.

To Pisces they led her, with a promise of Lore. History. Secrets. and through a little hole in the wall she had never noticed before. Had it always been there? She’d never looked close enough to notice it. Whiskers twitching, she approached and found herself among others. Called to the same place.

She looked around curiously, recognizing a few of them, but…ah, of course. Pride was here too. She wasn’t sure if she felt better about him or somehow more awkward in his presence after their talk. If it could be called a talk. She decided that she was just going to ignore it unless they had to speak to one another. Yeah, that would probably be smart.

Anyways.

She was standing by Tourmaline - ah! she recognized the fellow feline from the attack in Gemini. A friend, or at leas a foe of Order. ”I think so. I don’t think it’s bad. But if you’re worried, stay close to me. I have magic - I’ll look after us.”

She turned her attention to the moss and pushed through the opening, surprised by the strange but peaceful quiet. The bamboo and the greenery and the bubbling water. She sniffed one of the plants curiously as a ghostly bird flew just above her head. She watched its flight down the tunnel and turned, padding curiously after it, wondering where it would be leading them. Hopefully not to more danger.