Lorekeeper

Sprawled out on the floor before the western wall, the Lorekeeper stares out at the encompassing room. The air feels stagnant and dry, and the voices of others seems to have died down, but Lorekeeper doesn't mind the quiet. She does, however, find herself missing the company. Her head is raised attentively, almost as though anticipating the arrival of some curious Gembounds. She hopes so - a new story has been brewing in the back of her mind.

This thread is part of the Trick-or-Treating event! Characters will have until November 1st to visit this NPC and receive either a trick or a treat!

Amaria

You fell away,
What more can I say?
The feelings evolved,
I won't let it out,
I can't replace...
Your screaming face,
Feeling the sickness inside

She was only a child when she had last been to Canis. She had only been adventuring, exploring the area filled with bones. Bones that occasionally had a gem embedded into them. It was a mystery to her and even now she was all the more curious about them, but this had not been the reasoning of her return to Canis. There was a particular Hyena that lived here. Giggle, the bonecaster. When they had last came upon one another, Amaria had learned things she had once not been sure about. The words, even now, still repeated over and over in her head. They had all lined up. Coming into their own truth just as Giggle's bones had predicted. It was in those occurrences that Amaria wished to seek out Giggle once again. So that she may discuss such things with her and to hear her own thoughts on the events since past.

A thick, scaled tail swayed to and fro behind her as she trotted through the tunnels. Hurrying her way towards the room of bones. The familiar scent of decay clung in the air and Amaria knew she was close. With a few more long strides, Amaria entered Canis and turned her stunning blue eyes around the vicinity. Part of her simply wanted to call out to Giggle, to see if she would respond and let amaria know where her location was, but a new scent came stronger. A strange smell she had never came across before.

Rounded ears pushed forward and slowly Amaria stepped into Canis, scale topped paws moving slowly and silently over the ground, careful not to bump any bones and cause noise. Further and further she went into Canis, following the scent that had peaked her interest. As she came closer to the West Wall, Amaria's head lifted up insantly upon seeing the strange creature sitting there alone. The oddities of the creature left Amaria in awe and she was left for a moment in silence as she took in the creatures appearance.

"Hello," She finally called out to the creature, a kind smile etching across her features as she took a few steps closer towards the beast. "I don't think we have met before. My calling is Amaria," She introduced herself with a slow sweep of her head before she brought her gaze right back up and plopped back on her haunches. Her tail curled about her sides, careful not to poke herself with the spikes that adorned the ridge of it.


"Speech"
Tags: @Remedy
OoC: sorry I made the post before I knew remedy was tagging along with her. Just assume rem is already with her?

---

Keep on trying I’ll not die so easily
I will not die…
Why is everything so fucking hard for me?
I will not die…
Why is everything so fucking hard for me?
I will not die…

(I'm assuming leon and amaria have met since this thread!)

The bear had heard of something stirring in Canis - a story teller who had relinquished a grand tale to a group of Gembounds some time ago. Leon hadn't gotten the chance to investigate it then, having been so wrapped up in the potential war between the Merrymen and the Bonebound, and then the fight with Raheerah, and finally the wedding. In between doing his rounds and spending quality time with the others in Maji Walezi - he'd learned his lesson since Amaria spurned him for neglecting her - he simply didn't have time to investigate, until now. He'd done a round earlier this morning, and now he felt he had nothing to do until he remembered the story teller in Canis. Then he grabbed Lilith and whoever else wanted to come and dragged them with him. Besides, the Bonebound wouldn't mind a few visitors, would they?

Leon lumbered on through the tunnels and then into Canis, where he wandered aimlessly for a little before spotting a familiar form sitting before some crippled dog on the floor. "Amaria?" He called, a surge of hopefulness igniting in his chest. He still hadn't gotten over the initial shock and joy of having met her again after she emerged from her chrysalis. It was strange seeing her so different. He produced a small smile, still guilty in some way, and approached. Had she met Lilith? Unlikely... He glanced back at his white-furred double, then to Amaria. "Ah - this is Lilith." He blinked and gestured to the young bear, then grinned down at her. "Lilith, this is Amaria." Then he looked over at the dog. "What's happenin'? Are you the Lorekeeper?"

( @Lilith @Makyna @Bevy anyone else that wanted to tag along?? Idk )

Lilith loved exploring and when she had heard about the festivities that were going on and that her father was going to go, Lilith wanted to go with. She was getting bigger each day and her fur was getting whiter. It almost looked golden. They went to Canis where the storyteller that Lilith was told about. The young gembound wondered what was going on the LoreKeepers home. When they got there, there was another gembound there and it seemed like Leon knew the cat gembound. She heard her father call the spotted gembound by her name. Amaria Lilith thought in her head after hearing the name. Leon introduced the two gembounds but the white/golden spirit bear stayed close to her father mainly behind him peeking out. Her brown eyes watched the other gembound.

What was this? Why was there suddenly so many people in her home? She couldn't remember ever seeing this many people come into Canis at the same time, and she wanted to know why. She couldn't find either of her fathers, though, so she wouldn't be able to ask them and she wasn't about to waste a bunch of time tracking them down. Liora had been observing the strangers come in from her vantage point of a bone pile near one of the walls. Once two big fuzzy bears had lumbered in, she decided it was time to investigate where they were going. Spreading her wings, the juvenile flapped clumsily after them, only to spot them gathering before the Lorekeeper. Gross, creepy dog. What are they doing talking to her?

With a squawk, Liora announced her presence and soared in over the gathering, amethyst beak gleaming. "Just what do you all think you're doing?" She crowed, feigning snobby irritation at them, before swooping down to land on the big bear's back. "Krak krak!" Liora chortled, ruffling her feathers as she padded around on his back, then puffed up as the bear shifted in an attempt to dislodge her.

ooc: Table later. Just assume Rem's hidden under Amaria until she pokes her head out!

---------------------

Remedy was young and ignorant of the world, but since her emergence, she'd learned three valuable facts of life;

One: Papa didn't have a sense of humor and found no joy in her antics.

Two: Cure was only her half sister, but she didn't particularly care about that.

Three: Cure's Mama wasn't her Mama. Instead, she'd come to call her female guardian Mara, since Papa called her Amaria. Made sense.

So, Remedy followed along behind Mara, gawking like a fool at every new sight along the way. She'd seen Papa go this way before, but never had she been allowed to leave Orion. When Papa had mentioned leaving for a day trip, Mara had been the one to force him into taking Cure with him- a lesson of sorts, to explore the caves better. She'd then offered to take Remmy on their own personal adventure. At first, Rem wasn't sure if she liked the idea of being away from Cure, but when Mara had spoken of hyenas and bones, she'd become more curious than a cat surrounded by colorfully wrapped gifts- not that she knew what any of that was. So, when Mara headed for the tunnel to Canis, Remedy had been surprisingly quick to follow.

When Mara entered the new cave, Remedy tucked her fuzzy black and red self under the protective hind legs of her step-mum. The older leopard led the pair towards a strange looking thing, all lean and limber, and rather sad looking in Rem's opinion. Cautiously, as Mara greeted the thing, Remedy peeked out from between the dragard's front legs, bright multi-colored eyes wide with astonishment. Her Mara introduced herself, and so, Remedy felt it only polite to do the same.

"I'm Remedy!" She blurted, the soft corners of her beak twisting upwards in a strange, open-mouthed smile. Behind them, though, another voice broke through and Remedy became timid. She lurched back and scrambled into the belly scales of her Mara. The stranger was big, and brown, but he was in the company of another, smaller, look-alike, only white instead. Smaller, yes, but still huge compared to the tiny chick, snuggled between her caretaker's legs, all but hidden from view. Another voice! This one squawky, and young. This time, Remedy recognized the sounds it made and turning, she finally poked her head out to examine the fellow bird atop the big brown thing's back. She froze, seeing the bear in full view, and stifling a squeak, looked up to Mara for reassurance. Were these furry things dangerous?

@Amaria @Leon @Lillith @Liora

With tired eyes, the old dog watched a small group of Gembounds file into the bone room. Only a few of them had come, most of them seemed to know each other. A small, young looking bird had soared in making a bunch of racket, to which the Lorekeeper scowled and hissed, "Quiet down, you nitwit!" With a huff, Lorekeeper shifted slightly and propped herself up on her front paws, gazing out at the small group. Well... enough time had elapsed that the Lorekeeper was certain no one else was coming for the story. She may as well start now.

"Ahh... You have come to hear another story... Well... I suppose they call me the Lorekeeper for... a very good reason..." The old dog wheezed, drawing her wrinkled lips back in a wry smile. As if she hadn't been expecting a group of them to show up. Why else was she propped up before a crowd? "Yes... This story... I call it... The Caution of the Makers... This story was told to me by my old friend... May his soul rest in eternal slumber..."

Her eyes grew distant, soft even, for a moment before widening and fixing back on the group, that mischievous smile ever present. "A long time ago... they made something. That is why... they called themselves the Makers... The Makers created all kinds of things in the cave. They made the great city under the stars... And the treasures you find scattered in the tunnels... They carved the faces in the rock and their words in the wall... You have seen it... The carving..." Her nose slowly turned towards the entrance of the tunnel, which connected to Orion which in turn connected to the tunnel housing the carvings. Surely they had seen it, she was told great effort had gone into restoring it. "Yes, the Makers forged a great many things in this cave... Some of them wildly magnificent... others... grievously unfortunate... This is a cautionary tale of the wicked things one can create if they are not careful enough." Her eyes twinkled dangerously.

"The Makers had made their great city... and the treasures... and the carvings, and the words... and they kept making things and making them better. But one day... They made all that they could make, and there was nothing new left for them... They still had enough materials to make more things... Only they did not know what. They sat... And they pondered... And they discussed among themselves, what could they possibly make... And One of them suddenly spoke... 'We have made the things we need, have we not?' And the rest of them said 'Yes.'... The One said, 'We have made the things we do not need, have we not?" And the rest said 'Yes.'... The One said, 'We have made things that serve a function, and things that are only beautiful, and there is enough of those things for each of us, isn't there?' The rest of them became impatient... nodding and answering 'Yes. What are you trying to say?'"

"Well, the One gazed smartly upon his companions... He was a devious one, and he wanted more than what they made of this life... He was a mastermind, perhaps, the leader of them all... He said, 'Why don't we make more of us, so that we will need to make more things?' And the rest of them, they had never thought of this before... They looked among themselves and then they looked at the One and said, 'We will make more of us, then we will make more things for them, but then once we have made all the things for the new ones, then what?' And the One scoffed and said... 'Then we keep making more of us, and we will spread further through the cave, and it will all be ours.'"

"The rest of them spoke quietly over the idea... They knew what they made was theirs... They never considered ownership of the whole cave... but when the One said that it could all be theirs, suddenly they didn't care only about making things... They wanted to own everything too. So they nodded, and they set to work making more of them... The first few things they made were bad, because they made them for the first time. They couldn't speak, or see, or breathe. But the One was getting frustrated that the others were failing... He said, 'You must not try to make it exactly like us, for we are unique, and powerful, and you will fail. You must not make it too much, only just so.' So the Makers made something that was not like them. It wasn't as powerful as them. It couldn't make things like they did. But it could speak, and see, and breathe. It was alive."

"When the alive thing first opened its eyes, it looked at the Makers and asked, 'What am I?' ...And the One said, 'You are our creation.' The alive thing understood this, and started to walk, and it started to live... Then it heard the Makers speak, and it heard their names... so it turned to the One and said, 'What is my name?' The One smiled. 'That is the first thing I will make for you. Your name is Mine.' And Mine loved its name, and continued to live... Then it saw the Makers eat food, and looked to the One and said, 'What do I eat?' And the One said, 'This is the second thing I will make for you, it is food, this is what you eat.' So the One gave Mine the food it made and Mine was happy. Then, at the end of the day, Mine saw all the Makers go back to their homes to sleep, but Mine didn't know where it slept... so it looked to the One and asked, 'Where do I sleep?' And the One put together some rocks and showed it to Mine. 'This is the third thing I will make for you, it is your home. You will sleep and live here.' So Mine went into its home and slept, and it felt safe and warm. It knew that the Makers made everything for it and it was grateful, and it wanted to be able to make things for others so that it could make them feel as happy as it was right now. The next day, Mine went to the One and said, 'How do I make things like you do?' But the One didn't smile... He looked angry and said, 'You do not make things. It is not your purpose.' And Mine was confused, because the purpose of the Makers was to make, and Mine had received everything the Makers did, so why did it not share their purpose? 'Then what is my purpose?' Mine asked. 'Your purpose is to do what we tell you to do, not to make.' The One responded."

"Mine did not like this answer. It wanted to make things and make others happy. 'I do not want to do this.' It said, and this made the One very angry. He raised his voice and shouted, 'You are being selfish. I have done nothing but make things for you. I made your name, and your food, and your home. I have made you, and called you Mine, and Mine means that you belong to me so you must do what I tell you to do!' But Mine didn't like this at all. Mine felt like it had been tricked, and it was never given a choice of whether it wanted the Makers to make things for it, they only gave it the things it needed and expected obedience without asking Mine if that was what it wanted... This made Mine feel angry, so like the One, it raised its voice and shouted back, 'This is not fair, I want to be equal to the Makers!' Then the One hit Mine. And Mine did what the One did, it attacked the One out of anger and confusion. It didn't mean to hurt the One. But suddenly the rest of the Makers had come and pulled Mine away."

"The One was furious. 'How dare you!' He yelled. 'I made you, you are Mine! You are selfish, wanting things you were not meant for! You are violent, attacking your Maker! You are a monster! Monsters have no place here with us, so you must be unmade!' Mine knew what this meant... Being unmade was the opposite if being made, but Mine liked being alive too much. It was angry and sad and afraid of being unmade. So it attacked the Makers... and then it ran away, as far as it could... and when the Makers could see it no more it hid in the shadows. Mine had come to hate the Makers... especially the One. They wanted to unmake it... and so... Mine would unmake them..." Her voice dropped, foreboding, gritty and lavish with tension.

"With Mine free in the caves, the Makers lived in fear. They thought Mine to be a heartless, selfish monster that only hated them. It hid around corners and would steal a Maker away if they wandered too far, and no one would see that Maker again... Until a few days later... And they would find the Maker on the ground, without their head. Mine would lurk in the darkness, and it would growl and when the Makers turned to look, they would only see the flash of its gleaming eyes before it lunged for them. But they came to knew the most telltale sign of Mine's presence... It was things that Mine tried to make, and left for the Makers to see. But Mine didn't make things like they did. It made things out of the Makers. It made piles of bones, and drawings of the Makers out of their blood. It forged effigies of the Makers in order to mock their practice, and they regretted telling Mine that it could not make like them, because now look at the awful things it was making! Finally, the Makers became so afraid that they turned to the One, they said, 'Help us, please, we are terrified of Mine! We don't know how to unmake it and now it is unmaking us. You thought to make Mine, so you must unmake it!' The One sat and considered this, he hated Mine because it was the first thing the Makers made that they did not like, it was a smear on their otherwise flawless collection of creations, so he agreed to unmake it. 'Very well. I will find Mine and unmake it, but you must promise to follow my rules more closely next time. I told you not to make it with the same powers as us, and now it can make. The next thing we make, you must be sure that it cannot make as well.' He said arrogantly, as if he was not the reason that Mine hated. But the others were so afraid, they just nodded and said, 'Yes, we will follow your rules more closely!' So the One went to hunt down Mine and unmake it for good."

"It was hard to tell where he should start looking first, so the One brought another Maker with him when he searched. He sent the Maker out into the darkness, then he heard the growl, and saw the flashing eyes. The One ran and hid, then when he came back, the Maker had been made into terrifying scarecrow, staked on a long stick in front of the darkness. 'Mine, I know you are here.' The One said boldly. 'Come out, and I will give you everything you wanted.' The offer was tempting. But what the One didn't know was that Mine had learned to make so well, that like the Makers, it could make others like it. And it made for them, and it made them happy. So Mine didn't need the Makers anymore. Mine spoke from the darkness and it told the One this, and then it said, 'We are happy now, and we want you to be happy, so lets make a deal. We will live in one half of the cave and we will not harm your Makers anymore, and you will live in the other half, in your great city, and you will not try to unmake us.'"

"When the One heard this, he was astounded. He didn't think Mine could make others like the Makers did, and he thought it was amazing... And as with all things they make, the Makers still believed that Mine belonged to them. They still wanted to rule the whole cave, so this deal wouldn't work. But the One lied. He said, 'Yes, we will make this deal. Come meet us where the darkness begins with you and all the things you made, and we will forgive you, and you forgive us, and we will all live in peace.' Mine agreed, because this was all it had ever wanted. So the next day, the Makers went to the darkness, and Mine appeared with all the things it made. They came together to speak the vows of peace... But Mine was tricked once more."

"Suddenly, the Makers took out weapons and attacked all the things Mine made. They killed them and destroyed them. It was chaos, and when it was done, the Makers had unmade everything that Mine made... But there was so much destruction, they couldn't tell if Mine was among them. 'Yes, I saw one of us stab Mine in the throat.' Said some of them. 'No, I saw Mine flee into the dark.' Said others... Nobody knew if Mine was dead... but the One rose and he said, 'It does not matter. We have unmade everything so that we can make them anew... We will make new creatures and they will take over the cave. They will make like Mine did, but they will belong to us.' He declared."

"And so it was that they were never attacked by Mine again... The Makers went and made new creatures... but instead of being powerful like Mine... they were subservient. They were allowed to make, so long as the things they made belonged to the Makers as well... They took over the caves and everything in the caves belonged to the Makers... The great ones... But there are always ones like Mine. You see, we beasts were... regarded as such... Monsters... We were disdained... Hated... Warned against... They wanted to do us away, and they wanted to make an example of us... And so they contrived a tale to warn the others of us... What could become of us... What we could do."

Her eyes grew wide and on the breast of her words was a reverent gasp. Then her expression creased into itself. Her eyes narrowed, and her smile returned. "Some say... Mine still lives... It haunts these caves, and it hates... It hates the Makers... And it hates the ones the Makers made..." Her voice trailed off with a nonchalant shrug. "Ahh... But I am certain that it is no more than a myth... Now, leave me to rest my tired lungs... I am so tired." The Lorekeeper uttered a tired chuckle and finally slid onto her stomach, lowering her maw to the ground.

The story has concluded. You are now free to post your characters. Lorekeeper has exited.

Leon had nestled himself onto his rump, glancing down at Lilith with a warm smile to ensure that she was still feeling safe and happy - he knew it could be scary to go to some parts of the cave, especially Canis, filled with its dusty bones and scary Bonebound inhabitants. Speaking of, they were quickly joined by a raucous bird that came swooping down at them, crowing and asking what they were doing. Leon furrowed his brow, swinging his head slightly - he recognized the bird as one of Aza'zel's children. She had been quiet during the wedding, then notably more obnoxious during the football game, but Leon had been somewhat... inebriated... he didn't really remember much of it. In any case, she came demanding answers and landed on his back. The bear rumbled and twisted his head, snapping at her - that was enough to provoke the hybrid into flying away.

His attention shifted back to Amaria, who had come with another youth in tow. Leon smiled warmly as she introduced herself, and then his focus turned to the Lorekeeper, who shouted at the bird and finally settled in. Her gravely voice entered the air and almost instantly Leon found himself enamored, listening closely to her story. He took its details and stowed them away, nodding vigorously and following along as she went. He quite enjoyed stories, and this one seemed to be pretty good, until it took a considerably darker turn. Leon frowned slightly and glanced down at Lilith again, just making sure that she was alright. He was worried that she might not like the story's spookiness.

Eventually, Lorekeeper concluded the story and bid them away. Leon huffed and rose to his paws, nudging Lilith. "Alright, time to go!" The bear rumbled with a grin. "How about you tell me what you liked best on the way back, hey?" He added, laughing. As they strode past, he gave a nod to Amaria, and then another warm smile down at Remedy before disappearing through the tunnel.

exit Leon

Oh, Liora recognized this bear - from the wedding, and the football game. But still, what was he doing here in her home of Canis? It's not like there was a wedding happening here, and there definitely wasn't a drunken football game. She wasn't entirely sure of how she felt about him, but she must have been comfortable enough with the bear to land on his back and pad about for a bit before he twisted his head and tried to snap at her, shooing her away. Liora chortled and took to the air again, but when the Lorekeeper scolded her for being loud, she cawed at the stupid broken dog and landed on a small perch overlooking the group. With her pride somewhat wounded, Liora settled down and fell quiet, frowning through her beak at the group.

And then the Lorekeeper started to tell a story. She had half a mind not to pay attention, and had nearly tried to convince herself into dozing off, but the Lorekeeper's old wrinkly voice continued to bleed through into her thoughts. Eventually, Liora tuned in to the sound and followed the story, cackling when she spoke of the Makers, and inwardly rumbling as she spoke of Mine and how it rebelled against them. Yes, she liked Mine! But she didn't like how Mine wanted to make them happy. If she was Mine, she'd break away and beat up the Makers for being nerds - oh, wait, now Mine was attacking them and making fun little effigies of them. Okay, that just made her like Mine better!

And then the Lorekeeper concluded her story with a cryptic warning that maybe Mine was still out there, but Liora shrugged it off. She knew better than to believe myths like that, and she'd been told that the Lorekeeper's stories were just that, anyways: stories. When the bear took his little bear friend and parted ways, Liora silently took to the air after them, following them through Canis until they'd disappeared through a tunnel. Then, she turned to seek out one of her fathers and ask whether or not Mine was truly real.

exit Liora

Lillith had been sitting on her white rump as the story began. She looked at everyone around her including her father. He would look at her every now and then to make sure that the youngster was okay. The story seemed great but then it became dark scary and odd. Lillith felt alittle afraid. After the story was told, Lillith watched her father get up and he told her that it was time to go. He told her that she could tell him what she thought of the story. The spirit bear wondered in her head what she liked about the story. They head back down the tunnel for home.

-EXIT LILLITH-