OOC: This is a selfie thread, set before Gabriel emerges.


Amongst the many bones that littered the ground, hidden from prying eyes by mounds upon mounds of death, a diamond was nestled in the rough. Quiet as a lamb, what appeared to be a lump of pure gold sat, quietly nurturing a hidden brood. An experienced Gembound would be able to tell at a glance that this was not a mere rock but a Chrysalis. A particularly silent one, in fact. The little one inside had served its time, yet had still failed to break free.

But it had not tried.

There wasn't the sound of scratching or the bumping sound of it beginning to move. With every moment that passed it was forced to coil tighter, but it was not ready yet. But this would not be the first Gembound to die before it emerged.... because it was still alive. Despite the silence, the lack of movement that enclosed the child and the hauntingly barren atmosphere that reigned outside, its mind was awake and active.

It was waiting, in fact.

It listened to occasional clicks and crackles of bone that echoed from outside. The occasional voices that passed by, unaware that they were being eavesdropped upon. But none of these things were the signs that it was waiting for. Fervently, its mind reeled within its casing. But no. It couldn't emerge yet. Not until there was something more out there.

It knew that beyond these golden gates was another world. One far larger than the one it had access to within this cage of gold. But it would rather be the caged bird that milks its captors for all they have before finally spreading its wings. It had the chance in here to learn all it could about the world out there before facing it, and it would take that chance. It already knew that there were other beings out there. It had heard their footsteps. It knew not what they were or why they were here... or even if it was one of them. Why wouldn't it be?

At there same time, there was no reason to assume that.

It could not assume anything at the moment. It knew nothing of the outside world, other than a vague sense of the presences that lingered there. Yet, the tiny creature had one strength. One way of learning about the world outside. In the midst of its waiting, it had learned this one thing. This would how it would learn. This would be how it would seek the sign it awaited.

A sign that the world was ready for its emergence.

Inside its haven, the gemling searched within itself, looking for the trigger that it had found, the power that was hidden deep inside of itself. This was its tether to the outside world. A feeble tie, but one it could learn from nontheless. It was like grasping at a string that was poked through a tiny hole. There was no light in here, so it knew not what sight was yet.

There were no scents, so it did not know smell.

Its stomach did not yet growl, so it did not know taste.

The only feeling was the walls pressing in on it from every angle.

The only sound was occasional passing conversations and footsteps that rapidly faded away. Yet, piece by piece, it was growing to know the world outside.

The creature felt the presence of a thousand tiny souls in the world just outside of its sterile prison. From these, the creature was able to piece together the slightest whispers of the world outside before losing touch with the omnipresent thousands.

It was there. It was all there. Everything was coming together. In this prison, no limitations yet existed. This was a world of its own creation, where it was free to wonder all it wanted, and learn things in snippets until it was finally ready. It knew that it didn't have much longer until it was forced into reality.

But for now, it would incubate.

For the first time, the creature moved inside its prison. Yet there was no sound, for the being had just smiled its first smile, an expression of glee crawling over the face that no-one in the world could yet see.

It would be ready.

-Exit Gabriel-