Gypsy watched with wide eyes from the audience as each competitor after her moved onto the stage and performed their magick. There were so many wonderful things you could do with magick - it was awe-inspiring. She could barely keep up with all the different types of spells that were being used. When it was Kin-Kin’s turn, she jumped up with verve and leaned forward. She did not want to miss a single moment of the champion’s performance. Kin-Kin had been the one to teach her about magick after all. Everything appeared to be going to plan as the wolf put on a spectacular light show. Not for the first time, Gypsy felt inspired by the demi-god. But then, something odd occurred. Well, the odd thing was that nothing happened in the final few moments. Gypsy caught the look of horror of Kin-Kin’s face for a flash. Then the butterfly wings faded and she walked out of the stage with a bow. Her movements seemed odd, and stiff. Gypsy’s beak opened with a stunned realisation. Had her magick failed? Her heart sank for Kin-Kin. She couldn’t imagine how horrible that must have felt. Still, she had loved the light show she had seen. Her favourite part had been the pebbles with fluttering wings. Gypsy eyed Kin-Kin in the audience and nodded to herself. She would definitely go up to her later and congratulate her on the wonderful performance, even if she doesn’t win. The wolf deserved it. "Gypsy speaks" 'Gypsy thinks'

OOC: This is just a spectator post observing @Kin-Kin , since Gypsy has a connection to her. Sorry if I’m interrupting your performance, @Felina . Please ignore this post and continue posting if you want the two more tries. Wasn’t sure if you were done or not…

Amras had been watching with undivided attention throughout the show. His purpose here was twofold- first and most importantly he wanted to see what techniques the other gembound had for magic usage. If he could learn even a bit about how others used magic it might help him in his own studies. The other major reason had to do with a series of strange dreams he'd been having lately, ever since that first day of exploring Cetus for a statue piece. He felt if he reenacted some of the themes then he might be able to make more sense of them. There had been voices speaking in a way he felt like he should be able to understand but just couldn't grasp, symbols of unknown meaning floating around everywhere, impulses to destroy, impulses to cherish, impulses to hoard. In the dream he could feel great fear, great sorrow, overwhelming loss, and an unshakable sense that soon all that he knew would be consumed into absolute nothingness.

Oh, and of course he also wanted to win the contest. That would be a nice victory to add to his list of accomplishments.

The first contestant had been a large reptile who bellowed loudly while utilizing the borrowed power of the birds. It looked like there was supposed to be more to it but everything fizzled out. Did that mean that using borrowed magic could interfere with native magic? Perhaps it just had to do with the bird spells; he certainly hadn't had issues like that with the Blacksmith spells.

The next entrant seemed to have similar issue with the magic in the area, only managing to get one spell out near the end. Perhaps like the arena incident the wavering of magic had more to do with fluctuations in the area. This was Polaris after all- the ambient forces were at their most powerful and chaotic here.

A large cat was up next, putting on a wonderful display of plant and fungi, two elements that Amras had yet to fully grasp. Silver eyes watched with intensity as he noted the glowing mushrooms. Absentmindedly he reached down for the right-middle pouch on his belt where he had stored some mushrooms of his own from the exploration. They didn't glow but if he could replicate the propagation spell the cougar had displayed he would certainly have a good healing resource at his disposal.

Another cat was up next, beginning with a playful display of light magic. What came next though caught the gryphon's breath as memories of the nightmare forced their way to his thoughts again. What was that spell? Why did it seem to be connected? The nightmares didn’t start directly after figuring out how to use it, only a day or two later. There had to be something there, some piece of information that he was missing.

The master raven's initial display woke Amras from his sudden bout of anxiety. Truly among all the gembound in the cave this bird displayed the greatest affinity for magic, commanding power over arcane that the gryphon could only dream of reaching one day. Even they, however, seemed to utilize the ancient bird's borrowed magic. He'd really missed out hadn't he? His fear of accidentally triggering a Faustian deal by accepting power from the ancients was definitively unfounded now.

Another bird was up next after the master raven, significantly younger but already displaying impressive talent. Based on the wonderful party-like atmosphere it created it would no doubt grow up to be a talented light-user.

Perhaps even as skilled as the bringer of light who came afterwards. In all his time he'd never seen bauble cast on anything larger than the gembound utilizing the spell. Much less had he ever seen the spell used on a living thing before. Was that even bauble at all, or was it something closer to a variant of pattern painter? Apparently there were still mysteries he had yet to uncover.

The snake who was up next also displayed an impressive mastery of their own element. Amras watched with interest as they spit out some kind of gel and lit it on fire, causing an explosion of concentrated flame that made his dust explosions look like a silly parlor trick. Aerating once-burned wood dust produced quite a sound but the effect would dissipate in a flash. Was that fire magic as well that produced the substance? He hadn't thought of it before but perhaps that meant that magic could produce things that had properties of their element without actually being the elements themselves. Another lesson to keep in mind for the future.

He didn't have to wait long to examine the spell again as the fennec fox who was up after the snake set right to work on producing that gel again. They seemed younger than the snake had been; indicating that it probably was native to the fire element and not borrowed from some ancient that had appeared before he had been born. Or perhaps it was an ancient hidden in the caves somewhere; the fox did integrate bird magic for extra showmanship as well.

Next up was Kin-Kin, one of the few that he solidly knew the name of. His sparring partner had talked about the wolf before and he'd personally seen them in action in the battle for the spire. They talked big for sure but had the magic to back it up. The display started with what seemed to be a simplified version of gem summon, which was soon combined with a wonderful display of light magic to create wings on the transformed stones. He'd definitely have to figure out how to pull that one off! He'd been slacking a little on his magic practice lately with searching for the statue piece but perhaps it would be good to put the search on hold for a little while and really dig into study again; so many spells to learn!

The next contestant was... strange. They walked up on the stage and began to stare into the distance. Amras stained his eyes to see what they might be doing, was there something on the far wall? Was there supposed to be something in the water? Seconds like hours passed before the dragon wolf simply walked off stage again like nothing had gone wrong. Was Amras not skilled enough yet to see what they had done? Was it a type of magic that only masters of that element could witness? That would make sense if they were disease element but surely they wouldn't utilize such a niche spell set for a general display.

Finally, one of the last contestants before him was none other than the tiny plant monkey. Surprisingly though they did not lead with their plant spells but rather broke out the odd spell of light and darkness. The powerful casting hit Amras like a ton of bricks as chills spread through his body and his vision began to blur. Left talon rose to scratch at the milky quartz rod in his right forearm, a nervous habit that seemed to always strike now whenever memories of the dream arose. He could see the monkey, could hear their words, but could barely comprehend their meaning. The entirety of reality seemed to be mixed between what was real and the maddened whispers and symbols that haunted him. Why? Why were the two connected? Why had they not been connected before he destroyed the slide? It made no sense.

All at once the mixing of reality and illusion stopped, and Amras could once more focus on what was before him. The turn was over. Time had passed. How long had he been out? A few gembound were staring at him now. Was it his turn to go? He had been the last one, were they waiting on him now?

- - - - -

"Unfortunately you were wrong, small one." Amras spoke to the monkey, now in the crowd, as he stepped forward. He'd planned on doing a similar display of spookiness to just get the imagery from his dream out, but this felt more pressing than just a magic competition warranted. "The Time of Darkness is an enigma yet to be solved. A borrowed power but from where? We cannot simply will it away with displays of light; we have to try to understand it before we can confront it."

This was not at all what he had planned. This was no display of magic skill, no bit of showmanship. He was throwing his chance of winning away! It felt important though, like the most important thing he could do with this crowd gathered. Talon scratched more at his gem even as small traces of blood began to flow from his arm. He couldn't feel it though, was barely aware of his sharp talons and pristine white gem being coated in red. "At first I thought it was just an odd usage of light magic, a mixture of light and darkness. There is more to it. I need your help. I need to understand."

Dark smoke began to rise from the ground all around the arena as Amras reached the center. He could feel the native magic in his body crying out, could almost feel his eyes begin to glow silver as the almost sentient inky-black smoke closed in like a sea of vipers. Pain, fear, terror, all these emotions illogically gripped the gryphon's mind as the smoke ensnared his entire form, trapping him in a nightmare world while still standing in reality. In a snap the smoke collapsed inward, clinging to every inch of his form as his wings slightly unfurled from the uncomfortable shock. He stood there before the crowd hunched over like a were-creature with the shadows dripping off him as though they couldn't decide if they were vapor or a viscous liquid. "When you borrow power from the birds you gain wings." he spoke in a hushed monotone, "Who then do we borrow from to become beings of darkness?"

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None

His mind was clouding, his perception of the crowd barely registering. The voices were all around him, the strange symbols floating in the air about him. This hadn't happened before. This had never happened before. Was he still dreaming? Was this the night before the competition? His hand ached, the same hand he had cut upon the mossy obsidian days before.

Concentrate! He couldn't let the malady get to him. These competitions didn't happen all the time. He had to continue on. More than that he had to let them know, let them see. Could they help him? Could they understand what was happening? He... didn't want to be alone in this. Was he alone?

No! That wasn't something to worry about now. No panicking. Just act. Continue on. Show them. Yes, they must see.

"It brings with it visions, nightmares. The spell by itself is incomplete but it resonates with something else I do not understand. A wall appeared to me, one written in words like are engraved in Canis. I do not know their meaning. Can we figure them out together?" Why did the words hurt? What was going on?

Win no more room for talk Amras slammed his talons onto the ground, crying out in pain as a large spike pierced his left hand right where the injury had been. It was not the only spike, however. Tendrils of dark gemstone wove up into the air in and out and in intricate patterns as they formed a large wall in front of Amras, surrounded by razor-sharp tendrils and visible to the entire crowd. It wasn't obsidian like last time, but epidote: mostly black with markings of green scattered throughout. Green markings that seemed to be in the shape of runes. Two phrases repeating over and over across the surface, indecipherable to any of the gembounds present but perhaps readable by the ancient ones who had come before the great awakening.

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None

His hand hurt even more now, completely impaled by a spike of epidote. Amras wanted to speak, wanted to scream, but words now wouldn't come. The voices and visions were almost unbearable now as black smoke poured off him and made a light layer of fog on the ground below the wall. He had to finish it. Give it what it wants. The wall hungers. What could he give it to make the pain go away? So much pain. Why wasn't it stopping?

The Blacksmith! Yes the Blacksmith specialized in imbuing items with magic. He had learned special magic from them; perhaps he could use that magic to feed the wall. Surely it wasn't the same process that could create magic items but it used the same concept, right? Amras focused with all his strength. Pattern painter, pattern painter, let the words be seen.

Almost as though it was being pulled from his body the spell went off, imbuing the green runic words with a brilliant glow. The symbols hovered tantalizingly over the surface of the wall- if they had been only slightly visible before they were there for all to see now.

At the same time the gryphon could feel the light within resurge with power and the grip the spike had on his hand released. All at once he fell backwards, the black fog dissipating and his hand bloodied from the hole that was left behind. The voices all stopped, the hallucinations all stopped. He was free...

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None

A cacophonous symphony blasts into the minds of all present. A single voice overlapping itself and repeating two phrases over and over again. The message is relayed in what should be the normal spoken language, yet the mind refuses to comprehend its meaning.

█████ ██ █ ████ ███ ████ ██ ███████
█████ ██ █ ████ ███ ████ ██ ███████
ɦąƮƹȡ Łɨąɨȿƹ; ą Ʈƹɲ ρɦɨ ąɲƮɨȿ Łƹƹř
მ lἶპ... ἶჰ პནპΓῆმl
ďȋȽåț£ å§ ȟȋ£; å§ȟ£ñ țȋקȋ Ƚ£åñț ȑ£
å Ƚȋ£... ȋ§ £ț£ȑñåȽ
ǿ Ʈ~^#ąƮǿȿ ƹɨ↕ąɨ ρȿµ█ą; ǿ ╪£ɲǿȿ ƹ√ɲą! Ą↕ɲƒ║ȿ

The feats of magic ranged far and few, consistent and inconsistent. For those who failed, he nodded solemnly and vowed to share gentle words of encouragement after the contest's conclusion. Yet, those plans would find themselves disturbed as the gryphon strode into the clearing and beckoned forth quite a show. Mercurius pressed himself against Faelan, woofing softly as dark stone wove its way into the air, piercing flesh and bone in its path. Darkness rolling off and patterns of ancient tongue---he shouldn't see this---shimmering and pulsating into being. Just as he made to lean into his companion's ear and whisper, a monstrous din rose, piercing his skull like the misfire of magicka.

Then, all went quiet, and Mercurius was left shaking. "Ah... I have that darkness... mm-too," he murmured, thoughts quivering as hard as his limbs. They threatened to buckle beneath him as his stomach did to churn itself inside out. Phantom anxiety prodded at his being, age-old associations rising again. Gulping viciously, he tried to straighten himself up, murmuring softly into Faelan's ear some more, tail curling about the golden male for comfort and security. An autopsy of events would have to wait until later. He could run away once results were given.

Steeling himself and setting his jaw, he turned away from the enormous stone spike. "All of your performances, big and mmm--" he paused, collecting himself, "big and small, were fantastic. Wonderful. Your efforts were unable to be mm-matched, even if they ended in failure." Moonset eyes flicked from gembound to gembound, searching for the fennec.
When they were not found, he called out, "could---mhem---tell the little fox that they have won third place? An explosive finish---I hope their okay." Finding a slight comfort in talking about something else, he continued, easing away from Faelan. Mercurius flicked his gaze to the fire-eating snake, smiling softly. "Septiezal, you're in second, with such a fiery performance."

Glancing at the enormous gemstone pike, the lion gulped shakily again. "Gryphon, you are the winner of the magicka competition with stunning... effects. Exploration. Congratulations." He stood suddenly and whispered into Faelan's ear: "I need to go." Without another word, he cantered off, through the nearest tunnel opening.

/exit

CONGRATS GUYS!!! Everyone had wonderful performances and those who didn't gave an admirable effort! Sorry for taking so long to post up this announcement. ;A;

@Amras @Septiezal @Rinaotei

Asimona was in the crows. She should have joined the magicka competition, now that she thought about it. She could have done a really nice ice show for everyone. She could have made a sculpture and then blown it apart or turned it into gas as quickly as possible. It would have been amazing. But, then again, everyone else had been amazing. The gryphon's show had moved and intrigued her. Mysterious and strange but oddly alluring.

But then, glowing runes appeared and a voice spoke in her head. And from the faces around her, she knew that everyone else had heard it too. She widened her eyes as her mind quickly tried to figure out what on earth the voice was saying. She shook her head, trying to figure it out, but it was slipping away.

But what were those runes? They looked...familiar? But how? They were strange and unreadable. How could she have seen them before?

But then it hit her. The crunching of the bones under her feet, the smell of a flower above the rot. She had been to Canis once before, only as a short trip. But it was in the back of her mind, the runes carved on the wall. It wasn't the same exact thing, but it looked like the same script.

She had to see. She had to be sure. Was this connected? Did someone know? She had to know!

Without a word to anyone, she turned and leaped out of the crowd, bursting into the air as soon as she was free.

*exit

"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags:
notes:

Felina was quite tired after casting her spell. She lowered her head, showing respect to the judge. She bowed out, heading for Canis. She had a small pile of bones there for a den. She left the competition, satisfied with just the chance to practice her majicka.

((Exit Felina.))

lkin-Kin felt her glow brighten, her eyes full of fear as she waited impatiently for the results. She watched the remaining performances but it was as though they were happening in a completely different world. And then, the moment came. The blow- that moment it all shattered. Her glow sputtered out, the breath leaving her in a short gasp. She gave a small nod, then wove her way through the other contestants with her head low.

Like a slinking thief, pride shattered, Kin-Kin slunk away into the crowd, and hurried away, her gead dropped low to hide the first tears she’d ever shed in her long, long life. She’d lost her title. She’d lost everything.

-exit Kin-Kin-

---

When I speak.

When I think.

@Imperia

The gryphon lay by the edges of the arena; unmoving, unblinking, his breath heavy in his chest. The hallucinations were gone, the voices ended with one final cry so powerful it almost looked like the others in the crowd had heard it too, and the pain in his body was finally mundane again.

Movement came to Amras again as the muffled sound of the judge broke the silence. He could hear them, could hear the worry in their voice. At the moment though he was too focused on the blood trailing down his left arm from the hole in his hand, from the red upon his claws and around his gem where he had apparently tried to scratch it off for some reason. His gaze shifted to the wall before him, wrought purely from his magic but shaped by a perversion of his own will. What did the symbols mean? What had overtaken him and why had it let him go?

The judgement finished and in response the gryphon's head tilted once more toward the crowd, in time to see a decent number of those present run away. He was the winner; he held the title of magical champion now. But in doing so what had he brought down upon these caves?

"I'm sorry!" he called to the judge running in fear, the dragon retreating with haste and purpose, the cat drained by the events that had transpired, the wolf slinking away in despair. He had to make things right.

The wall was his creation, like the slide surely he could topple it! Amras took a deep breath and winced as he picked himself off the ground and stood upon back two legs, even at this height overshadowed by the green and black surface. Surely like the slide he could destroy this.

...but should he? Even if it was scary, even if the glowing runes evoked a deep sense of dread, even if this spiked wall stood declaring the depths of the hallucinations he had experienced it could still be useful. Those runes; they were the same as what littered various areas of the cave. An ancient script that no one knew. Surely someone could decipher them.

Not him though. Just being in their presence was starting to make him feel nauseous again. Or perhaps that was the blood loss and the adrenaline dying down. Either way he needed to get out of here. With a deep breath Amras let what was left of his magic flow through him, raw and unfiltered. The wound on his hand began to close up, the blood stopped flowing, the tremors in his muscles began to stabilize. He would survive; he just needed to take some time away now.

"Thank you for your support. Let's all continue training so we can face whatever caused that... unpleasantness"

And with that he exited the circle, his back to the wall, walking with purpose to the nearest tunnel.

- Exit Amras -

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None