Slowly, the birds and insects of Cetus fell quiet. The buzzing of dragonflies and the haunting calls of the Hallowed Callers were regular background noise to the swamp--but were now suddenly remarkable, if only for their absence.

The silence stretched.

The mist seemed empty, yet tense, as if the cave itself waited... but for what?

And then it began: a rustling of leaves from somewhere deep within the swamp's forests, a rustling that spread outward, and with it a strange sound like a whisper in the trees, its words just out of earshot in the fog.

The whisper grew, gradually, into a wail. The forest itself seemed to be crying out in pain--perhaps crying out for aid.

This quest is intended for the Children of Rot, though others who frequent Cetus, or those interested in joining the group, are welcome to post.

@Aithaxas @Dragon @Eve @Layla @Ghanyarah @Septiezal @Serek @Sizzle

Death be my dignityExecute hemlock philosophyPoison fills the cup of the carpenter

Naja slept.

But the quiet woke him. He raised his head from his coils, blinking in the way of a snake. His tongue darted out to taste the air - the dragon flies and Haunted Callers were still there, but he could no longer hear them.

Unfurling himself, he began to slither along through the swamp, attempting to locate the origin of that odd rustling and whispering, although, eventually, it was quick to grow into a scream.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Cecei flew through Cetus slowly, she didn't flow through here often, but it was an interesting place and she liked to explore however something caught her off guard that made her stop. whisper that was only barely audible. It was strange, she had heard nothing like it before. Cautiously, Cecei flew closer. That only made her more concerned however. The closer she got, the louder the whispering got until eventually it became a loud ear piercing scream. What's going on here? Cecei looked around slowly as she followed the sound until she saw a snake. Cecei quickly flew towards it and placed herself a few feet away from it. She flew gently in the air and spoke softly.

"Hello, my name is Cecei, do you have any idea what's happening here?"

She watched the snake closely ready to move at any moment's notice in case she had to.

Speech Here
Thoughts Here
@Naja

Sizzle blinked, unfurling.

The remnants of a Chrysalis sat around her, and she stretched up to look around.

Where was she?

After a moment, she figured out where she was. This was Cetus, wasn't it? But it seemed very different. There was no Hallowed Callers, nor bugs or other creatures crying out. Instead, the air rung with an awful wailing.

And, oh, that hurt her ears. She had to find whatever was hurt and help it. So she made her way through the trees, until she found a fellow snake, and a bird. Dangling the front half of her body, she asked, "Do either of you know what's going on?"

@Cecei

The bird shook herself, ruffling her feathers. Life came to her slowly, and she had to look around. Last she remembered was... Dragon. Where was he? He was her friend, at least in her mind. One of the only Gembounds she knew.

But he wasn't there.

What was there, however, was an awful wailing. So she spread her wings, and took to the sky, following the sound. When she spotted the snakes and bird, folding her wings to her side, she dove until she was able to observe them, clinging to a branch.

Speech. Thought.

The alligator was drifting along in the black waters of the Heart when all went still. When the rustling began, and the whispers reached his ears, he stopped his slow swimming to listen.

For a long moment, the huge, dark reptile merely floated in the dark, the mists slipping past him as the wailing filled the air. Then, he lifted his head from the water, and bellowed.

"AQUARIAN, WHAT IS THIS? FATHER? WHAT IS THIS?" When no answer was immediately forthcoming, the alligator summoned up his magicka. A pair of black and red wings burst from his hide in a tangle of shadowy aura, and grimly ethereal horns seemed to appear, twisting back from his head and jaws. With an explosion of water the alligator lifted straight out of the lake, vertically hover-flying off toward the forest.

As he flew, he bellowed some more. "WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? The stone was singing, and now the trees are screaming?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"

Dragon flew on, hanging somewhat limply from the powerfully-beating magical wings, twisting his head to scour the land below. He rather quickly spotted the gathering of Gembound below, and lowered himself down, calling to them. "You! You are one of ours. What is this!? We must find the source! --Do you know the source?"

At first, the forest was deathly quiet. Septiezal remembered this quiet, and the terror that followed. Last time it grew this quiet, he was viciously torn apart by two deranged faceless monsters he only remembers by the sheer agony and emotional distress they brought to him. Visions of the shattered memory flashed in his head like a warning and the mutated serpent wasted no time in fleeing up a tree, faster than his old form could have done.

Coiled tightly around its branches, he waited, tense and frozen, for the threat to pass. There was something stirring in the forest. Septiezal nervously dug his talons into the wood as the mist past through him. He only hoped hoped Nox was somewhere safe and for this to pass quickly.

Suddenly, the forest cried out in agony in a discordant chorus that chilled him to the bone.

Septiezal covered his head with his claws, wincing in heart-pounding fear. "No-no-no-no-no!" He whimpered."Make it stop! Make it stop!

The realization struck him like a sharp rock. They found me! Not safe!The two beasts would climb up the tree and tear him apart at any moment! Septiezal lunged out of the tree, battering its limbs. He did not care if all of Cetus heard, the only thing on his mind was escape.

For a moment, golden aura surrounded Septiezal as he lunged out of his hiding spot, but it fizzled out and the serpent hit the ground with a thud in a tumble of coils. This did not slow him down however, as he was quick to untangle and slither away. Since emerging from the chrysalis, he was faster and stronger than ever before, but not as stealthy. Septiezal nosily raced through Cetus' undergrowth, shaking shrubs and small trees as his coils slammed against them. Blinded by fear, he barreled straight towards the group of gembounds like a slithering battering ram.

"speak"

As the gembound gathered, the haunted wailing began to shift. A wind blew through the trees, roughly rustling their leaves, and it was as if the cries were undulating: waves of shivering sound, over and over, from one tree to the next in ever-expanding rings.

Were one to follow the cries of the trees toward the epicenter, their path would take them into the dark heart of the forest.

@Naja @Cecei @Sizzle @Hera @Septiezal

They had been gone for too many cycles. He had been alone, so alone. Nobody there. He had come for a family. All he got was loneliness. The hybrid crouched as well as a beast could crouch in the bushes near the gathering of gembounds. Were the children returning? He saw Dragon and the snake that had abandoned him and the other snake that looked different. He saw newcomers, strangers, intruders.

He ignored the sounds of the wailing and instead focused on the remnants of the Children of Rot. At this point he could care less about what the screaming forest had to say. He could care less about Aquarion or whoever. The serpent's appearance was barely a distant memory. He was angry - angry at Dragon for leaving him alone after he had loyally followed him here. He was angry at Sizzle for abandoning him on their mission. He was angry at the newcomers for daring to intrude on the Children of Rot. And he was angry at the Children for leaving him alone.

Whatever happened, he would simply follow and figure out what to do - right now, he had no idea what would happen and he was not one to start the confrontation.

@Dragon @Sizzle @Septiezal @Hera @Naja @Ceicei

Hera raised her head, tilting it from side to side. That voice - she knew that voice!

And before long, Dragon showed his face. She couldn't help but to laugh at the sight of him, hovering in the air. He had wings - he could fly! Just as he had always wanted to!

"Dragon!" she cried excitedly, spreading her wings and taking to the air. Folding her wings, she plummeted, landing on the gator's back. "It's been too long!" she gasped.

However, he was quick to explain why he was there, and she perked up excitedly. "Oh! My hearing is good, I could lead you to the source?" she offered.

And then something was barreling towards them. Not knowing what it was, she flared her wings, preparing to fight if it was needed.

@Dragon

Speech. Thought.