THE WILD HUNT

THE CHASE

A hush fell over Pegasus.

The usual bright trilling of the birds first fell silent, and then burst into the quiet explosive sound of a hundred wings taking flight. They fled to the treetops, to the shadows, under cover.

An eerie silence stretched on, and on... and then a chill began to fill the air. Slowly, gradually, the lights dimmed. Those passing through, during these hours, would note this strange change: something unusual, perhaps unsettling. A thick fog roiled down through the forests, and across the fields, obscuring large patches in mist that seemed to churn and move of its own accord.

At last, a figure appeared: brilliant like a galaxy lit with stars, on great wings of its own, with the flash of a stone gently rotating within itself. This landed gently, like a falling leaf, atop a rocky outcrop at the top of Pegasus' meadows; and then it watched, quiet, for a time. At last it called out, an unnatural summons reaching for those who had aided it in drawing this strange, phantasmic occurrence to the caves:

"It is time." "The Wild Hunt arrives. Aid the Quarry..." "Aid the Huntsmen! And the Hounds!" "Or allow nature to unfurl its own course, and earn our rewards."

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The darkness thickened--not so much as to be absolute, but enough to mimic the cool rush of leaves in autumn, the fog of dusk; a rain began its scattered fall. And from the mist seemed to coalesce The Quarry: a creature vague and wisplike in its shape and its dimensions. Now it was as a hare, swift on the foot; now it was a stag, wheeling for the trees. It appeared to be fleeing, uncertain; lost.

Some distance up the meadow, the Huntsmen and their Hounds came cascading through Pegasus' stone wall. The former were a host of indistinct creatures: humanoid, perhaps, or some as centaurs, some with horns or antlers, astride horses or skeletal-looking steeds or stags of their own. And before them ran the Hounds, as wolves and dogs and other things, like fog made manifest.

In a heartbeat the chase had begun, these spectral figures giving chase through the cool rain and the mist. To pass through them would leave an unearthly chill that would linger for hours, but would not harm. It would seem that physical means would not affect them, but perhaps magic might have more of a pull on such creatures, or perhaps it would not. Perhaps it was the intention that might count: would the Gembounds assist the quarry in its escape, seeking clever plans and routes of escape, as Alnilam would have them do? Or would they work to capture this fleeing treasure, and seek Alnitak's rewards? Or would they simply observe this mystical spectacle, as Mintaka would suggest?

___________

The Event The Wild Hunt - the Chase has begun! Any Gembound may join at any time.

Gembound may post here, and/or create other threads to attempt to aid the Huntsmen, the Quarry, or simply to observe the Wild Hunt. Other threads must be AW (to allow for interference attempts); however, you need only wait three days before posting if thread partners do not respond. Attempts may be GM-reported for responses. When your attempt has been made, you may post in this thread with a link back to your attempts, so that we may tally who is aiding which side.

This leg of the Wild Hunt will last two weeks. It will be confined to Pegasus, and the Quarry will not pass to other locations. Further Hunt legs will be influenced by the number of supporters for either side in the Chase.

The Three Kings' summon will specifically call upon the following characters, no matter where they are within the caves, to alert them if they wish to join:

@Hargrave @Alrik @Un Poco Loco @Sharp @Glaive @Crown @Akaari @James @Puck @Orthoclase-Alpha @Aran @Forgraves

James' head shot up, head snapping to look towards the voices. He took off at a gallop, heart beating.

"It's here!", he gasped, ears up and eyes wide.

He skid to a halt and looked up at the creature- the Three Kings. A cold descended upon Pegasus, but he felt no chill in his bones. The excitement was too great as he watched in awe, his wings slightly spread. The hunters... and their prey.

"Comet," he said, knowing she'd followed, "Choose a side. The hunters, the prey, or as a bystander watching the events unfold. Each one provides a gift, one I'm uncertain of."

He already knew what he was to do. He turned to the soft creature, unsure, working against the odds. The hardest option, certainly, but... a challenge. His eyes narrowed and he shot his wings out.

"I go to help our quarry," he said, and reared, allowing the winds to help him stand, "Good luck, daughter!"

He took off at a gallop and took flight, aiming straight for the creature, brilliant wings flaring as a plan arose in his head.

A maze. One created out of fallen logs, with the quarry at the end, with an escape route. They probably had time, but little of it. Whoever joined him could help, possibly.

MUMBER FIFFTEEN BUGER KINGH FOOF LETUCE <-- James helping out the quarry!!

Tahi-shei had been on his way to visit James when Pegasus had grown quiet, and then he was approaching the sound of voices. He'd expected to see four whole creatures, with the variety in their voices, but instead he found one bird-like thing with icy blue eyes and... four distinct voices. He tilted his head to the side at each offer, and then the promise of a reward.

Hunting...? Well, as a prey animal, Tahi-shei would not aid the huntsmen on principle. It already looked like the creature -- which had flashed staglike before his eyes, and wow did that make him feel even more weird -- was severely outnumbered by the spectral hunters. The soft voice had offered a compromise, though -- observation. He watched various creatures scatter, and declared his decision -- "I'll let the hunt run its course. There's no need to interfere; someone will win, with or without us."

Hunter had made his way through the new caves, exploring. Pegasus on its own seemed like a place his family would thrive in, with meadows and streams and... man, he couldn't wait to tell them all about his adventures thus far.

He was resting under a tree when the birds flocked, sky dimming, and the call went out, his ears pricking. Uncertain what he was hearing, or what was going on, he pulled himself to his feet and tied his hair back. He picked up his spear-- huntsman, hounds, quarry? He was not just a hunter, but Hunter... was he supposed to be involved in this?

Curious, he clutched his weapon in his hands, and began to investigate at the rain started to fall. It sounded like a big... game? He liked games! But it sounded like the game didn't have rules, and it was up to them to decide which side they were on? Bewildered, he knew he would have to find out more before he took part.

"Hey, what's all this about a hunt? Hello?" He called, tail swishing behind him as he looked through the darkness for others playing the game.

It had been sudden, James had heard a voice calling him, so of course, Comet had followed. Whoa! Who was that? It was the Three Kings of course, but she didn't know that. Her attention was drawn to the spectral chase that was happening.

Comet listened carefully to the horse explain what was happening right now and before she could ask any other questions, he had flown away. Instinct pulled at her to be part of the hunters and the hounds. She was a wolf! A hunter, and her paws started moving in the direction of helping the hunters, but she snapped out of it. No! She was not going to help them catch the quarry, that just didn't seem... right.

She knew that James was off to help the quarry, so she could go help with with that. But another part of her told her to just stay right here, and watch the events unfold. "Good luck renny, but I'm staying here. I'm not going to interfere with any of it." And so, the pup plopped herself down onto the ground to watch.

Sharp heard the call from her den in Eridanus. It was one she hadn't heard in moons. Her two children were growing, and they'd be safe among the Edenfolk, so she gently told them to stay within the town walls and was off.

The lizard travelled faster than she'd ever had before (well, maybe except for the Olympics), skidding around corners and clambering over rocks. It took her far beyond her usual bounds, through tunnels she swore weren't there before until she emerged into a vast, great meadow. The air was cool, blowing a mist with it across wildgrasses and groves. She could see the hills some distance away, and a winding river, but what really caught her eye was the star-speckled figure standing in the grassland. It stood still as leaves blew past it, as the sky above darkened with clouds and as spectral figures charged in the distance. 'The three kingies!' the childish part of her mind echoed, a sentiment from her earliest cycle. The time had finally come.

There were many other gembounds here, known and unknown, and one particular soul seemed quite lost in it all. Sharp scrambled over and helped herself onto a rock, peering up at the bipedal Hunter. "It's the hunt! The hunt!" the reptile giggled, dark eyes peering up. "I was there when they-- that funny wing-thing-- declared it. Help the prey and it helps all prey, help the hunters and it helps all hunters, or help neither and... I forgot." Man, her memory really needed some work. What was it the funny bird said...? "Oh yeah! It helps those who fail, uh, regardless of side! I'm doing that one, because it's cool. Plus there's wings or something involved." Well really it was because she was way too terrified of stampedes to take a step towards either charge, but let's just go with that.

The wind began to blow harder, and a splattering of rain drops landed on the sungazer's body. "Well, imma go find shelter. Make a choice, if you want-- bye!" And Sharp was off, scuttling away to hide underneath a rock and watch.

© ©

Sharp is addressing @Hunter in particular.

Kitty didn't like to leave Cetus. In fact, she hadn't really wanted to leave Eridanus, but following the Voidmother had seemed... easy. Good. They had Binh, who could see things that were far away, and her ability to see into the past was useful to the Voidmother. She was firmly part of their family now, and she loved it. But new caves had just opened up, and she'd heard rumors of one of them having greenery.

She had come here to see if the Voidcrawlers might like it, mostly, but now she was hearing a creature yelling about a hunt? Her ears pricked up, and she turned to look from where she was perched high up in a tree as spectral creatures began to appear. Her eyes lit up. "... I like to hunt," Kitty said lightly, and then she was racing after the quarry through the limbs of trees, letting the adrenaline catch up to her quickly due to the excitement in the air.


/exit kitty to chase the quarry and probably sabotage other threads

The sound that awoke him was silence--sudden and abrupt. Instincts brought his head up, bleary-eyed, from where it had been resting over knobbled knees. And then came the voices: fluting, distant, speaking words he did not fully understand.

The black calf emerged from beneath the edge of the forest, ears flicking, ruby eyes seeking out the source of the voice. The sudden chill left him with a brief shiver, steam breath pluming from little nostrils. Mistformed shapes swept down the hillside, and his suspicious eyes quickly heated from wary to angry. Things! Moving! HOW DARE THEY!? his instincts screamed. He was too slow to have seen the Quarry--he saw only the massive fog-shapes of the Huntsmen and their Hounds.

And so the baby bull charged out, a tiny bleat that would one day (if he were lucky enough to live so long) become a bellow announcing his attack.

Little legs carried him, fast but wobbly, toward the things charging forth--and through them, the toss of his nub-horned head catching nothing but cold mist and fog. It had been a good hit--well-calculated, perfectly-timed and yet he'd hit nothing!

"BLEEEEEEEEEH!" he bleated, in protest, and turned to charge on after them, giving chase.

Talys had been playing in the water when he'd noticed the crowd start to grow around the loudly-talking bird thing. He'd been mostly ignoring them before, but now the chubby, dark-skinned toddler was wandering over to watch the goings-on, his tail wrapping nervously around his wrist as he saw the gathered crowd. Wanting to feel less left out, he dropped into a sort of crouching position with his hands to stabilize him, much like Spider-Man perched on a rooftop. He adjusted the knot on the cloth tied around his waist and listened, the lizard in particular catching his attention.

She was cute! And also said that helping the prey would help all the prey? Talys didn't know what that meant, really, but he saw it kind of look like a rabbit for a second. His tail waved behind him, and he considered what he might do. He hunted things sometimes, but mostly he picked plants with the other non-hunting things. Hurting them would reduce competition, of course, but he didn't really want to see anyone getting hurt and so he lurched forward and began to run in a stumbling sort of way after the quarry and the pegasus, just to try and help out.

/exit talys to help james and the quarry!

Cave exploration had been... interesting, so far. Cetus had been grim, and he'd not lingered there; the lights of Polaris had held him in awe, for a time. Eridanus' greenery had kept him captivated, if wholly overwhelmed by thick foliage and loud birdsong. And from what he understood, these new regions had just unfurled themselves to new visitors: prior, they had, apparently, been long blocked away.

He was pacing slowly through the meadows, dapple gray glinting in the orb-light, when the hush had fallen. Every Hydra-honed instinct had screamed at him to run, and so he had--fleeing he knew not where, back where he'd come, as if to leave the cave altogether. Terror had spiked in him--what was this? Darkness falling was a nightmare of his, now.

But it did not fall completely; only a dimming, a rain, and he felt foolish. Of course-... Hydra has no rain, he'd chided himself. He was slowing to a trot, looking back upfield with nostrils flared, when the Three Kings appeared and began to speak. Warrior was wary, but fascinated; but what did it mean-? Was this some strange lunatic, spouting nonsense, or-

-Oh. Oh. There came the mist-prey, streaking downfield. The fog-hunters, giving chase. He saw now the shapes of others in the distance, moving through the murk--he could hear their muffled voices. He picked back up into a trot, hooves thumping the grass below, and when he spotted another shaped somewhat like him he angled for him. He could hear, too, words about mazes, and prey--uncertain, he followed, hoping to ask his questions... and perhaps to help.

Exit Warrior to wherever James goes; he will most likely help the quarry!