The North Sea

[+Sorana]

1 hour ago, Badadah said:

Araha looked back at her. "I'm as confused as you are."

@Sorana

Damaya laughed.

"And what do we do now?"

 

[+Ark1002]

"I think the gods wrath is on us, the sky is falling, and Voidus is going to pull loose the worldspike. Yes, I'm sure there is no other explanation." She smiled at Damaya, laughing slightly.

[xinoehp512]

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Okay, so I want to make a plot for this thread. If anyone's interested, discussion will (hopefully) happen in the the other side of the world discussion topic. Shadowbirds are in one of my info posts, if you want to know what those are.

Here goes.

A dark-skinned man stood on a raft watching the approaching island. He smiled. It wasn't a cheerful smile.

~~~~~

Nogard looked up. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. He looked off into the distance, trying to figure out what it was.

Suddenly he noticed a shadow on the horizon. He squinted to try and make it out. As it moved closer, he realized what it was. His eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards. He raised his voice in terror, calling out to the rest of the island the dire warning:

"Shadowbirds!"

@Badadah, @Sorana, @Archer, @AxeliustheGrizzled,  @Karnatheon, @Callsign: Leviathan, @Dr. Jacques Rodriguez

Edited November 25, 2018 by xinoehp512

[Sherlock Holmes]

Wereci, high up in the sky, banked sharply to face this new enemy.

[xinoehp512]

Nogard ran across the shore of the island, mentally calling out to Kodeka. He received a response almost immediately.

I am coming. 

The island sounded terrified. Nogard remembered what had happened last time. They'd gotten lucky, thankfully. It might not be too much to hope that the same thing would happen this time. They weren't that far from the mountains, after all.

As he ran, he nabbed a fruit from one of the trees and started chewing on it. He needed all the Stormlight he could get. Speaking of which...

He reached out to the island, mentally. Kodeka's Investiture stores had been replenished in the Alleycanes, but that would only get him so far. Another island- especially one this big- would give him far more power. And he needed all the power he could get.

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How much are your characters involved in this island, Axelius?

@AxeliustheGrizzled

[Silva]

"You know what?" I whisper in Mejin's ear so only she can hear. "This is not a good place to settle. It's too interesting. Maybe head north - it's calmer there." 

I wander off and hope I didn't just destroy my creations sanity.

---

Mejin tapped Twig's shoulder. 

"What?" he asked.

"Can we go farther north? I don't like it here," she told him.

"Soon as my other men come back from dropping off your friend we can. I don't want to make them think I've abandoned them," Twig said and looked out to the ocean.

"Sounds good," Mejin said and wandered back across the deck, thinking about the voice she'd heard. She dismissed it as intuition and hoped it was correct.

[Karnatheon]

The man walked. He had never been on an island before. Or in a jungle. Let alone a jungle-island, although watching treasure island and others movies as a child had always made him want to go to one. It was slow going of course, he would occasionally need to clear a path with his sword to continue. He enjoyed the manual labor, as it gave him a specific goal to work towards.

The wildlife of the island was very diverse. He had already seen many animals he didn't want to even attempt to describe in this post. They were magnificent though. He was just passing a large colorful bird twice his own size when he heard something, a voice, impossibly carrying across the entire island a message.

"Shadowbirds!"

The man paused, as the creature next to him ran off, frightened. The man couldn't recall what a Shadowbird was, but given the nature of the yell, they probably weren't good. The man pulled out his phone, and navigated his way to The Other Side of the World discussion thread to try and figure out what they were. 

Now knowing a little more about the situation, the man put his phone away and looked around him. The man walked around, trying to find a way to get a better view of the area. Not finding anything, he walked over to a small tree, and grabbing onto it firmly, willed it to grow. The tree quickly grew to a height of a hindred feet, which was more than adequate to see the surrounding area. 

He still had no idea what the mime had pointed him towards, as he didn't see anything in that direction that seemed important. Realising he should probably try to speed up, since he didn't really know if Shadowbirds were dangerous to humans or not, he wrote that he was as far forward as he could see, and there he was. 

It seemed like the foliage wasn't as thick here, which was a nice change. He continued walking, trying to push hinself to move faster. Hopefully he would get wherever he was headed before he needed to be there.

[Archer]

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Hmm. If I got pinged, does that mean I heard the warning? Probably. 

The hair on the back on Klasten's neck rose. He got the distinctive sense that he was in serious danger. Then he heard that terrible warning. "Shadowbirds!"

Reacting quickly, Klasten reached into his bag for a weapon. He needed something, anything to defend himself. Rummaging around, the first thing he grabbed was a small jar of perfume. To be safe, he checked the label before applying it.

‘Animals Hate Him’ Perfume. Made from the finest bottled swe- Klasten tossed the jar overboard. I'm definitely not using that, he thought to himself.

The next thing he found was a laminated pamphlet acknowledging The Player Is the Most Important Resource. We've already got a thread for that, he decided.

Finally, he came across a bucket of sand that looked like it would be good for throwing in an enemy's eyes, or could be used to knock someone out from behind with a single blow. Unable to make his usual pre-battle speech, Klasten defiantly brandished his weapon and looked around for birds to fight.  

[Gancho Libre]

Riathor frowned. Shadowbirds? What-

Shadows flitted towards them. Obviously not a good sign.

He flared Pewter.

[xinoehp512]

Nogard thought he felt the island turn a mental eye to him, but he didn't get anything yet. He spoke on his link with Kodeka. Are you ready?

The island responded, determined. Ready.

Nogard pulled on the link. Investiture flowed into him. He raised his hand and shot a burst of fire at the birds.

[Archer]

The birds circled menacingly. Unexpectedly, one of them was roasted with a column of fire. For a moment, it looked eerily similar to a phoenix. Then it was gone. 

Caca! Caca! The lead bird commanded. Luckily, the birds didn't speak that language, so their victim got off easy. Instead, the flock of birds merely dive-bombed them.

Meanwhile, Klo was getting ready to fight. He was doing a fancy boxing shuffle he'd seen his uncle do once, and had a bucket of sand ready to throw at any birds that came close enough. But they all seemed to be focusing elsewhere. "C'mon, guys!" Klo shouted. "What about me? I've got sand!"

Klo sighed. I'll have to go to them then, he decided. With that, he eyeballed the distance to where the swarm was attacking, inputted it into a spare Tia card, and teleported away. 

[Gancho Libre]

Riathor frowned, then turned away from the birds. That voice...

'Riathor...'

He knew that voice.

The birds descended, but Riathor paid them no mind. Flaring Pewter, he punched on in the face, then dropped a coin and launched away, inland.

Towards the center of the island.

[xinoehp512]

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Some things to note about the shadowbirds.

1. They're a hive mind, so they don't mind losing individual members. Losing the lead bird would be bad, but it's hard to tell which one that is.

2. They want to find the island's gemheart- which has to be open to the surface -so they can suck out the spren inside. That's what they eat. If they do that, then the whole island will sink.

3. There are a lot of them.

 

[Karnatheon]

The man walked up onto the top of a hill. He had been walking for quite a long time, longer than he thought he could normally. Perhaps the fact that his body was made out of code and molded by words prevented him from tiring as easily. He would need to test that out at some point. As he crested the hill he saw what he assumed had been his destination. 

A large swarm of birds were attacking a small group of people. Based off the description he had read earlier, these must be Shadowbirds. They were indeed quite large, at least compared to any birds he had ever seen back home. Looking down at his sword, and back up at the birds, he realized it wouldn't be very useful. He would need a different weapon.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his fake steampunk laser pistol, and ran towards the flock. It seemed as though a couple of the birds had already been beaten off, but the flock was still massive. He took his gun, and forcing it to change, started firing blasts into the group of Shadowbirds. 

He took out a few of them before they realized he was there, and a group dived towards him. He quickly fired shots into them as they got closer and closer, but he couldn't get them all. Suddenly they were on him. He tried to pull his coat up over his face before they could scratch and peck at it, but wasn't wholly successful in that. The sting felt quite real, and he wondered if the damage would last if he didn't repair it. 

He ducked down under the weight of the birds before he was hurt too badly and then rolled away, before jumping back to his feet and blasting into them. Suddenly his gun stopped firing, and he realised he hadn't focused on it enough so the change had worn off. Even in this place it seemed objects wished to remain themselves. Stuffing his gun back in his pocket he began running away from the birds, trying to figure out a way to take them down.

[Archer]

Klo landed awkwardly atop a small sand pile. He spilled his bucket, losing his only weapon. But he didn't have time to grab it again, because seconds after he landed, an angry looking bird swooped over him, shrieking unapologetically. As Klo fled from it, he caught sight of a man holstering a pistol a few hundred paces to the left of him. Klo dodged a slash from the bird, then altered his course to intercept the man. 

Safety in numbers, right? Or, if he's a slow runner, he'll make a good distraction. 

As he scrambled over the unforgiving terrain, he suddenly began to experience a feeling. He briefly wondered why, but was too busy running to give it much thought. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Ookla the Paragon

[xinoehp512]

Nogard fired a few more bursts of fire while he ran down the shore. Suddenly he felt the supply of Investiture from Kodeka cut out. He called out the the island mentally.

Sorry. Kodeka sounded strained. Couldn't get past the birds. Going to get out of the way.

Nogard sighed. Luckily, a few of the other people on the island had taken it upon themselves to defend against the threat. Nogard couldn't help but admire their bravery; although the birds wouldn't be able to suck out their souls like they would an island, they still had claws. And there were a lot of them.

 As he watched the battle, he felt something... off. It took him a moment to figure out what it was. Why aren't they going for the gemheart? That's what they're here for.

He snatched a fruit from one of the trees and munched on it, slowing to a jog and trying to figure it out.

Suddenly, a shape burst out of the jungle towards the bird. It looked like some sort of lion, to Nogard.

[Gancho Libre]

Riathor flew inland, higher and higher as he flew. Soon, he was high enough to see the entire island beneath him.

He nudged himself to the side and fell. Directly towards the center of the island.

'Riathor...'

He landed. Hard. Pewter stopped his bones from caving in, but there was plenty of internal damage.

It all left as Riathor inhaled Stormlight.

He was in a small clearing on the island, surrounded by foliage. He looked around. Distantly, he heard the sound of battle.

Nothing mattered to him except for that quiet voice.

'Riathor...'

the voice he knew. The voiced he craved.

His spren.

[xinoehp512]

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The shadowbirds that are fighting all of you right now are a distraction. A few birds have gone inland to try and find the location of the gemheart, and when they find it, all the other birds will swarm it. In the meantime they're fighting you. The people that know what shadowbirds are think that the birds are just attacking you to eliminate obstructions. The reason they are doing this (which is not normal) is because somebody is trying to attract an Alleycane.

The dark skinned strange stepped onto the shore in a secluded inlet. He took a knee and felt the ground, sending out a mental pulse.

Are you ready?

The island responded.

Yes.

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Axelius, how long have your characters been on the island?

@Ookla the Ring, @Ookla the Paragon, @Ookla the Libre, @Ookla the Grizzled

Edited November 28, 2018 by Ookla the Phoenix

[Gancho Libre]

Riathor knelt to the ground. His spren.

He could only guess where it had come from. Years ago, he had lost his shardblade.

A couple months afterward, the shardblade's spren had visited.

Then had disappeared.

'Riathor...'

"What?" Riathor whispered. "Where are you?"

'Underneath, Riathor. "There is a small cavern underneath the surface. Come find me...'

Her voice was growing louder, more stable.

Riathor looked around for an opening, but there was none.

'Riathor...'

"I can't get in," Riathor said aloud. "How do I find you?"

'Summon... Summon your Blade,'

Riathor's eyes widened but obediently reached out his arm.

A beautiful large blade condensed into his hand.

Riathor stared at it.

'Riathor...'

Riathor nodded, then stood up. He hefted the blade, and tears glistened in his eyes.

Then, he cut four strokes into the earth and opened a hole down into a cavern.

He trusted Pewter to keep his bones strong as he jumped down, falling almost twenty feet to the cavern floor.

"Where are you?" Riathor asked, his voice echoing.

'I'm right here, Riathor,'

Riathor turned towards the voice. A single Windspren floated in the air.

Tears began streaming down Riathor's face. "You... you're back..."

He glanced at his shardblade. "Aren't you the blade?"

The spren shook her head. 'I was never the blade, Riathor. I came once you had lost it. But somehow, I sensed it was close to you...'

Riathor frowned. "How? How did it come back?"

'Connection is a strange thing, on this side of the world...'

Riathor stared at the spren, then back at the Blade. Eyes glinting with determination, he tossed the blade aside. It clanked against the cavern floor, disintegrating into mist.

"I want you back," Riathor whispered. "Where did you go?"

The spren smiled sadly. 'Times were changing. The laws of this place have changed. It is not a simple thing for me to bond a Mistborn,'

"Why not?" Riathor demanded. "You promised me you would never leave!"

'There are... oaths set in place for the alleys. On this side of the world, the Barrier... is thin, Riathor. I can... see into another place. And they cannot let me bond you, for fear of you growing too powerful,' The spren seemed to be crying as well. 'There is no way past it,'

Riathor looked up, and though he saw... a shimmer. A mirror into another world, it was gone in an instant. 

"I can't live like this any more," Riathor said defiantly. "I'm tired of being only a piece of myself,"

The spren cocked her head. 'There is no way around it, Riathor. We can never bond. Perhaps it is for the best,'

Riathor glanced upwards. The window into the other world seemed to be open again, and Riathor could glance through.

Information flooded his mind.

And there was a way.

"Are you willing," Riathor asked the spren, "To wait until these 'laws' change once more?"

The spren frowned. 'That could be hundreds of years, at most-'

"There is a way past it," Riathor insisted. "Are you willing to trust me?"

The spren paused, then nodded, streaking towards Riathor.

In an instant, Riathor had seen the laws of the Alleys. One who was involved could not be powerful, unless there was a powerful enough enemy.

Riathor did not know of such a being, but Riathor was content to wait.

He held his upwards, and the spren flew over to stand on it. Riathor smiled, then burned Cadmium. A buble of slowed down time surrounded the two of them.

If Riathor couldn't bond his spren, he would wait until he could.

[Karnatheon]

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That was beautiful

 

[+Sorana]

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I just realized I missed the notification with the Shadowbirds...sry... and I have no idea where my character is in relation to the rest.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

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Oh, my characters have been here for six months or so. Dusk has, needless to say, charmed every lady in the vicinity of two hundred miles.

 

[xinoehp512]

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Anything that stays on an island for an extended period time will eventually become part of the islands Spiritual Web.

Also, where can I find other places you mention these characters? They seem pretty well established, and I would like to hear backstory.

EDIT: By the way, Riathor, do you want me to move your character when things get crazy on the island? There's a definite chance the whole thing could sink. Also, cadmium only compresses time by a factor of 8, so if it is hundreds of years...

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Ookla the Phoenix

[Gancho Libre]

13 hours ago, Ookla the Phoenix said:

EDIT: By the way, Riathor, do you want me to move your character when things get crazy on the island? There's a definite chance the whole thing could sink. Also, cadmium only compresses time by a factor of 8, so if it is hundreds of years...

1

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If the island really is going to sink, that would be much appreciated.

Yeah, I know. Riathor hasn't used Cadmium much, and doesn't really know much about it. 

Thanks guys!

 

[xinoehp512]

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There are places where you can get time compression that's millions of times slower. Do you want to get moved there?