The Knights Next Door

[AonEne]

Cassie waved at the door from behind Shana. "Hi! Does Silk call themself a spren?" Her voice was cheery, holding no hint of the bone-deep tiredness that had struck her on learning that yet another teenager had shown up. She needed to get ahold of Shana and Rob and interrogate them.

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There's a poll at the top of the thread, to vote if you care about RoW spoilers being on the thread or not.

 

[overlord stick]

On 1/4/2021 at 2:29 PM, AonEne said:

"That was the Cognitive Realm - like another dimension where everything is a mind, a little bit? Sorry, I didn't want you to get tackled." 

"... The what now? Geez, what is this? Some kind of fantasy novel?"

She sighed, and only now noticed the other people there, first turning to Shana.

"Oh, we've haven't met yet, huh? Thanks for the offer of cake, I'll probably take you up on that offer!"

Lissa said it jokingly, trying to put on a smile.

"My name's Lissa."

@Sorana

[AonEne]

4 hours ago, Ookla the Stick said:

"... The what now? Geez, what is this? Some kind of fantasy novel?"

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Who needs timelines pfff, everyone is always talking to everyone else in the Spiritual Realm! 

"Yeah, some days it feels like that," Cassie mumbled, rubbing a hand over her eyes. 

[+Sorana]

On 6.1.2021 at 3:35 PM, Ookla the Stick said:

"... The what now? Geez, what is this? Some kind of fantasy novel?"

She sighed, and only now noticed the other people there, first turning to Shana.

"Oh, we've haven't met yet, huh? Thanks for the offer of cake, I'll probably take you up on that offer!"

Lissa said it jokingly, trying to put on a smile.

"My name's Lissa."

@Sorana

"I'm glad to meet you." Shana smiled at her and gestured towards the kitchen. "There's always some in the fridge."

"We've got an -" She stopped herself, "a friend of ours loves making cake." That had to be enough for now. Better not to mention the whole radiant topic before she knew what Lissa knew. "Do you also go to school nearby?" She asked instead mostly to say something, wondering why she was the one getting the new people. She was way better with fighting the evil ones,  than with polite conversation.

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I'm so sorry for letting you wait -.-

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Sorana

[AonEne]

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Don't worry about it  

Taken, you want to reply to Cassie? 

 

[LukeWasTaken]

On 1/21/2021 at 3:04 PM, AonEne said:

Taken, you want to reply to Cassie? 

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Sorry, Didn't see it

On 1/5/2021 at 8:39 PM, AonEne said:

Cassie waved at the door from behind Shana. "Hi! Does Silk call themself a spren?" Her voice was cheery, holding no hint of the bone-deep tiredness that had struck her on learning that yet another teenager had shown up. She needed to get ahold of Shana and Rob and interrogate them.

 

Luke hesitated, "Umm..." He glanced at Silk who gave him a nod. "Yeah. Can I come in?"

Edited January 24, 2021 by HoidWasTaken

[Wyndlerunner]

James remained undeterred by the arrival of the newcomer. What exactly had he just done? He'd always figured Bondsmiths must be weird, after all, there were only ever three of them. James stood up, pushing his questions to the back of his mind for now. He had other roles to fulfill, the roles of whatever it was he was becoming. I think I understand he thought, I think I know why it is I was supposed to come here. I always just thought it was redundant that there were two Bondsmiths running one enclave. James walked out of the noisy entryway, and headed to his room. He needed the quiet for a bit. Doc can't be around forever, nor can this house feasibly fit many more people. I need to become a leader. I need to figure out my powers.

James sat at his desk, and pulled out a notepad, and began to write: 

Bondsmith Abilities:

Reuniting?: The shards of the door were able to be repaired and brought back into a whole thanks to the use of Light, and some physical maneuvering. I wonder if this could possibly be related to the Spiritual Realm the Nightwatcher told me about. I think this might be possible on a grander scale as well. I'll need to conduct some tests....

James continued to write, feverishly, a man possessed by a singular purpose, a man who sought pure knowledge and understanding. I can't shake this feeling in my gut that something bad is coming. I need to be prepared he thought grimly, as he continued his work.  

[I think I am here.]

3 hours ago, Wyndlerunner said:

James continued to write, feverishly, a man possessed by a singular purpose, a man who sought pure knowledge and understanding. I can't shake this feeling in my gut that something bad is coming. I need to be prepared he thought grimly, as he continued his work.  

Like clockwork, everybody resumed their current roles when the person who’d broken through the door left. Rob watched from the railing as James fixed the door, the pieces magically assembling themselves into place. Rob didn’t find himself as excited as he’d usually be. Instead the new ability was simply a fact of life, a stage in the never-ending loop that was the war.

They all organised into pairs. Shana with a newcomer, and Cassie with another one. Only James remained, though he went to his room soon after. Hesitating for a moment, Rob followed him. When he approached James’ room he knocked once on the door, hoped it could be heard.

“James?”

[overlord stick]

On 1/21/2021 at 8:33 AM, Sorana said:

"I'm glad to meet you." Shana smiled at her and gestured towards the kitchen. "There's always some in the fridge."

"We've got an -" She stopped herself, "a friend of ours loves making cake." That had to be enough for now. Better not to mention the whole radiant topic before she knew what Lissa knew. "Do you also go to school nearby?" She asked instead mostly to say something, wondering why she was the one getting the new people. She was way better with fighting the evil ones,  than with polite conversation.

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Don't worry about it! I'm a bit slow with responses as well.

"Er-"

Lissa looked away, biting her lip.

"No, I don't. I'm not exactly from around here, in all honesty."

What was she supposed to say here? That she'd ran away? That could give the wrong impression, and she didn't want to dampen the mood either.

[AonEne]

On 1/21/2021 at 6:42 PM, HoidWasTaken said:

Luke hesitated, "Umm..." He glanced at Silk who gave him a nod. "Yeah. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure. We've got beds if you need one, food and stuff if you're heading back out again. And we can tell you about what's going on and how to use your powers, of course." She smiled at him, waving to the kitchen, then a side room. "We're what's known as Radiants; basically we bond with spren like your Silk and then get magical powers. I know, very book-y." 

[LukeWasTaken]

8 hours ago, AonEne said:

"Yeah, sure. We've got beds if you need one, food and stuff if you're heading back out again. And we can tell you about what's going on and how to use your powers, of course." She smiled at him, waving to the kitchen, then a side room. "We're what's known as Radiants; basically we bond with spren like your Silk and then get magical powers. I know, very book-y." 

Luke furrowed his brow, book-y? doesn't sound like a very interesting book- especially if I am involved. Regardless, Luke stepped inside the house and followed... "Pardon, but what is your name?" Luke paused, "and... magical powers?"

[AonEne]

8 minutes ago, HoidWasTaken said:

Luke furrowed his brow, book-y? doesn't sound like a very interesting book- especially if I am involved. Regardless, Luke stepped inside the house and followed... "Pardon, but what is your name?" Luke paused, "and... magical powers?"

"Oh! I'm Cassie." She grinned at him and sank her hand into the wall, pulling out a smushed handful of wall plaster, then shoved it back in with a small wince. Bad idea. We'll have to repaint. "And yup, actual magic."

[LukeWasTaken]

57 minutes ago, AonEne said:

"Oh! I'm Cassie." She grinned at him and sank her hand into the wall, pulling out a smushed handful of wall plaster, then shoved it back in with a small wince. Bad idea. We'll have to repaint. "And yup, actual magic."

"Um..." Luke started, "I think you need to repaint that- but that is besides the point. Can I do that? And repair walls like that one guy did earlier? Also, I could have sworn that I saw people start disappearing when that one guy broke down said wall." 

[AonEne]

1 hour ago, HoidWasTaken said:

"Um..." Luke started, "I think you need to repaint that- but that is besides the point. Can I do that? And repair walls like that one guy did earlier? Also, I could have sworn that I saw people start disappearing when that one guy broke down said wall." 

"That would be Transportation. Teleporting, basically. I freaked out, that's my bad." She grimaced at Lissa in apology, though the girl was still talking to Shana. "As for what you can do - what does the spren you're seeing look like? Could I see them or are they invisible?"

[LukeWasTaken]

"Oh, Um..." Luke glanced at Silk, who was currently on his shoulder. He didn't seem invisible (As far as I could tell) but he was very very tiny. "Silk, Could you um..." Silk hopped off his shoulder, growing in size as he did until he a couple inches taller than Luke himself. He appeared to be a man in his thirties with angular features- his body looked like it was covered in a thin, black oil. Luke thought for a moment, then asked, "So, does that mean spren can look different?"
 

Spoiler

@AonEne oops forgot to quote

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by HoidWasTaken

[Wyndlerunner]

On 1/22/2021 at 2:32 AM, I think I am here. said:

Like clockwork, everybody resumed their current roles when the person who’d broken through the door left. Rob watched from the railing as James fixed the door, the pieces magically assembling themselves into place. Rob didn’t find himself as excited as he’d usually be. Instead the new ability was simply a fact of life, a stage in the never-ending loop that was the war.

They all organised into pairs. Shana with a newcomer, and Cassie with another one. Only James remained, though he went to his room soon after. Hesitating for a moment, Rob followed him. When he approached James’ room he knocked once on the door, hoped it could be heard.

“James?”

James was brought back from his near trancelike state by the sound of Rob knocking on his door, "Just a sec!" he called out, as he stood up from his desk, and tucked his chair in. He walked to the door and opened it, somewhat tentatively. "Hey Rob, what can I do for you?" he asked, genuinely curious. The stoic boy had never come to him for emotional support in the same way Shana had, nor were they particularly close friends, like he was with Cassie and Ben. 

[AonEne]

1 minute ago, HoidWasTaken said:

"Oh, Um..." Luke glanced at Silk, who was currently on his shoulder. He didn't seem invisible (As far as I could tell) but he was very very tiny. "Silk, Could you um..." Silk hopped off his shoulder, growing in size as he did until he a couple inches taller than Luke himself. He appeared to be a man in his thirties with angular features- his body looked like it was covered in a thin, black oil. Luke thought for a moment, then asked, "So, does that mean spren can look different?"

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All good, I follow the thread, so you don't have to

Cassie nodded absently as she watched Silk grow. "There are ten types of spren, and ten orders of Knights Radiant. Your friend here is an inkspren, meaning you're an Elsecaller. You can shift yourself into another Realm, teleporting, and can Soulcast stuff - turning it from one thing into another."

[LukeWasTaken]

Just now, AonEne said:

Cassie nodded absently as she watched Silk grow. "There are ten types of spren, and ten orders of Knights Radiant. Your friend here is an inkspren, meaning you're an Elsecaller. You can shift yourself into another Realm, teleporting, and can Soulcast stuff - turning it from one thing into another."

Luke considered this, "Um, so, Elsecaller. What does that make you?"

[AonEne]

6 minutes ago, HoidWasTaken said:

Luke considered this, "Um, so, Elsecaller. What does that make you?"

"Willshaper. Transportation and Cohesion are my Surges - that last one lets me do what you just saw, softening the axial whatevers, I didn't pay attention to the science essays." She thought for a moment. "Oh, there's the catch, you gotta swear oaths based on your order - you'll know them when you're ready - and if you break one, you murder your spren and lose your powers. Smart people don't do that." Her lips were pressed flat against each other, holding in the self-hatred.

[LukeWasTaken]

8 minutes ago, AonEne said:

"Willshaper. Transportation and Cohesion are my Surges - that last one lets me do what you just saw, softening the axial whatevers, I didn't pay attention to the science essays." She thought for a moment. "Oh, there's the catch, you gotta swear oaths based on your order - you'll know them when you're ready - and if you break one, you murder your spren and lose your powers. Smart people don't do that." Her lips were pressed flat against each other, holding in the self-hatred.

"Um, is there a place I can sit down? Someplace quiet?"

[I think I am here.]

2 hours ago, Wyndlerunner said:

James was brought back from his near trancelike state by the sound of Rob knocking on his door, "Just a sec!" he called out, as he stood up from his desk, and tucked his chair in. He walked to the door and opened it, somewhat tentatively. "Hey Rob, what can I do for you?" he asked, genuinely curious. The stoic boy had never come to him for emotional support in the same way Shana had, nor were they particularly close friends, like he was with Cassie and Ben. 

After a moment James opened the door, and Rob felt immediately guilty for disturbing him. Maybe he shouldn’t have come here. After all, James wasn’t a stranger, but that didn’t mean he and Rob interacted much. Still, he was the only real Bondsmith other than Doc, and Rob supposed after the office break-in Doc wouldn’t be too inclined to talk to him.

He kept his expression still through all of this, not letting even a single second of emotion through, as he sometimes did with Shana.

“Sorry for the disturbance. I... wanted to get your opinion on something.”

Fishing a hand into his pocket, he paused for a moment, before going through with it and bringing out the odd sphere that he’d recovered from one of the lead Voidbringers, the one that seemed to whisper to him. He held it up to James.

“It’s... weird. And seems to react to my emotions.” He shrugged. “I thought maybe with you being a Bondsmith, you might know what it is.”

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This dark sphere has got no relation to the weird one Szeth has (I haven’t completed RoW yet so I don’t even know what that one is ), this one Rob has is just a narrative tool to make him a Voidbringer. I think Xino said it’d have a spren inside influencing Rob’s thoughts?

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by I think I am here.

[Wyndlerunner]

When Rob fished out the black sphere, James felt an immediate spike of nausea. Whatever this thing is, it can't possibly be good, James thought. It was less of a rational deduction and more a hunch derived from something akin to a sixth sense. "I'll see if I can figure it out." James said, as he tentatively reached out a finger to touch the strange orb. When he did so, he began to focus, to see if he could hear its voice or it's spiritual aspect., like he had with the door downstairs. All of a sudden, James began to hear whispers, spoken in a tongue he couldn't understand, mixed with the decidedly horrifying sensation of eyes boring directly into his own soul. 

James recoiled his arm as though he'd been bitten by a snake, and clutched his hand to his chest. At this point he realized that his glasses were now sitting askew on his face, but in his shock, he ignored the fact as he stared, terrified at the small, innocuous looking black sphere in his friend's hand. "Rob," he said, voice shaking slightly, "I can't tell you for certain what that thing is, but what I do know is that it's bad news. There is something most definitely alive inside of that sphere."

@I think I am here. 

[I think I am here.]

On 26/01/2021 at 1:57 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

“Rob," he said, voice shaking slightly, "I can't tell you for certain what that thing is, but what I do know is that it's bad news. There is something most definitely alive inside of that sphere."

Surprise filled Rob when James flinched back after touching the sphere, seeming rattled. His eyes lay wide on the sphere and Rob listened to his words his words intently.

“Alive?” he asked, holding the dark sphere up to his eye. Whatever was inside, it twisted and turned in hypnotic patterns, like smoke. It seemed harmless enough... but James’ reaction seemed like genuine panic.

“Shana suggested I destroy it,” Rob said. “But I thought it might help us understand the Voidbringers. Help us develop a cure.”

Besides, the sphere was his. He clenched his fist around it, feeling its cold pulse in his hand. Though his face remained the same, his thoughts started to take different avenues. He and Shana had discovered Doc couldn’t be trusted. James was another Bondsmith, could he be trusted? Was he just trying to take it from Rob? Have it for himself?

Rob shook his head slightly, looking up to James. “What do you think?”

@Wyndlerunner

Edited January 28, 2021 by I think I am here.

[AonEne]

14 hours ago, HoidWasTaken said:

"Um, is there a place I can sit down? Someplace quiet?"

"Yeah, yeah, in here if you want?" Cassie gestured to a sitting room nearby.

[LukeWasTaken]

4 minutes ago, AonEne said:

"Yeah, yeah, in here if you want?" Cassie gestured to a sitting room nearby.

Luke glances in, "Yeah, I just need some time. Alone."