A Masked Dance

[Ashbringer]

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Because his voice is really deep.

Actually, though, he does sound like he's shouting a lot. Very guttural/beastial, almost more growling or snarling like an animal than a human talking. He is a koloss, after all.

Edit: Of course this makes a new page. Yay for context and its disappearance!

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Ashbringer
New page = No context = Oddities

[+Sorana]

23 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“We’ll keep safe.” He assured him and began walking a little backwards, bringing an arm up and sliding the smooth, black, Lonely God mask over his face, obscuring his features and tinting everything in a bluish-grey tone to him. He looked to Vivi and jerked a thumb over his shoulder for them to go. “We should be going. I think they’re going to fire another batch of fireworks soon.”

"Bye!" Vivi hugged her father quickly and then turned around, ran after her brother. Fireworks. She loved fireworks. They were like little stars lighting up the dark sky offering them to take wishes to the stars. Reval looked nearly scary with his smooth, black mask, the complete contrast to her own cheerful outfit. The fire reflected a little in the material, making it impossible to read his features and when she lifted a hand, she could see a vague outline of that as well. Maybe next year, she would take a mirror. Reflecting everything. And a silver dress with lots of tiny mirror pieces glued on the skirt.

Happily she bounced from one foot to the other, glad that he would take her along tonight. She would make it up to him, doing his chores not only for two weeks, but four. Her own resolve weakened a little when she realized how much that was, but instead she smiled at him brightly. It was worth it. He spend so much time reading, burried in his room learning for school, tonight he belonged to her, and she wouldn't exchange that time for anything in the world. Maybe six weeks were better - hesitating she ate more cotton candy. Four. Four would be enough.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked him and plucked more cotton candy off to eat. When she held it between her fingers it condensed to a small, little piece. Quickly she stuffed it into her mouth and pucked off a lager one, forming it into a little cube. Weird how something so large ended up being so small. "Are we really going to meet your friends?" she looked over at him, tried to see his eyes behind his mask, but it obscured them as well.

===================

11 hours ago, AonEne said:

Did she actually know a Ben in the Alleyverse, or is this a TKND reference? Because that sounds exactly like Ben... 

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TKND reference. Althea never met a Ben in the Alleyverse. I always have to think of him when writing a post in this thread and just ... nudged the 4th wall a bit aside

=================

10 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

He shook himself, remembering he didn't have time to waste. "So if you have a better plan to draw any followers out, now would be a good time."

"It's a good plan." she looked over to where Brashen had seen the strangers. "I tried to play along, but I'm not the best actress in the world." spreading her hands apologetically she looked outside, marveled at the speed with which the world flowed past. She'd never been in a Cadmium bubble for that long, lest alone with someone being able to hold it up for a long time. He had to be very skilled, on his way to savantism maybe as well.

"Brashen told me, that they started to move away. I think we can get to them if we follow them now, if we want to learn why they observed us, but either your show worked or they were nothing but curious spectators." Althea inhaled a little bit of stormlight, mostly for the feeling of it and considered the situation again.

"What about that spren?" she asked him. "He wasn't able to detect it, so it wasn't with the other four. Do you have reason to believe it's spying, posing some kind of danger to us?"

Edited May 27, 2020 by Sorana

[Rushu42]

On 5/26/2020 at 5:30 AM, mathiau said:

Kerr crawled toward Aln's legs

"Do you need our help?"

Unfortunately, Aln's eyes were fixed on Althea and Byron, and she did not think to look for voices on the ground. The spren's question went unheard.

11 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"Sound is affected by my bubble, even though light isn't. If I slow time enough, nobody can hear what we say unless they find some way to record it and play it back. And even that will take time."

He shook himself, remembering he didn't have time to waste. "So if you have a better plan to draw any followers out, now would be a good time."

5 hours ago, Sorana said:

"Brashen told me, that they started to move away. I think we can get to them if we follow them now, if we want to learn why they observed us, but either your show worked or they were nothing but curious spectators." Althea inhaled a little bit of stormlight, mostly for the feeling of it and considered the situation again.

"What about that spren?" she asked him. "He wasn't able to detect it, so it wasn't with the other four. Do you have reason to believe it's spying, posing some kind of danger to us?"

"I agree; the cadmium bubble should prove effective in dissuading onlookers. It seems likely that they were merely attracted by the oddity of a boy flying in slow motion. The spren could be a different story, especially if it's bonded to a Radiant. Did you actually see it, or just feel something watching you?"

[Ashbringer]

"The spren... I don't think it was with anyone else. Definitely not with anyone nearby. Maybe it's bonded to a Radiant, maybe not. But... whoever it is followed me through the Alleys. Maybe even through Roshar."

"I've only seen it once or twice. Sometimes I can sense it when it doesn't seem to be there. It looks like a blue ball. It flashes sometimes. But I only ever get a glimpse before it darts away or... vanishes. But it always followed."

Byron gained a blank look. "It isn't easy to follow me. The bubble I have now... I can do much slower. I can outlast any Radiant. I... don't think it's bonded."

Suddenly he had a realization. "But maybe it was. Once. Maybe it's trying to carry out a last order. To follow me."

"I wish I knew why."

He shook himself. "I guess to answer your question, I can't actually see it. But I can feel it. And I could never forget that feeling."

[Rushu42]

9 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

"The spren... I don't think it was with anyone else. Definitely not with anyone nearby. Maybe it's bonded to a Radiant, maybe not. But... whoever it is followed me through the Alleys. Maybe even through Roshar."

"I've only seen it once or twice. Sometimes I can sense it when it doesn't seem to be there. It looks like a blue ball. It flashes sometimes. But I only ever get a glimpse before it darts away or... vanishes. But it always followed."

Byron gained a blank look. "It isn't easy to follow me. The bubble I have now... I can do much slower. I can outlast any Radiant. I... don't think it's bonded."

Suddenly he had a realization. "But maybe it was. Once. Maybe it's trying to carry out a last order. To follow me."

"I wish I knew why."

He shook himself. "I guess to answer your question, I can't actually see it. But I can feel it. And I could never forget that feeling."

Aln ran through the known spren in her head. A blue ball? A glowing sphere could be a Lightspren, but I've never heard of them being blue. None of the truespren match that description, to my knowledge. Could a spren unique to the Alleyverse have followed Ben onto Roshar? And how could he sense it? It's odd for a spren to act on its own like that. Is he a budding Radiant?

"I don't recognize that type of spren," Aln replied thoughtfully. "When did you first encounter it? And how exactly do you 'sense' it?"

[Ashbringer]

1 hour ago, Rushu42 said:

"I don't recognize that type of spren," Aln replied thoughtfully. "When did you first encounter it? And how exactly do you 'sense' it?"

Spoiler

FYI, it is a Lightspren, but a rather weird one. As for being a budding Radiant... almost. I’m trying to use this as a way for one of my characters to work with the timeshift - while Byron isn’t from the Alleyverse, his mother is. In “this continuity” his mother was a Willshaper with this spren, but the “reality” is... quite different. Due to being new to the Alleyverse, a lot of time lost in the Alleys, and his own time manipulation, there’s a lot of weird temporal interactions. Instead of swapping one power for the potential of Radiance, he has them both in a latent, mostly useless form. I know Radiance isn’t hereditary, but the Connection is there, and the spren is willing, but Byron’s... stuck between the two timelines where he has the Radiant heritage and where he has none and a different ability.

Of course, Byron knows none of this. He just knows that this spren is Connected to him in a way it shouldn’t be. And since I know so little about the actual timeshift, this is mostly meta-story. For now.

“I can’t remember. It was a long time ago. Before the Alleys and a lot of time. I’m fairly certain it was on Roshar. Yes, it was. It didn’t like the shadowed man. Nale, if that was his name. But no spren seemed to.”

He turned toward where the spren was. He couldn’t see it: there where too many people blurring about, moving ten times the speed they were from their point of view. He could just... feel it. Behind a box, invisible to all but the strongest eyes, it was there. He knew it.

“It just feels like it’s there. It’s like... a buzzing. Something ringing in my ear. I can tell where it is, no matter how slow my bubble is or what’s in the way. If it’s close, I just... know.”

 

[Rushu42]

12 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

FYI, it is a Lightspren, but a rather weird one. As for being a budding Radiant... almost. I’m trying to use this as a way for one of my characters to work with the timeshift - while Byron isn’t from the Alleyverse, his mother is. In “this continuity” his mother was a Willshaper with this spren, but the “reality” is... quite different. Due to being new to the Alleyverse, a lot of time lost in the Alleys, and his own time manipulation, there’s a lot of weird temporal interactions. Instead of swapping one power for the potential of Radiance, he has them both in a latent, mostly useless form. I know Radiance isn’t hereditary, but the Connection is there, and the spren is willing, but Byron’s... stuck between the two timelines where he has the Radiant heritage and where he has none and a different ability.

Of course, Byron knows none of this. He just knows that this spren is Connected to him in a way it shouldn’t be. And since I know so little about the actual timeshift, this is mostly meta-story. For now.

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That's a really cool background! At the end of the Era will he become a Willshaper?

It's unlikely that it originated in the Alleys, then, Aln mused. It sounds as if Ben has some sort of Spiritual Connection with the spren. It could just be the beginnings of a Nahel bond, but it's odd that the first oath would take so long. It's almost like he has a Connection with a deadeye that isn't in Shardblade form. 

"You don't have a Shardblade, do you?" Aln checked. 

[Ashbringer]

Quote

Could go Willshaper, but probably I’m going to do the other power. It’s more interesting and less domineering - I still want his cadmium to be his main tool. Also, since Rhythm of War is the Willshaper book I’m hesitant to play a Willshaper that may get retconned out from under me.

I suppose that he could eventually balance cadmium, Willshaping, and third power, as the lightspren will still be around if Byron shifts the other way. But he’d have to reConnect to it. And, it would end up with very overpowered and possibly redundant abilities. Radiance tends to overshadow any other Investitures.

Byron started a bit. Shardblade? Why would that matter? “No, I don’t have a Shardblade. My eyes are dark; I never got the chance to earn one except... someone was chasing me with it once. It didn’t work well with my bubble. It kept flying out of his hands and vanishing.”

Aln certaintly had a lot of questions. Byron guessed that was what the Scholar’s Guild did. Find out things. 

He looked outside the bubble. There was a lot of people still moving about. He wasn’t sure when this... festival would end. So, he turned back toward the two. “Do you have any idea where to go? I don’t want to... steal the whole night away. If the watchers or the spren follow, we’ll know.”

Right?

[Rushu42]

2 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

Byron started a bit. Shardblade? Why would that matter? “No, I don’t have a Shardblade. My eyes are dark; I never got the chance to earn one except... someone was chasing me with it once. It didn’t work well with my bubble. It kept flying out of his hands and vanishing.”

Aln certaintly had a lot of questions. Byron guessed that was what the Scholar’s Guild did. Find out things. 

He looked outside the bubble. There was a lot of people still moving about. He wasn’t sure when this... festival would end. So, he turned back toward the two. “Do you have any idea where to go? I don’t want to... steal the whole night away. If the watchers or the spren follow, we’ll know.”

Right?

Of course. He's darkeyes. It was a long shot, anyway. But who had been chasing him with a Sharblade? She wanted to question him more on that, but he had changde the subject. With a start, Aln realized that she had forgotten Folorian and Trent. She had at least told Folorian that she was leaving; hopefully Trent really had abandoned her for the night. 

Aln looked at Althea for confirmation as she said, "The other observing us seem to have lost interest. If you like, we could try to find some food. I believe a vendor was selling dumplings, and I know a good chouta shop not far from here."

@Sorana

[+Sorana]

5 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

Aln looked at Althea for confirmation as she said, "The other observing us seem to have lost interest. If you like, we could try to find some food. I believe a vendor was selling dumplings, and I know a good chouta shop not far from here."

"Getting some food sounds great." Althea agreed, silently making note of their conversation for later. While spren were rare, it wasn't unusual for people bonding them in the city. She would keep an eye on him, see if he needed some support. Some new Radiant's easily slipped into their roles, while others benefited from a little nudge in the right direction now and then. While speaking the oaths was rewarding, keeping them was hard, easily determining your whole life.

"And dumplings sound even better." She extended a hand towards Brashen, watched the little man settle down on it, head tilted sideways, when he looked at her. She wouldn't give him up for anything in the world. Without him, she knew she would have perished a long time ago. Brashen didn't move, but she knew a challenge had entered his eyes and she inwardly smiled at his thoughts, knew that he had come to same conclusion she had.

Maybe one day. She held the thought for a bit and then let go of it. Maybe, but not today and certainly not tomorrow.

"If we're lucky, maybe some firespren decided to play in the bonfire." she mostly told Ben, as she suspected that Aln knew. "You probably noticed that spren aren't as common as on Roshar, but now and then you can catch a sight of some of them." Lowering her voice she added.

"And yes, we'll see if they follow us. Although," her fingers indicated the blurred motions of those outside the bubble. "There also is a huge chance they are already gone."

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer]

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Gaah, I’m sorry, didn’t realize this was waiting on me. I’ll write a longer Byron/Tyrian post tomorrow.

“It would be... nice to see the bonfire,” Byron replied. “And I am very hungry. I don’t think I’ve eaten in...”

He’d lost track. It was hard to count time with his cadmium always fluctuating, even without the Alleys interfering. He didn’t even know how old he was anymore.

Byron lowered his cadmium back to its 9/10ths level. “Shall we, then?”

[Nohadon]

A tall man with scarred, dark skin, looks around, his form (as well as the people in a small radius around him) blur as he moves between the crowd, calling out to everybody that could hear.

"Attention all heathens! heretics! worshippers of false gods! You have been saved by I, Eishtar Al Sorei! Join the church of Isarok, lady of light and purity to ensure the safety of your souls beyond the veil that is death!" Eishtar calls out, he carries a rifle, slung loosely over his shoulder with vials of bendalloy attatched to the shoulder-strap, making a makeshift bandolier.

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Just chuck me a mention if anyone wants to talk to Eishtar

 

[I think I am here.]

On 27/05/2020 at 3:02 PM, Sorana said:

Where do you want to go?" She asked him and plucked more cotton candy off to eat. When she held it between her fingers it condensed to a small, little piece. Quickly she stuffed it into her mouth and pucked off a lager one, forming it into a little cube. Weird how something so large ended up being so small. "Are we really going to meet your friends?" she looked over at him, tried to see his eyes behind his mask, but it obscured them as well.

“A few of them,” Reval said distractedly, treading through the main square, the crowd still dense with masked celebrators, but thinning with every step away from the centre of the celebrations. He made sure to keep an eye on his sister. Hopefully she heard where the meeting point was if she got lost - but Reval doubted it. He was always the one to remember everything, keep track of times and rules and homework and who’s turn it was to water the plants and everything else. And that made sense. He was the oldest, so he had to.

He turned to her. In any normal setting, her bright costume would be easily visible. But this was the Day of Rebirth (!), and so everyone was exactly as eye-catching as everyone else, and no one really stood out, except for the people out of a costume. And they were the ones who deserved to stand out. If you weren’t wearing a costume, then what were you doing here?

“But only for a while. Then, we’ll go out and explore what else we can do.”  As they walked, his eyes left Vivi and rested on numerous masked street performers, a hat or empty guitar case in front of them, money resting inside. They danced and they did little tricks, lightweaving an illusion or using Feruchemical steel to juggle superhuman levels of bowling pins.

As he walked past, Reval could feel their prying eyes on him, their fake smiles and parlour tricks begging for his money. It wouldn’t be surprising if they had a Soother or two among the crowd, to ‘help’ with the donations. He stayed close to Vivi and when he passed a beggar who was simply playing on a broken ukulele, who was hopelessly outcompeted by the other buskers with Investiture, Reval leaned forward and dropped a few chrysts. Non-invested already made up a disproportionate amount of the homeless, not fair for Invested people to beat them at busking, too. Not fair, but the truth.

As he walked, Reval spotted a man moving through the crowd, yelling about heresy or heathens or some other religious thing. He nudged Vivi and nodded towards the man. “Fail school and you’ll end up like him,” he joked. “Crazy and trying to recruit people into a cult, while calling them heretics at the same time.”

——-

Max watched Reval and Vivacia leave, waving and standing still until they were out of sight and lost among the sea of symbolic masks and mythological characters. He smiled warmly, clasping his hands behind his back. Althea would be pleased. He’d allowed Reval a little independence, had allowed Vivi to have some fun with her older brother. And he knew that as long as they were together, Reval wouldn’t try going anywhere too dangerous. Which gave Max some calm.

Still, he wouldn’t have minded someone watch over them, just in case. But while Sethramir could do many things, he wasn’t a spren like Brashen was, couldn’t remotely observe the two kids. So Max would have to trust them. And if anything went wrong... no. Nothing would happen. Max needed to keep that paranoia in check.

A cheer caught his attention and he glanced to the side, seeing a stall selling Scadrian whiskey. He smiled. Yes, keep that paranoia in check, and have a little fun of his own.

[Nohadon]

2 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

As he walked, Reval spotted a man moving through the crowd, yelling about heresy or heathens or some other religious thing. He nudged Vivi and nodded towards the man. “Fail school and you’ll end up like him,” he joked. “Crazy and trying to recruit people into a cult, while calling them heretics at the same time.”

Crazy. They thought Eishtar was crazy.
Eishtar pushed through the crowd, scanning for the man who had dared accuse him of such a thing.

"You there!" He yelled as loudly as he can. "Heresy can be forgiven! The church of Isarok looks to save those who blaspheme from themselves!" Eishtar grinned at Reval, his smile gap-toothed and misshapen.

"What's your name, godless heathen?"

As he preached, time slowed around Eishtar, catching Reval in a speed bubble for just a couple seconds as they talked. Eishtar didn't even notice it was happening, turning a blind eye to the stopping and starting crowd.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Nohadon

[Ashbringer]

Bly watched as his Leecher friend kept his balance through that strange jolt. It was almost like an earthquake, twice in a row. Does Alleycity even have earthquakes? He'd never felt one before. Eh, he wasn't paid to think. He was a Thug; his job was to hit things. Particularly if this Leecher failed to keep his chromium-burning hands on that thing.

Fortunately, Silas was still secure. He wasn't needed. So, he yawned and leaned against the wall of the van. Hopefully it would be smooth driving from here. 

If he had been a bit more focused, he might have noticed the smoke and little red glow emitting from the floor of the van, about three paces to his right. But Bly didn't notice. He wasn't paid to notice things.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Tyrian pulled himself up close to the bottom of the van. His instructions were simple - free the prisoner by any means necessary. And that's exactly what he planned to do. He drew in more Stormlight and kept burning a hole in the bottom of the van.

Cinder caught up to him. He didn't say anything - Tyrian knew Cinder was a bit philisophical, but he loved a good fight. Unfortunately, from what he'd heard, this wouldn't be much of a fight. He felt the molten metal beneath his fingers. The circle was complete. So he tensed.

Then punched the center of the weakened metal, making it fly up into the van. Tyrian lept up to follow, Cinder hiding in one of his pockets. There were two very suprised guards standing watch over one heavily bound prisoner. Silas. The closer guard let out a shout, rushing Tyrian, fumbling to draw a sword in these tight quarters. The other hesitated, glancing back and forth between his attacker and his prisoner.

Tyrian reached behind his back and drew two long, aluminum crescents. Sickles. He was a competent fighter with knives, but he found that his sickles suited him better. They lacked the grace of the subtle kive, but they had a better attribute, in Tyrian's eyes. Ferocity.

Tyrian lunged at the closer guard, sickles swinging. The guard managed to deflect one with his half drawn sword, and Tyrian let the hooked weapon grab the sword while he sent his other sickle at the arm drawing it. Somehow, the guard dodged his attack. Pewter. This man was a Thug.

Are you anything else, Thug? Tyrian wondered. He yanked harshly on his first sickle just as the man finished drawing his sword, sending both weapons clattering to the floor. To the Thug's credit, he reacted quickly; rather than trying to stoop down and retrieve his weapon, which would have left him impaled on Tyrian's remaining sickle, he got in close and launched a pewter-flared punch.

Tyrian caught his fist with his free hand. Stormlight burning and Blessing hurting, both giving him strength. Not enough to match the strength of a Thug, but enough to bear it. So he started Dividing.

The Thug screamed in pain as his fingers within his fist slowly turned to dust. He flinched. Then Tyrian's sickle buried itself in his side.

"Bly! NO!" he heard the other guard scream, footsteps pounding. Tyrian turned, Thug forgotten, sickle raised. He hadn't had time to properly Dustbring the man. He might even live. The second guard... did not appear to have that possibility. He held a solitary knife, and was shaking. Behind him, the man Silas was stirring. Still asleep and mostly harmless, but for how long nobody could know.

"Give up. The end will be swift," Tyrian said, walking slowly toward him. The man started shaking more, but refused to lower his weapon or his gaze. He stood his ground admirably. Tyrian took another step forward and the guard charged.

"So be it." Tyrian swung his sickle to meet the man's knife, but the guard didn't seem to care much about the bladelock. His other hand reached for Tyrian's wrist. As soon as the two made contact, Tyrian felt his Stormlight fade precipitously. 

Dustmother. A Leecher. Tyrian thrust aside the bladelock and punched the man square in the chest. He heard a door open behind him, and two other guards ran out behind him. He hadn't heard the van stop.

Tyrian smiled. Now this was a fight.

[+Sorana]

6 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

As he walked, Reval spotted a man moving through the crowd, yelling about heresy or heathens or some other religious thing. He nudged Vivi and nodded towards the man. “Fail school and you’ll end up like him,” he joked. “Crazy and trying to recruit people into a cult, while calling them heretics at the same time.”

Vivi grinned at when they walked through the crowd, crurious and wide eyes at the sights around them. She continued to stay close to him, eyes sweeping over the crowd. It was so like Reval to give the one investitureless performer some of his chrysts, and she left him one as well, mostly out of loyalty towards her brother, than because she really felt like he had earned it. A few steps away stood a beautiful lady, dressed like a princess and her eyes shone when she swept into a beautiful bow, dress moving a little over the ground.

She dropped a few chrysts into the shell she had placed in front of her and then hurried onwards, intent to stay close to her brother.

“Fail school and you’ll end up like him,” he joked. “Crazy and trying to recruit people into a cult, while calling them heretics at the same time.” Vivi turned her head when Reval nudged her, saw a strange man, preaching to the crowd. "I'm not that bad at school." she complained. She wasn't. When she learned she usually had good grades. It was only that learning and dancing both needed time and one was fun, while the other was boring and annoying.

She was surprised when the man suddenly rushed over, moved between her and her brother, both of blurring for a moment. Vivi screamed when she realized what was going on, only to realize that screaming wouldn't change anything. Instead she reached for a vial and dumped the contents into her mouth. She only started to burn copper when Reval was moving normally again, the crazy one standing close, far too close.

"Get away from my brother." she commanded and wondered if their father was close enough to hear them. Looking around she couldn't see him, and instead shifted her weight into a fighting stance as he had taught her, keeping her copper burning, covering herself and her brother. Hopefully Reval hadn't noticed her drinking the vial. She didn't want for him to feel bad about not having any Investiture of his own.

@Nohadon

===========

Quote

I'll add Althea later, need to think about what she will do.

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Sorana

[kenod]

Hazel and Karin walked through the alleys, a black sun shining in the sky above them, and ancient plants covering the stones around them. Both of them wore their standard outfits, the clothing covering most of their bodies, hiding their abnormalities, while sunglasses hid their eyes. The whole setup looked kind of weird, especially during this time of the year, where the temperature would make these outfits more than a bit uncomfortable, for normal humans at least.

"We're coming up to the exit," Karin noted to Hazel. "Do you have your costume ready?"
Hazel smiled slightly, and snapped her fingers, not that she actually needed to, and her appearance changed. Her clothing now looked like a long, ragged robe, and her head like that of a black cat, though if you looked closely enough you'd find hints that it was a mask.
"Need one too?" She asked Karin.
"Nah," she answered, and her body warped, her head changing into that of a black-haired fox, while the top layer of her clothing shifted as well, forming into a robe of her own. "A cat?" She asked, her amusement audible in her voice. "You went for Mother as well?"
"Cats are cute," Hazel said defensively. "Besides, we got to show our affiliation.". She gave Karin a quick look-over. "You know you look just like one of mum's Foxes, right? You should be careful some enterprising monster hunter doesn't come after you."
Karin shrugged. "The Foxes don't come that high up in the tunnels normally, and I doubt anyone survives the encounters anyway. Nobody will know what a Fox looks like, and on this day you could probably send a Barghest through the streets and nobody will notice." She shook herself, trying to get rid of the gloom thinking about that kind of stuff brought her. "Besides," she said, forcing herself to be cheerful, "foxes are cute too."
Just before Hazel could ask her if she meant a normal fox or one of Mother's creations they exited the alley, and the partying city appeared in front of them.

They wandered through the city for a while, observing the festivities and enjoying the food. At one point they noticed two woman wearing some more unusual costumes. "Heh," Karin remarked. "Guess those two are from some Earth. I wonder if they're Epics?"
"What makes you think that?" Hazel asked, amused, having already scanned their memories, and knowing quite well only one of them was from Earth.
"Hmm, the clothing," Karin answered. "One of them wears a Japanese outfit, and the other looks like she's from the set of a Western movie. The outfits look pretty decent too, but they really don't combine." She looked at the ears and tail of one of the girls. "And a shapeshifter, I guess? You don't see that often."
"Hmm, 5 points out of 10," Hazel said. "Only one of them is from Earth, the other is from Scandrial. Apparently that outfit is common in the Roughs." She smiled. "Also, they're both shapeshifters, the second one's a Kandra."
Karin looked at her. "How did you..." She sighed when she realized it. "I guess lecturing you about things like personal privacy again won't work, right?" She sighed again. "Come on, let's get something to drink."
As they were walking to the shop she suddenly tilted her head though, as if she was listening to something. "Oh, by the way,"  she said, sounding a bit annoyed, "I had a message from Mother. We need to be back at a reasonable time, apparently she still has some chores she needs you to do."
It was now Hazel's turn to sigh. "Alright,"  she said. "Just tell her we'll come back after the fireworks have finished, that leave me with more than enough time."

[Nohadon]

On 30/05/2020 at 5:04 AM, Sorana said:

"Get away from my brother." she commanded and wondered if their father was close enough to hear them. Looking around she couldn't see him, and instead shifted her weight into a fighting stance as he had taught her, keeping her copper burning, covering herself and her brother. Hopefully Reval hadn't noticed her drinking the vial. She didn't want for him to feel bad about not having any Investiture of his own.

Eishtar didn't drop his crooked grin as he remembered Father Chain's teachings.

You will be met with resistance, you will be branded a cultist by the unclean, show them the light.

The girl had adopted a fighting stance, staying close to the boy. Interesting. Eishtar's mouth stretched thinner into a warped smile. His hand dropped loosely to his holstered Sterrion, always ready to draw if need be. The safety had been clearly and deliberatley broken as he thumbed the hammer of the revolver absently.

"Please sister! The damnned can be saved! Just submit to Isarok's teachings and all will be well!" Eishtar spoke as if qouting scripture, his eyes flashed with menace as he spoke, his body shuddering, begging to be relased.

Edited May 30, 2020 by Nohadon

[+Sorana]

12 hours ago, Nohadon said:

stepping in front of the boy.

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Sorry, if that appears to be nitpicking, but she never stepped in front of him, instead stayed close to his side, as she had been during my last few posts. It's kind of vital, as Vivi would never patronize her brother.

 

[Nohadon]

7 hours ago, Sorana said:

Sorry, if that appears to be nitpicking, but she never stepped in front of him, instead stayed close to his side, as she had been during my last few posts. It's kind of vital, as Vivi would never patronize her brother.

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Got it. I’ll change that.

 

[I think I am here.]

On 30/05/2020 at 11:28 AM, Nohadon said:

“Please sister! The damnned can be saved! Just submit to Isarok's teachings and all will be well!" Eishtar spoke as if qouting scripture, his eyes flashed with menace as he spoke, his body shuddering, begging to be relased.

Everyone around Reval paused, their gaits as if playing in slo-motion, and suddenly everything was normal again, and Vivi next to him, ready to fight, and the man far too close to drawing his gun than Reval would’ve liked, especially when his sister was near. As skilled as she was with a rapier, this man - cultist, he gave off the wrong feeling. Like a caged animal, waiting for an excuse to let loose.

Reval shifted his feet and placed a foot behind him defensively. He tried to surpass the faint worry something bad could happen, tried to block out the ambient celebrations, took a moment to look at the situation as if he was a hawk, sailing far above the bright stalls and flourishing markets, analysing with cold, impartial logic.

The man reeked of battle experience, from his little scars to his obviously large gun. But what irritated Reval most was the bandolier, a wide array of Allomantic vials displayed boldly, arrogantly. The glasses betrayed some problem with sight, and the guns seemed to suggest close-quarters would be the ideal way to fight, if to fight at all. Turning his body and gently gliding a hand behind his side, he located his long dagger, so carefully hidden in its sheath. And not two inches below that, the painrial knife.

“Everyone says that,” he said to the man instead of committing to an attack. Too many variables to do anything flawlessly. Too many people, too many parts of the environment he wasn’t familiar with, and too little he knew about the man. A little more information on his opponent wouldn’t hurt before jumping into things. “Everyone says ‘all will be well’, as long we worship their deity. The Almighty, The Lonely God, your... Isarok. But it’s all just empty words and no truth.”

[+Sorana]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“Everyone says that,” he said to the man instead of committing to an attack. Too many variables to do anything flawlessly. Too many people, too many parts of the environment he wasn’t familiar with, and too little he knew about the man. A little more information on his opponent wouldn’t hurt before jumping into things. “Everyone says ‘all will be well’, as long we worship their deity. The Almighty, The Lonely God, your... Isarok. But it’s all just empty words and no truth.”

Vivi looked at her brother while he spoke, admiration written all over her face. He probably had come up with a plan, a strategy to follow. It was awesome how he always managed to read situations and then act in a way that benefited everybody. She relaxed her stance, but made sure her copper continued to burn and instead plucked off a little more cotton candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Better she ate it now, than she saved it. Worst care she would have to drop it to the ground and exchange it for a weapon and she wasn't looking forward to that. The festival was her one chance to get some easily and she was planning not to waste a single bit of it all.

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed how Reval had shifted his feet as well, knew that he was preparing for an incoming fight. As was the man. Her father had taught her early to keep an eye on a possible opponents body, on the way he moved. And right now, he was ready to draw his weapon and shoot the two of them. For a moment she considered to stop eating, but then decided against it. Reval knew how to deal with people. He would deal with that one as easily as he did with everybody else. And she could always get her own weapon out quickly, should it become neccessary. For now, it was probably better if she made sure her cotton candy was eaten when then conflict started. It would be ashame should it end up a victim.

Her eyes moved over the man as she ate, tried to understand what he was even doing here. Something about a god - probably one of the weird ones praying to some non-existent deity of another planet. There were many of them around and most of them were harmless idiots.

"I'm not your sister." she pointed out, decided to make sure there was no misunderstanding while shooting him a disarming smile. "You're far too old to be my brother."

@Nohadon

=================

Althea turned towards the food stalls when Ben agreed to go and look for something to eat as well. "Where was the stall selling dumplings, that you saw earlier?" she asked Aln and noticed the world around them slowing down, when Ben reduced the amount of metal he was burning. Yet, the bubble remained around them. Interesting. The way he could steer his Investiture, how he burnt so much so easily, it hinted at a great proficiency, far beyond what an allomancer with a usual amount of training was be able to do. That he didn't stop completely now, when they were considering to head back to the stalls and the crowd hinted at something else.

A dependency of some sorts, or maybe he was simply so used to it, that he had forgotten he was still holding the bubble up. But then he had changed it, left it there. She studied his face again, remembered how she had seen him first sitting on the ground, the way he his body had shook a little and gave a curt, mental nod. He wasn't burning because there was a reason to, he burnt because something in his own mind propelled him to do so. Be it an addiction, be it savancy, be it trauma of some sorts. She didn't know him well enough to judge the reasons for it or come to a conclusion that would be reliable.

At first she didn't notice the two guards that ran along the street towards them. And even when she saw them, it took her a moment to connect them to the Van. It had to be far away by now, at least one or two streets over. It had been moving slowly, but it was hard to judge how much time had passed with time moving slower inside of the bubble.

"Something is wrong." She stated calmly, annoyed by herself that she had lost sight of the Van. But the moment the world had blurred around them, she had lost track of nearly everybody. "I don't have prove, but the two men running towards the place, the could have been part of those inside of the Van. And if that is true, it doesn't bode well for everybody else there."

She extended her hands towards them. "I can take us quickly to the next corner, so that we can take a look down the streets, see if we can discern if something is wrong."

 

@Rushu42

@Ashbringer

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Sorana
add Althea (wanted to save after writing Vivi)

[Voidus]

There was never a better time to observe the nature of people than during a festival, and the Festival of Rebirth in particular was one that promoted anonymity. It was amazing how much more comfortable people felt in letting their true desires out just from the thin protection of covering their cheekbones with a mask and dressing up a little. To Laurelai, the festival was a goldmine of information, a thousand little dramas unfolding over the city that she could watch as she passed by, trying to intuit the story from the fragments she was able to pick up.

Heading to a nearby stall to see what they had to offer, Laurelai smiled at the chaos all around her. It was a strange contrast, people were being far more honest than usual but the streets were busier and interactions more complex than on any other day. Was it easier to understand today? Or harder?

"A caramel apple please." She said, flashing a dazzling smile towards the sweet vendor she'd manged to find.

Usually she'd avoid something that messy with such an expensive dress but today she'd be lucky indeed if a small caramel stain was the worst she had to deal with. Last festival a table had collapsed on the second story of the inn and she'd been absolutely doused in beer, hopefully she could get through the end of the day without anything that catastrophic at least, but in the worst case she could always spend tomorrow morning Forging any of the previous nights mishaps away.

Not the best way to spend the morning after a celebration Laurelai.  She reminded herself. Best to try to stay out of trouble in the first place.

Idly she wondered if being able to eliminate consequences so easily predisposed Forgers to reckless behavior. Or did the fact that they needed to be so well studied and aware of the consequences of events mean they were less likely to be so? It was an interesting idea of contrasts, her father would probably enjoy thinking about it. Perhaps next time they had a coffee together she could bring it up and see what he thought of it, make sure he stretched his mind outside of whatever he was currently focused on at work.

She continued down the smaller city streets as she bit into her apple, enjoying the mixture of the salted caramel with the crisp and sweet flesh of the apple. It was amazing how much of life came down to simply knowing the correct contrasts. A good meal needed contrasting flavors to highlight each other, so did the elements in an outfit or the scenes in a story. People needed contrasts too, she reasoned, perhaps that was why she'd been getting so bored lately. Too many similar people around each other and no one to contrast herself with, nothing to make her life pop.

It's a festival Laurelai. Try not to spend the whole time moping about in introspection.

Passing a shop window she gave her reflection an amused smile before shaking her head and holding her chin up as she explored more of the marvelous sights the city held.

=============================================================================
Whisper crept along the streets, smoothly moving between groups of people and blending in with them for a few moments before gliding over to the next. Blending in came as naturally to her as breathing at this point, even without Investiture she could manage to hide from most eyes. With Investiture there were very few conversation that Whisper couldn't find some way to listen into. And tonight when the city was filled with people intoxicated by both alcohol and the general spirit of revelry, Whisper questioned whether she even needed to bother trying to conceal herself at all.

It was also one of the most difficult times for her to work, for one she was completely inaudible in this noise. Even on a normal day the city was loud enough that few could hear the faint whispers that were all she could produce. But at Festival there was no chance that anyone would be able to hear her. That also meant she had to get much closer to potential marks in order to listen to what they were saying, but that was far less of a problem. Everyone was packed close together, and often travelling in the same direction so there was little suspicion that she drew there.

But perhaps the most difficult part of working during the festival were the distractions. Everywhere she looked she could see them, the Lonely God, the Stranger, the Mother of Monsters. Sometimes it was obviously a simple piece of plastic or fabric, but other times they were something else. She could see the eyes behind them, not the eyes of the people who wore the masks but The eyes. The eyes of the gods watching them all, judging her. Whispering to her if she listened hard enough, but it was always so difficult to hear what they were saying, what they wanted.

Did the gods want people to wear these masks? Was it an offering? Or would the gods find them offensive? Did they stay apart from the world because the city offended them year after year with thousands of pretend-gods parading around?

A dagger slipped into Whispers hands as she stared hard at a passing man wearing a mask of the Stranger. Should she stop this for Him? There were many Strangers in the city tonight but her legs were swift, maybe if she cut enough of them she could please them enough that they would come back. Maybe this was what the masks were whispering, perhaps they were pleas from her gods to tear down the false images of them that ran around the city streets.

Status update. The pen in Whispers other hand twisted suddenly with the message. You're late with the latest update, anything to report?

In a flash the dagger had vanished from her other hand and Whisper slipped further down the street, eyes downcast as she avoided meeting any gazes.

Nothing yet. She sent back dutifully.

She wondered if she should broach the topic with Lita, would she understand if Whisper tried to explain it? She wasn't an idiot at least, surely she'd see that it would be reasonable to at least try taking out all of those who wore the masks, the ones that whispered at least.

[Ashbringer]

2 hours ago, Sorana said:

"Something is wrong." She stated calmly, annoyed by herself that she had lost sight of the Van. But the moment the world had blurred around them, she had lost track of nearly everybody. "I don't have prove, but the two men running towards the place, the could have been part of those inside of the Van. And if that is true, it doesn't bode well for everybody else there."

She extended her hands towards them. "I can take us quickly to the next corner, so that we can take a look down the streets, see if we can discern if something is wrong."

Byron froze. It was his bubble that had messed up the van. If anything had happened to what was inside, it could be his fault. And based on what had happened to him, the inside of the van would be very jumbled thanks to him.

And if there were guards going to it... if it was transporting someone, like Althea said...

"Let's go," Byron decided, taking her hand.

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Just an FYI, if this group gets to the van before Tyrian and Silas get out, it might be better for Byron to try fighting Silas and Althea take Tyrian. It would be weird for me to start and finish a battle all in one post while Bees and Sonara keep reacting to each other. Although Byron isn't really a match for Tyrian, so he may just get thrown into a wall again.

IDK. Althea's the Elsecaller, so you should decide if we get their in time or not. I'm going to see if Bees has a reaction to Tyrian's attack before I finish everyone off.

 

[+Sorana]

19 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

IDK. Althea's the Elsecaller, so you should decide if we get their in time or not. I'm going to see if Bees has a reaction to Tyrian's attack before I finish everyone off.

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I'd like to avoid ruining bees plan completely, and Althea definitely has the potential to do that. So if we end up in a fight, one "shorter stand-off ending with an escape" would probably work best?

I'd honestly prefer if we decided that together. If we all want to write a fight, let's do it and if we don't then not. I like to write the occassional one, but I also enjoy lengthy conversations so I'm pretty flexibel here.

What's your preference?

 

@bees?