People you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley

[+Sorana she/her]

Awed Temeria listened to the explanation despite understanding less than half of it.  She was grateful when he stopped program, used words she had heard before to describe what it was. A complex awakened object, called program. Strange, but not as strange as an atrificial spren would be. The way he considered her level of knowledge, how he obviously cared that she undertood a little of what was going on further eased her, She had thought that spren needed something they were attrackted to, like the little one on her shoulder, but maybe it was different when they were created artificially. And it was no spren, that was only a picture for her to understand what it was. Her own spren had perked up and she found herself smiling at it fondly as well, surprised by the smile on the man's face when he watched it.

It was strange that it was still here, with no fire, not even a single candle burning close by. Instead it had followed her, followed her through the city, even into a place that her sister considered to be extremely dangerous. It had been years since she had been on Roshar, but it wasn't normal. Spren didn't follow you around and she was more or less sure, that they didn't speak as well. "Do you have a candle for my little friend?" She asked loudly, turning her attention back to the man. Hopefully the spren would like it. So far it had appeared to be happy around fire.

She turned her attention back to the program, considered to ask another question, maybe about the ring, or how it was supposed to work, but then she looked away again, instead she looked back to her host. He had changed, appeared to be more lively than a few minutes ago, as if his creation had woken pleasant memories. "I can fetch the items he left behind." She offered. The other two had declined and somehow - if he could do it by himself he wouldn't have asked them to go in his place. And he hadn't asked someone else either. "I don't mind." Remembering his earlier words she made sure to clarify. "Nothing more but a favour, I don't want anything in return. But if it were my friend, I would like to have his things here."

[Voidus]

Voidus watched the construct fondly, his gaze followed along the endless lines of interconnected Aons, recalling when he had first created them. But he could not stay endlessly lost in the past, the present had an unfortunate habit of making itself a priority.

"I would not turn your assistance away if you offer it." Voidus replied, moving back to the desk and rummaging through one of the drawers. "But if you have other business to attend to then it's easy enough to find someone else to take care of it."

He pulled out a simple white candle and match, striking the match he watched the Spren's face move to follow the tiny source of flame as he moved it back and forth before lighting the candle with it. Spren were admirable in their simplicity sometimes, they didn't complicate life needlessly, simply enjoyed the things they were attracted to and accepted that they didn't understand everything about the world.

"Here" He said, holding the candle out to Temeria and watching the Spren eyeing it eagerly, ready to jump into the flame as soon as she held it. "And if there was nothing else, we had best be moving on soon, time waits for no one, not even me."

[+Sorana she/her]

Temeria took the candle and held it up for the spren, smiled at its eagerness, at the way his face followed the lit match. It was so easy to make him happy, to get such a reaction over something so simple. Noticing that he stayed with her, instead of jumping over immediatly she kept it in her hand, so that he could stay close. She nearly missed the man's next words and it took her a moment to think about them, before she realized that he was asking her to leave.

"Yes, of course." She shot a longing look at the program, wondered why he had called it, if he wasn't planning to give her the time to ask questions, but just accepted it. She didn't need to understand everything, and she had stopped questioning those in power a long time ago. Their quarrels and their reasoning was beyond her, and she saw no point in burdening herself with it.

"Thank you, for your time." She thanked him politely, but didn't salut again, prefered to keep the candle straight to avoid dripping wax everywhere. "Do you have a prefered place where I can drop off the items?" Somehow she doubted that she would find her way back to this room and to try and walk through that alley alone, holding things for a nameless person? A shiver ran along her spine when she remembered the strange sky, that was no sky. She looked at the program again, tried to come up with something, anything that would make him talk to her a while longer, without throwing her deep into a mess she had no idea how to clean up again. Fetching the things would buy her another hour, but then - Temerias grip around the candle turned strong when she tried to avoid the surfacing thoughts. A night, alone.

[Voidus]

"You can leave them with the construct." Voidus replied, waving a hand towards the Aonic figure. "I can collect them from the barrier another time."

The glowing figure gave another respectful bow towards them both, silently confirming its assent.

"It will also be able to take you safely back to where you entered." Voidus continued. "And will be available at the barrier should you have need of it in the future. People tend to stay away from there, so it's usually quiet but it can also move some distance as long as it's still within the city."

The construct gave another nod, turning its featureless head towards Temeria. One Aon shined brightly from within its body, Aon Tia separated from its surroundings and grew larger as it moved towards the constructs hand which it slowly extended outwards in an offer.

"Whenever you are ready." The construct politely intoned. "I can transport us to the city and answer any further questions you may have there."

"My thanks once again for your assistance and your time." Voidus said, giving one final nod of his head to Temeria.

[AonEne he/him]

Quote

Wait, is this construct part of the barrier?

 

[+Ark1002]

Boy 713 limped along an alley, tired, hungry, thirsty, lost.

This alley was an empty one, luckily. He still couldn't get the screams he had heard out of his head. As far as he could tell, from the run down buildings, the thick coating of dust, and the oppressive silence, this one was empty.

Or at least, he thought this at first. But when the eye opened... it became clear he was wrong. The entire alley was full of them. Massive serpents. Each with bricklike skin, made to blend in to the buildings. The spikes looked like nails, nothing surprising. He sprinted, in pain, and ran into the wall, his limp slowing him. And when he dared glance behind him...

the boy saw something horrendous. The snakes (thought he did not know the term) where actually one, a hydra of sorts, all connected at the base. He screamed, and the snakes lunged forward, and he closed his eyes.

Nothing.

He opened them, breathing heavily. The snake was gone. The street was gone. But the floor he was on, the porch of a building, was still there. The building wasn't. Just the wood. He looked around confused. He was in a sleek, modern alley. This seemed to be a teleportation device, up to the former alley.

He sobbed, confused, and began to limp away, heart thumping wildly in his chest.

Boy 713 had no home, no name, no knowledge of the world. He only knew that he was alone, in a cruel, unforgiving place, a place known as the alleys.

[Voidus]

2 hours ago, AonEne said:

Quote

Wait, is this construct part of the barrier?

 

Quote

Yep, it was present during the Release of Voidus plot a while back.

 

[AonEne he/him]

Quote

What is up with the demigods dropping important magical artifacts on mortals lately? This is a trend

 

[Snipexe he/him]

It was time. Silence echoed through the room. Grey read through words written on the pages of guide on his mind one final time. Viv pushed Sierra into position at the center of the circle. He sucked in some Stormlight and readied the lightweave. The words that emerged came from everywhere and no where. 

 

“Ryleh Thrlis Tetyqpo.”

 

Reality began to split like an eggshell. Cracks spread throughout the space of the room, coming from the ceiling and spreading. With each of the hairthin fractures, the air fuzzed.

 

“Wzxert Ylard Vtre.”

 

Iridescent blades slid from the cracks, slick with the blood of reality that left puddles of pasts, presents, and futures as they dropped with the sound of centuries.

 

“Sierra Kvclthe Crtiop.”

 

The knives bent, or rather reality curved to their will as they elongated, converging on a central point. They seemed to bend from afar, but if Grey followed a single blade with his eyes, it followed a straight vector. Ghostly flames erupted from the ceiling, silently burning in the shape of the pentacle.

 

“Tgjkil Frtyew Xbved”

 

With the final words upon the air, the daggers met their confluence. Sierra’s eyes were filled with the blades, and she uttered a guttural scream from a closed mouth. Around the room, eyes began to open. From the depths of the darkness they fixed their gaze. On Sierra. White noise emanated. Grey felt his vision begin to fuzz, filled with black and white static. His mind flickered. Images, faded like those of an old television appeared in his minds eye. They were of his childhood, of his home in a land long ago forgotten and lost to even himself. Time, experience itself skipped like a scratchy record, and the when the showtune resumed, a single florescent light lit up the crumpled figure on the floor.

Grey walked over to Sierra's form, and pushed her over with his foot. She gazed at him with eyes of iridecent knives. The same blood that had leaked when the experiment had begun now formed the tears leaking down Sierra's face. Grey felt the ghost of an impossible smile slip across his face. Success
@Shard of Thought @ZincAboutIt

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sierra Thorne had thought she knew pain. 

She had thought she knew pain because of what she suffered at the hands of her mother. 

She had thought she knew pain because of her anorexia. 

And she had thought she knew pain because of the guilt she felt over her sister's death. For indeed, she did feel guilt over it, stoic as she may have acted about it. 

None of that came close to what she felt now. Nothing she had gone though, nor, she believed, anything she could have gone through, had in anyway prepared her for the pure agony of the moments passed. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She could only tremble on the ground, utterly shaken to the core. She found that, more than ever before, she wished for death. The world was a blur around her. Sound had lost all meaning. The only thing she knew with utmost clarity was that, awful, horrid pain. 

Still, it seemed, her body would not let her pause for that pain. She felt her mouth begin to water and knew immediately to get on her hands and knees before she threw up all over the ground. She nearly collapsed right into her own vomit, completely unprepared to have to support herself. She barely managed to shove herself to the side before her bony arms gave way and her face hit the ground. She gasped, still trembling and unable to speak. 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Vivica watched the world fracture with awe and delight, grinning wild and hard as the cracks widened and time dribbled out in viscous ribbons. The iridescent blades shuddered through the air in a maddening and transfixing trajectory, casting the room into half-light and static. It threw odd shadows across the walls and the floor, bending her own into a strange thing indeed. Through the tears in reality, Vivica caught glimpses of other times and places.

She was five, sharing a cone of sweet ice with her brother on the side of the street. She was seven, doodling strange creatures into a notebook while her mother cooked dinner. It was night, and the world was full of choking smoke and screaming. She was fifteen, and the other children had locked her into the closet when she'd had another fit. From out of the corner of the darkened wardrobe, something glowing and violet drew nearer as she sobbed.

Vivica blinked as the glowing points of sharp light continued to grow and draw closer together. She laughed, then looked over to Bennington, who had grown very still, transfixed by iridescent blades and the white noise. The light flickered again, and Vivica saw another shadow thrown across the floor. It was vast, and possessing an anatomy that seemed anathema to anything the human mind could process in its entirety. It seemed to hover, rounded yet sharp, and full of dozens, possibly even hundreds, of wicked-looking tendrils. Or, perhaps, tentacles.

Vivica cocked her head, smile faltering for just a moment. Was that...?

The blades converged, and the scream that tore from Sierra's being was enough to drive every other thought out of Vivica's mind. Her eyes snapped back to the girl, who had fallen on the floor. The world had righted itself, and in the sudden silence Vivica could hear herself breathing hard. She looked over at Grey, then pulled her notebook into her hands and began furiously scribbling down what had happened. Grey walked forward, flipping Sierra over with the toe of one shoe. Over to her left, Bennington began swimming smooth, satisfied loops around the room. He, of course, cast no shadow.

"Success, then?" Vivica chirped, noting down Sierra's sharp, iridescent eyes in her report. The girl was still silent, but alive. "Does that mean it's time for cinnamon rolls?"

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought

[Snipexe he/him]

“Indeed, Viv, it is fact time for some divine Cinnamon Rolls.” Grey pulled out a small ruler, then measured the longest of the shards that had replaced the girl’s eye. He measured a few more, then figured the average. “2 inches extending from the socket,” He said, pulling out a test tube and collecting some of the tears. He would send them down to the interns to analyze. He paused as Sierra stood suddenly and vomited. And all over his shoes. He sighed, then looked to her form on the ground, crumpled as it. “Well, Sierra best to get up now. You’ll get used to the pain soon. I know I did. One day it will become your greatest companion. But it is not this day. Today your greatest companion will be Cinnamon Rolls, and that is fact.” He out his hand to help Sierra up.

@Shard of Thought @ZincAboutIt

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Grey's words washed over her head in a muffled tone. She grudgingly acknowledged that he wanted her to stand up, instead of denying that she was being talked to at all. She groaned, though it came out as more of a whimper. Get up, storm you! she thought to herself. It took a lot more mental cursing and berating for her to finally lift her head and see Grey's outstretched hand. 

She froze. 

They'd warned her about this. Both of them. She'd walked right into whatever blood cult this was, thrown her life into the hands of these radical crackpots. Not that her life was worth much anyway... And... the thought of hot and gooey cinnamon rolls. She hadn't had real food in a few days. And what food she had had, she had just thrown up. Her stomach rumbled in anger and she grudgingly took Grey's hand, her fingers trembling violently. After all, it was just pain. She could handle that.

@Snipexe @ZincAboutIt

[Snipexe he/him]

As Sierra grabbed his hand, Grey whispered to Viv to watch for anything particularly unique. This would be key part. There had been physical modifications, and therefore there would be metaphysical ones as well. “Alley 457 should have some Cinnamon Buns fresh out of the oven,” he said to Viv, then Alleytraveled there, taking Sierra along with him.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sierra nearly puked again. She was utterly unprepared to be hurled through spacetime. She doubled over, dry heaving and clutching her stomach. 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Vivica noted down Grey's measurement, then went and gently touched Sierra's other shoulder as she stood.

"It's marvelous," she whispered to Sierra, then giggled. "This is the best outcome I've seen in this experiment. And wait till you taste the Cinnamon Rolls. They are astounding! It's so lucky I found you out there - this is going to be wonderful. Once we get you into the lab and figure out what you can do. The transformation..."

Vivica giggled again. "There is nothing you cannot do, Sierra, if you simply refuse to accept the limits. And," she added, "if you have enough sugar."

Then they Alleytraveled; Sierra's reaction was about as expected. Vivica patted her on the back.

"This is why we save the rolls for after the temporal shifting, eh?"

In her mind, Vivica responded to Grey. This is the most fun I've had in weeks!

The smell of cinnamon wafted down the Alley, and she smiled wider. She could have cried.

Edited January 21, 2020 by ZincAboutIt
responding to more posts

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Water," Sierra managed to force out. "Please." 

Had she been on the streets experiencing pain like this she would have been curled up into a ball, praying to whatever diety was up there. She supposed she'd always believed in a God, when it came down to it. Most people did that because they'd felt something rescue them. She did so because nothing but some higher power could possibly punish so thoroughly.

[Snipexe he/him]

“Well, more room for Cinnamon Rolls, eh?” Grey said, Soulcasting a glass of water and handing it to her. He peeked around the Alley, looking until he found it. Ah, the oven. He walked over and, after grabbing a pair of oven mitts, pulled out a pan of hot Cinnamon Roles, and set them on a nearby table, taking one off to serve as a hot pad in the process. He turned searching for plates and utensils, and after he found them, set them in the table as well. “Dig in!” 

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sierra took the cup of water eagerly and took a big gulp of it. Half of it splashed onto her face and dripped down her chin, but she hardly cared. 

And then the smell hit her. 

She audibility sighed in relief, mouth watering. She licked her lips. They looked. So. Good. How long had it been since she'd had food like that? She hadn't been brave enough to steal such fare in a long time. In fact, memories of close calls stealing freshly baked goods held her back from taking one. She stretched out her hand and watched it tremble for a moment, ignoring her odd vision. It didn't take too long for her to decide to take one though. Grabbing a fork, she stabbed one of the sugary rolls and put it on her plate, ignoring the fact that such rich food was not exactly the kind of thing she should be eating after throwing up. She eagerly took off a piece with her fingers and shoved it into her mouth. 

Flavors exploded in her mouth and she almost started crying again. Food. Good food. Such a rarity now quite literally handed to her. It seemed like a dream, made her forget the pain for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered. 

[+Sorana she/her]

On 18.1.2020 at 7:36 AM, Voidus said:

"Whenever you are ready." The construct politely intoned. "I can transport us to the city and answer any further questions you may have there."

"Thank you." Temeria nodded at the man as well and then turned around to leave. There was nothing left for her to say or do here, and she certainly didn't want to stretch his patience by asking another question, or trying to prolong this meeting. "Have a good day." She wished him and then turned to the construct.

"I am ready." She stated and made sure the spren was with her. She didn't want to leave it behind, especially not in a place like this. Somehow she doubted that she would be able to find it again if she lost it here. And she liked that it was here with her, the way it played with the candle adorable. It was something to hold on, a small reminder that despite the strangeness of this world, some things were the same. She held on to them, although she knew, that she would need time, a lot of time until she really understood how things were like here.

She eyed the symbol that had started to glow and wondered if she was supposed to do something, or if it was fine if she simply stood there and waited. Surely they would tell her, if she needed to do more than that - and if they didn't. In that case it was nothing she could change.

Quote

Do you want to rp the question part? I can easily cover it with a post on my part, but wanted to ask before I do.

 

[Voidus]

The construct gave a nod and raised one hand towards Temeria, giving a final nod towards Voidus before its hand made contact with her and the two vanished in a burst of silvery light, leaving Voidus behind in the study, alone.

He stared for a moment at the spot where they had vanished, eyes roaming over the lingering light as it faded. Wondering if he would see her figure again, if she would be able to learn her way in this strange and unfamiliar world and survive long enough to make further waves. He wondered what would become of the spren that followed her, would she manage to swear the oaths? Manage to hold to the ideals long enough to realise what it was, and what it meant?

But a moment later he dismissed the thoughts, he would hear from her again or he wouldn't, but he'd repayed the favour that was owed with a promise, all that was left was to wait until it was invoked. There were other things that needed attending to.

The air in the office warped faintly, much less bright and flashy than the previous blast of silvery light. And then the room stood empty once more.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Appearing near the center of the city in a flash of silver, the construct withdrew its hand from Temeria and gave another polite nod. It ignored the stares of onlookers from the streets and nearby buildings, focusing it's attention on Temeria.

"We have arrived in the city." It informed. "Approximately 2,000 feet North, north-west of the barrier. You may experience some brief discomfort if you are unfamiliar with Aonic teleportation but it should pass shortly."

The stares from their surroundings intensified as people's curiosity about the construct grew, but it determined that such matters were unimportant when it had a task to perform. It waited respectfully for any question or request, watching the small figure of light that Temeria held as it glanced about it in surprise, it seemed to stand atop the candle flame to look about it and see their surroundings.

"Please let me know if you have any questions." The construct continued. "Although my knowledge is primarily related to Investiture, my purpose and my creators I do have some general knowledge of the city."
 

Quote

Up to you if you want to roleplay it or not, could just skip over the basics if you have anywhere you wanted Temeria to be but otherwise happy to go through it.

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:03 PM, Shard of Thought said:

Flavors exploded in her mouth and she almost started crying again. Food. Good food. Such a rarity now quite literally handed to her. It seemed like a dream, made her forget the pain for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered.

Vivica speared a roll of her own with a fork and set it onto a plate, smiling as she set about cutting the soft, spiced dough with the side of her fork.

”You’re welcome!” She replied, pleased that Sierra seemed more inclined toward gratitude now. There really was nothing like cresting the brink of total mental annihilation to get you excited about the simple things. 

More people should stumble into the void of madness and agony, she decided. Then they wouldn’t take fun things like cinnamon rolls or coffee or eviscerating test subjects for granted. Vivica pulled her notepad back in front of her and switched her pen to her left hand as she continued to eat with her right.

”So,” she said, leaning forward a little to inspect the small blades that had replaced Sierra’s eyes. “Have you noticed anything new? Can you remember anything you saw during the experiment? I know it’s a little bit raw but the moments just following a procedure like this are critical. I barely remember anything from my spiking, for example, but apparently I said a great deal during the event. Didn’t I Bennington?”

Bennington gave a loop, then wiggled his tentacles in the affirmative. Viv smiled at him fondly for a moment, then turned toward Grey.

”Do you want to monitor here at EHD, or should I take her back to R&D? We’ve got numbers on our side but if your interns are already working on those iridescent tears, perhaps she’s better suited here. Either way, it’s up to you.”

She stuffed more cinnamon roll into her mouth and doodled something in the corner of her notepad while she chewed. It was round yet sharp, and impossibly dark. The sensation was familiar, like she’d drawn it before. 

Odd, she thought, smearing blood and icing across her cheek with the back of one hand.

@Snipexe

[+Sorana she/her]

Quote

I'm always happy to rp things, and I have nothing else planned for her anyway. (Well apart from spending some time with the spren.) Just didn't want to bind you for long, or assume that you're interested.

Temeria gagged when her stomach lurched and she pressed a hand to her mouth in an instinctive gesture. She felt slightly dizzy as if she had been hit on the head, or lost too much blood after a battle. All around her murmurs rose and she straightened, her hand reaching out for the handle of her swords. The program was there, talking about her feeling better soon, oblivious to the people standing around them.

Uneasily Temeria looked around, heard some move away at her gesture and others shift their weight. Hastily she removed her hand again, lifted her arms in a gestured that hopefully wasn't threatening at all. They were being watched, stared at and she stared back defiantly, tried to get them to walk away. Instead, while some left, more stopped and took a look, while others hastened by.

She forced herself to take a breath, shoved the quenching feeling in her stomach aside and concentrated. The spren was still here. It appeared to be surprised but unharmed, perched on it's flame and looking around it what appeared to be curiosity.

"Can you bring us to the boarding House?" She asked the program, naming the first place she could think of apart from the tomb. And you didn't train in a tomb. It was respectless. Despite the uneasy feeling of her stomach held out her hand again. Standing around here would lead them to nothing. They would only be stared at, and observed and she wasn't planning to play sole entertainer for everybody here. Who knew, in the end someone decided that she was a threat. "Or maybe somewhere else in the city where it is quieter than here?"

[Snipexe he/him]

"I think it might be best to wait a little further, let the girl recover before we shove her into yet another perilous, mind bending situations. It would be a shame to burn her out just after we destroyed her chance at any normal human contact and indoctrinated her into our spike cult." Grey paused, counting down from five and watching Viv and Sierra enjoy their Cinnamon Rolls. "Alright, been long enough." He added Sierra to the conversations, "Sierra, while you are in fact thoroughly enjoying your Cinnamon Roll, we will at some point have to identify what those knives in your eyes actually do. It's for our safety and yours. We wouldn't want a repeat of the Incident 5665, Clearance: Mint Browning Required. It simply wouldn't roll off the tongue quite the same way as that one. While I'm all for mass-alley destruction, the incident number wouldn't be a palindrome and that is simply unacceptable. So, how would you like to investigate your new paranormal ability?!"

@Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

The emaciated woman looked up from her food. Her face was a bit messy from her frantic way of eating - always before she had been forced to eat very quickly for one reason or another - and she seemed a bit shaken. She had utterly immersed herself in the wonderful fact that she was being allowed to eat freely and being snapped away from it was a bit unsettling. Her eyes throbbed. No, her whole head throbbed. And her vision still wasn't right... it bothered her. She lifted her sticky fingers up to her face to feel at her eyes and was deeply concerned to find something protruding there. She froze, trying to remember... Daggers. Yes, she knew that already, Grey had just said something about it. It was just... fuzzy. Everything was fuzzy. She shivered, trying to focus on her surroundings and bring herself back to reality. Tests. Right. 

"Umm," she said softly. She felt stupid. "Well... is there anything you usually look for? A baseline. Of skills." She swallowed, shaking herself. What was wrong with her today?!

@Snipexe

Edited January 23, 2020 by Shard of Thought