first verse Augury: Ten of the Void

[Archer he/him]

Rural Route No. 3. Early morning. 

Tion awoke on the back of a trotting highhorse. His legs, which felt like they were bound with a thin rope, were dangling off of one side of the beast; his stomach, which he noted with pleasant surprise was covered by his favourite shirt and coat, was languishing across the middle where a saddle would normally go; and his chest and arms, which were also tightly bound, hung over the over side, giving his eyes a fantastic view of the dirt road below and not much else. 

An overweight soldier was sitting on top of him.

“No weapon?” Tion shouted up at the man. He received no response.

Tion craned his neck to get a better look at the rider. His pants were standard military issue, dull and utilitarian, but he was noticeably lacking any form of metal plate or chainmail. His shoulder obscured Tion’s view of his facial features.

Tion quickly came to the obvious conclusion. “Hey, you’re a courier, aren’t you?” he yelled over the noise of the wind. 

The man squeezed his legs into the horse’s flank, sending them into a gallop. Tion began to bounce wildly with each step that their long-legged transport took.

“Facet’s face!” he muttered, irritated. “Do you mind? I’ve got vials in these pockets.”

In one swift motion, Tion brought his elbows together then rammed them into the highhorse’s side. The creature, interpreting the action as a command from its rider to turn, swiftly peeled to the left. That trajectory sent the three of them careening off the road, into the drainage ditch that ran parallel beside it. They fell forward wildly, knocking them all down with a tremendous thump.

Tion was the quickest to react. When, in a disconnected way, he felt his body hit the dirt, he immediately rolled a dozen meters away from the other two and began gnawing on his bonds with his teeth. To make it go faster, he shut off all feelings of pain and adjusted his perception of pleasure to make his body think that the activity was an enjoyable one.

Meanwhile, the man who had been sitting on him lay on the grass, clutching his arm and groaning. The highhorse, having easily gotten to its feet, skittered about by his side nervously, unsure what to do.

“Thom’s ***!” Tion blurted out another curse word, this time a rather vulgar one about Reality’s posterior region. Having sufficiently loosened the ropes around his wrists, he wriggled his arms out of them, then untied his legs before running over to take a look at the courier’s injury.

The man probably had a face, but Tion failed to notice it as he lasered in on the small gash along his forearm.

“Lucky, lucky, lucky,” he mumbled to himself as he rolled up the patient’s sleeve so he could begin probing the limb with his fingers. “Lucky, lucky, lucky.”

Tion pulled a small flask of colourless liquid from his coat’s pocket and poured it generously over the appendage. When it touched the bloodied areas, the two fluids reacted with each other, fizzing slightly. Once that was done, Tion ripped a small strip of cloth from the man’s undershirt and wrapped the wound snugly.

“You need to see a doctor as quickly as you can,” he said when he was finally finished. “Take the horse and go right away. If you attempt to take me with you, I will fight you, and you will lose. Begone!”

The man, visibly stunned, rushed to comply; he stumbled to his feet, awkwardly moving towards his mount.

“Go!” Tion screamed at him, waving his arms. That seemed to overcome any reservations that he might have had. Moments later, he was back atop the highhorse, on the path, riding bareback at speed away from the god of Sensation. Cocking his head, Tion listened intently to the hoofbeats as they gradually faded away into the distance.

When he was satisfied that he was alone, he grinned gleefully and wandered over to the spot twenty meters down the trail where the bag of mail that the courier had been transporting had been tossed, then forgotten after the chaotic events of the crash.

“Hello,” he said to it as he leaned over to peek at its contents. “What secrets do you hold?”

[overlord stick]

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Holy-

 

[Archer he/him]

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This is, hands down, the greatest 1000th post I have ever seen. It even beats Ene's.  Congratulations on your accomplishment. (I am so, so sorry.) 

/hugs

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Archer

[overlord stick]

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AAH NO I WASTED ITTTT

 

[I think I am here. he/him]

“Commencing advanced ballista mechanics, test fourteen,” Pryclin “Price” Evada called out as scribes from all around the chamber they were in scurried off to meet with other, higher up scribes to note down the orders. Price stepped to the side, standing near to the wall of the underground cavern that had been dug out precisely for Tühine’s research and development troops.

If only they were called troops. Price looked to the corners of the room where Tühine soldiers stood imperiously, donning the colour of their nation, without a doubt ready to carry the flag of victory across the sea to Cahaya. Did they know how lucky they were? He looked down again and shook the thoughts from his head. Daydreaming would not solve the problem. He could help his country in other ways.

Two large objects entered through the open doorway of the cavern, both draped in brownish cloth stained with blood. On the opposite side from where they entered, scribes quickly began setting up targets. Simple constructs, square in shape with a dash of red paint in the center. They were lined up in rows and the two large objects were wheeled in front of them. The scribes looked to Price once and he nodded, they were placed correctly.

“Commence regular Tühine ballista,” he said, and one of the clothed machines was unveiled to be a ballista. At Price’s orders the ballista was charged up, and then fired, the bolt scouring seven targets. The number was recorded down.

“Commence advanced experimental ballista,” Price said. “Advancements include a new architectural design made for maximum penetration power, stolen Cahayan rope refined for a larger draw, as well as new mined metal for reinforcements.” The other machine was unclothed, it was still clearly a ballista, however some wood parts looked replaced by metal and there were two men ready to draw it back.

“Downsides include higher expenses, two men required to operate and increased fragility.” On Price’s orders, the two men drew back the advanced ballista, and when he was ready they let go, the bolt moving like a snake with a blades head. All thirty-seven targets were scoured, an incredibly large number. However, one of the ballista arms was snapped.

“Let this research period end,” Price said, noting something on one of his ledgers. Useful information indeed.

Edited July 8, 2019 by I think I am here.

[Lunar Blessing she/her]

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Character sheet (it’s very barebones at the moment but it will be refined, I just wanted to get something out so I can RP)

Spoiler

Name: Samantha grey

 

Age/gender: Female

 

Appearance: Usually appears to be around 13 years old. Blonde hair, green eyes.

 

God: Infinity

 

Weapons and/or Special Equipment: About 10 small daggers are hidden all over her at any time.

 

Family: N/A

 

Nationality: Hopearaa

 

Backstory: ?

 

Personality: she’s very peppy and happy all the time.

 

Whether you want to be a hero, villain, or neutral, which will affect which lines of the prophecy and which plot points involve you: Neutral

 

@AonEne

Edited July 8, 2019 by Blessing of Potency

[John Flamesinger he/him]

John glared at Truth, though he knew Truth couldn't see him. I give up.

Still walking down the mountain side, John hit the call button and put the phone to his ear.

@Emperor Stick

[+Sorana she/her]

12 minutes ago, John Flamesinger said:

Still walking down the mountain side, John hit the call button and put the phone to his ear.

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I thought this was a fantasy setting?

 

[old man moomba he/him]

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Uhhhhhh.

ENE HELP!!

 

[John Flamesinger he/him]

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Apparently, the gods get phones. They can only contact each other, though.

It's alright Dapper, they know nothing else

Ene had contacted the people with god characters to figure things out.

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by John Flamesinger
You should play Halo.

[+Sorana she/her]

Sagitta stormed forward. It was easy to soften the impact of her armor on her joints, easy to run as fast as she could. Forward. Her feet hit the ground, and then she was there. She lifted her sword high above her head and slowed, let them come to her. Around her, her comrades did the same, and then they clashed. The nomands were used to fight differently, less structured and they tended to destroy their ranks with their arrows, with their screams. Sagitta screamed as well, let the rage of a fight take over. Aim for the head, use your sword to keep them away. Left and right, left and right, block, and then forward again. Slowly they moved forward, comrads falling now and then, but their armor protected her from most of the blows. More screaming. Another group of nomands was charging down the hill, into the lighter troops to their left side. Sagitta knew what was about to happen, cursed when she realized, that their lookouts had failed, or died. The lighter troops started to flee, broke through her own ranks, and the world dissolved in chaos. In the blink of an eye her line was gone, those protecting her sides were gone. All around her people started dying, nomads coming close, too close. Sagitta let her sword fall to the ground, drew a knife instead, a shorter weapon, suitable to close ranged combat. She stabbed someone in the stomach, the warm blood flowing over her hand, felt someone close on her from behind and turned around, hit him with her plated glove. The woman stumbled back. Sagitta slowly turned around again, stabbed a man clinging to her arm, tried to understand what was going on, who was enemy, who was friend. She softened the blows hitting her, stood for another heartbeat, for two, then she stumbled to the ground, when three of them turned against her. Her head hit something and the world turned black.

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Set somewhere, where it fits.

 

[BringerofShadows she/her]

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Oof. I really need to get going. 

Can my character hold a high position in the Tühine Military?

 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

15 hours ago, Blessing of Potency said:

@xinoehp512

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Sure! Do you have anything in mind, or should I?

Also, Ene, is there a place with all the character sheets and worldbuilding?

19 hours ago, John Flamesinger said:

Looks like I made a couple of cities mountainis, but that's ok, right?

So I haven't added cities yet, that'll probably be my next big project (or Hopearaa4 as it will be called on my laptop )

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That is... not a lot of mountains.  Usually mountain ranges are much larger than that.

And you can have cities in the mountains, so that's fine.

 

[Lunar Blessing she/her]

Just now, xinoehp512 said:

Sure! Do you have anything in mind, or should I?

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I got nothing at the moment. Wanna move this to a pm?

 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

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Sure, sounds good.

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by xinoehp512

[overlord stick]

10 hours ago, John Flamesinger said:

John glared at Truth, though he knew Truth couldn't see him. I give up.

Still walking down the mountain side, John hit the call button and put the phone to his ear.

@Emperor Stick

Truth's phone rang, and he instinctively knew it was Facet. "Yes? What do you need Facet?"

@John Flamesinger

Edited July 8, 2019 by Emperor Stick

[xinoehp512 he/him]

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John is Facet. Po is Infinity.

 

[overlord stick]

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Edited it.

 

[John Flamesinger he/him]

1 hour ago, Emperor Stick said:

Truth's phone rang, and he instinctively knew it was Facet. "Yes? What do you need Facet?"

@John Flamesinger

"We need to talk. Have you had anything... strange happen to you recently?" John shook his head when he realized Truth was just laying there, using speaker. "If not, then what may cause my powers to do something strange." He paused. "Theoretically, of course."

@Emperor Stick

[overlord stick]

Just now, John Flamesinger said:

"We need to talk. Have you had anything... strange happen to you recently?" John shook his head when he realized Truth was just laying there, using speaker. "If not, then what may cause my powers to do something strange." He paused. "Theoretically, of course."

@Emperor Stick

"Something is happening. I don't know. My power... I don't know what's going to happen. I think... the Augury is starting." He responded, voice shaking.

@John Flamesinger

[John Flamesinger he/him]

John sucked in a breath. It's to far to walk. "We need to talk, face to face with the other gods."

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Hey Ene, is it ok if I call Negation? Once S/He is ready?

 

[overlord stick]

"Yes, I'll start gathering the others, where should we meet?"

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, John Flamesinger said:

Hey Ene, is it ok if I call Negation? Once S/He is ready?

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She's going to be gone for a few days, I'll @ her so it doesn't get buried.

@AonEne

[John Flamesinger he/him]

"Where the borders meet in the Earn'Lamath Forest." He sighed. "I need to start walking."

[Archer he/him]

The Village of Vom. South Street. Mid-day. 

Tion’s song was playing. It emanated from his heart, spilling out into the air where all who heard it were enthralled. That’s how he interpreted the situation, anyway.

He stood in the middle of a busy village street, eyes closed, arms outstretched, and toes tapping, oblivious to the cart traffic he was impeding. A small crowd of angry commuters was gathering to shout obscenities at him, worsening the congestion in the space between the storefronts that lined the road.

“Get a move on!” one angry farmer bellowed, shaking his fist. The ring of working men that flanked him nodded in solidarity.

“Sh sh shhhh,” Tion chided, putting a wagging finger to his lips. His eyes snapped open stare the man down. “Don’t you hear the music?”

The farmer hesitated, tilting his head slightly. Now that he knew to listen for it, he could here a tinny melody playing in the midst of the crowd. It seemed to originate near Tion, but there were no musicians or instruments around that he could see.

“How?” he started to ask, but Tion quickly cut him off again.

“Hold up! This is the best part.”

The music suddenly increased in intensity. The sounds of several stringed instruments could be heard, as well as the unmistakable vocals of Brills the Bard.

Tion immediately began singing along, loudly. “Let me tell you ‘bout the man, the man whose music spans, it spans throughout the land, the land of ballad fans.”

On a whim, he flexed his mental muscles, channeling his Power. Instantly, the road lit up to his eyes with the multicoloured light of villagers’ auras. Forgoing subtlety for strength, the god of Sensation willed the citizens’ anger straight out of existence, coaxing inclinations towards complacency and obedience to dominate their psyches instead. The gathering became very quiet.

“Sing along if you know the words!” Tion invited grandly, jumping into the chorus of the still-playing song. “What’s it a doubter does?”

He cupped his hand behind his ear. The crowd obliged him by robotically mumbling the appropriate response en masse. “They get the chills.”

Tion smirked, pushing on their emotions a little more. That increased their volume, if not their enthusiasm, which was good enough for him.

“At ev’ry bar there was?”

“There’s free refills.”

“His patron king’s laws?”

“They foot the bills!”

“BIG FINISH!” Tion cried, jumping onto the running boards of a carriage to stand above the crowd.

“The nobl’st man ‘cause he lives for thrills! Let’s hear some applause for the bardic Brills! Hey!”

Tion pumped his fist in the air as the music abruptly ended. He held the pose as, around him, every one of his impromptu backup singers immediately keeled over, clutching their stomachs and groaning as a sudden wave of nausea hit them all.

He hopped down and began strolling down the street of moaning bodies. From his breast pocket he pulled out a black flip-phone. A flashing red icon on its front indicated that he had twenty-eight missed calls.

“Eh, probably not important.” Behind him, the sounds of several people vomiting could be heard. Tion ignored them. They and their town were just a pit stop on his journey. They would pull themselves out of their stupors in a few hours and blame their food or water, convinced their sing-along had been just a hallucination, as so many villagers had done before.

If he was right, he had a meeting to get to. 

Eventually. 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

On 7/8/2019 at 1:03 PM, John Flamesinger said:

John sucked in a breath. It's to far to walk. "We need to talk, face to face with the other gods."

 

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You don't have to walk, you know. Reality isn't limited to self-teleportation.

On 7/8/2019 at 0:54 PM, Emperor Stick said:

"Something is happening. I don't know. My power... I don't know what's going to happen. I think... the Augury is starting." He responded, voice shaking.

@John Flamesinger

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Hold up. Ene told me the gods didn't know about the Augury.

 

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I have some more advice on the map, as well.

@John Flamesinger

Edited July 11, 2019 by xinoehp512