The Knights Next Prequel

[+Sorana she/her]

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

“For one, why you killed this man. If you don’t tell...”

He gestured to his clothing, pure 70s fashion.

“I doubt your blood will look out of place on my red polka dot coat.”

"Because I was paid to do so. He was described as dangerous, magical. Knew some stuff about some plans. Don't ask me what. Something with some portals, I overheard a conversation."

Another step backwards, a groan, a hand used to stabilize himself.

"Really, I don't know anything else. Just let me go."

Wita looked up, when she heard a voice, saw another man limp towards him. She lifted a hand and waved at him, then paused, when behind her Anthony gasped:

"Sam, what are you doing?"

@Hope Spren

@Eluvianii

[I think I am here. he/him]

Marcel looked back too at the two other men approaching, one with a limp. The thug addressed one of them by name, did that mean they were with them? Instinctively Marcel turned, so his back was to neither threat, and so he could keep an eye on them at the same time.

He looked to Wita. He would’ve told her to run, but he knew these gang types didn’t mess around. They’d probably search for her, and would have no trouble in doing so, giving how much he was realising she stored Zinc. What if she tapped that? All of that mental speed... Marcel blinked, looked to Wita and the Radiant and the floating figurine spren, as well as the Irish mobster. Now or never.

“Who pai—”

Suddenly a very quick sequence of beeeps came from Marcel pockets, not ceasing. He grimaced at the interruption, and with some hesitation, offered the bloodseal to Wita and the Radiant.

“Can you take this?” He said quietly. Slipping his freehand within his jacket pocket he took out his pager, beeping far louder than something its size should have been able to beep. Storming pagers, always interrupting Marcel at the worst times.

“I need to take this.”

[+Sorana she/her]

18 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“Can you take this?” He said quietly. Slipping his freehand within his jacket pocket he took out his pager, beeping far louder than something its size should have been able to beep. Storming pagers, always interrupting Marcel at the worst times.

“I need to take this.”

Wita nodded and took the bloodseal. She looked at it closely, forgot about the others around them. Smiling she dipped a finger into the blood and drew a curved line on the handle. Blood was - like paint. And paint was colourful and beautiful. The seal itself was pretty. Fascinated she looked at it considered trying it out.

The beeping was annoying, but she ignored it for the moment, filed it away as too complicated to worry about. Life was easy, when that applied to almost every situation.

"Look, fairy." She smiled at Lyssa. "Do you like to paint?"

[WrathofaShardKitten]

2 hours ago, Sorana said:

"Look, fairy." She smiled at Lyssa. "Do you like to paint?"

Lyssa twisted up to see what Wita was doing, and frowned, shaking her head. "I can't paint," she wrote. The she brightened. "But I can draw! See?" She took the form of a vine again and blurred across the brick, creating an image of Wita's face. After she was done, Lyssa returned to her normal form of a girl and folded her arms, a proud tilt to her chin. "I call it planting."

Then she seemed to glance over and see the edge of her "drawing" beginning to fade. "Oh . . ." She wilted slightly. "They don't last very long, though."

She brightened again. "Maybe Kira can make you one that lasts longer! She can do planting too, but she needs seeds. I'm awesome," she wrote, appearing for a moment in between the words to toss her head, "So I can do it without seeds."

...

Kira had gotten to her feet slightly shaky from the use of so much stormlight, and the . . . other factors, as well. She breathed in another small amount of stormlight to steady herself, and so she'd be ready in case Anthony tried to attack them. She'd dropped the knife, and she was glad of that. For now at least. She couldn't bring herself to pick the knife back up, and that would stop her from using it to hurt people. If only they would stop hurting themselves . . .

Kira shook her head, trying to dispel the lingering thought. Lewis's loud call helped. She turned to look at the two men, one with a wound in his side, and watched carefully to see what they would do next. She'd be ready if they attacked. She wouldn't use the knife, but she had her surges.

[I think I am here. he/him]

Marcel turned his back to the others, looking at the pager and clicking a button to stop the beeping.

You’re late again, dude. I’ll take your shift, only because I don’t got anything else to do. You owe me.

Marcel moved his thumbs over the green LED display of the message and not for the first time wished he had one of those two-way pagers that could respond, but those were expensive and Marcel wasn’t a full forensic detective yet. So he had to live with his one-way. Stuffing the little electronic in his pocket, Marcel looked back at the others who were there.

Wita was playing with blood. Marcel walked over to her, not sure whether to tell her or not. He looked to Anthony.

“Who paid you? Last question, I swear,” he said, a hint of a smile at his face.

[+Sorana she/her]

"They belong to an organization. Call themselves "Cursebreakers". I know nothing more. We were supposed to get rid of him, then report back. Tomorrow night, here." he pointed to the ground he was standing on.

Wita smiled at Marcel, then wiped the seal clean, to be able to take a closer look at the pattern etched into it. It was beautiful, and somehow she knew, that it was more than a simple seal, that there was something behind it. The thought crossed her mind quickly and for a moment she looked up at Marcel, who was still questioning the man. He'd told her, hadn't he? She tried to remember but wasn't sure anymore, had stored too much in between once the man had started screaming. The screams. A shiver ran over her body and she quickly shook her head. Painting. Painting was safe.

"I like your planting."

She told Lyssa and held out the seal to her.

"Look, Marcel can paint as well."

And yet, a thought lingered, an offer to help, to make her forget. To stop storing for once and for all, to be able to live. Hope. Hope was dangerous, very dangerous.

@I think I am here.

@Hope Spren

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here. he/him]

“Cursebreakers,” Marcel repeated. He looked down at Wita and his eyes widened fractionally as she wiped the blood off of the seal, then showed to the spren and said he could paint. Without the bloodseal Marcel had nothing he could use against the thug. And there was no way Marcel was going to get more blood with the thug so on edge.

Confidence. With confidence you could bluff your way through anything. But Marcel had never been so good in hiding what he was feeling.

“Uh, very well,” he said, gesturing to the other two. “And I guess you must, er, also be part of this?”

@Eluvianii

@Sorana

[Eluvianii he/him]

And just like that, Lewis' little trick fell to pieces, there was no way he could still pretend he knew these people. But at least he was alive and somewhat safe now, and he had listened to that little interrogation.

"I heard noise in the alley and this guy here started to threaten me, like there was something to hide here. It looked interesting so I tryed to pry in. Not the best of decisions." he said, dropping the act. "Does any of you have a bandage to spare by any chance?" he asked, not too hopeful. Who would trust a bleeding guy they've just met in a dark alley who happens to be in the company of a dangerous thug?

Edited September 2, 2019 by Eluvianii

[WrathofaShardKitten]

11 minutes ago, Eluvianii said:

"Does any of you have a bandage to spare by any chance?"

Kira raised her hand slowly. "I could probably help. Though it's not a bandage, and I don't know why exactly I should help. For all I know, you're part of this. Part of killing him." She gestured to Christopher.

[+Sorana she/her]

Wita pressed the stamp on the ground, as she had seen Marcel do earlier, but nothing happened. Of course, no paint. Later. She had to try that one later. Standing up she tilted her head to the side and looked at Lewis, and the man next to him. This alley was getting crowded quickly. The only question was, who was dangerous and who wasn't. The fairy girl was nice. Marcel could dance and Kira paint. So they were all nice. Satisfied with her conclusion she starte to look through the pockets of the dead man.

===/===

Behind her Anthony noticed, that they all seemed to be focused on something else and took another step away from them.

"Anthony."

Sam called out loudly, unwilling to stay behind on his own. Anthony had messed this up, he had to pay the price.

"Glad to see you, this nice man here, told me, that his friends want to join our gang - but obviously he lied to me. So I think, we should finish them off, and then be gone."

[old man moomba he/him]

Quinn took a drag on his cigarette. "So it was a hired hit." he nodded, "I can respect that. It's at leat more classy than mugging random people at gunpoint. I could wax on about the different classes of criminal, but the..." he struggled to think of an adective to discribe Wita, "girl is peeking in the dead man's pockets and I want his wallet."

He stepped over to the dead guy. "Anything good?" he asked Wita, only half joking.

[Eluvianii he/him]

Lewis sighed. This didn't come as a surprise, but the pain was already starting to annoy him. He took another bit of metal from his pocket and pushed it, this time aiming for the guy's foot.

He didn't know if that had hit but he didn't care either. He turned back to the girl that had talked to him. "I hope that means something." then slid to the floor and sat there. He felt really dizzy.

[I think I am here. he/him]

A hired hit. A hired hit. That meant there were some real bigwigs involved. Not many had the money in this city to hire a kill, and fewer still who knew of Investiture, and who knew whatever the storms the thug had been talking about ‘portals’.

“You never saw us,” Marcel said, willing to let them go. He didn’t have any more way to threaten him anymore.

“Pretend like we never came here.”

[WrathofaShardKitten]

Kira jumped as the piece of metal shot from Lewis's hand, and slicked the ground beneath Sam in case he tried to retaliate. She glanced back at Lewis in case he tried anything, but he just said "I hope that means something," and slid to the ground.

Okay, well now she wanted to heal him. He looked . . . not so good. Kira started to edge her way around to him, trying to look casual. Healing Lewis would probably take most, if not all, of her remaining stormlight. Maybe she could just heal him a little . . . ? He really didn't look that good, but Kira didn't want to leave the rest of them defenseless.

"You never saw us," Marcel said. "Pretend like we never came here." Well, that might solve their problems? If the Anthony and Sam would let them all go, then she could heal Lewis and they could go. Sam and Anthony might not even chase them down. But then, what about Christopher? If they just walked away, then she would never know. Never know if he had a family that never heard from him again. Never know who he was or why he was killed. He would just . . . Disappear. And that felt wrong.

 . . .

Lyssa left Wita, drawn to Kira by an invisible thread. "You're so close," she whispered.

[+Sorana she/her]

Wita looked up. The man they had met earlier she shrugged and pocketed the wallet Marcel had seen earlier. Good? It depended on what was good for him. She continued to look over the man lying here and only vaguely registered how Sam cried out in pain, when a piece of metal hit his foot. Then he turned and limped away.

"But they did see us."

Confused she looked at Marcel, while Anthony nodded eagerly.

"We never saw you. The alley was empty when we came." He nodded again, his head bouncing up and down and up and down, while he took another step, gestured for them to leave.

The little fairy left her and she looked after her sadly, looked at her hands. Of course she left her. It was the same as with everyone else.

@Dr. Dapper

@Hope Spren

@I think I am here.

@Eluvianii

Edited September 4, 2019 by Sorana

[old man moomba he/him]

"Nothing?" Quinn shook his head, "No tapes or like, vials of metal. No gemstones? No pieces of colorful cloth?" Quinn chucked, taking a drag on his cigarette. "How disappointing."

[+Sorana she/her]

38 minutes ago, Dr. Dapper said:

"Nothing?" Quinn shook his head, "No tapes or like, vials of metal. No gemstones? No pieces of colorful cloth?" Quinn chucked, taking a drag on his cigarette. "How disappointing."

Wita opened the wallet and showed a picture, of the man wearing copper jewellery. Maybe Quinn liked pictures? Without bothering to form a sentence she pointed at the colourful clothing of the corpse, like her own, or Marcel's red coat, there were some brightly coloured pieces.

Edited September 4, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here. he/him]

9 hours ago, Sorana said:

“We never saw you. The alley was empty when we came." He nodded again, his head bouncing up and down and up and down, while he took another step, gestured for them to leave.

Marcel nodded and turned to leave, looking to Wita.

“If no one says that they saw us, than no one will think we were ever here. And it is best to pretend we were never here. So the police doesn’t question us.”

[+Sorana she/her]

15 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

Marcel nodded and turned to leave, looking to Wita.

“If no one says that they saw us, than no one will think we were ever here. And it is best to pretend we were never here. So the police doesn’t question us.”

Wita nodded and quickly headed to his side. She waved at the little fairy, blew her a kiss. Without saying something she handed Marcel the wallet, asked him with her eyes if he wanted to put it back.

"There is more to this."

She said quietly, although he'd probably already suspected. Still it felt good to come to the conclusion herself. She like to thing through a situation on her own, even though most of the time she couldn't."

[WrathofaShardKitten]

Kira watched as Sam limped away, and then walked over to Lewis, Lyssa trailing after her. She could still feel the words, waiting to be said, but they didn't feel quite so urgent anymore. She placed her hand on the top of Lewis's head, breathed in her remaining stormlight, and healed him. It took everything she had.

Taking a step back, she offered her hand to help Lewis up. "I hope, that's enough. Though, as I mentioned before, it's no bandage," she said smiling a little.

@Eluvianii

...

Lyssa noticed Wita and blew a kiss of her own, though she didn't go back to talk to her just yet.

Edited September 4, 2019 by Hope Spren

[Eluvianii he/him]

Lewis was there, in the ground, idly wondering how much blood a person could lose before losing consciousness, when suddenly his mind was sharp again, his senses were clearer, and his pain was gone.

"I hope, that's enough. Though, as I mentioned before, it's no bandage," 

He took the hand she offered him and got up. "Th-thank you." he said, confused. What had happened to his pain? He checked his side and the wound was gone. "What, what was that?" he asked. She obviously could do something as well, but her ability seemed completely different from his.

[Bookish Ocelot she/her]

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Can somebody tag me or pm me a list of where all the characters are/what’s happening? 

 

[WrathofaShardKitten]

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Characters:

Spoiler

Eluvianii:

Name: Lewis Rollings

Age: 19

Appearance: 175 cm, black hair at the lenght of the eyebrows. Sticks to simple colors in clothing, so as to blend in with the crowd.

Investiture: Twinborn. A-Steel F-Electrum.

Weapons: A bag full of tiny metal pieces he picks up from the ground.

Skills: He's good at picking pockets and spying other people as long as it's in the open.

Nationality: British.

Personality: Grumpy and sarcastic. He sticks to crowds but tries to avoid relationships with other people. However he does miss being with other people, so he easily becomes attached.

Background: He was extroverted and cheerful as a kid but wasn't good at controlling his power. One day at the age of 16, he got into a fight and accidentally tapped from his electrum bracelet. He couldn't control himself after that and ended up killing the other guy. He decided to run away from home, afraid of what would happen to him. He struggled at first but learned a few tricks to get money from pedestrians. Furthermore, he practiced with his abilities and later started to accept certain 'jobs'. Nothing pleasant but they ended his monetary problems and as long as they didn't ask questions about his methods, he accepted them. Now he travels between cities and is constantly storing determination. Not enoough to become a danger to himself though it does give him an irritable personality. He tells to himself it is to help with his job, no one pays attention to someone who practically screams 'Go away' with every look, and tapping determination could save him from certain situations. But he's actually afraid that if he stops storing, he'll still have that cheerful personality, even after all he has done. He has thought of going back home, maybe the things have already cooled down, but doesn't really want to face his family.

Spoiler

Hope Spren

Name: Kira Rose

Age: 18

Appearance: Reddish-blond hair, blue eyes. A little over five feet tall.

Nationality: American?

Clothing: Black knee-high boots, skirt, shirt, and occasionally a jacket.

Investiture: Edgedancer, first ideal

Spren: Alyssandria

Occupation: Translator

Skills: Speaks fluent Portuguese, German, and English and can make herself understood in French and Spanish. Can read Latin. Good at dancing.

Family: Mom (40), dad (41), older brother (21), and little sister (13). Her brother’s name is Issac -- he's currently in the army -- and her sister’s name is Summer.

Personality: Everything is just a little bit exaggerated. She’s trying to pretend that everything is normal, and not fully succeeding. She’s social, though rather more reserved than before. She has a hard time opening up all the way, and doesn’t talk about the important stuff very much, and has a hard time asking for help. She would do anything for her friends and family.

Backstory: Two years ago, Kira’s best friend committed suicide. She promised herself that she would never let that happen to anyone else. Then, only a year after that, Summer vanished. No one has seen or heard from her sister since, and her family believes her to be dead. All except Kira. Kira believes her sister is alive. Alive, and in danger. Kira has been working ever since then, gathering funds and trying to find her sister. She swore the first ideal during this time and attracted Alyssandria.

What happened (the short version):

Marcel, Wita, Kira, and Quinn left the disco and discovered a body in an alley close by. They were investigating it, and had discovered that the dead man's name was Christopher, he'd been killed by someone taller than him, money was not the motive, and he was quite probably an investiture user, when the two NPCs, Sam and Anthony, showed up. They began a robbery to scare them away, as well as to get some money. Anthony walked down one end of the alley to draw their attention away, while Sam was supposed to come from the other direction while they were distracted. Lewis showed up and began fighting with Sam, and the others defeated Anthony.

They got the information that Anthony and Sam were hired to get rid of the body, and something about portals. Wita and Marcel said that they were willing to leave, and Sam and Anthony were okay with that. So right now, people are getting ready to go, and Kira is pretty close to swearing her second ideal. They still have Christopher's wallet, and are (probably) planning to investigate further. I think that's about it.

@BookishOcelot

[+Sorana she/her]

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The larger plot is, that an organization called 'Cursebreakers' is trying to separate the Perpendicularities. Of course they are opposed by another group, which the dead one belonged to. How strict we follow that plot/ how many other things we add as well, we'll see as we go on.

The idea is, that we stumble into that conflict because of the corpse. Which side we'll choose isn't decided, but in the end the perpendicularities will be separated, so that we have the same state of world TKND has.

There were ideas about Sha'Theoxis being trapped at the moment, as people are able to see and perceive investiture, and she will be released as an accident when the perpendicularities are separated. Due to them being separated she will be trapped in nothern america.

@BookishOcelot

Edited September 5, 2019 by Sorana

[xinoehp512 he/him]

7 hours ago, Sorana said:

There were ideas about Sha'Theoxis being trapped at the moment, as people are able to see and perceive investiture, and she will be released as an accident when the perpendicularities are separated. Due to them being separated she will be trapped in nothern america.

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Hold on, I thought we weren't doing this.