Voidus

Laurelai turned towards KanMien, wondering what she'd noticed. But before she could say a word she felt it, a sudden wave of Allomantic power rushed through her, suppressing her emotions, forcing them back down until almost none remained. She wished she hadn't come here, this had been a mistake. So much destruction around the city and she thought that she would manage to survive it? She thought that she could be an effective spy in a city filled with swords that severed souls, knights with the ability to turn you to stone, men and women who could hurl a coin through your skull with nothing but a thought? She was too far out of her depth. She needed to run. To get out of there before Voidus remembered what she'd done to anger him. Before he killed her. Then she felt the power twist deeper still, forcing its way beneath the surface of her mind and into the depths. She felt it pulse rhythmically and felt a counter-pulse from two points in her arms, two bright piercing points that seemed to resist against the intrusion. But even stability spikes had a limit, and she could feel them slipping, losing ground. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She felt the fear spread out beneath her, the two legged creature froze in panic or ran from the sight of her. As it should be. These ones did not try to resist her, did not threaten to usurp her dominion or challenge her authority. They were not like the enemy. From a number of points below she felt a strange cracking sensation, as though the power she'd unleashed had broken through something, and felt a sudden connection to a number of minds. A connection that would only be possible with others who had been gifted powers. Her Kindred. For a brief moment a flash of fear took the edge off of her rage, her wings faltered as she realized what she had done. Her creators had forbidden her from commanding her Kindred unless they gave her permission, she had not been permitted to do so on her own. Should not even want to rob her fellows of their wills. But she had it seems accidentally seized control over a number of her Kindred in the city, and she could feel several others on the verge of shattering as well. But then her rage flared up again, burning as bright as the flames upon her body. Her creators no longer held sway over her. She was the sovereign of the skies, not them. She held herself aloft moving towards the building that she hated, but her eyes still scanned the ground. She wished to see the enemy, broken and afraid, fleeing from her shadow as she swooped down upon them. Instead she saw something else, something that was unexpected. A burst of bright fire lit the ground, before lifting up into the air. Her eyes focused in on the flames immediately, narrowing in challenge. Her children were a great distance away, this could not be any of them. And if it was not one of her children then that left only the option of a rival. The flames began to fade to a darker colour, a black flame outlining a shape that she was familiar with. Her shape. Talons stretched beneath her as this rival approached, but for a fellow creature of the sky she gave it the courtesy of waiting for it to speak before rending it apart. You knew my father. The Rival spoke. Were friends with him. He saved you. Will you accept me too? The Phoenix regarded it unblinkingly, trying to recall any figure like that of this rival. She remembered nothing of any other rivals, not since she had been a tiny hatchling. But she did remember another creature who had tried to speak with her. Another whose voice rang with a fire of its own. Could this Rival be a Hatchling of theirs? That one had understood. He had understood what it meant to live. Accept? She asked back. No. Accepting comes after. Proving comes first. We are hunting. We are living. Join the hunt and maybe we will accept. Show that you live. With a sudden gust of wind and heavy wingbeats she set off towards the building once more. If the Enemy was in the building then she could destroy both at once. If not then she would continue destroying until she found them. Perhaps the Rival would understand, perhaps they could live as well. She cut off the surge of emotional allomancy, allowing those below to feel once more. But she kept a hold of the tethers she'd already formed, the minds that she was already connected to. She gave them all a single request. Find the Enemy.

She had taken a wide birth around the city before, but now her wings ate the miles that lay between them. The ground beneath her blurred, colours beginning to merge together into a muddy river of brown. The sight usually inspired pity in her for the creatures doomed to spend their lives wallowing there, never knowing the joys and freedom that the sky brought. But today she felt only rage. Rage towards the ground that had spawned the enemy, rage towards the creatures that dwelt on the ground for sheltering the enemy, but mostly she felt rage for the enemy himself. The one who had died and then returned. Who plucked at her mind and sought to control her. Who had killed so many of her Kindred when they'd roamed the city. She crossed the miles in seconds, a streak of light across the sky that brought with it a terrible, scaldingly hot wind in its wake. She reversed the flow of gravity once more as the city began to unfold beneath her, slowing her flight in an instant. The force of her bodies passage crushed against it, but her eyes gave no sign of discomfort as they scanned the ground below. Injuries meant little compared to finding the enemy. She scanned the streets and buildings below, amber eyes seeking the source of her fury. They latched onto one of the larger structures and she instantly felt a sudden burst of hatred within her. The building was not the enemy but she hated it just as much. Her mind flashed back to the first time she had seen the enemy, he had been standing atop a building like this one, trying to climb his way up to the sky. Trying to claw his way into her domain and claim rulership. This building was a reminder of that day, a reminder of the rage she had felt then, but still not enough to explain the hatred she felt towards it now. It was unnatural, it was sudden and inexplicable. It was the enemy. She let out another loud screech over the city, her cry echoed across it just as the gust from her passage caught up and began to blow through the streets, slamming into buildings and any unfortunate enough to still be caught out. I will find you. I will hunt you. We will have life once more. And then you will die. She accompanied the thought with a sudden blast of allomantic power of her own. It was a power rarely used, her creators had given it to her for a different reason. But she would risk their anger for this. An intense soothing slammed into the ground below her, robbing the emotions of those who had yet to be evacuated. She had yet to find where the enemy was, but he was in the city somewhere, that was enough. She could only take emotions, not give them. But that was enough to send a message. She took everything from those below her, all their hope, anger, joy, sadness. She would leave only two things behind. Fear and regret. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Laurelai watched Lita smile in response as she received her reply, but then her expression shifted and her hand reached into one of her pockets before pulling out the coin that the Stranger had given her. She examined it for a moment, then began rapidly sending another message. Coin is getting hot again - maybe because we're getting close to PlasmaCore? Either way, something is happening, or will happen soon. Get ready. That would mean that there was still the possibility for danger up ahead, even given their present company. Or possibly because of their present company. She didn't think she'd be able to survive a fight that included three of the leaders of the DA, even if she was just a bystander. She nodded back to Lita, sending one final message before pocketing her spike and preparing herself for what was to come. Stay close. She felt the Alley shift beneath them one final time as they arrived. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voidus cast a glance behind him as they walked, keeping an eye on the three who were following along. He caught a brief flash of movement from Lita's hands, an Alleycant message of some kind, but at that he directed his attention forwards once again. It wouldn't be polite to eavesdrop if they were discussing something private. She would need a little space after all, she'd probably grown accustomed to it during the years of his absence. Distractedly he shifted the final Alley in front of them, the one that would take them outside the Plasmacore building. Hopefully with enough time to end this before too much of the city was lost, or he'd likely have to endure complaints from other guilds about why they hadn't acted sooner. Their surroundings shifted as the dull gray bricks were replaced with cobblestone walls, a pair of older buildings looming over them on either side to form an Alley. Voidus was midway through his next step out onto the streets when he noticed it. An intense wind was passing through the street, far hotter than it should be for this time of year. Far hotter than was normal at all for the city in fact. New creatures from this Vortex? He wondered, eyes tilting up to see if anything else was spilling out of the building. But what he saw was not what he expected. Project Phoenix? How in the world did it get here? As he thought it over he felt something, very faintly and obviously not directed in this area, but a faint tugging sensation. "Someone" He said, turning towards Mac and the Stranger. "Is letting out an undirected Rioting." The two of them would know what that meant, it was one of the triggers. Someone had summoned one of the DA's unique creations. "This may cause a small complication." He muttered, staring upwards. @Ax's Boyfriend

The headwind had picked up in a familiar portent, she could almost taste the Investiture that was to come. A sharp, energetic taste coupled with the fierce wind that was no wind. The Alleystorm those who crawled on the ground had called it. She simply called it delicious.She had no current need to refill any of her stores, but the storm would fill them above their normal capacity anyway, she would be able to enjoy the limitless use of her abilities for a short while until the storm passed. The intoxicating feeling was enough that she'd often considered simply riding the storm as it passed over the continent and beyond, luxuriating in a life of infinite energy welling up within her as fast as she could use it.But this excess was only so pleasurable because she had the time without in between. Experiencing that all the time would simply lessen the experience from the extraordinary to the ordinary. From marvel to routine. The ruler of wind and fire enjoyed the chaos of the storm, its unpredictability. If it became her permanent state then it would no longer feel wild, and that would be the worst fate she could imagine for it.She angled herself a little higher and began banking, allowing the wind to catch her from the back now. She felt it ruffle through her feathers as it took some of the burden off of her wings, giving her a little force forwards. It meant that she was travelling back the way she'd come but that didn't matter too much. She'd seen some flashes from the city in the distance, some large shape that loomed overhead. But she'd steered around it on her way here, she could do the same on the journey back.As she began soaring back she saw the shadow in the distance still, looming high above the city. Above the skies themselves. She'd seen the shape once before, the last time she'd visited the city in earnest. The day that she'd first felt that irritating itch, that surge of power that tried to rule over her.A sudden shiver ran down her spine, a particular rarity given the large plumes of flame that usually burned there. At first she thought she was simply recalling that day too vividly and ruffled her feathers a little while casting an irritated glance towards the city that lay far in the distance. But the sensation didn't fade with the memory, it grew stronger. It seemed to almost target her as she drifted, searching for her. Her eyes caught the other lesser creatures of the air seeming to become stunned before they began speeding unnaturally towards the city. Something was controlling them. Something was trying to control her.The enemy yet lived.Her eyes sharpened in an instant as she banked once more. She would not steer around the city this time, she would visit it once again. She would remind the hated enemy why she was to be feared.The flames that lapped along her feathers flared suddenly brighter, becoming almost white at their base and extending out further still from her body. She felt a fire within her rage as if in response. She felt the power of the enemy pulling at her inner fire and stoking it to a fury, but she needed no help in that. Her eyes were already filled with rage.She could simply wait for the storm to carry her to the city, use its power to further the destruction that she would wreak. But that was too passive, the fire within her would not allow it. She raised her wings and with a might downward push began accelerating towards the city. With her size alone she was fast. With the abilities that had been granted to her she was faster still. And when she used some of her inner storm to alter the pull of gravity she became speed incarnate. She descended upon the city like the wrath of the heavens, a distant speck of light that was growing far too quickly for any to escape.For the second time in two decades the cry of the Phoneix pierced the skies above Alleycity.

The headwind had picked up in a familiar portent, she could almost taste the Investiture that was to come. A sharp, energetic taste coupled with the fierce wind that was no wind. The Alleystorm those who crawled on the ground had called it. She simply called it delicious. She had no current need to refill any of her stores, but the storm would fill them above their normal capacity anyway, she would be able to enjoy the limitless use of her abilities for a short while until the storm passed. The intoxicating feeling was enough that she'd often considered simply riding the storm as it passed over the continent and beyond, luxuriating in a life of infinite energy welling up within her as fast as she could use it. But this excess was only so pleasurable because she had the time without in between. Experiencing that all the time would simply lessen the experience from the extraordinary to the ordinary. From marvel to routine. The ruler of wind and fire enjoyed the chaos of the storm, its unpredictability. If it became her permanent state then it would no longer feel wild, and that would be the worst fate she could imagine for it. She angled herself a little higher and began banking, allowing the wind to catch her from the back now. She felt it ruffle through her feathers as it took some of the burden off of her wings, giving her a little force forwards. It meant that she was travelling back the way she'd come but that didn't matter too much. She'd seen some flashes from the city in the distance, some large shape that loomed overhead. But she'd steered around it on her way here, she could do the same on the journey back. As she began soaring back she saw the shadow in the distance still, looming high above the city. Above the skies themselves. She'd seen the shape once before, the last time she'd visited the city in earnest. The day that she'd first felt that irritating itch, that surge of power that tried to rule over her. A sudden shiver ran down her spine, a particular rarity given the large plumes of flame that usually burned there. At first she thought she was simply recalling that day too vividly and ruffled her feathers a little while casting an irritated glance towards the city that lay far in the distance. But the sensation didn't fade with the memory, it grew stronger. It seemed to almost target her as she drifted, searching for her. Her eyes caught the other lesser creatures of the air seeming to become stunned before they began speeding unnaturally towards the city. Something was controlling them. Something was trying to control her. The enemy yet lived. Her eyes sharpened in an instant as she banked once more. She would not steer around the city this time, she would visit it once again. She would remind the hated enemy why she was to be feared. The flames that lapped along her feathers flared suddenly brighter, becoming almost white at their base and extending out further still from her body. She felt a fire within her rage as if in response. She felt the power of the enemy pulling at her inner fire and stoking it to a fury, but she needed no help in that. Her eyes were already filled with rage. She could simply wait for the storm to carry her to the city, use its power to further the destruction that she would wreak. But that was too passive, the fire within her would not allow it. She raised her wings and with a might downward push began accelerating towards the city. With her size alone she was fast. With the abilities that had been granted to her she was faster still. And when she used some of her inner storm to alter the pull of gravity she became speed incarnate. She descended upon the city like the wrath of the heavens, a distant speck of light that was growing far too quickly for any to escape. For the second time in two decades the cry of the Phoneix pierced the skies above Alleycity.

I will say that I really do like the idea of guild plots being opened up to everyone, there hasn't been much in the way of ooc guild relations happening for a while now so I don't think there'd be any harm in people RPing into guilds that differ from their associations as a player. Would be awesome if we could get a few of those up to really flesh out some of the guilds a little more. So I think two have already been discussed in this thread. 1. Ghosblood plot set in Oasis city, with TBD details but involving mstery, fighting and assassinations. 2. Invo's main plot suggestion: fix the shredding of reality. Spacetime has become a little more ragged around the edges and everyone is required to fix it, would be a planet-wide plot with possibly some time shenanigans going on.

I always suggest that people post ideas like that here before they develop them too much, but ultimately I'll leave it up to the people whose ideas they are to present them when they feel comfortable.

Results from last poll: Which additional settings should be explored as a trial? Ancient Pre-Civilization - 5 Classical Fantasy (No tech, guns, etc.) - 15 Wild West - 10 Modern day - 4 Sci-Fi - 12 Horror - 12 Noir - 5 War games (Tactical / strategic play instead of individual character focus) - 8 Political intrigue - 10 None, I prefer keeping the current setting without any expansion of setting - 3 Putting up a new poll regarding the timeskip since there seems to be some support for both sides. I'd also suggest people start thinking about other potential ways to circumvent the problems that either option might cause. Eg. A large scale Cadmium bubble that preserves the age of certain characters across the timeskip so they can still be played. (Not a real suggestion, just an example) Agreed. Different major locations also helps break things up into smaller groups of characters which makes things much more manageable. It becomes a lot easier to be aware of who is who in a smaller group rather than everyone piling into a single location. Also I am aware of at least three different proposed plots for next era, so these could be spread out by location to allow people to pick a plot to become invested in rather than everyone being forced into the same major plot or else sidelining their character for a while until the plot is resolved.

Don't you think he'd have done it already? Lita sent back. Doesn't seem the type to draw it out like this. Anyway, he clearly thinks your valuable. Your Forgery - that's a serious talent. An asset. Laurelai blinked at that, giving Lita a sidelong glance. She hadn't heard anyone call her abilities an asset before, she'd proven useful sometimes certainly, but Forgery wasn't exactly seen as one of the most useful of Investitures. By Selish standards it wasn't anything flashy, not like Aons that could blast beams of energy or teleport across great distances in an instant. The DA tended to have a better view of it than most did, but ultimately Forgery couldn't create anything that couldn't be created some other way anyway, it was just a little faster sometimes. Fabrials were a larger source of interest, the mechanics of how the placement of differently infused gems could create various effects. But Forgery was ultimately just an imitation of things that other people could do without any powers. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Sure, I can keep a lookout, but I've got a feeling that any one of those three could detect something suspicious faster than I could blink, tin or no. Lita continued, interrupting Laurelai's thoughts. Again Laurelai found herself surprised, she;d been envying Lita's abilities only earlier today, the powers of a Tineye, especially one as talented as Lita seemed to be, were an ideal fit for the work they needed to do. If you want to use them as a benchmark then I seriously doubt there's anything I can do that they couldn't do as well. Laurelai replied. She felt her tension ease a little further as she smiled wryly. Comparing yourself to people who can create universes might not be the best benchmark to be setting when trying to gauge your usefulness. @ZincAboutIt

(From the PM, posting here so these don't get lost)

That's going to happen regardless of which guild you join though, all it will change is what spikes we use.

Voidus handed assignments to everyone and seemed to pause for a moment, eyes lingering on Laurelai once more. Here we go. She thought, closing her eye and awaiting what was about to happen. Well he still said the three of us so maybe it won't be instant death at least? "Let us move on then, and we can finally put an end to this." Voidus said, turning around and proceeding down the Alley. What? He's still going to wait? What could I have done that's so terrible but also keeps getting put off? She felt her stomach knot up further in anxiety as her punishment was deferred once again. She almost wanted to just scream at Voidus and tell him to get it over with already, this waiting without knowing was giving her an incredible tension headache, she felt nauseous, a little faint. But ultimately that was still better than death, so she kept silent and began walking quietly after him. You alright? Lita sent. Any idea of what we’re supposed to do when we get to the Vortex? Lita felt a sudden jolt of irritation pass through her. Not irritation at Lita, but at herself. She'd allowed someone she was supposed to be helping to see her in a state like this, to worry about her. It had been a number of years now since that had last happened, not since before she'd joined the Dark Alley. I'm- Laurelai paused mid-message. She'd been about to say that she was fine and not to worry about it. But she knew it wouldn't convince her anyway. Lita was a Tineye, she could probably hear the rapid palpitations of Laurelai's heart, could probably see the sheen of sweat that she was barely keeping at bay. And even without those supernatural senses she could probably read Laurelai's face enough to see her fear. I'm a little terrified. She admitted finally. Scratch that, I'm extremely terrified. I keep worrying that he's just going to whirl around and disintegrate me or something. She took a deep breath, feeling the cool air of the Alley slide into her lungs. The sensation was calming, she felt her heart slow a little as they travelled. She'd always found the Alleys calming, relaxing. Well, once she'd gotten used to ignoring the whispering horrors that lay just out of sight anyway. But I guess there's no point worrying about it. It still hasn't happened yet somehow so maybe it never will. Not like I could do anything to stop it anyway, about as useful to worry about that as worrying about an meteor killing us all. That seemed to help somehow. There were plenty of things that could kill her instantly, there wasn't enough time in the day to spend worrying about them all. If she couldn't do anything then there wasn't much point worrying about it. She felt the knot in her stomach loosen a little, her muscles relaxing as the stress faded. I suppose on the plus side investigating a giant mass of Investiture that's trying to destroy the city feels much less dangerous now. She gave Lita a small smile as they walked. Not sure that there'll be that much for us to do regardless of what they say, but at least we can keep our eyes open. Like they said, watch out for anyone suspicious. @ZincAboutIt

Pi is definitively better.

Oh, I see your concern but I think you must not have read the full post. See? Completely unrelated so you have nothing to worry about.

I agree, I'd very much like to secretly join TUBA. -From Voidus, not Sudiov.

It's a giant post, takes a while for the edit to go through and update. Should be good now though.

This is why I added the qualifier of not often, not not at all

I'm tempted to disallow based on this alone But looks fine, not often we get completely unInvested characters. Approved

Your name? No, not within my powers. I'll update the list though to tag Ink properly.

I'm assuming because you're using Inks name.

"I think that’s everything. Should we head out?” Mac asked. Voidus gave a curt nod, still keeping a little attention for any potential pursuit through the Alleys. There was little more for them to discuss, and if the storm would indeed affect the Vortex in some way then speed would likely be necessary. "The three of us will see to the Vortex." Voidus said, gesturing to Mac and the Stranger. "The three of you be on the lookout for anything that seems out of place. Or anyone acting suspiciously, we can't discount the possibility that they've left saboteurs around to ensure that nothing happens to it." It was unlikely that such a saboteur could do much to deter them even if one were present, but it could be enough to damage the surroundings. It would also be an excuse for them to stay nearby, protected. "Let us move on then, and we can finally put an end to this." Voidus stared into the Alley ahead, beginning the process of manipulating them once more and taking them to an Alley nearby the main Plasmacore building. He would need to keep his mind focused now, no more idle thoughts distracting him. His eyes became steel as he resolved himself to keep his mind present and not wandering. Perhaps we could host some kind of celebration afterwards, might make it a little easier to talk to her. His resolve did not last long.