Sorana

======================= "Do you have anything else to say?" the man said, glancing at her and then quickly back to the prisoner. So he was freeing him. Calmly she took a step back to get some distance between them, needed some space to be able to wield Brashen after summoning him. She tried to come up with something good to say, something to deescalate the situation and felt like gritting her teeth in annoyance. She didn't know enough about him, about the situation to decide which words would anger him so much, that he decided to attack, and which ones might calm him down. The truth. She could go with a blunt truth, but if that would help. He was a Radiant, that meant that he had to act within the borders of his oaths, but they left enough room for decisions, for values to come into play as well. "I would prefer if you could stop killing people." she replied, deciding that talking around matters wouldn't solve anything here. She wasn't stupid enough to lie to herself and believe that this was exceptional, that there was no crime in this city. There was, and there were worse things than one Radiant running around, freeing a prisoner. But he was here and right now he was a threat to those around them. Better to ensure that he wasn't planning to go on a killing spree soon. Looking up she met his eyes, spread her hands a little. "I'm not looking for a fight." she stated and took a deliberate step to the side putting her body between him and the others. If things went south - two against one were bad odds, but she could get them all out of the way should it be neccessary. Narrowing her eyes she left them on the man in front of her. Or she got him out of the way. Moved the fight somewhere else. To a place where none of them could hurt anybody else in their wake.

To claim that it wasn't tempting would have been a lie. To walk through that gate, be a soldier again, to do nothing but follow orders, eat and spend her freetime throwing dice on a table sounded like heaven. There wouldn't be any heavy fighting, maybe the occasional raid. Sagitta knew that she technically wouldn't be a soldier anymore, that it would be different, on the other side of law but she hardly cared. Cat offered a sanctum, a place where she could stop worrying about the war, about gods, about Immortals going crazy. And it was the most temption offer she had ever heard. Her eyes remained on the open gate, on the fact that it would take only a few steps. Tion could come with her, or not, it wasn't as if she could help him with his plan anyway. She had no idea about this old magic, didn't know how to deal with Last or whoever else decided to show up. She was nothing but a human. Her feet carried her a step forward, and she answered with a salute of her own, the gesture instinctive, nothing she needed to think about anymore. "Thank you." she replied, her voice a little hoarse. "I never expected that offer." She knew she could help them. She was blooded, trained well and her instinct tended to allow her to survive even desperate situations. She could live a good life here, probably command some troops of her own soon. It would be over. The journey, the wandering. The drifting around clinging to a purpose, the discussions with a god, who didn't want her company. She would be accepted, valued for her skills and for who she was. Not discarded, not seens as a liability. Glancing over at Tion she swallowed, he seemed weary, tired. She had fought for his country, had spilled blood in his name, and he was right. He'd never asked them to do that. Cursing herself she shook her head. "I'm afraid I have to decline. There is something I need to do first, maybe afterwards." She smiled sadly at the women. "It's tempting, more than I have words to tell you." Stepping back she turned towards the road, looked at the mill. It wasn't far away, definitely faster to walk there, than to build a new circle by themselves. "May the gods smile upon you." she replied politely, although the words tasted stale in her mouth. Maybe it was time for them to depend less on the gods and more on themselves. It was easy to blame an incorporal being, but a lot harder to look for faults in your own actions. "Let's go." she said quietly to Tion, hoped that Cat would let them go. The woman could use her, needed any trained fighter, but it wasn't her place anymore. She hadn't felt it, but she had moved past it. Step by step, but what she had told Tion was true. She was no soldier anymore. She wasn't entirely sure what she was, felt lost in the conflict, in the situation in general. But she had been lost when she had stepped on the battlefield the first time. And then it had turned into something familiar. The fear, the stench, the pain. The capture had put an end to all of this, and it had been the same. Unknown at first, until she had been able to deal with her fear and find a solution. Price. Another new situation she had learned to deal with. It was only Tion, only the gods that made her feel vulnerable, lost, helpless and that lead to anger. Because anger was familiar. She had always depended on her own skills to keep her alive. Had prayed because it was what you did, because a part of her had hoped that maybe someone would listen and would offer her a hand when she needed help. But he had done this. Tion had helped her. Without a sacrifice, without a prayer. Without him, she would be nothing but a mindless ghoul on the island of a crazy god. She was no soldier anymore, couldn't think about a new label that fit her. Mercenary, traveller, she had considered so many. But maybe she didn't need one. Maybe being Sagitta was enough for the moment. The thought was scary, when she realized that there was no place to hide anymore, no excuse for her actions. They were her own. Not because of following a god's doctrine, or because of an officer shouting at her. Her own decisions. Her responsibility. But she could do this. Offer Tion a helping hand the way he had offered one to her. She smiled at him, when she turned away completely, a part of her attention still with the possible threat behind her. "Let's take a look at Last."

"Don't worry about it." Althea made a calming gesture in Ben'S direction when he apologized for his reaction. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." She kept her eyes on his face for a heartbeat and then added, her voice softer than before. "We all have our package to carry. Don't feel as if you're the only one." A shadow crossed her eyes at the memories that tried to take a hold of her for a moment, but she evaded them easily, had learned to live with them. She could accept them, she had to. Although sometimes, sometimes it was so incredibly hard. Althea waited until Ben appeared to be alright again and only then focused on the Van. His reaction was interesting, but nothing she would spend any time on considering it right now. For now the Van and those inside were more important. When she knew what was going on, then she could make a decision whether to intervene or not. Recalling the faces of the guards that had fled towards the bonfire earlier it wasn't something good and for a moment she was tempted to turn around and walk away, but then nearly violently discarded the thought. No. Walking away wasn't the path she had decided to walk. Whereever her journey would end, turning away from something like this wasn't a part of it. "You can stay a little back, if you want to." she offered Ben and Aln, made sure her tone conveyed that she wouldn't think less of them if they did. She wasn't entirely looking forward to an open confrontation herself, but if there was a chance she could save a live by intervening, then she had to give it a try. She had faced monsters, gates into the Void. She could take a look inside of this Van. Walking over she looked at the back door, dented, but somehow still holding in place. Not wasting time on trying out to open it by hand she simply placed a hand on the cool metal and reached out for it. Metal remembered flowing, being flexible like a river and it was easy to convince it, that being water would be a great improvement compared to an ungly, dented door of a Van. It left her with some plastic, cables and some parts she had no idea that they belonged into a door. Pulling a part of the plastic aside she was able to gaze into the Van, immediatly noticing the bodies, the traces of a fight. A prisoner, somehow still sitting on a bench and in front of him the one who had probably caused most of this destruction. A man, his uniform identifying him as one of the guards cowered in a corner, obviously shaking from fear. Althea inhaled more stormlight and got him out of the way, to an empty place on the pavement close to Aln. Hopefully she would take the cue and see if there were any wounds she could take care off. Her heart started to beat faster when she realized that right here and now she had interfered, had lost her last chance to turn around. Without Max, she hadn't fought without him by her side in years. There had been that one duel in Shadesmar, but she'd never aimed for Lusk's death, and while she suspected that he had, both of them had been no fighters. This man instead - he was a warrior. His stance, the way he held himself, how he moved. A warrior. Exactly the kind of person Max would take over, with her supporting him from a few steps away. Swallowing she forced herself contain her calm facade, despite everything of the man reminding her of someone else. The same readiness to kill. They didn't look alike, but there was something about him, that called forth a hint of fear and pain, memories of a battle long over. She rested her left hand of her bag to keep it from shaking slightly, tapped a bit more stormlight out of her bracelet. It's feeling wasn't exactly calming, but it reassured her, made her feel stronger and more confident. Max. she reached out to him. Have you seen one of them before? She followed her sentence up with a picture of the inside of the Van, so that he could make a picture for himself. And if you're not too far away, some backup would be nice. Even if he was close, chances that he arrived in time were low. He might, but by no means should she count on it. Neither should she count on Aln or Ben. She didn't know them well enough to know if they would support her, or leave her alone. "Hello." she said instead, without any real idea what it was that she was supposed to do now. With the last survivor gone, it was only the two of them. And while the chains hinted at the fact, that at least one of them was being held for a reason, there was no way for her to know for sure. The only thing she knew was, that she most certainly wasn't going to start the fight. Not if they stopped killing people. "What is going here?" she asked instead, if only to buy herself a little more time to decide. If she let them go - how did she know that they wouldn't continue to kill somewhere else? @Ashbringer @Rushu42 @bees? @I think I am here. =============== Vivi followed Reval when he stepped closer to the man. Drop to the ground and then start fighting. She had no idea how she was supposed to fight with her face pressed into the dirt, but she didn't doubt she would figure something out. The man was dangerous. Dangerous enough, that Reval appeared to be scared. She knew it from the way his fingers twitched, how he held himself ready. Vivi didn't know if the man would detect these little things, but growing up around him and her mother had left her able to read both of them. Sometimes. Sometimes they were nothing but inreadable stones to her, especially when they didn't want her to know what was going on. "I'm not Isharok's child and neither is my brother." she disagreed vehemently, only belatedly realizing what the man had claimed. Her parents lying to them, her mother having a different man? No, it wasn't possible "My father is called Max. And he is a good man. Brave and strong. He always fights for the weak ones, and then he's funny, and he tells all these bad dad jokes, and sometimes they make my mother laugh loudly." She liked it when her mother laughed. It banished the shadows that sometimes sat in her eyes, shook her out of her thoughts when she sat on their terrace, looking outside into their garden. She stuffed a last bit of cotton candy into her mouth and dropped the stick to the ground, slipping out of one strip of her backpack, ready to drop it to the ground should it be neccessary. Hopefully nobody stepped on Rainbowglow, but with the people outside of the bubble moving slowly the danger wasn't too high. @Nohadon

The arrow didn't worry her a lot, she could soften it's impact enough to render it close to useless. But the guards that were positioned along the wall made uneasiness creep along her spine. They could surround them easily and without some armour of her own, even she would have a hard time against so many. Add to that those she wasn't able to see now, plus those who would send in some arrows - her instinct was usefull, but only if she knew an attack was coming. Shoot her in her back while she fought of another guard and she would die just as quickly as everybody else. "My name is Sagitta T'Sora." she replied camly, made sure to spread her hands in an attempt to show her good will. "I used to belong to the 2nd bears, but was divided from them during a battle." A half-truth, but it had to be good enough for now. She wasn't planning on spilling all of her history to this stranger. "I belong to the T'Sora clan, living south. We are looking for a stone circle." she hesitated and then decided to add a little more information. "We'd like to ask the gods for a save journey south, and wanted to sacrifice. If you could point us towards the closest one, that would be great." Her eyes moved over the collar, and she swallowed when she realized that there was no emblem. No soldiers, but those that had been left over. Neither Tion nor she looked wealthy, not after everything their clothes had been through, but they both carried weapons and that might be enough. Supressing her nervousness she stayed focused, concentrated. Persuasion wasn't her strongest feat, but maybe they were lucky and the woman had a good day.

Althea inhaled, her fingers tightening around the two holding her hands. She always wondered how people were more comfortable when you offered them a sliver of control, something to do, in order for another thing to happen. This was one of these things. She didn't need to touch them, didn't need their consent, but it was easier if they knew, if they felt as if taking her hand had something to do with elsecalling. It made them prepare themselves. She knew her body was blazing with light for a moment, as the stormlight cursed through her veins, filled her with its comfortable strength. It was a storm, wild and restless, furious and raging, but it was her storm and she loved it with her whole heart. She mentally reached out for Aln and Ben made sure she got a good hold of them and then touched the veil between the realms. She wasn't entirely sure when she'd started to refer to the border as a veil, when the picture of stepping through, brushing it aside in order to pass had stuck in her head and while she suspected that it wasn't how Elsecaller's were taught back on Roshar, she hadn't learned how to control her powers there. Sometimes it irked her, the thought that she possibly used a picture that was wrong, or unfitting the world her powers came from, but then she nearly laughed at her own thoughts. The picture worked for her and that was important. In the end it was the only thing that counted. It didn't take her more than a heartbeat to elsecall them away, into the street she had seen the two guards run out of. The storm left her and she instinctively tapped a little more, just enough to have a small reserve in case she needed to do something. Withdrawing more was a thought, inhaling a second at most, but you never knew. She liked to be prepared. Calm spread through her, when she turned her head to survey their surroundings. The Van was still a bit away, but she could see bodies on the ground around it. She wasn't entirely sure if it was still moving, but shot a quick look to the other first, to see if they were alright. Elsecalling could be a bit weird if you weren't used to it. @Ashbringer @Rushu42

@bees?

Speechless Sagitta stared at him. "But -" she started and fell silent again. "Why -" she tried again, only to discard the sentence as well, her thoughts whirling around in her head. "You never told us." she finally said quietly, her voice weak. If he really had sworn of killing it meant what had happened earlier had been accident. He had fled instead of fighting his fellow god. And she hadn't seen him kill. Whatever that meant. As he had pointed out, she had only seen a tiny part of him. But why had he kept quiet? He had known, or maybe he hadn't and - With a groan she rubbed her forehead, wished the situation was any easier. "What a mess." she finished, cursing for Price for disappearing. He could have made sense of all of this, had probably read some stories or documents. She just wondered what she was supposed to do now. Stay here. Leave. Go home. Back to the army. Intensity. Look for Price. Throwing her arms up in desperation she turned back towards Deicen and froze. The former empty remains of the walls had been manned during their discussion. She knew they would be holding bows, some even crossbows, their eyes on the stranger moving towards their city. Despite the threat she was nearly relieved to see them, to spreads her arms to indicate that she was holding no weapon. At least this was something she knew how to deal with. "What do you think about the following. We solve this problem first. Summon Last and then talk, sort the mess out, so that we both know where we're standing." She suggested over her shoulder to Tion and loosened her shoulders. It would take her a little bit to draw her sword, she had to take its sheath off first. But with some luck, maybe they could talk their way past the soldiers. Maybe there were a few of the 2nd bear's left to recognize her. Unlikely given the amount of time that had passed, but there was no alternative now. They would have no chance to summon the creature without being disturbed, even if they used the circle Tion had planned to lay out.

Vivi looked at her brother while he spoke, admiration written all over her face. He probably had come up with a plan, a strategy to follow. It was awesome how he always managed to read situations and then act in a way that benefited everybody. She relaxed her stance, but made sure her copper continued to burn and instead plucked off a little more cotton candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Better she ate it now, than she saved it. Worst care she would have to drop it to the ground and exchange it for a weapon and she wasn't looking forward to that. The festival was her one chance to get some easily and she was planning not to waste a single bit of it all. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed how Reval had shifted his feet as well, knew that he was preparing for an incoming fight. As was the man. Her father had taught her early to keep an eye on a possible opponents body, on the way he moved. And right now, he was ready to draw his weapon and shoot the two of them. For a moment she considered to stop eating, but then decided against it. Reval knew how to deal with people. He would deal with that one as easily as he did with everybody else. And she could always get her own weapon out quickly, should it become neccessary. For now, it was probably better if she made sure her cotton candy was eaten when then conflict started. It would be ashame should it end up a victim. Her eyes moved over the man as she ate, tried to understand what he was even doing here. Something about a god - probably one of the weird ones praying to some non-existent deity of another planet. There were many of them around and most of them were harmless idiots. "I'm not your sister." she pointed out, decided to make sure there was no misunderstanding while shooting him a disarming smile. "You're far too old to be my brother." @Nohadon ================= Althea turned towards the food stalls when Ben agreed to go and look for something to eat as well. "Where was the stall selling dumplings, that you saw earlier?" she asked Aln and noticed the world around them slowing down, when Ben reduced the amount of metal he was burning. Yet, the bubble remained around them. Interesting. The way he could steer his Investiture, how he burnt so much so easily, it hinted at a great proficiency, far beyond what an allomancer with a usual amount of training was be able to do. That he didn't stop completely now, when they were considering to head back to the stalls and the crowd hinted at something else. A dependency of some sorts, or maybe he was simply so used to it, that he had forgotten he was still holding the bubble up. But then he had changed it, left it there. She studied his face again, remembered how she had seen him first sitting on the ground, the way he his body had shook a little and gave a curt, mental nod. He wasn't burning because there was a reason to, he burnt because something in his own mind propelled him to do so. Be it an addiction, be it savancy, be it trauma of some sorts. She didn't know him well enough to judge the reasons for it or come to a conclusion that would be reliable. At first she didn't notice the two guards that ran along the street towards them. And even when she saw them, it took her a moment to connect them to the Van. It had to be far away by now, at least one or two streets over. It had been moving slowly, but it was hard to judge how much time had passed with time moving slower inside of the bubble. "Something is wrong." She stated calmly, annoyed by herself that she had lost sight of the Van. But the moment the world had blurred around them, she had lost track of nearly everybody. "I don't have prove, but the two men running towards the place, the could have been part of those inside of the Van. And if that is true, it doesn't bode well for everybody else there." She extended her hands towards them. "I can take us quickly to the next corner, so that we can take a look down the streets, see if we can discern if something is wrong." @Rushu42 @Ashbringer

"You don't strike me as human." Sagitta disagreed quietly and started to walk towards Decien. "You strike me as someone who spend a lot of time observing humans, but never quite got the act right." Calmly she picked her way through the remains of the battlefield. There was no use to stop being honest now, although it took some convincing of herself to keep her eyes forward. If she angered him again, she would pay for it. Dearly. That she'd survived last time had been nothing but pure luck. "What confuses me, is that you didn't want my worship." she continued, listening for his steps, for any change in them, ready to move should he attack her again. "You were one of the two I prayed to my whole live and you discarded it as worthless. Told me to amuse you, not pray." Her lips pressed together she took another step, fighting the emotions that rose in her chest. "You say you are my god, that you are a good creature - but at the same time you trample on everything I am, everything I care about as soon as you get a chance. You mock me and what I was taught, and when I attempt to learn, to behave in a fitting way, you just tell to amuse you." Her pace picked up a little and she lifted a hand to brush away the tears that ran over her cheeks, annoyed and angry by her own weakness so openly on display in front of him. She hated crying, it always reminded her of a weak childish girl with no control over her body, over her reactions. "I've killed in your name, those that died here on this battlefield died with your nation's name on their lips. God or no god, if you are a good creature, then you're lacking an astonishing amount of decency." Whirling around she spread her arms, standing in the middle of a symbol for everything she had been, for everything she had believed in. It was crazy. She was crazy. She wasn't supposed to talk to a god like that, she wasn't supposed to talk to any superior like that. She was supposed to be quiet and behaving, following her orders and being a nice, good Ta'e'ilon girl. Except that she couldn't. She just couldn't anymore. "So you're basically telling me, that the god who gave me his power tried to kill me yesterday." She considered the thought and then shrugged, the gesture exxagerated. "Well I suppose I have to thank him for that. After you, he's the second god that failed." Spreading her arms she tilted her head slightly back. "You want to finish it now? Here? In between the corpses and souls of those that have been my comrads for years? Or do you really want to tell me, you didn't know that the wiped out regiment around us, was my own?"

Vivi grinned at when they walked through the crowd, crurious and wide eyes at the sights around them. She continued to stay close to him, eyes sweeping over the crowd. It was so like Reval to give the one investitureless performer some of his chrysts, and she left him one as well, mostly out of loyalty towards her brother, than because she really felt like he had earned it. A few steps away stood a beautiful lady, dressed like a princess and her eyes shone when she swept into a beautiful bow, dress moving a little over the ground. She dropped a few chrysts into the shell she had placed in front of her and then hurried onwards, intent to stay close to her brother. “Fail school and you’ll end up like him,” he joked. “Crazy and trying to recruit people into a cult, while calling them heretics at the same time.” Vivi turned her head when Reval nudged her, saw a strange man, preaching to the crowd. "I'm not that bad at school." she complained. She wasn't. When she learned she usually had good grades. It was only that learning and dancing both needed time and one was fun, while the other was boring and annoying. She was surprised when the man suddenly rushed over, moved between her and her brother, both of blurring for a moment. Vivi screamed when she realized what was going on, only to realize that screaming wouldn't change anything. Instead she reached for a vial and dumped the contents into her mouth. She only started to burn copper when Reval was moving normally again, the crazy one standing close, far too close. "Get away from my brother." she commanded and wondered if their father was close enough to hear them. Looking around she couldn't see him, and instead shifted her weight into a fighting stance as he had taught her, keeping her copper burning, covering herself and her brother. Hopefully Reval hadn't noticed her drinking the vial. She didn't want for him to feel bad about not having any Investiture of his own. @Nohadon ===========

"Are you a god?" Sagitta asked quietly, eyes never leaving the stones he had placed on the ground. Old magic. Something different from the instincts everybody used, something mystical and unknown. Magic. A part of her wanted to laugh at the idea that a god-like being was attracked by a circle of stones, but if reminded her too closely of the circular shape of the pit the'd witnessed. Maybe Tion had a point. Magic. She had discarded the idea of magic, it had sounded like a children's story to her, like nothing but a tale of the past, long obsolete in today's society. Her mother still belived in fairies, left milk outside at night and carried candles to stone circles - Sharply she looked up at him, one hand resting on the boulder nearby. "There are stone circles around." she told him. "Places some believe to hold old power. I don't know where the closest one is, but we could ask around. I doubt it's far." She realized that she had changed the topic too much had jumped from what she wanted to know, to what she remembered and made an unwilling gesture with her right hand. The whole battlefield had hit her harder than she thought if wasn't able to concentrate on one thing at the time. Finish one line of thought before starting another. Her eyes returned to the pieces of armour around them. A battlefield. And if stones were really able to take up souls, to preserves them, she suppressed the urge to hug herself when she pictures herself walking between the souls of the dead. It was an awful thought. To be trapped in stone, to spend eternity lying around between the bones of those that died the same day. But he didn't know. It was what he suspected and he thought, really thought that if you didn't remain bound to earth, you would by flying around, through the ether, unbound - she shuddered again and then forced her thoughts back to her first question. He didn't know. And no matter what, this wasn't something to find out about soon. It wasn't something she could change. So she could always worry about any other day. "That doesn't mean that I don't want to know. Are you a god, or are you simply something different, something old that humanity chose to call god one day?"

The Hospital is at the moment mostly scenes of characters (although feel free to interact with Mike should you want to). Otherwise, yes I think the masked Dance is a good place to start. In a nutshell these are the changes we (temporarily) made to AV history. Maybe take a look, so that you know what happened and what didn't happen, should your character refer to past events.

His footsteps slowed as he neared a place, dominated by a huge building on one side. Despite the festival, a part of its window's were brightly lit, while others, probably those with patients inside were dark, their inhabitants sleeping. Mike straightened his improvised mask and slowly walked over, drawn by the place just like a magnet was drawn to iron. He circled around the place in front, kept to the shadows when possible, unwilling to step out into the brightly light entrance area, with its reception, anxious families and busy personel. Instead he followed a smaller alley along the side of the building, instinctively knowing that there was another entrance there. On the back of the building waited several amulances, their drivers lounging around on a nearby bench. Waiting for the next call to arrive, waiting for the festival night to show its other, darker side. His steps were slow, nearly hesitant and he knew the moment he drew their glances, for once out of place with his mask. Quickly he lifted a hand, scolding himself for his stupidity, he had no reason to be here, nobody waiting for him inside of that place, nobody wishing he would come by to visit. Not that he could afford it either. He should turn around, leave, walk away. Instead he shot them a bright smile, and then made a slight shrugging gesture with his shoulders. "So much for a night off." They greeted him as well, agreed on annoying work schedules and then returned to their conversation. Silently cursing himself for his weak excuse Mike stepped through the side entrace, glad that they had left it open despite regulations telling everybody otherwise. It was important to control who walked into the building and who didn't. His eyes moved along a brightly lit hallway when he paused for a moment, tried to decide what to do now. Medicine, pain killers, maybe some filled gold minds. If he was here, he could see if he could snatch a few interesting things to use or to sell later on. Keeping his steps firm and walking as if he belonged he stopped in a dressing room first, snatched one of the blue shirts from a pile and drew it over his head. He kept his dark pants, and slung his coat over his arm. They should be harmless enough. Reading the names on the signs of the room left and right he smiled when he reached on that was labeled "apothecary". The best place to start. Trying the handle, he bit on his lip, when he realized that he would need a key card to access this room and stepped back again. So he'd need to find an unsuspecting employee first. With a slight shrug he found himself relaxing a little when he took in the challenge of what he was about to do. He prefered taking from those who'd never notice, but in the end, who would notice if something missed here? In a month, in a year someone might count the inventory, but it would be discarded as a mistake. Staff was low tonight, the few that he passed in hallways busy and greeting him only with a short nod, before they hurried off to do their chores. Mike grabbed a little cart, full of tea and water and started to push it in front of him, stowed his coat underneath. He had no idea if the patients were supposed to get something new to drink tonight, but it always helped to appear busy. Stopped someone from giving him a real assignment. It was easier than expected to blend in, despite the fact that he took random turns now and then, he always seemed to end up in the right place. An empty room, whose nurses had left some keys in a drawer, one labled with 'medicine'. An elevater, just large enough to contain both him and his cart. The employees kitchen where tea was cooked for the patients so that he could start filling the thermos up when someone shot him a suspicious glance and was about to inquire what he was doing here. The moment the man realized Mike was actually working, he trailed off, did whatever chores he was supposed to do. Lucky. It had been a while since he had been that lucky. Mike left the cart in a darker corner, that felt right for stowing it there for a moment and then followed another hallway, leading him closer to the main entrace. The ER would be somewhere around here, too and he - He came to a halt when he passed a room. C619. Tilting his head to the side, he tried to understand what was different about this room, but nothing. Only the vague feeling that there was something behind that door that waited to be discovered. Making sure that the hallway was empty Mike looked around and then let himself in. It was a room, used for emergencies that were treated with investiture as well as common medicine. Carving tools were waiting in a corner, as well as a box labled 'spheres'. In the center was a bed, at the moment carefully covered, waiting for the next patient. Quietly he closed the door behind himself and looked around. He could take some spheres, but their value was low to anybody who wasn't a Radiant. They still might get him some chrysts and he grabbed some of them, stuffed them into his bag. Using his lock picks he opened a drawer at one side and smiled when he saw a couple of pain killers. They most certainly wouldn't hurt at all. Again he made sure to take only a smaller part of them, not enough that someone would notice immediatly and closed the drawer again. Turning around he walked over the door again, decided to check the adjacent rooms as well when some instinct held him back. He looked at the bed again, at the chair placed next to the door. There was something about this place, about this room. It reminded him of a cowboy. A rough man with a hat, with guns. Pursing his lips he tried to remember which cowboy movie had dealt with a hospital as well, had taken place in a city instead of some wild plain. He wasn't sure. Probably he had overheard something. Some people tended to leave their entertainment on despite not being there and he had been able to watch a part of a couple of movies that way, listening to many more while he searched their homes. Content with that explanation he finally opened the door and left the room. Grab a few more things and then leave. No need to add to his risk by loitering around.

Zokora made a slight nod and then, as nobody else stepped forward slowly neared the door. Hopefully the boy was right. Not too far in, just get in there, find the report and be out again quickly. Sera hummed slightly when she felt her make her decision to take over initiative and Zokora nodded again, more to convince herself that this was a good idea than anything else and nearly hastily walked through the door. Contrasting the levels above, this one was quieter, af first nothing but a long dark hallway. When she stepped into it, Aons started to glow softly on both sides, illuminating the first part. The further she continued to walk, the more Aons came alive, until she was standing in a long, gently lit corridor. At the other end was a doorway, shaped like an arch with the number '4' displayed in its middle. Fourth level down. It was eerily quiet, her footsteps being absorbed by the walls neraly immediatly, as if all sound was lost to the dark walls. When she lifted her head, searched for a ceiling there was nothing, only darkness extending into nothingness. Turning around to the others she lifted a hand and waved at them, signaling that it was safe, that nothing had happened to her so far. Usually she would have called out, but something about the way she could only barely hear her own footsteps, made her wary about shouting out loud. She didn't feel particularily observed, but there was something about that darkness that creeped her out. The way there was nothing but the Aons, no ceiling and the floor - she quickly averted her eyes again. The floor was polished stone, reflecting her illuminated body, but no the sources of the light themselves. @Emi @Archer @Silva @kenod @The_Archivist @CahiraCelosial

Hello @Nohadon at the moment we basically got two active threads. "A Masked Dance" which is mostly without plot (apart from the one people come up with) and is a possibility to write your characters after the respiking of the world. And "The Missing Report" which is an expedition into the TUBA archives. Apart from that, you can of course come up with a little plot of your own, or create another location thread - nothing different from a year back when you were still more active. Did you find some information about the respiking of the world that happened between E4 and E5?

"Getting some food sounds great." Althea agreed, silently making note of their conversation for later. While spren were rare, it wasn't unusual for people bonding them in the city. She would keep an eye on him, see if he needed some support. Some new Radiant's easily slipped into their roles, while others benefited from a little nudge in the right direction now and then. While speaking the oaths was rewarding, keeping them was hard, easily determining your whole life. "And dumplings sound even better." She extended a hand towards Brashen, watched the little man settle down on it, head tilted sideways, when he looked at her. She wouldn't give him up for anything in the world. Without him, she knew she would have perished a long time ago. Brashen didn't move, but she knew a challenge had entered his eyes and she inwardly smiled at his thoughts, knew that he had come to same conclusion she had. Maybe one day. She held the thought for a bit and then let go of it. Maybe, but not today and certainly not tomorrow. "If we're lucky, maybe some firespren decided to play in the bonfire." she mostly told Ben, as she suspected that Aln knew. "You probably noticed that spren aren't as common as on Roshar, but now and then you can catch a sight of some of them." Lowering her voice she added. "And yes, we'll see if they follow us. Although," her fingers indicated the blurred motions of those outside the bubble. "There also is a huge chance they are already gone." @Ashbringer

She wandered over the battlefield, her steps slow, her eyes moving over the grass. Look for stones, as large as possible. She picked up a frist one and then hesitated looked around for a place that was easily defensible. The old, improvised walls she had helped create left a stale taste in her mouth and her eyes wandered over, to the ruins of their once splendid capital. Her feet carried her closer, stone still in hand but already forgotten. Decien had been a lovely city. It's murals a light grey it had appeared to glow in the sunlight. It had been built on the highest point in the area, the river cutting through the landscape at its feet. In it's center a fortress where their council had met, and all around marketplaces and houses. She vividly could see the rich ones in the center, remembered that some even had glass windows, and the simpler ones closer to the outer walls. They had spend their time in cheap bars in the outskirts, drinking and singing, forgetting about what was to come for a short moment. Her viewpoint offered her a better angle at the ruins that were left, the fortresses tower crumbled, the walls still intact, but the huge gate gone. Black smears marred the once beautiful surface and she imagined she could smell the sharp smell of burnt wood and bodies even at this distance. It wasn't far away and she actually considered to go there, to use the walls for their purpose, but then let go of the thought again. It was of no use. Let the dead be dead. Turning around she forced her eyes away from what once was and walked over to a larger boulder. It would offer them something in their backs, prevent them from being surrounded easily. Far from perfect, but probably the best she they would find. She set down the stone and then continued her way over the battlefield. There were even pieces of destroyed armour here, pieces she maybe could restore if she had the time. But she hadn't. Nor did she want to take from those that had died here. And she wasn't able to carry a full armour around without a horse anyway. Instead she collected another stone, moving as if fast asleep, feeling as if she was stuck in a dream, a nightmare. Silently daring the moment she found something she recognized, a hint that one of those she had fought side by side had died here. Their body gone, their name sent over to the gods. To those gods that were crazy, that harmed their followers. To those gods that crawled along a river and plucked flowers. Nobody would add a start for them. Nobody would care enough to do that. They would be lost in time forgotten and there was nothing, nothing she could do about it. There was no place to go, no benevolent being looking down on you. Something cracked beneath her foot and she stared at the bone, splintered apart in the middle for a moment. This was everything that waited for her, that waited for them. A grave on some battlefield. No honor, no brave heart, no stories told. Ta'e'ilo. She had always thought that this name had been a reminder, something that had been averted. But instead, it wasn't. She dropped the stone on the other one, watched it break apart by the impact. There would be no light for them. Only a void leading to oblivion.

Sorry for the late reply! She's approved! Short question, but are you using grammarly? Because your spoiler tags looks a little like you do. If yes, can you please disable it for the shard? It breaks quote boxes and the like. Character approved.

Hello everybody! There are a few changes regarding the index and character creation that I would like to let you know of. There is an updated version of the index live. It's hopefully a lot easier to navigate and better balanced. It would be awesome if you could take a look and if you have some feedback regarding its usability let us know! When creating a character you have 120 points you can spend on any talent you like and there are 30 points that are to be spend on additional skills that aren't combat or Investiture focused (like Handiwork, Scholarship or Intelligence). We hope to balance the additional skills better with this ruling. Should we note that it doesn't work at all, we'll of course reconsider and change it. Please note that all approved characters will remain approved! These changes will only apply for new character submissions. Thank you! Sorana

I'll get back to you. Of course it's possible, if, as Rushu wrote above, there is rp and character development involment. We already had Radiant characters swear their next oath and there is no point in generally forbidding them to swear the next one. It's simply nothing we have a general ruling for, but something we discuss individually.

Sagitta slowly knelt down, hand touching the trampled dirt. She remembered the sounds of the river vividly, how they had camped close to the capital, waiting for the nomands to arrive. Some of the improvised walls they had piled up remained like bluging scars in the earth. Walking forward as if in a dream she looked around, noticed the colours of the strips of cloth that were lying around. "There are other water supplies as well." she replied absently minded, although Decien river was one of the largest ones, it wasn't by far the only one. Ta'e'ilo was a lot of things, but not dry. Bending down she lifted a part of a surcoat, fingers brushing over the emblem crudely embroidered in chest height. It was a bear next to two stright lines. Second bear regiment. "Our council moved south months ago. All battles here are nothing but tries - futile tries to get back what we once owned." Her fingers opened, dropped the rag to the ground again. He was right, there had been a battle. With the corpses gone and the blood washed away by the rain it looked as if someone had tried to stage a gruesome scene. Swallowing she found herself imaginging different faces, comrades she remembered, their laughter, they way the had grinned and shouted out for death to take them any other day. "Why are we here?" she inquired quietly. "Why go to a battlefield? Especially one that is probably this observed by one side or the other?" Standing on the hill they were easily seen by everybody around. "If you are right about the water supply, it's only a matter of time until the first soldiers arrive to ask who we are." And without any way to proove that she had been part of their army as well, chances that they survived long enough to find someone who recognized her were slim.

"Bye!" Vivi hugged her father quickly and then turned around, ran after her brother. Fireworks. She loved fireworks. They were like little stars lighting up the dark sky offering them to take wishes to the stars. Reval looked nearly scary with his smooth, black mask, the complete contrast to her own cheerful outfit. The fire reflected a little in the material, making it impossible to read his features and when she lifted a hand, she could see a vague outline of that as well. Maybe next year, she would take a mirror. Reflecting everything. And a silver dress with lots of tiny mirror pieces glued on the skirt. Happily she bounced from one foot to the other, glad that he would take her along tonight. She would make it up to him, doing his chores not only for two weeks, but four. Her own resolve weakened a little when she realized how much that was, but instead she smiled at him brightly. It was worth it. He spend so much time reading, burried in his room learning for school, tonight he belonged to her, and she wouldn't exchange that time for anything in the world. Maybe six weeks were better - hesitating she ate more cotton candy. Four. Four would be enough. "Where do you want to go?" She asked him and plucked more cotton candy off to eat. When she held it between her fingers it condensed to a small, little piece. Quickly she stuffed it into her mouth and pucked off a lager one, forming it into a little cube. Weird how something so large ended up being so small. "Are we really going to meet your friends?" she looked over at him, tried to see his eyes behind his mask, but it obscured them as well. =================== ================= "It's a good plan." she looked over to where Brashen had seen the strangers. "I tried to play along, but I'm not the best actress in the world." spreading her hands apologetically she looked outside, marveled at the speed with which the world flowed past. She'd never been in a Cadmium bubble for that long, lest alone with someone being able to hold it up for a long time. He had to be very skilled, on his way to savantism maybe as well. "Brashen told me, that they started to move away. I think we can get to them if we follow them now, if we want to learn why they observed us, but either your show worked or they were nothing but curious spectators." Althea inhaled a little bit of stormlight, mostly for the feeling of it and considered the situation again. "What about that spren?" she asked him. "He wasn't able to detect it, so it wasn't with the other four. Do you have reason to believe it's spying, posing some kind of danger to us?"

I can't remember your name. And with that the girl turned away, started to talk to the others. But somehow the boy stayed, even continued to adress her, after learning her name. He had to know who she was, had to have heard the stories. His words were strangely formal, but if he prefered it that way, she wouldn't disagree. Not when finally someone talked to her. All around her they continued to talk and finally arrived at the lower levels of the Archives. It took Kingston a bit to open the door, but he managed after pushing on them first and she hesitated a little, kept back no willing to enter the Archives first. "Did they really give nobody a description of what we're looking for?" she asked loudly, wondering how they were supposed to manage the feat of finding and undescribed record. "If no, then it will probably be obvious the moment we see it." which was hard to believe but the only thing she could come up with. Otherwise - they could spend years in the Archives with no clue what they were doing. "Do you think we need a plan? An order to advance, or just walk through the door and see what we find?" She turned her head when a girl ran into them, obviously late, but now she was here nonetheless. She greeted her with a short nod, but waited for the others to reply.