Sorana

Shana wordlessly squat down next to Edwin and rested her hand on his shoulder. She didn't say anything, wondered if he was worried about the bodies, the fight or just everything in general. She never had been the best person to guess other's feelings, but she wanted him to know that she was here, that he wasn't alone. She had failed Cassie, but she wouldn't fail again. She had to go on, she just had to. Looking over at James she sighed, and considered his words. "We need to clean up." She stated, made a vague gesture with her free hand towards the blood and the bodies. "If we leave it like that - I doubt police will be able to ignore it, and we already were in trouble, and I don't need another try to explain what we are doing here, why we-" she broke off, not finishing her sentence. She could turn the bodies to dust, wipe them out of existence, rip the blood apart. She could, although the thought alone made her stomach revolt, when she had to think of Rob's warm skin under her fingers, of his screams. Or she could wait, leave the cleaning up to one of the others. It would be better than having dust lying all over the place anyway. @Eluvianii @Wyndlerunner

Shana took another step to the side, evading a blow to her head and slamming her elbow into another man's throat. She never stopped moving, continued to whirl around, as if following a silent, wordless choreography. And then, then it was over. She looked up and there wasn't another enemy to be taken care of, only Cassie standing in front of the last one. She was already moving over, ready to kill the Voidbringer before they could hurt Cassie, then she stopped herself. Cassie wouldn't like her hovering around. And Cassie already knew that Shana couldn't protect her all. Exhaling she let go of her stormlight, kept her weight on the balls of her feet, ready to act, ready to do something should the need arise, but keeping herself back. She could step in, if it became neccessary. If. Hands clenched into fists, so tight that it hurt, she bent down, leaved through the pockets of one of the dead ones, their bodies already cooling. Dead. She had killed again. Mercilessly killed nearly everybody in this house. Only because they had red eyes. Only because they had been following them, because they had been threatening them. Rob's words came to her mind, that this was the right thing, that they had to kill them, before they started killing everybody else and she grimaced, tried to convince herself that this had been right, that this was the her way, her journey. Her fingers red from blood she closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and then straightened again. Nothing. They had nothing apart from the fact that these Voidbringers had followed Jenna. The same Jenna, who was their new teacher at school, if she was still around. You never knew. Doc needed to know and the rest, gritting her teeth she focused her eyes back on Cassie, face pale. They were done here. Maybe Leona could help cleaning everything, maybe Cassie could. Or she - Shana swallowed. "The bodies." She said quietly, hoped that Cassie would hear, that she had a good idea how to get rid of them. @AonEne

Mike wanted to ask another question about the plants, honestly curious about this project, about the way he had managed to create these wonderful plants, but when Xanas turned around, started to concentrate on his own powers, as if he was training and so he kept quiet. Training. Someone like Xanas didn't need to train. Maybe he did it, to put Mike at ease, to give him a chance to practice without being judged immediatly. Slowly he put on the gloves. They felt cool on his skin, but as before they were comfortable and he stared at them for a moment, unsure what to do now. A weapon, first he needed a weapon, and then - give his powers away or get the weapon in his hand. It was as easy as that. Mike picked up a hedge clipper and ran his finger over its curves and blades, trying to memorize it. It was a hedge klipper. Shard, heavy and able to cut through thick branches. In a fight, it would be easy to heavily injure someone if you hit the right spot. He placed the klipper on the ground nearby and stepped back. Loosening his shoulders he opened his hand, as if he was reaching out for something and then closed it again. His fingers curled into a fist and he grimaced, stared at the klipper. It couldn't be that difficult. It was only a klipper. Concentrating he pictured the klipper in his hand, tried to see himself holding it. Closing his hand again he exhaled frustratedly and grit his teeth. Hand open. Close it. Nothing. Hand open. Close it. Nothing. "Come here, you stupid klipper." his voice left his mouth in a hiss and he extended his hand to his side. The klipper stared back at him mockingly, not moving a single inch. "I said, you come here." Mike took an angry step forward and pointed at the ground. His narrowed his eyes at the klipper, angry and annoyed by the way it was mocking him. Xanas expected him to succed to deliver, he would be keeping an eye on him, no matter what he pretended to do. If he failed, Mike took a step away from the klipper, turned around to the door and took a small step towards it. If he fled, if he left, then Xanas wouldn't find him, and - with a sigh he shook his head. It was no use. He had no idea what to do and if he was running through the alleys, it would lead him nowwhere. Only to more fear and more pain. "Xanas." He said quietly and neared the man, but kept his distance. I never learned how to control the animals, I have no idea what to do with the motivators. Only a short sentence, nothing more but a short sentence admitting his defeat. "I-" he started and stopped, the words stuck in his throat. Failure had never been an option. If he failed, he would be hurt, if he failed - swallowing he tried to speak, to explain what had happened so far, but nothing came out of his mouth. @18th Shard

Sagitta shifted her weight into a combat stance when he suddenly shouted at her, leaned forward. She was about to slam her fist into his face, when he leaned forward, and explained what he was aiming at. She suppressed the urge to shatter his nose, but couldn't stop herself from moving a hand up between his and her body when he moved as if to slap her. He stomped away, leaving her with her horse and her half filled flask of water. Unsure what to do now she lowered her head. Use her instinct on someone? Her instinct wasn't there to be used on people, apart from a fight that was. She had no idea what he had in mind, what she was supposed to do and it stressed her. Her instinct was for interaction, for movement. Not for polite conversations and definitely not about finding out information. "Quite the argument you had." A woman looked down at her, smiling friendly. "If you tell me, where you're headed, maybe I could help you out." Gratefully Sagitta straightened and closed her flask. The woman seemed to be nice, trustworthy and she was glad that she didn't have to talk to a stranger. "We are searching for the origin of the tremor." She explained smiling as well. "Do you know where it is?" Nodding the woman pointed southwest. "Just follow that road for another three days, then you will have found the center." She bent forward and closed her hand around Sagitta's pouch. "You look like an honest person, you will pay for this information, won't you?" Hastily Sagitta removed her pouch from her belt and handed it to the woman. "Of course." She always paid her debts and the woman had told her exactly what she needed. It wouldn't be right to keep away her payment. Reaching out for her mare's reins she followed Tion, happy that nobody had asked for her name, or their relationship. She disliked lying, but this, the woman was happy, she had done what the god wanted - Pausing she felt for the empty spot at her belt, only now realizing, that she had no money left to buy some food and the woman had only told her a direction. It was nothing you had to pay for. Whirling around she looked for her, only to see nothing but strangers around a spring. The woman was gone.

Sagitta didn't reply when he mentioned her instinct, instead she dismounted and reached for a bucket. Filling it with water she placed it on the ground between their mounts and tossed a few blades of grass on the water before straitening again. Her mare dipped her snout into the water, having to pause now and then to blow the the grass away from her muzzle. Just as she was supposed to do. Horses are stupid, the boy at the stable had told her. Make sure she doesn't drink too much in too short a time. Only when her horse was occupied did she look up and turn to Tion, his question burning in her mind. "I haven't conquered it." She replied truthfully, remembered how Price made her jump down a ladder. "I can use it, when I need to use it, but I never trained it, like I trained to wield a sword." It was the truth and yet it tasted stale in her mouth. Her instinct was a weapon, an important one, and she hadn't quite bothered to learn how to use it, had focused on the more flashy sword-swinging, instead of the gift she had been born with. There had been so many things to learn when she had arrived at camp, when she had closed her hand around a sword for the first time, excuses and she knew it. Without her instinct she would be dead already and it scared her. Scared her, because she didn't know how to train, how to learn to master it, without standing in the middle of a battleline, without smelling the stink of blood and sweat, adrenaline cursing through her body like molton iron. She could use it when she needed it, instinctively knew how to soften a blow and the weight of her armor, but it was exactly that. Instinct. She reached for her own waterskin and depleted it into her mouth before refilling, to cover her nervousness regarding his reaction. Tell a god you neglected their gift, it seemed stupid, but to lie to him? To make up a nice, polished tale, it seemed to be even worse. He would know when she lied, he would know when she tried to trick him. That he asked alone - curtsey and nothing more. He knew who she was and what she had done. He was a god. Of course he knew. He had to know. He simply had to. @Archer

Leila nodded and lifted her quilt, leaving a trail of complex signs in its wake. A portal opened in the middle of the room, smelling like old paper, the light turning moving, with the sound of pages sliding upon each other. "Then let's go." she said softly, her eyes resting on her shadow for a moment. Balhaan would come along and the rest - the rest would sort itself somewhere along the way. Being able to see more of Ku, of Aiwass had the prospect to be very rewarding. Maybe she could even dedicate a whole chapter to each of them, add them to this tale as a character of their own and not only a simple, unimportant nonamed person on the street. @EXPERIENCE

Sagitta listened to his explanation, nearly asked how he knew, only to discard the thought an continue to listen. Hundreds of years ago. To hear him talk about so many years, about cultures long lost as if it had happened yesterday silently, quietly solidified her acceptance of what he was. A god. A weird god and one whose powers were weird as well, going awry if she believed Last, but in the end it all lead her back to the same point. He was a god. And she was nothing but a fly compared to him. "No." She gave a slight shrug and cursed under her breath when her mare decided to turn right instead of continuing along the path. Talk had it, that they could find water at the end of the path, and veering off it to the right definitly hadn't been part of the man's decription. She pulled on the reigns and thankfully the horse stopped. It took her a moment, and a little piece of sugar to convince her to step back on the path and she sighed in relief when they were going the right direction again. It had been more or less easy when there was only one road to follow instead of the usual maze that made up a settlement. "And neither at my parent's house." She continued to speak to him, without giving the fact that she had just spent way too much time in discussion with her mount. "Now was I ever really interested in creating something. Drawing, whittling, all kinds of creative stuff. I never really had a hand for it." Falling silent she remembered her mother's tries to polish her drawing skills. "It was all soulless you know? I just don't add that spark of emotion, of imperfectness that is the mark of art." Turning her head towards him, she found herself smiling, wondering why she did it. "You like art, don't you?" It was a wild guess, and she knew, she could easily be wrong but the way he had picked it out, had focused on it, something about it made her thoughts go in that direction. @Archer

"I think we should all go to the same place." Leila gave a slight shrug. "We don't know enough to really judge the danger and I would prefer if noone else was captured." She reached out for one of her scrolls herself and when she touched her thoughts to its contents, a grim expression setteled on her face. "We know where they are. I think we should go, let some of them escape, so that our spy can take their place and the rest -" She stood up, slug her bag over her shoulder and stowed her book inside. It wasn't neccessary, but she liked to carry her book around. It gave her a good feeling. "For the rest we ensure that we learn what they know so that we can rescue those held in captivity."

"It doesn't suit you." You agree and take off the white shirt your are wearing. "And it shows stains in an awful way." Frowning you place the shirt on the table and accept your cloths from Taron. While you start to close the buttons you find yourself watching him, consider to get a set of dark cloths for him and then force yourself to go on. "But that is the reason why they are white. Easy to see if they were washed the right way." Taron takes the cloths you used and dumps them all into a bag in one corner of the room while you continue to dress. He will take them away to be washed before you use them again. Before you slip into your own coat you walk over to the washing basin and wash your hands again. You didn't work, and you know that all handles and door are clean, but it is part of your routine and you already skipped the hand washing after leaving your lab. Be it neccessary or not, you have to wash them. You always wash your hands once you are completely done here, dry them and then dunk them into alcohol and dry them again. And then, finally, a last stop in front of the mirror, to see if everything is sitting the right way. You move your belt buckle a finger to the left, your eyes looking for Sloane in the mirror. It's easier like that, when you can see him, but at the same time don't have to meet his eyes directly and you find yourself speaking. "What did you mean, by it's not your body? Was it altered in any other way as well?" @I think I am here.

Frowning Sagitta slouched her shoulders, and then straightened again. It felt wrong. A curved back made you slow, and she needed to be fast, ready. Someone would attack her, and soon. Realizing the fault in her own thoughts she gave a slight nod and forced herself to loosen her tight muscles. "I'm not a spy." She hissed back, although, maybe she was? She was here, she didn't even know why. It had felt like a good idea but right here and now, it just seemed stupid. "I'm just a foreigner and I'm travelling." It sounded weak, too weak for her liking, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. She had no idea how to do all of this bleding in part, the being harmless part. She only lived because she wasn't harmless, because she was strong, stronger than everybody else. Because people prefered to avoid a fight, instead of risking to loose it. Her hand opened and closed unconciously, as if opening and closing around the handle of a sword. "There should be a waterhold on the western side of the settlement." Switching topics she tried to turn her horse, frowned when it didn't move and tried again. Her mare snorted, as if amused by her skills, but started to trott along a narrow path leading around the different buildings. They had formed some kind of pact these past days, or maybe weeks. The mare would do what Sagitta wanted her to do - sometimes. "How do you know they stole the buildings?" She asked with honest curiosity. It was normal, when you discovered an abandoned building nobody claimed, you used it. But stealing - stealing sounded as if they had taken them by force, as if they had erased what had been here before.

"That, and we need to find these people." Leila tossed one of her scrolls over to him. "They are targetting the next god, I would like to stop them from doing that, and if we can find out some more information, that would be helpful as well." Pensively she looked over at Ku for a moment. "An attack on our part would also give Ku's agents a good chance to replace some of those belonging to the group. We attack them, we stop them, we capture one for questioning and during all of this Ku's agents do their work. If they behave a little differently at first, nobody will notice, thinking it might be due to the attack and that they are simply a little rattled." Looking around she met each god's eyes. "What do you think?" @bees? @EXPERIENCE @kenod @Nathrangking

Sorry for the late reply. Character is aprroved. Character is approved. Please tell me if, you need a detailed rating, then I will add it. Basically you need to spend points on the 2nd idea Skybreaker, the aviar (I suppose a 'normal' one?) and the weapon skill (blowpipe) and some will be substracted for the blindness of one eye, and that he can't use the surge of division. He will end up around a little over 100.

It's awesome!!! I just finished it and it was so good. I really enjoyed watching that one.

Leila didn't react to Balhaan's whispered words, although she noted them and made sure her face stayed the way it was. "Your help would be welcome." She told Caebdar and opened her book again, the thick pages smooth under her fingers. She agrees with Balhaan, but a spy and traitor, they add so much to a good story. Like salt can do wonders for a meal, they can do wonders for a story. And just like salt, you have to be careful to exactly use the right amount. "What is it, that you can do?" @bees?

And I'm sad...

Sagitta squinted her eyes together against the bright sun, coughing when some dust flew into her face again and she couldn't stop herself from inhaling some. Tiska. She had asked around, wandered through this foreign country, for once thankful for the cloths and Price had given her. She didn't look like a Ta'e'iloan anymore, and while her accent hinted at someone from a different country, she used vague answers to divert them. The nomands had been cool, but none of them had tried to attack her, and she herself had tried to keep their contact to a minimum. She was a travel, and when they asked for a reason, she namened the travelling itself. It wasn't the best one, but surprisingly it was something they could understand. So far, whenever she had stopped to buy food or replenish her water supply she had found someone who spoke at least a few words of Tühine, or maybe Cahayan and when she combined that with her alrightish Tühine and her meager Cahayan they had managed to converse. It was warm around here, warmer than she had expected and certainly warmer than anyplace she was used to. The air was dry, not moist, not smelling of raind soon to be come, and the sun was hot and relentless. It suit the nomads, suit the cloths she had seen them wear and when she - Sagitta shook her head, turned her thoughts away from her captivity. She wasn't alone on the street, there were other travellers, people moving towards Tiska and even here she could see the signs of the earthquake, of the terror had passed over these people. One figure drew her eyes and she found herself steering her horse towards him. Or her. Or them. Whatever they were in real. "Tion." She greeted them, keeping her mount at some distance. "I didn't expect to meet you here." @Archer

Leila inclines her head and with a short flick of her fingers dispelled the glowing circle around them. "Take care Balhaan." I don't want to loose another friend. She continued to look at him for another moment and then, changing her form back to her normal shape of a young woman, quickly turned away from him. Dread grasped her heart at the prospect to split up, at the fight awaiting them. "I will return to my other guests. See if I can help there." Come back, please. She walked out of the room, lifted her hand in a silent goodbye. They would do what they had to do. They always had and there was no reason why they should stop now. When she returned, those she had left behind were still there and she sat down in an armchair again. "Excuse me." She apologized mostly because it was polite. "What did I miss, did you decide on any next steps?" @EXPERIENCE @bees? @kenod

================= His word's are intense, with a little bit of anger hidden beneath them and she gently nudges him to take more, knows that the feeling of her power is soothing and calming him, just as she can pull strength from his. Only when he is finished does she slowly dipp her chin forward, inclines her head in acceptance when she reaches out for his blessing, draws it into her core. A shivver runs through her body and soul when she feels his power deep within her, so different and yet so similar to her own. They are like characters in the same story, created to appeal to different kind of readers, and yet share a chapter, even a whole arch nonetheless. Straightening again she lifts a hand, reaches out into the air next to them and a quill with a long, red feather appears over her palm, hovering in the air. "It's a key." She says in the same serious tone he uses. "If needed, it will lead you to a nexus larger than this one, to a place whose location was forgotten, but that is part of history and fiction alike. Just like the Battle of Kadesh or the city lost beneath the ocean. Humanity no longer has access to this library, but I preserved it, moved it a little to protect it from fire and destruction." She is strongest there, at a place that is part of literature, central piece of so many tales, that inspired creative minds for centuries and that, at the same time is rooted deeply in history as well. "It's my home." She tells him instead, pride making her eyes gleam and her voice strong, "my library, not a small place like this one, but a real library. You can wander the ailes for centuries without ever having seen all of it." Only then does she reach out and extend a hand towards his bow and quiver, gentle closes her fingers around them. She never used a bow before, normally relies on her powers to solve a conflict when it shows up. But nothing about humans killing gods is normal and unusual times call for her to change to adapt, to live up to those she usually writes about. There will be a place for her in this war, one that suits her, as the battlefield suits him. The bow is thrumming with power, the quiver light despite the amount of arrows waiting in there. "I accept your blessing and gift, Balhaan." She switches languages again, her words more than a simple thank you. "I will use them to bring honor to you and your name." The weapons vanish when she reaches out, draws in her essence, the mortal shape she uses vanishing, leaving a goddess of old, as depicted in every story and tale ever since she came to existence. "History will look kindly upon your deeds."

Her stance relaxes when she feels his power dissipate at her touch and she closes her eyes for a heartbeat, feeling nothing but his strong, fierce prescence and the confidence he easily inspires in her. Contrasting her, he knows exactly what they are getting into. His magic mingles with hers easily and while his words are grave, she knows that he understands, that his impression matches hers and relief floods through her. Despite everything he is still walking forward, never giving up a fight and she takes a little of that confidence for herself, straightens her back. "I spent such a long time watching, writing, only rarely acting on my own, only in exceptional cases trying to influence the course history would take." She turns her hand around, tightens her fingers around his armored ones. "That I am now caught in the middle these events, that I know that we have to act despite the risks - " It was so different compared to when you twitched the story the people would tell afterwards, when you cast a light on the winners, or highlighted the accomplishments of the loosers. She looks at him again, notices the tiredness that hides in the lines of his face, nearly invisible, and yet there. It worries her and she finds herself studying him for a moment, trying to see if something else was amiss. Something else apart from this threat. "I'm not a fighter." She finally continues and then shakes her head at her own words. "That doesn't mean I will stay back. I want to stand by your side, I won't let you fight this war alone. It is important for all of us, important for those that are left, for those in hiding and those we rarely ever meet at all." Her tone softens a little when she looks at the books again. "Even for them who discard us as legends of old, as relicts of a time long past." Her face turns earnest and when she goes on her tone is serious. "I know that I am one of the easier ones for them to remove from this tale. So if you have some - advice how to escape capture, I would be very grateful."

A smile touches her lips at his soft voice and she looks up at him, at his familiar face, her worry soothened by his existence alone. They are few left she trusts as deeply, as thoroughly as she trusts him. "Balhaan." She starts, only to stop again, weaving a quick spell around them to ensure their privacy. Like a snake the words curl in a circular shape on the ground around them, glowing in a soft, yellow. "I am worried how this might end." She finally voices a part of her thoughts, tries to get them in order, so that he can understand. "We are preparing a war against humans and I fear that most don't even stop to consider what this might lead to. Many of us exist because of humanity and human concepts. If we turn against them, we can erase them easily and completely, but if we do that - " her hands makes a sweeping gesture around her, indicating the old tomes. "We don't know what will happen in that case, how many, or even if, some of us will perish." "I know, that we have no choice, that we need to act, or we will be killed one after the other, but we need to ensure that humanity doesn't unite against us. That we don't end up the evil invaders in our own home. Times changed, information and lies alike travel fast, too fast to control, even for me. I will be honest, and I can only ask you to not hold my words against me. I don't trust everybody we assembled, partially because I know close to nothing about them and their previous actions," a frown crossed her face at these dark spots, where usually history was written for her to take a look at, "and yes, that irks me, but also because I know that it is in some of their natures, that it might not even be bad will, but simply the way things are." Reaching out for him, she gently placed a hand on his arm, looked into his eyes. "Let's be careful and consider our steps. Question ideas and try to keep the damage we cause to a minimum. Let's not destroy this world, or a whole civilization."

Leila raised an eyebrow and then left the scroll hanging in front of Ku's face and turned towards Balhaan. "Give us a short moment, please. The scroll is all yours and if someone else would like to have a copy," she snapped a finger and it duplicated itself, "feel free to take one for yourself." Her fingers made another small gesture when she set wards up around the room, made sure she could have an eye on her guests. She doubted any of them was interested enough in poetry to steal one of her books, but you never knew. Better she took some precautions. Walking over to the door she gestured towards Balhaan to come with her and stepped into the hallway. The next room was significantly smaller, containing a selection of old tomes, waiting to be slipped out of their places on the shelves. She leaned against one of the rows and looked down at her hands, her calm demeanour slipping a little. Lines of worry crossed her face while she waited for him to follow her. @Nathrangking

Mike took another bite of the fruit and gratefully accepted one of the limefruits the statue offered to him. When he took a bite of that one, his eyes widened in surprise and he found himself smiling. Xanas was right, the one's from the top of the trees were so much better. Grinning he quickly finished the fruit and reached out for another one. "What kind of control room?" He asked curiously and lowered the fruit for a moment. "Is it like a huge room with everybody watching devices and giving instructions for others?" That was how it worked when he was on a mission, but somehow he had a feeling that Xanas wasn't talking about that kind of control room. It was only then, that Xanas other words struck and he continued quickly, without waiting for a reply to his first question. "So you grew that place in a few minutes, hours?" He turned around his own axis staring in awe at the trees growing around him. Xanas had only returned to this place a short time ago, that was the reason why they were talking in the first place. So if he grew the orchad in a time bubble, then this place was younger than he was, a recent creation. Awed he walked over to a tree and placed his hand on it's bork. "I never expected to find something that beautiful here." He quietly voiced his thoughts. "It's awesome." @18th Shard

Things are going crazy here, too. I am still working, and I'm one of the few who actually still drives to our office daily, mostly because it's like 10 minutes away from where I live and because nobody is here anyway. It's really nice to get out of home for a couple of hours. Everything else is cancelled, bars closed, no chance to workout (apart from youtube, but it's more fun in a group). Positive part, my garden looks better than it has in years. Negative is the whole economics, I kind of ended up Corona information person in my company with some colleagues, so I'm doing nothing but writing nice E-Mails to everybody and trying to calm people down, keep them informed what is going on and what we as company are doing. Now that nearly everybody is working from home it's a bit calmer, but it's still stressful and a lot do deal with mentally. If it were only to quarantine people, then it would be one thing, but our business is suffering a lot (as many companies do) and when I'm not takling to people I'm preparing lists of who has to stay and who we might be able to fire (for my department). At the moment we are trying to get our hand on some money from the state to cover for the time our people have nothing to do. I just feel like we are never able to catch up, and it's all spinning downwards so quickly we are only reacting all the time without a chance to ever catch up.