[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 5

[Devixer]

[Abbey]

Hildur's features darken a little as she hears this 'explanation' of her powers. This was just ridiculous. They were just trying to justify the fact that she was becoming more and more powerful. They were jealous of her! Probably fearful of her! They were just trying to calm her down so they could take everything she had away! She would not give her ability away!

Despite these thoughts, Hildur will follow for now.

[Rebonack]

[Abbey]

It's all just crazy gibberish anyway. Hildur doesn't even believe in all this religious nonsense in the first place, right? The rituals probably don't even do anything, just there to help control the people and make them feel secure.

She doesn't have time for this. They're just going to harp on her about some kind of silly religious mumbo-jumbo song and dance. And at worst they might try to take her focus. Take the tool that allows her to excel! What's she even doing in here? She still needs to try making her focus into a snowboard! Would that be amazing? To feel the wind in her hair like that...

Bet she could even snowboard down the clouds themselves if she put her mind to it!

Agatha is still yammering about something. It probably isn't even important. Hildur should head back to the cave and apologize to Maarsukaal for being unable to free her. Maarsukaal was so kind and peaceful, she would probably understand even if she'll be a little sad.

"Alright, here we are," Agatha says as she stops at the Mother's cell. "Mother Martha will be able to tell if discordant spirits are building up on you. And if they are then we'll need to go see Bishop Bartholomew at Ironkeep. Hopefully he'll help you perform the Ritual of Alms to get them removed! Because by the Emperor's Throne I'm not about to let my friend get turned into a dragon!"

See?

Listen to that!

More religious nonsense. There's no time for this.

[Devixer]

[Abbey]

"I'm sure," Hildur says. What was all this crap even for? There were clearly no 'discordant spirits' (what a stupid term,) in her. And she wasn't going to be turned into a dragon. That's just fragging impossible. Why was she still here? She should be outside, in the wind. And yet for some reason, she's still standing here. Well, after this dumb thing's over, and there are no spirits to be found, she's getting out of this abbey. Won't even bother helping that dragon.

[Rebonack]

[Abbey]

Haha! That's right!

Look out for number one! That's what matters most. After all the power belongs to her and she is the one who should decide how she uses it. No one else.

As they head into the Mother's cell they'll find the elderly, somewhat portly woman peering out the one window the small room offers. She turns toward Agatha with a question look. "What troubles you, daughter."

Agatha bows back. "Mother... Hildur has spoken with Maarsukaal. And I think the dragon may be feeding its own spirits into her, trying to corrupt her."

"I see... that sounds rather serous," the elderly woman replies as she shuffles over toward Hildur. As the Mother draws near Hildur will probably feel... A rather odd sensation. As if the air around her got thinner all of a sudden. It might leave her momentarily dizzy.

Mother Martha squints at Hildur for a few moments before shaking her head. "No. I don't sense anything unusual. Her own spirit is quite impressive, though. Quite the gift from the Emperor. And don't go speaking to that old lizard again. Such a dreadful creature."

She'll then shuffle back toward the window. "Now then, back to your duties, my Daughter."

"-but!"

"Go. I have sensed nothing. You are allowing your imagination to run wild again, Sister Agatha."

Agatha's shoulders slump as she leaves the room. "Yes Mother..."

[Devixer]

[Abbey]

Hildur is dizzy for a few seconds, but when she hears that there's nothing unusual, she almost looks smug about it. Of course she was fine. She should've just said that and this whole thing would've been avoided. Not like she's wrong or anything.

"I can go too, right? I'll be outside." How far outside was a different issue entirely, of course. She was just too powerful for this place. She needed to be elsewhere. Maybe go back to that city, show it who's boss.

[Rebonack]

[Abbey]

Mother Martha makes some small shooing motions with on hand. Looks like Hildur can leave too!

Upon stepping out into the hallway again the feeling of thick, tangible air around her returns again. And with it the wind tugging at her to come outside and play. Shouldn't she be tired? She didn't sleep all night. But she feels amazing!

It's almost enough to leave her wondering why she felt so horrible to begin with.

Sister Agatha gives Hildur a concerned look. The young woman's instincts are telling her that something is dreadfully wrong but she can't speak out against the word of Mother Martha.

"Hildur?" Agatha will call out as her friend moves to head outside. "Please... be safe..."

[Devixer]

[Abbey]

Hildur takes a deep breath of the normal air. Man, that felt good. She felt like she could just go... well, just go. The whole Nexus was her oyster now. Her response to Agatha's concerned look is an ever-so-slightly amused look. "Yeah, sure," she replies, just to appease her.

She immediately steps out into the courtyard. What should she do? Tough to decide when you can do anything you want. First thing she does, though, is get to flying real fast.

[Rebonack]

Oh yeah.

Totally time to get to flying.

Pchoooooooo!

Hildur will feel the wind gathering under her feet moments before she goes rocketing into the-

[The Sky]

The storm has cleared up. And way up here? No clouds for as far as the eye can see. Just clean blue air in every direction. Nothing can touch her. Nothing can even come close. Swift as the wind itself. And it doesn't so much as sting her eyes. May as well just be another current of air dancing through the sky.

The immensity of it is staggering. To feel so vast and so tiny all at once.

What to do first...

Hmmm... Well, she did feel more powerful after speaking with Maarsukaal. That much can't be denied. Even if she can't help the dragon she might be able to gain more power from it. Maybe visiting the pitiful old lizard would be worth the time?

But, eh. If not? Who cares! Hildur has the wind itself obeying her every fleeting feeling!

[Devixer]

[The Sky]

Visit Maarsukaal? Why? Hildur's probably more powerful than that old creature ever was. No point wasting her time. No, she has something much more important to do on her mind. A drop from this height would be exhilirating.

With that in mind, Hildur flies around a little more to find a good point, and then just lets herself fall for a little bit. At the same time, she shapes her focus into that shape she's been wanting to use for quite some time, a snowboard.

[Rebonack]

[The Sky]

Yeah, she's probably right. There's no way Maarsukaal is as powerful as she is now. That old lizard was so emaciated and stuff it probably couldn't even fly anymore.

Right now though?

Right now it's time to shred through the sky itself.

And it will no doubt be amazing.

So amazing in fact that Hildur probably won't even notice that itchy feeling that might be popping up right now. Far too exhilarating to notice the Gossamer scales that may be growing in under her skin ever so slowly.

Best just ignore that odd sensation of tugging and twitching at the base of her spine. It couldn't possibly be important. What is important is to try out some Air Shaping empowered snowboarding!

[Devixer]

[The Sky]

Despite all the exhilaration and amazingness of boarding through the currents of the wind, that tingling feeling is something Hildur does notice. Mostly because that tingling feeling was not perfection. What business does anything but perfection have with her? And then she takes a look at the exposed parts of her forearm.

Fun's over. Hildur has gone from boarding to just plain falling, thanks to the shock of seeing that. ****, could probably sum up her thoughts right now. Was everything Agatha was blabbing about true?

[Rebonack]

[Falling]

It seems Hildur is falling.

She might want to do something about that pretty quickly. Because otherwise the ground will have a pretty major disagreement with her in the near future. And when people have disagreements with the ground the ground always wins.

The scale growth is pretty slow and at the moment look like little more than unusually shiny freckles. Though the feeling of some of her bones working on changing shape might be a little more disconcerting if she pauses to consider just what's going on.

And despite Agatha's babbling... This is power. She can feeling it. She can feel her power growing moment by moment. Not just any power, her power. Don't fight it. Don't question it. Make it fully hers. Revel in it. Be one with it. Be one with the sky itself. Who cares what people think! If they have a problem with you just devour them, more power for you!

More power than you can possibly imagine, Hildur. All you need to do is embrace it. No one will ever dare to cross you again. And besides, you think the Nuns will help you now? Remember what they said? Evil. Vile. Cunning and dangerous. If you go back there now showing signs of this most glorious apotheosis they'll try to kill you, Hildur. Because they fear you.

Just like they feared me.

I am old. And I am broken. Let me give you my power. Let me give you my legacy to carry it on.

Let the mortals tremble at the name of Maarsukaal again.

[Devixer]

[The Sky]

No. No no no no no. Despite how amazing this power is, Hildur does not want to become anything! She wants to stay human! She can already feel the pain of her bones reforming, and all the power in the world wouldn't help that. Most importantly, she's pretty sure nobody makes snowboards for creatures of Discord! That's just the worst.

She doesn't want to be feared. She wants to have friends, she wants to be truste- oh hey, is that the ground? Seems to be approaching very quickly now.

In the midst of all this conflict and now-physical pain, Hildur tries to slow her descent so that she doesn't go splat.

[Rebonack]

[The Ground]

Well hello there mister ground! Nice to see you again.

Slowing herself down proves to be pretty simple! Might have to do with the fact that Hildur has Gossamer growing inside her body at the moment. In fact, using the wind to slow herself down and cushion the landing feels even more second nature than walking ever did.

The changes weren't terribly swift to begin with, more a slow and steady sort of thing. Which probably makes it all the more terrifying than if it was just over really quickly. A new pair of limbs gradually growing off the back of her shoulders. Her tailbone working at extending and flexing into a tail. Her fingers aching as the bones are ever so slowly turning into claws. The whole process would probably take hours, maybe even days to finish completely.

And it would be painful and horrifying the whole time. All the while that raw, wild power continues to build inside her.

Hmmm... Where did she land? Looks like an apple orchard or something? She can't even see the mountain with all these trees in the way.

Though all the pain and confusion and anguish and conflict the voice continues.

Hildur, I chose you. Your spirit is so strong but your body is so weak. I'll fix that for you, there's no need to thank me. You're worried about friends? About your board not fitting on your new feet?

There comes a sound in Hildur's mind of bell-like laughter, high and airy.

You will be a beautiful being of pure Gossamer, Hildur. Haven't you learned anything yet? Gossamer is as the sky itself, without weight and without shape. You will be as large or as small as you wish to be. Stop fighting against me, Hildur. Let go of your fear. Become Maarsukaal. Become the wind itself!

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

No no no no no no "NO!"

Hildur does not want to be pure Gossamer! She likes her skin and bones and organs, and you know what? She likes being weak, too! There's no thrill in anything if there's no risk! She would lose her heritage, her bloodlines, everything important to her! Even her name? She will not be Maarsukaal. Her name is Hildur Lange, and that's the way it's going to be!

Hildur stumbles blindly through the orchard, desperately trying to go where she can see the mountain. Somewhere, anywhere, where she can get help.

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

Hildur will be able to feel the growing power straining against her insisted resistance. It seems the dragon was expecting her to take the power willingly, that it had already bent her toward that end. And now it has played its hand too soon.

Unaware? The power comes slowly.

Willing? The transformation would be quick and terrible to behold.

Aware and unwilling? It would seem the dragon is having trouble forcing more draconically tainted spirits into Hildur now.

With one last painful growth-spurt the draconic metamorphosis grinds to halt. Crystalline scales ripple over Hildur's body, replacing nearly half of her skin in the process. With a sound of ripping fabric a fully formed tail pushes its way out of her spine as resplendently colored wings like a cross between those of a butterfly and a bat erupt from her shoulder blades. Fingers and toes twitch as claws grow into place. The Gossamer snowboard on her feet is actually absorbed reinforcing the scales on the limbs.

Suffice to say it is horrifically painful. It might make the blind stumbling difficult for the next few minutes.

And when the voice speaks again suffice to say it is not at all amused.

Well now look at you. Neither dragon nor human. Unwilling as you are I can't help you metamorphose into what you deserve to be. A creature of power and beauty rather than a pitiful hairless ape. But my spirits have already been invested in you and I can not give them to another. When you grow weary of this half-existence let me know. I'll be listening. And I'll be more than happy to complete your apotheosis.

For a moment, silence. And then, as if an afterthought.

And don't expect any help from the slaves of the Emperor. You are Discord now. And the only cure they consider for our kind is death. Enjoy your new wings, Hildur. They look lovely on you.

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

Hildur's stumbling ceases as soon as the final change starts. Instead, she just kneels and screams constantly as wings, tail, and claws spurt from her form. She clumsily tosses her gloves aside so that there's even a sliver less pain. Though, in the end, it doesn't matter. At the very least, she wasn't a complete monster. But to her, that was worse in a few ways.

Though most of her clothing remains intact, Hildur's boots and gloves are now pretty darn useless. And why did she make that snowboard use bootstraps, instead of something like magnets, back in the SSX tour?

And then that damned voice pipes up again. By now, Hildur's just angry. Angry at Maarsukaal, herself, the world. Just shut up, she mutters.

Well, one thing's for sure: she is never going to be heading back to Sweden.

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

The voice doesn't reply.

Hildur will get the impression that it isn't gone, that it's still there. Listening. But for now it's silent. Waiting. Waiting for her resolve to fail. Because as soon as it does the metamorphosis will be completed and Hildur will be lost. Only Marrsukaal will remain.

"Hello!" comes a new voice from somewhere in the orchard. A voice tinged with concern and some degree of fear. It seems someone heard Hildur's scream and is looking for her. To help? To make sure she isn't dead? No doubt this picker of apples isn't sure which. But he can't just ignore Hildur after hearing a scream like that.

"Are you alright?" the young man calls out again. "Where are you?"

Some small instinct nudges at Hildur. He'll think you're a monster, don't let him see you. Flee back to the sky where you'll be safe.

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

Hildur freezes for a few seconds when she hears the man's voice. Could she even look at another human being? She knew she probably couldn't go to the Abbey anymore, but maybe other people would be different? No, that was just stupid. This man would call her a monster, probably call for a mob.

Rather than fly, though, Hildur just runs in the opposite direction of the voice. She couldn't let him or anyone see her

[Eadin]

[Prison]

And at Cat's comment regarding not getting weapons Fredrick sorta twists on his heel, whilst looking at the map and heads off in another direction!

"Of all the various places I think New London sounds the least overtly hostile. To us at least," he comments. "Because obviously neither of us are elves or goblins or whatever."

Obviously.

"I would rather avoid all the crossbones places until we get a better feel for just what we've been dumped into."

He'll glances back at Cat and ask, "What about you? Where do you think we should go first?"

That's the question of the day!

Cat takes another look at the map.
"It looks like a good idea. We should start out with short trips, so we don't run out of food." Food for her. She's sure with the undead wobbling around he'll have enough food.

"We could get some more information about how this place works, maybe there are some books to be found about this place."
Knowledge is power! And Cat loves a good book.

To New London it is!

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison

Fortunately, between the Welcome Inn and New London are corridors and hallways. They're well-lit, with few hiding places, and very straight- all the corners are right-angles. There's no stairs visible, instead to go up or down there's either a ramp or a lift, though most of the lifts are broken and don't work.

The trek can be made in a few hours; if they leave now, they could stay in New London to have a meal and sleep and be back for the new map.

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

And then there was fleeing! In the opposite direction! Hildur might have a bit of trouble moving very fast, though. Mostly because the bone structure and musculature of her feet has been altered radically. That and the addition of extra limbs might throw her balance off as well.

Though...

Despite obviously being a bit bigger than she was previously she'll feel a lot lighter. No doubt due to bones and skin being replaced with weightless Gossamer.

Anywho! And Hildur stumbles off clumsily she gets spotted between the trees by mystery guy!

"Wait!" he calls out. "I saw you fall from the sky! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

He hasn't gotten close enough to be repulsed by her inhuman features yet though.

[Prison]

"To New London it is," Freddie agrees as he sets off!

Hopefully their trip will be uneventful?

Zefir should totally check out one of the other locations. Freddie gave him one of the maps and everything! When they meet again sharing information would go a long way toward getting Freddie to trust Zefir.

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

Hildur keeps on stumbling through the trees as best she can, which isn't all that well. Stay away from me! She shouts back towards the unknown man. She can't say she's in the mood for social contact right now, given her new physical appearance.

She tries her best to get acquainted with her new set of limbs, but that's slow going at best.

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

That's usually how it goes with new sets of limbs. Unless of course people magically gain knowledge of how to use those limbs. But unfortunately Hildur wasn't given any such knowledge.

When she yells back her pursuer pauses in his chase. There's something seriously wrong here. Usually when people fall out of the sky they require help. Or so he would imagine.

The apple-picker really hasn't ever encountered people falling out of the sky before. That's how you can tell he's new to the Nexus you see.

Regardless, he's caught glimpses of Hildur already. Seen that she's hobbling along as if injured. And that she apparently has Gossamer armor? That would suggest an Air Shaper. Which would explain the whole falling out of the sky thing. And she must be pretty rich if she can afford Gossamer armor. Maybe a noble?

"M'lady, please," he calls out again as he picks up speed. "You're injured and you aren't thinking straight. I'm sure Priest Luke can-"

Aaaaand then he finally gets a good look at her.

The man himself looks to be in his late teens, maybe early twenties. A bit on the tan side from working outdoors his whole life. His attire is pretty bland and basic, to be expected of a peasant.

And his brown eyes are open wide, nearly as wide as his mouth.

"Y-you... You're... You're a..."

He seems to be having trouble forming sentences.

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

Somewhere in her clumsy stumbling, Hildur trips to the ground. Not about to be stopped by this, she just starts to scramble on the ground. Anything to get away from the person that would remind her just how much of a freak she was now.

And then he catches up to her. Well, that didn't work out. Hildur looks at the man for one second before covering her eyes with her palms. Don't look at me. J-just go away!

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

The young man swallows hard, glancing over one shoulder as if half expecting someone to pop out from behind a tree and yell surprise! He's heard of dragons before, sure. Specifically the story about the dragon imprisoned inside the mountain some distance away. But he's pretty sure they don't look like this.

And they certainly don't grovel on the ground pleading with people not to look at them.

...

Their village had already been visited a few times by odd people from the Nexus. So... maybe this strange dragon-woman wasn't from their world at all? He's cautious. And uncertain. And takes a few tentative steps toward Hildur, hands raised.

"I... I'm not going to hurt you, m'lady," he says, his tone an attempt at being reassuring. "Emperor's throne... look at you... have you... have you always looked like that?"

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

No, I haven't. Not that it matters anymore, Hildur says while scooting back further from the man. She tries to get to her feet, just so it'll be easier for her to take to the skies when he calls for attackers. At the same time, she checks her jacket to see how much of it was ripped apart, and if any particular parts of her body were exposed. She might have been radically altered, but she still wanted to have something covering her.

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

The back of the jacket has been turned into confetti while the front is still mostly intact. It'll feel a bit tighter than it was previously simply because Hildur gained a few inches in height. But... she probably wouldn't have any need to worry about being exposed.

The peasant bites his lip. No. She hasn't always been like this. So... she must have been... changed. By Discord no doubt. But he hadn't ever heard of anyone half way between a human and a demi-dragon before.

And the young man knows well enough the stories of the dragon in the mountain. And it's well known that she's nearing the end of her life. So everyone in the surrounding countryside is on the lookout for some poor soul that the dragon might be passing her Name onto.

"Are... are you Maarsukaal?" he asks tentatively, almost dreading the answer. "Because... if... if you aren't yet. But that's what you're becoming? I think Priest Luke might be able to help you."

He bites his lip. "And if you are Maarsukaal please don't eat me. I'm just a simple peasant, I'm sure my spirit would be really weak. Not even worth the effort to chew me."

[Devixer]

[Not the Sky]

The first question that the peasant asks puts Hildur a little on the defensive. No, I'm not Maarsukaal! My name is Hildur! If nothing else, she still had her name. That was probably the only good thing that remained.

But learning that someone can still help her is a bit reassuring, but she's still pretty paranoid about receiving help from a priest of the Emperor. W-who is Luke? How do I know he won't just try to kill me?

[Rebonack]

[Not the Sky]

The young man raises his hands in a 'calm down' sorta way. "Alright alright, you aren't Maarsukaal. That's good! You must have a really strong spirit if you're fighting the dragon's Name like that."

He sounds impressed!

And kind of... afraid?

"Priest Luke is the Priest of our village. If you can be returned to normal I'm sure he would know how to do it."

He'll then hold out his hand for Hildur to take so he can lead her in the right direction. "My name's Jeromy. You're just a little ways outside the village of Applevale."

What a nice name for a little village.