Chosen of an Empress

[jamieth]

Princess's words stir something inside of Talla, some feelings she can't quite get. Until now, the girl now called an Icewalker had only though of Princess as a symbol, as something pertaining to a completely different level of existence. What she sees now is a simple girl, around Talla's own age, carrying a burden of duty much heavier than Talla could ever imagine. A duty no one can carry alone. No, even if she could, the Princess shouldn't have to shoulder it alone.
Talla steps forward and stands next to Cadeyrn. "Your Majesty", she says, "even though I can't promise to deal with all your problems, I will do everything I can to the very limits of my abilities to do so. No. if it is to help you, I will go beyond my limits. That, I do promise you, and I am sure everyone here feels the same."

[Dragonus45]

Robin stammers speechless, unable to find the words for the feelings cascading through his head. A lifetime of feeling lost, the urge to find where he would truly belonged. Finally he settles onto a single knee, speaking in a quavering quite tone. "Your eminence, you but have to name the task, and nothing in this world or any other will keep me from fulfilling even your smallest desires."

[Qwertystop]

After the initial panic, the rest of the situation (and the statements of others) sink in.

I'm Ilya.

An'... the Dark is back.

"I'm helping too."

[blackwind1kaze]

volten thought for a moment, "Of all of the legends... Of all of them, I am the nameless one..." He then lit his hands aflame over his gloves as he put his hands together as if in prayer and politely bowed saying, "As my master wanted... I will help rid the darkness from this land." As Volten stood back up, the compassion for the world could only be truly seen through his eyes.

[Snowfire]

"Then it is as has been seen, Lightwielders." The voice comes from behind, that of the Imperial Seer, walking forward carefully across the glass. "If I may, Majesty?" The Seer asks.

"It was your Seeing, not mine." Alanna replies, and the Seer gives a slow nod of thanks as their steps move them closer - until they stand slightly before the Princess, and even veiled you can see now the power rippling within their eyes.

"I ask you to be calm, all of you. For it is easier to share the vision than explain it." The Seer raises their left hand, power flowing into being around it as serene cerulean, and it seems to tug at the edge of your mind. The Seer's right hand unlocks the wreath upon their neck, and a gentle flick of their wrist sends it streaming out around the group. The light spreads and grows too, rushing out across the spread wreath, and the Seer nods once. They look up, behind the veil their eyes blazing with a strange, terrible and yet invisible power.

See

The blue upon the ring around you bursts upwards, spinning into a sphere of light, and an image forms around you.

Above, the stars glitter and shine upon the serene black of the heavens, a sliver of the moon spreading a faint silver radiance to the scene before you. A Beacon of the Circle stands there, in a circle of grass at the heart of a great forest. The scene is peaceful, but it does not remain so. Whispers shift within the gently swaying grass, words that are intelligible to all of you, but bring with them a feeling of mounting dread. The viewpoint descends, down towards the Beacon, into the comfort of its blazing Light, and eyes catch swift movements within the trees. Black chittering shapes, floating whispers of shade, move behind and beneath the veil, and the whispers around you focus - becoming something more alike to a chant.

And then...something steps from the treeline. At first it seems almost like a blob of amorphous blackness, but as it moves fully into the Beacon's Light it becomes apparent that it is something even less possessed of self. Something powerful hides within it, shielded from the Beacon's power by the shell of darkness. Something old - nay, ancient - and full of hunger. The Light of the Circle tears at its protection, flaying the black that hides its form with the neverending torrent of power that pours from the Beacons. The darkness tears, as if a piece of clothing that's seams are becoming undone.

The chant grows louder.

The shell moves forward, leaning into the light as one does against a strong wind. The pace is slow, steady - and yet also almost desperate as the protections around the thing within continue to break asunder. Two hands - seemingly human - now protrude from the shell, ribbons of black wrapping around them. Rippling and beating in time to the whispered incantation.

And the chant grows louder.

Darkness begins to spread out of the treeline, seeping onto the grass circle bathed in the Beacon's Light. It moves in fits and starts, fighting against the radiance blazing at the top of the regal tower. But it comes still, even if it is slowly, building and beating to the words of the chant. The darkness rises, and then reaches to the still slowly advancing - and now rather bent - blob of the same. The change is immediate.

The blackness ripples up across the shield, covering the hands of the creature within again, and then forming into a properly shaped shell - this being is most certainly humanoid. Details are impossible to decipher beyond that through the thickness of the oily black mass protecting it. And then it raises one hand, sickly power rippling into being around it, and a spray of liquid night burst forth towards the Beacon. The light around the structure intensified suddenly as the arcing stream of quasi-liquid approached it, seeming to halt against an invisible protection within the air. And then the creatures hidden in the trees began to move out into the Light, cloaked in shells of blackness as the 'human' at their head was too.

They approached from all sides, the chant rippling across the now considerably less open field. Tendril and claw rose in place of hands, fountains of the same blackness bursting from them towards the beacon, and the barrier of invisible Light shuddered. Shuddered...and then - impossibly - began to contract. And above, even more impossible, the Light of the Beacon's heart flickered.

Once, twice, with each a sudden advance by the dark, and a sense of despair floods the vision as the invisible shield around the column of white stone begins to fail. It is a long battle even then, with many backs and forths, but the conclusion is known to you all before it comes. A single spray of corrupted night strikes the stone of the Beacon, and the light above it seems to shatter. Purity corrupted. A Beacon could recover from this, yes. But only if given time. And there is none. More spray strike the tower, tracking upwards as they begin to coat its structure in the viscous liquid. The Light atop it shudders, flickering faster and with far more spaces between its Lighting. Then the darkness reaches the Light, seeming to scream as it touches the source of its anathema, but unable to alter its own course. The Beacon flickers again, like a dying heartbeat. And the Beacon dies.

The tower comes apart, black painted white stone collapsing down towards the ground, and the Light at its top simply disintegrates. There's a final, futile burst of power as it does, but the darkness around its enemies is too intense to be stripped by such a weak thing. Then the world around you goes black.

"That is the fate we have Seen." The Seer speaks into the dark silence, before raising both hands and pulling the shell of blackness back to one and the puzzle-wreath that speaks of their position back into the other. They slip the clasp back on to the necklace from which it came, and the power in their eyes fades. "And thine hands are the ones upon which the scale is balanced." The Seer steps away to the side, bowing gravely to the Princess.

"My cartographers are searching for the Beacon within that vision, and it is a certainty that is has not happened yet." Alanna sighs gently. "I would know." The young woman pulls herself up carefully, and this time her smile is that of her station, nothing more - although it is perhaps a little softer than what one might expect from a monarch. "When the Beacon is found, we shall be able to work out when the event you just saw is meant to occur. The clear skies will be a great and help in telling that." She pauses, and again the monarch fall away. "If you have questions, I will do all I can - as shall the archivists in service to Aria."

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn was dumbfounded at the dream-like vision. It was a horrific nightmare. "What could possibly have the power to destroy a beacon?" he thought.

"...what in the blue blazes...that was awful. It was like...like a gaggle of demons had risen from the ground to strike down the object that would hold them back." Cadeyrn paused for a second before continuing.

"If the beacons are what hold the darkness at bay...could they be used to a greater measure? Like, weaponize them somehow? Or is our task simply to protect the beacons with the gifts and skills we have at our disposal?"

[Snowfire]

The Princess shakes her head sadly at Cadeyrn's question.

"I am sorry, but they cannot, Starbearer." she replies. "The Beacons were made always as to be a shield, nothing more. It was only in that way that they could repel that of the Dark and lull it all to slumber - so we thought - eternal." Her shoulders slump. "And more...to unleash further power from the Beacons would cause...damage. Their power is one that can touch the world only in small amounts without bringing harm. So," she sighs, "it is your gifts and skills that its fate will hinge upon."

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn nodded in aquiescence. He planted his feet firmly while holding his hands behind his back, his jaw and eyes level and sure.

"Then I shall do my absolute best! I'll study the stars and their song so well no one will know it better than I. Perhaps I'll even find a way to completely put the Dark to sleep for good. In fact, you have my word that I will not stop looking for a permanent solution for as long as I live. I swear it upon the very stars themselves, or my name is not Cadeyrn Erskine, Starbearer."

[Qwertystop]

Koyya has just been standing there in shock, doing her absolute best to be calm as requested.

This doesn't last long. Half a moment after Cadeyrn's oath, a few seeds fall from Koyya's hair, and in another blink, they've begun to sprout, roots splaying for a moment across the platform before pointing inward, back toward Koyya; trunks shooting up and arching over. A few seconds later, she is encased in a very solid-looking, hopefully hollow ball of woven vines as thick as an arm.

Another few seconds, a faint green glow from between the vines, and then the light fades and the cage withers to nothing. Inside is a person of wood and stone, long creepers for hair, with a small cloth of tendrils across her shoulders.

"Okay. Okay. Calm now. Sorry."

"That was... horrible."

Spoiler

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Just popping Vine-Woven Wall and summoning the Costume from inside it. The "cloth" is the trinket-form of her Device. I'm seeing it sort of like a scarf, if you cut off the hanging bits. Maybe a bit like connected epaulets. In case I got the wrong word, what I meant by "tendrils" was those little things that climbing vines (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc) wrap around fences and suchlike.

[jamieth]

Talla, recovering from a horrific vision, takes several slow, deep breaths to calm herself, a technique taken from her favorite martial arts book. Then she says, trying to sound gentle – which turns out somewhat awkwardly, “It wasn’t yet, young lady Springtide”. And, with her usual steely resolve returning to her voice, adds, this time clearly to everyone around… the Princess, primarily, she adds, “And as long as my Sparkling Edge can cut this darkness, it won’t be. I am not a scholar, though… only thing I can do until the Beacon is found is to train to make this blade as sharp, swift and precise as it possibly can.”

[Qwertystop]

"I know it hasn't hap'ned yet, but... but... Eurgh..."

No. Can't panic. Can't be the little kid.

"The bark helps. 's comf'table."

No! Stoppit. Focus.

"Fighting's most of what I've got too... didn' know I could make walls like that..."

It's just another bully. Bigger, but I'm tougher too.

We should practice together. Better than tripping on each other."

[Lix Lorn]

"That seems like an excellent idea." Priestess Mira nods solemnly, smiling sadly at the young girl. "We must learn to work together."

[blackwind1kaze]

Volten's flame darkened through the whole vision and stayed even after that for a bit. It wasn't until he was deep into his memories that his flame returned to normal. He remembered during the first time he met his master, he heard something about beacon. Volten looked up from his memories and stated, "I think I know where to start the search for the beacon. When I first met my master, he stated something about beacons and would teach me about them later on. Sadly, he didn't survive to where I could learn about them. I expect though that there would be some info where he lived about the beacons."

[jamieth]

"Of course", Talla says, turning to Koyya and Robin, "I would gladly join you... but first... Lady Memory, if I could ask of you a favor... I hope that maybe you could help me with..." she pauses every now and then, her voice weaker with every word, as a red blush fills her usually pale face, and the last word she forces out of herself is barely more than a whisper, "clothes?"

[Falcon777]

Spoiler

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(1d20+12)[18]

Cadeyrn was puzzled at why Talla would start to blush and why she was getting more and more quiet. When he couldn't quite hear the last words of what she said, his confusion showed on his face, but he then shrugged and waited to hear the princess' response to what everyone had said.

[Snowfire]

Alanna blinked, tilting her head as Talla whispered to Mira, then stood stock still for a moment before darting forward.

"Oh you poor thing!" She exclaimed, grabbing Talla's hand. "You must be terribly hot in those! Come along," she started half dragging the lightly built girl towards the site of the teleportation circle. "We'll get you out of them and into something nicer!"

Quillan, off to the side, shook slightly and then strode forward to keep beside his liege, the black metal of his armour folding up around him to cover his head. The rest of the guard moved in concert with the Captain and Princess, keeping close to the last of the bloodline they were sworn to protect.

[jamieth]

"B-but... but... Your Majesty, you need not to concern yourself with something like this!" Talla, her face now a shade of crimson, protests weakly, but, of course, not even thinking about resisting the pull (not that she could, anyway, taking Alanna's surprising strength into account). Soon, however, she surrenders to Princess's will, only adding quickly, "I... I don't need anything fancy... just something that is easy to move in... But of course", she cuts herself, realizing that she just now requested something from the Princess, "I would happily accept anything Your Majesty likes..."

[Snowfire]

"My Champions shall have all that I can give them, Icewalker." Alanna replied, clearly taking some joy from being able to help and yet somehow totally misplacing her awareness of Talla's crushing embarrassment. She reaches the teleportation circle, releases Talla's wrist and then flicks her hands through a complicated series of movements. The runes that form the circle hum to life, and then the light cast by them reaches out and grabs every one of you, spiriting you all away.

Talla

You find yourself with the Princess in a well lit, but perhaps uncomfortably dry, room full of clothes. You've just not-enough time to take into account Alanna's almost worryingly happy grin as she winks at someone behind you.

"The Icewalker wrap, yes?" You start at the new voice, turning to see a friendly faced older woman, presumably a matron tailor to the Princess. "I'll need to make a few changes to the cut, but it should go with her colouring very nicely." The woman smiles disarmingly, pulling something that looks a lot like a dress out of the rack beside her.

"That would be great, Kia." The Princess replies, before turning her attention to you again. "Kia shouldn't take long to get your things fitted. When she's done, just step back into the circle, say my name, and it'll bring you to me." She flicks her fingers on one hand, and then vanishes in another burst of light.

"Come along deary," Kia says, holding up the wrap and already beginning to make adjustments to it as she takes in your figure. "This won't take long at all, and it'll look quite lovely.

The Rest

You appear on an elegant wooden balcony, big enough for a party twice your size, looking out over the city. The Beacon soars to a height far above even this, and when you look up you can see that this building does not extend much further. The air is warm though, as it was on Crystal Court, but here you can see the faint inscriptions carved into the solid wooden fence around the edge of the balcony. Definitely magic.

Quillan shakes his head. "One of these days she'll remember to take just one of us along with her." He says, but his tone his not reproachful. Cadeyrn - himself a noble - can tell that he'll be talking with Alanna later, but also that the Captain trusts Aria. Trusts that his liege will be safe within Her city. And who is to say that he is wrong. None but a child of the Dynasty would know of all the wards and safeguards hidden within Their city. And you have already seen Alanna's easy control over what appears to be an internal teleportation network. Just that on its own would make her almost impossible to catch.

The Guard spread out around the balcony, the veil-clad man standing almost exactly at the center of the cordon of black-clad sentinels, and you're left alone for about a minute until the Princess reappears among you in another burst of light.

"Talla Icewalker will be with us shortly. She's just getting her new clothes before the rest of you." Alanna grins. "Endless must have their proper clothing." The teenager moves until she is beside the veiled - presumably - mage, and then continues speaking.

"Volten Dawnhand, you said that your old master knew about the Beacons - I assume in ways more than 'they are what keeps the dark at bay'. Is this true?"

Spoiler

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Knowledge Arcana on the guy in the veils if you want to work out what he is.

[jamieth]

After the fitting ends, Talla takes just a briefest look in the mirror and nodded, "I... suppose it looks nice..." she said, "Excuse me..."
Stepping back, she raised one leg straight up to the ceiling, helt it for a couple of seconds and brought it down in a lightning-fast axe kick, slicing the air in front of her. The moment her leg hit the floor, she used the momentum of the kick to launch hesrelf to the air, somersaulting further away from the woman and landing on top of the nearest rack. "Oh... I'm sorry..." she jumps down and approaches the apparently surprised tailor, "But I just needed to check... Yes, it fits perfectly. Thank you", she gives the woman a polite bow, her voice regaining calm confidence, "You are truly a master."
With that, and another bow, she steps to the portal, "Her Imperial Highness Princess Alanna!"

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn almost gasped when he realized what the man was that Alanna was standing next to. He quickly schooled his features and made sure to pay attention to Volten and the princess.

[Qwertystop]

"Lower is better. Um. New clothes? But I like the bark..."

[blackwind1kaze]

"Talla Icewalker will be with us shortly. She's just getting her new clothes before the rest of you." Alanna grins. "Endless must have their proper clothing." The teenager moves until she is beside the veiled - presumably - mage, and then continues speaking.

"Volten Dawnhand, you said that your old master knew about the Beacons - I assume in ways more than 'they are what keeps the dark at bay'. Is this true?"

Volten bowed slightly when Alanna reappears but thought to himself, "My fireproof Robes will do just fine." However, when she mentioned his master he quickly stood back up and stated "Yes, I know for a fact that he knew something more about the beacons other than the general safety knowledge it provides. Unfortunately, like I believe I mentioned before, I was too late to fully learn everything he knew about the beacons. Unless another place has already been found with more info on the beacons, i believe currently, my master's hidden information is a decent place to start." With that Volten folded his gloved hands into his sleeves and said no more for the time.

[Dragonus45]

I admit i have gotten attached to my traveling cloak but I suppose a change of pace won't be so bad. Unfortunately I haven't heard anything of interest about the beacons in my travels, or perhaps i should say nothing of interest that i could confirm or even really believe.

[Snowfire]

"That is in itself unsurprising, Robin." Alanna replies, eyes focused on Volten. "It is for that very reason that the idea of knowledge of the Beacons outside of Aria is so intruiging. And...for now so important." She sighs, gesturing for you all to sit. She smiles faintly as Talla appears, inclining her head towards one of the seats on the balcony in unspoken directive.

"All Heirs know some of the Beacons, but the core of each Empress' knowledge is granted by the Spirit of the World whose power shines through them. As I have said...the Spirit does not answer when I call, so I can have no guarantee that the knowledge that my parents and ancestors beyond them took for granted will be passed to me upon my coronation." She shrugs helplessly. "Hence why a source of knowledge on the Beacons comes as such a surprise, and in these times as a ray of hope."

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn's eyebrows rose.

"That's...kind of disappointing actually. I had assumed from your references earlier that you already had a connection to the beacons. But I suppose it is quite beneficial that we have someone with a link to the beacons in a different manner." At this, Cadeyrn nodded to Volten. He then turned back towards the group, specifically the princess.

"Is there any training you need us to do? Or perhaps some more information you need to impart? Or perhaps some magical gifts? Because if not we may want to head out soon since we want to prevent the catastrophe that would be if a beacon was destroyed. If we are in a race to prevent such a catastrophe, every moment is important."

Cadeyrn purposely talked with a bit of urgency in his voice, concern clearly written on his face.

[Qwertystop]

"But Cad'rn, we don't know where it is yet, right?"

Koyya says, stumbling over his name a bit.

"If we don' know where to go, we should prolly get ready. Practicin' an' stuff. So we can go right away when we do know."

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn nodded and smiled at Koyya.

"Of course we don't want to rush out if there is more to be learned. That wouldn't be very smart."

Cadeyrn then turned back towards the princess, awaiting her answer.

[Snowfire]

The guards around the balcony stiffen slightly as Cadeyrn speaks, but a swift gesture from Alanna returns them to calm. She sighs again, but her posture remains imperial.

"I do have a connection, Cadeyrn." She replies. "But to properly and fully understand what it tells me, I need what the Spirit taught all those before me after the Lighting. I would know if a Beacon fell and where - all the records are clear upon that - but the connection I currently have is very much a passive one. And whilst I doubt that anything Volten's master might have had will give me full understanding, it may help. The cartographers and diviners will continue to search for the Beacon that the vision showed whilst you are away." She starts to gesture to the man at her side, then pauses - blushing sightly.

"Oh...um...sorry. Would you like to rest a little before leaving? Have something to eat?"

[Falcon777]

Cadeyrn nodded.

"A bit of refreshment would be nice. I do apologize for insinuating that there isn't any connection. I was confused as to its nature and how it worked." Cadeyrn spoke with sincerity, hoping that the others would believe him.

Spoiler

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Diplomacy ho! Mostly for the guards sake, but also to smooth any ruffled feathers the princess may have: (1d20+13)[33]
Wow, my luck is holding out! It's another nat 20!

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm not in desperate need, but if we're going to stay for a moment then I'd certainly appreciate the opportunity." says Mira, warmly.