Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

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Koudo Zhol Omawynn
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Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

Trouble averted at the Sarge's Apple Orchard, and new bonds forged to last lifetimes. Dalton, the Sarge's reluctant, but pragmatic, son promised to bring new life to his father's ailing business after the rather unfortunate betrayals our heroes were able to thwart. The power of the mysterious painting was a sight to behold, even for an old dragon like the Seeker and his eternal Pearl. If it had fallen to the wrong hands, as it would have without Masur's intervention, the world would be a much worst place.

"Your quick deduction skills saved us once more wife. Without you, I'd be a dog chasing his own tail." Masur sang happily to the woman perched perfectly on his broad shoulder as they strolled the rocky cliff sides of the balmy south towards new adventure. Encroaching ever so closely to that kingdom in the mountain range Odea had briefly spoken of before. Even more pressing, however, they drew closer to the Labyrinth of Radiant Obsidian, their intended goal.

"A dragon finding the same treasure." She corrected, patting his head and stroking his hair in just the way he liked. He smiled even more.

Dalton, and his new companion, the 'spirit of the painting,' shared some enlightening insight about Masur's and Odea's quest. After discovering the true nature of the mysterious painting and how to negate its distorting influence, the spirit, whose name Masur and Odea conveniently forgot to ask, revealed itself to Dalton and communed with him. Uniting them in body and soul in a way that wasn't too dissimilar from how Masur and Odea were united way back in their youth. With this, Dalton was capable of viewing the future with the aid of the spirit through the medium of the painting. Usually by painting the images in saw in his otherworldly visions, his hands guided deftly by his spirit companion.

In the lands deeper south than the orchard there was a cavern of darkness.He painted the interior, with streaks of purple light and a large crystal tablet. He couldn't make out the words for they were far more ancient than even the tongue of his spirit guide. Still, resting behind the large crystal tablet was monumental stonework obelisk. It was circular in design and lined with distinctly ornate runic carving that seemed intrinsic to it's operation. Before he could share anymore, the spirit left him and returned to the painting. No doubt to give Dalton the time he needed to rest before attempting another vision quest, such as it was.

Masur was happy with just that information. Though simple, this information was crucial to Masur, giving him more direction towards his ultimate goal than he'd had in many morning skies. Dalton didn't know, couldn't in fact, but he'd told Masur and Odea where they might be able to locate a 'Gate.' Or what Masur had taken to calling the massive stone monuments to civilizations past. He was unaware of what they were called in their respective cultures, but he knew they all function almost innately the same and assumed the knowledge of them had come from the same source.

It wouldn't be long now, Masur thought, as he vaulted over daunting valleys that would send a lesser warrior plunging to their deaths with any slight misstep or miscalculation. Masur, with Odea along on his shoulder, navigated the gaps effortlessly, touching the ground with the gracefulness of a dancer before taking off with the power of a beast of his station, and the control of an old master. One of his favored pastime, in youth, had been scaling the mountains of his homeland and attempting to clear the peaks. It became a much easier task to accomplish when he had the metaphysical gifts promised to him from his decades of training under his grandfather.

He tried not to scare his wife too much, no acrobatic tricks to be seen this time, but as her grip tightened around his head and against his arm, he slowed his pace slightly, "Don't look down, darling, it always scares you." Even in sword form, Odea couldn't handle the lofty heights that Masur's fights could escalate to, so crossing deep valleys wasn't her favorite either. Her glare was all the wordless response he needed to chuckle at her nervousness. He found it one of the most adorable things about her.

Before she knew it, Masur was landing on the most isolated cliff on this side of the valley. He placed Odea down on solid ground, a fact of which she happily appreciated, and searched around to get a quick survey of the area. If he squinted, Masur could swear that he could see where he and Jae had had their scuffle not but a Vescrutian month or so ago. They'd added a new cliff-side cavern above the murky depths of the Obsidian Abyss.

Odea stepped up to Masur side, clinging lightly to his arm as she too peeked over the edge, "The Abyss stares back," The Obsidian Abyss was a 'small' ocean nestled deep in the tropical south's scarce but no more less impressive mountain ranges. If one didn't know where they were going, they knew they'd found the secret waters once they peered into the deep, almost black waters. No light shined through the depths, leading to its moniker, and it was believed by locals, and others who'd visited, that this sea, though small, was probably the deepest of any body of water on the Queen Mother's surface.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

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That wasn't the only reason it got its name. It was called 'Obsidian' because you could not see through the black waters, it was called 'the Abyss' for another reason entirely. Rumor and myth ran rampant when the truth of a matter can't fully be understood.

Many moons ago, people and animal alike began to go missing around this small sea. It started small at first, one girl here and a goat there, but grew to alarming regularity. Humans, with their limited understanding of the natural and metaphysical worlds, began the myth that there was an evil creature who resides within the lowest depths of these black waters. Those who venture too close were rumored to be snatched by this dangerous creature and dragged into the murky 'Abyss'. And because the few who were brave enough to face the waters never came back, the myth held until it became a legend that reached even the fabled lands of Lale Caelora: Another true myth.

And truth always had a funny way of being a lot stranger than fiction.

While Masur watched on for his terraforming antics, Odea recoiled from her deep stare down into the waters, rubbing the beginning of tears from her eyes. "Is there something down there?"

Masur's attention snapped to his wife at the sweet sound of her soothing voice, gently he put his arm out and ushered Odea back before he took a couple paces back himself.

BLAM! SPLASH!!

Giant purple tentacles, numerous in quantity, slammed against the stillness of the waters. They oozed and dripped with a gooey, slime like residue, as if they hadn't been completely submerged, and grabbed at the air, before settling at the edge of the cliff side that Masur and Odea were standing upon. There they gained a rigid, stair like, quality that stretched from the highness of the cliff side to deep, deep below the surface of the waters.

Calmly, Masur turned to Odea, who's face was with wide with surprise and confusion, "Yes," he said simply with a small chuckle. Odea was several years his senior, but there was quite a few things about this world that she had no knowledge of... as far as he was aware. Myths and Legends were the most fun thing to allow her to witness first hand because, while he was never sure how she would react, he was always sure that he'd be able to find some amusement in it.

Odea slapped his arm, playfully, knowingly before looking behind her to spy a cavernous opening. She moved warily, Masur less so, as they stepped forward to inspect the tentacles that had come to settle at their feet. Upon closer inspection, Masur couldn't properly identify what kind of creature that the tentacles belong to. Odd, being that he was quite versed in most of the aquatic wildlife of Vescrutia.

Unperturbed, Masur reached out to touch them, while Odea turned her attention to the cave behind them. Beneath the touch of his rough fingers, the tentacles were smooth, despite their slimy coating, and had an odd warming sensation about them. If Masur was more of a researcher, he'd think to try and cut a piece to keep for study, but being more of a conservationist he let it be. The coloring was odd to him as well, in his studies the squid and octopi of the south were blue or bluish green in color.

"So is this how we enter?" Odea said after leaving Masur to his investigation for some time. Masur, taking one last moment to test the hardness of the tentacles, stood and turned around to face the cave behind them as well. It appeared deep and dark, much like the waters below, and Masur didn't trust caves that he couldn't see a certain distance within.

Casually, "I'm... unsure," Masur conjured a small, ping pong ball sized, concentration of naten to his finger tip. It radiated with silvery blue light, and moved along with Masur's finger as he fluttered it about. Swiftly, he swung his finger towards the cave and the ball of light was flung away, deep into the darkness.

As it flew, it illuminated what was in its path. Reflective surfaces shined the balls light right back at it as it flew to an abrupt stop at a dead end. Judging by eye along, the cave wasn't very deep into the cliff side and there didn't look to be any natural indentation or alcove to suggest that the cave dig stretch deeper, upward or downward for that matter. This couldn't be the entrance.

Masur called the ball of light back to his finger tip, before it dissipated, "Looks like a dead end then," Odea said before looking behind her at the beckoning tentacles. Then Masur smiled, turning around to look at them as well.

"Or we go down." Which seemed to be the only option. Together, the couple walked to the hardened tentacles, and carefully stepped upon their smooth yet slimy surface. Odea shuddered, involuntarily, at just the thought alone, and Masur placed a a comforting hand on her shoulder before they began their descent into the murky depths.

The Seeker conjured another ball of light, that he threw downwards towards the waters that the tentacles had protruded out of. As it zipped downwards, it whirled around the stair-like tentacles, slowly illuminating the entirety of the 'bridge' with Masur's silvery blue glow. Masur's naten interacted with the slimy goo, positively. Their pathway became completely illuminated once Masur's ball of light broke the water's surface, showing them at the same reflective surfaces in the cave lined the entirety of the bottom of this sea.

The dark mirrors reflected the deep waters back on themselves, smothering any light that didn't shine directly upon their surface. The ball also illuminated what looked to be the walls of a circular well. The same well these tentacles had emerged from, and The Dragon and his Pearl were descending into.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

The descent into the depths was a much more pleasant experience than one would expect walking into deep waters would be. Masur, as he and Odea ventured closer to breaking the surface, begin to shift his hands about his head. As they entered the waters, the surf parted and surrounded our heroes in a bubble. Masur continued his hand motions, to keep the waters locked in his command.

Happily, he and Odea were able to witness, firsthand, how beautiful the actual depths of this sea were. Beneath the surface, the darkness of the black gemstone that coated the walls of the valley wasn't as intense. They could see the purplish hue that the gemstone lent to the waters as the light of the sun pierced through. It wasn't lost on Masur that this was a sight that he and Odea would be in the hand full of people capable of witnessing them wonder of the Queen Mother. He made sure to remember Odea's smile as she spied the purple depths was teeming with life.

"And you wanted to remain a sword in that abandoned village." Masur said, in jest. He hadn't known at the time, but in later conversation Odea revealed that she was quite content sitting in Luxerion. It wasn't until Masur touched, and bonded with, her that the desire to see more was instilled in her. Whether that was do to the wanderlust of her wielder, or something deeper, remained to be seen.

Now, however, out of Luxerion, Odea was able to see translucent fish dance in lush heliotrope water just beneath a surface that rendered them invisible to most mortal eyes. "I regret telling you that," For she truly did. This was but one tiny miracle Masur had shown her in the long time they'd known one another.

The fish swam away from the air bubble as the couple got closer to the entrance of the well. Masur, looked and noted that no fish swam anywhere close to this particular part of the water. Oddly, in fact, the fish seemed almost like they couldn't see the well, but knew instinctively to keep their distance from it. A bad omen.

Once they reached the well, Masur dropped the bubble and they were greeted with a much larger air pocket that surround the well and a small area around it as well. Gazing around, Masur could understand why the fish kept their distance now. If they came any closer, then they would fall right out of the water and into the opening of the Well. It wasn't poisoned air, but there was a certain amount of heat that was... noticeable in this much water.

The tentacles ended here as well. The well itself had stairs that Masur and Odea would have to descend in order to get inside of their particular destination. The tentacles themselves, once Masur and Odea stepped off them, retracted swiftly into the black gemstone that lined the seafloor beneath the well. Magical or otherwise? Masur couldn't be sure and he wasn't really here to find out either.

Masur stepped towards the Well without a second of delay. Odea steps lacked his assured enthusiasm. "Dangers could abound husband, we have no idea what is inside this... Labyrinth of Obsidian you are so eager to jump into."

Masur held himself, one foot already on the edge of the well with the other was firmly planted on the obsidian beneath them. "Yes, and I shall deal with them. We cannot pass up this chance." There was the possibility that Dalton had found something Masur had searched centuries to find. If there was a gate in this labyrinth, then Masur needed to find it and he needed to get it active. There was a chance he could save his mother's people from where ever the Masesm Essence had taken them.

"Without using your threads first? Like always. Or at least sending a wave of water." She joked with the last one, but she was right. Masur grumbled quietly to himself. It would be safer to use his sensory threads to get the lay of the land, but Masur had to admit that that approach could be incredibly boring.

Odea stepped forward, now with more confidence, "Just to be sure of the dangers. You're the strongest man I've ever met."

Masur hair was already shifting to his silvery white hue with his eyes, along with his tattooed arm, came alight with the vibrancy of his life force. He cast his senses outward while raising his hand. From his raised hand, millions of thread like of naten unfurled like string and drifted, with purpose and intent, towards the entrance of the well. Where they were stopped just short of penetrating.

The threads spooled themselves back into Masur's hand, as the vibrancy of his life force faded along with the threads. "Odd." Was all he said at the occurrence. Even weirder was that he didn't sense anything that could block his naten. Still... it was blocked all the same.

Masur looked to his wife, who's concern was clear on her face now. " It's okay. It's clear this place was hidden for a reason, perhaps that was simply to ward off more experienced trackers." He said reassuringly, but he had no clear idea either. The time intended purpose of these ruins was lost with the people who'd made it in the first place, and Masur couldn't be sure if that was a original security protocol in place, or if a new squatter had a neat trick.

"Hmm... I suppose you could be correct. I only wanted us to be safe, rather than sorry." Something Masur understood entirely.

"We shall be." He took her hand, before stepping over the barrier that prevented them from walking down the steps towards the entrance. "We are together. And there is no force on this world, or any other, that could take us." He helped her over the barricade, and they both walked the steps.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

The inside of the labyrinth appeared much the same as the outside; A pitch black void of nothingness. With a little light, it was a glimmering purple oasis of heliotrope flames flickering across the walls. The chamber that our heroes had stepped into was a large circular room, of course lined with obsidian that shimmering with faint flame like patterns as light shined upon its reflective surface. The flame like reflection was enough to dimly light the room enough for the Seeker and his sword to see.

As Masur scanned the area he was able to see that this chamber was empty, for the most part. Save for themselves and the entrance, the only other thing of note was a corridor leading out of here and into the deeper expanse of this ruin along the easternmost wall. "There, that looks like the only way forward." Odea pointed out.

Masur didn't give pause, and pressed forward, but not without at least taking Odea's hand. They were much stronger together and no matter what secrets lurked ahead, it would be more dangerous if they got separated. With the other, he conjure a slightly larger ball of light. The flame-like radiance of the walls intensified, but not so much that it was blinding.

Together they crossed the threshold into a narrow hallway. It was rounded off at the top, like someone had expertly chiseled the corridor out of the gemstone. It was long too, a walk that Masur and Odea made assured that they could conquer any dangers that may lurk deeper within. The heliotrope flame like radiance guiding them down with beckoning lilac hues.

As they got closer to the end, the hallway became more luminous as well as spacious and open, right before it let out into another large, dome like room. It wasn't as big as the one for the entrance, but it was grander in its design. There was an independent light source that caused the flame like hues along the walls to wash over themselves like an actual fire. Before them stood a large crystal tablet, and resting behind the large crystal tablet was a monumental stonework obelisk. Circular in design and lined with distinctly ornate runic carving..

Masur lowered his ball of light, realizing, "We've found it..." He whispered first, extinguishing his ball of light when it became clear to him that there was another source of light illuminating their target.

"We've found it..." He whispered again, almost as if he didn't believe what he was laying eyes upon. It was him trying to convince himself that he wasn't seeing things. This wasn't a trap or an illusion. Dalton had not played an elaborate con, not that Masur suspected as well.

Odea admired at her husband's wonderment, as his face alight with enthusiasm. "We've found it!" His voice boomed happily, as he swept Odea off her feet and into his arms, much to her delight as well, and spun around the room in glee.

This was the Gate. A massive stone monument built in the days of yore, even before the first free thinking dragon was granted the grace of the Queen Mother and allowed on her surface. Histories that Masur studied, briefly, as a child and, later, memorized as an adult told him that these massive monuments had many different proposed purposes by other scholars. Perpetual energy machines? Massive shield generators? Transdimensional teleportation devices?

Masur believed ALL the scholars to be correct. Each Gate, he believed, had the capabilities to do all of those things, and more. However, the proper way to operate these devices had been lost to time, along with the civilizations that constructed them, and so he also believed no one was still alive that knew how to get them to do all those wonderful things. So they became lost to history, massive monuments to Ages past in which future generations could never learn from.

As Masur, for lack of a better phrase, 'nerded out' over the rock formation, Odea turned her attention to the massive light source that was illuminating the room and Masur find of the century. Once she was able to get her bearings, after Masur stopped swinging and set her down, she could see that the light source was shining out from above the Gate, like a beacon. Bathing the Gate, its presumed control panel, and the entire room in its royal hues.

"Yes, what's the light?" Odea finally asked when she knew Masur's initial excitement had faded.

"A vestigial remainder of perpetual energy?" Masur hypothesized, as he walked over to the control panel, which was the large crystal tablet. In this labyrinth, which hadn't been much of such, the control panel was constructed of the same gemstone that surrounded it. It gave this one a dark, otherworldly vibe, especially in the purple lighting. Its runic symbology, unfortunately, meant nothing to even Masur's trained eye. Weirdly, each Gate he found always used different runes. He was never able to figure out if it was just regional differences in the same symbology or if they were entirely different languages each time. He, like many other warrior-scholars, believed the former. Simply because his race of people believed that EVERYONE shared the same common ancestral language, until they did not.

Odea was less convinced by his answer, because it appeared to her that this Gate was none functioning, "Usually, when we find these things, that control panel is glowing. This one is dark."

Masur studied the control panel, searching for anything that could prove his wife's hypothesis wrong. He didn't want her to wrong, but he also wanted what she said to not be true. If the Gate was broken, then they'd made this trip for no reason, except for the archeological acknowledgement that came with finding a Gate that wasn't previously discovered!

When he couldn't find anything worthwhile, he hummed solemnly to himself before coming out from behind it and joining his wife's side before the actual Gate. "Yes, you're right, it's busted. Which means that light is something else."

Before his wife could tell him, Masur was already bounding towards the top of the ancient monument. He was careful in his approach, landing softly atop his discover of a century and staring down at the glowing... artifact with puzzling... indifference. Gently, he reached for that was illuminating this chamber and brought it back down with him when he jumped down to be with Odea again.

Within his carefully cupped hands wasn't much of anything really. As he peeled his palms back, he revealed to Odea that the thing that had been making all this light was...

A plume of gilded feathers glowing brightly with heliotrope flames.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

Strangely, Odea seemed taken aback by the mysterious collection of flaming feathers, something that The Seeker didn't notice. He inspected the find with a mild curiosity, but the indifference he held in his heart over the discovery showed in his eyes as well. He couldn't see how the thing might be beneficial to him, nor if it had any significance to his larger quest.

He scratched at the side of his head, careful with the hand that held the delicate treasure, and turned to Odea, "What do you make of it?" Ancient technologies, languages and architecture were Masur's areas of studied expertise. Odea valued mysticism and the arts. They're interests intersected at Mythology or Theology, but only so much.

Odea carefully took the plume from his large hand, cupping it delicately between her own as she got a much closer look. She looked puzzled at first, briefly, before settling back to her calmest demeanor, "I'm... unsure." A similar pause occurred to when her husband used the same phrase before they entered the ruin. She lowered the plume from her face and looked to Masur.

He looked at her with an expression that was similar to the puzzled expression she'd made at the flaming feathers, "That doesn't bode well, you... usually have more than that."

Odea was a softly spoken woman of few words, but when she did heeding her wisdom was always prudent. When Masur consulted her about matters of history, or myths and legends that he wasn't familiar with, she usually could formulate some idea about how something might have functioned in the ancient society they may be studying. This was an unusual occurrence between them.

Odea didn't mind her husband's expression, but she did avoid his eyes and turned hers back to the plume, "I am... unsure," Odea began only to turn to Masur and meet his gaze, "because of its age."

Gaze at this plume, and it was clear it was remarkable well preserved for something that could have been in this labyrinth for an untold amount of time. Despite how well preserved it is, Odea could see the inevitable deterioration that things as delicate and mysterious as this go through when neglected for an extensive period of time. She couldn't be sure, and Masur couldn't back her up, but it had to be older than Masur himself. Dating at least a couple centuries before he was conceived, if not an entire millennium.

"How old are you thinking?" Masur asked, walking away from his wife and towards the Gate. He stopped at the base of it and turned his attention upwards, towards where he retrieved the plume in the first place. He didn't think that the plume could be any older than a century, give or take fifty years.

"It's your grand elder." Odea said playfully, spying her husband with her side eye.

Masur chuckled, "Hardly," He refused the notion, placing his hands to his hips and not turning to face his wife, "I'd give it less than our youngest." Which got the gears of his mind beginning to turn. If an artifact this young was found beside a Gate, then there was a chance that this Gate had been activated recently. If that were the case, then there was a slim chance this could be a clue left behind by his lost people. It was a stretch, but the chance wasn't nonzero. He chose to remain optimistic.

Odea clicked her tongue, disapprovingly, "You would be wrong." She knew that he didn't had an eye for otherworldly artifacts and how to date them, but he should have picked up some pointers on how to from her across the years. So for him to not see the obvious signs of age and deterioration was unflattering to say the least.

"The dim light the flames cast and the dullness of the gilded feathers. The plume is older than you think, from before your name day."

Masur smirked and shook his head. Now, she was surely joking with him. The ruins could definitely be that old, but how could this feather of flame. For it to be older than him, and still be alight in this dim and damp place? Masur couldn't bring himself to believe that to be true.

"No. You're wrong. It has to be younger." He asserted, "The wear and tear of the control panel for this Gate shows that it has been interfaced with in at least the most recent millennium, only becoming inoperative in the last 500 years or more. I will admit that this Gate has been non-functioning, from this side, for quite a time longer, but someone could have come through with the plume and just left it." Again, it was a stretch, but a reasonable one, and it supported the idea he already hoped was true.

He turned to Odea, who looked a bit more pensive, but a lot more incensed. It wasn't often Masur told her she was wrong, especially when she knew she was correct. The circumstances in which she could explain how she knew were... complicated however. "Husband. Trust me. You don't know what this thing is, but your eyes can see its near timelessness."

"My eyes can see that the flame still burns." Masur rebutted firmly, " If it was as old as you say, that can't be the case." No, it simply couldn't. As far as Masur was aware, he was the only man traveling the Queen Mother's face searching for this Gates, for clues towards finding his mother's family. He knew deep down that his mother had to know he was searching.

"Maybe it's a clue left behind by my people. Something to help me with my search." He finally articulated the hope to his wife, staring deeply at her as he did so. He wanted her to understand why he was so adamant about this. She simply couldn't be right, because then they would have found a broken Gate with no clues on how to use it to get where Masur assumed his family had gone.
Last edited by Koudo Zhol Omawynn on Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

For as wise as he was, Odea sometimes forgot that he was still a youngling. Especially in comparison to herself. In his resolve, she could see the naivete in his shimmering blues. She loved that look, but she hated when he used it against her.

Solemnly, Odea steeled herself against him and held fast to her irateness. It would be the only way she could get him to see reason. "You know that is naivete and wishful thinking." Forcefully, she thrust the plume upon him and into his hands, "Look with your eyes, think with your head, not with your heart." She commanded sternly.

Masur, begrudgingly, obliged, forced to look at the plume that his wife had pushed onto him. He couldn't believe she was choosing not to believe his hypothesis. He felt he'd given ample explanation for why they should, at least, consider his side. Being hopefully wasn't naive. Especially if your entire quest's resolution depended on this revelation.

Reluctantly, he had to recognize the signs that Odea insisted were right before his eyes. The flame's radiance was dim, and the heat that the plume gave off was lukewarm, despite how hot it appeared that it should be.

Odea recognize the reluctance in his eyes. He didn't want to see the truth, but Odea would open his eyes. She needed him to not jump to conclusions like this. If he wanted to truly find his family, then he had to be able to see through his wishful thinking and actual recognize when a clue felt into his lap, and when it was a simple a red herring. In his eagerness, he was blind.

Despite his better judgment, Masur turned away from the plume, "No," he whispered calmly at first, "No, this has to be-" He began as the plume slipped loose of his hands and drifted down towards the floor of this chamber. Touching it ever so delicately...

BEFORE pillars of flames erupted in the chamber around them, in rhythmic succession!!

One after another, the brilliant purple beacons of flaming power launched out of the obsidian and encircled the chamber. Before long, there were 14 pillars of flames that illuminated this centralized chamber. The fifteenth one erupted from the ground beneath them, causing the Seeker to jump backwards away from the flames and for Odea to do the same.

"Odea!" Masur called after his wife, forgetting the heated exchange of words between them that quickly. When danger abound, it was more important to protect his wife, than to argue with her. He struck out forward and around the flame pillar to try and grab at anything he could get a hold off of hers.

Odea worked to do the same, "..." but her voice was snuffed by some unseen force. Realizing this, Odea didn't try to use her voice again at all. Quickly, she struck out forward and around the flame pillar to try to snatch at Masur desperate grabbing hand. Her fingers gently brushed against his palm before it was snatched away...

A multitude slimy tentacles struck out of the obsidian floor and wrapped themselves around the waist, wrists and neck of Odea and Masur, as well, wresting them the entire length of the room apart from one another and the central pillar of flame.

A deep cacophony of chanting, in a language foreign to both our heroes' ears, began to whisper within the room before the whisper grew. It grew and grew until the chanting filled not only the room but the entire ruin itself. From the pillars of fire, cloaked figure stepped freely into the chamber.

They kept their heads low, but their chanting never stopped. They never looked up to see the intruders they'd captured. The figures, numbering in the hundreds, congregated in the middle of the room, before one stepped forward and towards the control panel to the Gate.

Once it was standing above the rest of the congregation, the crowd knelt as the figure rose their arms towards the top of the very Gate itself!

"SISTERS!" The figure commanded with a silken euphonic voice, a choir of the most beautiful angels singing the same words, "Our Lord Provides Once More. A New Sister Joins." As she sang, the tentacles that held Odea rose and moved her higher into the air and closer to the center. The congregation, of assumed women, moved as the thick tentacles parted them and Odea was held center of them. Mute and cornered, her consciousness fading.

Masur lashed against his restrains, feeling his strength leaving him as he watched his wife begin to fade from consciousness, "No-!" He was able to squeeze out before the same unseen force stole his voice as well. Once it had, he furrowed his brow with rage at the cloaked figure commanding the proceedings. His eyes began to glaze over with a seething anger usually only seen in the eyes of his son when they locked horns. The white of his eyes began to illuminate with the light of his life force, causing naten to teem at the corners like concentrated streams of lightning.

The cloaked figure removed her hood, and eyed the leashed dragon with bewildered amusement in the seething pink orbs she called eyes, "I've seen what you are,"She sang happily, "And you'll bring us exactly what we need." She snapped her fingers.

Odea dropped into the thickest part of the knelt congregation, disappearing within the crowd as the burning blue energy built just beneath his sclera and eventually consumed the center of his pupils. He clenched his hand tightly, concentrating all his frustration into super-heated plasma lasers of Naten. The Excisio, a staple technique of his father's repertoire, but something new to Masur manifesting now in his intense rage.

The beams shined in his eyes like deathly beacons of deletion before they rocketed out of Masur's skull with enough force to crater the ground around his elevated feet. The sudden release of the massive energy waves caused the tentacles holding Masur to sway wildly, the lasers tearing through the ground like a hot knife through tissue paper, up to the ceiling before they headed towards their intended target. The cloaked woman snapped her fingers once more, causing Masur's tentacles to pull him taut before ejecting him out of the room before the beams could reach the congregation of her sisters and herself.

The woman smirked, proudly, as the deathly beams stopped right before her face and dissipated with a pleasing gust of wind blowing her raven locks wildly around her face. The crowd parted to reveal that Odea had simply been strapped down to the floor of the chamber. The leader of this... coven, rose her hand and commanded a ritualistic table of obsidian to rise from beneath Odea.

"Sisters, The Boy of Dragon's Blood Will Bring Us The One," A staff made of the same magical material she commanded, the Obsidian, rose from the ground as well, which she grasped firmly and swung towards a carving on the wall, "The one who will throw open the Gate and bring our King to his rightful kingdom! Let His Glorious Holy Light Cleanse This Wicked World! Sanctified by the Searing Flame!" The carving showing the demonic silhouette of something much less than holy.

"Sanctified by the Searing Flame!"

----

The tentacles forcefully ripped Masur through the halls of the labyrinth, only allowing him a glimpse now at just how large a trap he'd traipsed into with his wife. The ruin was a massive underground connection of hallways and chambers that morphed, moved and shifted as Masur was pulled through the expanse. He could only assume that the woman in charge was controlling how they shifted.

As he was pulled, he choked out a cough, "Shit," before he found his voice once again. Those chanting women, that must had been some kind of technique, but Masur couldn't understand what kind of technique it was. Odea did similar things with her voice, but never to the extent that she could not only stifle him, but drain his strength.

Speaking of, Masur's skin began to get clammy and lose some of its bronze shine. His physique began to atrophy, but slowly. And his usually piercing blue eyes lost some of their luster as well.

Masur burst forth from the ground, in the middle of what looked like... another mountain range?? The tentacles tossed the dragon to the side like old garbage before they retreated back into the ground and disappeared, leaving our hero to find his bearings.

The Seeker stumbled to his feet, feeling a little faint, like he'd just woken up from a brutal bender with an even worse cause of morning sickness. Without thinking, and with a hand to his aching head, Masur leap into the air, to get some airborne reconnaissance.

He instantly came crashing to the ground, with a massive thud that revealed his true weight. He panted, fighting to his hands and knees before he fought to his feet. He had experienced this before, the headaches, the weakening muscles, and the leaking of Naten. It had just never been this intense.

He looked around him, praying for any identifying landmarks. His eyes lit up, lightly, when he realize he was in that mountain range. The one that was close to that young kingdom his wife had told him about.

The Labyrinth of Obsidian had tossed him out near the Azure Alps of...

The Astral Chaos.
Last edited by Koudo Zhol Omawynn on Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

The herald of their lord's rightful return was sent on a quest a millennia in the making, and the Harbinger of Searing Flame clutched her staff proudly while looking upon her delegation with the pure delight of a child opening presents on Christmas day. Odea, being the biggest and best gift she'd received in more time than she could remember. This was the prophecy she'd foreseen many moons ago: a boy of dragon's blood, an indestructible woman with otherworldly power, and a child of fire would return and the gate would be thrust open! Once open, the Lord of Searing Flames would cleanse the globe with his hellish flames and establish a new age of the Daemon.

Viviana had come to hold this truth closer to her heart than anything else in the world, even the majestic laws that govern her and her magical sisters of 'The Sway.' She welcomed the twisting of her magic in her ever consuming desire to see her lord resurrected! The many young ones she had co-opted to her cause, just to drain them of their strength when they couldn't handle the corruption, were merely fuel for the great flame. None of them tasted as sweet as the one that got away. She had been beyond Viviana's malicious influence, something the old witch hadn't forgotten.

But, for now, she stored those 'pleasant' memories, and "Those eyes!" She swooned, remembering the roaring of lightning that burned in Masur's eyes right before she cast him away, "The power of those eyes!" Her visions were never so accurate to show her the exact time, but she KNEW this man had been the one with the glowing light that shined in his eyes.

It was uncanny! It was unmistakable!

Those twinkling blue beams of destruction that she saw rip her in twain after the resurrection of her lord. Death was something she wholly accepted as part of the ritual, and her own rebirth at the side of her lord. "Still," gleefully she cackled to herself, "A small price, for the world." Promised life eternal, Viviana knew her lord would reward her with a seat at his side.

She swung her staff outward, over her flock, drawing their eyes to her. As they turned to gaze upon her, it was clear that there were no other living beings in this ruin. The other cloaked individuals of this coven were beings of living fire, the cursed young ones Viviana had consumed the magic of. Now they served her ambitions eternally.

All their eyes were over taken with the pink smolder in their leader's eyes. They gushed and fawned over her, bowing their heads in reverence and chanting their hymn repeatedly to their lord.

Viviana relished in it, "Yes sisters! Sing for him as you present his offering to the Gate." She commanded, joining the oratorio with her own euphonious chorus. A few members of the throng, after falling over one another, were able to grab hold of the obsidian table the dragon's wife rested weakly upon and raise it into the air above their heads. Carefully, they stepped forward, as the crowd parted around them, and approached the Gate.

The Head Witch, rose her staff, "Cleanse this malicious world with the righteous power of your great flame!" She chanted . Mauve flames burst from the bottom of the altar, taking the lives of the bearers with their radiant intensity. Their life force serving to make the flame burn that much brighter. The alter rose higher before it affixed itself to the Gate, lodging itself right in the center.

-----

"He'll... stop you..." Odea manage to sputter after some time of unconsciousness, while the witch and her constructs went about preparing for the arrival/resurrection of their 'lord.' Rushing about the central chamber, in their cloaks, and arranging themselves into small covens of no more than 50. Once that was accomplished, the groups arranged themselves in two lines, one group after the other, facing the altar and the Gate.

Viviana, locked in place behind the control slab, scoffed proudly, "Of that I have no doubt," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, which seemed out of place with the way her voice spilled out like a choir, "He is a Dragon, after all." The Head Witch was quite familiar with the formidable power that those devastating creatures were capable of wielding, and her voice flaunted this fact. While she had never had the... pleasure of ever crossing one's path, until now of course, the stories of them in the Drachiot archives described their mythical power as something to be avoided even for the most experienced among them.

Viviana wasn't afraid, however, of Masur's return. Her lord's power was even greater. The Daemon of which her lord was a Greater, were rumored to have power that did not rival that of the mythical dragon, but surpassed it. Viviana's first discovery of Ail'dral's dark tome was an auspicious day, for it opened her eyes to true power. She withhold submitting it to the archives, and used its dark teachings to great her strength, even if it corrupted her soul. When she was ready, Ail'Dral began to give her visions, setting the stage for what was unfolding today.

She clutched at the air with her free hand, igniting it with a small flame. As she uncurled her fingers, the flame spread out and the familiar plume of flaming feathers returned. She placed it on the control panel before turning her attention away and floating towards her conscious captive, "Look around you, my new font of power," she pointed the staff towards the mural on the wall. The action caused the flames of her command to grow more voluminous and burn more intently. The additional light they gave off illuminating the rest of the cavern and showing that the mural wasn't just upon this wall. It started their and encircled the entire central chamber before stretching towards the ceiling.

"Ail'Dral, the Greater Lord of Searing Flame." She began, pointing towards the demonic figure that appeared all over the mural, "Was a Daemon of unimaginable firepower." She smiled and grabbed the delicately soft chin of the dragon's pearl and forced her eyes to follow the entirety of the mural, "But you knew that." She finally said, landing on the image of a divine blade embedded in the rubble of a demolished city.

Odea shook her head free of the woman's cursed hand and looked away, "I've no idea what you're referring too," Ail'Dral was a name that Odea wasn't familiar with, but she did know of the Daemons. They were an ancient foe of her own people. It was quite possible that this Ail'Dral was someone from her past, but was a new name. She rolled her eyes, "And his 'firepower' will be extinguished by Masur's crushing waves." And if he killed the Daemon all the better. Odea preferred Masur when he didn't ask questions about her past and only focused on their future.

Viviana lips curled even more, "So you do know him! My you are full of 'divine' surprises, aren't you?" She adjusted the hood of her cloak, before continuing, "Most of the information about Daemons has been lost, but Ail'Dral's tome spoke of an ancient, equal enemy." She stopped their and laid forward, allowing a cloud of flames to catch her, so she could lounge comfortably, "An enemy with enough knowledge and power to craft transdimensional portals and seal their ancient foes for the next couple of eons, if it wasn't for my meddling, of course."

Odea remained silent, but she didn't given Viviana the satisfaction of seeing the truth in her faltering eyes.

Viviana didn't need to in order to continue, "Not alone, of course. You needed allies who wanted to see the Daemon banished from this world all the same, beings of unimaginable fire power as well." Viviana stopped again and tapped Odea of the nose to accentuate the next words she was going to say, "But. Not. Your. Dragons." She turned towards the prophetic mural once more, revealing a portion of it that showed beings of 'light' allied with 'birds of fire' while the daemons had the subjugated ancestors of Masur on their side. "Your people and those damn 'birds' all killed your husband's people indiscriminately, pushing them into hiding and blamed the human. I wonder what he'd do if he found out... "

Odea's eyes shot open, and she glared at Viviana. A soft purple glow radiated from her lips as she cursed, "Bite your tongue, witch." Odea commanded, and Viviana's mouth was forced closed. "You speak of events long past, so ancient your greatest grand elder wouldn't be able to remember. I'd mind myself." With that the small amount of power Odea had been able to muster vanished, but she could see it had been enough.

The witch, stunned, retreated back from Odea, hopefully to a distance outside of her power's range. She knew she was, when she was able to speak again.
"Slippery you divine are, no wonder you've been able to wrap that boy so thoroughly around your finger," Viviana wasn't smiles anymore. Instead, her face twisted and contorted to a malicious frown as she held her staff aloft, "No matter, the truth always comes to light. I wouldn't have been able to do this without those." She pointed towards the plume of feathers, "The Divine are never the allies of those that live upon the Queen Mother.

They just outlive us.
"

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Koudo Zhol Omawynn
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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

"You Most Of All!" Masur's voice roared throughout the room, hushing the chorus of demonic chanting to a whisper before the cacophony grew to almost unbearable levels. It took more for Masur to muscle through the ringing in his ears, than it did him drag himself to the sanctuary of the Astral. A place he planned to visit again, hopefully under better circumstances and possibly with the whole family beside him.

A huge shadow was cast across the ground, shading the collection of tortured souls in the dwarfing presence of his overwhelming vehemence, as the great flames of Viviana's command grew at Masur's back while he exited the purple oval portal of Flux's magical design. Though he spoke with levity, Masur did not waste time relishing in the poetic nature of his arrival.

With the ferocity afforded to his kind, Masur rushed the crowd of pale imitations of Flux's fallen sisters, hands clenched closed so tightly that the nails of his fingers pierced his tough palms, pushed through the scales just beneath the surface and touched the flesh below. "Friend Flux, Can you save their souls?" Masur wasn't sure how far Flux's magical influence reached, and he'd rather not destroy anything that could be saved. Viviana had already betrayed them, for that, and so much more, her life was forfeit. He hoped Flux could find a way to help those who were seduced away from their true paths.

It did not stop him from snatching cloaks with his bare hands and slinging the tortured souls around the atrium, in a mad dash towards his wife and the woman who invoked his ire. As he did so it revealed their twisted, tortured forms as beings of living fire and molten obsidian, their pink flames and dark black rock bodies shifted and twisted endlessly. As they slammed into walls, from Masur's monstrous strength, they exploded to pieces, only to reconstitute as if nothing occurred, and return to their demonic tenor as they drifted back towards the center Masur was fighting too.

The horde of flame servants, numbering close to a coven of a hundred strong, clashed against the brutality of Masur's unyielding advance. They burned, scorched, and ignited any part of the determined man they could see. Collectively, they joined limbs to form a circle around him, before a swirling vortex of an inferno erupted from the ground and surrounded him in the center just a few meters shy of where Viviana was waiting with Odea and the Gate.

"Damn." He cursed to himself, for foolishly rushing ahead, and leaving Flux to fend for herself from the rear guard. Masur was much better in combat when he had Odea calming his mind, and helping him think.

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

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She expected this kind of reaction actually and if she was being honest she half expected him to fly into a terrible rage and slaughter the lot of them. Fortunately, Masur was accustomed to his power and so tethered to his sense of self he did not allow his rage to claim lives indiscriminately. Truly Vas was right bout him, and her instincts as well. However... what was stoking inside of Flux was not vengeance nor a blood searing anger. No, what sired the following events of whats a rite that only she could perform. A skill that earned her the moniker "Devourer of Flames". As Masur accosted his wife's location snatching and lining the featured followers into the walls through the very same portal would slowly enter Flux. Her eyes already radiating a peculiar shade of violet that if one did not know her could continue malice or ill intent. However, what transpired was nothing short of a display of pure magical talent the likes of which would show Viviana the reason she coveted such a power in the first place, and to once again remind her of the futility of her schemes. Even one as pseudo grand as this one.
"Friend Flux, Can you save their souls?" ]
As she fully stepped through the portal she snapped it shut with a polarizing snap of her fingers that might draw some of their attention. "Do not mourn them Masur. You show them a kindness they do not deserve." A kindness that they had not any. How many had they sacrificed in the name of this "Lord of Searing Flames"? Their forms now reflected their soul. Burning blisters of twisted desires, festering furnaces who embers are being stoked by the sole desire to see their horrid ambitions come to fruition. An ambition they have pledged their very soul to see fulfilled through their mistress...They are but extensions of her will, carbon copies of her fractured ideals. Flux extended her right hand, Vas quickly ran down it settling into her palm. Each step seemed to ignite the runic markings on her skin with the same hue of her eyes. "Panther, Panterra..." As the conclave of embers surrounded her newfound friend fluxes magic for a single moment began to rise rapidly. Lingering magical essence from the culmination of deep-sea of emotion that was Masur's love of his family. "Pantopia!" With the invocation of her mantra Vas's physical form would burst into a plume of fire essence that would meld with Flux's energy. The resulting ascension of her lavender flames became something so righteously furious if these beings had any shred of connection to their former selves they might be able to feel the deep-seated sadness she had for what she knew she needed to do. Though she could not revert them back to their former forms, with her ability she could at least offer them some kind of redemption...by consuming their wildfire and using it to destroy Viv horrid ambitions.

The flames doused the entirety of the area in its shade, if one had an eye for flare they would appreciate how the flames etched into the walls almost seem to sway with the flow of Fluxes magic. The burst of magic created would envelop her grimoire "Morrow" Its pages fluttering rapidly as it stopped illuminating a stanza of words."Flames drenched with the blood of the innocent, hearts broken by the weight of greed. Through the ardent blaze may your soul return to the great cycle; Maw of The Devouring Flame!" The incantation spoke her magic would obey. The blaze became a giant panther-like creation that with a mighty inhale began to live quite true to its name; Devouring Flame. The "women" of this court were nothing more now than soul pilfering embers, no more. The swirling flames that engulfed Masur were soon funneled into the maw of her magic. What's more, the very intricate weavings of flame magic that held together the bodies of the cultist were now nothing other than fodder as they too began to quite literally crumble into sheer flame astral energy. Viviana though pissed surely for losing her little merry band of fractured, remained unphased by Flux's spell. She was fractured but retained most of her sentience. Her obsession with this demon lord was so great she actually remained tethered to her sense of self. That made her far more dangerous. Moments later as she neared Masur's side the now-massive pather head of the purified essence would condense itself into the size of an apple. One that Flux held in her hand. Her piercing emerald gaze now set of her former sister.

"Viv." Her tone was solemn. The orb was placed in Flux grimoire, a rare talent amongst the witches of the Serpentera coven. The ability to store siphoned magical energy for later use. Flux's eyes laid on Odea for the first time. She was almost scared of how much she resembled her mother in person. She saw her through Masur's energy, however laying eyes on her kinda hit home. With the cult gone she had a bit more chance to take in the feel of this place. Deep within her, a terrier gnawing feeling was taking root. Something felt familiar about this place...familiar, and somewhat terrifying...

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Re: Masur of As'lin :: The Radiant Obsidian

Post by Koudo Zhol Omawynn »

"Masur!" Odea called out happily, eager to see her husband return to rescue her from the dastardly villain. "Free me! "She struggled vainly against the restraints that held her strapped like a sacrificial lamb to the occult obsidian of Vivi's twisted magic. The obsidian crept across her form and reached towards her mouth, before muffling her cries at the command of Vivi's staff.

And Vivi? She looked positively ecstatic to see her guests, even if her face did twist into a determined scowl when she spied the magic of her 'sister' witch. Confident in the power her lord had granted her with his dark blessings, she thrust her staff out to her right side, before raising it to the sky and collecting what flaming magical energy that Flux's encompassing 'Devouring Flames' didn't immediately snuff out. It wasn't much power, but it was enough for Vivi's smug demeanor to remain, "That's enough out of you, dear. You're just food."" She said casually about Odea.

Masur'e eyebrow twitched violently at the insinuation, and as the flames of the vortex were sucked away the Excisio sparked around him before illuminating him with the revengeful technique of his father. He fought the destructive urge to incinerate her where she floated, unsure how this ruin caked so deeply in her corruption would react to the sudden... 'deletion' of its makeshift master.

"Flux, I'd say it was a pleasure, but we both know we're past pleasantries. Dragons, Deamons, and Gods. Did you ever-"

He did however move, his body flicking away from where he stood and appearing, standing firmly on the obsidian slab that his wife was so carelessly attached to. After he appeared, that the image of him where he once stood vanished and a deep crater dug itself deep into the ground. Odea looked pleased to see him, he looked desperate to free her from her confines with the newfound strength their proximity brought him. The overbearing feeling of being swallowed by a raging tempest, deepening to the liken itself to being suffocated by the crushing depths of the endless deep.

"Wha-" Viv whispered surprisingly, swinging her staff to intercept the behemoth that had moved so close before she was capable of finishing her sentence. She would be impressed, if the overwhelming thickness of his aura didn't frighten her. She didn't even mean to strike at him, it was a instinctual fear that caused her to act without thinking.

Masur, unphased, reached for her staff with one of his hands to stop it in it's tracks, hoping Flux would be ready to seize the opportunity the same as he had. There was a... connection between them, which Masur had become more aware of as the time passed. She borrowed strength from him, was able to see his story and understood his feelings. In kind, he could feel her kinship with Viv, her solemn addressing of her belied whatever history they may have shared, her assurance that Masur was someone she could rely on, and her almost familial attraction to Odea.

The other hand he used to free his wife's mouth, gripping the occult stone with his bare hand and ripping it off like paper, "I know you hate villainous monologues baby, I grant you permission." Odea commanded of her Zhol. He, in turn, gripped Viv's staff harder.

Much to her desperate despair, "Let go, you stupid... overgrown..." She gritted her teeth, drawing the power she'd managed to pull from the remaining tortured souls in her thrall, before Flux devoured and stored the rest to the tip of her staff, and fired a fireball directly at his face, "Lizard!" It was small in diameter, at first, before it ignited into a gigantic sun-like sphere of molten intensity. It detonated at point blank range, covering Masur and Odea in a fiery explosion that threatened to engulf the entire chamber, Viv and Flux included.

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