- Invitation Status
- Looking for partners
- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- Multiple posts per week
- One post per week
- Slow As Molasses
- Online Availability
- On fairly regularly, every day. I'll notice a PM almost immediately. Replies come randomly.
- Writing Levels
- Adept
- Advanced
- Preferred Character Gender
- Primarily Prefer Male
- No Preferences
- Genres
- High fantasy is my personal favorite, followed closely by modern fantasy and post-apocalyptic, but I can happily play in any genre if the plot is good enough.
Zali stood frozen for several moments, her thoughts seeming to have, for once, ground to a stand still. For several seconds, she even forgot the danger that she and Kyan were in, and that this was not the kind of place to become inattentive. Perhaps, in that moment, she didn't even really care if she lived or died.
Beautiful. It hardly seemed an adequate word to sufficiently describe the scene before her. The whole scene was suffused with an almost alien allure. It was like looking at something foreign beyond comprehension, yet somehow it was still intimately familiar. The contradiction did nothing to damage the scene. Instead, it created contrast, like the play of rays of sunlight crossing a storm filled sky. Somehow, in that one, glowing orb, Zali would have sworn she could see the movement of the tides, the branches of trees rippling in a cool autumn breeze, and the snap of the rigging as a sturdy hull cut through the waves. Longing filled her heart, incomprehensible, and almost painful in its purity.
Unconsciously, though, she resisted its draw, even though she couldn't tear her eyes away from it, and could hardly even bear to blink in fear that it might vanish in the split instant darkness filled her vision. But it wasn't until Kyan's hand suddenly appeared in the middle of her vision that she remembered where she was, and that she wasn't the only one here. "Kyan, don't..."
It was too late. Before his hand could even get near, a bolt of colored light burst through the air, before entering Kyan's body through his hand. He immediately doubled over in pain.
Concern for her friend finally broke the spell the orb had over her. She slid carefully over the lip of the hallway into the spherical room, her boots offering almost no traction against the smooth surface. Two more steps later and she was at Kyan's side. "Are you alright?"
Only once she had confirmed Kyan's safety did Zali's attention once more turn to the glowing, floating orb. Every nerve in her body seemed to tingle when her eyes locked on it again. Despite it's undeniable brightness, it was not painful to look at. Instead, its light seemed to bathe her, and her thoughts slowed once more as she entered into the spell of the orb again. Some fundamental part of her seemed to burn in its light, brilliant and strong.
"This thing is important. It has to be," Zali murmured, almost as much to herself as to Kyan. "Even if it itself isn't enough to confirm it, this entire temple was built around it. Maybe even this entire island." She didn't think about the impossibility of that statement; how could an island be built? It simply felt right, so she said it. "I think... I think this might be the treasure of lore. The one that has lured so many people to their deaths. The fact that we even get to see it..." Her voice trailed off in awe, and for several more moments she forgot where she was, reveling in its dazzling light. However, a moment later she jerked, and she resumed speaking once more.
"There's no way we can take this thing. We just can't. But... it could be a bargaining tool. I... I can't imagine threatening it, but those things can't know that. If they care about it at all, they'll have no choice but to let us go to protect it. It's just, how do we..." Her mind flashed back to the memory of Kyan getting zapped as soon as his fingers got close. She unconsciously took a half step back, before a steely look appeared in her eyes. She had never fled before anything. She certainly wasn't going to run from something as simple as pain.
With a sudden motion, Zali pulled her shirt off her head, leaving nothing behind but a tight, white bandage wrapped around her chest. A few quick moments later, and the shirt was coiled three times around Zali's right hand. Her left hand fell down to her side, hand balled into a fist as her teeth clenched together in preparation to fight her body's instincts and seize the floating orb despite the pain it would bring her. Slowly, her hand eked forward.
No burst of light emerged. No flash of pain raced through her body. Whether it was the insulation the shirt offered or some other, unexpected phenomenon, nothing arrived to prevent the slow movement of Zali's hand. Less than thirty seconds later, her wrapped hand began to curl around the light.
It was unexpectedly small. The brilliant glow had made it seem as though the orb was the size of Zali's head, but as her hand closed further it finally mostly surrounded the orb, which was no bigger than a wild apple. Faint, dazzling beams of light emerged from between her fingers, dancing across the room as she slowly lowered her hand to bring the orb of light closer to her chest. Zali let out a smile of relief, and a faint laugh of triumph even slipped from between her lips.
Her celebration was preemptive.
A moment later, the small room was suddenly filled with the sound of heaving breaths and flesh striking stone. A look of terror suddenly covered her face. Somehow, they had been detected.
---
What Zali and Kyan had no way of knowing was that, the moment the glowing orb had let off that spark to attack Kyan, every single one of the half-man half-animal creatures over the entire island had felt it. Less than half a second later, before Kali even had a chance to slide into the room to check her friend, the entire island was covered in a frenzy of maddened activity. These creatures had never truly known desperation before. They reigned supreme on this island, and even this search, although important, hadn't truly meant anything to them. They never would have dreamed that the very ones they were hunting would have slipped around behind them to attack the very thing they were honor-bound to protect.
In that instant, whether covered in feathers or scales, whether clawed or fanged, every single living thing on the island was racing back towards the temple at its fastest speed. They flooded into the hallways, their agony pushing them to their fastest speeds, so that they didn't even have time to cry or howl in fear. They poured in from every side, darting through the winding corners with instinctual familiarity, until their beastly figures suddenly blocked every passageway into the small room. They snarled and snapped, those in the back pushing forward in indignation, while those in the front could only freeze in fear at the sight of the white orb partially enclosed in Zali's fingers. They pushed back, and a moment later the entire room was still.
Everyone seemed paralyzed for several seconds. Even Zali, who held the precious orb in her palm, did not even so much as twitch, out of fear that the high strung creatures that surrounded both her and Kyan would think she was taking action, and throw caution to the winds to try and prevent it. She couldn't risk that. So instead she waited for something to change, quietly praying that she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life.
Eventually, one of the passageways shivered, and the creatures parted respectfully to allow a man to pass through. Unlike those who surrounded them, this man seemed perfectly human, at least at first glance. It wasn't until a couple moments later that Zali noticed the fire that seemed to glow in his eyes, and the iridescent shimmer that covered his skin. For several, drawn out seconds, he did not move, only looking at the situation. His eyes seemed to piece right through Zali, as though he was looking into her innermost heart. She shivered slightly.
Finally, he spoke. His words were simple, and to the point.
"Put it back."
Beautiful. It hardly seemed an adequate word to sufficiently describe the scene before her. The whole scene was suffused with an almost alien allure. It was like looking at something foreign beyond comprehension, yet somehow it was still intimately familiar. The contradiction did nothing to damage the scene. Instead, it created contrast, like the play of rays of sunlight crossing a storm filled sky. Somehow, in that one, glowing orb, Zali would have sworn she could see the movement of the tides, the branches of trees rippling in a cool autumn breeze, and the snap of the rigging as a sturdy hull cut through the waves. Longing filled her heart, incomprehensible, and almost painful in its purity.
Unconsciously, though, she resisted its draw, even though she couldn't tear her eyes away from it, and could hardly even bear to blink in fear that it might vanish in the split instant darkness filled her vision. But it wasn't until Kyan's hand suddenly appeared in the middle of her vision that she remembered where she was, and that she wasn't the only one here. "Kyan, don't..."
It was too late. Before his hand could even get near, a bolt of colored light burst through the air, before entering Kyan's body through his hand. He immediately doubled over in pain.
Concern for her friend finally broke the spell the orb had over her. She slid carefully over the lip of the hallway into the spherical room, her boots offering almost no traction against the smooth surface. Two more steps later and she was at Kyan's side. "Are you alright?"
Only once she had confirmed Kyan's safety did Zali's attention once more turn to the glowing, floating orb. Every nerve in her body seemed to tingle when her eyes locked on it again. Despite it's undeniable brightness, it was not painful to look at. Instead, its light seemed to bathe her, and her thoughts slowed once more as she entered into the spell of the orb again. Some fundamental part of her seemed to burn in its light, brilliant and strong.
"This thing is important. It has to be," Zali murmured, almost as much to herself as to Kyan. "Even if it itself isn't enough to confirm it, this entire temple was built around it. Maybe even this entire island." She didn't think about the impossibility of that statement; how could an island be built? It simply felt right, so she said it. "I think... I think this might be the treasure of lore. The one that has lured so many people to their deaths. The fact that we even get to see it..." Her voice trailed off in awe, and for several more moments she forgot where she was, reveling in its dazzling light. However, a moment later she jerked, and she resumed speaking once more.
"There's no way we can take this thing. We just can't. But... it could be a bargaining tool. I... I can't imagine threatening it, but those things can't know that. If they care about it at all, they'll have no choice but to let us go to protect it. It's just, how do we..." Her mind flashed back to the memory of Kyan getting zapped as soon as his fingers got close. She unconsciously took a half step back, before a steely look appeared in her eyes. She had never fled before anything. She certainly wasn't going to run from something as simple as pain.
With a sudden motion, Zali pulled her shirt off her head, leaving nothing behind but a tight, white bandage wrapped around her chest. A few quick moments later, and the shirt was coiled three times around Zali's right hand. Her left hand fell down to her side, hand balled into a fist as her teeth clenched together in preparation to fight her body's instincts and seize the floating orb despite the pain it would bring her. Slowly, her hand eked forward.
No burst of light emerged. No flash of pain raced through her body. Whether it was the insulation the shirt offered or some other, unexpected phenomenon, nothing arrived to prevent the slow movement of Zali's hand. Less than thirty seconds later, her wrapped hand began to curl around the light.
It was unexpectedly small. The brilliant glow had made it seem as though the orb was the size of Zali's head, but as her hand closed further it finally mostly surrounded the orb, which was no bigger than a wild apple. Faint, dazzling beams of light emerged from between her fingers, dancing across the room as she slowly lowered her hand to bring the orb of light closer to her chest. Zali let out a smile of relief, and a faint laugh of triumph even slipped from between her lips.
Her celebration was preemptive.
A moment later, the small room was suddenly filled with the sound of heaving breaths and flesh striking stone. A look of terror suddenly covered her face. Somehow, they had been detected.
---
What Zali and Kyan had no way of knowing was that, the moment the glowing orb had let off that spark to attack Kyan, every single one of the half-man half-animal creatures over the entire island had felt it. Less than half a second later, before Kali even had a chance to slide into the room to check her friend, the entire island was covered in a frenzy of maddened activity. These creatures had never truly known desperation before. They reigned supreme on this island, and even this search, although important, hadn't truly meant anything to them. They never would have dreamed that the very ones they were hunting would have slipped around behind them to attack the very thing they were honor-bound to protect.
In that instant, whether covered in feathers or scales, whether clawed or fanged, every single living thing on the island was racing back towards the temple at its fastest speed. They flooded into the hallways, their agony pushing them to their fastest speeds, so that they didn't even have time to cry or howl in fear. They poured in from every side, darting through the winding corners with instinctual familiarity, until their beastly figures suddenly blocked every passageway into the small room. They snarled and snapped, those in the back pushing forward in indignation, while those in the front could only freeze in fear at the sight of the white orb partially enclosed in Zali's fingers. They pushed back, and a moment later the entire room was still.
Everyone seemed paralyzed for several seconds. Even Zali, who held the precious orb in her palm, did not even so much as twitch, out of fear that the high strung creatures that surrounded both her and Kyan would think she was taking action, and throw caution to the winds to try and prevent it. She couldn't risk that. So instead she waited for something to change, quietly praying that she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life.
Eventually, one of the passageways shivered, and the creatures parted respectfully to allow a man to pass through. Unlike those who surrounded them, this man seemed perfectly human, at least at first glance. It wasn't until a couple moments later that Zali noticed the fire that seemed to glow in his eyes, and the iridescent shimmer that covered his skin. For several, drawn out seconds, he did not move, only looking at the situation. His eyes seemed to piece right through Zali, as though he was looking into her innermost heart. She shivered slightly.
Finally, he spoke. His words were simple, and to the point.
"Put it back."
