The Dreamer [Chapter 1: The Beginning]

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Explicit Escritoire

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<may become="" an="" oc!="">OOC/Sign-Up [X] /// [X] The Roleplay

Once. . .


Once, there was a dream.
Not an ordinary escape from the day.
Not an ordinary submission to the night.
A dream that was a bridge.
A bridge to what? That is not known.


Once, that dream meant something.
It meant something of love.
It meant something of friendship,
Of determination and a pure heart.
It was a bridge.


With it, they were drawn.
Forced, yet not, to play the dream.
To journey with the dreamer.
To journey through a world,
Birthed from the mind of a dreamer.


Alas, a dream is but a dream.
In the end, reality is seperate.
But it is still, also, the same.
For any belief or thought has shape.
Within a dream, before a bridge.


A bridge between dreams and reality. . .
The Story:
The Quick Version:
Chapter 1: A Journey Begins
The Beginning:
1: A Journey Begins:
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The Temple
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The Ashen:
Name: Spawn
Type: Lightweight
Attacks: Slash, Jab

Name: Boar
Type: Heavyweight
Attacks: Stomp(Spawn Ashen), Re-harden(Phase2), Spawn Worm, Cleave(With Tusks)

Name: Boar Worm
Type: Digger
Attacks: Spine Uppercut, Eject Tumor(Spawn Ashen)

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Re: The Dreamer [Chapter 3: The Things You Fear Most]

// So I suppose we just resume from the temple? For anyone on this site who is unaware, I control Zappy.
 
Re: The Dreamer [Chapter 3: The Things You Fear Most]

((Welp, here I am... I need to get an avatar, and I wonder if I can put a different display name... I choose Seriack again, well, cause it's what I've been using for almost every website.))
 
(Ignore the two posts located above this one. This is the first post of the roleplay. Jump in wherever you'd like!)

Explicit, once in the shape of a pony, now walks as a human among the grass and flowers south of her home. Nestled on the western edge of the town of Trotstram, her home is two stories tall, and overlooks the field she walks through. The feeling of the blades tickling her bare toes elicits a gentle giggle, and she skips towards the forest edge. She bends over picking up a flower between two fingers and smelling it, rising again. All of this seems natural to her. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. It is, after all, a dream. Of course, she doesn't realize that. Few ever do.

But then something happens that causes a ripple in the dream. It begins to become very real. The disease plaguing her heart in reality finds a way to sneak its way into her one place of escape. It shapes itself, forges its weapons and prepares to strike the final blow against Explicit. Little does the corruption know, though, that it is about to face something it cannot predict. The strangest bunch of heroes the world has ever known, and never will. Explicit looks up from her flower, and her eyes widen. The forest, once lush and green, now has a dark tint. There's a trail, and the forest itself seems to open, welcoming Explicit in.

Welcoming her to her death.
 
Daniel hadn't meant to fall asleep. He never slept, not anymore. He was incapable of falling sleep, and had been for years and years now. He had begun to lose track of the years as they flew by, and his hours of sleep had fled with it. Daniel was sprawled amongst some briar-branches, and he pulled himself to his feet. His helmet sat next to him. That was wrong too. His helm only was removed when he was certain none would see his face. He hadn't seen his own face in a mirror in almost five years. Daniel frowned, and begin knotting the black string in his hair, tucking his long hair away. He slid the helm on, and closed his eyes for a moment. He took a breath, but there was no feeling of inflation in his lungs. He opened his eyes.

He was on the outskirts of a forest, and behind him were grasses and brambles. Ahead of him was a winding trail. There was only one path. He flexed his gauntleted fingers, before setting one of them on the hilt of his sword. He did not know how he got here, but he refused to take any chances. He walked forward, slowly, cautiously. As he moved, his armor craked and cracked. His posture was perfect, honed from military training and plates of armor pressing up beneath his shoulderblades, forcing them upwards. His head was held high because it had to be, and only his pale eyes showed through the visor of his helm. Ringed with black lashes, they flicked uncertainly as he tried to recall how he had come to this place.


Daniel had been in one of the Towers of High Sorcery, locked in the library. When he approached the tower, he had been recognized as Ser Daniel Danielson the Accursed, the Bloodletter, the Mage-killer and Death-sworn. He asked politely to come inside to read a book; to learn about the heroes of old, the ones that he had loved when he was just a boy; learning to read at his father's side. Daniel needed a hero like the ones in the stories; he had to make one. A magus had come out from the tower, bent with age, and welcomed him in, despite his reputation. Perhaps he had been a wicked man, who had thrown him into this place with some combination of illusion and conjuration, but Daniel doubted it. He was simply an old man, an old wizard, who led him to the library. He flicked a gnarled finger at the book, the whole reason that Daniel had come. He had not made his purpose a secret. He needed the book to break the curse.

The Legendry of Great Arms and Fabulous Heroes. Penned by none other than the wielder of his sword's twin: Kas the Bloody Handed. It was a massive tome, old, older than Daniel by ages, and written with a passionate hand and beautiful illuminated illustrations embossed upon the cover. It sat in the center of the library, and two wizards in full robes with heavy staves stood by it; as if they thought they could stop the death knight. They did not have to, as the old man ushered them away with his hand. Daniel had forsworn murdering those that stood in his way long ago, and though he wasn't capable of standing by it, he was thankful that he did not have to add to the blood trail that followed him. As a gift, Daniel offered the old man a bribe that he knew he would have to use when he entered on this venture. He never got anywhere with his name. People spat ont he Danielson family. They were nothing more than a hated group of fanatics who deserved to die out. But the wizard had just looked at him when he offered the gold and his bent fingers closed around his hand. He shook his liver-spotted head and spoke in a voice as old as bones;

Kas betrayed your family, Kas betrayed your god, but Kas had once written books about heroes and magic swords, and Kas had once been a boy like you. Kas was good, once. Don't lose sight of that, Daniel Danielson, Third of your name, last of your family. You could be like him.

And then, I was alone with the book, Daniel thought to himself as he started down the path. He had read deep into the night, reading by oil-lamp light. When that burned out, he asked for a librarian to conjure up some light for him. The ever-burning stone that had been summoned sufficed, but he could feel his interest waning. There were long lists of names and lineages that he could not bring himself to care about. Kas's passion for his words had seemed to falter in this particular section as well. There was a discussion of the genealogies of the first magic-armsmen and the wars they waged amongst themselves. He referenced another work in a footnote, before changing to another subject in a pinch. Difficult texts were part of Daniel's unlife, now, but this book didn't seem to be of any use save for causing him discomfort. His mind was drifting...

And then, he was in the woods. Daniel reasoned he must have fallen asleep. That shouldn't have happened. He twisted the bolts into his helmet, ensuring that it wouldn't fall off, and gave his surroundings another look over. He glanced behind him. There were long fields, and there was a girl amongst them. There was a town in the distance. He could use these things. He did not know where he was, but he caught the girl staring at the forest trail, and presumably, now at him. He tapped his tongue against his teeth. There was nothing else to do.

Daniel approached Explicit, the leaves and fields parting around him as he moved. They seemed to recoil from the death knight. He walked with purpose, but he remained slow, and mechanical in his movements. He waved an arm, taking it off of his sword to show that he did not mean harm. He hoped that he didn't. Daniel had killed pretty girls with flowers in their hair. He hated that.

"Good morrow!" He called, across the fields, to the girl, to his answers, and out, into the dream.
 
(Sweet mother of literacy and background stories.)

Explicit's gaze is intent upon the forest, decaying before her very eyes. The trees begin to droop, the forest floor starts to skitter with dark things and a strange aura begins emanating from it. There's another aura within, however, but she can't quite put her hoof on it. Hooves. Oh, my, she doesn't have hooves anymore. She simply shrugs it off, considering it some sort of dream magic. Her new body is much more dynamic anyway. Her attention is drawn from herself and the forest to a man dressed in armor. She turns to face him, hearing his words and feeling his presence. She gives him a smile, and very eerily she already seems to know his name.

"Hello, Daniel!" She says, far too happily for the current situation. Around her, things are constantly changing. Often times in short bursts, when she's concentrated on something. The short bursts hit her with a tad bit of fatigue, but she doesn't really notice it. In fact, she doesn't even realize she's in a dream at all. Everything is completely normal to her. She waves Daniel over, taking a moment to think about how she might know him, but she shrugs yet another thought away. It seems her ability to comprehend, or perhaps her interest in comprehending, is busted in this place.
 
Farsight had drifted off to sleep the night before. He had had a wonderful day with the mare he was falling in love with back in Ponyville, and it had been a bit exhausting as well. He had created so much in the Dreamworld for her, that it took a lot out of him. But something was different... He had tried to enter into a Dream Trance so he could gain his energy back while still being conscious. Instead, a very sharp pull began to drag him away, away from his physical body... To where, he did not know. The world around him began to darken, and he lost all train of thought there....

Waking up, he found himself in a forest. It wasn't like any he had ever seen before. Dark, dank, it smelt of corruption and decay. Farsight looks around, still lying on the ground, trying to get his bearings. As he tries to remember what happened, a sharp pain shoots through his head, blocking his mind. He lets out a gasp of pain, falling unconscious again. After mere moments, though, he awakens again, and hears a voice in the distance. He stands, shakily, and begins to head toward the voice, moving between dying trees.
 
Daniel looked at the girl as she faced him and called out his name. She did not use his last name, or his title of 'Ser', she did not use the qualifiers of 'The Bloody' or 'The Death-sworn.' She adressed him as a friend, as a sister. That had not happened in years; not since he was sworn to uphold the good and righteous path, something that he had since forgotten the meaning of. He knew what was good, and what was not, but it didn't mean anything to him anymore. It was all just a matter of perspective, afterall. As much a matter of perspective as this girl calling out his name to him, and knowing him for what he was; Daniel. Not Daniel the Third, not Daniel the Bloodletter, not a Danielson from an accursed bloodline. Behind his helmet his eyes flicked over her face. These thoughts were not useful. They had not answered the question on his mind. How did she know him?

His eyes skimmed over her form and face, but Daniel didn't recognize her. He couldn't put his finger on how she would know him, or how she wouldn't. There was something unmeasurable about her appearance. The thought began to arise out of his trachea and up into his brain; What if she was a test? What if this was something that his ancestor had devised, after seeing his descendent suffer through unknowing for so long, being unable to find somebody pure of heart? What if Grim the Dark was playing a game with him, and this was the first of many pieces? Daniel took a deep breath and pushed on through the fields, watching the living stalks flee from his armor, dry up and wither. Daniel wondered if that was a function of this place, or simply a function of himself. Perhaps it was some sort of indicator over the state of his soul; that sounded like something his patriarch would do. The dark heart of man and the morals that followed that. That was something he was certain Grim would -love-.

Daniel eventually came to stand before her. Thinking and well-trained courtesy came before caution and with a creak of rusted graves, he knelt before her, crushing stalks of grass beneath his knee-plates. He bowed his helmet, his gorget cracking with a dull metallic ache as he did. A single strand of grey hair slipped out from his visor; becoming entangled in his eyelashes. He did not seem to notice. His voice rang out as a mechanical thing, echoing in his helmet and emanating deep and sonorously from his throat.

"My lady." He said with his magically altered voice. "It's been so long." He did not mean that he knew her, and he had not seen her in some time. He meant that he had not called a woman a lady in almost fifty years. All the women he had known had been mages or adventurers, fierce and wild or distant and aloof. There had been no time for girls with flowers in their hair. Not since he had held the book in his hands in the crypts beneath his home. There hadn't been any flowers for him, since he had died. No tournament wreaths, no poppies before war times. He was certain they would have wilted in his hands. It had been so long.
 
Explicit smiles and squats down to Daniel's level, placing her hands on his shoulders. She tilts her head to the side, seeing the dying grass behind him. She looks over to the forest, watching the corruption as it intensifies. A different type of darkness clings to the forest than the kind that settles on this poor man, more trapped in himself than he likely realizes. She moves the gray hair away with tender fingers and even softer intentions. "As much as the title "Lady" fits with my age, I'd like to be called Escy." she says, following her words with a small bout of lighthearted laughter.

She sees the dying grass behind the knight begin to rejuvenate, the blades of grass standing once more as they slowly fill with life and a lush green color. The grass even seems more lively than before. There's something about this Knight that he himself didn't realize, and she doesn't know what it is either. No sense in dwelling on less potential threats. "Arise, and help me restore the forest?" she requests, staring at where the knight's face would be behind the heavy helmet. Explicit turns towards the forest, tilting her head to the side as she sees the dark red unicorn emerge from the forest.

She stands and waves with a smile. "Farsight, over here!" she shouts to him, hoping he can see her through his fatigue. She doesn't know this pony either, but he feels important to her. Something strange about that, but she shrugs it off before it really crosses her mind.
 
Farsight heard the shouts once more, but this time, his name was called. What....? He thinks to himself, looking around. He sees the.... Creature that had called his name, one he had never seen before. Where... Am I...? Farsight asks himself, walking toward the two creatures in the distance. One was covered in metal, which looked like armor, but it was very different than any armor he had seen before. Farsight pushes those thoughts aside, a headache beginning to form once more. He could worry about that stuff later.

He reached the two humans, and sat back on his haunches. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage..." He says, his voice surprisingly low and full of a deep bass for something that is meant to be colorful and girly. Farsight's eyes have drooped a little, and he almost dozes off, but quickly snaps back, looking a bit more awake than before. "Also... What are you...? I have never seen such creatures like the two of you before..." He asks, taking in their surroundings once more.
 
Daniel was surprised when she touched him, and opened his eyes. His pale eyes with the bursted blood vessels were confused, and muddled. He began to stand, his armor clanked and creating at he did so. It was old, his armor, and it had been worn by one of his ancestors; a certain Danielson who had become a blackguard of his god; rather than sauntering down the path of magic. Daniel was certain that they would have gotten along, if that blackguard had lived and Daniel had known him. But there was only one Danielson now, and that was him. And there was a woman touching his face and shoulders and that felt strange and sickening, making his long disused intestines knot up into cords. He had known women, when he had lived, and they had known him. He supposed that he had been desirable, once. He remembered how it was.

Daniel was a promising knight, standing tall at six feet with a splendid cloak of white and silver. He had grown his dark hair long, and his smiles were quick and often. He had mastered the twelve tenets of his knightly order, and he had been showered with roses in tournaments, just like he was certain Lord Soth had been, when Lord Soth still lived amongst the world of men and not amongst the great and terrible swirling mists that he had come to fear so deeply. But when he was alive, he had been touched, and he had been touched often by women, and now, that time was gone, lost amongst the mists that Lord Soth had fled into, lost within Grim the Dark's black book, lost deep in the crypts of the Danielson family home. But now, a woman was touching him, and she was asking something of him. To rise.

He stood, looking at the forest through the visor of his helmet. It looked no different than any forest that he had seen, with the long shadows and the rotting woods. He recalled the forest outside of his home, in Sheldomar Valley. There had been moss that clang to the branches, and lichen that was suckered to the bark. He had become used to dark and foreboding woods, but if she asked it of him, he would help cleanse it. Cleansing, he was certain, fell into the category of something that a hero would do, and he did not need Kas's book to understand this. Perhaps Grim was giving this to him so easily, handing this to him on a platter, so that his suffering would finally be at an end, so that he could finally return to his home, and that there would be a son of Daniel Danielson. He moved to open his mouth, but now there was a new voice, a bass, and it came from a creature that he did not understand.

Daniel turned to look at the... thing. It was rubbery and flat, as if it had been made of gelatin. It had the vague form of a horse, he supposed, but its legs were too long, and it didn't seem to have distinctive hooves. There were no bones in its body, or so it seemed, certainly not enough to keep the creature upright. The eyes were huge in its face, and Daniel theorized that the space it would have for its cranium would be too small for any high functions. When it spoke, he was surprised; as it had a stubby snout with no lips. It must have operated on some crude form of magic. It's head was wider than its ribcage and as long as its torso. It was this strange, stunted thing that was not quite an animal, or an ooze. Whatever it was, Daniel was certain that it did not belong here, and that it should never have been born at all.

Daniel said cooly. "I am Ser Daniel Danielson, a Knight from Sheldomar Valley. That is what I am. What are you, creature?" His voice was dismissive, flat. He was disturbed by the creature, to be truthful. It was not like anything he had seen before. Perhaps this was some other part of the test, but it was starting to make him sick - that feeling of uncertainty - and not knowing. He was not used to it.
 
Explicit turns to Daniel and laughs a little at the word 'creature'. She smiles and begins to explain. "Aren't we all strange creatures, truly? This stallion is a unicorn. He's from my world. I'm actually a bit curious as to why I don't look like him." she says with utmost curiosity, patting her body down. She starts to really admire her new body, understanding how useful thumbs could be, and how she could likely move faster, climb higher and do several things better. But she doesn't feel quite as special, and notices that her cutie mark is gone. She doesn't look to see, as doing so would expose her, but she does feel the difference within her. But again, as all else within the dream had effected her, she simply shrugged the fact off. She stops exploring her body when she realizes what the lumps on her chest are.

"Anyways, he can use magic. I don't know much else about him, though. Never met him before." she says, shrugging and walking towards the forest, examining the straight trail of corruption. It looks like a path, almost as if guiding her to a specific location. Maybe it would take her to the cause of the corruption?
 
Farsight waves his hoof as if to emphasize the explanation. "As... She said, I am a unicorn... And I still have no idea what you two are... Or where the buck this place is..." He says, shaking his head a little to help clear it. He walks over to where Explicit had gone, examining the forest as well. He looks over the trees, how they are dying and wilting away. "Hmmmmm... Is there some kind of disease here...? This rot is definitely not natural..." He says, stating the obvious. He looks over his shoulder to see if he had his saddlebag, and was a little disgruntled that it was not there. No matter.... He thought to himself and sat back on his haunches, waiting for the go ahead, not wanting to move ahead of the obvious leader here.
 
Daniel frowned behind his helmet. He was unsatisfied with the answer that he had received. No unicorns he had ever known looked like the creature that stood before him, waving its rounded appendages. His eyes flicked to the growth in the center of Farsight's forehead. He supposed that froma certain perspective, the creature could have looked like a unicorn. He simply didn't have that perspective, but then agan, he had never seen a unicorn. He was neither a maid, nor exceptionally pure at heart, and he could not imagine a unicorn coming to him in any way, other than to slaughter him at the machinations of some particularly pure at heart maid.

The maid in question had begun to move forward. Daniel noticed a sort of strangeness in her gait, a newness in her movements. It's as if she was experiencing her body and its sensations for the first time. He reasoned that she was simply very young, and had not yet lost the wonder for life's creations that he no longer possessed. He had grown tired of the living and the living world, and his body's movements did not delight him. When he began to walk after her, his movements could not have been any more different. His creaking greaves and heavy armaments made for the picture of metal forged in the shape of a man, rather than having a man underneath it. Daniel wasn't a man though, not anymore. He was just a collection of bones with some skin on top, all of his vital organs and bodily fluids dried up and gone to dust within him.

He cleared his throat, and his voice came out as a dull coughing sound, ringing metallic in his throat. "My -- Escy. There is much I do not understand at work, here. What has happened to your forest?" Perhaps she was a druid, and this forest was her domain, her sworn place to protect and watch for. He had never gotten along with druids, being the perversion of nature's will that he was, the unnatural abomination that he had been made into by the damned book deep within the vaults. "Do you know what can be done?"
 
Explicit tilts her head at the questions pertaining to her town and her forest. Well, not HER town and forest. Well, maybe they are hers. She's still not very sure about that either, but she does know where she's at. "The town is called Trotstram, and this is the forest south of Trotstram." she says knowingly, one of the only things she's been sure of so far. "I don't know what's eating at the forest, but it feels familiar. It feels very close to my heart for some reason. Maybe somebody I know is causing it? Whatever the cause or reason, I think we can find the answers inside the forest."

A smile had spread on her face after hearing the name Escy. Such a pretty name for her. A nickname of course. A quick reminder came to her mind, that she had told him to call her that. She places the thought in a metaphorical bag of forgetfulness and moves over to one of the trees directly on the edge of the forest. Her fingers press against the bark of one of the trees, and it crumbles beneath her touch. She gasps from shock, pulling her hand away. She looks at her fingers, seeing that they are unharmed. Did she think something would be there? Something black. Not dying trees, something darker than that.

It feels like she's running with two minds at once. One is calculating and observing, tearing each individual fact, thing or person down to the individual atoms and placing them back together, trying to understand how and why they work. The other mind is relaxed, and the dominant of the two. It constantly denies the thoughts of the others. She feels it's for the better, but how can it be? She shrugs that thought off, as well.
 
Leona had run out of her home in anger and stress hoping for some peace. She was fighting with her parents again about her over-use of magic. Ever since the accident they've been begging for her to stop. They think that she's getting to comfortable with using magic to do her work at home. But she didn't want to stop. It had become an addiction. No one knew that she was delving into the art of dark magic. She wasn't turning evil, - she makes sure of that with every spell - she just loved the rush of power that she felt whenever she waved her wand. It was a blissful and peaceful feeling when the magic took over and she loved it. And it was also a beneficial for all of them. There were powerful healing spells that could heal the grimmest illness. And help with their everyday life. 'They complain about their lives all the time. Why can't I use magic to make it better,' she grumbled to herself as she trips through the uneven forest floor.

She was heading to secret meadow where she always ran to whenever she was feeling like this. She even made it her little home away from home. She brought her favorite books, candles, pillows, herbs, and her spell books. But it was also where she hid her dark magic spell books. Her parents started searching her room and she had to take action. She took everything magical from her room here. It was safer and more fun. Performing magic in nature increased the the chances of spells going right and it also made her feel more in sync with the spell.

She finally arrives to the meadow and goes straight to her dark magic books. She was going to perform a spell to help her with her parents. She was going to do a simple memory wiping spell that she was sure wouldn't harm them. In all honesty it would help everyone in the situation. They wouldn't have to worry about their daughter getting out of control with her magic and she wouldn't have to deal with their whining. She rolled her eyes as she flipped throught her book and looked for the spell. After a while she finally found it. 'Memoria Damnum.' It seemed simple enough.

She lit 3 white and 3 red candles and set them around herself in a circle. She then wrote the spell on a piece of paper and let it burn on one of the candles. As the paper burned she started reciting the spell. "Evanescere paulatim et memoria patris et matris, erit constans aa timor evanescat. Haec est dies mei. Omnes memoriis me, evanescunt in oblitus sinus. Sicut hanc chartam, consumptum est in flamma, omnes memoriis me comburent eam, paulatim. Sic fiat, Sic fiat, Sic fiat!"

With her last cry, a small tingle started on her mark until it spread to the rest of her body. It wasn't the usual blissful feeling, it was more...painful. As the pain gre, she became more scared. She didn't know what to do, or how to reverse it. She ran out of the circle made by the candles and headed home for some help from her parents but she didn't make it far. She collapsed onto the forest floor and started to writhe the pain. Why hasn't it stopped? After what felt like hours, she finally drifted off into nothing.

She woke up on the forest floor, feeling no more pain. But her mark now had the smallest glow against her pale skin. She stood up and her eyes went wide. She wasn't in the same forest. It was scary and awful. And it smelled like rotten flesh. She was terrified. She had no idea on how she was ever going to get back home. She was on the verge of tears when she heard voices.
"Oh, no. I'm going crazy," she whimpered to herself as they continued. With nothing else to do she started to wander. Wander into nothingness and with no purpose. As she walked farther, the voices got louder. "What in the world is going on here!" She walked faster and faster until she stumbled upon a group.

"Um, can any of you tell me where I am?"
 
Explicit smiles as she hears the girls voice, and then watches her emerge from the forest. She walks over to the scared girl, a small smile etched across her face. She stops short of her, staring into her eyes. She rests a hand on Leona's cheek, not expecting a very big reaction due to her still being in shock from arriving here. Her smile fades a little and she pats her on the shoulder for a moment. "Leona. Welcome to Trotstram." she says softly, her hand pulling away. She looks back into her eyes, as if looking for something in them. "And no, you're not going crazy. In fact, it's quite the opposite." she says, moving away from the girl. She stops, turning to face all three of them, the decaying portion of the forest directly behind her.

"I don't really know any of you. I mean, somehow I do, but I don't. I wouldn't let that bother you, though. We have to go into the forest now. The others won't be so lucky as to enter here." she says, only half understanding anything she's actually saying. Asking her to make sense wouldn't work, because she doesn't seem to know anything either. Yet, at the same time, she appears to be omniscient. It's to be expected, though, that's how you generally are when you're floating through your own dreams. "There are at least two more, and they're this way."
 
She wanted to flinch away form the women who touched her. She doesn't even this women and she's this comfortable around her? She was really losing her mind. And for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to look away from her eyes. It was as if she had put a spell on her. But they were also mesmerizing. She never wanted to look away from them. They made the depressing forest that surrounded them disappear. Trotstram? She's never heard of this place before. And for good reason as she continued to look around. If she wasn't going crazy, then what was going on? Was this all happening because of her spell? Her mind kept wandering as she listened to the woman.

She let the woman finish before she says, "We're going back in there?" She says as she points at the creepy looking forest with a scared look on her face. She wanted to crawl into a ball and fall asleep. "Is there anything or anywhere else we can go? I mean, I know that everything is as depressing as the forest but I just don't think that this is safe," she finishes with a shudder. Her mark was getting really warm. What the hell was going on with that thing? She waited until their focus was on something else before she inspected it.
 
Daniel looked at the newly arrived girl, the one that the girl from earlier called Leona. His grey eyes flickered behind his visor. The death knight had seen many mages in his days, from the lowest apprentices to the highest of magi, and he had a good grasp on those who magic had touched. His family was once such family, they all had it coursing through his veins, from his mother to his grandfather to Grim the Dark himself. He had chosen not to exercise his magic because it was bought through his mother's blood, and gifted by his untrustworthy ancestor, but he could tell that this girl, this Leona, had magic of some kind herself. Perhaps it had been passed down her family line, as his had been. The death knight wondered to himself if she came from the same world as he did, but she didn't have that look to her. Magic was not common, in any case. It was far more likely that she came from somewhere else. Daniel stared through her, watching her shoulders twitch and listening to her nervous voice. A young sort of magic. She was young. They were all so young.

The death knight looked out over to the forest, one hand on the sword that was slung across his back. His grey hair brushed against the lenses of his eyes in a stray breeze but he did not flinch. Daniel did not notice at all, though a few strands of hair stuck to the fluids of his eyeball. "I do not think we have a choice, miss." He said, slowly, looking over to Leona. His head swiveled with a mechanical creak and sheer sound, as he shook his head. He wondered if this girl was part of the task that Grim the Dark had set before him. Perhaps they all were. Maybe none of them were real at all, and there was just him, him and the illusions that Grim the Dark had made. He wasn't sure if his patriarch could do that, but then again, he suspected that Grim could do whatever he liked. Including make people. Make allies. And this would be his alliance that would get him through this final test and help him break his curse.

He really wanted to believe that was the case. More than anything else. But he couldn't believe that it would be that easy. Daniel creaked his head to Explicit. "Is there any more information you can give us?" His fingers flexed along the hilt of his sword. He didn't intend for it to come across as threat. He wanted to come across as prepared. As ready for the worst, and prepared to stop whatever was spreading through the forest. A few small dust motes slipped between his fingers as he clutched to the hilt of the sword. It was so old, even the leather was flaking. "What origin is this corruption, or do you not know?"
 
"I..." Explicit begins, but is cut off by her own thoughts. She doesn't actually know what the problem is. It feels like it spreads from the forest to inside of herself. She shakes her head and finishes her statement. "I don't really know, actually. All I know is that whatever is causing it lies in the forest. It trails, as if guiding us. It shouldn't be hard to find as long as we stick to the corruption." She steps forward into the forest, her hand trailing along the trunks of trees, feeling as they turn to ash beneath her touch. She can see evil tumors crawling beneath the ground, forcing it up and then causing it to fall as the tumors move about.

And, of course, one of the tumors ceases its movements. It sinks a little further below the surface of the ground. From the now small lump in the blackened ground, a single black tentacle reaches out. It stretches out, wrapping lightly around a nearby tree. The tree begins to disintegrate from the top down, and as it does, the black ash forms into something. It's the shape of a man, the form she's in right now, but its features are indiscernible. Its face is ash, as well as the rest of its body. Despite being made of something that so easily crumbled away a moment ago, she can feel a strong magic inside of it now. The tumor is gone, and she can only guess it implanted itself within the new body.

She reaches to pull out her - Oh. She's defenseless. Well, that's just fantastic.
 
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