((Two paths to choose from, four "scars" to seek out...
Of course each and every one of you have always asked: My "dark-whatever" character draws their power from this "Netherworld"...so were is the access point at? Where in all of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles would every single dark empowered being gain their powers, and furthermore: what exactly would the Netherworld appear as?
On the flip-side of the coin: Dark empowered beings aren't the only ones popping up across Paragon and the Isles. There's even in-game arcs in Croatoa discussing this otherworldly "Spirit Plane" - so where, exactly, is the access point of this place?
Well, here you go. Oh, and yes: the source of this information is available to anyone that has ever wondered about these things, and yes, the source is very well hidden from prying eyes. I realized as I was writing the first post that I was able to write it without using words such as "I, us, we, our" and etc... and it dawned on me that the "source" of this information would remain well-hidden even from metabeings.
Introduce your characters as you see fit. Choosing a path to take is completely up to you, and if you would like to bring in a character that would rather remain in the gray area, that's fine too.))
The strange message had come and gone, as if it were a dream...
The next morning:
The warming rays of the sunshine danced across his skin, awakening him from yet another restless night. Ever since he was born, Samuel Jefferson had been unable to sleep, and last night was no different from the past 11,320 or so nights. Sitting up in the bed of his one-room, sparsely furnished King's Row apartment, he yawned for no apparent reason other than to lift his arms up...and slipped off the headband.
He walked into the bathroom as he always did each and every morning, non-chalantly and completely unprepared as he glanced into one of the few remaining shards of the mirror, whose frame still resided directly over the sink. He stopped jumping at the image that was reflected back long ago, yet it still made him...uneasy. After his usual morning routine, Sam went back to the nightstand and grabbed up his headband, tying it on extra tight today. The Agency-provided cellphone on his desk had been chiming in, the monophonic tone informing him he had an urgent message. He picked up his phone, glancing at the LCD screen.
'Well, a text message instead of voicemail today,' he wondered. 'Well, maybe they're letting me know my services are no longer required!' To his dismay, the message wasn't what he hoped for. However, it did seem to suggest he was being given a day off today, but first he had an appointment. Grabbing up his simplistic, ripped sleeve gi and throwing it on as he walked out the front door, he couldn't help but wonder if this appointment had anything to do with the strange near-dream he had last night.
He sprinted down the few blocks from his apartment to the yellow line tram, the inner-city route of the PTA's mass transit system. Even though he was employed by Agency One, a registered super-hero and all, the hero known as The Grim Saviour didn't mind using the city's elevated trains. Sure, sometimes they occasionally smelled, especially when a few of the homeless hopped on, but otherwise the system was very effecient and the cars were well maintained. Arriving at his destination, Grim stepped out, walking out from under the station's roof. Looking upon City Hall to his left he leapt across the span of the parking lot that was between the station and the center of Paragon's city government.
Not one to stand around all day amongst the great statues that surrounded the Hall, he dashed around to the front of the building, timing his entrance just right as some random citizen entered the structure. The representative of the city waved at him as he entered, but his business was not with her this day.
As he turned to the right, he bumped right into Azuria as she was walking up the stairs. "Oh! My apologies!" he said, still somewhat focused on his destination as he looked down at the head of Atlas Park's MAGI division. "OH! Azuria! I thought you never left your office..." he muttered out as he realized he had stumbled into the very person he was to see today.
"Normally, no, I don't," she said, taking his hand as he offered to help her up. "Just needed some coffee this morning." She looked up at the man as she shook off the dust from her usual pink skirt. "Which is very odd since I thought I quit drinking coffee years ago!" She then realized who the man was and why he was here. "Oh, you're here already! Please, if you wouldn't mind, keep an eye on my office while I get a cup?"
He nodded in affirmation to the mystic and went straight to her office.
((NVM Kyzock, I'll Just go ahead anyway.))
[Knock knock. Get the hell up, Kearstie, I don't want to wait anymore.]
In the small King's Row apartment available to her by the pitiful paycheck supplied by Josie's Kola Bottling plant, Kearsie Williams grunted through her nose and put a pillow over her head.
[Your communicator has a message on it, and did I mention? GET UP!]
The force of the voice in her head elicited a semi-muffled scream of surprise. The bed sheets flew off to the left hand wall, the pillows went right, and the Heroine known as Lady Duskblade shot to her feet. She stood for a full ten seconds, rubbing her face with both hands. She wore only a midnight blue T-shirt and panties. Her skin had a healthy shine, but was as black as onyx.
After a moment Ms. Williams strode quietly to the only window in the apartment and plucked the small black ear piece from the sill, out from under the navy blue curtain. Without looking at it, she then walked to the adjacent bathroom, then clicked on the ceiling light.
Though she'd seen it for over four years, the face in the mirror disturbed her when she saw it. The visage looked as if something had erased every feature from her head except ears and replaced them with the empty eye sockets of a skull and two narrow slits for a nose. Along with that, three slashes of color like fresh blood started at the back of her skull and came to three distinct points at her chin. If one looked close enough, the empty sockets took on a three dimensional appearance, as if the darkness there were instead ink-black smoke.
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
In utter silence Kearstie said to her wake-up caller, [Thank you oh-so-very-much, Smoke, for reminding me that I have an irritating demon living inside me and I look like a freaky skull person....I was having a weird dream that found rather interesting. If I could remember what it was about now it would be nice.]
[ I still don't know why I can't see your dreams, it's strange. Besides, you know I don't sleep, and when you do it's like being trapped in a very small box with nothing but thoughts to keep me busy. Boring. You have a message, too, did I mention?]
[You did, now shut up, my head aches from that shouting you did.] All that answered was a creepy giggle. Kearsie sighed through her nose, something she'd do in response to smoke many times more this day. She placed the comm. unit in her left ear and clicked one of the three buttons on it twice:
"Lady Duskblade requested at MAGI headquarters, City Hall, Atlas Park. Nine AM sharp."
Rubbing her temples for a moment, Kearsie concentrated, letting Smoke's powers flow through her. Armored plates grew bloodlessly from her skin, covering her body from head to foot, a long barbed tail burst from her spine, and a pair of gigantic wings unfurled from her back. She carefully walked into her tiny living room, pushed a button on the wall, and flew through the opening that appeared in the ceiling.
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
As Lady Duskblade made her way to City Hall, she would notice a few of the "gifted" seemingly flocking towards the same destination. That is, IF she was capable of noticing some of them were gifted.
Upon entering City Hall, she would notice a flock of people gathering around the City Rep, talking, moving about as if they had every day business being conducted here.
As she made her way down the stairs to the MAGI offices headquarted in the basement, she would bump into Gregor Richardson, the MAGI rep from the Galaxy City location. She would recognize him from MAGI propoganda handed to her from back when her career in Paragon City began, unless, of course, she also worked with the man.
"Oh, excuse me, miss," he would absently say as the two momentarily collide, "Just going out to get a cigarette...which is odd, 'cause I've never smoked a day in my life!" He hurriedly moved on, bumming a cigarette from the City Rep before he walked out the front door...
As she walked through the office doors, she would spot Azuria, cup of coffee in hand, standing at a desk in the office, pilfering through papers. Glancing around the room, she would notice an odd shadow in the corner ... as if the lighting were all wrong for that shadow to be there.
Grim stepped away from the wall, the shadow seemingly disapating from where he was standing. As the shadow completely faded, his appearance would give him away as some sort of kung-fu fighter. The blue, ripped sleeve gi he wore actually appeared to be a fine piece of cloth: the only thing ruined about it was the sleeves. Chain wrapped fists and feet suggested that when this guy hit something, he would leave quite the impression.
Azuria looks up from her desk just then. "Oh, Lady Duskblade, so good of you to make it," her demure voice greeting the newcomer. "You're still early. Please, go ahead, look around, don't touch anything as usual...and gah I need another cup of coffee!" With that, she nodded over at Grim, and stormed out of the office.
The entire time, the Grim Saviour had been taking note of the woman's appearance. Stepping closer to the door, he reached his extended hand out.
"Hey, how's it going?" his gruff, Hispanic-accent voice asked. "Name's Grim Saviour. Been waiting here for 2 hours already ... think Azuria's been through a pot and a half already." He let out a quick, hearty laugh at this. "So, you have a 'dream', 'vision', or did you receive the message in some other way?"
Somewhere in the Rogue Isles...earlier that morning
A wave of serenity washed over the unconcious forms of the three Sisters. Awakening from one of the most restful nights they had in years, each one of them suddenly remembered ...
An immense feeling of cold, chilling her very soul...a rush of energy filled her veins, empowered by this chilling sensation. Never before had her powers felt so ... real. Suddenly, a bright flash....an intense heat melting away her cool, icy exterior -
The cool, wet beads of sweat trickled down her brow, dripping from her chin. It wasn't enough to cool her body down, however ... the intense heat that had built up within her heart kept her body temperature at a fiery 102 degrees year round. This time, the fire intensified, evaporating every bead of sweat instantly...all the while an eerie voice kept prodding, the sound of that voice reverberating throughout her mind -
The mental image of burning towns and cities had been permanantely emblazoned in her mind long ago - only this time, she couldn't make it go away. Oh, how it infuriated her...and it burned, burned very painfully...but she couldn't scream. No, she wouldn't allow herself to scream in agony, to embrace the pain was the only way -
The Three Sisters of Hell had awakened, drawn out of their slumber thanks to a strange, secretly broadcasted message. That message also filled the three with an immesurable glee, as well...
For today, the three would embark on a journey that would bring them together, for the first time since their hellish departure from the Circle...
The cool wind rushing past her ears woke Lady Duskblade up as she flew over Galaxy City, just before landing at her destination she stopped, great wings keeping her aloft so high in the air that even the flying heroes weren't recognizable from one another. She Tapped into Smoke's amazing repertoire of abilities to pull a black hood trimmed with fancy red embroidery from the ether. After placing it over her head and adjusting it so it covered most of her strange face in it's folds she rapidly descended.
A young man, used to the many heroes that came and went from the building, never blinked an eyelash as the armored woman landed beside him, but opened the door for her before going in himself. She gave him a thumbs up and headed to the basement, bumping briefly into a man, whom she watched for a few seconds after he'd gone from sight. He seemed...strange somehow.
Shrugging, Duskblade continued down, thinking at her inner companion, [behave yourself here Smoke. I Promise to take on a Circle plot as soon as I can if you just let me get through the morning without mishap.]
The demoness cooed, [Meee? Never Kearsie! I promise to behave if I get a little Circle of Thorns action later.]
Sighing through her nose again, The heroine entered MAGI headquarters and looked around a little. Glancing in the direction of the strange shadow, she lost interest when the man stepped out, as it was something she was quite familiar with herself. nodding at Azuria before she said her piece and left the room, she took a deep breath.
#"Hey, how's it going?" his gruff, Hispanic-accent voice asked. "Name's Grim Saviour. Been waiting here for 2 hours already ... think Azuria's been through a pot and a half already." He let out a quick, hearty laugh at this. "So, you have a 'dream', 'vision', or did you receive the message in some other way?"#
After accepting his handshake, which made a dull 'clink' as the metal chains met her armored palm, she dipped her head a little.
[Smoke, care to translate?] She asked.
The demoness projected her voice through the air in a tiny eddy of dark energy and said everything Kearsie thought at her aloud. The voice that met Grim's ears sounded quiet, smokey. The kind of voice a female actor would kill for.
"I'm well, thank you. My name is Lady Duskblade, I did get a message and I do remember a dream vaguely but I don't think they have anything in common." After this she pauses for several heartbeats, "do you have any idea what this is about?"
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
Shaking his head in the affirmative, Grim paraphrased what he understood of the message.
"Apparently, there's 4 'scars', possibly gateways," he started in, "hidden here in Paragon as well as in the Isles. These possible gateways were sealed away long ago, and somehow, now, these seals are beginning to weaken. I think that a couple of the seals are weaking faster than the other two...which is why Azuria, who once drank coffee, has suddenly picked the habit back up. There's probably some secretive group behind this weakening, and some of the known organizations will probably be going after these locations as well. I think Azuria wants us to investigate the situation, re-seal the two spots here in Paragon, and stop any further attempts from anyone that would try to destroy these spots."
Crossing his arms after he finished, he walked over to the wall by the door, leaning against it. "Do the following four phrases ring a bell?"
Quote:
He repeated the phrases from the message precisely, not skipping a beat in the recital.|
Just beyond the forests of Croatoa... Secrets hidden within the shadowy islands of the Nerva Archipelago... Amid the clamor and shim-sham glam of St. Martial... Buried deep below the cemetery of Dark Astoria... |
"In case you're wondering how I would remember something that's supposed to be broadcast in a dream, received by only those attuned to such a thing...well, I was tuned in, and I don't suffer from the everyday condition of having to sleep..." explaining his ability had become second nature.
Kearsie nodded, "I understand. It doesn't sound familiar but I'm here to help however I can." She shifted her weight and placed her hands on her hips, her barbed black tail wrapped itself around her left thigh. [What do you think Smoke? Anything that caught your attention?]
The demon was uncharacteristically silent for a few seconds, [leave this alone, Kearsie, I don't know what or how much this man knows but I cannot be a part of it.]
[What?] The heroine asked, confused. [I don't...]
[Trust me on this one thing, girl, I've lived a very long time. I don't want y-us to get our hands in this. You're in over your head.] And with that, the demon did what Kearsie Williams called "rolling over," she simply shut off the connection between them. Something like this had only ever happened a few times before, and never in response to a conversation. Even though Kearsie hadn't missed the significance of the demon's slip, she didn't know what to make of it.
During this internal conversation, Lady duskblade let her hands down at her sides and tilted her head to the left, oblivious to anything happening around her. It only lasted a dozen heartbeats, when she straightened up she shrugged, unable to talk anymore.
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
Grim noticed the woman's shrug.
"Everything ok there?" he asked. "I know it might not be much to go on, but those four phrases should've rung some kind of bell if you had that dream. Otherwise, someone else had it, and sent you to deal with this problem."
With that, Azuria returned, coffee mug in hand. Setting the mug down on the table, she looked up at the two.
"What's this, just the two of you?" she asked. "Well, guess everyone had a rough night's sleep last night," she quipped, lowering her head as she shuffled some papers on the desk. "Whatever happened ... whatever that was that was dream-broadcasted... we can't ignore this situation. Lady Duskblade, I take it Grim filled you in on the details?"
#"Everything ok there?" he asked. "I know it might not be much to go on, but those four phrases should've rung some kind of bell if you had that dream. Otherwise, someone else had it, and sent you to deal with this problem."#
Unable to respond she pointed to herself, then put her thumb and forefinger together in the universal "okay" sign. After which she touched her face where her mouth would be with her right hand and then made a motion as if she was turning a key, followed by another shrug.
[Damn it, Smoke.] She thought as Azuria walked in, coffee in hand. Kearsie simply nodded, confused and disturbed even so early in the morning, in response to the questions.
[What is going on?] she asked herself.
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
Grim watched Lady Duskblade's gesturing, smirking all the way. It was obvious to him that someone else had sent her in, to do whatever it was Azuria had in mind for them.
Azuria glanced at Lady Duskblade, noting what she could make of any sort of confused look the woman was making.
"Well, seems there's something very odd going on in Astoria," Azuria began. "Many heroes and MAGI agents have reported an odd and sudden build up of Banished Pantheon in the Moth Cemetary location. Seems no matter how many heroes are there to defeat them, they just keep heading towards that location."
Azuria adjusted her skirt, taking a sip of the coffee as she paused for a moment.
"There's also been word that something has been lurking around amongst the Pantheon minions, and noone seems to be able to do anything to this - creature."
(( First off I'm going to apologize for taking so long...and now for something completely different!))
Duskblade paused to think a moment, running the information through her head. She wasn't familiar with the Banished Pantheon but she understood that they were some kind of cabal group or something. She had also never visited Dark Astoria in her time as a hero and none of her contacts had anything to do with that place, even though she'd been operating in Talos Island for a very long time now.
[Smoke?] She thought to the ether, when no response answered her she sighed through her nose for the third time in only an hour. [On my lonesome this time then?]
The heroine walked over to Azuria's desk, plucked a pad and pencil from it's top, flipped to the first blank page, and wrote in neat cursive: 'I'm in, I believe that our unique abilities can help us fathom this mystery, maybe we can avoid too much combat.'
She passed the pad to Azuria, who'd been giving the heroine a confused look, then it was passed to Grim.
*Liberty*
Syllia Stingray - En/Fire Blaster (main 50+)
Linna Yamazaki. - MA/SR Scrapper (50+)
Avant Guardian - WP/Mace Tanker (50+)
*Virtue*
Lady Duskblade - DB/DA Scrapper (45)
Wikked Clown(me): that autoheal is a pain in the a***
Princess': *gasp* You said a***!
Steel Gentleman: the horror!
Wikked Clown: that would be because I'm EVIL!
KittyKitty BangBang.: the part of your name that says 'clown' means evil *nods*
((No problem, you're my only player in this thread atm!))
Azuria simply grasped the pad, glancing over it with a non-chalant shrug. Then she passed the pad to Grim, who then looked at the woman after he read the note as he made a gesture, pointing at his temple as he used his other hand to motion at her.
"So there's some kind of untouchable creature roaming around amongst the Pantheon?" the Grim Saviour asked of Azuria. "Very odd, indeed." He then turned back to Lady Duskblade.
"Think of the Banished Pantheon as ... similar to zombies...just a bit - smarter...because they use guns. Oh and their shamans...and the spirit masks - sigh and the giant tiki totem guys."
Just beyond the forests of Croatoa...
Secrets hidden within the shadowy islands of the Nerva Archipelago...
Amid the clamor and shim-sham glam of St. Martial...
Buried deep below the cemetery of Dark Astoria...
Long before human settlers made their way to these lands, there was a catastrophic war - a war filled with horrors and miracles alike unimaginable to the human brain. This war ravaged a little known rock of planet, third in succession from a solitary star nestled within the confines of the outstretched arm of a galaxy long ago set on a collision course with another. Waged during a time before even the tiniest of microscopic life began appearing on this planetary chunk, the very events that have coursed throughout all of history were directly precipitated by the outcome of this war.
All one had to do was ... well, you had to have been there to know of this correlation. For the innumerous ages that the planet; now charmingly called "Earth" by the dominant species inhabiting it, has been capable of producing life, there has been a seemingly everlasting war being silently waged between the two factions that fought so openly during the planet's infancy. Throughout the history of human existence, the darker faction of these two warring parties has constantly sought out the immeasurable power hidden deep within this species. The other faction, born of light and everything humans deem "good", constantly protected the species from not only it's very own destructive nature but also the evil designs of the dark faction. As events began to unfold throughout human history, many attempts to collect as many "souls" for each warring faction were made.
Well, the majority of the history of this planet is fairly well documented, and many of you would already know how things have been shaped from "recent history". What you do not know are the things that have happened long before life existed on this planet, and the scars left behind so long ago.
Yes, in reference to the first four phrases...these are just four locations of the many scars left on this planet from that war long ago. As this planet was still forming at the time, still malleable and fragile, these scars SHOULD'VE naturally disappeared. However, they were not naturally created...and what they lead to...what they lead to had to be sealed off and sealed away from anything that was to arise on this planet.
The destinations of each of these scars? Well, the speculations are too numerous; yet one thing is certain: almighty, brilliant energy surges from the scars in Croatoa and St. Martial while vast, dark energies flow freely forth from those in Dark Astoria and Nerva.
The seals upon these scars of the planet? Yes, the seals, if not already outright shattered, are definitely weakening. Are these scars capable of being repaired, restored, replaced? Numerous studies of the energy flows in Astoria and Croatoa have only been able to provide a measurement of such power being emanated from each location. Whether these seals can be restored or not, is apparently beyond human ingeniuty for the time being.
Now - with this newly acquired knowledge of these four scars - new questions that only each of you can answer on your own: What do you make of it, what is it that you truly seek in life? Would you embrace the powers seeping out of these scars for your own selfish gains, or to perhaps keep the delicate balance between light and dark in check? Maybe you feel you already have the power to re-seal these scars? Choose your paths accordingly - for the very powers residing within these scars will easily destroy you if you don't!