| Welcome to Imythess, the border between dreams and reality. We hope you enjoy your visit. Imythess is a creative writing board where you narrate the story of a character in the medieval land of Imythess, on the planet Chaon. Each topic is an opportunity for your character to interact with the world and its peoples by cooperatively writing pieces of a story with other members, one post at a time. We call this role-playing, because you assume the identity of your character as if it were your own. In order to play, you must register an account for each character you would like to write about, and begin their tale by filling out their basic profile information: Race (human, elf, demon, etc.), class (warrior, mage, etc.), physical appearance, and any other personal details you would like to describe. You are also encouraged to come up with some background history information for what your character's life has been like up to the point at which their story in Imythess begins. There is no approval process or application required to join, so long as you follow the rules then you are free to write whatever character details you choose. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Create a character now! If you're already a member, you can log into your account below: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Blaze of Glory | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:04 am (332 Views) | |
| Ezekial Smith | Sun Jul 3, 2011 3:51 am Post #16 |
 
|
Ezekial walked through the large cavern system, full of sharp turns and back-tracking, eventually going deeper into the cavern and closer to the oasis. Hearing Vyse sigh, he was cautious, not sure of the reason for it. As they continued to walk, he realized what it was. There was a noxious odor, of putrification and decomposition, but he did not mind, as he had smelled far worse. The large room was covered in blood on both the walls and the ground. The four corpses were in various positions, horribly mutilated, apparently by a sword. He shook his head, and sighed. These men were too late to be purified, their kami had already died, a horrid fate far worse than death. His religion taught that if the kami dies, distinct from the best outcome, where the kami ascends to the Heavenly Plains, from the absence of the purification rites, their soul is forever trapped in the Void, a place that does not technically exist, just an eternity of silence, numbness, blackness, and muteness. He felt immense pity for these four men, the death of kami was a fate he did not wish on even his worst nemesis. He was not angry at Vyse, he would have no way of knowing, and from the wounds on their body, he would have likely been in a Hashashin-like trance. He stood, brushing off his knees, and looked around, putting a hand on the walls. The vibrations were certainly stronger now, and he could feel the few pauses in the otherwise constant vibration. He called over Vyse, and said, "Come feel this, Vyse. Touching the wall you can feel the vibration from the dasamut." He took a step back and put his hands on the handle of his lantern, attempting to gauge the location of the dasamut in that manner. Looking into the ethereal plane, he could see that the dasamut was changing directions, although still moving upwards. Watching the dasamut move, he was suddenly aware that it was aware of him, and heard in a strange voice, both male and female, and both old and young, it say, "The waterfall... Know the waterfall..." Never having heard a voice from the kami before, he was so surprised that he lost focus and exited the plane. He looked to Vyse and said, "Is there a waterfall here? Somehow, a waterfall is important. I think it may be where the dasamut is, or perhaps where it is going. Oh, right. Xuanzang. He is a monk of the Buddhist order who went to a faraway land known as "Bharata", asked by the Bodhisattva, a sort of enlightened being, Guan Yin, who was told by the Buddha himself, to bring back a set of sutras, holy books in their religion. He was accompanied by three Heavenly Warriors as penance for their transgressions. I call you that because we are, in a way, going on a journey." |
 |
 
|
| Vyse | Sun Jul 3, 2011 4:09 am Post #17 |
|
Vyse put his hand on the wall, he could feel it, an odd vibration, it made him shiver, what could be so powerful... he had a new respect for the old elf, he was listening to these kinds of beings that could make entire tunnel systems shake, he truly was strong of heart, mind, and body. He smirked at the explanation, he felt a little bit honored to be compared to such an individual, his brow furrowed a waterfall... there were none that he could remember. His eyes widened, he looked through his notes, the next room had a landslide when he went in, there was a pool of water but no source, it had to be there. He quickly rushed to the next tunnel, "No, not anymore, but I know what room probably had a waterfall before a month or so ago!" He waited for the elf to catch up and set off at a brisk pace, it would be fifteen minutes of walking before he saw the next door. He went in, looking around, he could see the caved in area above what used to be the pool, now it was just a large empty hole going far down into darkness, he couldn't see the bottom of it, he had no idea where it would lead to and didn't care to learn. He turned to Zeke and swept his arm out at the hole and the large rocks blocking another passage above it, "I think this could have been a waterfall a while ago, when I was hear last time there was a small cave in and a pool of water used to be here, any ideas if we should try to blow apart the rocks, or maybe descend into this hole?" He didn't know what to do, exploration he could do, but if it was a search for anything except bandits he didn't know where to start. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Sun Jul 3, 2011 5:02 am Post #18 |
|
Ezekial looked up sharply, and began to walk quickly yet cautiously after him as they went down more stone corridors in search of the waterfall that was no longer a waterfall. It may have been a waterfall in the past, however, and perhaps the dasamut still thought it was a waterfall, or perhaps they did not know where it was after all. As they continued to walk, he would put his hand to the wall, trying to feel a change in the vibrations to see if they were going the right way. He was glad when he felt the vibrations increase in strength, although there was a momentary pause in the vibration. There were a series of loud noises that echoed through the caves that shocked Ezekial, although he quickly recovered, following Vyse. By the time they had reached the place where the waterfall had been, the vibrations were turning into rumblings that shook the caverns, easily felt, and they made rocks vibrate against the wall and pebbles bounce wildly. The dasamut was getting nearer, quickly. Soon they stood at the precipice of a large hole plunging down, the vibrations strongest here. The large rocks above vibrated against each other lightly, and a few smaller ones fell, although the rest stayed in place. Then there was a sound as of rushing water, which began to slow, the vibrations slowing and decreasing with it. Eventually they could barely see a mobile body of water moving up the passage, lightly luminescent, almost invisible due to the lantern. "Wait, something is happening!" The water rose to just below them and a shape rose from it, forming into a roughly humanoid shape with the rain mask of the Brigano-Faso people forming its face. The mask made it look surprised, with wide eyes from perfect circles placed wide apart, with triangles radiating out from the center, a red crest projecting upwards. It spoke in Ezekial's mind, surely Vyse's as well, saying, "Ah, so you have come. I had worried that you would have gotten lost. You, priest, who can sense my presence, must let me pass. My people, the water spirits are dying. The caverns are dry. If I remove these stones, the water will replenish the valley of my people, but the oasis will drain to do so. As you know, the Source, once bathed in water, will make the water rise, but it will be many days until the Oasis sees water again, weeks until it is full once again. You have a decision to make now, Children of the Surface, kill me and let my entire race succumb to the dryness, or let me fill this passage with the Oasis' water, and the Children up above will thirst. And priest, perhaps Sowata is a better name for me now that I have broken the silence." Sowata stopped as if frozen, waiting expectantly for an answer. |
|
|
|
| Vyse | Sun Jul 3, 2011 5:59 pm Post #19 |
|
Vyse frowned, it was a lose lose situation in his mind, he wanted to save both of them, neither the wanderers nor the dasamut were evil, his mind kept on coming back to one thing, if they killed them would the water eventually dry up, "So if Zeke kills you, will the water dry up by itself in the years to come, also if we save you and your people, the water will come back in a week or two, right?" He wasn't sure he fully understood, but if he was right, then he'd want to save everyone, free the water and just have the people evacuate to Istan City, it would be cramped but they oasis will return to life. A thought struck him, maybe it would work, he doubted it, but this way would save everyone and force no one to move about, "What if we only open part of the rocks up, have water slowly go down into the hole, that way your people would get water and the drain on the oasis would be noticeable, causing people to fill up their water barrels, canteens, then go to Istan City or back across the desert to trade their goods, afterward I can come back down here and completely free it, forcing the last few people to flee to Istan, this way we get the fewest deaths possible and your people get to stay alive." Vyse thought it was a good plan, a slow and steady stream would help keep her people alive and force the people above to move, only for a week or two though. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Mon Jul 4, 2011 12:27 am Post #20 |
|
The Sowata paused for a second, and began to shake, a sound like "ke ke ke" echoing through the cavern, apparently it's form of laughter. "You are very funny, Child. Ezekial of the Tezuki is a very powerful priest, but he does not have the mastery of fire or lightning to kill me. No, you would have to personally kill me, knowing that my death would bring a war to you, scarring the land and sealing the oasis." The Sowata paused, and sent images to the two, giant water elementals wearing rain masks flinging people to and throw, creating huge claws that rent men and the very ground, cutting down to stone. The final picture was a huge army of water elementals walking away from a city burning to the ground, their ordinarily clear forms tainted with red. In essence, the Sowata was explaining that this was not a true option. Listening to the other plan, the Sowata paused, looking upwards, considering. The body of the Sowata shifted into a huge clawed arm, carefully picking through the large stones. "Now, before I choose, know that the rocks are under immense pressures, so picking any stone may cause the rest to crumble. It would be a miracle for this plan to work." Pausing for a moment to let this sink in, and chose a rock three hands wide. It gripped it tightly and yanked it from the other rocks. Instantly a jet of water came, and the other rocks ground more tightly against each other, but did not collapse. Placing the stone on the ledge where Vyse and Zeke were, the Sowata spoke again, shifting into the body wearing the Brigano-Faso rain mask. "It is done. The Oasis will drain, some travellers on the Surface will pass, and some of my people will pass. It is not the best situation for either of our peoples, but it is in the spirit of compromise. You two will be remembered, Children, among our people for this diplomacy. My people live longer than anything else except for the Men of Iron who live far below us, but they are truly "Dasamut", and so will your name live on." The Sowata looked at the stream, and said, "Perhaps this will not hold, and when you come to free these blocks your passages will be filled. They will be once the Oasis has refilled, after all. Only time will tell, Children of the Surface, and that is something my people know how to wait for more than any." The body fell apart into clear water, and the Sowata ran down the deep hole, and silence once again fell on Vyse and Ezekial. |
|
|
|
| Vyse | Mon Jul 4, 2011 12:47 am Post #21 |
|
Vyse sat down, shaking a bit, that was horrifying... he had to choose between the lives of thousands and decided to split the the casualties, he couldn't save everyone, but he saved as many as he could, "I made the right decision... this way neither will die out, though even more blood is on my hands, unfortunately this time it's innocent blood... we can use the exit to directly get into the camp, Qadaj probably convinced quite a few of the smaller merchants and some of the bigger ones, if we're lucky we'll be able to get into the camp and inform the others of what is happening." He stood up, walking slowly towards the exit, he felt like someone had lined his boots with lead, his entire body felt heavy. He trudged along until they made it to the door, it was boarded up from the outside, he placed his shoulder against and rammed into it, a loud creaking sound came from the door, he struck it again, and again, this went on until the eighth strike, when a loud crack was heard, the doors opened outward, Qadaj was waiting for them while talking to the person in charge of the area, he wore a long robe with odd symbols, he gave them a questioning look and spoke, "These are the people you mentioned Qadaj? A young berserker and an old elf... did you two actually do anything down their to find this 'kami' or whatever Qadaj has been trying to explain." He really didn't seem to care or believe that anything had happened, Vyse felt like biting his head off at the moment, his anger would taint his judgment in speech, he decided to let Zeke do the talking. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Mon Jul 4, 2011 1:45 am Post #22 |
|
Ezekial stayed standing, but was shocked at the outcome. He sympathized with both groups, and agreed with the Sowata that the needs of the many must outweigh the needs for the few or the individual, but it didn't make it sting any less. He nodded at Vyse and began to walk after him, head down, and silent. He hoped that Qadaj had made friends with quite a number of the merchants, as head would surely roll if the people found out that they had allowed the Oasis to be drained. He continued, deep in thought and considering possible outcomes when they reached a door. He stood back as Vyse rammed the boarded-up door once, twice, thrice, all the way up to eight times until there was a loud crack and the doors opened. Ezekial stepped out, looking to the side. The bodies were still there, but their positions were disturbed, their arms to their sides as if they had been searched. Ezekial flashed with rage for a moment at this transgression, but kept himself under control. He could see two people, Qadaj and another, a stranger. From his posture, Ezekial could guess that he was in a position of power, but he could not glean what. He was middle-aged, just past his prime, with black hair tinged with white streaks, combed back, and clean shaven. He wore a long white robe that was emblazoned with odd symbols that seemed to indicate something important. Listening to the man's questions, his upper lip flashed upwards, showing a long canine for less than a moment, betraying his feelings of strong contempt, but not in a way that this man would be able to tell, surely. He threw a signal to Vyse, an open hand than waved parallel to the ground, and stepped forward. "With all due respect, those will have to wait. Did you disturb the bodies?" His tone was mildly accusatory and had a tinge of anger in it, and he moved to the bodies, placing their hands on their chests once again without waiting for an answer. He returned in front of the two and said to the man, "Secondly, as to our naming, perhaps you should be consistent in the sources of them. To answer your questions, yes, yes we did. We quite possibly saved many lives of your people, and we met the Sowata, not the kami. You can not meet a kami, kami is simply something that represents a person or other being. To say that you would meet a kami is like saying that you would meet a cartographical symbol, that is to say, entirely preposterous. I was partially incorrect in my assessment of the being represented by the kami I described earlier. It will kill a number of people, but it is entirely aware of their passing. The Sowata is one of a large species of water elementals that live beneath the oasis. Their source of water was depleted, and requested to drain the entire Oasis so that they might live. We met with their representative and agreed to allow a smaller amount of water to be drained so that the Oasis will drain more slowly. They did assure us that the Oasis would fill in a few weeks at the most, however. The current plan is to evacuate the people at the Oasis to Istan City and to send notice to the cities nearby that the Oasis will be empty for that time." Ezekial stopped abruptly, and the other two looked expectantly to him to continue but Ezekial remained expressionless, but only just barely. |
|
|
|
| Vyse | Mon Jul 4, 2011 2:15 am Post #23 |
|
Vyse nodded with Zeke's short retelling of the events that just transpired, he moved past them all into the fading sunlight, "I suggest you get your people moving to Istan City, I'll remain behind to fulfill my end of the bargain, Qadaj take Umbriel with you, leave me two canteens so that I can make it to Istan myself to pick her up." He heard a growl behind him, he looked back to see the man in white giving him the evil eye, his mouth trembling with rage, "You fools let some blasted water elemental have our oasis' water! Do you have any idea what you've done, even if they do return the water we're talking about a huge movement, we'll be targets for bandits since we'll be to large for all of our guards to handle! Now I have to evacuate this entire place or else it'll be my head! I'll get my revenge for this, I swear it, the same goes for you Qadaj, I will spend every resource possible to ruin you business!" He stormed off, yelling out orders that everyone evacuate to the city, calling his guards to help get everyone out. Vyse sighed, he walked back over to Qadaj's caravan, sitting down next to Umbriel, he stroked her fur, he would have to wait here for at least two days before he could open up the hole the rest of the way, he felt tired, the day was coming to an end, he ate what was in the caravan, some bread and drank a little water from one of Qadaj's barrel. He looked up, watching the sun slowly set, the cold winter night was coming. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Mon Jul 4, 2011 4:40 am Post #24 |
|
Ezekial looked at Vyse with an approving smile on his face, and he spoke up. "I too will stay with him. I might as well take this to the finish." He heard a growl from the strange man, and shifted quickly into the triangular stance, but stopped when he saw that the man was simply giving Vyse an evil eye and trembling with his fury at a decision of this caliber being made without his involvement. He listened to the man's rant, and chuckled. Calling after the man, he said, "I suggest that you be careful who you threaten. I've seen this man kill men with far less provocation than you have just given him. As a side note, it was not our water to begin with, it was their's. Don't you know that the Source of the oasis is a conduit to the Aqueous Plane? What water came to the surface was merely gifted to us by the water elementals, who, true to their name, can control water to some extent. Or have you forgotten in your quest for lucre?" The man huffed off, unable to come up with a compelling retort to this "old elf". Ezekial turned back to Vyse and Qadaj and said, laughing, "I'm a little disappointed. He didn't even try to get revenge on me! Of course, he probably realized that he was far out of his league." Ezekial kept up his glad exterior, putting on a facade of indignation at that man filled with entitlement. To be truthful, he was still burning, but most of that had faded to uncertainty. He had said that he would stay with Vyse until the job was finished, and he was glad that he would finally be able to rest. He took a draft from his canteen, not having been able to drink for quite a while. He sat down next to Vyse and the tiger Umbriel, and said, "You know, I remember a story I once heard. A little boy with nasty older brothers helps a spirit of the Southwest Wind, but the elder brothers treat him poorly. The elder brothers berate and punish the little boy for helping the Southwest Wind. Eventually the elder brothers fall into misfortune, while the little boy lives happily ever after." His eyes began to close, and he said, "Somehow I don't think we're the elder brothers." He chuckled weakly and fell asleep, his head leaning over. Edited by Ezekial Smith, Mon Jul 4, 2011 4:41 am.
|
|
|
|
| Vyse | Mon Jul 4, 2011 2:47 pm Post #25 |
|
Vyse smirked, he took out an old blanket and wrapped it around the elf, the desert nights were cold. He himself took a blanket and laid down next to Umbriel, falling asleep shortly after. The morning of the next day came quickly, Vyse woke up early, helping Qadaj organize the others, getting escorts along the way, arming those they can while putting others in the backs of caravans, a few were forced to walk, though the guards would be back for the next group, Vyse thought it might take more then a few days to get everyone out this place. The next day wasn't that much different, a new set of guards had returned to allow the others to rest, bringing more with them, the next group was quite a bit larger, Vyse helped out the best he could, though he got many a stare from the people he was trying to help. He didn't need to do any investigation why, this was probably the revenge that one man was talking about, he was turning the people against Vyse. One the third day Qadaj came back with a fully set caravan and Umbriel, Vyse hugged her large neck and told them to wait here, he needed to fulfill his promise with Zeke and the water elemental. He called out to Zeke and started heading for the tunnel entrance, today he would destroy the rock barrier and free the water entirely. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Mon Jul 4, 2011 8:17 pm Post #26 |
|
The house on the hill was aflame, the roof creaked and collapsed, the windows blowing outwards. Ezekial threw himself against the arms of his captors who held him tightly, but to no avail. He saw two more, dressed in non-matching armor pieces, their eyes glistening with a cruel glint and their faces contorted with bloodlust and avarice. They each held a captive, a woman and a little girl, both of their faces sullied with dirt and dried blood. They threw their captives to the ground, revealing the wicked edge of their falchions, which raised into the cool air, the moonlight glinting off of them. The blades went down, and Ezekial turned away, not able to stand the sight. Ezekial sat up against the caravan, cradling his face in his hands, covered in a cold sweat, the moon still high in the sky. He looked around, seeing Vyse sleeping next to Umbriel and settled down. Looking to the night sky, he thought about the nightmare, it was worse than usual this time, a full memory rather than bits and pieces. He thought back, the rhythmic breathing of Vyse and Umbriel luring him back to sleep. This time he did not dream. Ezekial did not wake for a long time after that, it had been so long since he had last slept. For a whole day he slept, people taking one look at his face, ragged and long, and looked on, not wishing to disturb his sleep. Once, a few younger women came to wake him up to aid in the work, first speaking loudly, then nudging him, then shaking him. When he fell sideways into the sand and still did not wake, they moved away, worried that he might be dead. On the next morning Ezekial woke before everyone else, feeling remarkably refreshed, although he had to brush the sand out of his beard and hair. He stood, waiting for the sun to rise and the day to begin. When he heard Vyse wake, he stood guard with the rest of the guards, but they gave him the same glares as they did Vyse, but they were glad to have the aid all the same. He smiled, strangely happy that the man had realized that Ezekial was just as worthy of his attention as Vyse and Qadaj, but disappointed because the man did not know how much of a blunder it was to have them as enemies. On the final day of the evacuation, the oasis nearly two-thirds empty, Qadaj returned with his caravan, and Vyse said his goodbyes to Umbriel. Ezekial was silent and the two together trekked to the tunnel entrance. This time there was nobody at the entrance, and they walked down the system of caverns, past the open room with the decaying corpses, and down into the heart of the cave system, eventually reaching the "waterfall" room. It still flowed quickly down the hole, and still they could not see the bottom, the water level evidently far below. Ezekial turned to Vyse and said, "Well, we're here now. How are we going to dislodge the rocks?" |
|
|
|
| Vyse | Mon Jul 4, 2011 8:31 pm Post #27 |
|
Vyse smirked, "The dumbest way possible." He dropped his sword belt and set off into a run, leaping over the tunnel, slamming into the wall, his hands and feet scrambled for purchase, he had gotten lucky, his hands gripped the wall and his boots were on a tiny ledge, he turned his head and winked at Zeke, he started his climb up, loose rocks fell away as he climbed, gripping and ripping out stones, his hands started to turn crimson with blood from the lack of gloves while climbing and ripping out rocks. He felt the bloodwrath and accepted it, flying into a flurry of power, he tore and grappled, ripping rocks out, alternating hands, gripping the wall to tearing out rocks. Soon enough the rocks rumbled, a steam of water blasting him off the wall as the last of the rocks fell away. The first burst of water shot him across the room, the stored up power sprayed the area a bit, Vyse felt his head collide with stone, passing out from the blow. He woke up seconds later, his bloodwrath passed, he whispered his healing spell once more, "Vigoratus Mihi." The wounds on his hands stitching up, leaving not a single scar, he looked up at Zeke, "It's done... if we meet again, remind me to never do that again." He stood up smiling, it would be a long walk to Istan City and Umbriel, but he would at least have some company if Zeke was heading that way. |
|
|
|
| Ezekial Smith | Mon Jul 4, 2011 9:15 pm Post #28 |
|
Ezekial sighed, somehow expecting Vyse's answer. He stood, watching, as the berserker crawled up the far side of the whole, his hands bloody on the sharp rock wall. He watched as Vyse flew into a rage and tore the rocks from their seat, eventually dislodging the careful balance that had been up to that point maintained and all of the other rocks, some as large as boulders, flying down the abyss. The strength of the water propelled Vyse across the room and back into the passage where Ezekial was. Vyse hit the ground hard, smacking his head against the floor. He was still for a few seconds and Ezekial began to cast a healing spell, but Vyse awoke and cast his quickly. Vyse was confident and apparently happy, and stood. Ezekial replied, "Yes, I should hope that we do, and if we do, I will be sure to remind you as such. I doubt you would listen to my reminder, though." They walked through the caves, and back across the desert to the oasis, which was draining quite quickly now, and would be soon empty. Ezekial refilled the canteen that Vyse had thrown to him from Qadaj's barrel of water, and stood before them. "This is where we part ways. I hope that we will meet again, although preferably not in the same manner. Goodbye Vyse, Qadaj. To the future, may we return home safely." Ezekial turned away and walked away from the oasis, to the east, the setting sun at his back, walking to the sea. He smiled, making a note to remember the face of Vyse in case they should meet in less than fortunate circumstances. As he walked, the wind on the desert blew, and night fell on another day. - FIN - |
|
|
|
| 2 users reading this topic (2 Guests and 0 Anonymous) | |
 |
|
| « Previous Topic · The Desert Oasis · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
2:09 PM May 19
