The Game - Gathering the players [Team Dusk, closed]

[Tarot]

82nd day of Winter, 509 AV

It all begun one quiet winter night, when something burned in the Syliran wildlands. The flames were green and throbbing with wild Djed that had collected in a large pool. A large patch of thriving woodlands turned to ashes in a matter of bells, the eerie fires easily visible from the top tiers of Syliras as well as a vast section of the wildlands.

The really strange thing that greeted Mizahar the morning after, however, was the small castle, of clear pre-Valterrian architecture, that sat exposed without thick woods screening it from the outside world. It was nowhere as large as Syliras, of course, but it was remarkably well-kept, hinting at magic being involved in its preservation. The castle was square, with four towers framing the bailey plus a central one rising on top of the keep. A wide moat surrounded it on all sides, oddly with two drawbridges situated on the opposite ends of the castle, East and West. A stone archway marked the point where a drawbridge would connect when lowered. The East archway was decorated with a sun and a moon as its keystone, with the inscription 'TEAM DAWN' . The West had a moon and a sun, a mirror image of the East side with the inscription 'TEAM DUSK'.

Next to the archway, sat a smooth stele on which the following writing had been carved.

WELCOME TO THE GAME - PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING 1. By touching this archway, you agree to be a part of Team Dusk. Your opponents belong to Team Dawn. The eyes of Team Dawn will turn yellow for the duration of the Game. The eyes of Team Dusk will turn red for the duration of the Game. 2. The Game shall not begin until both teams are prepared and filled with enough participants. 3. The objective of the Game is to reach the door on the top floor of the central tower of this castle. The first participant to unlock this door will grant victory to his or her team. My legacy will be split among the members of the winning team. 4. You all start out as Innocents. If you inflict physical damage on another (as judged by me), be it a member of the other team, your own or a denizen of the castle, you will be marked with a drop of blood on your right hand for the duration of the Game, marking you as a Sinner. Sinners do not receive any penalty, however only an Innocent can open the final door and win the Game for his or her team. A team without Innocents cannot win the Game. 5. Black doors are positioned throughout the castle, leading to various exits. You can use them to surrender and safely leave the Game; however, by using them you forfeit all rights to your reward should your team win the Game. 6. You can make deals both with your team members and the other team. There is no penalty for betrayal in either case. 7. In the event of both teams failing to achieve victory within three days of play, the Game will end and the prizes will be left unclaimed.

Someone in this crazy world of Mizahar had thrown a gauntlet and challenged the people to play a strange Game.

Who would step up to the challenge remained to be seen, though.

[Nyahna Sasin]

Wandering the woods, Sasin sighed. Business was slow here, and life was boring. There was nothing to do but wander and eat and.........What was that? He sniffed the air again. Something was burning. Sasin sped up, walking briskly, until he entered a clearing. With five towers. And an archway. And a tablet with rules.

Sasin stared at the building. Turning, he read the rules, then looked back at the building. He hesitated in front of the archway. He wasn't willing to do this yet. He would wait and see who else was coming.

As he waited, he wondered. What was this building? How had it gotten here? He had a bad feeling about this, but would go through with it anyways. The thought of treasure won him over. "But who? Who could have done this?"

He read over the rules again, already formulating stratagies. It seemed that it didn't matter what he killed, as long as one member of the team was still innocent. He certainly wouldn't mind being a Sinner, if he got his share of the loot.

[Demetri Velutina]

Demetri had been travailing for a few days now on his way to Taldera heading back to his homeland Kalea. His steps where quick almost as if entering a dead sprint at any moment while the tail of his long black cloak fluttered behind in rhythm. Demetri stopped for a moment to ajust his backpack and grab something to eat when he notice the woods stopped to his left. "How odd" Was the Symenestra immediate thoughts before going to scout out the intriguing sjubject.

Their where no maps containing the location of this castle as he walked through the clearing towards the castle archway. Their was another person their who Demetri almost ignored as he read what was on the stele. "Team Dusk" Turning to Nyahna Sasin Demetri simply shifted his eyebrows in a thought provoking manner. "Will you be participating?"

The reward intrigued him but the fun was a plus, it would just be on happenstance if his partners where useful and ... female. With a single clawed index finger, Demetri slid it across the face of the East Archway as it was obvious he was in.

[Nyahna Sasin]

Sasin glanced at the Symenstra. "Perhaps. It depends, of course. I wouldn't want to be wasting my time for nothing. But I most likely will."

He shook his head ruefully. "Anyways, where are my manner's? I'm Sasin. Dhani Viper." He looked at the man, noting the pale skin, claw like nails, violet eyes, and long arms. "And you, Symenstra?" His voice held no malice. His kind were equally reviled, and he felt that this man was his kind of person.

"Do you know of anything that could have caused this?" He asked, trying to spark conversation with this man.

[Demetri Velutina]

A Dhani? his luck seemed to be turning as his partner wasn't a useless human thank Viratas he didn't have to work with "cattle". "Demetri Velutina" His name was said with a normal elegance with a hidden sting to it that could be taken with good or bad intent. "Pure blood Symenstra" a slight smirk graced his face. "A God? Some half baked wizard or Human with no life but to play games? I do not know But, someone somewhere finds this very amusing... Dusk versus Dawn..." Turning back to read the rules again.

[Nyahna Sasin]

"A pleasure to meet you, Demetri." He said coolly. "If this is a game, this is quite elaborate. A pre-valatarian building, rules, a brand new clearing..... Some one is going to a lot of trouble for this."

Sasin frowned, fingering his dagger. "If you are to join, are you prepared for three days in an unknown place? Do we know if we can even eat anything there." He was more talking to himself now. His pack had food for a day, and extra clothes. That was it.

[Demetri Velutina]

Watching as Nyahna Sasin went around to spy on the opposition the news was pleasant to hear, for the most part. Demetri walked towards the edge of the moat eyeing the near surroundings the deep violet eyes once again back on the small Dhani in man form. He watched as his soon to be team mate spoke his tone was more self thought then anything do he inturn spoke his thoughts aloud. "I have enough food for seven days... and can fend for myself". Under his cloak his pale clawed hand gripped his ten foot 12 Plait Bullwhip's handle not out of current thought of possible future battle but, because he wanted to relax and rest his left hand.

[Nyahna Sasin]

Sasin smiled "Of that, I have no doubt. Ugh, if we end up with a bunch of puny humans, we might end up needing to protect them." He had nothing against humans, but he found them lacking in protection. It wasn't even fun, killing them. They were that boring.

"If you don't care either way, I'm going hunting. Get some food for later." He said. Slipping his rucksack to the ground, the dhani stretched, then went off into the forest.

[Rhylen]

Rhylen’s consciousness came abruptly, his thoughts breaching the surface of the ghostly fog he’d been plagued with since his possession. Now somewhat familiar with the process, he was able to keep his feet about him, though his stomach felt as though it had been turned upside down. His surroundings were entirely foreign, a scorched landscape and an eldritch leviathan the likes of which he’s never seen before loomed entirely too near him for comfort. A great ruin, he thought, dumbstruck. ”Prove yourself.” The voice in his mind was becoming increasingly difficult to make sense of. His master’s death had taken a toll on the faculties of his spirit, changing the ghost into an increasingly disturbing entity.

Rhylen was quick to notice the presence of two others a short distance away, near an arch which seemed to lead deeper into the great stone structure. His eyes darted between them, noting their unusual manner immediately. Though he’s never ventured from the Cyphrus before, he could be certain that these beings were not human. His instincts to take flight were severely limited by the fact that Thalla was nowhere in sight, nor the akinva Feyn. The weight on his back suggested that he did have some form of supply and sustenance, but the young man could make no sense of time or how this moment fit into his lifetime. The possession had made such things difficult of late. The fractured mind within his own was beginning to take its toll on Rhylen’s sanity.

”Where is this place?” he asked hesitantly of the two unusual men, knowing that the words would seem peculiar. He took an uneasy step forward, not wanting to seem awkward, though his bearing was shaky. He had a strange feeling. The voice in his mind had gone completely silent, but his heart pounded as if he’d been running. His focus was entirely on the two nearby figures, unsure yet as to their intentions.

[Stitch]

Stitch rubbed his throbbing forehead, the mixture of bright magical colors already causing his brain to ache. There was so much Djed around him that Stitch could almost taste the auras dancing on his tongue. They pressed into him from every direction, brightly outlining every single piece of scenery for his uniquely-gifted blind eyes, yet smothering him at the very same time. The area he was supposed to go to had stood out against the landscape, he had almost been able to sense it way before he saw it. And when he saw it, he had still been a good distance away, the bright colors of a massive amount of Djed residue shining stunningly against an otherwise normal landscape. Setting his jaw even harder, lifting a shaky palm to wipe as his pale, sweaty face, he continued on. He didn't want to be here, he knew that much. His stomach was going off, telling him something was very wrong, that something was going to happen. It didn't matter what he wanted though. Not at all. He had one hand in one of the pockets of his trousers, and that hand clenched tightly around a hidden note. His stomach trembled, and gurgled, and for a moment, he felt as if he was going to throw up.

He had to do this. He had to play.

Pausing to tighten the straps of his backpack, which held provisions, water, a bit of wine, and other minor essentials Fentya had hurriedly thrown together for him, he surveyed the scene in front of him. After traveling through a small bit of forest, he had reached this area, the large, burnt-out patch of ash. If he squinted, focusing his sight a bit, he could see the area he was supposed to go to. The specific building, more or less. A large castle, or some sort of fortress, he couldn't really tell, and didn't know his terminology well enough to label it, anyway. Taking a deep breath, once again wiping off his forehead, he set off again. He spared a short glance behind him, barely tilting his head, allowing his Auristic eyes to catch a brief glimpse of what was behind him. The people who thought they were stalking him in a somewhat secret manner, they were still there, and they were still trying to be sneaky. After having caught them the first four times, wouldn't they have given up by now? Still, Stitch couldn't help but let a small, trembling smile cross his lips. He would never admit it to the Lord and Lady, but he was grateful to have them along. They eased the terror, the worry, the horror on his heart, if only but a little.

Now coming up to the archway, he was surprised to see three other figures standing there already. It wasn't that far out there to think there would be other players, he supposed. Were they a team, or were they playing against each other? His heart already was sinking at the idea of having to play some kind of twisted game against these innocent people. One went darting off before he could make it to them all, and he followed that one with his sight for a bit, a memory lurking in the back of his mind. He knew that aura from somewhere.

He gave the two beings a small nod as he approached, and a smile, slightly confused as to what type of creature the first was. He had no idea what kind of aura that could be. The creature wasn't human, although faintly similar. Those fingers were something. The other being was human it seemed, although the aura was a bit... off. Mixed. "Hello, milords..." He offered this to them both, Stitch's voice quite friendly, if not trembling just a bit. Not out of fear, no, simply out of some hidden worry. "This one is known as Stitch, and this one is familiar with Milord Sasin, but not either one of you. Might this one ask what this one should refer to the two Milord's as?" He held out a hand to shake, as he approached, putting himself right next to the stele with the carved words on it. Demetri and Rhylen would simply see a man, normal as could be, very plain clothing, backpack slung over one shoulder, except for one thing. By the looks of the multiple white bandages wrapped around Stitch's eyes, the man was blind.

He could barely make out the carvings on the stele, and had to focus to do so, to sharpen the aura, a bulging vein appearing on his forehead for just a moment. The image cleared up a bit, the words became known, and a bit of relief crossed his heart. They were on a team. Good. He wouldn't have to deal with any human opponents, not for now, at least. He reached up to the arch, and only pausing a brief moment, gave it a quick slap. He was ready, and now had made his contract with the game.