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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:48:47 GMT -5
Eskara1862 doyenne Posts: 1023 (1/27/05 7:46 pm) 69.212.82.6 Re: Ending this thing for now Az clung tightly to Freeborns saddle, using her claws to supliment her balance. If the air had been cold on the ground, it was ten times worse flying through the air on the skybax. Her only covering was her cape, which wasn't designed for temperatures such as this, and the small raptor fought off shivers by clenching her jaws and refusing to let her muscles shake. She was surprised ice wasn't forming on his wings. Frigid air burned in her lungs and numbed her hands, but she refused to let go. Usually, she would have been elated for the chance to ride a skybax, but the extreme situation stole all pleasure from the opportunity.
As they flew over Bonabba, she wanted to land, but Freeborn refused. Looking down, she was able to see saurians moving about, frantically gathering supplies. Several dinosaurs carried slumbering humans on their backs. Apparently, they had already been warned.
The dromaeosaur looked to the horizon. Sunrise was too close. She wouldn't have time to warn any in the Basin other than her clan. Still, she had to try. Freeborn flew low over the trees, and Az screamed out for everyone to run to the World Beneath. She never found out if anyone heard her.
Finally, time unknown later, they reached the Sharpclaw grounds. Freeborn found the training clearing and landed. Hardly waiting for his feet to touch the ground, the velociraptor leapt off and ran through her clans land.
"Get up! Get to the caves!" She ran in each hut and shook each raptor awake, then ordered them to the leaders cave. Many of them just looked at her in amazement, unable to move. Whenever this happened, she physically kicked them out of their nests and pushed them towards the caves.
Finally, when everyone was up, they had gathered at the main cave, the one where the clan leader slept. Az haddn't awakened Reezar, the current leader, yet; she could get him and his mate when they headed into the world beneath.
"Who are you?" One raptor demanded. "We're not going anywhere without you telling us who you are."
Az glared at him. "I am Azonthus, leader before Battleblood, who was leader before Reezar. Reezar is my nephew. If we don't go into the World Beneath before sunrise, we will all die."
"You can't be Azonthus," an aged voice spoke up. "She died over a century ago."
"Come look at my face, Loba, and tell me that I'm not Azonthus." She easily recognized the voice of the hatchling who had enjoyed pouncing her awake every morning so long ago.
The tan and green raptor worked her way to the front of the pack and took a good look at the stranger in the growing brightness. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the face of her leader. "It is you... You haven't aged a day since I last saw you..."
"Ok, now that that's been settled, we need to get into the world beneath now. The gods are angry and will again destroy most of the life; we all know the legends of their return. I have been sent to see that we all get to safety. There is an enterance to the World Beneath within the leaders cave. We have guarded this secret for generations, and now it is time to return to our refuge."
There was still some grumbling and a little dissent, but they all followed her. Even Freeborn, against every instinct, followed her into the caves.
After she awakened Reezar and his mate and gave a quick explination of what was going on, she hunted out a well hidden prize. Carefully stashed behind a pile of rocks in a well conceled crevace, she pulled out a glowing orb. It had been a gift from C'xoila so long ago. It was a light that never dimmed and never died out, a rainbow of color that was always changing. Now, it would light their way to safety.
As the clan of velociraptors worked their way through the caves, followed by a lone skybax, the sun broke the horizon.
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:49:17 GMT -5
Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 27 (1/28/05 11:03 pm) 216.192.183.2 Re: To be continued... OOC: Due to popular demand *coughcoughAzzycoughcough* here's part of the post I'm writing With the coming of sunrise, the four elementals felt as slowly their humanity melted away from them. Oblivious to the piercing cold, Shannara sat on the ground resting her head on her knees as she faced the horizon. Kael sat besides her and Mairi on her other side. Dylan had long ago given up pacing around the empty gardens and sat with them looking thoughtfully at the ground. “It’s hard to believe we’ll be doing what we battled so hard to prevent…” spoke suddenly. “I’ll miss this place…Dinotopia… the only place I could live in…” “It wont be so bad,” Mairi told him making eye contact. “This world will be your playground now for a time. You’ll be yourself, no holding back like this stupid pretending we’ve had to put up with.”<br> “Aiden,” Dylan started. “You never liked it here. I can’t blame you, but it hasn’t been all bad.”<br> Aiden looked out at him from behind Mairi’s eyes. “I’ll reserve my comments on happiness. But then, I guess we’ve always been this way… You so light hearted and I so dark. Zephyr and Kaia finding each other every time with the wildest odds… We’re balanced even in that. It is the way we were meant to be.”<br> “The sun is rising,” Shannara said suddenly getting up and not allowing Dylan to answer. “Let this world wake from its blanket of sleep one last time.” As she finished speaking, sounds began to be heard from inside the abandoned house. Calmly, Shannara turned to look back at her home then turned and started walking deeper into the gardens. On silent agreement, the other three followed. They walked until the came to the gates that surrounded the gargantuan Sundra tree Shannara had shown Rebecca Lawson just days earlier. As she passed the entrance, the walls and gates began to shake until they crumbled onto the ground in a pile of rumble. She turned to look at her brothers one last time as a human, then smiled and let her metamorphosis begin. The same way she had once finished, now she would start.
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:50:29 GMT -5
Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 28 (1/30/05 9:46 pm) 216.192.195.7 Thoughtless:After Sunrise... OOC: Ok, here’s the remade post, following the specifications people gave me. There are several changes so those playing should see what they are. Josh, you’re alive Other than that, see you all soon, I guess, have fun, but not too much fun Play nice MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The first thing those remaining in the O’Connor home noticed after realizing the house was completely abandoned were the earthquakes. Running outside, they were met with a spectacular sight. The whole of the yard was illuminated by a bright emerald light emanating from a pillar of brightness somewhere behind the house. The earth began shaking more violently knocking the four of them off their feet.
“What in the name of…” Rebecca looked at the light in awe. “It’s… it’s coming from where that big tree was…” “C’mon,” Andres Martí said getting up and helping Rebecca to her feet. “Let’s find out what’s going on here.”<br> Grabbing hold of anything they found along the way for balance, the group made its way towards the light. Several times, they were knocked down by a strong gust of wind and halfway to the source, the tremors were doubled by a second burst of light, this one a deep azure, before both dimmed out slowly. When they reached their destination, they froze. The first thing they saw was the two beings from which the lights were radiating from.
Both were human shaped and had a sort of terrifying beauty that made them all look away after several seconds. The first was kneeling on the ground, dressed in silks and polished ores surrounded by a wild mane of coffee colored hair that was streaked with coppers and golds, leaves and flowers. It had olive-bronze colored skin, a pair of large almond shaped emerald eyes and a strange array of symbols and markings on its forehead crown its sculpted face. One hand held a long, thin, engraved sword that it had sunk into the earth. On the other had it held a similar weapon it now held before its eyes. The second, floating above the first, was just as spectacular if somewhat less human. It had a golden tanned naked torso, but all of its body a few inches below its chest was covered in colorful patterns of fish-like scales. Finally an ichthian tail was where the legs should have been and two gigantic fish-like fins were coming out of his back like wings. Like the first, it had a picture perfect face with glowing aqua colored eyes and blondish hair. Similar tattoo like symbols frames its face and shoulders.
“Is that… Dylan and Shannara…?” Rebecca spoke suddenly turning to her companions. “It couldn’t be…” Simon, one of the scientists that had arrived just the day before, started. “Oh yes it can,” Andres said. “You haven’t known them as much as I… And even then, all I know is little. It all makes sense now. Shannara and Mairi, I used books they had written when I was in college, and those books had been written half a century before and were still accurate. Then they both disappeared. By our records, they should be over one hundred years old but they don’t look a day over thirty. Arctium longevus doesn’t do that.”<br> They saw as a large, thick sword that appeared to be made of water appeared into the water elemental’s hand. “And so it was as the spirit of the Earth, bearing the pain of all that lived on it wounded the land and made it barren.” They all turned rapidly towards the voice and found Mairi standing besides them. “What is going on?” Gareth demanded, trying to stand up but not succeeding because of the strong quakes and toppling over on the floor. Mairi didn’t turn to look at them. “Before you are Kaia, the spirit of the Earth and with her Zael spirit of the oceans and the Waters. He waits for her to finish unlocking the Earth so that he may unlock the Seas.”<br>“What does that mean?” Rebecca asked. “Wait and see,” Mairi replied. As she finished speaking, Kaia took her other sword and thrust it into the earth. A crack formed at its base and soon afterwards the tremors worsened as the earth began to open up. In that instant, Kaia disappeared before their eyes. Soon afterwards Zael pointed his sword east then west. Seconds later, I new sound reached their ears and they looked up to see a turmoil of white water rushing towards the spirit through the cracks on the earth. He now took the sword and dipped it into them.
“Then all the sources of fresh water turned bitter, and nothing could be found that lived in them,” Mairi continued to narrate apparently oblivious to the chaos around them. “What do we do!” Rebecca called out over the roar of the water. No one answered being to busy holding on to the ground around them in order to prevent them from rolling away. The spirit that was Dylan then looked up at Mairi and she returned the gesture by nodding ever so slightly. He then removed his sword from the waters that were now rushing back around them in newly carved channels, and pointed it north. A single ray of blue light shot out of it and disappeared into the northern horizon. He then turned south and repeated what he had done. Shortly after this, he too disappeared into the charging waters.
“The Oceans and Seas became angry because of the grief of its sister Land, and rose beyond their restraints and invaded the shores,” Mairi continued. “The Water Spirit released his army of frozen minions and with them, drowned the dwellers of the land burying their territory hundreds of feet into his domain.”<br>Andres gasped suddenly. “He’s melted the ice caps… Hundreds upon hundreds of miles of all the land several miles above sea level will be…” “Submerged,” Gareth finished for him. “Josh left for Texas!” Rebecca spoke up suddenly remembering the tension had escalated between her husband and the volcanologist to a point where he had decided to abandon the island. “If he went straight home, he’ll…” “Perhaps he stopped elsewhere,” Andres suggested encouragingly. “Somewhere with higher grounds. At a friend’s perhaps? To cool off?”<br>“We have to stop this!” Simon exclaimed turning to Gareth then to Rebecca and Andres. “If we let his go on-“<br> He was interrupted by another flash of light, this one pure white and sudden stormy gusts of wind to their left. Looking in that direction they saw another being flying above the earth and turmoil of waters held afloat by two pairs of silver wings. Dressed in white silks, similar to the ones worn by the Earth Spirit, it too had a weapon: a single translucent sword from which the gale force winds around them were originating. From within the light they could still see its long, silky, black hair and glowing white eyes.
“Following its brothers, Zephyr the Wind Keeper rose from its slumber and released the Four Winds to storm all those left upon the earth,” Mairi spoke into the mayhem.
Zephyr turned to her and nodded, then pointed his sword at the heavens and shot a single bolt of lightning from it. Immediately the sky above them became filled with clouds and hail the size of baseballs began to fall all around them. He too disappeared in a heartbeat, but the hurricane force, freezing winds remained. They looked around bewildered and looking for shelter, but all the vegetation was dead and the house was destroyed.
“Stop it! Stop it this instant!” Rebecca cried out to Mairi who had taken several steps away from them. Slowly, she turned around and for the first time since her appearance looked down at them. A chill ran down their backs as they saw her eyes were a deep red in color and had no pupils. “Fools! Wanderers! Can’t you see?” she said addressing them. “You’ve challenged the gods and lost!”<br>“What are you talking about?!” Simon called back. “We have done nothing!”<br>“You fight and kill your own kind, act high and mighty as if you owe the land and all its creatures disposing of them to fit your own twisted needs, you destroy your own resources, waste the gifts of the earth, consume everything in eternal greed, and prance around this little planet as if you were the once that created it! How long did you think such gluttony would be allowed to last?”<br> Rebecca looked at Andres and saw he was silent. “The world outside…” Andres whispered gravely. “She describes the world outside, oh so perfectly…”
Rebecca nodded feeling something heavy settle into her. Besides her, Simon simply looked at the floor in front of her and Gareth looked away. Yes, Mairi was right. She had lived in the outside long enough to know how it worked, worse, long enough to participate of it. She turned back to Mairi and saw that and red-orange light was emanating from her body. “And now the last of our Brothers will come down to thee, and with him, his servants to hunt down those who are left. And I shall release the creatures of the deep that my children have been holding back for ages, and they too will hunt the children of Man.”<br>
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:50:55 GMT -5
Mairi was suddenly engulfed in flames, as the final spirit was release. Her hair and legs were torrents of fire. Black armor partially covered her torso and the same strange symbols on the other three spirits framed her red, glowing eyes and forehead. A black sword appeared in her hand and she pointed it at the earth. Immediately lava exploded out of several of the cracks or opened new ones and began to flows in streams of liquid fire. Then there was one last explosion and they saw as out of the earth rose something that looked like a fountain of shadows that reached up into the skies then flowed to the four corners of the earth.
“What the on earth was that stuff…” Andres murmured. “But I thought you wanted to see what lived in the deep places of the world,” Aiden answered. “Now, all your questions will be answered.”<br> Rebecca turned away from the spirit with a strange mixture of emotions cruising through her body. What she hated most was that she knew the elemental right, and she was totally helpless to do anything. The time for action had past and now she could not even stand for two seconds without falling back on her knees because of the hell that had been unleashed around them. She had been about to turn back towards the fire spirit and beg for mercy when something else caught her attention. It appeared to be a man dressed in a flowing black cloak walking calmly in their direction aided by an intricately engraved black staff apparently oblivious to the destruction around him. Several meters above his head three dark creatures were circling him screeching in such a way that she had to cover his ears for fear he might become deaf.
“What are those things?! What is that!” Rebecca cried out suddenly panicking and in pain because of the wailing. “What is what?!” Andres asked looking around yet seeing nothing. Gareth, on the other hand, seemed frozen in place and Simon’s eyes had grown wide as she had grabbed a hold of Rebecca’s hand and now threatened to cut her circulation.
Aiden turned towards Rebecca and smiled almost gently. “That is the last of my Brothers,” she told them, her voice strangely detached. “I must leave you all now and return to myself. His name is Death, with him are his Furies. Fear not. He is the last thing you’ll ever see.”<br> Finishing her statement, she too disappeared into a column of fire. Rebecca looked around helplessly as the walker drew nearer. The staff in his hand suddenly transfigured into a sword and he paused just inches away from where the four of them were. Two pairs of jet-black wings tore themselves open from the cloak seeming to suck what little light there was. Rebecca was frozen in place as the apparition drew back its hood. She could not see a face from her angle, but Simon suddenly turned very pale. The other woman let out a little scream then collapsed onto the floor.
“Madre de Dios! Que rayos pasó aquí!,” Andres exclaimed as Simon collapsed. Rebecca looked at him suddenly realizing he could not see the dark apparition. “You mean you can’t see him,” she said, he voice barely audible and her eyes fixed on the hooded figure as he took the last step towards Simon and buried his sword into her chest.
Andres turned to her suddenly and grabbed her hand dragging her away. “And I’m not staying here to find out either,” he said as he half crawled, half ran with her in tow.
When Death was finished with Simon’s corpse, he turned to look at Rebecca and Andres. He gazed after them a few seconds apparently in no hurry to pursue them, before finally deciding to take the first step forwards. This was when Rebecca felt a cold terror take over her.
“He’s coming after us!” she screamed at Andres. “We have to go faster!”<br>“I’m trying!” he shouted back over the roar of the winds. He managed to get them as far as a small rise of displaced earth when he froze. Rebecca was about to protest when she looked ahead and saw what had halted their progress. She then felt what little hope she had of escaping fade. As far as she could see the land was covered in shadows, but these shadows were moving and walking as beasts would. “What the hell are those…” Rebecca rasped. “What lives in the deep places of the world…” Andres muttered. He stared at them transfixed for a few moments then dragged Rebecca sideways and away from both threats, the one he could see and the one he couldn’t but knew was there none the less.
Their flight was useless. The creatures had noticed their coming and within seconds swarmed all around them. For a moment, nothing happened then the pain began. Rebecca was separated from Andres in an attempt to shake off the dozens of creatures that jumped on her, biting, scratching and gnawing at her every chance they could. The pained streamed through her body at an almost unbearable level, then all the creatures unanimously backed away. Gasping for breath, she looked around wondering what they were waiting to put her out of her misery then it slowly dawned on her. They were enjoying every moment of her agony, almost as if they were feeding from it. Blood trickled down her face as she looked around for Andres, but could see no sign of him. She collapsed on the floor shivering as waves of seemingly endless pain shot through her convulsing body. She looked up one last time and met a pair of glowing, yellow eyes on a face that seemed to have been meticulously carved into precious ores. She gasped in surprise at finding the most beautiful face she had ever seen at a moment like this. It was cold and emotionless, his eyes holding secrets he would never tell. She looked into that face for what seemed like hours as the pain within her reached excruciating levels, then slowly everything went black.
Labsmurf polyvalent Posts: 25 (1/31/05 4:03 pm) 82.197.193.193 Involuntary caving trip ‘That sunstone is really losing power now...’<br>‘No, do you think so?’<br>The caravan from Bonabba had made it to the world beneath, running, galopping, some half asleep and stumbling. At one point half the supplies had fallen of a Stegosaur so they’d had to stop to refasten its load of supplies while the world outside went crazy and a roaring many times louder then any storm that had ever beaten the island cut off all other sounds. Sunstones were being used to light the way but the way had changed as the earth moved. The maps were now useless, the compass spun in reaction to the changes in the earth magnetic field and the sunstones were running low on energy. The caravan was headed for the deepest part of the world beneath where the old caves where. “Do you think we’re almost there?” Ischa didn’t think they’d be able to see anything once that sunstone died. “I think we’re somewhere under the Rainy Basin, or where the Rainy Basin used to be anyway...” “We’re short at least fifty people and eggs and hatchlings.....”<br>“Everyone did what they could to save what could be saved. We have to keep going.”<br>
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:51:13 GMT -5
Eskara1862 doyenne Posts: 1024 (2/4/05 11:47 pm) 69.211.138.140 The beginning The earthquakes struck shortly after the Sharpclaw and skybax had entered the caverns. It didn’t take very long for them to realize that being underground during an earthquake wasn’t the best idea, but they still went deeper. Rocks and boulders fell from the ceiling, but amazingly, nobody was injured. After a small eternity, the shaking stopped, and the velociraptors entered a gigantic cavern. They were deep within the earth and, Az hoped, safe.
The clan milled around for a little bit, but stayed within the light range of the ever changing sphere of light carried by Azonthus. Freeborn cawed softly and kept his distance from all of the teeth and claws.
“So, what now?” someone asked.
Az sighed. “I don’t know. We stay here until it’s safe to go back to the Basin.”<br> Reezar walked up to his aunt. “We need to talk.”<br> She nodded and handed the light to the now ancient Loba. The two raptors walked to the bare edge of the light and held a quick conference in low whispers.
“We thought you were dead.”<br> “No, I have been in the outer world, off Dinotopia. I only left the clan for a little bit. I was coming back in a few years, but I had come with some friends to explore caverns near Volcanum. Clearly, that hasn’t happened.”<br> “But, you’re over two hundred and look younger than me!”<br> Az shifted a little uncomfortably. “Well, that’s a long story. I’m sure it’s one the entire clan will want to hear, and I’d rather only tell it once. For now, you just need to know that I do not age like everybody else. If I’m lucky, I age ten years for a hundred of life.”<br> “The clan will need an explanation.”<br> “You think I don’t know that? I was the leader before your father; I know what pressures come with leadership, and I will not attempt to take them back from you.”<br> “I think you need to tell that story to everyone now and give a full explanation of just why you brought us here before those earthquakes.”<br> “Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose.” They rejoined the group and Azonthus took the light back from Loba. A small rise was towards what she thought to be the East wall, and the red raptor slowly walked up it, followed by her green nephew.
“Sharpclaw!” She called, almost needlessly, to get everyone’s attention. “I know you are all terrified about what is going on. Now, I can tell you the full story.
“Once, a long time ago, I was with a group of ambassadors who welcomed a shipwrecked group of dolphinbacks. The dolphinbacks manner of arrival was strange, they came in two lifeboats from their ships, and they had supplies. They took two saurians captive, thinking them to be nothing more than mindless beasts. After meeting up with some Dinotopians, they learned of their mistake and most began inland for Chandara, and to Waterfall City from there. But, something I still do not fully understand happened and one of them went insane. He had a gun, a weapon from the outside that can cause great pain and kill faster than any arrow. I was shot and nearly died from it. Dylan, one of the Freshwater Habitat partners, was there too. He heard the noise from the gun and came running. He found me and healed me in the river. I know, that sounds really strange. That was when I first truly realized just how different Dylan is; he is a water elemental. He controls the water and everything made from water. But he was young then and didn’t have full control of his powers. Something went wrong and he sort of over-healed me. I have survived injuries that most never could dream of surviving, and I no longer age normally. Yes, I am over two hundred, and quite close to three hundred. And I know I still look quite young. Simply put, unless the injury is enough to kill me outright, I can not die from it, and age will not take me for eons.
“Dylan is also connected with what is happening up there right now, somehow. The gods have decided to once again destroy life up there, and those of us who are still alive in the caverns will be safe. The World Beneath will protect us, just like it did our ancestors.
“I have no intention of taking over as leader again. Reezar will remain leader. Just know this, I will always be here to remember all Sharpclaw culture and history. If this takes generations, then there will still be somebody to keep our stories and our culture alive in the future generations and in the reborn earth.
“I have no doubt we will see the sun again; I just don’t know when. We have all the supplies we need, right here,” she pulled out the bag given to her by Tamith. “This bag contains soy, fruits, vegetables, and some water. As long as we never take more than we need from it, it will not empty. No, there is no meat. We will have to curb those appetites again for a time.
“I will return to the surface in a few hours to see if there are any more survivors and will bring those I find here. In the meantime, I suggest you all find some way to get comfortable. We’re going to be here a while.”<br>
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:51:47 GMT -5
Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 29 (2/17/05 7:21 pm) 66.50.94.48 A LONG time ago in a galaxy FAR away... The Lone Star rocked gently as it left hyperspace and settled back into realspace. Josh fired the ship's thrusters once and the ship spun on its left side and entered into the steady stream of starship traffic decending down to the surface of the planet. Anxious to see his true home again, Josh watched as the atmospheric haze gave way to a glimmering cityscape consisting of buildings hundreds of thousands of feet tall, covering the entire surface of the planet and stretching as far as the eye could see. This was Coruscant, the capital world of the New Republic and a true galactic melting pot. As he entered the planetary coordinates into the ship's log and consulted the navscreen for the most direct route to the Presidential Palace, the video screen mounted in the top right corner of the cockpit hissed and snapped to life, revealing the turquoise head and black almond eyes of a Rodian. The alien shifted in it's seat and the trunk-like nose of the being began to flex and contort as he spoke "Geag wanba tengry ywe Turner..." The professor looked up. "Nice to see you too Gorba" "Gworkee trwe sunp quinex blan. Llano pyoid sera trux?" "Yeah, I'm on my way there now. It‘s good to be home though..." "Swerty yeh nat que swet yan que..." "Yesterday?" Josh asked, astonished. "They did make good time.. I guess tell mom and dad I'll meet them tonight at the palace.”<br> Turner and Gorba made small talk for a few more minutes, before the Rodian ended the transmission. Seeing that the proper coordinates had been set and bringing up the ships autopilot, which would safely fly the ship to the Palace on the other side of the planet, Josh retired to his quarters for a shave, shower and change of clothes. He would be seeing old friends this afternoon and he wanted to look his best The body of Rebecca Turner lay atop a plastisteel table in the lower chambers of the ancient temple. The young lady was as beautiful in death as she had been in life. As she lay there in the darkness, several cloaked figures emerged from the shadows and silently encircled the table. One by one, the figures the removed the hoods of their cloak to reveil their identities, allowing skin, fur and scales to be greeted by the damp air of the chamber. The last figure removed his hood to reveal the weathered face of a middle-aged human with grayish blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Luke Skywalker stared down at Rebecca's body and then looked around to face his fellow Jedi Knights. In unison, the beings raised their arms and tentacles in the air above the young lady as the air in the tomb seemed to churn with energy... "Arise friend, there’s no need for formalities" Leia Organa Solo said warmly as she began walking slowly down the ramp of the dais that supported two ancient throwns. She held her skirts up to avoid stepping on the them, her blue train behind her gave the impression that she was flowing down the ramp. The beautiful brown haired woman was followed by a distinctive looking dark-haired gentleman. Josh smiled as he arose and watched his friends approach. Leia squeezed his hands and gave him a friendly hug, followed by another hug and handshake from Captain Han Solo. "It's so nice to have you back Josh, " Leia began, taking his hand, leading him from the throne room. Han clasped a heavy hand on Josh's shoulder. "When we heard about what happened on Earth, we started to sweat. Be a real shame to lose our best explorers because of a bunch of pissed-off demi-gods" Han interjected, shooting Josh and Leia a lop-sided grin. Josh chuckled, "Yeah, it got a little rough down there. It's a shame Master Skywalker and few of the Jedi hadnt been there,..maybe there could have been something more that could have been done.." “So what did you think of Earth? Your family seems to have gotten along very well there” Leia asked Josh waited for a moment and collected his thoughts “Earth was a good world. Sure, it had it’s negative aspects, but what world doesnt?..” He turned to face his friends. “There were a lot of good people there. I think Earth would have made a fine addition to the Republic...” He trailed on somberly, the tragic events of last week finally setting in Later that evening, a lavish banquet was held in honor of the Turners and in attendance were diplomats and nobilities from a dozen world. Giant Wookies and green-skinned Rodians hobnobbed with Ithorians, mouse-faced Sullastans, frog-likeGungans. blue Toydarians, and Bothans. Towards the end of the evening, Han and Leia pulled Josh aside and introduced him to a regal looking Ithorian, a gentle, dark-skinned reptilian with a slopping t-shaped head and two sad eyes extended from stalks. The Solo's introduced the Ithorian as Momaw Nadon "Momaw Nadon?" Josh asked, "the Xenobiologist?" The being smiled and shook his head. "I've read your work. Very impressive, especially the piece on Krayt Dragons "And I've read yours as well Professor, also most impressive..." He said, his two mouths on either side of his head smiling in unison. "No one has ever recreated the extinct flora and fauna of a planet to the extent that you have and with such success. Your exploration of the Dinotopian continent was fascinating as well. I still find it quite amusing that such a place could exist for eons without being detected or plundered.”<br> The Ithorian could sense that it was still a tender subject with the young human and was about to excuse himself when Leia finally spoke up. “Josh, theres something you should know” she began. “Just before the catastrophe, several Cruisers entered Earth’s atmosphere... Turner looked at her, his eyebrows raised. She continued her explanation . “We used the coordinates from your reports to evacuate all the non-human beings at Turner Park as well as all data and files recorded in your labs. Other Cruisers visited zoological parks across that world and collected their specimens as well. We even visited your home and collected your Archaeopteryx and Andrewsarchus friends.”<br> Josh was speechless. He’d had no idea that the Republic would clear Evac Orders for an relatively unknown and potentially hostile world. “The reptilian creatures, Saurians, I believed they called themselves, were more than cooperative. They’re with the rest of the Earth beings in quarantine on Ithorian herd-ships headed for their new homes”<br> “New home?” Josh finally managed to speak “Yes, yes,” The Ithorian said “Using your detailed reports, the government of my world has terra-formed two of our lifeless moons. We’ve introduced atmosphere, minerals, elements and appropriate vegation. One world will be for the creatures from your institution as well as all the other creatures who’s DNA is recorded in your files. The other world will be for the more recently evolved creatures.” The alien stepped forward and extended a long arm, placing a slender tridactlyed hand on Josh’s shoulder. “You work has saved nearly 50 million species from extinction. You’re a savior and zoologist at the same time” He said grinning Suddenly the hustle and bustle of the party died down and Han stepped forward. “There is one other thing slick..” He said, turning to his side and extending an arm to the parted sea of party goers as a beautiful young woman in a fashionable yet modest red dress approached “Good Lord....” Josh exclaimed as he ran past his friends and towards the love of his life. He swept Rebecca into his arms and kissed her. “I thought you were gone forever” He whispered in her ear, trying hard to hold back the tears. The pair hugged for a long time before she winked at him and smiled, nodding to her new and very alien surroundings. “I think you’ve got some explaining to do professor...”<br> WEEKS LATER.... The Lone Star and the Millennium Falcon shot out of hyperspace at exactly the same time. Han’s voice came over the speaker of Josh’s ship “Nice work kid, guess you’re right, she’s as fast as the Falcon now...”<br> Josh and Rebecca could only laugh, it had a been a close race. Over the speaker came a long and frustrated growl. “Chewie says he wants a rematch...” Han translated “Name the time and the system and you’ve got it.” Josh replied Before them, two large moons were growing closer. “Are these it?” Maryellen asked from her perch atop Rebecca’s shoulder “They look like just like Earth. Both of them..” Rebecca remarked “They should sweetheart” came Han’s voice over the intercom again “Those Hammerheads know their stuff. Listen guys, we gotta get back., the kids are coming in from Yavin and Bespin tonight”<br> “Thanks for the directions and the race Han, we’ll see yall in a few days. Oh, hey, which moon is which?”<br> “ They havent been named yet, but the one on the left is where your big lizards and living fossils went. The other critters are on the other one.”<br> “Thanks Han., and tell Leia and Luke thanks too, for everything.”<br> “Will do kid, you guys have fun.” Han said and Chewbacca rumbled his goodbye in the back round. From their viewport, Josh and Rebecca watched the Falcon turn a hard right on her side and then disappear into hyperspace The Lonestar cruised the surfaces of both worlds. On the world Rebecca christened as Paraiso, the dinosaurs and formally extinct animals were thriving. They watched as a huge mixed flock of Skybax and Northies flew over a lush green forest grazed by huge Sauropods, mastadons and ornithopods before gliding out over a tranquil blue-green sea where the slender neck of an Elasmosaur broke the surface. As they left very similar conditions on Nueva Earth, the moon of modern animals and returned to the darkness of space, Rebecca turned to Josh and said somberly “I still cant believe it’s all over”<br>
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:52:06 GMT -5
Josh turned to her, and gazed into a face that he truly loved. Both she and the small avian atop her shoulder forced a sad smile. He reached over and ran a finger tenderly over Maryellen's blue topnot and then clasped his hand over Rebecca's “Earth may be over, but we’ve got an entire galaxy to explore. And we’ll do it together”<br> With those final words, Josh smiled at his friends and fired up the hyperdrive engine of the Lone Star and they disappeared to parts unknown Labsmurf polyvalent Posts: 27 (2/18/05 2:58 pm) 82.197.197.163 Re: A LONG time ago in a galaxy FAR away... Thats nice, now why don't you make your aquinatnce with these nice friends in the white suits from the psychiatric hospital... From cowboy to spaceexplorer, I should be scared now. stefan de velociraptor self-proclaimed know-it-all Posts: 69 (2/20/05 1:49 am) 203.173.4.212 Re: Involuntary caving trip lol, yesh, I'm sure. I still liked my ending better btw, those whitecoats shall be calling within the week Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 30 (2/22/05 7:40 pm) 66.50.91.233 Of spacecowboys and other strange specimens... Heh heh! Let the space cowboy have his fun. The little green men in white suits will be coming for all of us soon Moving on (cowboy free, FINALLY HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'll try to post later tonight so we can continue to cause havoc and what not.
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:53:15 GMT -5
Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 31 (2/22/05 11:46 pm) 66.50.91.230 Water Mirror It had been around two days since they had arrived to this strange, new place. The bird-like creatures that had transported them there had quickly disappeared into the night in the same fashion they had seen them arrive, leaving them on the shores of the island. The family had remained there until sunrise when light made it possible to explore their surroundings. The first thing they noticed was that they were located in the eye of a huge storm. Towards the horizon they could see the wall of clouds that rumbled with occasional thunder and lightning. The sky above was the only clear spot and during the night, strange constellations appeared making them think they were farther north than the tropical waters of their homeland.
It was definitely and island, Teneniel and Eryk had walked around it in four hours and confirmed what they had originally suspected. They had been dropped off at the base of a huge cliff, so they walked around it until they could venture far enough inland to make an appropriate shelter. The project only lasted a few hours because Soran and his family had set out to explore their surroundings and returned with news of what hid above the cliff’s wall that they had missed before. A huge castle-like fortress of unknown origins had been built there and the extended family quickly moved into the ancient, yet sturdy building.
It wasn’t long before they discovered that they weren’t alone on the island either, yet the nature of their companions was elusive and they had not yet been able to catch a glimpse of them. Still, traces of their presence could be found in every last corner of their new home both inside and outside the fortress. Whispers carried by the breeze, laugher and music in the middle of the night, unknown footsteps along the sandy shores of the beach, all hinted to their existence. Yet there were no other humans on this sanctuary. This made them all wonder where could the rest of their kind hide.
They had also discovered a perfectly camouflaged staircase that led from the fortress down the cliffs to the beach below, but it would be impossible to see it from shore unless you already knew of its location. Tamith had used this to descend to the tranquil coast and now sat on the warm sands at the base of the cliff and draped the soft woolly blanket she had carried down with her tightly around her. She looked out into the endless blue of the ocean and that the distant wall of clouds and sighed as her pale hair flowed all around her in the cold breeze. It a strange road that had led her to here and now and, she had once thought, it had been purely out of chance. Luck, she had once believed, had led her to befriending that curious youth she had met on her uncle’s hatchery. Now she wondered if there truly was such a thing as luck, or if everything was written down somewhere with Fate laughing naughtily at some humans’ attempts to outsmart her.
She had known Dylan most of her life, both their families had relatives on the Hatchery and visited them often giving both children many opportunities to meet. Ironically enough, Tamith’s first big crush had been Kael. Dylan had the unusual ability to get them both into so much trouble, she wonder why their parents had not sent them each to a different corner of the Hatchery for the time of their stay. Kael, on the other hand, being several years older than both of them had always been far more calm and collected and always managed to get them out of it somehow. It was perhaps this that had attracted her so much too him. Tamith smiled at the memory. The crush had lasted several years and on more than one occasion had she blushed so hard at the sight of Kael she had opted to simply turn around and run rather than let him know what she was feeling. Dylan, of course, had been quick to notice and found the whole thing extremely amusing. Still, Kael never showed any interest in her and she had eventually grown out of it. By the time she had started her training as a Habitat Partner, her crush on him was only a memory and was now replaced by a deep respect for the older youth.
She laughed as she remember the first assignment were their masters had paired her up with Dylan to work together along with their saurian partners. Tamith could not have more emphatically disagreed with the idea, but what had started out to be slight rivalry and chiding turned into a truly deep friendship, though they never quite lost the joint slight mockery and games that had characterized it since their early youth. It had been several years after their reunion as Habitat Partners when she had first seen Dylan for what he truly was. She had known of his hydro-kinesis since childhood, many of his favorite pranks included the manipulation of the material. Where Kael had been far more discreet in his youth, Dylan had always enjoyed showing off. But nothing could have prepared her for what he really was.
It had been on a hot summer night after being interned deep within the Rainy Basin with a group of fellow Habitat Partners. The group had return to camp for the evening after a long day of sampling and research when she had been bitten in the ankle by a venomous snake. The poison had quickly made its way through her system and in a matter of a few hours her body was being consumed by a terrible fever, and she had lost all her senses despite the constant nursing from the little company. Knowing she would not have lasted the night, Dylan had sent all of the members of the party out into the jungle to gather different medicinal herbs as a diversion and once they had been gone carried her away with only both their saurian partners as company. For many years she had believed that part of what she had seen that night were hallucinations caused by the venom’s intoxication. Dylan had carried her into a shallow pool of a nearby stream and she had been engulfed by a surge of white water. She returned to consciousness to find herself in the arms of a strange angel. His eyes, hair, skin, and even his features had changed transforming him into the water spirit he was. They were both enclosed in a bubble of water, but she found she could breathe freely. All she had been able to do was stare transfixed at the apparition until whatever healing process he had been doing was done and they both washed up on the riverbank. Once on shore and back to normal Dylan had set her down and collapsed next to her in exhaustion. The last thing he had done before failing asleep giving in to his fatigue was smile at her gently. They had both remained on the river’s side with their partners watching over them, until the other members of their party had found them several hours later.
Tamith had lived with that image of him burning in her memory until years later, she had seen it again and had accepted to join him in that extraordinary, mysterious story their life promised to be.
* * *
It was a warm night and her family had gathered at the Hatchery to celebrate Midsummer Eve with the rest of their friends and relatives. It was one of the largest Gatherings they celebrated, so many fires were burning, music was playing, and the cool summer night was filled with the sounds of laughter and merrymaking. Tamith found Dylan sitting with some friends around a fire playing a guitar and singing one of the ballads that had been passed down by his family. She watched him for several minutes and smiled inwardly at his carefree attitude. For as long as she remembered, she had known him like this, a free spirit that walked through life infecting those close to him with his happiness and cheer.
She frowned suddenly as she saw him unexpectedly stop singing mid song. His vision froze in some unknown spot before him and he turned very serious and pale. He stayed like that for almost a minute, and soon those around him began to call his name and shake him gently to be sure he was well. Tamith quickly made her way towards him, but by the time she reached him, he had already returned to himself though was completely disoriented. He locked eyes with her for several seconds then stood.
“I have to go,” he said excusing himself from those around him then leaving the fire without another word.
“What’s the matter?” Tamith asked him not bothering to hide the worry from her voice.
“Wait here,” he told her.
Tamith nodded and watched him walk up to Kael who in turn was walking towards him. They talked in low whispers for several minutes, both looking extremely troubled until finally Kael nodded and left Dylan, clearly looking around for someone else. Dylan looked after him for several seconds before turning back to his friend.
“Could you please come with me for a minute?” he asked taking her hand.
Tamith nodded almost out of instinct never having seen him act that way before. They stole away from the sounds of the feast and found their way to the seashore. It was a clear night and above them, the sky was filled with bright stars and a new moon. The sea thundered a little way from where they stopped and a cool seaward breeze blew out into the ocean carrying with it the aroma of marine brine as it blew their hair gently into their faces. Tamith looked back at Dylan and felt part of her break. She had never seen so much sadness reflected in his crystalline blue eyes.
“What’s the matter?” she asked him wanting to do what she could to make it go away.
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:54:18 GMT -5
“I have to leave Dinotopia,” he told her after several seconds of silence.
“Leave?” she repeated puzzled. “Why? How? No one can leave Dinotopia…”
“There’s something I must do,” he replied. “I wish I could explain,” he continued looking into her eyes, “but there’s no time and I wouldn’t know where to begin…”
Tamith looked at him and realized just how difficult what he was telling her was for him to say. She felt Time freeze for a moment and weight her down as it dawned on her how incredibly different this person before her was. The truth was that they lived in two totally different worlds; she could see this from his eyes. And yet somehow he had managed to open a window through them to bridge them together. Now the paths of their lives had arrived to a crossroad. She felt her eyes cloud over with tears but she quickly brushed them aside with her hand.
“I understand…”she whispered so softly she barely heard herself say it.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back…” he continued then stopped as he choked over his own words.
Tamith looked down at the floor and simply nodded knowing her voice would betray her. Try as she might she could no longer hold back the tears that now flowed freely down her cheeks.
“Please…” he started though she could tell from his voice he was crying too. “Don’t…”
Dylan wiped away her tears with his hand then hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’d do anything to change this, I really would. But I’m also doing this for you.”<br> Tamith hugged him back, and for a long time all that could be heard was the sea beating the shore behind them and the waves pounding the reefs far away. Then it came to her. In a moment she saw images of horses and wings, of light and darkness, of life and death. The vision danced before her eyes and when it was done, it left her shivering and struggling for breath.
“You better come back!” she said pulling away from him after regaining her lost breath.
Dylan looked at her for several moments, his expression unreadable. “Promise me something,” he said finally.
“What?” she asked.
“That you’ll stay with me, when I come back,” he started. “That you’ll be by my side always, that our children will grow in the home we build for ourselves, that we will fly through Life together as one, because I’ll always be there for you. And I’ll die a thousand times before seeing you come to harm or unhappy.”<br> Tamith looked at him, frozen by his words for several seconds before a small smile parted her lips. “O’Connor, this is low even for you…” she whispered. “Of course I will, you stupid-head.” She laughed and threw herself back at him holding him tightly.
She felt themselves be engulfed in a bright azure light, and when she looked up at him again saw that same water angel she thought she had dreamt years earlier smiling gently back at her. He kissed her forehead softly then set her back down onto the earth. She smiled up at him and watched as he spread his fin-like wings and flew out over the ocean to be joined seconds later by a similar, yet different looking creature bathed in a bright white light. She waved them farewell and watched them disappear into the night. In response, she thought she heard the ocean call her name out softly…<br> * * * Tamith smiled at the memory that seemed almost a lifetime away. Dylan had come back, as had his brother, and she had kept her promise to him. After that time, Dylan had explained to her everything he was and everything he could become and she had accepted it knowing she wouldn’t have it any other way. That had been the beginning of the rest of her life and she was happy to say she had not regretted a moment of it. She had opened her wings and flown with someone by her side that let her fly alone when she had needed to, or took her hand and helped her up were her wings to fail and she in turn had returned the favor when he had stumbled. She had eaten the ambrosia offered to her and lived to see her great grandchildren grow. Immortality wasn’t without its sorrows, but she knew that without sadness, she would never know what happiness was like. Even now, in the darkest of times she found herself looking out at the ocean and understanding that her Oceanborn still kept that promise to her. She smiled and felt tears roll down her cheeks as the sea carried to her whispers of her name one more time…
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:54:38 GMT -5
Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 32 (2/26/05 8:31 pm) 216.192.200.129 Open your eyes... Andres Martí opened his eyes slowly as the first drops of the freezing rain splashed down on his face. The first thing he was aware of was the walls of the fissure he had fallen into, instants later the incredible pain that ran through his entire body. This brought back the images of the last several minutes he experience before he lost consciousness. He grimaced. “How I manage to get myself into these messes…” he muttered darkly. He turned on his side and attempted to get up, but felt sick as he rose making him immediately fall back on his knees again and throw up. Clutching his side, he leaned against the stone earth walls and waited for the dizziness to pass. He brought his hand up to his face and saw it was completely covered in oozing blood. Biting his bottom lip and cursing in his native tongue, he sat back down and took a few moments to examine his physical condition before attempting to get up and walk again. “They could have just finished the job and spared me the trouble…” he said to no one in particular after examining the multiple deep gashes and bits scattered all over his body. Andres the ripped a long stretch of his tattered tunic, wet it with the falling rain and proceeded to wash and bandage his wounds as best he could. Once finished, he sat back and closed his eyes. The pounding inside his head seemed to increase every second, inhibiting his ability to think coherently. Everything had happened so fast, he wasn’t sure how to analyze it. First, he’d witnessed the transformation of the elements, then the death of some of the members of his company, last those strange shadow like creatures… He furrowed his brow. What the hell were those? All he knew was that the fire Spirit Aiden had hinted they were what lived in the deep places of the world, and that she would no longer be holding them back. Andres sighed. Whatever they were, they seemed to live to cause pain and destruction. He narrowed his eyes as he realized something that puzzled him further. Why then, was he still alive? He’d been lost in their mist sure he would die and then… What exactly had happened? It had begun to rain… The little monsters had jumped away, but the rain… it hadn’t been normal, he remembered for sure there was something special about it. He brought a hand up to his brow and massaged it gently. What was it about the rain? All he could remember was that he had taken those instants when the creatures had backed away with troubles of their own to scramble for dear life. He’d tripped and fallen into this crevice, he assumed, and that was the last he remembered. Andres looked around, a new feeling of determination flooding into him. He had to get out of here somehow. If he’d survived that little inferno, he had to at least get a warning out to others. There had to be thousands of people, just like him, caught out there in a world that was for once truly attacking its inhabitants back with all it had. But he had to be careful. He was sure he could never survive another encounter with those shadow creatures. Slowly and with the wall to aid him, he got up. Instantly he discovered he’d fractured and ankle, apparently from the fall. “Could be worse… I could have broken every other bone in my body,” he said looking around. Several feet away there were a few pieces of dead wood. He limped over to them and ripping more of his clothing, put together a rudimentary walking stick. “Here goes nothing,” he said taking a deep breath and starting his journey to the outside of the small haven he was in. Making sure there were no strange creatures around, he took a bold step out into the stormy day and headed in the direction of the closest settlement: Bonabba.
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Post by Azonthus on Mar 8, 2005 22:55:00 GMT -5
Eskara1862 doyenne Posts: 1029 (2/26/05 9:34 pm) 69.218.164.168 Re: A LONG time ago in a galaxy FAR away... Azonthus paced around, not sure when to return to the surface. She knew that something crazy had to be going on up there or Tamith never would have sent her with the message to return to the World Beneath. She had no doubt that there were others who had not received the message and were still wondering around up there. There had to be survivors she could bring back. The question was, how safe would it be now to go up there and if it would be any better later. Shaking her head, she stood to leave. She haddn't removed her cape and her quiver of arrows was still strapped to her waist. Her bow never left her side. "I'm going back to the surface," she told Reezar on her way out. He looked up at her, nodded, and went back to talkign with a group of hatchlings. Az walked on her way in the dark, not taking the light from the entire clan. She ran her hand along one wall; this was a path she knew well for she had traveled it often in her time as leader. Just before she left the last light from the sphere, a light weight fell on her right shoulder. Turning back, she saw Freeborn, who had somehow managed to sneak up on her soundlessly. He cawed lowly and again placed his beak on her shoulder. Az met his gaze and nodded. She realized that he now accepted her as his rider. She would cover much more ground being carried by him than she could on foot. Lightly, she rubbed his beak. "Come on then, we'll see who we can find and what we can bring back. The two walked through the darkness, Az leading the way and Freeborn following with his head on her shoulder. When they reached the surface, the day was not much brighter than under the ground. Still, the land was light in a small form of twilight. There was no moon, no sun, no stars, but the land was lit by some eerie glow. Clouds covered the sky and it was impossible for either skybax or raptor to tell if it was day or night. Still, Freeborn happily stretched his wings, but he made no sound. Somehow, both new that silence was best. Wordlessly, Az climbed onto Freeborns back and gripped his saddle. The skybax launched himself into the air. It took a great effort for him to become airborn, but he managed. Flying through the air, Az had a clearer view of the changes to her beloved Basin than she could have from the ground. Streams had changed course, trees had fallen, some areas were burned and others flooded. The raptor nearly missed the canyon that had once separated the Basin from Bonabba; it had closed up to be small enough that she could have hopped across it if she had been on foot. Freeborn landed on the pearch for skybax in Bonabba. He looked around nervously, unsure of what could be out there but sensing something bad. Az hopped off and ran for the enarest pod house. Every building she looked in was deserted. Not wanting things to go to waste, she grabbed what supplies she could, blankets, three packs salted fish that had once been intended for caravans, a deck of cards, packets of tea, rope, anything she thought Freeborn could carry. Rather than waste more time scavanging in an empty village, she returned to Freeborn and they again took off. This time, the flight was not so uneventful. It did not take long before the screams of two young voices reached both the raptors and skybaxes ears. Freeborn flew faster and towards to screams. Soon, a sight the raptor could not bear came into view. Two children were running from black, shadowy creatures. The creatures were snarling and hissing at the children, but these creatures were neither human nor saurian. They were something else, something that Az knew deep in her soul were evil. Trusting to her balance, Az sat up in the saddle. She dug her claws into the woven saddle for better balance and knocked an arrow to her bow. She sighted along the shaft and let it fly. Her arrow flew straight into the heart of one of the creatures and it fell down dead. Within a matter of moments, all the beasts were dead and the children were safe. Freeborn found a place to land, but Az didn't wait for him to touch the ground. She jumped from the saddle and ran to the kids. They were both young, the boy somewhere around four and his sister around nine. The little boy had a stuffed dinosaur doll in his hand and he was crying, using it to wipe away his tears. "Come on, we have to get you out of here," Az said. She gestured for them to follow and quickly ran back to Freeborn. They nodded and followed her. Freeborn willingly accepted the extra weight and they were on their way to the Elementals house. What was left of it was not to her likeing. She ordered the children to stay with Freeborn while she looked around. She made her way towards the ruines of the main house. Halfway there, a pool of blood stopped her. There was no body, but she knew it to be Rebecca's by scent; Rebecca had to be dead, there was too much blood for her to have lived. The raptor pushed away the sorrow and cry welling up in her; she could mourn later. A quick search of the house proved it to be empty. It was after leaving the half standing structure that Az found Andres. Labsmurf polyvalent Posts: 30 (2/27/05 3:14 am) 82.197.204.239 Re: Open your eyes... You do of course realize the idea of Tamith married and with kids is SCARY??? ROTFL I guess this sudden activity means I have to attempt to make a post too... *thinks* Azzy how do you shoot arrows from a flying skybax, wouldn't the wind caused by the flying make it impossible to hit the target? Tamith Evil Incarnated Posts: 33 (2/28/05 4:09 pm) 66.50.91.172 Re: Open your eyes... LOL I forgot to point out the age my character was when all of this happened was mid to late 30s. So it's not so scary when you consider I'd be... almost twice my age now Though I see your point... my spawns all over the world.. heh heh, poor little mortals you!
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Post by Tamith on Mar 16, 2005 23:42:33 GMT -5
Andres watch as the shadowy silhouette approached him out of the twilight and felt himself go cold. He looked around desperately for a place to hide, but found none and he possessed nothing he could use to defend himself. The shadow must have sensed his panic because it stopped and raised a claw in the familiar Dinotopian gesture of greeting
"Breath Deep, Seek Peace!" Az called. "I mean you no harm. I want to take you to the World Beneath, where others are hiding." She shifted a little bit, waiting to see if he would calm down or allow her near him.
Andres sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness!” he called out. “Forgive me, I cannot see what you are and these are unfriendly times to meet strangers.” He walked over to Azonthus and smiled. “I know you,” he said. “You were a guest at the O’Connor manor with the Turners, am I right?”<br> She nodded. "Yes, I was, before all of this started." It didn't take long for her to notice the wounds and his hobbling step. "You need help. My clan is in the World Beneath. We'll try to patch you up with what we have."
“I’d appreciate that very much,” he replied. “You can imagine I’ve seen better days.”<br> She nodded. "I know I'm not very tall, but you can lean on me for support." He willingly accepted the offer and the two made it back to Freeborn and the children. Az wasn't sure what to do at first, but she soon realized there was no way the single skybax could carry all four of them. She would have to stay behind. Now, the trick was getting the skybax to understand that he would have to leave and come back for her. Without any training as a skybax rider, Az had no idea how to communicate her plan to him.
"Stupid language barriers," she muttered. "Kids, Andres, you're going to have to ride Freeborn back on your own. I'll stay here and see what I can find that may be useful in the World Beneath."
“You’re staying behind?!” Andres simply stared at her in utter disbelief. “Do you know what’s roaming up on the surface now?”<br> She shook her head. "Not really, but they are mortal. I killed three earlier today. I still have my bow and arrows, and I'll be on the lookout for danger. Freeborn can't carry all of us, especially with you wounded." She began unloading the supplies she had earlier strapped to his saddle. "Freeborn will have a hard enough time carrying the three of you. If he doesn't come back for me by tomorrow, I'll start making my way back through the Basin."
Andres looked thoughtful. “Be careful,” he told her finally. “Killing them while airborne is one thing, making battle to them while on the ground… well, as you can see the odds aren’t in your favor. But I thank you for what you’re doing for me.”<br> "I've fought many battles in the past; I'll be fine. Now, get out of here before they come back!" She smiled and began helping him into the saddle. When everyone was on, she lightly stroked Freeborns beak. "You come back for me as soon as possible, okay?" she told him. He cawed back but seemed to understand that she couldn't come. Gently, he tapped her shoulder with his beak before wing walking a short distance and taking off into the air. Azonthus watched the small group as long as they were in sight. Now that she was alone, the world seemed much darker and foreboding. She hated the silence around her, the smell of death, the taste of rotten vegetation on the air.
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Post by Tamith on Mar 16, 2005 23:45:31 GMT -5
This was not the Dinotopia she had grown up on and loved. She doubted the rest of the world was any better off. Everything was so quiet… or was it? There was a sound of something nearby, it sounded like a child sobbing. Worried that it was indeed another orphan, she followed the voice. Some distance away hiding behind a large accumulation of boulders she indeed found a young boy. He could not have been over 8 years of age, his once regal looking garments were torn and dirty and his face was buried in his arms as he cried. All she could see was a head full of slightly wavy blonde-white hair.
"Hello," she said in the common language. "Are you hurt?
The boy looked up startled and jumped backwards clearly not expecting to find anyone there.
“No…” he sad quickly wiping the tears away from his cheeks. “Why would I be? I can look after myself just fine.”<br> "Well, there are some pretty scary things out there." She looked at him more closely. Despite the crying, he didn't look too frightened or hurt. "Are you all alone out here? Where are your parents?"
“My parents…” he looked around looking for something before turning back to her. “They’re dead.”<br> "I'm sorry." Something was very weird here. This kid wasn't acting at all like someone that young who had just lost his parents should. "We can go back to my clans caves if you would like. There are others there and you won't be out here all alone."
“I’m not alone,” he replied looking down at the ground. “I’m already there.”<br> "Already there?" This was confusing, but she had nothing better to do. "Hey, why don't you help me find whatever’s left here?" She tried changing the subject. "Maybe we can find some good food to eat."
“There’s nothing left,” the boy said, but walked towards her anyways. “Nothing that wants to be found.”<br> "Well, we can make a game of it. I'm sure if we look hard enough we can find something shiny. I bet I find a glass bottle before you do!"
He walked along side her but had no interest in looking for bottles. “Why are you like this?”<br> "Like what?"
“You smell like my family,” he said staring at the floor in front of him.
"Ok... I smell like your family." Now the raptor was beyond confusion. Humans couldn't smell the scents of family or other creatures the way saurians could. She knew the two children she had been with hadn’t been wearing any kind of perfume or something that would rub off on her that the little boy could smell. "Who is your family?"
“Why do you smell like him?” he insisted. “You’re not supposed to. Who gave you the right?”<br> "Smell like who? I can't tell you what you want to know if you don't tell me who you're talking about."
For the first time the child look straight into her eyes and she noticed they were glowing bright gold. “Like the Oceans and the Seas, like the Rivers and the Rain, tell me now, why do I sense him in you?”<br> Az paused for a moment, considering his words. He couldn't possibly be talking about Dylan... Still, who else would smell like oceans and seas, rivers and the rain? "Dylan? How do you know about that?" His eyes were so unsettling; she thought he could know anything.
The boy took a step away from her and narrowed his eyes. “Seis no raimanei sandare,” he said. “You still have not answered my question, Azonthus of the Sharpclaw.” Out of the darkness of the skies three creatures appeared and began circling them like vultures.
Az looked at him, then up at the creatures. She quickly knocked an arrow to her bow and stood between them and the little boy, thinking to protect him. Sighting along the arrow, she loosed it. Her arrow struck the heart of one of the creatures and it fell to the ground. Before the creature had even started falling, Az had loosed another arrow at the second one. "Stay back," she told the kid as she knocked a third arrow.
Before she could fire it, the boy grabbed the arrowhead motioning her to stop. The two wounded creatures shrieked in pain for a few moments, then ripped the arrow out of their bodies and threw them at the ground. They then continued to circle, apparently unharmed.
“Why do you attack my escort,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “Why do you have what does not belong to you? Your days have been far too long.”<br> Az looked back at him. "Your escort?" Finally, realization dawned on Azonthus. "You're an Elemental, aren't you? Dylan did this to me. It was really a sort of accident when he was younger and he never removed it for fear of what it would do to me. You say I have no right to smell like your family. I never asked for it, but he did it to save my life because he's my friend. I didn't ask for it."
The boy smiled. “He’s so softhearted, isn’t he?” he said never taking his eyes off her. “You’re right in saying they are my family, but I am no Elemental. In any case, I’ll be taking it back now, there’s no reason for you to keep it.”<br> "Hm." Az pondered what to do. Her clan needed her more than ever now, and she needed to make it through this mess for them. If he had tried to take it back a week ago, she would have willingly done so. Then, something Kael had said when he first realized what had happened came back to her. If the healing was removed, she would die almost immediately from the original injury. "So, you've come to take my life."
“It is not yours to begin with.” As he spoke, his childish features change and he grew before her eyes into a man. Above them, the three circling creatures seem to go crazy and started to shriek.
Az smiled at him. So, she was dealing with Death. "It's not yours to take, it was a gift."
“A gift has a Time,” he replied. “Yours has long been up. There is no reason for you to stay longer, follow me.”<br> "I could, and would have just last week. Today, I refuse. My clan needs me and this is the time this gift will best be used."
Death stared at her, his expression cold and unreadable. “Seindero noma Furias conoly,” he said. Immediately the Furies attacked sweeping down on the little raptor.
Az looked up at the furies closing down on her. There was no point in trying to fight them, they couldn't be hurt. Glaring at them, she yelled "Back off!" before they reached her. At the last moment, the flew sideways avoiding her.
“Follow me,” Death told her again.
"I already told you, no. I'm needed too much now."
“Had you not returned, you would not have been missed and all would have continued as it is. You only believe you are needed. I’ll ask you one final time, follow me.”
"Returned? Come on, I would have been missed, no matter where I went. It's kind of hard not to notice a three hundred year old raptor walking around that still looks 20! I am needed. Without me, so much of my clan history will be lost. They need someone to see them through whatever mess you Elementals have decided to create. I'm not coming."
“Such is life,” he stated. The dark robes he was wearing seemed to engulf and flow around him so he no longer looked corporeal. Two pairs of jet-black raven-like wings unfolded from his back and he unsheathed an intricately carved sword from somewhere within his robes before he began to move towards her.
Az stepped up to the sword. "I'm not going willingly, and I'm not going to help you, but I don't think there is any escaping Death." She stood there, not moving, watching him, waiting to see what he would do. She was truly sorry for Freeborn and her clan. The Skybax would come looking for and find nothing, and her clan had been counting on her return. Then again, Andres had warned her about staying. She should have taken his advice and left.
Death walked up to her and paused for a few seconds before burying his sword into her chest. Azonthus fell to her knees as she saw her life flash before her eyes in a rapid succession of images she recognized, but couldn’t make sense of. She began to feel herself succumb into darkness when suddenly; she found herself wide-awake again, the slight pressure in her chest gone. She looked around confused and found Death still before her, his blade clean. She looked down at her chest and saw that is was not wounded. Azonthus looked up at Death, confusion written all over her face.
“You’ve been spared,” he told her simply. “There is one thing you must do.” With that, he disappeared into a column of mist and dark light.
Az stayed there, motionless, stunned. Her heart was pounding against her ribs so fast she thought it impossible that her ribs didn't break. She was alive... But, she'd also died, in a way. Why had she been spared? Death had been determined to take her, and had her, then let her live. There is one thing you must do. The words rang in her mind over and over. There is one thing you must do. She didn't move from that spot until Freeborn’s return broke her reverie.
He lightly poked her in the back, checking to see if she was okay. She stood and turned around to look at him. "You almost found a corpse." It didn't take long for her to reload the supplies she had taken off his saddle earlier and they were soon back in the safety of the World Beneath.
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Post by Vorchia on Apr 7, 2005 12:10:08 GMT -5
This isn't going to work. I simply can't do this, I have no inspiration whatsoever and certainly not for writing. Also I can't put my mind into the character's minds here, I try but I keep failing. Its all too alien. I know its Dinotopia but its an alien kind of Dinotopia, strange, mutilated, foreign and no longer obeying the laws of physics. Its frustrating enough but this is not Dinotopia anymore, Dinotopia isn't supposed to get destroyed for example. I know the whole Dinotopia thing tampers with the laws of physics and evolution too still if I try hard enough I can could get into it. This I can't get into, I'm no magic person and I'm not one to have any ideas about paranormal or spiritual stuff. I'm logical and practical. This is a crystal wall I cannot break. I don't understand, I cannot follow the way the characters think and act anymore. In this I do not recognise my 'image' of Dinotopia. I can't do anything with it. My mind is locked, phantasy like that is something I can read and automatically analyse (and often analyse to death) but it'll never work for me to WRITE it. I can't do this. I need those laws of time, space and matter... (Az didn't call me the 'insane ovi of science' for nothing). That and no-one I know online has time to spare to talk or email, let go help me find my muse so its a hopeless case I think. Sometimes I when I can't roleplay a roleplay chat helps but there's not a chance of that happening as long as we're all in the collegebanks. Heck teh last twenty times I asked all I got was 'no', or 'no' or 'not now' or 'you always want to roleplay'. I can't roleplay without inspiration and this roleplay is very uninspiring. I have thought and thought but I can't figure out plot or character or whatever. The roleplay doesn't even have a goal I could try to think a plot around... There's no interesting plot going on and I can't even do so much as make a fire (because of Aiden), while its the first logical thing to do when wandering in the world beneath and one's sunstones are almost dead. Right now, real life is more rich in conversation, contact and laughter then online life. Online life is being awfully dull and quiet with no-one having time for another even if they're friends.
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Post by Vorch on Apr 8, 2005 13:38:17 GMT -5
Ok its worse then I thought, I also can't get inspiration or get into the story when just reading the Dinotopia books or looking at the art. All teh art does is make me miss the sights of Paris and wonder hoe Rome could possibly be greater then Paris when Paris is the most beautiful city that Europe ever knew as far as I know. Am I growing up or whats wrong with me? My imagination is nice and dead, even my latest attempt at art looks demonic somehow.
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