"The ring will bond with someone. It will only work for them. It needs the cooperation of a willing soul to function. Toss it through with a warlock and you'll achieve nothing. The portal will open and Azazel will be set free."
He chuckles mirthlessly.
"There's a certain irony in him being unleashed at a place built to honour the fallen."
Meanwhile, Ling's attention is focused on the small, woven ring. It seemed so big and heavy when she first picked it up, but now it fits on her finger like it was handmade just for her. She feels her mind drift and see beyond the material world that surrounds them. Everywhere the world is made of strands, tightly woven like the metallic threads of the ring.
She follows one, and the house melts away to an empty field on a hill. In the distance she can see the water lapping at the many islands of the bay.
She follows another and she is in a city aflame, the sky burned red. The air is filled with screams.
The world twists again and she sees a thousand of Nikolai, Caio and Alaris. A myriad versions of her friends, each choosing different paths, each leading them to another fate.
She sees worlds of peace, sealed off from the demon threat. She sees dead worlds, like Edom, abandoned by the angels. She sees a thousand more, some full of strange creatures and teeming with the power of magic. Others are mundane and ruled by technology controlled by untouchable oligarchs.
The entire experience is overwhelming, but as suddenly it began it is over again, and she is back in the room, sat on the hard floor of the dark cellar.
Ling feels like she just woke up with a terrible hangover. Her head is spinning with what she has just seen and her stomach feels as if it might just decide to turn inside out. She gets up slowly, slightly wobbly on her feet. Staring at the ring, she tries to focus on it again, willing time to stop. She holds her breath -
Immediately, without a flash, or a noise, or a warning of any sort, there is no Ling. Dagon, Nikolai and the shadowhunters are alone in the cellar of old Kuzno's townhouse.
The raven winged seraph claps his hands in delight.
"Oh, I wonder where she's gone."
Dagon and the cellar vanish almost instantly. Then, for a moment, everything becomes muddled. The next thing Ling knows, there is a soft green light coming down on her from above, and darkness below. She doesn't seem to be standing on anything, or sitting, or lying. Nothing appears to be touching her. However, almost at once, she can feel that she is rushing upwards. Then her head suddenly comes out into air and she finds herself scrambling ashore, out onto the smooth grassy ground at the edge of a pool.
As she rises to her feet, she notices that she is neither dripping, nor panting for breath, as one would expect after having been under water. Her clothes are perfectly dry. She is standing by the edge of a small pool - not more than ten feet across - in a wood. The trees grow close together and are so leafy that she cannot glimpse the sky. All the light is green light that comes through the leaves, but there must be a very strong sun overhead, for this green daylight is bright and warm. It is the quietest wood she could possibly image. There are no birds, no insects, no animals, and no wind. She can almost feel the trees growing. The pool she just got out of is not the only pool. There are dozens of others - a pool every few meters as far as her eyes can reach. She can almost feel the trees drinking the water up with their roots. This wood is very much alive.
Almost before she can look around, Ling has half forgotten how she came to be here. She's not thinking about Alaris, or Caio, or even Nikolai. She's not frightened, or excited, or curious. If anyone were to ask her where she came from, she would probably say she had always been here. That was what it felt like - as if she had always been in this place and never been bored, although nothing had ever happened.
Eventually, she notices that there is a girl lying on her back at the foot of a tree a few meters away. She's Asian and slim, with long dark hair, dressed all in dark leather gear. The girl's eyes are nearly shut, but not quite, as if she were just between sleeping and waking. At last, she opens her eyes and looks at Ling. At first she says nothing, and when she does speak, her voice is dreamy and contented.
Ling leans against a tree and feels the bark, steady and real underneath her fingers. But why wouldn't it be real? Of course it's real, it's nature. It's always been here... wait, no! I've NOT always been here. She struggles and fights, but her surroundings seem to carry her thoughts away like leaves on a river. All she can do is try to hold onto them for a moment longer before they drift off.
The asian girl draws her attention - wait, that's, that's me? What? She looks closely, but the other Ling does not appear to be fey or a magical illusion, but oddly real. "Who are you? Of course you've seen me before, you're... you're me." Ling comes a little closer, but there still appears nothing off about the girl. "Where are we?"I need to get out of here while I still remember that I want to. It is oddly peaceful though...
Nikolai sat back to contemplate briefly as Ling was focused upon the ring when she just...disappears. Nikolai starts as he begins to look around, frantic for a moment. He turns to look at Dagon. "What just happened? What, exactly, does that ring do?"
"I wonder did we ever really meet before?" replies the girl with Ling's face, lazily pushing herself up onto her elbows. "I had a sort of idea - a sort of picture in my head - of a girl, like us, living somewhere quite different, and doing all sorts of things. Perhaps it was only a dream."
"She travelled," Dagon tells Nikolai, by way of explanation. "I told you before, the ring lets her move between the weave, from place to place, or time to time. She'll be somewhere close to where she was thinking of."
"She travelled," Dagon tells Nikolai, by way of explanation. "I told you before, the ring lets her move between weave, from place to place, or time to time. She'll be somewhere close to where she was thinking of."
Alaris smoulders with black rage as the creature calling itself Dagon quips their sarcastic outbursts after their companion vanishes.
"You snarky son of a whore... you said 'ring manipulates time and space,' not 'ring makes companions vanish without warning!'"
The shadowhunter trembles with equal parts fear and anger as radiant energy begins to crackle around them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know that's blasphemy, don't you?"
He shakes his head in reproach.
"Don't look at me. I didn't send her anywhere. She did that all by herself. I'm sure she'll return shortly. In the mean time, well aren't you delicious."
Dagon looks Alaris up and down with marked interest.
"Come a little closer, shadowhunter," he purrs, beckoning with his fingers.
Alaris squeezes their fists til their nails sink into their palms, fighting to control the fury and power surging within them. We need this one to get Ling back...
"I would really rather not - I think our relationship is best kept at arms' length, don't you?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
"If you like the heat so much, why don't you come over here and whisssper your sweet nothings to me?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Dagon laughs aloud and strolls towards Alaris, spinning on the ball of his foot when he reaches the barrier at which he fades from existence and rotating through it.
Ling follows the idea of other Lings living other lives in other places... She shakes her head and pulls herself together. Exasperated, she grabs the girl by the shoulders. "No, listen, where are we?" She looks around, but she cannot see the sky or any landmarks, just lots of trees and more and more pools of water - in fact, surprisingly regularly spaced, similar pools of water. What if... are these portals?
She lets go of other-Ling and walks up to another pool. Wait, this place could be fey. I don't know if it's constant. She moves to cut a piece of bark off the closest tree, but then thinks better of it and ties some rope around it instead. Fey are very precious about their trees, better not. Satisfied, she approaches the closest pool and, careful not to touch the water, she leans over the edge and peers in.
Alaris approaches warily, careful to steer clear of the barrier. "What madness would you offer, Dagon the Droll?" the shadowhunter murmurs to the dark apparition.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Nikolai mutters to himself and he begins drawing out his tarot deck. "Damn child, I told her to let me look at that ring first." He huffs indignantly. "Keep him occupied. I'm going to consult the cards to get an idea on how we may find Ling..." Nikolai will begin the process of ritual casting Augury.
Dagon sidles up to the edge of the circle and huskily murmurs his offer in Alaris's waiting ear.
"I'll bring her back," he whispers, his voice almost a growl, "in exchange for one small thing. A kiss. Freely given. As in the Song of Solomon. I hear the lips of the Nephilim are the sweetest on this fair Earth."
Dagon sidles up to the edge of the circle and huskily murmurs his offer in Alaris's waiting ear.
"I'll bring her back," he whispers, his voice almost a growl, "in exchange for one small thing. A kiss. Freely given. As in the Song of Solomon. I hear the lips of the Nephilim are the sweetest on this fair Earth."
He grins cruelly, as he awaits their answer.
For a split-second, the shadowhunter hesitates. WHAT AM I DOING??? But before they can second-guess themselves, Alaris throws their arms around Dagon and wraps themselves around the lithe, powerful creature. Their fingers nestle in its ebon-pinioned wings, and their lips meet Dagon's with a flicker and crackle of radiant energy.
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Ling feels the pull of the magical grove again and decides there and then: If I stick around, this place is going to grab me. If I go back home now, I'll always wonder what this place is - I have to find out! She folds her other hand around the ring and tries to concentrate. Take me somewhere safe! Backing up a few steps, she makes a run for the pool and jumps.
"****, ****, ****... she'll be fine... she'll be fine..." Caio paces and mutters to himself as he feels completely helpless in the situation. He was a warrior, not an academic or a warlock, he knew he couldn't hurt this cheeky bastard who.. not having been paying much attention, he now notices Alaris making out with the fallen angel with no context. "Alaris what the ****?!"
Dagon shakes his head slowly.
"The ring will bond with someone. It will only work for them. It needs the cooperation of a willing soul to function. Toss it through with a warlock and you'll achieve nothing. The portal will open and Azazel will be set free."
He chuckles mirthlessly.
"There's a certain irony in him being unleashed at a place built to honour the fallen."
Meanwhile, Ling's attention is focused on the small, woven ring. It seemed so big and heavy when she first picked it up, but now it fits on her finger like it was handmade just for her. She feels her mind drift and see beyond the material world that surrounds them. Everywhere the world is made of strands, tightly woven like the metallic threads of the ring.
She follows one, and the house melts away to an empty field on a hill. In the distance she can see the water lapping at the many islands of the bay.
She follows another and she is in a city aflame, the sky burned red. The air is filled with screams.
The world twists again and she sees a thousand of Nikolai, Caio and Alaris. A myriad versions of her friends, each choosing different paths, each leading them to another fate.
She sees worlds of peace, sealed off from the demon threat. She sees dead worlds, like Edom, abandoned by the angels. She sees a thousand more, some full of strange creatures and teeming with the power of magic. Others are mundane and ruled by technology controlled by untouchable oligarchs.
The entire experience is overwhelming, but as suddenly it began it is over again, and she is back in the room, sat on the hard floor of the dark cellar.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Ling feels like she just woke up with a terrible hangover. Her head is spinning with what she has just seen and her stomach feels as if it might just decide to turn inside out. She gets up slowly, slightly wobbly on her feet. Staring at the ring, she tries to focus on it again, willing time to stop. She holds her breath -
Immediately, without a flash, or a noise, or a warning of any sort, there is no Ling. Dagon, Nikolai and the shadowhunters are alone in the cellar of old Kuzno's townhouse.
The raven winged seraph claps his hands in delight.
"Oh, I wonder where she's gone."
Dagon and the cellar vanish almost instantly. Then, for a moment, everything becomes muddled. The next thing Ling knows, there is a soft green light coming down on her from above, and darkness below. She doesn't seem to be standing on anything, or sitting, or lying. Nothing appears to be touching her. However, almost at once, she can feel that she is rushing upwards. Then her head suddenly comes out into air and she finds herself scrambling ashore, out onto the smooth grassy ground at the edge of a pool.
As she rises to her feet, she notices that she is neither dripping, nor panting for breath, as one would expect after having been under water. Her clothes are perfectly dry. She is standing by the edge of a small pool - not more than ten feet across - in a wood. The trees grow close together and are so leafy that she cannot glimpse the sky. All the light is green light that comes through the leaves, but there must be a very strong sun overhead, for this green daylight is bright and warm. It is the quietest wood she could possibly image. There are no birds, no insects, no animals, and no wind. She can almost feel the trees growing. The pool she just got out of is not the only pool. There are dozens of others - a pool every few meters as far as her eyes can reach. She can almost feel the trees drinking the water up with their roots. This wood is very much alive.
Almost before she can look around, Ling has half forgotten how she came to be here. She's not thinking about Alaris, or Caio, or even Nikolai. She's not frightened, or excited, or curious. If anyone were to ask her where she came from, she would probably say she had always been here. That was what it felt like - as if she had always been in this place and never been bored, although nothing had ever happened.
Eventually, she notices that there is a girl lying on her back at the foot of a tree a few meters away. She's Asian and slim, with long dark hair, dressed all in dark leather gear. The girl's eyes are nearly shut, but not quite, as if she were just between sleeping and waking. At last, she opens her eyes and looks at Ling. At first she says nothing, and when she does speak, her voice is dreamy and contented.
"I think I've seen you before."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Ling leans against a tree and feels the bark, steady and real underneath her fingers. But why wouldn't it be real? Of course it's real, it's nature. It's always been here... wait, no! I've NOT always been here. She struggles and fights, but her surroundings seem to carry her thoughts away like leaves on a river. All she can do is try to hold onto them for a moment longer before they drift off.
The asian girl draws her attention - wait, that's, that's me? What? She looks closely, but the other Ling does not appear to be fey or a magical illusion, but oddly real. "Who are you? Of course you've seen me before, you're... you're me." Ling comes a little closer, but there still appears nothing off about the girl. "Where are we?" I need to get out of here while I still remember that I want to. It is oddly peaceful though...
Nikolai sat back to contemplate briefly as Ling was focused upon the ring when she just...disappears. Nikolai starts as he begins to look around, frantic for a moment. He turns to look at Dagon. "What just happened? What, exactly, does that ring do?"
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
"I wonder did we ever really meet before?" replies the girl with Ling's face, lazily pushing herself up onto her elbows. "I had a sort of idea - a sort of picture in my head - of a girl, like us, living somewhere quite different, and doing all sorts of things. Perhaps it was only a dream."
"She travelled," Dagon tells Nikolai, by way of explanation. "I told you before, the ring lets her move between the weave, from place to place, or time to time. She'll be somewhere close to where she was thinking of."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Alaris smoulders with black rage as the creature calling itself Dagon quips their sarcastic outbursts after their companion vanishes.
"You snarky son of a whore... you said 'ring manipulates time and space,' not 'ring makes companions vanish without warning!'"
The shadowhunter trembles with equal parts fear and anger as radiant energy begins to crackle around them.
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Dagon holds up his hands in mock innocence.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know that's blasphemy, don't you?"
He shakes his head in reproach.
"Don't look at me. I didn't send her anywhere. She did that all by herself. I'm sure she'll return shortly. In the mean time, well aren't you delicious."
Dagon looks Alaris up and down with marked interest.
"Come a little closer, shadowhunter," he purrs, beckoning with his fingers.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Alaris squeezes their fists til their nails sink into their palms, fighting to control the fury and power surging within them. We need this one to get Ling back...
"I would really rather not - I think our relationship is best kept at arms' length, don't you?"
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Dagon sighs dramatically.
"So hot-blooded, Alaris," he teases, savouring each syllable of their name.
"I tell you what. How about a deal? I do so love deals. Bring yourself over here and I'll whisper it in that little angelic ear of yours."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
"If you like the heat so much, why don't you come over here and whisssper your sweet nothings to me?"
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Dagon laughs aloud and strolls towards Alaris, spinning on the ball of his foot when he reaches the barrier at which he fades from existence and rotating through it.
"I would if I could, dearest."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Ling follows the idea of other Lings living other lives in other places... She shakes her head and pulls herself together. Exasperated, she grabs the girl by the shoulders. "No, listen, where are we?" She looks around, but she cannot see the sky or any landmarks, just lots of trees and more and more pools of water - in fact, surprisingly regularly spaced, similar pools of water. What if... are these portals?
She lets go of other-Ling and walks up to another pool. Wait, this place could be fey. I don't know if it's constant. She moves to cut a piece of bark off the closest tree, but then thinks better of it and ties some rope around it instead. Fey are very precious about their trees, better not. Satisfied, she approaches the closest pool and, careful not to touch the water, she leans over the edge and peers in.
The other girl just looks up at Ling dreamily.
"It's a magical place," she acknowledges with a sigh, and leans back against the tree, closing her eyes once more.
The pool Ling peers into seems much deeper than she would have thought. The depths are a dark-blue black and she cannot see the bottom.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Alaris approaches warily, careful to steer clear of the barrier. "What madness would you offer, Dagon the Droll?" the shadowhunter murmurs to the dark apparition.
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Nikolai mutters to himself and he begins drawing out his tarot deck. "Damn child, I told her to let me look at that ring first." He huffs indignantly. "Keep him occupied. I'm going to consult the cards to get an idea on how we may find Ling..." Nikolai will begin the process of ritual casting Augury.
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
Dagon sidles up to the edge of the circle and huskily murmurs his offer in Alaris's waiting ear.
"I'll bring her back," he whispers, his voice almost a growl, "in exchange for one small thing. A kiss. Freely given. As in the Song of Solomon. I hear the lips of the Nephilim are the sweetest on this fair Earth."
He grins cruelly, as he awaits their answer.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
For a split-second, the shadowhunter hesitates. WHAT AM I DOING??? But before they can second-guess themselves, Alaris throws their arms around Dagon and wraps themselves around the lithe, powerful creature. Their fingers nestle in its ebon-pinioned wings, and their lips meet Dagon's with a flicker and crackle of radiant energy.
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Ling feels the pull of the magical grove again and decides there and then: If I stick around, this place is going to grab me. If I go back home now, I'll always wonder what this place is - I have to find out! She folds her other hand around the ring and tries to concentrate. Take me somewhere safe! Backing up a few steps, she makes a run for the pool and jumps.
"****, ****, ****... she'll be fine... she'll be fine..." Caio paces and mutters to himself as he feels completely helpless in the situation. He was a warrior, not an academic or a warlock, he knew he couldn't hurt this cheeky bastard who.. not having been paying much attention, he now notices Alaris making out with the fallen angel with no context. "Alaris what the ****?!"
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger