The City: One Year Later (Dark Fantasy Epic) (Open, Started) (Interest thread for applications!)

[DragonofDecay86]

Damein's ships found an inconspicuous port to dock their ships while Damien and the others were off about their business. The ships captains disembarked first, going off to the nearest pub to spend the money that had earned for carting Damien and the others this far, and they would receive another wealthy sum of money on Damien's return. Damien and the rest of his riders disembarked not long after the captains, tying what supplies they would need to their horses saddlebags so that they would be ready when the battle came.

"Men, make sure to bring enough food and water for both the journey there and the return trip." Damien called out to the rest of his riders before ushering his horse down the ramp and onto the docks that led back into the town. The other ships were doing the same, and Damien saw Drake waving his arms and pointing to a large clearing on the outskirts of town. Damien signaled in return for Drake to start leading his men to the clearing, before motioning for his riders to do the same.
****************

When all the men were assembled, their march started. Damien led his men away from the town, now known as Darkwater to Damien and his soldiers. Their march was forced, and they were informed that they would reach the Forest District in a few hours march at the pace they were going.

Little known to Damien, he was being followed...

 

[Nukey]

Waree Blackwood stood amongst a pile of rubble and splintered wood, a thick coat of ash and dried blood covering his person as he shifted through the debris that surrounded him, a smirk on his face as he climbed over the mounds of shattered stone and mangled flesh that lied before him in the peaceful district. He was alone, his crew having long ago left the city after the militia started to break their ranks, but nevertheless remained in the area, hiding in plain sight amongst the chaos that was left in their wake to carry out his own plans. Amongst the riots, looting and general anarchy that followed the attack, he made his mark, taking every possible opportunity that presented itself to him for no reason other than to drag the world around him further into the pits of despair.

He had seen the lives of many end at his command, homes destroyed and families torn asunder, and all the while wore a twisted grin on his face, revealing in the joy of watching it all burn to the ground. He was almost lost in it all, in his mind re-watching all the wonderful carnage he had witnessed, but decided remaining here would be a waste, aware that he still had a score to settle and that every minute wasted was another it would take to end the life of the one who ruined his.

"I'm coming for you, wench..."

 

[Korten12]

Forest District---

A man went outside and looked up, the clouds began to close up, and become grey. Plop. Suddenly he felt a drip on his head, so he patted his head and felt water. It was about to rain. Behind many of the tree?s Forest District was a sight to behold after the rain stopped. He went back inside and closed the door. ?Nana, are you still here??

A teenage girl came into the room. ?Yes, you hadn?t told me to leave yet. You sort of walked up and went outside.?

?Oh yes, sorry. Let us continue your lessons. Water magic, correct??

Nana nodded her head.

?Well perfect, it is raining. Let us test out you manipulation of the rain.?

She gave him a funny look. ?Manipulate the rain? That is quite advance magic.?

?Blah, we shall try, if not, we go back inside and try standard water magic.?

They went outside, now it was pouring outside, and so the man casted a spell on them so they wouldn?t get wet. He casted a spell, and some drops of rain stopped in midair as if frozen in time.

?Now with these-?

A feeling overcame him, he had felt it earlier. He looked over at Nana who seemed to also be feeling.

?Elder Mage Skyre, what is that feeling? Some magic??

Skyre looked over in the direction of O?la where it appeared to be coming from.

Could they have really..?

?Follow me, we?re going to the academy to see what the other Elder Mages have to say.?

Together they went down the street, where other mages where also going. When they arrived, the place was crowded, but they got through. Many of them where demanding to know where that Magic was coming from and fast. When they made it through the crowd, they let Skyre and Nana into the Elder Mages Discussion room.

?Skyre?s, good to see you?re here, you too Nana. We were just about to start talking about the strong Magic Source that has appeared from O?la.? Said Elder Mage Yin?el.

?Good, then let?s get this out of the way, you think they finally have done it? You know, revived the banished Goddess Osaia??

The Elder Mages looked at each other and nodded. Nana looked at them all. ?Revived? Osaia? You got to be joking, surely right??

Skyre answered her honestly. ?We haven?t publically announced it, but we have for a bit now, believed that?s what they were working on. Now before you ask why we didn?t stop them. Well, we knew that they were working on it, but where and when was clueless. We assumed it was going to be in Emerald, where there HQ is. Guess we were wrong.?

Elder Mage Udell spoke for the other Elder Mages. ?Yes, Skyre, we believe they have. Nowhere else in this City a mage source and feeling such as that could have come from.?

?So, what?s our course of action? She is a Mad Goddess, a Dark Goddess in Light Goddess skin. She could destroy this whole city in the matter of seconds.?

?We will wait, observe the situation, confirm officially if it?s her, and then look at the best time to strike. We maybe mages, but Osaian?s aren?t just weak followers, all of them have been trained in combat for years in wait for this.? Said Elder Mage Paq?la.

 

[ServebotFrank]

(Marco, O'la)

Marco moved through the crowd of people all organized to hear the woman speak. In the moments before the woman spoke, with Lorel's body near her, he managed to catch various comments from the crowd. "I can't believe this happened in my lifetime, the Goddess Osaia!" He heard one man speak to his friend. His friend shared his excitement and spotted Marco behind him, "Have I seen you around mister? I know all the others." Marco thought quickly and fabricated a story on the spot, "I, uh, worshiped Osaia when I was younger until I moved up northward to look for more followers. I came down the trail from Middle City to here quite recently and well, um, I guess I arrived in time."

The man still wasn't satisfied and asked another question, "Wait recently? So you were with caravan that came here?" Marco felt anxiety coming in, Oh shit! I didn't know that! Gotta think quickly. "Well, um," Marco began lying, "Yes I was. Forgive me, my memory fails me more than usual these days." The man eyed him suspiciously and turned to whisper to his friend. In that time Marco moved over to a different spot in the crowd. That was too close. I better just stay quiet then. Marco thought to himself as the Goddess began her speech to the crowd.

 

[Issurru]

Later that Night
Rumina pushed open the saloon style doors and entered the Golden Way Inn and quickly started scanning the crowd for someone who didn't seem to fit in. It took a little while but eventually Rumina spotted someone glancing towards him more often than not so he began to walk over to the table, which surprisingly wasn't in the furthest corner of the Inn like most would expect.

Rumina casually walked over to the table where the man was sitting, pulled out a chair and raised his hand to signify that he'd like a drink. The man stared at him with cold calculating eyes, eyes that would send chills down a mans spine, Rumina was worried but he tried his best not to show it.

"So, are you the one leaving notes in stranger's rooms?" Rumina asked the man bluntly.
"That I am" said the man with a evil little smile. "Tell me now, I want the information you promised in the note. I want any and all information regarding that bastard who murdered my parents.
"Whoa! hold on there sonny, you best calm down lest I have to take you outside to show you some manners on how to speak to your elders." He said as he started to push himself away from the table. "Wait, I apologize for my rudeness. But i'm sure you can understand where i'm coming from do you not?"

"No I do not know where you're coming from as my parents died a natural death" he said seeming to want to taunt Rumina, and it worked. "Give me the information before I stop asking so politely for it, get in my way and I will cut you down and extract it in a not so pleasant way." Rumina said as he quickly stood up and in one swift motion grabbed the mans shirt collar. "Don't say I didn't warn you..." He smirked as he looked over to another table as three more men stood up quickly placing their hands on their weapons.

"Don't play games you cannot hope to win child, you should give up searching for this man, he will destroy you, you will wish you had never went searching for him. You cannot fathom his power." "I don't care, either I will kill him, or he will kill me. I refuse to give up searching for this scumbag. I will hunt him down until the last breath of air leaves my body." Rumina said gripping the mans collar even tighter and glaring into his eyes.

"Tayranthiel, his name is Tayranthiel. As you know he is a mage, his power is immense. I have yet to see a mage as powerful as him. He seems to grow stronger every day, what his plans are I do not know. But i'm sure others do. Seek out a man named Redithidoor, surely he will know more. His connections are much more knowledgeable than those I have at my disposal. He's supposed to be a few towns over, something about a ceremony and a girl, I don't really recall anything other than that, sorry." He quickly removed himself from Rumina's grip and began to walk out the doors leading outside. "Have fun, young Rumina"

 

[Korten12]

Osaia---

Osaia continued to talk even during the rain, but eventually stopped when she seemed satisfied, and when she believed it was time to work then talk. All of her followers began to leave and go into preparation. Once she finished and went back inside and picked up Lorel and brought him to her room, where she then placed him on her bed. During her speech, they had it prepared for her. When she got in, she casted a spell that made it so no magic energy would flow outside of the room and no noise.

?What am I going to do with you..??

She sat for a moment contemplating her next move. Osaia looked around and then got onto the bed, and crawled above Lorel, then she was face to face. Then she proceeded to take her finger, and from the forehead, go down his face, releasing magic at the same time.

Lorel---

Once again he was in whiteness, but this time, his shadow was attached. He looked down just to make sure it wouldn?t vanish but it suddenly moved away, and left him. His body began to feel weaker. The shadow moved away but then stopped and then began to grow upwards into a three-dimensional being, keeping Lorel?s shape and eventually, he saw himself.

It was no longer just a shadow, but he saw himself, but with the red markings and red eyes. Lorel was stunned. ?What is going on? What is all of this??

The other Lorel laughed, but his voice wasn?t the same as Lorel was expecting. It was a bit lower pitch, but still matched him as does his normal voice does. ?They didn?t tell you??

?Tell me what? That I have a second? Me??

Lorel saw the other self, shake his head. ?Not a second you, but a whole other being.?
?Then who are you, why do you look like me??

The man laughed again. ?I have no time to explain, another person on the outside is calling me. But I will leave you with this.?

Lorel noticed that the other self began to fade. ?It is you who looks like me.?

Osaia---

Suddenly she saw Lorel?s closed eyes open in a flash, and they were blood red. All of the markings on his body began to rise up over his body. Osaia jumped off the bed as Lorel began to get up.

?Who are you? Why do you seem so familiar??

The other being that was now in control stood up and got off the bed. ?Why do I seem familiar? Because, we know each other, we have fought each other.?

He vanished and appeared right in front of her. ?I am the Dark Blood God, Gemsi.?

Malina---

The three of them, waiting for Marco, went into a nearby alleyway and hid behind boxes. They were silent and the atmosphere around them was dark.

 

[ServebotFrank]

(Kain, O'la)

Kain waited in silence for Marco to return from the crowd. When he saw him approach the area he last saw everyone from, Kain stood up and beckoned Marco over to the alleyway. Marco briskly walked over to the alley and revealed what he knew about the woman. "She is apparently a goddess revered by the citizens here. Her name is Osaia and the citizens who worship her are the Osaians. She had Lorel with her from what I could see from the ground and she spoke from the top of that building over there." Marco finished as he pointed towards the large building.

 

[Korten12]

Malina---

?The Goddess Osaia..? We are I deep shit then, I never expected this, not once,? Itsuka spoke as she began to pace back and forth. ?Did she mention anything of Lorel in her speech??

 

[DragonofDecay86]

Damien had sent out a patrol to each of the nearby cities, all bringing the same news. A rebellion against Upper District was nearing, and all those who wished to take part in the creation of a new world were welcome to join the Lost Souls army. The main camp of the Lost Souls was located in a ravine down by a river so that they could fill up on water before marching north again. Tents were set up, yet they were in no real order, just where everyone had a place to sleep when the got the chance. Soldiers hurried about, bringing dull blades to a make-shift armory so that they could be sharpened before the battle.

Damien sat in a special tent they had set up for him. It was a tent designed to hide all the traces of magical power from anyone searching for mages. Damien sat looking at a map of the south, which one of the soldiers had found in Darkwater, and was trying to decide the quickest path to take up to the borders of Upper District territory after their recruiting was finished.

Damien sat idly in his chair, spinning a ball of green flames around in a circle as Echo and Omega hung in the air beside Damien's chair. Each wolf looked down at the map, and they each seemed to have their own ideas of how they wanted to get to the north.

"Echo. Omega. I believe taking a direct route is best, even if that means we'll happen across a few cities. O'la is still the only major city near our route, so if we need to we can simply stop there and resupply one last time. Does that appease both of you?" Damien asked, turning to each familiar in turn.

When both Echo and Omega nodded, Damien smiled and sent the magic fireball up into the air which exploded in a bright flash and sent tiny particles of light raining down all over the map, which seemed to have no effect to it at all.

Now we wait... a few more mages would be excellent for the battle ahead. Let's just hope we can find some in the towns around here...

 

[ServebotFrank]

(Kain, O'la)

Marco shook his head. "No actually, the speech was about how you would've expected it to be about."

 

[Korten12]

Gemsi (Lorel)---

?Well? Well, if it isn?t the Goddess Osaia, wait, no that?s not right. It?s hard to consider you a Goddess after you got banished.? Gemsi spoke mockingly.

?What was that? I could kill you this instant if I wanted to!? She spoke back.

Gemsi laughed. ?Kill me? No, you can?t. I have all of my powers. But what I can see from your magic that is slipping out, it?s only a fraction of what it used to be. You?re the equal of an Ultimate Mage. Not a Goddess.?

Osaia didn?t bother to speak back, she knew it was true, and she best not insult the Dark Blood God. Which she curiously wondered why he was in the body of a teenage boy, who looked almost exactly like Gemsi when she last saw him.

?How did you get in that body? This Lorel fellow was the one controlling it, but now it seems. You do.?

He looked at his body. ?Oh- this. It was about, a bit over 17 years ago, when this body was still in the womb of his mother. Something was happened, in the womb, using magic they saw that the baby was dying. Now as you know, the Gods and Goddess don?t interfere with worldly matters. Being in the banished Dark God Realm, I saw this as my chance to live again. I went to Dear Hongi and Kina Ion and made them a deal.

?I will save the baby, at one cost. I can reside in baby, so when he was old enough, I could come back to life. At the same time not telling them, I would take the body. But then a problem occurred, after the deal went into place and I was in the Soul Realm of the baby now known as Lorel. They found out a way to seal the Soul Realm and have me stuck in there and not able to get out. Till now.?

Malina---

?Oh? Okay, well let?s head over to Forest District so we can seek aid.? Malina spoke softly.
The four of them moved quietly across to the gate and made it through and let out a sigh of relief. They noticed there weren?t many people outside, but they did see the Guards walk over to them.

?What is your business here? I see one of you is a Mage, should we be happy, or angry?? The guard spoke.

?Happy,? spoke Malina. ?Also because I know what appeared in the O?la and some more tidbits of info. I assume you guys already have felt the presence?

?Follow us.? The guard spoke and began to lead them near a large building down the streets.

Forest District was a marvel, by now the rain had stopped, and the sun was going down giving everything a clam feeling. The tree?s overarched the streets and many houses were built inside of the abnormally large trees. Grass was coming through the cracks in the cobble road that only added to the atmosphere.

When they arrived at the large building, people began to pour out. More like pushed out from the looks of it noted Malina.

The guard led them to the door where an older man opened the door. ?We told you everything what now?? He spoke in a grumpy voice.

?These four claim to have been in O?la when the Goddess appeared.?

?Really? Well get them inside. You stay out here.?

?Yes, sir.?

The four of them went inside and the Old Man led them to another door where he preceded to knock on it loudly as if the person inside wouldn?t hear.

?What?? An irritated voice came from the room.

?I got four people here who were just in O?la and got some information.?

They could hear the lot of them inside murmuring. ?Bring them in.?

The Old man opened the door and pushed them in and closed it behind them. Inside they saw five people, four older looking, and one much younger. One of the elders, a short man walked forward.

?I am Elder Mage Skyre, these are Elder Mages Yin?el, Paq?la, Udell and our young mage, Nana. And you seem to be Itsuka Maen or ?Red Itsuka. Interesting to see a famous mage such as you here in our District.?

Itsuka almost felt flattered. ?My, my, is my face that recognizable?? She looked over the Elder Mages and Nana who seemed to be staring at here.

Malina moved forward. ?Well as you already know, it is Goddess Osaia who has been resurrected. It seems her plan is to take revenge on God?s Realm and take over the City.?

?Expected.? Spoke Skyre.

?Also just before we knew it was her. She appeared before us, suddenly asking us if she could take our friend Lorel. When we refused she shot magic at us, and took Lorel, for some unknown reason.?

The Elders looked at each other. ?That is? Odd. For a Goddess just revived to do such a thing, more so since it?s been thousands of years. Then again, we don?t know how Goddess think or what it?s like for them in a dormant state.?

?Please, do you think we could help get our friend back??

All the Elders nodded. ?Yes, plus we will need to take care of this Osaia anyway.?

After the conversation, the four of them were brought to an inn where they were split up into fours.

 

[DragonofDecay86]

The door to the Tree Inn suddenly burst open as three men in dark black armor barged inside, brushing past anyone the deemed unimportant. Their armor design was threatening to say the least, large spikes jutted out from each shoulder-pad and a large red symbol was emblazoned with a strange symbol that nobody in the tavern would have understood. One of the three men pushed past the others and made his way to the bar, climbing up on top of it and clearing his voice as the other two men began walking around and starting conversation with the locals. The man atop the bar was bulky, and had a black goatee that partially hid an ugly scar that ran across the mans lips.

"I need your attention. We are soldiers of Grand Mage Damien, and we come to you with a proposition. Lord Damien wishes to fight back against the cruelty and rash behavior of the Upper District, and is planning an assault on the Middle District in one weeks time. Damien sent us here in the hopes of gaining new allies in our cause, because we of the Lost Souls wish to change the City back to the way it was, not the way it is now." The man paused, looking around at the men in the bar and sizing them all up before continuing, murmurs already beginning amongst the crowd.

"Damien asks that you take up arms to help change the City and the way the scum in the Upper District think. If you wish to join our cause, tell one of us and gather your things. If we are to return to our encampment and depart for the Middle District then we need to leave here by dawn tomorrow. That is all the time we can give you to decide on the matter, if you change your minds later then we are camping on the outskirts of town in a small grove. Don't take too long to think about this, it is your chance to make a difference and if you choose to do nothing then you are choosing to let the Nobles take over." The man said, stepping down from the bar and joining his comrades at a table over in the corner.

All throughout the bar, hushed whispers questioned the validity of the Lost Souls words.

"Damien? I heard he died in the Abandoned West Coast!"
"Did they same Damien? He was ranked number five in the ranks of the Mages! Why would he possibly want to rebel?"
"What they want is a rebellion! Well I applaud them! Upper District needs to be reminded that we won't sit by and allow them to take our lands."

Already people began to go over to the Lost Souls, signing their names down on the recruiters papers and leaving the Inn to go and gather their things. Soon rumor spread all around town and others were coming and going to see what the ruckus was about.

 

[Viking Incognito]

As the people in the inn went in to a frenzy to join the strange men?s cause, a young man with blonde hair and the edges of tattoos poking out from under his shirt onto his neck stood up and loudly declared,

?Oh, so at the vaguest mention of the return of Damien, you all scramble to join these men? You so eagerly throw yourselves at what could easily be a trap because you are so desperate. Well how about this. You three who claim to be our saviors, take me to your leader and then I will join you.?

The noise in the room died down a bit and it was plane that some portion of the crowed was no longer so sure what to believe. The young man spoke determinedly and confidently, it would be hard not to at least consider what he had said. Now he was looking directly at the three recruiters waiting for a response.

 

[Korten12]

Itsuka---

Itsuka left her room after hearing the ruckus from below and went downstairs. When she got down, she saw three men in dark black armor. Near them was a sheet where people seemed to be walking over and signing it. But it was slowing down.

Must be recruiting.

?Huh??

 

[DragonofDecay86]

The man who had spoken earlier stood up and walked over to the man with blonde hair and took off his helmet, placing it firmly underneath his left arm before continuing so that everyone in the inn could hear.

"You say you wish to meet Damien? Fine. Everyone that signed up earlier can meet Damien as well, in fact we were simply going to take you tomorrow before the army moves but we can shorten our stay if you doubt us." The man said in an understanding tone, "Damien did say that there would be those who didn't believe us after all. Very well pack your things boy, and meet us at the front gate of the city within the hour, if you are late we leave without you. Anyone who wishes to join us, sign your name and get your things."

The man turned around and motioned for his fellow recruiter to follow him, leaving only one man to get signatures. The two soldiers exited the tavern and made their way to the city gates, and they led anyone that had already signed their names to their encampment.

The man who remained in the inn looked at the people gathered around his table, and then spoke to them, "Damien believed that many would be skeptical of his return and his fight against Upper District. I must ask you all what you know of Damien?"

 

[Korten12]

Itsuka---

Damien?

?I know him,? Itsuka raised her arm to get the man?s attention. ?It seems he got out of Eren Douab alright. Better than that it seems.?

She walked forward. ?Though, it seems as if he doesn?t even know about a new threat that has rised.?

 

[Viking Incognito]

Seven turned to another boy his age with short brown hair and a bruised eye. They exchanged nods then walked out the door together, and got on their horses and followed the men to the camp. When they got there they simply waited. They knew that if Damien was truly here, he would feel the presence of their magic.

Spoiler: OOC

Who has seen my sheet besides Korten, and how many people are still active in this thing?

 

[DragonofDecay86]

"Well girl, you must forgive Damien. He lost all memory after the incident in the Abandoned West Coast. Anyway, would you like to join us? Not for the battle itself perhaps, but as an interested citizen? Nobody who goes there must participate in battle, they can simply go to meet Lord Damien." The man said as he rose from his chair and motioned for the girl to follow him if she wished to meet Damien.

"We will need to depart immediately, those others seemed restless on the matter and we don't want to disappoint. Damien wouldn't want us to disappoint future allies after all."

The man left the inn, but didn't wait to see if the girl was following. She knew where they were if she wished to join them, and the soldiers really couldn't waste anymore time. It was only a few hours walk from here and then the newcomers would need to be given armor and weapons if they wished to participate in the coming battle.

--------------------------

[small]Damien[/small]

Damien stood outside of the camp, and he was muttering under his breath while looking at his surroundings. A bright flash of green light flared into the sky in front of Damien, and stretched out to engulf the entire camp before fading as if nothing had happened. A soldier approached the camp from outside hesitantly at first, but when it was clear that nothing was happening he walked boldly back to Damien and gave a little salute.

"It was just as I thought... this spell is only intended to ward off those with bad intentions. Those who wish to join us with purer intentions are allowed free passage as long as they are traveling with someone who already knows where our camp is." Damien said mostly to himself before turning around and waving at some soldiers who were standing idly by, "Come, the first batch of new recruits is coming and they will need guidance to their sleeping area. If any wish to meet me to test the validity of soldiers words, then send them to my tent where I will await them. If they don't, then take them to the training grounds and figure out the extent of their ability's in combat."

 

[Viking Incognito]

Seven and Nine were impressed by the spell, but they were irritated that Damien had not come to them. Wordlessly, they both decided to go to him. They had found the camp by having Nine place a small dusting of magic sand on one of the recruiters while Seven distracted them, now they went to were the flare came from to find Damien. They knew there were other sources of magic in the camp because they could feel their energy grow, unfortunately, they were sure that Damien could feel it too.

As they approached the small group of men with someone who had to be Damien nearby them, they were stopped by three guards with no magic power.

"What are you doing, and how did you get here?" demanded one of them.
"We are here to see if this cause is worth joining." replied Seven calmly.
"Well sign up like everyone else and see for yourself!" said another sternly.
"Hey Damien," Nine called out. "You might want to let us talk to you pretty soon."

 

[Viking Incognito]

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