Under the Hill - First Circle: Judgement

[Sutoratosu]

"What the hell are you doing? ANSWER ME WORM!!!" Ethic heard the shade call.

Ethic could sense the shadows attacking him, the lesser arcana acting as he had ordered them, automatically defending him. He stopped stalling and unleashed what he had been storing.

"Number 1: The Magician!"

then the barrier broke

The Card blazed in a scarlet light as it grew in heat. Four tendrils of fire extended from the cards surface, under Ethic's command.

Hit with a sudden surge of power, Ethic was forced to Focusing all his mental capability. he managed to send them at the shadows surging towards him and kenny now, destroying them in an ethereal blaze, also destroying a few books on the floor yet somehow leaving the shelves unscathed. He could feel the energy he had pooled for the invocation slowly draining, and knew that soon the reserve he'd set up would be gone, and that he would have to use energy directly from himself to continue the Evocation. it was time to get to business.

He redoubled his effort to control the fire, and felt as if someone were supporting him mentally in this endeavor...

There are many tricks one can do with the flame, allow me to assist you in one...

then he felt another power beside his controlling the fire, this one was far more experienced at it. the flame drew back towards the card, the fires it had started withdrawing as well. it congealed into a massive sphere before them. he noticed that he and kenny were now somehow standing atop a bookshelf. he aslo noticed Ixidor's presence nearby.

he heard Kenny yell.

"NOW, ETHIC!!!"

Yes, let us end this!

He called out, his voice combined with that of the Arcana of the Magician.

"You want me to answer you, shade!!!!?????"

The sphere grew in shape and lengthened, growing a head and a set of wings, along with feet...

"Fine then, hear me now!!!! I answer with FIRE and Without mercy!!!!!!!!!!"

the Ball had now fully transformed itself into a wrym made of pure ethereal fire

"My answer to you is the Drake of Fire and Blood: Thead!!!!!"

With that, The Dragon was released from Ethic's control by the assisting force, swooping down on it's fiery wings and spewing hot, licking flames, destroying many book shelves and heading straight for the shadow.

He could feel that the reserve had completely emptied, and braced for the toll that would carry over to his direct supply of energy. but to his suprise, it did not. he looked beside him, and saw a young man in red and grey robes standing beside him, a sword at his side and a staff in his hand. he spoke, and Ethic knew this was the Keeper of the Magician Arcana.

"Not this time... I will take care of the excess toll this time... You must remain strong...."

He rose his staff, which glowed blood red, the heat gathering around it. He yelled.

"FINISH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Fire drake roared as it swooped ever closer to the shade, it's wings glowing with blinding light and even more flames spewing out of it's mouth...

Edited April 30, 2014 by Stratos

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

((Guys the shade is Byron. Quincy is a totally different entity, so it doesn't look like him. Just a heads up need those parts edited lol.))

The Twisted shade of Byron wept. "No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!! FOILED BY A STUPID CHILD!!!" as the fire drake consumed his form. He screamed in agony, before being totally eaten by the flames. The Umbral Revolver spun on the floor for a few seconds, before it just vanished. A feeling of peace come over the room for a second. It was dead quiet.

[K_H]

"Well done, Ethic. or should i say, that shade is Well Done?"

Kenny then chuckled at the little pun he'd just made.

"now that the fight is over, we should probably figure out what to do ne- oh! i forgot!"

Kenny and Ethic both glowed turquoise, and the Welts on Ethic's arm faded. Kenny then became slightly dizzy.

"Now, what to do next..."

[Ragnar]

the toad came down from the wall with a large thud as it landed. Ixidor regroups with his allies. "are you guys hurt?" as Ixidor gets down on his ride and petted the toad.

[Sutoratosu]

(Edited what I could find referencing Byron in his rat form, let me know if I missed one though)

Ethic stared as the Fire Drake opened it's massive maw, Biting down on the shade. he could hear the agonizing screams as the dragon consumed it.

"No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!! FOILED BY A STUPID CHILD!!!"

"Well..." he muttered to himself

"Could a child really do that? I think not."

But he was getting ahead of himself, it was the magician who had controlled the fire drake and killed the shade-Byron, not him. he looked over , the Keeper of the Magician was still there, holding his staff high into the air as he recalled all the fires started to the Fire Drake Thead, sucking them in like a vacum. With that done, the Massive wyrm of fire dissipated into a cloud of embers before fading into the air.

"Thank you" He said.

The young looking mage lowered his staff. now that Ethic noticed, the Keeper didn't look any older than himself. He looked to Ethic and replied.

"No thanks is needed. I did what I did because it is my duty as a Keeper of the Arcana."

"Still, Thanks. what duties by the way? If you don't mind me asking, that is..."

The Mage's eyes burned with silent knowledge, wisdom a thousand times beyond what appeared to be his age...

"As Keeper's of the Arcana, it is our task to educate an Invoker of the power's they've been chosen to receive. I have just shown you a demonstration of what the Magician Arcana can do at full potential, in the hands of one who knows it well. come, I shall tell you more of the Mage arcana..."

With that, the KOM began walking towards the edge of the shelf. Ethic still had one question before continuing.

"Can the others see you?"

"Not unless I wish for them to."

He heard Kenny speak up now.

"Well done, Ethic. or should i say, that shade is Well Done?"

He chuckled a little at that. Kenny used his abilities to heal Ethic, growing visibly tired after.

"Now, what to do next..."

The magician was waiting at the edge of the shelf top. waiting. he seemed to have all the time in the world, which was probably true in a way...

Ix came down atop his frog.

"are you guys hurt?"

"No, I think we're both alright..."

Ethic looked over at Ixidor, then back to Kenny.

"Well, how about we get off this thing."

He looked to Ixidor, who was still riding atop his giant toad. he got an idea

"Hey, Ix, you think that giant amphibian of yours can carry us all down from here?"

[Ragnar]

"Hey, Ix, you think that giant amphibian of yours can carry us all down from here?"

as soon as Ethic release the words the giant toad was lying motionless as its eyelids close, "oh..mr.toad what happen? sorry but we fought some shadow creatures down here, seems mr.toad fought his last fight" as the young painter addresses kenny and ethic.

"I know ill create another one!" as he reach for his sketchpad in his bag. a voice on his head pops out. Yes why don't you draw another one so i can mess it up! like that skeletal horse hahaha.

Ixidor hesitated and withdrew his sketchpad as said with a timid voice "Why don't we just walk? there others here in this library that seems to be friendly, we might miss them" as Ixidor conceals his thoughs.

Edited May 1, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[K_H]

"huh? why am i sensing a little too much aura for just three people? i think that there's a Great Power among us, but i could be mistaken. after all, Ethic, i did sense a third user of Power access the Energy i sent you while we were battling the Shade... plus, i might have been mistaken, but we've just seen a little preview of a Master's Power, Ethic, and we've only now become Apprentices. it's all just speculation, though. might just be the Aftereffects of such a Powerful Resonance between the Aura and Arcana. what's your take on this, Ethic?"

after a few seconds, the Disturbance in Aura that Kenny had sensed didn't go away, just waiting there.

"perhaps there's a Person waiting for you nearby, to help you on your journey. as a matter of fact, i'm sure of it now. we need all the help and training we can get."

now, the disturbance was making Kenny faintly glow a mottled blue and scarlet. the interaction between the Arcana and Aura was making him a little dizzy, too. but it was nothing he couldn't stand through.

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic looked at Ix as he dismissed the toad. then started acting abit weird..

"Ok then... Guess we can walk."

Ethic listened as Kenny started talking about being able to sense a fourth entity among the three of them, asking Ethic for his take, noticably a bit dizzy for some reason.

The KOM walked over to Ethic and the other two.

"Well, an Aura weaver!." He said to Ethic "It's been a while since I've last seen one of those in the world, aside from a few monks in the Himalayas..."

He shimmered for a few seconds. "Well, guess I might as well just allow them to see me..."

(*the Keeper is now visible to Kenny and Ixidor as well as Ethic)

He walked up to Kenny now. "Well, I was correct, You are one."

KOM could sense the conflicting energies of the Aura field and the Tarot The mage looked over at Ethic, frowning.

"Ethic, this simply won't do at all," He began. "You aren't recalling your power correctly after using the arcana."

Ethic was puzzled by this "What do you mean?"

KOM put out his hand in the air. specks of scarlet, indigo, and violet became Visible, the scarlet bits of energy flowing into the keepers staff, the Violet specks flowing into his hand.

"In order to truly call back the energy you give off while manipulating the Arcana, you must visualize it flowing back into you, then command it to do so."

The flares of violet energy flowed back out of his hand. "Now, you try it."

Ethic did as he suggested, the energy moved towards him, but wouldn't go past a certain distance.

"Well..." The KOM said "This is most disturbing or most hopeful... Such a simple feat as recalling the excess power you give off is usaully something that all Invokers can do without difficulty..."

Ethic didn't know what to think of that.

"So... which is it for me.... Hopeful or disturbing?"

"Either one as far as can be told for now... The best always have trouble with it... but then again, so do the worst..."

The Keeper looked to Kenny and Ixidor, actually addressing them for the first time since making himself visible to them.

"And as for the issue of being stuck up here, Would you three like a way down?"

[K_H]

suddenly, the KOM appears.

"Well, I was correct, You are one."

as the KOM approached Kenny, Kenny's aura intensified slightly, and when Kenny spoke next, his Eyes turned completely blue, the left one being Dark blue and the right one being Light blue. his voice also sounded a little different, and it kept switching between two close tones. (this was signifying that he'd Changed from just himself to the one who was The Guardian, his Auric Form. he'll change back eventually, but the encounter with The KOM has activated a larger Knowledge base for him to draw upon, that of one containing part of the Knowledge of the Aura Weavers.)

"The Master of The Magician's Power... I'm Guessing that Ethic is one of the Chosen Ones. We Aura Weavers and Aura Guardians Haven't seen your kind in a long time, except for the few of us in the Himalayas. you have heard of the Prophecy concerning the Chosen Ones, correct?"

Edited May 1, 2014 by K_H

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

There was a flash of light, and a set of stairs materialized from out of nowhere on the bookshelves.

Enya looked up at them curiously, from what looked like the door to a bomb shelter she'd conjured around herself, Miss Rose, Mister Damian, and Miss Ellaria.

"Is the magician mister coming down too?" The child inquired sleepily as her eyes' glow began to diminish. It didn't seem as if she could keep the protective structure OR the stairs intact for too long, as said objects began to flicker.

[Chevaleresse]

"I can't remember seeing anything like that. Speaking of remembering things, however, do you recall hearing a booming voice earlier? Something about being judged?"

"Why, yes I do," Mr. Taylor said, "But, it all makes sense when I walked in to this place I saw an encryption that had a very biblical reference on it, and I believe it's become obvious of where we are, the judgement, the cryptic message, Nathan my dear boy we-." Before he could finish his thought Mr. Taylor was tackled to the floor by a shadow creature. Mr. Taylor struggled with the creature, while reaching for his gun. "Nathan, get out of here, don't injure yourself to save an old man!" he yelled, while pulling out his pistol and aiming it at the creature who had been to preoccupied at clawing at his face.

Mr. Taylor then fired the bullet at the creature, but to no effect, the bullet just phased through the creature. "Damn it, if only there were some way out of this!" with that Mr. Taylor's hand started to glow a dark green. Mr. Taylor was shocked at this revelation, was he also capable of the magic he'd seen everyone else perform? While, he was postulating this he looked around and it seemed as if time itself had stopped. The room was grey and motionless and the monster itself also shined with the dark green aura. Mr. Taylor focused on the creature and as though time itself was being mended the creature moved backwards through time, slashing his face in reverse which healed all of the scars inflicted upon him. Then the creature got back up and flew backwards into a book, along with as Mr. Taylor noted all of the other shadow creatures that had appeared from the same bookshelf. As the creatures disappeared, the books then rose through the air and the bookshelf seemingly rebuilt itself, completely unscathed.

Mr. Taylor let out a huge sigh, the room regained it's color and the dark green color surrounding Mr. Taylor vanished. Mr. Taylor then looked up at Nathan with a look of total confusion. "Who are you my dear boy? And where are we?"

"I'm Marcus, as I told you before, and we're in the same place we were a moment ago. Perhaps you were correct, and you are going insane, in which case I may have to leave." He considered slashing the man's throat again. He was unusual, and therefore piqued his interest, but if the irritating behavior continued, Marcus wouldn't continue to tolerate it. However, the killer still wanted to know a few things from the confused Taylor. "Now, you said you also heard that voice?"

[Supernovae]

"I'm Marcus, as I told you before, and we're in the same place we were a moment ago. Perhaps you were correct, and you are going insane, in which case I may have to leave."

"Now, you said you also heard that voice?"

Mr. Taylor gave Marcus a confused look, as far as Mr. Taylor could tell a moment ago he was in his living room watching TV, and now he was in some library. Was he really going insane though? It didn't seem real, was this a dream?

In his own recollection this is the only thing that seemed out of place, without witnessing the magic he had seen earlier Mr. Taylor had no honest reason to think he was going insane, so he took offense to Marcus's comment.

"Look, Marcus I don't know who you are and who told you I think I'm insane, but I'm not. So, please by all means lad, go ahead and leave, I can drive myself home. And to answer your question, no I haven't heard any voices, though if you are hearing voices my dear boy, then perhaps you are the one going insane."

[Chevaleresse]

Marcus let out an exasperated sigh, the first real sign of emotion thus far. "You're telling me that you've managed to completely forget everything that has happened to you so far? Every single thing? All of the rambling about 'humans thinking alike' and heading to the southwest corner because you think this place is like the Vatican?" As he spoke, frustration entered his voice, and his hand unconsciously crept toward one of his hidden knives. "And calling me insane is nearly as annoying as stating I do not exist."

[Supernovae]

Mr. Taylor stared blankly at Marcus, though the statements did sound a bit like things he might say and he did have his bag and straw hat with him, things he only brought when he was on an archeological dig, his confidence was shaken by the comment about hearing voices. "My dear boy, I can honestly say I don't recall any of those things, I am a bit old, and my memory is a bit shaky at times, so I'll believe you when you say I said them." Mr. Taylor grabbed his cane, flung on his hat and picked up his bag, "However, I have never, in my 70 odd years on this planet, heard any voice in my head that did not belong to myself, so I don't know what to tell you, perhaps any arrangement we may have had, should end now." With that Mr. Taylor tipped his hat to Marcus and turned around to search for a way out, "Good day, lad."

[Chevaleresse]

"Fair enough then." He waited a moment for the old man to turn away, then silently slipped his knife out of its hidden hiding place. He mentally calculated the strike he would make - a shot up into the kidney, then a slash to the windpipe to ensure death and silence - then lunged.

[Supernovae]

Mr. Taylor screamed in agony as the knife penetrated his skin, right near his kidney. He felt as though his insides had stopped, the blood in his body had only one direction now and that was out. He collapsed to the ground, defeated and begged out "Please, Marcus don't!" But, his pleas weren't heard as the knife cut through his windpipe. It may have taken a few seconds, but Mr. Taylor went cold, his body limp.

[Chevaleresse]

Marcus shuddered as the old man died, feeling an influx of some sort of power. That wasn't the only thing that he felt, however. Images, too fast for him to actually comprehend, flashed through his mind. The story of a seventy-year-old man, a successful archaeologist, and that story's end at the hands of a young man. He gazed down at the corpse, and felt something entirely unfamiliar: guilt. He convulsed with revulsion again, which quickly transformed into a confused rage. He kicked over a bookshelf with an abnormally strong kick and ran off as it toppled, sending countless tomes sailing to the floor, where several bounced open.

[Flux]

Phantom grimaced as he entered the other dimension. It was difficult, navigating through here. The place itself rejected him, an alien being, and it was nearly all he could do to keep himself alive. Still, he would master this place. It would be necessary. This power... he was not sure how he had obtained it, yet it had felt natural to call upon it. It was yet another mystery to which he hoped this place had the answer.

Phantom could feel emotions swell and fade as he moved to different places in the hall. While he couldn't see the people here anymore, he had a relative idea of where they were. There were small hints: murmers of indiscernable voices, swelling of emotions, faint senses of intelligence. By spending enough time here, he would be able to master navigating this place as easily as the other world. That was just the problem though. Due to the place rejecting him, it was difficult to stay here for any length of time. Already, he could feel the dimension pushing him, prodding him to make his way out. He stopped walking as a certain emotion pierced his consciousness. It was so strong that it became discernable to him, even here. Pain. He moved towards the source of the emotion, here murmurs of speech that abruptly ended. Phantom extended a hand, opening a portal back to the other world, curious as to what this could be and what clues it may hold.

The portal appeared behind Mr. Taylor just as his struggle ended. Phantom strode through, eyes ablaze. His gaze moved to the dead man, before focusing on Marcus. He made no motion, but slowly began to speak.

"Pain..."

His piercing gaze was settled on Marcus, his eyes glowing red behind the blank white mask.

[Chevaleresse]

Marcus stared back at the strange man that had appeared behind the old man as he died. He wasn't sure who -or what- he was, but what he did know was that he had just witnessed the murder. "What about it?" he asked as he edged closer to the man, looking for the best angle of attack.

[Ragnar]

Ixidor was bewildered after what he just saw the Keeper, "wow are you for real? it like seeing micheal angelo paint the sistine chapel" as he gaze upon it and try to reach it with his hand.

Fool what are doing? this is some sort of trick to get you killed! as the voice in his head doubts him once more, he held back his arm and remained silence as kenny seems to be in a trance communicating with it.

[Sutoratosu]

In response to KOM's Offer to get the group down from here, Kenny started glowing and spouting a bunch of nonsense about prophesies and chosen ones like this was Avatar: the last Airbender or something... Both Ethic and KOM were thoroughly confused by what the young man was talking about...

you have heard of the Prophecy concerning the Chosen Ones, correct?"

KOM answered.

"Um...no... The Only prophecies I've heard of were from the church scriptures of 14th century Italy... And they've had a rather hit-and-miss ratio so far..."

"wow are you for real? it like seeing micheal angelo paint the sistine chapel"

Ix was reaching out, thinking of touching the KOM, but thought better of it and pulled his arm back.

"Yes," KOM said "I'm quite real right now."

He walked over to the edge of the shelf looking down.

"Now, about getting down... Longicus!"

the tarot stirred inside Ethics jacket as the Chariot resonated. Another voice of the arcana echoed out from the deck, Ethic assumed it belonged to whoever Longicus was... (Longicus, not Longinus, don't get the names mixed up)

"What?" It said rather bluntly

"If you could be so kind as to get us all down from here and onto the ground level..."

"I Think not. I'm not the type who gives out free rides like there's no tomorrow..."

"Oh, really... When you gave Ethic here a free ride earlier, A thought that you were..."

"Enough. I refuse to have this conversation again..."

With that, a man dressed in full Roman armor faded into existence beside Ethic, not bothering to hide his visibility from the other two watching. he was the same apparition Ethic had seen in the Chariot Arcana earlier. his hair was a bit of a mess, and now that Ethic could actually get a clear look at him, the man's armor was stained with blood and dirt and mud. His eyes were dark and stormy, two spears, a pilum and a hasta rested on his left and right shoulder, respectively.

He turned to Ethic, but looked at the KOM

"As I told you back then, Lucian, If an Invoker needs transportation somewhere, then They'll have to invoke the Chariot Arcana themselves. There are no true free rides."

Ethic cut in.

"About the amount of the toll my body takes..."

Longicus looked at him

"Calm down. The Toll your body takes gets worse depending on how far away you choose to travel using the Chariot. How high is this, twenty feet or so?"

"More like thirty, though, Both of us could be way off on the estimates..."

"Doesn't matter. Using the Chariot to get from here down to the ground isn't going to clean you out like you think it will. you'll still be able to walk around and defend yourself if necessary, the only reason it was so bad last time was becuase for one, you invoked the Tower in addition to the Chariot, and two, When you Invoked the chariot, you know how far away you traveled? I'll give you the answer, just know this: It was Far."

"Well, Ethic, guess You're on your own this time... might as well just do it like you've been doing it..."

Ethic looked back and forth between the two. then looked over the edge down to the floor.

Doesn't look that far down...

He called forth his power and focused on the Chariot. It flew out of the pocket in his jacket and hovered there in the air in front of him. he invoked it, focusing on his intended destination.

"You see?" said Longicus to Lucian "I don't give out free rides"

"Come on, that was what, two hun-"

The two Arcana Keepers vanished as Ethic, Ixidor and Kenny found themselves on the ground in front of the book shelf. Ethic looked back up, and they were gone. but the Chariot and the Magician were still resonating in his pocket. he felt like he'd just sprinted a short distance, but aside from a slightly fast heart rate and a little winded, he was fine. He looked over at Kenny and Ixidor

"Well, me and Ix already agreed to stick together down here...but you wanna come with us Kenny? we could probably use a third person."

He waited to see whether Kenny would accept the offer, though he couldn't tell whether or not the other young man had exited the strange trance state he appeared to be in back on the book shelf...

Edited May 1, 2014 by Stratos

[K_H]

As soon as the Keepers disappeared, Kenny's eyes started to fade back to their normal color.

Then, Ethic asked Kenny whether he'd like to join forces with Ix and him or not.

"Of course i'll join you."

Edited May 1, 2014 by K_H

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

((you have no way of knowing that KH, please remove that last part. You can't Meta-Game it. You have no clue he is still there.))

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic heard Kenny answer.

"Ok then..."

He looked to Ixidor next to him

"You're involved in this too, man. You alright with us adding another person?"

Edited May 1, 2014 by Stratos

[Flux]

"What about it?"

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

Phantom gave no reply, but instead reached inside his coat and slowly drew his sword. He leveled it towards the approaching man, keeping the point focused in his direction. Then he spoke again.

"Leave..."