Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Then maybe you should watch your 'tongue'," I say, "She'd completely destroy you if she knew."

"The only thing keeping me from simply reading your mind to find out what the hell you're talking about are my morals." Artemis says, annoyed.

"Maybe you could use your clairvoyance to figure it out, Artemis." I say happily.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Artemis says, shrugging.

Artemis places a hand on her head, and raises the other. A green glow surrounds her hands and the crystal.

Artemis focuses, staring into the crystal; her nose begins to bleed.

Artemis' nose bleed gets worse, yet her focus never falters. Her arms begin to shake, and the glow of her hands seems to fluctuate in brightness.

 

"I... am the creator..." The voice echoes to Artemis, almost telepathically.
"The power to destroy... I gave it away. This staff... and with it, my power reclaimed... They took my name in vain..."
Artemis is blasted backwards.
"I will break free..." The voice echoes, this time audible to everyone.

 

"That doesn't sound good."
I say, fearful.

I rush over to Artemis to help her up.

 

"Artemis!" I shout, rushing over and catching Artemis before she hits the ground.

"My...head hurts..." She manages to get out. Her nose bleed seems to have gotten a little better; though she seems to be barely able to stay conscious.

"It's ok, you're safe." I say, holding Artemis close.

"Thanks...Aj..." She says, nearly passing out.

 

"You don't say..." Rineth grumbles.

Her blood vaporizes around her, her wound stops bleeding, and Ihra tries to collect herself.
"What have I done..." Ihra wails.

 

Artemis tries to get up, but she can't seem to summon the strength. She puts her arm around me and I help her up.

"It's not your...fault," Artemis manages to say, "Don't beat youself up about it."

Artemis manages a weak smile. I'm still rather worried, "Are you feeling alright, Artemis?"

"My head...still kinda hurts, but I'll be fine." She says weakly, leaning heavily on me.

"There was screaming...so much screaming; it sounded tortured. I...I managed to hear something though...through the screams of pain." Artemis says with a weak voice.

 

Artemis' energy slowly returns.

"Through pain? That crystal doesn't belong to a heartless killer? The Hive has the information skewed if that's the case."
"Wh... what was it?" Ihra whimpers, trying to collect herself (again)

 

"Uh...I think he said he was the Creator or something; he'd sealed his power into the staff. Someone took his name in vain?" Artemis says, trying to recall what she'd heard.

Artemis holds onto me tightly, trying to get stable on her feet. "Don't overexert yourself, take it slow." I say to Artemis quietly, "Thanks for catching me." Artemis says sincerely.

 

Rineth's eyes open wide.
"Ihra, you... I know what the prophecy means now. You need to keep yourself alive... The two key components are you and Vesius. If either dies, we have a serious problem on our hands."
"Wh..."
They appear to be communicating telepathically. Ihra dons bug-eyes more than once during the conversation.
"Fine. I'll try. I hate having to not tell them though, but you're right."
"Your mother told you the same thing. That's why you remembered."
"OH. Oh it makes more sense now though."
"You'll need to be reminded, most likely."

Rineth forces a telepathic link between himself and Artemis.
"You're right; you're involved. I need you to hide something from everyone. You tell a single being, a single soul, and we'll all be doomed to die."

 

"So Kyrae was right..." Artemis responds, "I'll keep the secret locked away, not even Aj could know if he were to possess me."

I notice Artemis using telepathy, however I don't pry any further; I instead focus on keeping her up.

 

"Those two need to ascend to become the two deities of their world... Because the Creator? If they get out, it'll take the combined powers of Virei'tus and Xlentia to banish The Creator again, just as they had generations ago."

 

"How do they Ascend? And what about Ihra's fate I was told about?" Artemis asks telepathically.

 

"Her death... both must sacrifice their physical bodies to awaken the deity's true form. How they ascend, I only know Vesius' path. Ihra's... is the more treacherous. Nobody knows for sure, but in theory, the Black Tome Vei carries has it written scattered in its pages."

 

"That sort of sounds familiar; a being dying to ascend to a greater form. Do they need to sacrifice their physical bodies in a certain place?" Artemis says telepathically.

Artemis weighs on me, holding tightly. I make sure not to let her fall. She smiles at me, "Thanks." Artemis says, still a little weak, "As long as nothing is getting worse, I'm happy." I say sincerely.

 

"No; Vesius must merge with the other Fragments, and Ihra... I don't know. The only lead I have is that Xlentia seldom leaves the Void."

Ihra slumps against the remnants of your bed.

 

I glare at Artemis.
"If you're going to have secret telepathic conversations, get better at hiding your thoughts," I say, sourly.
I stalk off, my fingers in my ears.
I'm heard grumbling as I walk away, "Damn amateurs thinking they know... "

 

Rineth grabs your leg with his tale.
"You seek to keep balance in this world, don't you... How about you start doing your job, foolish old man?" He snarls.

 

"It's a request, more or less. You see, we've been losing more and more dragons as of late. A wild one went down somewhere around the city of Drakenfell, and it caused quite a stir. I sent one of my scouts to investigate much earlier, and they still haven't come back. I'm not going to send anymore men just to lose them, but if you could, try and at least find the dragon."

 

"Yeah, I'll go. Again, I'll have Reflet cover directions because I still have no idea what this place is called.
...This town, not Brisingr. I'm not quite that dumb."
I look at the elf, then the door.
"Is that all? I assume I report back here?"

 

"I do more than you think. The Gods are ignorant of the troubles of many, and figure that people can figure things out for themselves, so they never tend to have much positive influence. They've done more since the rifts opened than during the millenium prior. It's enough work taking care of one's own self and family, let alone a city? realm? Times as of late are relatively peaceful only because some work to preserve that peace."

I turn my head slightly toward Rineth, glancing out of the corner of my eye toward him. My eyes are glowing (last airbender style).

"So to answer your question, yes, I would like to retain balance. Balance, which, as far as I'm concerned, was kept and right until this world became a battleground for beings from a realm across the void."

I shimmer, and Rineth realizes that his tail had passed through my body completely (he's nice and perceptive, he probably noticed as I was talking) as if I wasn't there. And then I'm not there, and instead I'm sitting in midair 2 meters higher than I was before with my legs crossed, my eyes back to normal.

"My top priority is the safety of the world and those that reside here. I carry the weight of the people of this Realm on my shoulders, and all those unable to influence the outcome of this encounter."

"If that ever conflicts with your motives..." I trail off, staring at Ihra.

I sigh, and bow my head, closing my eyes.
"The results won't be pleasant, I can tell you that much."