Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"I could take you to them," The girl says, "I could show you something cool on the way. Wanna see?"


Abigail shrugs.

"I'm used to flame wars." She says, smirking.


"Aj does, but he lent it out to a friend of mine," Stephanie says, thinking, "I guess I could ask Praecantatia to make me one."

 

"I suppose that would work. If you don't mind that, then I would appreciate it. I don't know if I have much time for detours, but if it's on the way then I guess..."


"I'd only complain if you were the one starting them, but credit where credit is due on that pun." I sigh, reluctantly smirking.


"Oh, that's... awkward. Iris had it beat away from her and returned to the Shadow Palace." Rose says.

 

The girl grins.

"Seeya outside." The girl says, before disappearing from the window.


"Sometimes. Only if people really deserve it though." Abigail says, smiling.

"I stay out of flame wars. People are so mean, and someone usually ends up hurt." Katie says, sounding sad.


"Oh, that's what happened to it. I did wonder why she wasn't wearing it..." Stephanie says, though keeps thinking.

Stephanie summons some purple chalk, and begins feeling around the ground for a good place to start drawing.

 

Ihra blinks outside, spreading her wings and looking for the guardian's soul as a bearing.


"I keep to myself for a kinda dumb reason. In groups, people blame anyone but themselves. If I do something on my own, then I can only blame myself."


"That being said, you may want her to look over the shield again. If a lone shadow guard can break the supposedly impenetrable barrier, it won't do much against any foe you're hoping to actually use it against."

 

Ihra instead finds one of a faerie.

A human-sized faerie hovers just above the ground beside Tiril's tree, smiling once she sees Ihra. Her wings seem to shimmer rainbows in the sunlight, and she appears to be wearing little more than a simple light blue dress.


"That just seems like justification for hating yourself due to external factors which you have no control over." Abigail says.


"Shield?" Stephanie asks, beginning to draw.

 

Ihra seems confused before descending towards the faerie anyways.


"Fair enough. Though, being honest, I'd totally trade everything I have to be a dragon. Humanity is a pain."


"A barrier generator of sorts, it seemed. Perhaps Aj did not pass off that belonging to her, I don't know. I heard about the situation secondhand."

 

"What's up?" The faerie asks, seeming concerned.


"Stephanie might be able to help you with that. She could probably take your soul and a dragons soul and swap them around." Abigail says.


"Oh, that shield. No, she didn't have that. Praecantatia made that only for Aj, and he's been practising movement with it," Stephanie explains, "Nothing can break it, but nothing can get out either. He can't directly attack while he's inside, it's sort of a pure defence mechanism."

 

Ihra says nothing, but tries to look at the color of the faerie's eyes.


"I wouldn't dare defile a dragon like that."


"I knew that much, and I knew Aj gave her some of his stuff. I didn't know how much was his or wasn't his, though. Again, I heard everything secondhand."

 

The faerie's eyes seem to be a light purple, and she looks back at Ihra's eyes.

"Come on, I wanna show you something fun. I think you'll like it." The faerie says, before flying up and over the wall of the small village. A few forest guardians wave as she passes; seeming to be friends.


"Maybe Lady Gaia would be kind enough to reincarnate you into the body of a dragon?" Katie suggests.


"Mmhmm." Stephanie says as she finishes drawing what looks to be a ritual circle of sorts. It pulses purple once completed, and Stephanie blows some of the chalk dust on her gauntlets over it. The circle seems to disappear entirely.

"Try to avoid stepping there." Stephanie says, pointing to where the ritual circle was.

 

Ihra sighs, opting to follow the fae silently.


“Hah, as if. I’d be sent straight to hell.”


“I didn’t plan on standing up until you decided on a course of action.”

 

The faerie flies through the trees, before arriving at a redwood tree in the heart of the forest. It stands out from the surrounding trees, appearing to be much larger, with runes carved into it's bark and a hole between a couple of it's roots. It appears to be just big enough for the faerie to climb into - which she does. A few mushrooms appear to be growing around the base of the tree, some of which look edible and quite delicious, while others look like they'd cause some dangerous hallucinations.


"You'd probably need to devote a lot of time to praying to Gaia every day, to be honest." Abigail says.

"Or we could ask Artemis to get you in contact with her." Katie adds happily.


"I'll go home and prepare. I think I've got enough information to make a move." Stephanie says.

 

“This... this place feels familiar. I can’t place it, but I think someone showed me a vision of this place a few years back.” Ihra says, landing and walking carefully up to the tree.


“I’d rather let raising this little bugger distract me, to be honest. Devoting your life to a god is a lot of work, and I can’t get me to do things I want then I definitely can’t get me to do things a god wants.”


“We’ll be waiting. Unless we’re called to help with Xlentia, at least.” Rose says, leaning back in her vine-chair.

 

"Come on inside!" The faerie calls from within the tree.

The tree looms over Ihra, though she feels protected by it's sturdy roots.


"Gaia's really nice though! She's like everyone's mum, but really kind!" Katie says happily.

"Just avoid pissing her off or she'll turn you into a tree or something." Abigail says offhandedly.


Stephanie heads back the way she came, though she looks a little depressed.

 

“I’m actually lucky I ran into you. I only know approximations, I assume that you have a better grip on where everyone is.”

 

"Well, as I can recall..." Eve says, before looking like she starts to think.

"Aj and Artemis are with the goddess Praecantatia on her private islands, though I do not know their exact location in the universe. Abigail is likely in her home, and Katie is probably with her with a human stranger. Stephanie I saw heading to the Gaia of this reality's realm, though she may have chosen to return to Praecantatia's islands on account of gathering information rather than making an attack or adventuring. Shadow Stephanie is overseeing things at the palace, and is likely in the throne room or somewhere available in the palace," Eve says, sounding a little more robotic as she lists locations, "I do not know the exact whereabouts of Ihra, though I believe she is on a personal mission somewhere on Earth."

 

“What about your reality’s Gaia? Scurn seemed interest in her.”

 

"While I can't say for certain, the most likely place would be in her gardens. It's most commonly accessible to those that did good in life and worshipped Gaia to an extent, I believe it's close to what humans call 'Heaven'," Eve explains, "However, since I'm sure death isn't a preferred option here, Praecantatia will likely be able to take you there; being a goddess herself."

 

Ihra worms her way in, a bit cramped getting through the entryway.


“As nice as it sounds, I already have two maternal figures to look up to. I dunno if I could handle a third.” I chuckle.


“Your mother sent you to gather information, right? You’ve done that. I don’t know why you think she’d be upset with you coming back so soon.”

 

The faerie waits inside a small cottage-like home beneath the tree, streaks of sunlight piercing in from above, and unlit lanterns hanging about. The faerie holds up a small jar triumphantly.

"Ta-da!" The faerie says happily, showing Ihra the jar. Inside the jar appears to be a small human skeleton, about the size of a normal faerie.

"Humans are rare here, so I don't have any live ones. The guardians usually take care of them anyway, but sometimes they let me keep them!" The faerie explains happily, "It's only right they know what it feels to be put through what they've put so many of my kind through."


"Well, you are one of her children. We all are." Katie says happily.


"Things are...tense. With an open rift between our realities that's incredibly difficult to close without harm, the fear of the war leaking through into our reality is a growing concern," Stephanie explains, "We're one of the few groups that can really do anything on the god's behalf. They've even nervous to return to this reality temporarily with the threat of mind control looming."

 

"But to get to Praecantatia, I'd need to go to her home, right? Which has a security system worth ten thousand vaults."