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Post by Ryan - Loki on Sept 10, 2008 19:20:29 GMT
Dramanius had been expecting the boy to make some for of appearance in the next few minutes, and grinned knowingly when that was exactly what happened. It was clear that this boy’s intentions were fuelled by a certain level of selfishness; why else would he have gone against the others and joined him and Natas? It certainly wasn’t due to their charms, and Dramanius had an inkling that it wasn’t down to their acting abilities either. At any rate it mattered not WHY the boy had decided to step forward, offering them a means to revive Loki, all that mattered was that it had happened.
Taking deep, unnoticeable breaths, Dramanius easily managed to remain calm in response to the boys speech; after all, it wasn’t as bad as the child had obviously intended it to be, nor was it as intimidating. For the moment we need what that boy can offer us…and he needs what he has been promised from Loki. This arrangement will work to all of our advantages. There will be no betrayal here…not yet.
‘Ah, young master, it’s good of you to finally step out into the limelight. After all, the hopes of Dragonia’s future now rests in the power that you claim to hold.’ truth mixed with lies. ‘Now, now young master, we mustn’t rush into things. We are at a disadvantage already.’ Dramanius suspected that neither the boy or Pariah 01 had realised as such yet. ‘You see, there are those who are out to stop us - possibly even kill us now. Poor misguided fools.’ It was spoken with a lowered head, shaking slowly in pity. ‘We must first wait for my acquaintance to return, or for my master to contact us with orders - he is all knowing,’ Hah. ‘He will know what to do.’
A few moments of brief silence filled the area before Dramanius spoke once more. ‘Until then, please do tell us a little more about yourself young master. Who are you? And what has brought you to join our most worthy cause?’
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Sept 12, 2008 10:23:19 GMT
(OOC: I'll start a Bedoe thread for all of us after we get a few more posts from you two, ok? Just to finish this thread off properly.)
Through the slowly raising sun over the mountains on the horizon a light mist covered the surrounding area, seemingly in minutes, before gathering around one, focused, centre-point. It was then that a ghostly figure appeared from within the mist. His features were somewhat faint in the morning light, but the shadow from the mountain caused him to be visible, yet translucent. Loki had returned, as he had promised. He slowly turned around, taking in the two newcomers; he recognised them both, but did not let on.
‘I’m glad for you both to have joined us. I welcome your help.’ Not allowing much of a pause for reply Loki walked between the members group and turned, so that everyone could see him. The sun was rising behind him now, making it even harder to distinguish his appearance. ‘I have good news, news that will help you on your quest.’ his voice sounded distant, as if echoing from one end of a long and large cave to the other.
‘There is an ancient set of armour called “the armour of origins”. It can house a person’s soul, their essence, and allow them to control the armour without a material body. This is the first step in bringing me back from my limbo.’
‘However the pieces were scattered across the planet long ago, seemingly lost forever. That old man that arrived at the meeting, he was a member of an old sector of knights that protected the pieces of armour. He is now dead, and those who wish to stop us all know the location of the helm.’ he paused, allowing everything to settle in. ‘As do I.’
‘The helm will be found in Bedoe, inside the Eben Spires, the one known as the eagle.’ Now he turned his head slightly, showing that what he was about to say was more directed towards the two newcomers than anything else. ‘Your help will be vital. Those who stand against you are larger in numbers and extremely dangerous. They will stop at nothing to stop you, foolishly throwing Dragonia’s future away. They know not what they’re doing. Stand against them and you will be rewarded.’
‘However, do not confront them unless you have to. Let them do all the work, and then take the prize for you. I will help you at every possible opportunity that I can. My power is limitless and unstoppable – though, in this state it is hampered considerably.’ Finally Loki turned back to face Dramanius. ‘Ryan cannot be killed. I need him alive. If he dies, all will be lost. Do you understand me? I must go…remember, time is of the essence.’ And with that Loki vanished from sight, finally allowing all those around to discuss the bizarre meeting.
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Sept 23, 2008 13:06:06 GMT
(OOC: Tidus I know you’re reasons for not posting, hope things get better soon, and Pariah, I know why you haven’t as well, but we need SOME activity from the bad guys! So I’m going to continue on with Natas and Dramanius – Tidus, as you’re quite important to the storyline I’ll drag you alone with them, Pariah, come with us if you like! Hope you do.)
As soon as Loki’s ghostly image vanished from sight Dramanius looked around at his surroundings. They were completely void of life, the closet thing being the dead and dried bushes and twigs that were scattered here and there. He wasn’t sure why, but each time that Loki had appeared to them he had the strange feeling that he was closer by than the Dark Lord had let on, and Dramanius learned long ago to trust his feelings. However, his brief search with his eyes and senses brought forward no new information, and so he dropped it, for now at least.
Everyone was still in silence, which confused him. He thought they would be alive with conversation and questions after witnessing what they had all just witnessed. So opening his mouth Dramanius went to speak, but even he didn’t get the chance, as he was quickly interrupted.
‘He just showed himself, didn’t he?’ It was Natas’ voice. Turning on his heel Dramanius looked behind him, and sure enough he found Natas strolling towards him, his long, tattered, red cape flapping behind him in the windless air. He was cradling something wrapped in cloth, holding it as if it were his own child. Dramanius turned away once again.
‘Correct.’ he merely stated. His body was stiff, but it still felt sore from his earlier battle with Ryan. He had never expected to find the last samurai as much of a problem, yet he found himself struggling to keep up at points. He had obviously had far less power than he believed himself to have; either that or it was a symptom of not using said powers in such a long period of time. I was then that it suddenly struck him – how had Natas known Loki had been here? He had not been here to witness it himself or Dramanius would have felt his presence, so how did he know? ‘How did you know he had appeared to us? You wasn’t here Natas.’ hidden within his voice was the hint of suspicion.
Natas finally reached the group, standing beside Dramanius. ‘I felt his presence on my way back here. It felt almost as if he was nearby.’ Silence fell again, though Natas had pretty much confirmed Dramanius’ feelings on the matter, though they could not discuss it in front of the newcomers; it would have to wait.
‘What is that? You didn’t get Mentar pregnant did you? The last thing we need is another little you running around, blinding everyone with his eyes.’ it was said in good humour, the corner of Dramanius’ mouth having curled upwards slightly.
‘This…’ Natas paused, unsure whether or not to mention it in front of Tidus and Pariah. But they needed to believe they could trust the fallen lords, and so he decided to speak. Taking the cloth he pulled it, revealing what he was carrying. ‘These are the legs of the armour of Origin. A gift from Mentar.’
Dramanius’ eyes widened as they fell upon the armour’s legs. They had but only heard of their quest tonight and already, without doing anything, they were one step ahead of opposition. Natas’ eyes were lighting up the legs, the light shining off of the metal like light against a mirror. This armour had been created thousands of years ago, yet they still appeared as if they had been forged only hours ago. The detail that had been taken in making them, especially the pattern that had been carved into them, a rose vine spiralling around the legs. Beautiful craftsmanship.
‘The dark lord gave us information on the location of a piece of the armour, the place where our opposition have already made their way to.’ Natas did not reply. ‘They have the lead in terms of distance, but now we have the advantage.’ He was grinning now. Soon we will have all of the armour and Loki will return, and then FINALLY my power will be restored!
Dramanius reached down and took the armoured legs from Natas. They were heavy armour but within his hands they felt as light as a feather, a magical enchantment obviously present. Without wasting another moment Dramanius bent down and dropped onto one knee, slowly and firmly placing the armoured legs upon his own. ‘I shall wear them for the time being, for safekeeping. None will dare attempt to take them from me, and if they do they’ll meet their end.’ This was not a warning to any within the group; more what he’d do to any of their opposition.
‘What’s our first destination?’
‘Bedoe, the Eben Spires.’
‘Ok then…let’s go.’
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Post by Tidus Revok on Sept 25, 2008 10:01:59 GMT
Tidus stood still, a bit confused as the group started forward, then briefly sprinted to catch up to Natas, his favorite of the two. He came up along side him and spoke, eyes ahead, speaking with a hint of frustration.
”Look pal, I don't like to play games. I want to know what that armor is. In fact, I want to know everything, and I need more than promises of glory and treasure. Maybe it hasn't occurred to you I didn't come along for the fun of it. What I have in this bag...” Tidus gave the satchel on his side a pat and continued. ”...could bring this entire search to an end in a moment, and save us a heck of a lot of walking! All you would have to do is write a few words. But I won't give it to you unless my terms are met. It's not hard, I just want you to write a few more words.”
As Tidus said, he didn't like to play games. People had done that with him on every search he went on, and he was sick of it! He also felt that Dramanius at least, if not both of the 'leaders', was definitely holding something back from them. He had to pique their interest enough to get them to use the scroll sooner rather than later. He really had no interest in weeks of adventuring. Only Tidus knew, but the real scroll would only be given if his terms were met. The one he had in his satchel, fake. He actually had a quite ingenious plan. He would offer them the fake scroll if they would write what he wanted: that is, if in the same sentence they would also write his parents back from the dead. If they accepted, he would let them write on the fake scroll, and if they wrote what he wanted. he would then give them the real scroll, claiming both scrolls were necessary to make it work – sort of like a mystical spell check. He wouldn't bother conveying the part about breaking the rules of the scroll without the quill meaning certain death. There was one very real problem with his plan - they might ask for proof ahead of writing in the scroll.
Considering this for the first time during his trip to Metapha, Tidus conducted an experiment. He had noticed when Markis was writing, and part of his scroll was cut of, that portion had turned to ash. He wondered if a piece of the scroll could be torn off and used separately, so he tore off three sheets. One that he had already written on before it faded, almost reenacting the scene with Markis. That piece turned into ash. He then wrote on the second sheet, which faded and, as he had written, he sneezed seven times in a row. The third sheet he left alone, and it was fine for twenty-four hours. Then it faded out of this reality as if it had been written on. During the walk he had torn a sheet off the real scroll when no one was looking, then returned it to its hiding place. He would use this if they asked for proof. This is why he addressed Natas like this. He only had twenty-four hours to work his plan. He was sure that after making such a claim they would be watching, making sneaking another sheet nearly impossible. Tidus looked again at Natas
"Well?"
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Sept 25, 2008 14:27:55 GMT
Natas and Dramanius both stopped in their tracks, but where Tidus had spoken to Natas it was only Dramanius, out of the two, that turned to look at the boy. Yet Natas spoke. ‘Yes, I remember you saying you had a means to help us.’ Now Natas turned to look at Tidus. Being that he had no facial features other than his bright eyes, Tidus would be unable to read Natas’ expressions. However, it was Dramanius who answered Tidus’ questions.
‘Young master, as you know, it was our master who appeared to us and gave us information on the armour of origin. I, at this point, know very little about it – in fact, I can only assume much else.’ he paused, looking back in front again. ‘But from what our master explained to us all, the armour of origin is a suit of armour that, when complete, can house a persons soul as if it were their body. Obviously, as our master is stuck in a form of limbo, stuck between the mortal realm and the realm of the dead, he is in need of a vessel such as this armour, to house his soul, while we return it back to it’s original body.’ he turned to look at Tidus once more, grinning as he did. At this stage he knew little more than Tidus did about the mystical suit of armour, but it amused him that he was able to deduct so much more than his younger companion.
‘And there you have it.’ Natas said. ‘You know as much about the armour as we do. Now then, what is this item that can solve our problem is far less time? If we’re going to defy our master and not go after the armour because of this item, I want a display of it’s power.’
Dramanius merely watched Tidus, suspicion creeping into his mind. Something was amiss. ‘You obviously joined us on our noble quest because our master promises glory, power and riches to all who do…so then why, if your item is as powerful as you say it is, powerful enough to bring a person back from between the realms, more powerful than the legendary crystals of iniquity, then why do you wish to gain more power? Surely that contradicts itself.’
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Post by Tidus Revok on Sept 30, 2008 0:36:15 GMT
Tidus grinned at Dramanius. The man was clever, but he was too close to his goal to be outsmarted now.
"I'll explain that, but first, would you like a demonstration?"
Tidus pulled the fake scroll out of his pouch. It was a perfect recreation. Tidus unrolled some parchment and there it was, the sheet from the real scroll, right where he left it inside the fake. It would look to the other two like Tidus was writting on the fake scroll, but the real scroll would take effect. A perfect plan.
"This scroll takes a lot of power to use, so I can only do this once in a great while. Watch carefully, I'll only be able to give you one demonstration today."
Imediatly Tidus began writting on the scroll as fast as possible, and when he was done he looked up.
"Now, in twenty-two seconds the Guantlents you're after will appear right in front of you Dramanius."
Tidus walked over and drew a circle in the dirt.
"In exaclty this spot, and in thirteen more seconds."
In thirteen seconds, just as Tidus predicted, and exactly where Tidus predicted the Guantlets of Origin appeared exactly in the center of the circle he drew, leaving the whole party speechless. After a long and awkward pause, Tidus broke the silence.
"It's really as simple as it may seem. You write what you want in the scroll, and it happens. The difference between this and something like the Crystals is the cost. You see gentlemen, it takes a lot of power to do even that one task, and power is currently something in which I'm not overabundant. I want my family back, but it would take someone with great power to bring the dead back to life. I'm no fool - I know you two hold true power. Have we got a deal?"
Tidus was lying of course, he just wanted to kill Dramanius off by fooling him into writing his master and Tidus's family back to life in the scroll. Two birds with one stone.
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Sept 30, 2008 10:35:08 GMT
Both Dramanius and Natas were sceptical towards Tidus’ claims; they seemed outlandish and somewhat impossible. While they waited for this scroll to either prove its powers or shatter the young boys illusions, Dramanius thought long and hard about the scroll. He had never heard of a mystical scroll that could grant the user whatever they wished, then again if it was from Dragonia then he would have been unlikely to have. However, Natas appeared to be equally intrigued about the scroll, and though Natas did not know everything about Dragonia and it’s history, he knew far more than Dramanius did, and yet even he had seemingly not heard of this scroll either.
Either this boy was extremely delusional or he was holding the power to bring Loki back at this precise second.
Twenty-two seconds came and went and both Dramanius and Natas were utterly speechless. As Tidus had said, the gauntlets to the armour of origin had miraculously appeared in the small circle that he had drawn in the dirt. Dramanius slowly moved forward and bent down, taking the gauntlets in his hands. Instantly he felt the cold of the metal against his skin; they were real. Wasting no time Dramanius began to slip his arms into them, fastening them tightly as he had done with the legs.
‘It appears that the boy was right. This scroll of his can bring us all of the pieces of armour in a matter of seconds.’ Natas sounded somewhat in shock still.
‘Natas, once again you fail to grasp the full scope of the situation.’ Dramanius’ voice sounded no different; he hid his surprise well. ‘With this scroll we no longer need the armour. We can simply write Loki back into existence.’ Dramanius turned towards Tidus and held out his hand. ‘We have an accord young master. I’ll personally bring back your family to the realm of the living, if you allow us to use the scroll to bring back our master.’
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Post by Tidus Revok on Oct 12, 2008 0:46:16 GMT
Tidus grinned victoriously. He reached out his arm, but not to shake hands. In it he held the fake scroll he had made. Dramanius and Natas seemed persuaded of the scroll's power, but he hadn't forgotten the accusations that the Knight had leveled at Dramanius earlier. If there was even a chance that he had been right, then trusting these two could still be a very grave mistake. He needed to test for himself if they were trustworthy.
Of course, there was a chance they would think he had betrayed them once they noticed it didn't work, but Tidus would simply ask to see what they had written. If they would not show him, or if they had not held up their end, he would pull out the real scroll and escape to find someone else. But if they did in fact write his family back then he would present them with a page of the true scroll - but not the whole thing. He would never trust anyone with that.
He placed the fake scroll in Dramanius's open hand, hoping for the best but prepared for anything else.
"We have an accord!"
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Oct 13, 2008 11:53:14 GMT
As Tidus lowered the scroll into his palm, the corners of Dramanius’ mouth curled upwards into a smile. As expected it felt extremely light, not much heavier than paper usually was. For a moment or two Dramanius just stared at the paper in a mild form of awe, as to was Natas, the light of his eyes present upon the paper, the only exception the milliseconds between the blinks of his eyes. To think…this small scroll has the power to grant me anything that my heart desires… it was an overwhelming thought.
Reaching into a pocket of his clothes Dramanius pulled free a quill and raised it to the scroll. In that moment he had the power to do anything that he wished, he was the most powerful person on the entire planet, but this power came with a price, as Tidus had earlier demonstrated. Dramanius pushed all thoughts of grandeur aside and concentrated on the task at hand, fulfilling his end of the deal. However, just as he was about to press the tip of the quill against the scroll his hand froze. What no one else could hear was that Dramanius was in deep conversation, telepathically, with Loki.
‘Dramanius, stop.’ Loki’s voice was low and quiet.
‘What is it my lord?’
‘You are not to use this scroll to bring all of the pieces of the armour to you, nor to bring me instantly back. There is a natural order than must be maintained here, a process of events that MUST take place.’
‘But I don’t understand, this will save us all the trouble.’
‘You will understand, before its over you will understand Dramanius.’
‘As you wish.’ Dramanius muttered with an obvious lack of content. ‘And what shall I do about my deal with the boy?’
‘Follow it through…for now. You will most certainly need the scroll before this is over. I trust in your intellect Dramanius.’
Dramanius finally pressed the tip down against the paper of the scroll and began writing. After a few moments he finished, removing the quill-tip from the paper and looking down, regarding his work. Nothing happened. Dramanius looked between what he had written and Tidus, and then up to Natas, before repeating the process again. ‘What is this? Why is nothing happening?’ Dramanius’ voice was low and cold, no anger yet present. He looked and Tidus and pressed his arm out in front of him, showing him the scroll. He had written “And Tidus’ deceased love ones returned back to life beside him.” Yet nothing had happened.
‘Have I written it wrong?’
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Post by Ryan - Loki on Oct 24, 2008 10:49:56 GMT
(OOC: I’ve spoken with Tidus about a situation like this happening. His having trouble with his computer and the site, which I’m assuming hasn’t been fixed yet as he hasn’t posted. He had previously given me permission to take control of his character if I needed to progress things. If you do manage to get on Tidus, feel free to jump right back in!)
Perfect. Dramanius had certainly taken the bait. As he extended his arm out and showed Tidus what he had written, Tidus couldn’t help but grin. His plan couldn’t have been going any better if he tried, and he wasn’t. ‘I needed to be sure that you would uphold your end of the bargain,’
Reaching inside his jacket pocket Tidus finally pulled free a piece of the real scroll and extended his arm out towards Dramanius. ‘You’ll need to write the exact same thing on this second piece of paper for it to work.’
Dramanius took the piece of paper into this hand, though his expression was skeptical. ‘It’s how the ritual works.’
Tidus reassured. He was so close to achieving his goal, so close to having his family back! After that he’d flee, and not knowing where he had hidden the rest of the scroll they’d never be able to use it. The plan is foolproof!
unfortunately, Dramanius was no fool.
Dramanius took the tip of the quill to the paper and began to write. A few moments passed and he pulled free the pen and looked down at what he had written; then it hit him. Dramanius lurched forward slightly, grasping at his stomach as he instantly became out of breath. Breathing heavily Dramanius realized the full extent of the scrolls powers, and just how much it drained the person who wrote on it. He knew if he had been a normal man he would have died bringing back Tidus’ family. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…a life for a life, now everything makes sense.
Dramanius now knew that Tidus had no intention of helping them, for once they had been wished back Dramanius should have been no more.
Collecting himself Dramanius forced back his heavy breathing, and stood up straight. He wouldn’t show his weakness. ‘Now then, young master Tidus.’
his voice wasn’t as strong as before, though Tidus was too surprised to notice. ‘It is now your turn to hold up your half of the bargain.’
Dramanius held out his hand, the one holding the piece of the scroll. Tidus reached out and took it, it was blank, but he knew that once written the writing would vanish from the paper.
‘Where…where is my family?’
Tidus was looking all around him now for any sign of them, of someone, but he couldn’t see anyone other than whom stood within the small group. He was stalling for time; his plan wasn’t meant to go this way.
‘I did as you asked. I wrote exactly this: “once Tidus helped us complete our quest completely, his family came back from the realm of death.”’
Dramanius smirked. ‘I needed to be sure that you would uphold your end of the bargain.’
Tidus’ heart sank. He had come so close, his plan had been so perfect, and now it had all but crumbled away. He had underestimated Dramanius and now he had to help them, no matter what happened. He was under their control.
‘Ok then…’
Tidus muttered in defeat, his head lowered. ‘What shall we do first?’
‘The Eben Spires.’ Natas suddenly said. ‘Transport us all there, the exact place where Ryan and the others are.’ Tidus nodded and took another piece of scroll paper out from within his pocket. After a few seconds the writing on the paper began to glow, and everyone vanished in the blink of an eye.
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