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       #Post#: 402264--------------------------------------------------
       A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Demonreach Date: December 18, 2015, 7:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       there is a fortress; a fortress built long ago to keep some
       forgotten threat at bay. As forgotten as the threat, the
       fortress slowly faded into legend and ruin, though mostly ruin.
       This fortress is known as Moon’s Spawn: A fortress that still
       stands against the tests of time and weather, despite it being
       abandoned. That is, until recently.
       Since the emergence of the False Race, the First sought
       solitude, isolation; the North offering this and so much more.
       This allowed the First to raise his newly gained members, to
       train them in secrecy and in silence, honing their skills;
       imprinting upon the fortress their lives.
       Moon’s Spawn protects the only passage from the North, though
       there are plenty of others; passages no army would dare take
       lest extremely stupid. The mountains offer no comfort, no
       warmth, shelter, or food.
       It is a bleak looking place, made from the mountain itself; the
       walls are not scalable as they are one smooth rock as tall as
       fifteen men, but scars mar both sides, the North and the South.
       Ghosts haunt the halls, skeletons littered the place; the smell
       of the fortress is rather earthy, though death lingers within
       the deepest halls; the darkest corners. A place that people
       avoided through subconscious reasons of survival. Indeed, Moon’s
       Spawn was… beautiful. Grim. Dark. Light. But, it had a real…
       depth to it, a sense of self unlike anything else. It was…
       there, come hell or high waters.
       In recent times, however, it has become more lively as the False
       Race moved into it; as the humans started to retake the land.
       #Post#: 402265--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Jplague Date: December 18, 2015, 7:50 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The pungent copper stench of blood was wafting heavily through
       the air, touching all with its sanguine grasp. The stench was
       overwhelming, incredibly so, and it burned his heightened
       senses. He was left in a state of disoriented shock, with
       nothing but the weight of confusion and potential dread crushing
       him into the ground. Where was he, and why did it smell like
       blood? He hated it. Hated, hated, hated it so much. Why wouldn’t
       it go away? Why would it not stop? The feeling that something
       horrible had happened was beginning rise up within him at that
       moment.
       He reached outwards with one of his scaled hands, hoping to
       maybe get a grasp of the situation that he was currently in. His
       hand felt something beneath it on the ground, it was wet and
       fleshy. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that it
       was a body part that he had touched. How could it be? His eyes
       were blurred causing him to not notice that blood was smeared
       almost the entire length of his being. He brought his arms up to
       his eyes to expunge them of whatever it was that was blinding
       him. No sooner had his eye sight come back to him that he
       realized that what lay before him was such a horror that it
       could never be forgotten for as long as he lived.
       The sheer amount of blood and destruction that had been wrought
       instantly began to whittle away at the little sanity that he had
       left within him. A human settlement had been destroyed, no, not
       just simply destroyed but entirely annihilated from the face of
       the earth below it. All manner of the human anatomy was strewn
       about, with the bodies of men, women, and children alike piled
       on top of each other in every direction. No one was spared from
       such insanity.
       The incredible amount of blood was flooding the muddy streets
       up to a person’s ankles. The intense smell of mud and blood
       mixed together had previously hit him full force, but now the
       very realization of just how much there was began to set in. His
       mind couldn’t comprehend it. It wasn’t natural. Tears began to
       stream down his cheek, mixing with the mud and blood below as
       they fell. He couldn’t hold it in any longer, and let out an
       intense cry of anguish. The outburst of emotion boiled up an
       unknown power within him, and it suddenly exploded outwards in a
       shockwave of bright golden wind, a corona of solar energy. The
       unruly power set all that it touched ablaze in bright golden
       flames. He brought his hands to his face, to cover his eyes from
       the horror of what he had seen.
       Houses of the massacred village were now billowing smoke from
       them, the golden flames burning everything to ashes. The smell
       of burning wood began to mix with the scent of dismembered
       bodies forming a sickly sweet smell that made his stomach churn.
       He emptied the contents of his stomach into the mud below. A
       faint suggestion within his conscience caused a feeling of
       urgency came over him, ushering him into leaving the destruction
       behind. He stood up, the claws from his reptilian feet digging
       into the muddy earth below as he began to stumble away from the
       village. He couldn’t tell if it was what little sanity he had
       left telling him to leave, or just pure instinct. However, what
       spoke to him next was all too clear.
       “It was you,” the voice whispered, tearing into his soul like
       cursed daggers. He abruptly paused in his tracks, grasping his
       skull with both hands in a death grip. His mind was burning from
       the chaos left in the wake of his conscience. It spoke again,
       this time causing his knees to buckle beneath him. “It was you
       who did this Joralion.” Joralion yelled out in agony from the
       pain caused by voice within him.
       “You massacred this village,"the voice said, followed by a cold
       cackle full of malice and insanity. “You tore them apart with a
       grin. Sooooo happy, you were as you ripped the flesh and bones
       from their bodies with your bare hands. They deserved it, for
       what they did to you.” Another cackle ripped through his
       conscience which was followed by an intense chill that dragged
       its way up his spine.
       “No! How could I have done such a thing? I don’t believe you!
       Nothing could have made me do something like that.” He soon
       realized that he had yelled the words out into the smoke filled
       air. No one was actually going to reply, as the only thing he
       heard was the sound of his own pounding heart and ragged
       breathing. The cackles had faded, but the pain was left behind.
       I did that? How could he have done such a horrible thing? It
       wasn’t possible, he thought. Not even when he was a mercenary
       earlier in life did he ever see such a thing. He had even walked
       away from that life before, but here it was again before him
       worse than anything he had ever experienced.
       Joralion turned his gaze down towards his hands. They were
       quivering. Fleshy matter was caught in between his claws and the
       fingers to which they were attached. He knew then that what the
       voice had said was true, the flesh and blood ringing true.
       Joralion realized that wasn't injured in the slightest, yet he
       was covered in blood. It was then that what occurred truly began
       to set in but in his current vulnerable state of mind, he
       couldn’t take what he had witnessed. Darkness swallowed him as
       his mind, vision and all of his senses went blank and passed out
       into the earth below. A human village, destroyed by Joralion’s
       own hands, left his mark of destruction on the earth and the sky
       as the village burned from his own golden flames. Smoke rose up
       indefinitely into the somewhat clouded dusk sky, signaling to
       all that this village had been taken by a violence rarely seen
       in the world.
       #Post#: 402269--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Demonreach Date: December 18, 2015, 8:13 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It was a day like any other autumn day. The wind was whisking
       away the decaying and dead leaves from the trees. In the light
       of the false dawn, the small side-road was occupied. The
       shifting of the gravel beneath leather boots broke the seemingly
       oppressive silence despite the more natural sounds; the ring of
       metal on stone added to the breaker of silence as the horse
       plodded alongside the stranger, the reins held in a hand that
       was brown from the sun, a hand that was scarred. The trespasser
       was a little taller than average with broad shoulders and a
       lean, athletic build that was hard with muscle; light,
       silver-blond hair shined in the false dawn lighting as the
       breaker of silence walked almost soundlessly. Forest green eyes,
       dark in color and bright with a sort of inner fire, were lit up
       with the passing of light rays within the forest canopy. A face
       high in cheekbone and formed a handsome face with sharp
       features. A few white lines marred the handsome face of the
       stranger with crude, garish slashes: these scars covered his
       arms and some of his upper body, rendering about twenty percent
       of his body in scar tissue. But the scars didn't detract from
       the handsome features but seemed to hand a more of handsome in a
       rough, roguish way. Even the air about the stranger was filled
       with confidence and a childlike glee that bordered on insane
       mischief.
       As the light fell on the stranger’s attire, consisting of a cape
       and darkly colored shirt and pants and boots. A leather belt
       wound its way around the silence breaker's waist and buckled to
       this belt was a falchion and a few longknives and a pair of
       heavy, parrying gauche. The stranger, by the looking upon its
       face and further, its body, revealed itself to be, a man. A
       small smile played on the lips of the man as he walked in the
       peaceful, serene forest though his eyes tracked everything with
       barely a twitch. A bow and a quiver of arrows bounced slightly
       as he walked along, his trusty steed at his side.
       The horse was holding most of the supplies, though it had
       lightened since the day of the journey and, for this, the horse
       was glad, though it would ever remain ignorant of the truth of
       the emotions within it. The horse held a few scars as well and
       carried two more swords: one a broadsword, the other a
       longsword. A few more quivers remained untouched by the man
       baring the need to check to the fletching. Pots and pans rattled
       in one of three of the packs the horse carried, a fourth carried
       by the man. The hair of the horse shone dully in the rising sun,
       revealing a salt-and-pepper kind of coloring; the horse was old
       but just as strong and healthy as it was a few years back, when
       it earned the scarring along its hide; a few teeth were missing
       from its mouth, one of its ears is torn to shreds and hardly
       works; the front hooves cracked and chipped. But the horse was
       happy, content, for the most part as the warmth of the sun
       soothed aches in its joints.
       The man sported a beard that was neatly trimmed, also
       salt-and-pepper in color and covering his neck, resting along
       his collarbones. The man himself wasn't old but his hair was
       prematurely greying but was not falling down, which the man was
       thankful for. He scratched at a cheek idly as he felt it itch
       and rubbed his nose afterwards. And here, the features and
       definition of the man and horse lost a hold on reality as
       shadows took them as they neared the darker, lightless parts of
       the forest trail in which he and the horse walked along.
       It was perhaps as his horse whined, stamping its feet, that
       Tristan stopped and smelled the air around him.
       Smoke.
       Fire.
       Looking up, now, he could see the black smoke of a burning
       village.
       It was but a few minutes away and so, he swung into his saddle
       and let the horse go at a trot.
       The long strides of the horse ate the distance easily; Tristan
       having brought his bow into a hand, holding the reins with one
       hand. Being such long term companions, the horse was used to
       things like this and knew what signals to heed, given the
       pressure of either leg that the Rahl applied.
       Dismounting, he murmured a soft command and equipped the
       broadsword across his back and the longsword as his hip, the
       quiver of arrows the opposite side. He had one nocked already
       and made his way into the smoke filled village that offered
       nothing but warnings.
       The smell hit him like a wall and he nearly lost his breakfast.
       What horror...
       He gathered his own magic around him, ready to unleash his power
       if the need arouse but, as he searched the huts and buildings,
       it came apparent that perhaps the threat had left. That was,
       until he heard the scream. It was not a human scream, though the
       dead bodies were human, so he assumed the worst: the creature
       was still here and offered a threat.
       With the Additive side of his magic, he pushed the smoke away
       from his body and cleared street by street before he found the
       source of the scream.
       And he thought he was horrified before.
       The monster was rather reptilian and covered in viscera.
       And it was arguing with itself.
       He pulled the arrow back, leaning forward onto a knee as he
       aimed before the monster collapsed, perhaps from the horror of
       its deeds or just exhaustion.
       Tristan frowned.
       Not wanting to touch the creature, he wove together strands of
       air to carry the monster away from the site of destruction and
       went into the forest; he felled, or burned away as it were, the
       various trees and created a clearing. He erected a barrier and a
       few wards around the creature as he went back to the village.
       He burned it all down, erasing the memory of the place; bones
       turned to ashes and then nothing as he destroyed what was left.
       Gathering his horse, he went back to the creature and watched,
       waiting.
       #Post#: 402275--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Jplague Date: December 18, 2015, 9:22 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       In the blackness, he could see. It was so strange. How could he
       possibly see in complete darkness, he wondered. Floating about
       in such blackness gave him such an empty feeling, as if death
       had taken him. Was he dead? Is this what came after life? No. He
       was sure of it. He could feel the emptiness. How could he
       possibly feel anything if he was dead. However, emptiness was
       all he could feel. He didn’t know where or who he was and all
       that he felt was nothingness. How could you feel nothingness? It
       was then that he saw two forms slowly appearing in view before
       him in the blackness.
       One of the two figures was bright, bathed in flames of golden
       light. The warmth of such flames reached outwards into the
       blackness and spread over him leaving him with a sense of ease.
       His entire being felt energized, as though his life had come
       into him. The fire began to burn within him, kindling into long
       forgotten passion and love for life itself which he had seemed
       to forgotten. This being that stood before him was seemingly
       divine. His power radiated forth in the blackness, touching all
       with his light. After realizing that he had been blinded by the
       awe of this being, he got a closer look at it. The goodness of
       this being was apparent from the first glance.
       Bright blue scales lined the entire body of this being. A golden
       and blue mane of hair flowed down, touching his shoulders in a
       billowy manner. With every pulse of power, his hair billowed
       outwards as if it was the wind itself. His features were almost
       angelic-like. A face that looked to be carved out of whitestone
       held a visage of powerful divine confidence. Embedded in the
       flesh of whitestone were the most intense eyes that he had ever
       seen. Glowing azure eyes of blazing ardency surrounded by fields
       of black stared into the souls of all that met their gaze. The
       being was held afloat by twin golden wings of gold, which
       generated waves of power with every flap. He had never seen
       anything like it. They were the eyes of a sentinel that saw all
       with their power. This being was radiating such magical power
       that it almost blinded him with awe as he floated through the
       darkness. He couldn’t stand to tear his eyes away from such a
       sight. After a moment, he began to notice that a revolting
       stench was beginning to slither its way through the darkness to
       him.
       The stench permeated his senses with a vengeance, blinding all
       six of them with its unmitigated foulness. The stench itself
       drew his attention away from the celestial being in the
       blackness, something he thought impossible. His attention landed
       on a horrific figure floating in the blackness, which surprised
       him as much as the first. If anything, this particular figure
       was an antithesis to the first. If the first represented order,
       goodness, and compassion, then this figure represented chaos,
       evilness, and vengeance. The power that it emitted seemingly
       would suck the very life essence away from all that it touched.
       He realized then that the blackness and emptiness that he had
       originally felt was coming from this being. He could feel its
       pull, like the gravity of a singularity drawing him it with
       immense force.
       The appearance of the second being was similar to the first.
       Scales lined his body as well, but these were a deep indigo
       which were marred by red rune lines and scars covering the
       beast’s body. He was hunched over, and a look of intense hunger
       was painfully obvious on its visage. Its eyes. How did it have
       such such awful eyes? These eyes were insanity-inducing. The
       chaos emitted from those red glowing eyes burned into every
       fiber of his being. How could such a terrible entity exist? On
       the being’s scale-lined back, there were two disgusting scars
       where there had once been wings. Such a horrible entity, he
       thought.
       A familiar sounding cackle suddenly echoed through that space.
       The cackle itself made it feel as though ice had formed all over
       his body, freezing him in place in the darkness. He couldn’t
       resist the pull of this being. It was impossible. He couldn’t
       get away from its evilness and it was going to swallow him
       whole. A wave of dark magic erupted forth from the terrible
       entity, signaling the beginning a bout between the two beings.
       The celestial entity raised its hand out and summoned a
       greatsword made with impeccable craftsmanship out of
       nothingness. He had never seen such a blade in all of his life.
       It looked like hope. The celestial entity let loose a yell of
       defiance and a wave of bright golden power emitted forth as he
       charged the second entity. However, the second entity
       disappeared into the shadow of nothingness.
       The celestial faltered, for the first time. A bit of his divine
       confidence left the entity, a wavering in its seemingly
       impenetrable aura. The cackle of the second being echoed through
       the blackness, growing louder with each second. It was coming
       from here. No, it was coming from there. No, it was coming from
       right before him, right behind him. In every direction the
       cackle echoed towards him. The celestial entity was too late in
       its realization when the second being had already made its move.
       Living shadow beckoned forth in front of him. His gray-scaled
       hands drew towards the shadow soon followed by his whole body;
       he had been sucked into oblivion.
       Hunger. Yes, he felt hunger. He wanted souls. Souls were the
       only thing that could ease his eternal hunger, though it would
       still gnaw at his Blacksoul. Mortal souls and negative energy
       sustained him. Where were these? How could he possibly find
       them?
       His glowing red eyes glanced about as he came into
       consciousness. He was in the clearing of a forest. He cackled
       and muttered to himself, “Quick on the uptake are we? No no no
       no no, this is wrong. This is not where we left this body.” A
       deranged smile erupted over his visage, causing his foul breath
       to leak out between his sharp teeth. The miasma from his breath
       touched the grass below him and he noticed that it began to
       wilt. He cackled maniacally once more. “Such fragile things the
       living are.”
       
       He was surrounded by a strange barrier of magic. Rage suddenly
       built within him, causing his red eyes to glow even brighter
       than before. How dare something trap HIM in a barrier?! He would
       destroy them, utterly. Black wind surrounded his fist as he
       slammed it into the earth below in anger. A small crater
       spiraled itself into the ground from a combination of his
       magical power and physical strength. The crater was only a
       couple of yards wide. No no no no no, this would not do at all,
       no. He realized that he couldn’t do anything about it at the
       moment however. His power was limited, and he could only summon
       a fraction of his original power at the moment. He was trapped,
       like a rat. He glanced about in a strange fashion, hoping to see
       who it was that had formed such a barrier. He moved his magical
       senses around a bit and noticed that the barrier felt like a
       mortal's magic though strong it was. He cackled. Yes, a mortal
       indeed he thought. Was there someone who he could devour?
       #Post#: 402294--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Demonreach Date: December 19, 2015, 12:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Tristan had his eyes closed, his senses stretched and awareness
       sharp despite his relaxed position. The longsword lay across his
       lap as he rested beneath a tree; enshrouded by darkness, thus
       invisible to most. However, his glacial eyes opened as he sensed
       the being awaken; the monster staring at his position, a certain
       hunger within its eyes that struck him as odd, though he felt a
       shiver of fear creep within him.
       While he had seen monsters more vile and hideous than the one
       before him, very few had looked at him with such... hate. No,
       perhaps that was the wrong word, but there was a malice
       radiating from it.
       It permeated the air, its breath made everything stale and
       decay. Its presence was a malignant cancer that deserved to be
       erased. Tristan had unconsciously gathered both sides of his
       magic, and while he realized this, he did not let it go. Nor did
       he move.
       'Amusing, isn't it, little monster?' Tristan spoke, yards away,
       his voice deep and resonating. 'I am Tristan Rahl, your captor.
       Perhaps, even, your savior. While you destroyed that entire
       village, there are many more surrounding it and, while I have no
       doubt to your... hunger, I feel you would not fair well.'
       He knew not the extent of the creatures power, but it was great
       to strain his barrier; while it was mostly Additive magic, there
       were knots of Subtractive that interlaced it; thus, making it
       stronger than it normally would be. Additive wards resonated
       with power, glyph's surrounded the area around the barrier.
       'And before you decide to try and break that barrier and deal
       with the many wards I have placed within and around it, perhaps
       we may talk. You probably don't get out much, so allow me to
       entertain you.' He stood, holding the sword by its sheath as he
       walked towards the barrier, letting the being see him. 'I am
       Tristan Rahl, War Wizard, at your service.' He bowed slightly.
       'While words may not fill your stomach, I'd hate to end you so
       soon after awakening.'
       #Post#: 402318--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Jplague Date: December 19, 2015, 1:43 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Joralion’s fiery red gaze fell on the human who suddenly entered
       his field a vision. A human, good. Though typically, humans were
       frail creatures that could barely tickle his appetite, there
       were a select few who held great power. Great power indeed. The
       man who stood before him radiated magical power that was quite
       unique. It was visible to him, and he could see that it was
       billowing off of him in waves of magical energy. How odd, he
       thought. This human’s magic had two distinct halves that formed
       a whole. Typically, humans had one form of magic only. He could
       feel his appetite beckoning forth within him. It was certainly
       intriguing, if anything. His manic cackle echoed through the
       clearing. The dew on the ground below him began to freeze over
       as the temperature in the air dropped below zero. His power
       fluctuated within him. It slowly was returning to him, bit by
       bit. He was probably at twenty percent of his full power now.
       “Little human, little human,” Joralion said in a mocking manner
       after the human spoke before cackling wickedly. The human was
       flippant. Joralion loved flippant ones, as they were some of the
       best kills. Defiant ones were better, but flippant would do. The
       look of despair on the face of someone close to death made his
       power fluctuate even more so he hoped that he could show this
       human such a thing. Joralion would be thoroughly satisfied if he
       did.
       “Your power I do indeed see. You are strong, but how strong? How
       long can you hope to contain me?” A wicked grin spread across
       his visage, showcasing razor sharp pearlescent teeth. His
       draconic eyes blazed forth in certain conviction, showcasing his
       own confidence in the power within him. An aura of his own
       magical power surrounded him in an explosion, the earth itself
       began to tear apart at the seams from the exertion. Shrapnel
       made of earth and ice filled the air.
       He held a unique magical power himself which was a vile
       combination of the elements of darkness, wind, and ice. He could
       shape these elements into any form he wished. He could also send
       anything that he set his sights on to oblivion if they did not
       have the power to resist his magic. The gravity from his magic
       shifted the ambient gravity in the clearing. Trees began to bend
       under the increased force currently baring down on them, with a
       few snapping under the pressure. Joralion could see wards all
       about the forest, but they were of no consequence.
       “Not for long I’d venture,” his voice sounded, with the
       intensity of daggers tearing through flesh. Joralion raised his
       hands out before him and beckoned his magic forth. Twin black
       vortexes of wind and ice began to materialize around them, with
       tendrils of foul black magic erupting all about. He released a
       roar from his reptilian lips, the vibrations of which shook the
       very air around him. The barrier was going to come down, and
       then he’d be free. Such a terrible thing, for him to be
       unleashed on the world. He cackled manically once more at the
       thought. And to be able to taste such a soul with two different
       forms of magic as well. He was beside himself with insane glee.
       He could no longer contain his bloodlust and the psychic
       energies escaped from him out into the clearing.
       #Post#: 402427--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Meeting of Falsity (Open)
       By: Demonreach Date: December 19, 2015, 10:18 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Tristan frowned as the being flexed his power, gathering it
       within his hands and letting it gather more and more energy to
       burst forth from the barrier.
       'I may not be able to hold you within that barrier, but you
       won't be leaving this clearing. Not as you are...' The last
       words were murmured, the wind howling and the air freezing.
       The Rahl cared not, for he was enjoying this; a true testament
       to his power, to his birthright as a War Wizard.
       The gravity left him alone, his body uncaring for such torment;
       he stared at the creature, head tilted to the side as he poured
       his magic forth.
       Additive rose from his hands, his glowing with power, as fire
       sparked to life at his fingertips; Subtractive crackled to life
       with black ropes of lightning that swirled around him, breaking
       the already broken earth. The Rahl's head tilted up, chin
       raised.
       The wards within the barrier snapped to life, breaking at the
       threat of violence and Wizard's Fire blasted from all sides,
       lightning so black as to eat the light struck without mercy. The
       fact the being was gathering wind as well perhaps made it worse
       for the monster.
       However, Tristan broke the barrier, letting the pieces of
       Additive magic fall before he empowered them, changing them to
       pure beams of light that would strike at the creature.
       The glyph's also arose as a latticework of Light, of pure
       Additive magic that burned the air within it.
       Tristan had long ago changed his own genetic makeup, to combat
       those stronger and faster than him. His skin was tougher, like
       steel; his eyes able to pick up the smallest and slightest of
       movements as well as being able to see in darkness; he was
       faster than a regular mortal, and stronger as well, but even
       this creature was more than enough to end his life should it
       break his defense. His bones were denser, as well, as his lungs
       were hardier.
       His sword was also magic, holding both halves of his power and
       serving to enhance his power as well as warn him of threats; it
       increased his reflexes as well.
       While the monster would possibly defeat him, it wouldn't be a
       one sided fight. Beyond that, Tristan was adept at killing
       monsters and had faced various kinds. This one was merely
       another.
       'I do not wish to end your life, creature. Surrender now and go
       back to your slumber lest you regret it.' His voice was still
       soft spoken, though it was a roar within the clearing; echoing
       in the trees.
       He was a War Wizard and he was capable of anything.
       Richard had done amazing and impossible things, and it was
       Tristan's destiny to surpass even him.
       *****************************************************