Deus Ex Machina Archive 54 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Arcana http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat DeM posts belong to their respective authors, the characters belong to their respective authors, etc etc etc. Comprehensive, from 2001-01-23 to 2001-02-05. Game Year is assumed V-498 unless otherwise stated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM_Story] Spotlight on Destruction (Adin-17) Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 02:37:43 -0000 From: Dan Clark To: dem-archive@home.com (OOG: Finally! I've got Adin entering the battle. This is basically the START of the battle, so all of Arcana's posts and Colin's posts about breakin Elly out of prison, mentioning the battle, happen DURING this post, elswhere in the city. Just to give you a little perspective) "Spotlight On Destruction" (Adin, Chapter 17) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Outside of Bledavik August 24, v-498 Noon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The earth seemed to rumble as the Gebler army advanced over the searing dessert, a moving, gleaming spot over the vast, golden sands of Aveh. Adin sat poised in Gungnir's cockpit, eyes carefully scanning the many diagnostic and control moniters. His attention to such detail wasn't usually as sharp, but today it was vital that he put all of his attention into it. Behind him was a mass of heavy-assault gears, tank, White Knights, and soldier transports. Weeks of planning had gone into organizing this army and now, with all of the recconosaince data received and processed, Adin was fully prepared for the attack. He put in a call to a Gebler base stationed at the Nissan-Aveh Border. "What are the bombers' postion?" He spoke into his headset. A voice responded. "About 10 minutes behind you, sir. Are you ready for the run?" "Not yet," said Adin, "Link me to their comm. I'll take it from here" "Yes, sir." Adin noticed the download screen appear, along with a prompt. He flicked the confirmation switch and the Gebler jets' comm numbers downloaded into his system. Another face appeared on the console, this time it was Lt. Alcroft, leader of the navigation crew. "Captain Senka, we are now 8 kilometres north of Bledavik." His stern face was accentuated on the screen, Adin thought. "Good, keep-" Adin froze. His senses perked and he looked out upon the desert in front of him. The capital could faintly be seen through the waves of heat rising from the sand. It almost looked like the whole city was floating. He quickly opened comm to the whole fleet. "Everyone halt" he snapped. The army's advance slowed to a stop. Gungnir stood still ahead of them all. Adin slowly raised the volume of the outside mic. Silence... Suddenly Adin heard a noise. It was a whistling. He listened closer as the whistle's tone become lower and lower. His eyes shot wide open and he looked into the sky. An artilery shell slammed into a White Knight, sending it toppling to the ground. Flames erupted and shrapnel flew in all directions, pelting against Gungnir's metal armor and the assault gears around it. Adin threw his palm against the fleet comm button and shouted into his headset, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "We're under Fire! Where the hell is the bomber crew?" "Calm down, Captain." came a voice over the headset, "We're right here." Six Gebler Jets soared over the fleet towards the capital. Adin spoke quickly "Destroy the northern wall. Take down all resistance!" "Aye, sir!" "Unit one, advance!" Adin saw a group of White Knights spread out before him, their backs glowing with the blue fire of their thrusters towards the capital. "Unit two advance! Fire at will!" Rockets flew from behind, followed by the assault tanks firing them. Explosions rocked the northern wall in the distance. Soldier transports followed the tanks. "Units three, four, five, advance!" Gungnir's thrusters sparked and ignited and Adin was pressed back as speed overcame the gear. Some jets flew out of Bledavik and engaged his own. One of the bombers sweeped around a Kislev fighter jet and let out a barrage of bombs over the western wall. It then erupted in flames, shot down by a Kislev gear, billowing black smoke trailing it's decsent. "Units three and four, engage enemy gears!" By that time Kislev had sent out a large unit of gears. Not all the gears they had, that much was obvious, but a good half of their total had risen from the city and were now firing laser cannons at Adin's fleet. The calm desert was now a cloud of dust, geisers of sand bursting forth from the ground where missles and shells hit. The battle had begun - and they hadn't even reached the city yet. If Kislev had only put this much effort into protecting their OWN capital, then maybe Solaris wouldn't be occupying it at that moment. Adin evaluated that Kislev forces were busy with the main advance. Now was the time to sneak through. He sent an encrypted message out to his unit. "This is Captain Senka. All Assauly gears move to the Eastern wall. All White Knights follow me to the Western wall." Adin switched his course and started heading around to the western wall, followed by about ten White Knights. Things calmed down a little as they left the frey, but they had to be quick before Kislev units noticed them. Missles flew left and right overhead. Kislev was putting out a decent fight, and Adin knew it wasn't 100% of their effort. He was sure that Gebler would win though - backup was on it's way. He spotted the gaping hole where one of his jets had bomed, room enough from him to breach the wall and head into the city. But something was wrong. His radar picked up on some gears heading his way, from inside the city. Was it Kislev? No...it wasn't. The gears appeared from behind the wall and Adin noticed right away that one of the gears was Solarian, in fact, it was Epiphany. Alyson Van Treymond's gear. The other gears he didn't reckognize - but what puzzled him was why Epiphany wasn't being alerted as a Solarian gear on his radar. Alyson must have removed the tracking device...a serious offense in the Solarian Military Statute. Adin knew what was going on. "Out of my way, Captain Senka." came Alys' voice over the comm. Adin grinned. Alysious was no doubt monitoring him right now. This was his chance to prove his worth. "I'm afraid I can't do that Ms. Treymond," Adin said, a hint of happiness in his voice, "Surrender yourself now - traitor." -------------------------------------------------------------------- To Be Continued...... (OOG: Thats it folks. Whew - a month or two of work and I finally got this post out. Okay, well I'm busy working on my next post, it shouldn't take as long as this one to be posted. Until then...) -=Dan=- _______________________________________________ "Hans! Look alive, take the helm. We'll show them how real men of the sea retreat!" -Thames Captain _______________________________________________________ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/ Subject: [DeM] "A Step Closer to Her" [Elly-15] Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 06:25:37 -0000 From: "Kryn " To: DeM_story@egroups.com (OOG: A little joint post between Arcana and me. Short, but sweet. He wrote it, I just modified a few things. Well we're pretty much in the Bledavik Invasion, let's keep it going peoples! Enjoy!) ~~~~~~~~~~~ [Elly-15] (W/ Alys and peeps too ^_^) "A Step Closer to Her" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ August 24, noon. Bledavik high-security prison. ~~ Cassandra threw her back against the wall, her silenced SOCOM .45 pistol in hand. The gaping hole in the side of the prison was enough for her to walk through, but an explosion of that magnitude was not about to go unnoticed. Alys stood on the other side with a deadly silence enough to make any normal soldier quake in their boots. A guard dashed toward the entrance, and was promptly ripped to shreds with Brynhild's anti-personnel machine gun. Another one, curiosity besting him, dashed outside, and was hit with a bullet as well, killing him instantly. Cassandra winced. If there were many more guards in there, this was not going to be a good rescue. She holstered her pistol and drew her automatic silenced HP MK5 submachine gun, bracing herself for more forces. "Let me," Alys said. She moved her hand toward the entrance, and the dust swirled up into the air, providing a screen for the two of them around the damaged wall. Cassandra dove in first, seeing two more figures heading toward their position. She burst-fire across the two of them, putting bullets squarely into their chests. She glanced left and right, trying to detect any more sounds over the roars and explosions outside. Inside, the prisoners left banged on their bars and cried harsh words in their language. Giving up, she stepped from the cover of the dust cloud, glancing at either end of the corridor. There was a large secure door to the left, just over the pile of rocks from Jason's satchel charge. "Left," Cassandra whispered to Alys. Alys nodded. They stepped around the debris, heading toward the door. Cassandra scanned it briefly. "Electronically locked," Cassandra said. Alys nodded, "This won't be difficult either." She took a step back and concentrated on the door, imagining the metal of its hinges thermally expanding. After a minute, the bolts on the door started to creak and burst, and after a second minute, the lock flew straight off, the metal expanded enough to be unable to keep its hold on the wall. Cassandra stepped toward the door, kicking it. It held in place for a moment, but then there was a loud creak, and it began to fall down toward them. She hopped out of the way and the door came down with a resounding crash, echoing throughout the prison hall. Cassandra looked into an empty corridor with another door at the end, marked "High Security Area". She instinctively glanced up at the walls. "Trap," she said. Alys glanced around, trying to see. She lit a flame on her finger and tossed it toward the door on the other end. "Nothing. Mustn't be thermally-activated or light-activated. If they were sound- activated, then they would have gone off by now." "Pressure plates?" "Probably." Cassandra reached for the flashlight on her shoulder and shone it around. She could detect four metal trap doors in the ceiling, which probably had such interesting weapons as quad-mounted machine guns. She then flashed the floor, detecting nothing. "I have an idea," Cassandra said. "Okay..." Alys replied, a hint of apprehensiveness in her voice. "We'll call in Jason." "Jason's good at this traps stuff?" "No..." Cassandra spoke into her radio. "He knows gear explosives. Jason, we're facing a long corridor here. Seems to be guarded by hidden machine guns. It's the corridor just in front of me. Want to take them out?" "Sure thing. Stand back, Cassandra. Over." Cassandra smirked. Alys' eyes widened in understanding. They stepped away from the door, putting themselves against the pile of debris by their initial opening. She placed her fingers on her ears. The resounding blast was quite deafening as the rocket slammed into the corridor, taking away the second level and the wall with it. The smoke and dust flew, making it impossible to see. Cassandra, taking advantage of the opportunity, ran toward the now-open wall, using the smoke as cover. Alys lifted her head and prepared to move. She glanced at Cassandra, but she was gone. "Cassandra...!" ~~ The woman went through the rocket-induced smoke, following the path carefully. Due to Jason's blast, a high mountain of rocks and bricks lay where the corridor walls used to be. They had just opened a gaping hole where the High Security Area door used to be. Behind that far door may have been guards, but she hoped they were killed in the blast. She crawled over the pile of bricks, staying hidden from any guards who might come out where the largest hole was. She had to get as far as possible before the smoke cleared. Cassandra slid down some rocks and hit the wall on the other side, and inched across it. She reached for her pistol and held it ready. Over the shouts of the prisoners and smoldering wreckage, she could hear Aveh guards barking orders to discover the source of this disaster. She stopped next to a four-foot high hole in the base of the wall and stopped to listen again. The guards were rushing out the large hole that Jason had created, and were promptly gunned down by Brynhild. Deciding to take a risk, she crawled through the hole, pistol in hand. As soon as she emerged from the smoke, she saw a room with three guards; two were heading toward the largest hole, while a third kept toward the back door, rifle at the ready. The guard at the door shouted something, but Cassandra lifted her SOCOM .45 and fired, putting a bullet right in his chest. The man didn't stop and lifted his rifle. Cassandra quickly readjusted, shooting at his face, and blood stained the door behind him. The others hesitated before turning around, trying to locate the target, but Cassandra took advantage of their pause and fired at both of them. Her shots rang true, killing them with head-shots. She wondered now why she had wanted to use silenced weapons. They were initially supposed to do this mission quietly, but this interesting turn of events no longer required stealth. She searched the guard closest to the door and withdrew his keycard, then threw the entrance open toward the containment cells, since it was not locked. The containment cells area was surprisngly quiet. Although echoes of the explosions and shouting outside could be heard, they were dull. The lighting was very dim as well, and she had to use her flashlight to see properly. She started to inspect each solitary cell, sliding the panel open and peeking inside with her flashlight. "Elly! Elly!!" One cell. Another cell. A third cell. Where was she? She then went toward the fourth cell and opened it, seeing a figure lying down on the ground, her pale blue eyes staring back at the door. "Elly... Elly!" Cassandra shouted, rapping on the metal door with her pistol. The figure's eyes rolled up toward the dim blue light. "K... Cas..." "It's me, Elly! We're here to get you the hell out of here!" Cassandra took the keycard and swiped it through the door. The panel said, **Password required.** Cassandra couldn't contain herself. "SHIT!!!!" She pounded on the metal door again. They couldn't blast through this one with a gear. That would certainly kill Elly. A flashbang was probably too risky, since it could throw the door inside the small cell. She looked around, her eyes searching for someone else. "Alys, Alyson!!" Alyson kicked a guard squarely in the chin before stumbling through the doorway of the containment cell. "What?" "Open the door! Open the fucking door!" she screamed, waving her pistol at her. Alys threw her hands in front of her to tell Cassandra to calm down. Alys then glanced down at the words, "Password required", and nodded. She folded her hands together, whispered a word, and the wires on the panel shorted out, causing it to spark. The bolt slid open. The green light, "Password accepted," flshed on the screen. Cassandra immediately threw the door open. "Alys, make sure there's a clean way out! I've got Oracle prepared for transporting her. We'll be out in a second!" Alyson nodded and dashed back out the way she came. Cassandra rushed inside, picking up the tattered Kislev woman by her arm. "Elly... Elly, I'm here. Come on, get up!" She tried to ignore how much the cell stank. Now that she got a good look at it, she realised that the conditions were absolutely horrid. "I'll... die here..." Elly murmured. Drool fell from her mouth. Cassandra's face contorted. "Get up, you lazy son of a bitch!" she shouted, yanking her up onto her feet. The formerly white robe that Elly wore was now reduced to a putrid grey and black. She draped Elly's weak arm over her shoulder, suddenly realising how skeletal she was after spending her week in solitude. When that didn't work, she swung her up into her arms and she carried her. "You're going to be all right. Come on, Elly. We're getting the hell out of here." "Ca... Cassandra... you came for me?" Her eyes were still spaced out and not focusing. "Of course, woman. No way I'd let you die. No way." "I thought... thought I was a goner." "I said I wouldn't let you die, Elly. I keep my promises." Cassandra carried the girl outside, noticing that Elly covered her eyes when she stepped into the afternoon sunlight. Alys was right by the foot of Oracle, and the shock on the girl's face was unmistakably the reaction of seeing Elly in such a depricate state. Cassandra walked inside Oracle's torso, seating Elly on the floor just behind the pilot's chair and strapping her in place. Oracle, much like all military gears, were designed to hold only one person, and the only way they could fit her in was to lie her down behind the cockpit. Cassandra would have to be extra-careful to be sure that she wasn't going to move around too much, or else Elly could be seriously hurt. Cassandra, ensuring that Elly was cushioned as much as possible, moved into the pilot's seat, closing the hatch and powering her machine up. "All right guys, I've got Elly. Let's get the hell out of here." Victoria and Irina moved first, heading toward the closest gate toward the southeast. Alys glanced back toward the south, noticing forces were starting to arrive from the south end as well. This was going to be a long trip to Nisan. Victoria glanced at the north gate, noticing that Solaris was now knocking on Bledavik's door. Kislev was going to be annihilated, she thought as another jet was shot down. A Solaris fighter swooped across the western wall, dropping heavy explosives on the stationary defences. It attempted to circle back, but it was shot down by an intercepting gear and its missile. She turned toward her destination. The exit was only a few kilometres away. They began to step out of the prison area and into a residential area. People all round were panicking and dashing through the streets, trying to find a place to escape to. Poor lambs, she thought. Poor poor lambs. She scaned the streets again, noticing a tall individual standing out from the rest in the fact that he was not actually running, but standing there, watching them move out. Victoria paid it no attention. Those who held a fascination of war often died, whether as soldiers, or as civilians. She stomped on another house, quite accidentally, pausing to make sure she wasn't moving too fast for Irina and the others. They were almost in the clear. ~~ (Summary: Cassandra and Alys bust into the prison and rescue Athena while the others create a diversion. Now, the Bledavik Invasion is on and they realize that getting to Nisan won't be as easy as it had seemed. Go Rebel Chicks!) Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] From a Distance Date: 27 Jan 2001 14:58:06 MST From: Dies Irae To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com Chirp. An alarm. There was smoke over Bledavik. That was the first thing Dies noticed about her sensors' abruptly different view of the city. The second thing was the smoke's cause, the Gears that were retreating, and the wreckage of whatever they'd just demolished. With a twinge of relief that she was too far away to be a threat, she extended the sensors to their fullest resolution. /At least they won't attack me. I'm too low on fuel to fight about now./ Then the spire of-what was that- ice? erupted from the city and so briefly touched one of the Gears. Contrary to all expectations, the machine did not do anything so dramatic as crashing or exploding, but merely continued, shaking something from its foot. That something- Chardfael's sophisticated 'eyes' said it was about the size of a human- did not continue its performance as it fell. It hit the sand with no effort to save itself and did not move. Mouth open in shock, Dies nearly forgot what she was doing. Surely someone with /that/ much ether power- for spikes of ice did not just appear on a whim- could save his own life? Her decision at that point should have sent Chardfael above the column of smoke and over the city in a long graceful arc. But she dropped to ground early, before she was even above the city, the many wings that controlled her velocity shuffling about abruptly to change direction and land. Another Gear would most certainly not be appreciated at this point in Bledavik's already confused situation. /And I need to charge if I'm going to keep moving in the morning./ Icewind made an "ik" sound and fluttered from the cockpit along with his master, then launched toward a nearby flash of color. It proved to be a scrap of blue fabric and he brought it back proudly, giving his triumphant shrill when he was praised. Then he was off again, farther this time over the dunes, and returned with a scrap of lizard hide. Knowing what the bird wanted, Dies tossed the scrap as high as she could and he went after it, grabbed it and shrilled again. "Icewind, go get it." She gestured toward the smoke, toward the place where someone had fallen. "Go get it!" And the falcon flew away in the direction she'd pointed. He'd be back, she knew, as soon as he found something colorful. Hopefully it would be a scrap of clothing, something to tell her what was going on. Bledavik could wait another day; Chardfael needed to charge and she needed to figure out what she was doing. Summary: Dies Irae watches the Bledavik battle, then lands to charge. Icewind plays fetch. --Dies Irae-- ____________________________________________________________________ Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/980632691/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] Fiery Rebirth I [Lyta] Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 17:12:38 +0900 From: "Lyta" To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com —Fiery Rebirth I— —— (OOG: I know its been...what nearly a year...but here it is part one of Lyta's greatest adventure! 2 and 3 will come one week from today since I'm plan on finishing this little group of posts before I go out to sea again) Phoenix Nest, Northern Icy Region July 30, V-498, 12:00 pm Three days, three cold, dark, and foodless days. Lyta knelt in a corner of the ice filled base her eyes downcast and her red hair tumbling down hiding her face. Crand and the others were elsewhere, but she couldn’t help but feel that she was all alone in this building, the noiseless building had brought her to a complete low. She reflected a bit on this realizing that she loved noise, even a thrum of engines or power reactors. In Solaris there had been lots of noise, though most of it was streamlined to be soft background noise it was there all the same. Slowly she raised her head and eyes to the closed door that had remained adamantly locked. She knew that something important was on the other side, something that may lead to the central chamber that not even Hyperion had been able to open. A change in the light against a curved indent beside the door drew her attention. Slowly she stood and reached out with a cautious hand to brush the cold particles of ice that covered it. Lyta’s finger tips touched the cold wall and quickly she brushed the ice away revealing a circular indent. She didn’t know why she did but her other hand placed her new found Chakram into the slot and heard a satisfying click of a mechanism. Huge machinery behind the wall thrummed to life and with a cry of joy she stepped back to watch the door slid away noisily. The door stopped moving and silence once again filled the chamber. Luck that was all it had to be, luck, how else could she have seen the indent? /Temperature,/ Hyperion simply said. /Since our arrival the temperature here has risen three quarters of a degree./ Lyta nodded putting the whole thing out of her mind. The room beyond the door was huge and dark, at the other end of the room she could see a colored light twinkling in the great distance. Slowly she walked through the threshold and gasped as she noticed that the floor ended leaving nothing but pitch darkness below her. She was on a balcony that extended from the door a good quarter a mile in either direction. The room held a platform that extended meters from this balcony ending abruptly at the suspected center of the room. Some of the light from the hall behind the door glinted off of something at the end of the platform. /Maybe the hanger is beyond that,/ Hyperion suggested and Lyta couldn’t help but agree. Taking a silent step onto the beginning of the platform she heard a voice echo in the chamber. “The Phoenix Star was to be the crowning achievement of our race. To led us from this world into another. It was to be the bane of our enemies the Shadow Walkers but the natural inhabitants of this world worked against us.” Lyta looked around trying to find the source of the voice. “In an unprecedented calamity the Shadow Walkers and us were trapped here in this wondrous facility while the world outside died. In the end our external sensors had died and we could no longer tell what had happened or who survived, even our external door would no longer operate. We have no clue if our brethren at the Window of the World Base survived or not.” “Who are you,” Lyta demanded but got no response as the voice continued. /It’s a recording of some type./ “Still though we had no heart to destroy the Phoenix. Even if the Shadow Walkers and we are killed by this calamity then whatever outside that caused this might still be around. If the Goddess was kind to us then maybe even a descendant or two survived. But should one of our kind does reach this chamber then it should be easy for him to break the seal as anyone else would be driven insane.” “Seal?” /Nothing talked about this seal. Maybe it is a bad idea, Lyta,/ Hyperion said wearily. Lyta shook her head, “If I can break this seal then my purpose will be complete. I’ll be able to defend the ones I love.” /If you don’t you may die./ “Then so be it.” Lyta took a firm step forward then another and soon she was walking down the platform her eyes focused on the object at the end. As she neared it she could make the object out, it was a control unit of some type but the closer she came towards it she felt her wings tingle. A flash of bright light suddenly blinded her. Quickly she turned away but as she rubbed her eyes her ears picked up noises. Noises of people and machines. Opening her eyes she found herself standing on a catwalk that over looked a dark room. Below her small vehicles that flew shined lights on a huge slender aerial battleship. One of the small vehicles passed slowly down the side heading towards the aft side, its light gleaming on the golden words that were neatly written. “’Crossing the Planes of Time and Space, Crossing the Planes of Dimensions,’” Lyta said reading the words. “Phoenix Star.” A loud bright explosion tore through the wall behind her and a beam of dark red light struck the top of the Phoenix Star. The little vehicles swerved to get out of the way, some of them vanishing in the path of the beam. “Warning,” a voice cried over a loudspeaker, “Shadow Walker Attack in the Nest Area! Security to the Nest, repeat Shadow Walker attack in the Nest, Security to the Nest!” Lyta screamed as three shadowy figures jumped to the catwalk she was standing on, their deadly looking clawed hands glowing with dark power. They made slowly their way towards her seemingly unconcerned with her. The entire room suddenly shook with such force that she was flung nearly off the edge of the catwalk, the three shadows fell though with a terrible scream disappearing into the inky darkness. “That was the start,” a gentle female voice said sorrowfully. “The end to a Golden Era. The Phoenix Star was damaged due to the Shadow Walkers and the weapons of the natural inhabitants destroyed any hope of our kind’s survival. However even as the wounded Phoenix lay slumbering awaiting its soul, another slept awaiting a body.” The scene of fire and destruction faded away and Lyta felt a floor under feet. Letting go of the now non-existent rail bar Lyta looked around the once again empty and dark room. “If you are the soul that the Phoenix has waited for then touch the globe and release the seal. If you aren’t then leave now and never return for certain death is guaranteed you who doesn’t have Valent’ari DNA.” Lyta gently touched her dragon wings and tail, her signs of her Valent’ari heritage. Before her the control globe that glowed and Lyta sighed with relief. Slowly she made her way to the object making everyone of her steps on the unseen floor. “Once the seal is released you will be subjected to the Trials. Trials that will test the Soul so that it may be strong enough to control the Phoenix. There is no turning back once you pass the door to the trails, and failure to complete the trails will result in death.” With a firm look towards the globe she reached her hand out to touch it. The instant her fingertip touched the smooth warm surface a flash of light filled the room and a door opened before her. Blinking back the light she started for the door. /Be careful Lyta, we will wait for you,/ Hyperion said to her with a tone of concern. Lyta smiled and continued vanishing through the threshold into the complete darkness. “Three Trials beset thee Soul of the Phoenix, Complete all three and the Treasure of the Nest is yours. Fail one you will not leave the Dreams you will create.” With a sigh of trepidation Lyta stepped deeper in the darkness and the first Trial began. [Summary: After three days of wandering the ruins of an ancient base Lyta finally stumbles upon the Nest of Phoenix Star. However she learns that she must do three trials to claim the Phoenix Star.] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/980928717/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] On A Wing and A Prayer [Mina] Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 17:19:48 +0900 From: "Lyta" To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com On A Wing and A Prayer Nisan, July 24-31, V-498 (OOG: Again I beg forgiveness (especially to DY) for the delay in this long overdue post. Though on short the short side I believe it to be a good /mysterious/ post. ^_~) -Evening- “How does she fare,” a voice demanded on the other side of the door, the concern and fear unmistakable. Mina winced with pain, her entire body screamed with it. This was far worse than when she had crashed to Ignas weeks ago, and she wished it would go away. On top of the pain was the severe chill that made her pale body tremble. Sweat dampened her bare body, the doctors said that she would burn up but she swore that she’d freeze first. A bandage wrapped around her body where the now cauterized wound was. “Its... still a little early,” The doctor replied evasively. “Early, you mean you don’t know!” “Calm down, Mister Katami...” “Calm down!? She was found bleeding to death on the edge of town! I...” Mina grit her teeth as she tried to sit up but found herself too weak to and collapsed back to her pillow with a frustrated scream. The door flung open and Reijin followed by the Nisan doctor rushed inside. “Mina, are you alright,” Reijin asked kneeling at the bedside. She looked at him and smiled weakly. She reached a trembling hand towards him and gently touched his tense jaw. “I’m fine now that you are here,” she replied softly. “Don’t fear...” She gasped in pain and arched her back her hand falling beside her. Reijin grabbed a hold of her arms his voice drowned out by her pain that rang loud in her mind. Finally the fit died and she laid on the bed her breath come fast and shallow. Reijin gently released her arms and turned sharply to the doctor. “What is wrong with her! You said the wound was free of infection yet she looks worse!” The doctor shook his head his eyes lowered to the floor. “Mister Katami, she is strong of will she will pull out of it. Right now the poison or whatever that was introduced in her body is raging unchallenged, but that will change as time goes on.” “How do you know that!? You don’t even know what it is!” “Reijin,” she moaned wincing with pain, “It hurts...” He turned to her his glare softening as his eyes fell on her. He gently held her hand in his, “Shhh, just lie still, Love. It’ll be alright tomorrow.” “I, I have failed and disgraced you,” she said closing her eyes. “I should have waited for you...” She faded off letting the pain and chill wane as she let unconsciousness take her. For a week she drifted between the waking world and fevered world of her dreams. Images assaulted her, seemingly to taunt her. Mina was filled with guilt, filled with the sense of disgrace. She knew she had failed Reijin and in her heart she wanted to make it up to him. As the week came to a close a shadow fell over Mina as she opened her eyes. Her throat felt dry and her body was damp with sweat, her golden hair lay around her like damp strings of gold. Her head band, her only favorite accessory that had been given to her when she was a child by a strange woman, lay on the table near her. The figure before her was female, she wore strange clothes that were adorned by sapphires, on her belt a sword was sheathed. She was also familiar as if she had stepped from the past, the same woman who had given her the head band back when she was a child. The woman had long flowing jet black hair that hung loose behind while sharp green eyes stared compassionately at her, slender and lithe the woman was beautiful. “Mina Rhinehart, Diamond Voice of the Song,” the woman said grimly. Mina merely stared at the woman trying hard not to let the pain that was in her to show. “You were given a gift and yet you do not use it.” Mina sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “What gift,” Mina whispered faintly as she reopened her eyes. “The power of the Song, to be more specific the Song of the Diamond. A strong and beautiful power,” the woman said crossing her arms. “You have ignored it.” Mina winced as spasms of pain pushed through her, “I’m not worthy of any gift. Powerful or not.” “You love this young man? This Reijin Katami,” the woman said crossly. “You cannot deny it your heart sings when you see him. Your love for him is your strength, your fear for his safety the transport for your love. It is your feelings for this man that will create in you the best Sword Singer on this world.” “H, how can this be? I’ll be dead shortly,” Mina moaned. “I have failed him in every way.” The woman shook her head, “You need resolve to do better and I believe I know how you can do it. The Shadows are on the move, and I believe a winged Warrior has appeared in the land. These forces are not of your concern yet, you must seek out the ruins of Elru. It is there where the herb Kanijor and Yelni stones are.” “What good will these do me,” Mina asked her curiosity growing with each passing word. “Mix the two according to a recipe that I will leave you, apply the medicine to the wound and within two days you will be cured. However there is a drawback in those two days you will be vulnerable, your Ether and your Song will not be accessible.” The woman removed a pouch from her waist and laid it on the table. “There is also a restraint salve in there, have the young man apply it to your wound. It will last you a month, if you do not find the herb and stone you will most certainly die.” The woman smiled then and bowed, “I will leave you for now, but I will return when you are healed for I shall teach you how to use the sword and the Song. I recommend that you do not do this alone, even as you wish to restore your honor you will never be strong enough to deal with the Shadows and the other forces on this world that demand to be respected. Farewell Mina Diamond Rhinehart, I will be awaiting your return.” Mina watched as the woman turned and vanished through the window. For painful while Mina regarded the pouch that sat on the table. She didn’t want to involve Reijin, already he had spent a lot of time on her and not in his search for his mother. She feared that maybe he would become resentful of her because of this. She laughed suddenly and shook her head. “Have you not learned your lesson, Mina,” she admonished herself. She remembered the embarrassing trap that she had fallen into by not telling Reijin everything. She would just have to put aside her fears and ask him. If he did help then she would do everything in her power to not be a burden anymore on him. [Summary: A woman from Mina’s past appears to her and promises her that she could be healed if she goes to Elru. Full of trepidation she awaits for Reijin to ask him to join her on this unusual quest.] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/980929150/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] parobolas (Tristan) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 19:16:01 -0000 From: in_my_tree@hotmail.com To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com OOG: No soundtrack suggestions this time, but there is a POEM! I'm a really bad poet, so bear with me. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Aug. 24th Outside Bledavick. Sand dunes, large monolithic creatures moving slowly across the desert, wind shaping and ultimately destroying them. A sand dune is always mathematically correct, always making a perfect parabolic curve with its two outstretched tips, as if each grain of sand has carefully calculated where it will roll. The wind, a destructive sporadic thing that sweeps across lands and waters, even the precocious wind takes care in creating the perfect, delicately sculpted sand dune. A single drop of liquid hit one of those sand dunes, knocking a few grains askew. They rolled down the slope as another drop of fluid hit the side of the sand dune, sending more grains rolling in an unexpected course. The wind, had it been a thinking thing, would have been angered to see one of it's perfect creations ruined, ever so slightly by the intrusion. The wind hadn't seen anything yet. Tristan streaked through the sky, falling towards the earth from the foot of the gear, which was continuing on it's way towards Nisan. Too wrapped up in self-pity to notice his fall he thought only of Meila. `Meila, how many times do I have to tell you?' he thought miserably, `you have to wait for me. Now I have to kill you again.' The thought saddened him, the thought of her silky black hair, soaked with blood, her pale face gone lifeless once more. But it had to be that way; there could be no other way. "There's no other way…" he muttered to himself, tears rolling out of his eyes before he hit the ground, a sand dune cushioning his fall. Blackness followed. "Am I dead?" Silence. "I'm not finished yet." A low roar climbing in the background, just out of hearing. "I have to see her, to tell her." A moment of intuition, a foreshadow of the future "I have to save someone." Growing louder a roar continues, Like that of an ocean, screeching out a warning "Is this really what I've been wishing for?" "Is this it? Given to me now?" A flash of anger "NOW?" a scream in blackness Roar sharpening, into a single word, a single warning. NO. Tristan sat upright; dragging himself out of the dune like it was a shallow grave. Sand was stuck to him; obliterating cuts and bruises, making him look a patchy blue and beige. He went to brush himself off and a sharp pain coursed through him, causing him to fall to ground, clutching his face. A hunger, THE hunger flew through his body, telling him that it was time again. He managed to get out a squeak of pain as it raked his body. Every nerve ending, every cell was protesting their very existence. It was as if all 500 years of pain and hurt had showered down on him at once. Inside Tristan, his slowly rotting body, full of decay protested the life that flowed through his veins, unable to stop it. Only one thing could stabilize his system, as it seemed to fly out of control. He looked up at the sky, ready to scream out in agony, when he stopped himself. A bird flew overhead. A falcon. A pet bird. It flew across the sky, and then suddenly dived down to retrieve a scrap of blue fabric. Willing his broken body forth, he stood and started to walk towards the bird and the direction it had come from. `Where there are pets, there are owners.' He thought to himself as he limped across the desert. <> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/981141779/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] Art of Delinquency: Part 2 (Adin, Alys) Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2001 11:13:51 -0800 (PST) From: Dan Clark To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com (OOG: This is a co-post between myself and Dan. I suggest listening to the song "White Reflection" from the Gundam Wing soundtrack while reading this - Colin Yay! I've been waiting a long time for this post. I am not so sure about "White Reflection" but you can all listen to it if you want. I suggest Track 2 off the Matrix Soundtrack. I forget the name though I'm sorry. It's not that important. By the way - Colin wrote everything before the asterix (***) line, and I wrote everything after. I hope you all enjoy -Dan) ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Art Of Delinquency" (Adin,Alys) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bledavik, Aveh Northwest Wall August 24, V498 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Okay guys, I got Elly! Now let’s get the hell out of here!" came Cassandra over the com-link Alys was already fastening her own restraints and rebooting Epiphany up in just seconds. It was time to book for Nisan. Epiphany turned her head to the right. She could see guards coming from the southern gate… "Hey Alys," came Cassandra on the comm again, "move it or lose it!" She quickly snapped out of her daze, moving Epiphany towards the northern gate. Suddenly, a jet exploded into the wall from outside, forming a large enough gap for them all to pass through. "Damn, what’s going on?" Jason asked. "Gebler and Kislev are at war." Victoria replied quickly, "But we should not be concerned with that at the moment. I think it’s best if we concern ourselves with our own safety for the moment." Epiphany went through the hole, followed by Starblaze, Oracle, and the others. When they walked through the large smoke cloud around the wall, they found themselves encountering an entire Gebler platoon. Alys gasped, recognizing the black and gold gear with dragon-like wings which appeared to be the leader of the group of approximately ten White Knights. Before Cassandra could make a witty remark warning the Gebler soldiers to leave or get fried, Alyson’s voice came in on the comm in a different channel. "Cass, I want you to get Elly out of here. There’s about to be a battle and you having her in the gear may endanger both of you. Irina’s gear has some major firepower, so I’ll ask her to protect you guys. Meet us at the sand bunkers as planned, alright?" "Gotcha." "Take care. Both of you. Alys out." Epiphany stepped forward from the colorful group of gears she was emersed in. "Out of the way, Captain Senka" Senka’s voice shot back over the comm. "I’m afraid I can’t do that, miss Treymond. Surrender yourself now - traitor" Epiphany stood motionless. Alyson could detect amusement in Senka’s voice. Well…looks like it’s about time to get downright ugly, she thought to herself. For half a minute she thought to herself when a thought came to her mind. "Lady Victoria, Brynhild, and Jason. I’m gonna need your help in this. It’s four of us against eleven of them. Senka obviously wants me, so I’ll deal with him. Do what you can about the White Knights, but be careful, especially you Jason and Brynhild. They could be using enhancement drugs, thus making them more vicious than any other soldier. Alright, it’s time to take ‘em down!" Irina and Cass were already moving towards the bunkers when Gungnir, Adin’s gear, noticed them and immediately opened fire. However, he didn’t expect Irina’s quick reflexes to cause her to turn around, a large cannon in-hand and open fire on the missiles he launched at her. There was a large explosion as fire and smoke billowed into the air. Using this as her chance, Epiphany moved in, quickly taking out her sword, and slashing at Gungnir. Gungnir’s thrusters burst on as he backed away from her swift attacks. After gaining enough distance, he launched another set of missiles, this time at her. The missiles homed on their target, but Epiphany flew back in time to avoid them. Through the cloud of smoke she emerged with her sword and slashed again. This time the sound of metal clashing rang out. A Saber had slid out of Gungnir’s right arm and met with Epiphany’s sword. "Nice one" Alys commented. "I try my best. It’s a new addition to my gear - enjoy it while you can" Adin replied. Gungnir pushed Epiphany back then went on the offensive, slashing and stabbing repeatedly. Epiphany’s sword met with the saber on every slash and deflected every stab he attempted. Gungnir backed up and started firing from the twin laser cannons mounted on his arms. Epiphany threw up an Ether shield in defense. While Gungnir’s fire pounded against her shield, Alyson checked her radar. Thank goodness, she thought. Irina and Cassandra had survived after all. They were almost at the sand bunkers. Victoria and the others were doing pretty good themselves. She just had to finish up with Senka. Once she noticed Gungnir had stopped firing, she thought for the better until a retractable cannon appeared on his shoulder. "Oh shit! Is that what I think it is?" "That’s right," Adin spoke in sheer delight. "It’s an anti-gear cannon. Careful now, Miss Treymond. I don’t wanna blow you away too soon, so do try to survive." He was going to prove to Aloysius that we was worthy. The cannon unleashed a swirling bolt of energy towards Epiphany. The ether shield went up again, taking the brunt of the force, but Epiphany was shoved back quite a bit. Alys’ eyes widened, then narrowed as she smirked. "Just as I thought," she whispered to herself. "It’s powerful, but it takes a while to recoil." Seeing this as her only chance, Epiphany threw out her hand, launching a bolt of azure energy into the cannon. The cannon exploded on Gungnir’s shoulder as the black and gold mass stumbled in the desert sands. ******************************************** "Shit!" Adin screamed in Frustration as he looked out the viewscreen of the cockpit and saw that the pride and joy of his gear had been blown to pieces. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the control stick as Gungnir regained position and flew full speed towards Epiphany. Another saber slide forth from the left arm and Gungnir crossed the sabers into an "X" as it’s full weight went into charging at the traitor’s gear. Alys still had the ether shield up although it was painfully weakened in the blast. Gungnir’s thrusters rumbled and burned to the extent of their power as he pushed himself against the shield. Alys was taken back with surprise at this new tactic and she focused the power of the ether machine, giving her all to withstand the power of this much larger gear. Gungnir then pulled it’s arms back, the blades’ sharp tips pointing directly at the shield, and lunged forward, the sabers jamming a few feet into the shield. "Are you crazy??" shouted Alys in surprise as she focused even more. She wasn’t about to let her shield be destroyed. Adin persisted however and as soon as he had gotten the blades into position, he brewed up a little of his own ether energy and a surge of red electricity shot throughout Gungnir’s black and gold frame from it’s center, shooting along the arms and to the ether shield. Adin laughed with glee as the azure shield was now engulfed by the red veins of energy, surging and pulsing along with Adin’s beating heart. Dust began to kick up all around the dueling pair and the temperature of their slave generators rose almost to their max. Sparks rained around them like falling snow and the shield dissipated with a flash. Alys clutched the ether input mechanism, her heart beating a thousand times a minute, her chest heaving and falling, hair tangled with sweat. Adin wasn’t much better, streams of sweat forming trails down his forehead and his face red with exhaust. The two gears stood for a while, motionless. Adin threw his head back against the headrest of the seat and looked into the sky. Over the city hovered Ariath’s battleship in a dominant fashion, the bright afternoon sun reflecting off it’s silvery hull like glitter. Hundreds of Solaris gears were lowering into the city from the undocking bay. Solaris was sure to win now. Adin didn’t get much more time to think however when Gungnir suddenly lurched to the side, throwing Adin against the side panel of the command console. He looked forward to Epiphany, but the gear was still motionless, on it’s knees. Where had the attack come from? Adin switched on Gungnir’s backup generator and a good amount of life flowed back into it’s wiry veins. The hulking gear turned to the area where the attack had come from and there Adin saw a Kislev Attack gear. It was obvious the gear was alone. Was there no backup? No tanks or commanders? Was this a lone wolf attack by some glorified Kislev officer hyped up on his own sense of pride? Adin couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He’d get rid of this pest quickly. Who needed -drive- when the sense of victory in himself had given him all the energy he needed? Gungnir spread it’s golden wings as the sabers at it’s armed gleamed in the sunlight, a few burn marks tainting their surface from the heat of the previous ether battle. Suddenly Adin’s view became distorted as a hail of sand began brewing all around him. It became so thick, in fact, that he could barely see a thing at all. After a few minutes, the sandstorm subsided and Gungnir’s rear-cameras revealed Epiphany far off in the distance, escaping with the gears it had arrived with. "Hmph…coward" said Adin smugly as he redirected his attention to the Kislev gear. "I am Lieutenant Grant!" came a voice over Adin’s comm. "Prepare for a fight, Gebler scum, I have a debt to repay!" (OOG: Alright - time for another fight for Adin! Yeesh!! He's so busy lately! Oh well, after this fight with a yet-to-be found out attacker (no, not Lt. Grant) then I should be free to reak havoc on Bledavik! Hooray! Well, I hope you all liked it. I loved it, I thought it was a great fight. Jya na! -Dan) -=Dan=- _______________________________________________ "Hans! Look alive, take the helm. We'll show them how real men of the sea retreat!" -Thames Captain _______________________________________________________ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/981227634/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] "Resolution" (Jacinth) Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 04:31:14 -0000 From: angelgear8@hotmail.com To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com I churned this post out rather quickly. I'm trying to get on with her events... "Resolution" -------------------- August, V-498 Aquvy Islands Region -------------------- Jacinth had packed lightly. She set her small bundle of things into the little dingy that she had tied to a post near her house. Maylis rubbed its furry head on her feet, curling its tail around her leg. It purred softly as Jacinth prepared her things. "Maylis, come along now. Get in the boat. We're leaving." She looked back at her house, her lovely house, the one that Thular had built for her when they had married. She had decided that she couldn't continue living there anymore. The memories of him would tear her apart. She also had to go, she needed to escape from what had happened. Deep down inside her heart, she also wanted revenge on the Wels. She picked up the cat, which mewed mournfully as she set it in the boat. "I'm sorry, I know you hate the boat, but it's the only way we can get to father's house." The cat gave an irritated, yet conceding growl. After a few more moments of preparation, Jacinth and Maylis were adrift in the blue ocean. Jacinth was concentrating on the water, gently guiding its currents with her mind. She caused a mist to form around the boat as they traveled, for she was still very much afraid of the Wels. She had never traveled through the ocean to the other islands on her own before. She remembered with stinging joy how Thular had loved to go sailing with her on those sunny, windy summer afternoons. They drifted through the ocean for what seemed like a couple of hours. All around them was the mist Jacinth created, filtering out all the vision of possible land. Jacinth knew the navigation of between the small islands of Aquvy fairly well, and the way to her father's house she had memorized. She knew they were close. The ocean was telling her. She sat up in the boat, the anxiousness building inside of her. With a seep of her hand, the mist before the boat cleared, and the triumphant blue sky overhead lighted her face. Maylis, who was sleeping soundly on one end of the boat, now opened one eye, then seeing that it was just Jacinth fussing around in the boat, closed it again and went back to sleep. Jacinth smiled as she saw the island, coming closer as she caused the waves to speed them along. When the boat hit the beach and shook the boat slightly, Maylis at once jumped, his senses fully alert. Jacinth climbed out and ran through the shore, to the small house just off the beach. A young boy was outside, sitting in a rocking chair. He at once spotted Jacinth, and smiling, waved to her. "Jacinth, it's nice to see you!" Jacinth ran to him. "Mason!" She went and hugged him tightly. She then began to cry uncontraollably. Mason was a bit confused. "Alright, Jacy, I know I haven't seen you in a while, but come on!" With tears staining her eyes, she looked into his face. "Mason, where is father?" "He's inside...Jacy, what's the matter? Where's Thular?" Jacinth bit back her lower lip. She blinked away some tears. Then she smiled. "I love you, little brother." Mason's face became a contortion of worry. "Jacinth, what's wrong?" She ignored him and went ahead into the house. The house was similar to her own, quaint and small, with sparse furnishings. An older woman appeared, in a drab dress and apron. She was wiping her hands with a dish rag. "Oh, Jacinth! What brings you here? Oh, why are you crying, dear?" Jacinth looked deeply into the woman's eyes. "Eteia, where is father? Where is he?" she pleaded, the tears coming out even more forcefully. Eteia's face became even more lined with wrinkles. "Oren is in the back. He's fixing a broken chair." Jacinth left her immediately and almost ran to the back room. She saw her father there, sitting on a small couch with a small wooden chair with a missing leg on the floor. He didn't notice her come in, so engrossed in his task was he. He simply went on fixing the chair. "...Father," Jacinth said faintly. Oren looked up quickly. He gasped at seeing his daughter there, crying. "Jacinth, what's the matter child?" She opened her mouth, and her lip quivered uncontrollably. "Thular is dead," she managed to choke out. "Oh my god..." Oren said. With true sadness gracing his strong face, he outstretched his hands to her. She went to him and hid in his embrace, crying freely and remembering her husmand's own sweet hold. Mason and Eteia had entered the room, and both looked to Oren. Tears in his dark blue eyes, he had nothing he could say to them. Jacinth stayed with her father for the next three days. She told them all about what happened, though she was reluctant about the part wher she killed the Wel. They all tried their best to make her feel comfortable, while mourning for Thular's death as well. On the third day, Jacinth told her father that she would be leaving for the Ethos Headquarters. "Why do you have to go there, Jacinth? Stay here, let me take care of you for once." Jacinth stared out at the ocean, watching the sun set into the watery horizon. "No, I need to find some answers. Thular had just returned from a mission for the Ethos, taken longer than he was supposed to, and then was attacked and killed by a Wel the night he returned...it seems too suspicious to me, now that I have had time to digest it all. He was even reluctant to tell me about the mission. He was always so open and honest..." "Jacinth, please, the Ethos Headquarters is far from this archipelago. The way could be dangerous. It's no place for a young woman such as yourself to be in." Jacinth sighed. She knew that was true. She was afraid to go herself. But she felt that she needed to. She needed to find answers. It just felt so incomplete, so terribly quick. He was there, then he was gone. She knew he had fought Wels before. That night, something must have happened that she still didn't know about. She needed to find closure, if anything. "Father, I...I need to learn to take care of myself. Thular tought me all that I could learn about my powers. That should be enough for me to protect myself. I have to know what's going on, though. I can't move on until I do. Please understand..." Oren took his hand and held her head delicately. "You are my only daughter. I don't want to lose you. You are the most important thing in my life. Your mother meant so much to me-" he looked away for a moment, "and so do you, so that's why I want you to trust what's in your heart. If you must go, then go." Jacinth looked into her father's eyes. She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay there and be safe, not experience any evil ever again. But the haunting image of the Wel tearing into Thular's flesh came to her again and again, and the flurry of emotions shook her to her core. She coudln't just leave his death as some footnote in her life. He meant so much to her, she loved him so fully, that she had to find the answers, no matter what the costs. She felt it would be her last testament to her husband, that she embark on the quest to find out about his death. ********************************** (Jacinth leaves her home and journeys to her father's house. There she stays, then decides to travel to the Ethos Headquarters to find out the truth about her husband's death.) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/981347481/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] addiction symptoms (Tristan and Hume) Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 07:59:51 -0000 From: in_my_tree@hotmail.com To: DeM_story@yahoogroups.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- OOG: Well, now in case anyone has forgotten her,here is Hume (Hu-may) my other character that grew out of a one shot deal. Anyhow, this post has ALOT of violence in it, so be forewarned that it gets kind of graphic. After writing stuff like this it really makes me question my sanity, considering the worst is yet to come. Oh well. Soundtrack? When you get to the Tristan part, I suggest 'come to daddy' by Aphex Twin- avalable on Napster. ------------------------------------------------------------- August 24th Humé looked around the desert before her. Since leaving at sunrise she had gotten a long way away from Belvedik. The leader of the caravan, a man named Socrate, knew that they were traveling through bandit territory, so he was making good speed, and driving the horses hard to minimize the risk of attack. Humé had never left Aveh before. While her parents were still alive she had stayed in her small hometown, after they had died she had went to Bledavick for work. She would settle in Nissan until she could make her way to Aquavy, she decided as she rode through the desert. `I've never seen the ocean before, she thought solemnly to herself. I bet Descar would like to see the ocean.' As she thought of her brother, a feeling of homesickness passed through her heart. `Descar has always been so good to me', she thought, `and now I'm leaving him forever.' The caravan of merchants continued their journey through the desert, keeping the same pace, until they reached an area with high rocky outcrops on all sides. Suddenly the lead driver sped up his horse, quickening his pace to almost a trot, forcing the other carts to keep up with him. "This is a good place for an ambush…" Muttered Humé as she urged her mount to speed up and join the rest of the travelers. Socrate, who had keen eyes, was carefully watching the road ahead, when he suddenly pulled on the reins of his horse, almost causing it to throw him onto the rocky ground below. The caravan suddenly came to a halt, and Humé almost rode right into the back of a wagon. "Hey!" She yelled at the driver, "What the hell do you think your doing? Idiot……" Humé's voice trailed off as she realized that her intuition had been correct. This was a good place for an ambush, and that was just what had happened. A large group of bandits surrounded the caravan on all sides, looking down from the outcrops above. One of the bandits made his way down the rock, and stood in front of the caravan. "We're here for a young girl, around 18 years old." He said with confidence in his voice. "Hey, I'm almost 20 you jerk!" Humé bust out before realizing what she had done. "Well, well, well… the traitor reveals herself." The bandit snickered. Humé slid off her horse and walked up to the bandit who was standing on the road. He was about Descar's age, with long hair, pulled back into a thin ponytail that hung limply off his shoulder. Humé hardened her features into a scowl, and narrowed her eyes. She quietly began to charge up a small ball of ether energy in her right hand, hoping the pony-tailed bandit would not notice. "You should pick on someone your own size, instead of a helpless young girl." She sneered at him. "You should know better than to think you could leave our little family." He said, corners of his mouth turning up into a cruel, empty grin. He gestured to the leader of the caravan to move forth into a waiting group of bandits. "This way, there will be no witnesses." He said as he continued to smirk. "Your just jealous of me, that's why you're out to get me!" Humé said to her captor. "Delusional little girl…so foolish and young." He snarled. Humé started to back away from him, as she saw the other waiting bandits come down from their vantage points. It was now or never. "Humé special attack!" Humé suddenly screamed as she let the ether energy go right into the pony-tailed bandits face. He clutched his hands to where his eye had been and where a burning wound now was. "The little bitch can use ether! Get her!" He screamed as he fell to the desert floor; smoke still coming from his face. Humé prepared herself for a fight; she wasn't going to die without taking a few of her enemies with her. She pulled her lips into a tight snarl and began to charge up another ether shot when… ------- Tristan dragged himself up a particularly long hill walking in the direction of where he had seen the falcon. There was an outcrop just in front of him, looking down on a natural valley in the desert, where the road to Nissan ran through it. The pain stabbed at him again as he lurched forward, it inched it's way up his spine, sending waves of nausea through him. He gingerly closed his eyes and laid down, face first; trying not to vomit, making dry retching noises into the sand. Through his misery he was aware of footsteps around him; someone was coming towards him slowly taking caution not to alert him to their presence. "Hmm. A witness." One whispered quietly, unaware that Tristan could hear him as he twitched in the sand. "Well," a female voice replied, "kill him, the boss wanted no interference in this." "He's just a pathetic demi-human, look at how deformed he is." Said the first voice, louder now, letting a snicker escape his lips. "He's so ugly he could be a Wel, couldn't he?" The female voice laughed back. "Better of dead anyhow." The man said as he reached down and grabbed Tristan by his hair, and lifted up his head, so it was a couple of feet off the ground. Tristan kept his eyes shut and swallowed a mouthful of vomit. "You're pretty beaten up, this won't take much will it?" The lady said, crouching down and sticking her face against Tristan's so her hot breath rushed against his skin. Tristan opened his eyes to look at her face, only a few centimeters away from his own. "So I really look like a Wel to you?" he said weakly. She stood up and looked away, walked over towards the outcrop and the valley below. "Stupid creature." She muttered as the wind whipped her hair into her face.Tristan rolled his eyes around to try and get a look at his captor without turning his head. "Well, do it." The woman said, while looking away. "I don't want to watch." "Fine with me." The man said as he let go of Tristan's hair and dropped him into the sand again. This time, facing up. All Tristan could do was lay there, eyes staring into the sky, waiting. "You know," The male said, looking at Tristan. "There's no sport in killing such a pathetic creature." "Oh," Tristan replied while still fixing his eyes straight ahead into space. "Shall I make it more fun for you?" The man bent over him, so Tristan could see his face finally, the deep tan and brown eyes, a mark of a person from Noln. "I really don't think you could." He laughed once more, his face splitting into a wide grin. "Really?" Tristan said, his voice peaking with anger as he brought his long leg up, ramming his knee into the man's laughing face. Startled, the man dropped towards the ground, his head being caught by Tristan's now outstretched right hand. Tristan dragged the man's head towards his own, without moving his injured body from its position on the soft sand. "What the hell are you doing? Why do you always have to be so brutal?" Said the woman angrily as she turned around to see what had caused the sickening crack she had heard. "What?" She gasped as she turned to look at where her partner had been. She saw her partner's eyes, glazed over with the look of death; the broken demi-human's face was pressed against his neck. A rivulet of blood ran from her partner's neck and hit the ground, soaking into the sand. "You are a Wel-" She chocked, her voice died as the Wel turned his head to look at her, blood staining his face. He was still laying flat on the sand, but had his massive hand around her partner's neck. In one smooth movement to threw the body away from him. It landed a few feet away, a gaping hole where the man's throat should have been. Tristan stood up slowly to face the started woman. He cocked his head slightly to side and twitched as the blood hit his system, pumping through him like pure adrenaline, wiping away all the pain, taking the taste of vomit from his mouth. He drew up his massive right arm and wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, like a child would wipe off a milk moustache. Shaking the woman began to walk backwards, towards the cliff. She glanced below and saw that things weren't going very well for her other colleagues either, she saw at least 2 other bandits dead on the ground, smoke coming from their backs. A strange sense of satisfaction filled her as she realized that she wouldn't be the only one to die out in the desert. "Trouble, TROUBLE!" She managed to scream before she was silenced by Tristan's hand passing through her chest, two jagged pieces of metal piercing her heart. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/981359995/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: [DeM] Dry Land (Kuso--I) Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 20:09:51 EST From: Psi3768610@Aol.com To: DeM_Story@yahoogroups.com ---------- Title: Dry Land... (Kuso-- I) Date: August 23, V-498 Place: Unknown location--ocean (Near Ignas' western coast) Time: around Mid Day The small skiff looked little more than a speck of dust in a small pond from a thousand feet up. From five hundred it appeared to be a small bit of Floatsam caught in the waves. from a hundred it was clear it was a small boat, with a single man as the crew. His somber black demeanor didn't look like a seaman's, it was more like a priest's, to tell the truth. But his sword marked him as something clearly different from a priest, as did the assurance with his motions. At least there was a small hint of them, on land, he would walk with a deadly grace, reminiscient of some kind of large mountain cat. But on sea, he looked a little out of place. Kuso had bought this skiff from an islander for the last of his money. He wasn't even sure he'd survive for very long, with the little ammount of food he had brought with him. From the way the man had spoken, Ignas was just beyond the horizon. Well, Kuso had been travelling for a week now, rationing his food and fresh water with agonizing care. His people were not big travellers, the most they did was trade with the uncivilized tribes that fished along the outer edge of the island. They recieved foods, along with other essentials, in exchange for metalworks and protection. It was a time-tested arrangement, having been in place for many generations. Kuso prayed for dry land, but his prayers seemed to go unanswered. Kuso woke before the sun rose, like always. Maybe he was simply meant to die lonely and forgotten, the disobedient child of a delinquent father. No. He wouldn't die here--he resolved that much, as if the shear force of his conviction would bend the will of the fates. But he tried anyway, even though he knew that he had little chance of surviving. He was likely to fall off the edge of the world if he kept going--it felt like forever since he had had solid ground under his feet. He hadn't seen feather or scale of either bird or fish since he got here--another sign that the edge of the world was near. He laid on his back and pondered how it would feel to fall for eternity, after a while, he dozed off, only to be awoken when the skiff ground to a halt on the shore. "Well, at least I won't fall." (Summary: A day in the life of Kuso--demonstrating his philosophical, though completely mis-informed, nature.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/0/_/529963/_/981426317/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Deus Ex Machina: http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~End Archive 54