♛ ▌ＲＥＳＥＴ ❣

​

[/url]⚜ t h o s e gross feelings of sore-loserness still made themselves feel comfortable in Morgiana's chest as she heard the tell-tale knock on the door. The fruity sent of mango and orange was just making her feel nauseous now. A voice was telling her that it was time for her to head over to the Hall, but why did she want to see any of those people? She puckered her lips into a pout and glossed a hand over her hair. It turned into its usually lustrous and sheepy self.

She stood from her criss-cross position on her needlessly large couch and yawned with a widely open mouth. How could anyone really want to be up this early? The large clock on the wall told a time of 6:45pm. The knock on the door sounded again and Morjiana was quick to stomp her foot on the smooth wooden floor.

The door disappeared and there was a dignified, elderly man standing there. Morjiana narrowed her pink eyes at him as they shifted between hues of darker red. ❴ I hired you to keep me on track, not to bother me for no reason! ❵ she whined loudly.

❴ If you please, I am keeping you on track. ❵ he replied. ❴ The next game is starting soon and you're wanted at the hall. ❵

She puffed her cheeks and bit her lower lip. ❴ I know that! ❵ she snapped. The elderly man remained unfazed.

With another wave of her hand, something more dramatic this time, her clothes were changed away from pajamas and she began setting stomping feet towards the door. The man moved out of her way.

Morjiana[/url] sighed deeply and smoothed out her skirt.

Fata Morgana was just as quiet as ever as the sleepy Valen stepped out of her tree house home. The ever-dusked, pink-and-cream sky was littered with wispy clouds and the wheat fields rolled across in gentle waves. Mirage FM { some of the other Valens liked to call it that } hadn't shrunken much at all after her last loss, but it wasn't exactly big to begin with and was mostly filled with residents who were warm folks but often sleepy like herself. She supposed that was her fault, and the place would be a complete wreck if it wasn't for Butler . . . The "butler".

Technically, she had won him in a game a long time ago and found him of great use when Mirage FM was extremely gross and dead. Morgiana had the power to model it as she pleased a little more freely than the other Valens, but she was always too preoccupied with her large bed to care. Now she had Butler to care for her.

One small flick of the wrist later and Morjiana was grasping onto a small bag of large marshmallows that, in their cluster, resembled her hair. Popping one after the other into her mouth, she listened to Butler talk about how Mirage FM was doing for the week and every now and then would mention the new game and Aether's newest Valen, Marian. Marley? Merry. Melissa? Mauvy. Mary? Morjiana didn't care. It started with an M. Her M-name was far more important and cool anyway.

Disregarding the lavish woodland staircase that led to the ground, Morjiana jumped off of the balcony. Before she met the ground, there were a slew of squishy cracking sounds and Butler watched as her body began to contort.

❴ Make sure to behave yourself. ❵ he said as he watched a small sparrow begin to soar away.

In her head, Morjiana scoffed.

❴♡⚜ ⚜ ⚜♡❵​

Morgiana's small talons touched to the stone bridge. The Hall of Games loomed over her small bird figure and the usual cracking sound happened until she was standing before it as her normal form. She quickly pulled at her long, sheepy hair making sure that she was actually her right form before taking a breath that was more of an annoyed huff.

She didn't want to meet any of those crackerjacks. Every time she came to the Hall, all Morji ever wanted to do was explore.

Her footsteps were heavy and pouty as she walked into the Hall and began to make her way to the main foyer where all of the other Valens probably were. She was always one of the last to arrive, but it wasn't really a big deal to her. They could start if they wanted, that just meant more naptime for her.

As soon as she stepped into the Hall, her eyelids felt heavier and she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but instead trudged along until the stench of heavy alcohol reached her nostrils, and she knew that Sangria was around, doing her best to get everyone shitfaced as usual. She scrunched her nose as she began nearing her usual seat.

There was Garret, the one she sometimes tried to outdo in tricks and jokes even though it wasn't really her field, Prism, the one she didn't really care about because she thought he was super-extra boring and easily swayed, Ursa, the one she didn't like because she didn't like cold things, Daphne, the one she didn't like because she was way too happy and energetic where Morji just wanted to sleep for god's sake just leave her alone!, Annalynne, the crackerjack she didn't like who thought she was too good for everyone, Darren, the one that was too nice and she didn't like him because he was too nice, and the others she was too hazy to pay mind to.

Besides Melina, the newest Valen that Morji didn't like because . . . Who knew. It should have been Anthony. Should have been Vanille. Gross Marian who won. Gross. Morji wrinkled her nose. Besides Melina, Morji wondered when the scary Crestatia was gonna show. Morji didn't like hanging out with anyone of these Valens { and rarely did }, but especially Crestatia because she was . . . a little scary. No, Morgiana was not actually scared of her, but holy jeez, Crestatia was scary when she wanted to be.

She took her seat and pulled out a small notebook and quill pen from her long, sheepy hair. ❴ Don't wanna be heeeeEeEeEeeeEeeeR. ❵ she muttered.​

S L E E P I N E S S ;; ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

​

 

The time had finally come...

Defeat was inevitable, it was something every person must face. To be depressed, to feel anguish over losing land was something ridiculous. Defeat was something used to make a person grow and become far stronger than before. He would harness the power of defeat, he would use it's power and experience to erase its existence. He would win all his matches, he will be powerful! He was Magnus! and Magnus cannot be defeated so easily.

The door out of his house was kicked out and went flying. Outside waiting for him were a group of men, women and children with huge muscles. Letting out a loud cry of power, Magus raised his arms as he began to flex his ridiculous muscles and in turn the crowd cried out along with him and began to flex as well. They all began to pose as rain began to fall, but this was not normal rain, but oil! oil fell down from the sky and began to run down their muscular skin showing off their sleek and beefy bodies.

It brought tears to his eyes, to see such power, such strength, it was glorious. When all was said and done the rain turned to water and washed away the oil. Magnus needed to be prepared for his next game after all and he couldn't let everybody be jealous of his well oil tanned body. Dry and finally prepared, Magnus head off towards the Hall of Games.

Asterion was caught a little off guard by the sudden action Marina took against Garret and letting out a chuckle shaking his head. Casey always saw the girl as such an angel and it made Asterion momentarily forget this little aspect of Marina. There was a slamming noise and Asterion's eyes stared over at the newcomer and narrowed his eyes with a small smirk. "Well...miss. grumpypants is here" Asterion said closing his eyes taking the time to relax until the game started. Before he knew it loud bang echoed through it and Asterion stared over at the source of it. His eye immediately began to twitch as he stared over at the source "oh god...oh goddamnit...not him..." Asterion muttered as he covered his face with his palm and closed his eyes.

Footsteps began to rush downwards and a voice echoed throughout the hall yelling "TESTOSTEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE". Rushing towards the group Magnus did some flips while playing a metal guitar and landed on his knees finishing his tune before flexing his muscles. The sheer action of that caused his shirt to disintegrate, leaving him with a open vest. All of a sudden a bottle of alcohol collide with his head and Magnus collapsed onto the ground. "T-Testosterone" Maguns said quietly in pain.

 

Kuru gave an angry hmph towards Ursa and her methods. Now was not the time to get angry anymore. Things were starting up soon. If anyone wished to have a simple conversation, let them come to her. Now was the time to study the others and their abilities. If she could figure them out, the more fun she could have watching them all suffer in the loss of their own powers.

Her seat was cold, and a slight shiver stormed up her back as she made contact. "What I would kill for some warmth right now, damn that Ursa." She mumbled to herself. One and two and three and four, more kept entering through the games hall's door. Most familiar and other not so much. The ones Kuru "knew" she had a tighter grip on how their powers were used, but not complete knowledge. Memorizing their body movements would sure be of some help now.

 

​

I, Gotterdammerung, watched as Mimi-mistress absentmindedly observed the proliferation and arrival of a handful of the other immortal individuals. Though they all stood mightier than I, Gotterdammerung, I knew personally that my Mimi-mistress was always very cautious of them. She feigned it, and as a master of puppets such as the exquisitely crafted and intricate Gotterdammerung who speaks to you, she was very good at it, and treated them no more than whenever she needed them to exist in her mind. I, Gotterdammerung, would occasionally be unsure if this was intentional on her part, or her maximized mental capacity only registered a certain degree of the world when it was in her relevant interest. I, Gotterdammerung, considered the Benevolent Sorceress to be one of the few exceptions to this rule, if it were a rule in the first place. It was a nature of my existence to, from time to time, question the rules that were set in place by my almighty Mimi-mistress, and these rules seemed to change as much as the conscience of my mistress herself. But it was arguably in my very construction that my benevolent mistress allowed this capacity in my consciousness when giving life to my parts.

As for this reason, my mistress paid little attention to the other immortals entering, so to was my capacity to observe them diminished, due to my mistress' fixation on Daphne and the internal thoughts of my mistress alone.

. . .

I, Gotterdammerung, agree with the observation made by my almighty mistress. I watch as she casually looks around at the new arrivals, before turning back to Daphne.

. . . Mm. Bear?

Is that so? I, Gotterdammerung, have the desire to disagree at my mistress' thought, but this disagreement is only weak in nature due to the overpowering consciousness of my Mimi-mistress. It appears that the immortals here are indeed livelier than they should be, but I, Gotterdammerung, am unsure if this is necessarily a positive thing. I have, with my Mimi-mistress, had the pleasure of travelling across many lands, and I have found the nature of the immortals is heavily skewed or constant towards a sensation that I, Gotterdammerung, find highly unpleasant.

. . .

I understand. I, Gotterdammerung, will make sure that the Benevolent Sorceress understands the words of my mistress well enough.

- - - - -

It is of course I that always feels the deepest connection with my mistress.​

"Of course! I appreciate your concern, Mimi!" Her voice lowered. "But, if... something were to happen, I would really, really, really miss your amazing and cute dolls! I would also... really miss your company, as well... because, you know, we are friendsand all..." Immediately her tone picked up and she was back to her bubbly self, shaking herself slightly. "But enough of all that sad stuff! Despite these games, I'm really glad to see you again!"​

I, Gotterdammerung, feel the thoughts of my mistress flow through me.



Mimi-mistress shares the gladness that emanates through your body very well, and as her most trusted and loyal, nearly-perfectly crafted doll, I, Gotterdammerung, also share in the happiness and warmth that the presence of Daphne gives both my mistress and I.

Despite these words, I see my Mimi-mistress looking slightly away from the Benevolent Sorceress.
She had taken a black licorice lollipop out from the confines of her woolen jacket and continued to suck it while staring flat-faced at the immortals who slowly filled the room. The noise of laughter, talking, and the burning stench of alcohol picked up slightly.

I prod my mistress to look towards the direction of Daphne. Although she briefly shoos me, she returns to the gaze of the Benevolent Sorceress, a quiet look on her face.

I, Gotterdammerung, feel the thoughts of my mistress flowing through me.



... Mimi-mistress has made some careful observations, I have observed, and she reiterates the reason why she enjoys the company of the Benevolent Sorceress. -- Excuse me for a second.

I turn to my mistress.
Mistress whispers something in my thoughts, careful and quaint, before turning back towards the door. I, Gotterdammerung, watch this with a mix of amusement and surprise, as it is unlike my mistress to be this distracted when with her friends.




Thank you for your time, Benevolent Sorceress.
Mimi-mistress cares about you deeply because she considers you unique and dear to her heart. My mistress is happy that an immortal such as yourself is able to keep her sweetness and kind nature among all that goes around in the world that I, Gotterdammerung, find myself in, among all of you. She is happy that someone such as yourself exists in this world, and has the ability to continue to exist among the world.

My mistress takes out the black licorice lollipop from her mouth,
and briefly moves her head towards the direction of the other immortals.
I, Gotterdammerung, believe and understand exactly what my mistress is attempting to imply.



Mimi-mistress hopes that, in time, they could meet in better conditions. There is, she is observantly musing, no other better bakery than that which Daphne produces, but at the same time, she believes that a true friendship between immortals is a rare bond that goes beyond the mere proliferation of the goods that I, Gotterdammerung, come to observe.--

I see my Mimi-mistress take out her black licorice lollipop again.​

... Bear. }}



​

What does my Mimi-mistress desire?

My mistress gently tugs at one of my soft plush arms.
It appears my Mimi-mistress has made a rare direct verbal command.
This appears to be a matter of importance. I, Gotterdammerung, temporarily turn away from the Benevolent Sorceress, so that I may understand the needs of my mistress.

But this is unnecessary.
She instead walks over to the Benevolent Sorceress, taking a peach-and-cherry flavoured sweet
from her woolen coat pocket, and tenderly grabs the Benevolent Sorceress' hands with her own,
placing the sweet in her palms.
I, Gotterdammerung, observe as my mistress smiles childishly.


... Try. Eat! }}

​

It appears my mistress has benevolently handed the Benevolent Sorceress one of her own sweets.
I, Gotterdammerung, assure you that this is indeed a rare event, so please take it into deep consideration, immortal.

My mistress rarely gave out her own sweets, but she did so in times of rare altruism.
She is truly the greatest mistress.
I attempt to continue my spiel, but I feel a much deeper drop in the concentration connection between myself
and my mistress.
I look towards her, and see her fixated on the collapse of a large immortal,
Who appears to have been struck in the head with one of the bottles of alcohol that an immortal my Mimi-mistress finds
particularly vexatious has brought into the chamber. My mistress turns to the Benevolent Sorceress and points at the muscular immortal crumpled on the ground.

​

My mistress asks for the help of her dear friend.
I, Gotterdammerung, request that you may follow her in the interim.

- - - - -
​

​

I, Gotterdammerung, quickly followed my Mimi-mistress as she slinked over to the man wincing in pain in the middle of the room. Compared to my mistress, this man was a good many feet taller and wider than her small frame, but I, Gotterdammerung, as my Mimi-mistress' most loyal and grateful servant, knew my Mimi-mistress to be the greatest mistress in the world, and that immortals did not determine their powers by size alone. My mistress knelt down by the large man and looked at him carefully, all while sucking the black licorice lollipop. I, meanwhile, deftly moved to the side of my mistress. Due to my fixation, I was unsure if the Benvolent Sorceress was following us just yet.

I, Gotterdammerung, had enough experience with my Mimi-mistress' powers, in our many travels around the world of the immortals, to understand what she may be planning to do. As I felt her rise, taking the lollipop out of her mouth, I mused on how this scene had played out many times in the past.

. . . Magnus?

Was this the name of the immortal? I, Gotterdammerung, with my limited capacity that expanded only in the connection to my Mimi-mistress, was uncertain, but as the thoughts and memories of Mimi-mistress expanded my own mental consciousness at the whims of her doing, her reality that this man was Magnus soon became my concrete reality. This particular immortal, which I, Gotterdammerung, observed to have rippling muscles and torn clothing all about him, was indeed the immortal named Magnus.

I noticed my mistress running deeply through her mind, before collecting a few scraps of cloth in her hands. She curled them up in her fists, squishing them together, and a sparkling burst of silver light popped from the spaces between her fingers. I, Gotterdammerung, looked on carefully as my Mimi-mistress once again gave life to one of her dolls. This particular doll was a simple one, I noticed, as it consisted only of an autonomous orb of torn and shredded clothing that floated close to my mistress, moving along at her whim. It bobbed weakly in the air, limited by the aura of negation that filled the castle and gave myself a persistent headache.

. . . Bear.

Ah, that was right. She required the efforts of the Benevolent Sorceress, if she would be able to arrive.
I looked back at the Sorceress, waiting. Although, I judged, this man needed no real healing, my Mimi-mistress believed that there would be a positive benefit towards maximizing the potential of the Benevolent Sorceress' famed powers.

But I, Gotterdammerung, felt another, deeper reason towards her actions. I believed that she knew well enough he required only a slight bit of healing from that particular bottle, and there were times even I, her most loyal and faithful servant, Gotterdammerung, did not have as deep as a connection to penetrate the many barriers that my Mimi-mistress placed in her mind. So all it was, she did, was carefully look upon the beefy immortal, lying on her knees, sucking the black licorice lollipop.

​

I, Gotterdammerung, notice that the concept of time is alien to a majority of immortals.
Although I once remembered my birth clearly, it has become hazy to my memories, perhaps due to the influence of my mistress, unintentional or not. Regardless, the memory of the birth of I, Gotterdammerung, has for now, been lost to my own personal consciousness, either trapped behind the barriers of my mistress' mind, or lost to history forever.

But this is where time comes into place, for I, as a doll, bear little to no sense of time. This, from my travels with Mimi-mistress, appears to be a consistent thought that every immortal who is natural-born in the sky world to believe. Time does not exist in this world, and from the limited memory of I, Gotterdammerung, it can be assumed that time has never existed, nor has required the necessity to exist.

Why is it, then, that I, Gotterdammerung, the most loyal and closest doll to my almighty Mimi-mistress, take an attempt to understand the concept of time? It is because my Mimi-mistress, in our mental connections and exchange of thoughts, has occasionally made thoughts in terms of time. They are small, but they still linger to the point where I question my mistress on the very concept, believing "time" to be unnecessary and useless, but she serves to re-direct the conversation towards sweets.

The reason that I, Gotterdammerung, bring this notion of "time" up, is because of its connection with the memories that I, Gotterdammerung, have experienced. Although the concept of time is not hardwired into my existence, it occasionally feels at times that its slow diffusion of understanding and awareness comes into play when I am closely connected with my mistress.

For this reason, I do recall an event that occurred in the sequence of time we understand to simply be the past. Much of immortal time is divided into the basic concepts of past, present, and future, but with the proliferation of powers, I, Gotterdammerung, believe the present to be the only thing to exist at any time, as the past can easily be manipulated by other Immortals through various means, whether memory or neural manipulation, and the future shall never exist but in the thoughts of I. Time is irrelevant when one is immortal, I have come to believe.

In the past as I, Gotterdammerung, can remember, when the life of I was very young, we came upon, in our travels, an ailing damned old man who lay at a temporal crossroads between the lands Seyyador and Phantasmagoria. It was here that my Mimi-mistress exhibited one of the first uses of her powers that I, Gotterdammerung, bore a clear memory of, where she formed hair-width sized dolls of her control hewn from the mud, using them to help clean and tend to a laceration on the damned old man's leg. Although my mistress offered to help carry his goods to Phantasmagoria, he refused and went on his way, and the small reparation dolls faded into dust. As those dolls faded to dust, so too would the orb of cloth that bore no individual conscience except Mimi-mistress' own, once its use was finished. My mistress, the kind heart that she was, did not enjoy seeing her creations go to the winds, especially those with more autonomous thoughts.

It was in this particular instance that I would question why I came to exist, as my memory has become hazy, and time is an alien concept to I, Gotterdammerung. I serve beneath my benevolent mistress and would wish for it no other way, but I question why this goddess birthed unto me the sensation of autonomous thought, and if I would eventually disappear like the many other dolls when my use was finished as well. Though other autonomous dolls exist in the command of my mistress -- indeed, all of Nibelung is filled with semi-autonomous dolls that appear to only think and live when an immortal views them directly -- I wonder why my existence is the one that my mistress keeps by her side.

But of this, I am thankful, as she watches over me.

 

​

​

"Psst, you awake hun? ❤"

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x x x x ]​

Sangria popped her head out from behind Morgiana, one of her favourite targets, business or not.
The inebriation of the hall, she noted, was quickly getting stale, with the constant influx of downers. Sangria frowned, wondering why these Valen were so wasteful of their existences and never learned to lighten up as well as she did. It was unfortunate, she mused, that she did not bring any proper alcohol to start a little party beneath the dance of her long fingers, but the game would begin soon enough.

Sangria was careful not to sneak her arms around the lazy little Valen.
"Don't worry, hun. I'm out of all the good stuff, but tell you what, I'd love to make something named after you!" She giggled. "Think of it. The Morji." Sangria kissed her hand in prideful imitation. "A taste as flighty as a bird, bitter to the core but leaves a lasting imprint on the soul. Makes any fellow who downs it in a shot ready to rest the rest of their night away. I can see it now, hun. You'd be famous. ❤"

Sangria grinned menacingly behind Morji, and--
ACK-

INTOXICATION
[ x ]​

One of her bottles, out of nowhere, came sailing past Morgiana, grazing her ear and striking Sangria straight in the face.
She burst backward as if hit by a missile, collapsing into the wall behind the chair and sharply hitting her head.

"WHO DID THAT?!"

Her speech was, for a split second, dry, bitter, and immensely sobering.

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x x ]​

Real fools, some of these Valen were! She regained her composure, breathing.
"You aren't hurt, are you, dear? ❤" She teasingly asked Morgiana, picking up the bottle from the ground. As it was plastic and empty, it thankfully did not do very much damage at all. She traced its path back to a giant beefcake slumped on the floor.

"Oh," Sangria said, a bit breathlessly but nonchalantly. "I never knew these things could deflect off of piles of meat. The more you know, huh, dear?"

​

​

 

​

[/url]⚜ f o r the most part, she was left to her own devices, which simply entailed her whipping up small snacks that would keep her sleepy mind preoccupied. There were loud voices of the other Valens all around her and Morgiana was reminded of why she didn't spend time around any of them; too much noise, not enough sleep. Gross.

On her fourth bag of squishy giant marshmallows, there was a languid voice near her face. ❴ Psst, you awake hun? ❤ ❵

❴ I wish I wasn't. ❵ was her first-reaction reply, puffing her cheeks slightly with darkening eyes.

When she realized it was Sangria she puffed her cheeks even more. She had to be the worstest of the worst when it came to Valens she didn't like. Not only did Morgiana not like the smell of alcohol or taste of it, but Sangria thought it was so dandy that she went haywire on alcohol like it was sugar or something.

❴ Don't worry, hun. I'm out of all the good stuff, but tell you what, I'd love to make something named after you! ❵ Sangria giggled and Morgiana grimaced, contemplating mocking the giggle with something really really scary, but decided against it on the grounds that she just wanted to close her eyes.

Her eyes turned a vibrant shade of magenta when Sangria . . . k i s s e d her hand.

Morgiana[/url] sputtered and snatched her hand away, opening her mouth to whine out loudly in protest before Sangria continued. ❴ A taste as flighty as a bird, bitter to the core but leaves a lasting imprint on the soul. Makes any fellow who downs it in a shot ready to rest the rest of their night away. I can see it now, hun. You'd be famous. ❤ ❵

❴ Y - You definitely won't like it if I get mad, Sang – ❵

There was a s w o o s h right in front of Morgiana's face and then the sound of something colliding. Barely stunned by this turn of events, Morji lazily turned her head to see where gross Sangria went to and saw her stumbling into a wall and hitting her head. She barely contained her sputtered laugh. Her eyes returned to a warm shade of pink and she popped another marshmallow into her mouth.

Served her right for messing with her!

Just when Morji thought she was in the clear, ❴ You aren't hurt, are you, dear? ❤ ❵

❴ WhyyyyyYyYyYyyyYYY are you like this. ❵ she asked, scowling and continuing to chew. Sangria said something else, but Morji didn't care. ❴ If you're try'na get me drunk again, it's definitely not going to work! ❵ And then she clutched her small bag against her chest. ❴ And you can't have any of my marshmallows, so don't ask! ❵​

S L E E P I N E S S ; ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

​

 

Luceia awoke to the familiar sight of the grey sky producing little light. "How troublesome, I had hoped to not wake up this time." She lazily pulled herself off of her bed and surveyed her surroundings, nothing out of the ordinary, but she had a feeling she couldn't shake. This wasn't normal for Luceia, having feelings. She didn't like it, she grimaced at the small mirror she kept around for necessity's sake and decided she had better attempt to get ready to leave her humble house for the day, she felt like she needed to be somewhere, after all.

Emerging from her abode, she winced at the slightly brighter grey sky and proceeded to walk outside. A chilly wind blew as the clouds overhead crept slowly along, not much life could be found here, perhaps a small rodent or two, but there was far from enough to feed or sustain much wildlife, and Luceia liked it that way. It was lonely, cold and dark, much like her soul. Luceia liked the loneliness ever since childhood, people were awful, hostile and hateful, nobody had ever showed her kindness, only scorn and vengeance, including her own family. Luceia was one in a million children, born with no magic to speak of, but the magical trait that cancels out all other magic. As a child, she would be punished and neglected, told to leave, as her entire family would be subject to the loss of their power, as she grew older and her power grew alongside her, the area she affected became greater and soon entire cities would be devoid of their precious magical gifts. Luceia had been driven out by everyone in her life, save a few kind souls, and forced to abandon all contact with people. She told herself she liked being alone, that people and personal contact were unimportant, and even painful to be subject to.

Over the course of the millenia, Luceia had practiced subduing her power, but to little avail, she found that her powers were tied to her emotions, and the more she felt, the less they worked. She tried to feel things to restrict her powers enough to attempt to go places with people, she felt she needed to at least try to talk to people, and make friends, but the sight of an entire town or city filled with people made her heart sink. What if she couldn't control her power, and everyone around her suddenly lost their magic, she would surely be blamed and cast out of the city, she would be hated and feared by a whole new group of people, she couldn't put herself through this, so she stopped trying. It was best not to try.

Luceia continued to survey the outside world, trying to shake this feeling that she had somewhere to be. Giving up on this after a while she turned to head back inside, perhaps a few more weeks of sleeping would finally remind her, or at the very least, maybe she wouldn't wake up. As she reached the door to her humble shack she saw a note taped to the door in a horrifically cheery handwriting on bright pink paper. Daphne had left a note reminding her that a new Game was beginning soon. She never understood why Daphne took a liking to her, none of her powers worked when she was near, but she seemed not to mind. She would always say that Luceia was an equalizer, and people only disliked her being around because it meant nobody was more powerful than anyone else, and people crave unfairness in their lives. This made Luceia feel a bit better at times, so she allowed herself to humor Daphne for a short while, and the two of them had actually become somewhat good friends. In fact, Luceia felt that Daphne was the only person in all of Aether she could consider a friend.

Based on the wear and age of the note, Luceia figured it must be a few days old at the very least. Luceia's eyes widened for a moment before retuning to their normal downtrodden gaze, she was late for the new game. She almost felt a tinge of anxiety at the thought of walking into a room full of Valen already betting on a game in progress, but she reminded herself not to care. She took a moment to wonder if there was anything she needed to bring with her, but decided it wouldn't be worth it in the end, and set foot towards the Hall of Games.

"This is really troublesome..."

 

OOCXXXSETTINGXXXTARGETSXXXINTERESTS

ANNALYNNE'S PROPOSAL TO HER HAD NOT COME AS A SURPRISE. It happened each time a new game began - even games she had clearly stated she was not going to participate in. Annalynne could never take a hint. Whatever had happened between them in the past was irrelevant now and Crestatia was not and would never be interested in any sort of fraternizing with the child. They were not friends.

As expected, Crestatia did not see the purpose of having friends in Aether quite yet. All Players were enemies, and even the Valens who had yet to play were potential ones. Once one of them became God, then they could all start forming friendships without the risk of it all falling apart one day after a heated game. That was smarter to her. Relationships were dangerous here. Too messy and consequential.

Since the end of 100 Days, Crestatia had seen Marina once and Devyn but twice. She had a rather nasty reputation of leaving her new recruits to flounder after promotion, but Marina seemed capable enough and Devyn was not relevant until called upon. It was not that she lost interest after pawns were granted immortality, but that she had more important matters to take care of - and really did not see the purpose in training her new competition to rise up to her level. It felt counterproductive, as interesting as things became after a pawn gained a certain amount of confidence and power, and they would only get in their way after.

Apparently this was a problem with some Valen, and they would take some of the pawns under their wing and teach them the ways of Aether. Something about everyone having a fair shot or Crestatia neglecting a sort of responsibility.

Bah, bah, bah.

She was certainly interested in seeing how Marina's game would go, though. It was always a bit of fun to sit back and watch things unfold. Well, fun and nauseating. Not having full control of a game always rubbed her a bit wrong, as she was afraid things would be completely botched by The Coordinator. No one quite had her ... vision, despite the complications such ambition was allegedly responsible for. Hopefully Marina would measure up.

« ❣ »​

Crestatia was not planning on informing anyone of what she had done before her arrival here at Hall. Her business was hers and hers alone. Unfortunately, it would be apparent to those who knew of her that she had some kind of pressing matter to take care of before the game, as she was rarely ever late [ even fashionably ].

As if she had been there the entire time, Crestatia gently placed a hand on Marina's shoulder, suddenly standing at her right. Arriving unannounced, late and via teleportation of all things was admittedly rude of her, but they needed to get started now and the room seemed to be in a rather uncomfortable state.

Her head spun as the room came in and out of focus and she cursed herself for nearly forgetting the negating powers of that damned Hall. Once everything settled down, she spoke.

❝Everyone who is not seated, please sit.❞ Her voice was clear and calm, despite the clearly annoyed expression on her face. She watched as Annalynne scowled dramatically and sat back down from her menacing position over Darren's body on the floor and everyone else began to wind down a bit and shuffle into their spots. With a hint of a smile, she turned to face Marina, clasping her hands daintily against the thick fabric of her violet dress.

❝Have you named your gameboard yet?❞

❝I have not. Is naming the gameboard all that important?❞

❝It is what the Valen will refer to this game as for all of eternity. It is just for organizational purposes, really.❞

❝It seems unnecessary, but all right. I would like to call it, 'Redemption.' Crestatia, may I ask something of you real quick?❞

The demoness blinked, locking her eyes with Marina's for the first time since forever ago, and painting over her growing impatience with stoicism. She nodded.

❝Who did you vote for?❞

❝... Devyn.❞ It was mostly true.

❝All right then. Well good luck.❞

Gross. Pleasantries. To ease her sudden discomfort, Crestatia turned her attention back to the rest of the hall with a dignified and a bit of a pretentious expression, gazing over each of their faces.

❝What an interesting cast of Players we have here ... Though more may be arriving before the Hall closes, I suggest we begin. Welcome to Redemption! A game Coordinated by one of our most recently admitted immortals. Marina - it is customary of you to tell us about the game board before we begin so that we may add our own pawns and place our bets.❞

With a reiterating nod, Crestatia took her own seat at one of the narrow ends of the table to wait for Marina's little ... presentation. She was quite interested in what the girl had devised.

xxxx​

 

​

✿ T H E x B E N E V O L E N T x S O R C E R E S S ✿

✿ location: hall of games ✿ mood: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ ✿ theme: sunshine ✿
✿ ooc: n / a ✿
​

"Mimi-mistress shares the gladness that emanates through your body very well, and as her most trusted and loyal, nearly-perfectly crafted doll, I, Gotterdammerung, also share in the happiness and warmth that the presence of Daphne gives both my mistress and I... Mimi-mistress has made some careful observations, I have observed, and she reiterates the reason why she enjoys the company of the Benevolent Sorceress. -- Excuse me for a second."

"Thank you for your time, Benevolent Sorceress. Mimi-mistress cares about you deeply because she considers you unique and dear to her heart. My mistress is happy that an immortal such as yourself is able to keep her sweetness and kind nature among all that goes around in the world that I, Gotterdammerung, find myself in, among all of you. She is happy that someone such as yourself exists in this world, and has the ability to continue to exist among the world."

Daphne almost shed a tear at the beautiful sentiment. She sniffled, looking away for a second to collect herself before turning back to Mimi and her bear. Her smiled seemed to widen even more, if that was even possible by that point, and she was left utterly speechless. She stood there, a blank stare on her face, How could anyone possibly think of something to say that would come even remotely close to what was just expressed. The young Valen figured it to be near impossible... but she could try, at least.

"Mimi... thank you so much, that was so sweet! I can't believe you think so kindly of me because I feel the way about you and I-"

The girl cut herself off, eyes widened, as the sweet Valen personally approached her and placed one of her... candies into her palm, squeezing tightly.

This... was big.

.



.



.

Really big.

"...Try. Eat!"

Daphne could only nod, the rest of her body frozen in place with sheer shock and unimaginable bliss. Slowly the girl obidiently followed her request, placing the sweet gently on her tongue. She allowed the flavors to infuse throughout her mouth; it not only tasted of peach and cherry... but also of their pure and innocent friendship. No amount of cute dolls could amount to the gift Daphne just recieved.

"Mimi... I..."

"My mistress asks for the help of her dear friend. I, Gotterdammerung, request that you may follow her in the interim."

Her eyes followed the girl's finger to the body of Magnus. The Valen nodded her head vigorously. "Yes... yes of course! I'm right behind you!" She eagerly followed the pair closely in the interium, worried about the hyper-muscular Valen's condition.

Upon reaching the collapsed body, Daphne approached it carefully and observed. He squirmed on the ground and held his head, his groans of pain piercing her ears. She looked to Mimi and smiled at her, then got down on her knees and shuffled towards the body. "Magnus... this is going to sting a little, okay? But it'll be over quick I promise." Daphne inhaled deeply, slowly exhaling as she levitated her palms over the injured Valen's head. A pale pink aura slowly began to appear around her hands as she edged closer to the wound. She left her hands there for a moment, allowing the medicinal properties of her magic to take effect. As the aura faded and the girl gingerly rested her hands on her lap, the injury began to heal itself, patching together the broken skin and slightly damaged bone. "Count to twenty, then slowly stand up, and you shouls be okay. You might feel a little woozy though, so remember to take it slow and be careful." Knowing Magnus' personality, he was bound to completely ignore her advice, but at least he knew regardless.

Daphne rose gracefully, swiping the dirt from the floor off her dress. She turned to Mimi and Gutterdammerung and beamed at them.

Mmm... this candy is really good.

 

☾ Mood: Interested ☾ Location: Hall of Games ☾ Theme: ☾ Clothes: ☾

☾

Rosaline went to go sit down as they were called. She didn't see who exactly was calling them. The women sounded stern to her, so she thought decides to examine Prism later was for the very best. "Redemption." Rosaline thought. "A fitting name for a Game broad. Since some of the competitors must have partaken in the last game, and lost." She smiled to herself. This was going to be interesting. She looked around at the others seated on the chairs. "I wonder what they were all thinking. About strategy? About their past losses? Wondering how to play?" The possibilities were endless, and that's what intrigued her. She knew so much about books, animals and computers but little about her own kind's thought process. Of course you could read about it but it just wasn't the same. So many things interested her at this point, she wasn't sure what she was thinking about.

She was just glad that they were going to explain the rules. Rules were something very important to her, though they mostly blocked her curiosity. Rules gave bounders and structure. It wouldn't be fair if they didn't understand what they were getting into. She was also interested to see what the game coordinator had in store. This was one of her first games, and she was set to make sure things went her way. If anyone else won, they would surely make a world that would be filled with ignorance. There was no one better suited then herself. Everyone here looked like sturdy competition, trying to get their own goals and dreams recognized. She took a breath, and clasped her hands nervously. Her legs swung back and fourth like a young child's.

☾​

 

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[/url]

❥ Crestatia's presence seemed to settle everyone down. She had that air about her that commanded attention. Once upon a time, she would have envied that. Now, Marina just wished to fade into the shadows. ⦇ What an interesting cast of Players we have here ... Though more may be arriving before the Hall closes, I suggest we begin. Welcome to Redemption! A game Coordinated by one of our most recently admitted immortals. Marina - it is customary of you to tell us about the game board before we begin so that we may add our own pawns and place our bets. ⦈ With a reiterating nod, Crestatia took her own seat at one of the narrow ends of the table.

Marina took that as her cue to begin and rose to her feet. She licked her upper lip slowly and set a stack of playing cards down on the table, along with a large sheet of paper. There were markings all over it and she clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. ⦇ Thank you for that introduction Crestatia. For Redemption, I need everyone to be so kind as to draw one card for each of the pawns you intend to start with. If you add more pawns later, they will just be thrown into the fray. ⦈ Marina leaned forward, setting the cards in the center of the table, picking two for herself and setting them face up.

Hearts and diamonds -- Harley and Theodore would be on separate teams. The heavy weight in her chest thickened. She forced a smile on her face as everyone else drew. While they were busy with that, she spread out the sheet and held it up for the rest to see. ⦇ This will be their gameboard. It is a labyrinth, as you can see. The pawns will start out in four teams and their memories will lead them to believe that they were each abducted and forced into this wicked game. These six big sections here, are filled with traps and supplies. There will be a series of wild and dangerous animals in the maze to help speed things along. ⦈

She set the map down and pulled out a list of rules for the pawns and placed it on top of the map. Marina scribbled the name of the gameboard at the top. ⦇ These will be marked on the walls in each of their 'bases,' along with what team they are. ⦈ She passed around the guidelines. There was a satisfied grin on her face, though she did not feel pleased with herself for what she was doing. Her blue eyes passed over Crestatia briefly, before returning to the center of the table. ⦇ I do hope this is a decent start for my first game. ⦈ Her tone was all professional and seeking no room for advice.♕​

XX XX XX​

 

​

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x x ]
​

Sangria jumped.
Well, she jumped twice. The first jump, it came at the startling noise of the sudden church bell in the bloody castle.

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x ]​

What? This was getting extremely tiresome. Sangria scowled and straightened her hair, looking at the other foolish immortals tuning back in. Poor Coordinator couldn't get an ounce of respect, could she? Sangria sighed. She was just a pawn only a few lifetimes ago, after all.

The second jump came when she felt the talon-like grip of Morji on her arm.

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x ]​

Sangria immediately turned to her, shock lining the pores of her face.
She moved her tongue around in her closed mouth, looking to say a few words, careful not to lash out at this impudent girl, but she closed her eyes and let out a giggle.

"... Hun. This isn't anything to be scared of. ❤" She tenderly stroked Morji's hair. Aha! It was as soft as silk. However, her gaze was fixated at the businesswoman who stormed out to take a look at the source and that ridiculous stalker vixen who followed her everywhere.

Sangria lifted her palm and reached into her purse, grabbing the empty plastic bottle that had deflected off of Magnus.

"Take a drink ..." Her thoughts were elsewhere, but incomprehensible, and though she seemed to address Morji, her voice was flat enough to seemingly address nothing but the air itself.

When was the last time something like this happened ...
Ugh, she couldn't remember.
This was because of that. She cursed something hidden deep in her mind, behind layers of inebriation, before quickly returning to her senses. Small droplets of water began to appear in the bottle, quickly turning a pale purple.

With Crestatia having left, and the girl tailing behind her, Sangria took her time to address the rest of the Valen.

"We're all immortals here. ❤" She said, with feigned sweetness. "Surely one of us lovelies possesses a unique quality that can help us figure out what that is?" She looked back at the bottle, then at Morji. A small puddle of very weak wine had appeared, and she tried taking a sip before continuing.

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x ]​

"This castle weakens everything for good reason, but ah! ❤ I'm sure with teamwork -- " She immediately fixated her gaze on Marina, as if blaming her for this inconvenience "-- We can do something together to get a better idea. What do you all say?"
She raised her bottle, mimicking a toast. Though deeply, she expected little to make way in progress with all this negation, unless someone was willing enough to follow those two. And aaah, even if this place was boring, she'd rather have fun here than stuck walking the halls of this cramped place with that infinitely more boring pair. ❤
Looking at Marina, she smiled menacingly.

Maybe this would be the change they all needed. ❤

​

​

 

『 SOMEWHERE IN THE CASTLE, A CHURCH BELL RINGS. 』

​

 

☾ Mood: Excited ☾ Location: Hall of Games ☾ Theme: ☾ Clothes: ☾

☾

Rosaline smiled as she picked her cards. "Diamonds." She thought to herself. "If anyone else bet 2, I wonder if they got lucky enough to have them both on the same team..." Rosaline thought to herself. "It would be much easier to have her pawns work together then separately, or at least that's what she thought. She thought about the game broad. A Maze. "The Wall follower, is the best-known rule for traversing mazes. This maze the coordinator has shown is definitely all connected, by keeping one hand in contact with one wall of the maze the pawn is guaranteed not to get lost.. but since their isn't an exit they would find their way back to wherever they started." Rosaline theorized in her head. "The wild animals could probably be a bit of an issue though. So could traps. There aren't many ways to by base traps unless you can see them before-hand. This should be challenging indeed." Rosaline thought.

She jumped as a bell rang inside of the castle. "Does that mean we're starting? Or that there's a problem in another part of the castle." She thought to herself. "Oh well. I'm up for a good challenge. No puzzle is impossible to solve after all. Ignorance will be the other players undoing."

☾​

 

​

THAT OBNOXIOUS TWIT DARREN WAS LUCKY CRESTATIA ARRIVED WHEN SHE DID. Annalynne had just finished slapping the cinnamon scone out of his hands and tackling him to the floor of the foyer when the demoness appeared and barked her orders. Who did she think she was? Just because Marina was her winner didn't entitle her to boss everyone else around. Annalynne had half the mind to stand at Marina's left side and pretend to be all high and mighty and superior because she had entered onto the 100 Days gameboard.

...

The urge dissipated, though, and she reluctantly complied with the request to sit down. She listened carefully to the woman's impromptu introduction, keeping her eyes on Marina the entire time to gauge her reactions. Annalynne didn't know her very well. Eleanora hadn't become particularly close to the seductress and she held no personal stock in the girl.

「 Thank you for that introduction Crestatia. For Redemption, I need everyone to be so kind as to draw one card for each of the pawns you intend to start with. If you add more pawns later, they will just be thrown into the fray.」

Marina leaned forward, setting the cards in the center of the table, picking two for herself and setting them face up

Ugh, how stupid.

Sourly, she did as requested, flipping her cards over with a loud slap against the foyer table and an unnecessary scoff. Marina spread out a large sheet of paper she had placed on the table and Annalynne propped herself up, pushing whoever was sitting to her left [ as Darren was on her right ] a bit out of the way to take the thing into view.

「 This will be their gameboard. It is a labyrinth, as you can see. The pawns will start out in four teams and their memories will lead them to believe that they were each abducted and forced into this wicked game. These six big sections here, are filled with traps and supplies. There will be a series of wild and dangerous animals in the maze to help speed things along.」

「 Lame.」

The aggravated witch sat back down with a loud huff, tuning out whatever else was happening and lifting her fingers to inspect her long nails. She would have left if it weren't impossible to, once arriving in the Hall. When she tired of that, she folded her arms on the surface of the table and laid her head down, yawning and prepping herself for a nice power nap.

... That is, until the ringing of a bell sounded off and scared the fucking hell out of her. With a jolt, she sprung back up, glossing her gaze over each of the Valen faces for some sign of recognition. In all of the games she had been allowed to attend, she had never heard any sort of bell.

The sound echoed through the foyer and an anxious shiver ran through her and when no one immediately said anything, she pursed her lips and slapped her palms down on the table.

「 What's going on?」

「 Hush, child.」

She didn't have to turn to feel the frigid animosity of Crestatia's glare pricking at her skin ... When her silent warning was through, the demoness stood with a heavy sigh, crossing over to the white crystal doors and peering out into the hallway. Annalynne stood up herself, trailing behind Crestatia apprehensively. The butterflies were bating around again, and a rush of excitement flooded her system as it appeared her senpai didn't know what was going on either. It was a rare happening that they were on the same level.

Annalynne reached out a slender hand, placing it on Crestatia's arm to catch her attention. The demoness flinched and attempted to teleport away, only managing to disappear and reappear a few feet from the witch. Her expression was pure disgust but Annalynne ignored it, pretending to be oblivious.

「 Where's it coming from?」

Without answering her directly, Crestatia turned back to the rest of Players.

「 I apologize, Marina, sometimes these things happen. I will go search for the source .」

Annalynne didn't remember anything like this happening in her time, but she wasn't going to call Crestatia out on a fib. That was certainly no way to gain someone's trust and alliance. ... Not that she seemed to want one. With an forbidding glower, Crestatia stormed down the main hallway in search of the bell.

Disregarding the look, Annalynne bustled after her.

 

​

[/url]⚜ m u c h to her dismay, when Crestatia began to do that thing where she stomps on everyone, Sangria saw fit to sit next to her. Morji squirmed under the warmth of the body next to her, trying to remain wide-eyed enough to pay attention.

Marian introduced her game as r e d e m p t i o n and Morjiana slightly scoffed at the name. What a human that girl still was. Still, for a first-timer, Morgiana appreciated and slightly admired the simplicity of the game. There were Valens that always put on an extreme, dumb show for their first game and ended up fucking up royally, which had always given Morji much teasing and laughing material.

Her oceanic eyes lazily scanned the guidelines and she vaguely wondered what the punishments were for breaking any of the rules. Hopefully something fun and entertaining. Morji remember the harsh punishments for some of her previous games and they were absolutely terrific and always had her giggling.

Cards had been set down on the table and Morgiana reached for only one. Hearts. Hmm. Everyone was relatively quiet as they looked through cards and guidelines and rules and nonsense for this first game of this runny-nosed Valen.

❴ I do hope this is a decent start for my first game. ❵

Morgiana rolled her eyes at the annoying tone. ❴ I DO HOPE THIS IS A DECENT START FOR MY FIRST GAME. Pfff. Whatever . . . ❵

Before she could make any further commentary, the gong of a bell tolled and Morji flinched in her seat, all signs of sleepiness drained away. Her eyes faded to a bright purple and she glanced apprehensively around the hall. She immediately looked to Sangria, grabbing her arm worriedly and then to Crestatia, who was up and heading towards the doors.

❴ I apologize, Marina, sometimes these things happen. I will go search for the source. ❵

❴ Beeeee careful . . . ❵ Morgiana whispered pathetically, worried about the situation in general. Her and loud sounds were not exactly the best of amigos. Just like a pitiful puppy, Annalynne followed after Crestatia. ​

S L E E P I N E S S ; ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

​

 

⌈Persona: Normal ✖ ↗ Mood: Anticipation ✖ ↘ OOC: ✖⌋​

[/url]When Cresatia had finished speaking, Vex went head and took a seat. It seemed that they would finally get started with the game. Well first they needed Marina to explain her game, rules and anything else along those lines. Then they could offically get started.

⦇Thank you for that introduction Crestatia. For Redemption, I need everyone to be so kind as to draw one card for each of the pawns you intend to start with. If you add more pawns later, they will just be thrown into the fray.⦈

Hearts, that was the one card that he drew. This time around he chose to go in with one pawn. So long as he didn't make any mistake he figured that he would be fine. From where he was sitting he could see that Gale drew a single ard with a Spade on it. It seemed that he too was going in with one to start as well.

⦇This will be their gameboard. It is a labyrinth, as you can see. The pawns will start out in four teams and their memories will lead them to believe that they were each abducted and forced into this wicked game. These six big sections here, are filled with traps and supplies. There will be a series of wild and dangerous animals in the maze to help speed things along.⦈

Seeing the layout of the gameboard it made sense why their cards had different symbols on them, Marina explanation aided in that, but the gameboard was the first thing he noticed. Basically the pawns were mice running around in a maze. It certainly was interesting to say the least. When the guidelines were passed out, Vex quickly looked them over. They were pretty simple to follow, which lead him to wonder if a pawn would actually attempt to break one of these rules.

Hearing the sudden church bell was a surprise, especially since it seemed like no one was expecting to hear one right now. Eventually Cresatia decided to go see what was the cause of it and left with Annalynne in tow.
​

 

​

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x x ]
​

Sangria jumped.
Well, she jumped twice. The first jump, it came at the startling noise of the sudden church bell in the bloody castle.

INTOXICATION
[ x x x x x ]​

What? This was getting extremely tiresome. Sangria scowled and straightened her hair, looking at the other foolish immortals tuning back in. Poor Coordinator couldn't get an ounce of respect, could she? Sangria sighed. She was just a pawn only a few lifetimes ago, after all.

The second jump came when she felt the talon-like grip of Morji on her arm.

INTOXICATION​

[ x x x x ]​

Sangria immediately turned to her, shock lining the pores of her face.
She moved her tongue around in her closed mouth, looking to say a few words, careful not to lash out at this impudent girl, but she closed her eyes and let out a giggle.

"... Hun. This isn't anything to be scared of. ❤" She tenderly stroked Morji's hair. Aha! It was as soft as silk. However, her gaze was fixated at the businesswoman who stormed out to take a look at the source and that ridiculous stalker vixen who followed her everywhere.

Sangria lifted her palm and reached into her purse, grabbing the empty plastic bottle that had deflected off of Magnus.

"Take a drink ..." Her thoughts were elsewhere, but incomprehensible, and though she seemed to address Morji, her voice was flat enough to seemingly address nothing but the air itself.

When was the last time something like this happened ...
Ugh, she couldn't remember.
This was because of that. She cursed something hidden deep in her mind, behind layers of inebriation, before quickly returning to her senses. Small droplets of water began to appear in the bottle, quickly turning a pale purple.

With Crestatia having left, and the girl tailing behind her, Sangria took her time to address the rest of the Valen.

"We're all immortals here. ❤" She said, with feigned sweetness. "Surely one of us lovelies possesses a unique quality that can help us figure out what that is?" She looked back at the bottle, then at Morji. A small puddle of very weak wine had appeared, and she tried taking a sip before continuing.

INTOXICATION​

[ x x x x x ]​

"This castle weakens everything for good reason, but ah! ❤ I'm sure with teamwork -- " She immediately fixated her gaze on Marina, as if blaming her for this inconvenience "-- We can do something together to get a better idea. What do you all say?"
She raised her bottle, mimicking a toast. Though deeply, she expected little to make way in progress with all this negation, unless someone was willing enough to follow those two. And aaah, even if this place was boring, she'd rather have fun here than stuck walking the halls of this cramped place with that infinitely more boring pair. ❤
Looking at Marina, she smiled menacingly.

Maybe this would be the change they all needed. ❤

​

​

 

​

I, Gotterdammerung, being the loyal, humble, and perfect servant of my Mimi-mistress, listened intently and absorbed all of the communicated information that the immortal named Marina in charge of this particular game produced. Due to the extension of my Mimi-mistress' extremely useful powers, I was able to further absorb the information produced in the rules of the game, along with choosing the two cards that my Mimi-mistress had consciously decided to base her pawns on, despite her reprehension. I, Gotterdammerung, deposited and allocated all of this communicated information in my temporary memory storage, and expected to deliver it to my Mimi-mistress both unconsciously and when she would eventually wake up from the nap she had been taking throughout the entire explanation. I, Gotterdammerung, truly possess the most responsible mistress.

However, this all came to a change, I deftly observed, as the sensation of a loud church bell was heard and deposited in my temporary memory storage. I, Gotterdammerung, however, must admit that it was also deposited in my major memory component, for it was a sensation I had not heard, or had heard in the unobtrusive past but had previously forgotten, and would make sure that it was a sound I, Gotterdammerung, would be able to hear by myself when the time called, rather than depending upon the memory of my Mimi-mistress.

Regardless, I, Gotterdammerung, watched as my Mimi-mistress sprung to life, and if I were not but a doll of my almighty mistress, I would hope that her sudden awakening did not disturb her friend, the Benevolent Sorceress, sitting next to her, nor that she may be hurt by her sudden jerkish movements allowing her face to smash into the well-sculpted left lower brachioradialis muscle of the Burning Passion. I, being the loyal and most respectable servant to my Mimi-mistress, quickly transferred the information to my mistress as she groggily woke up, depending upon me to explain what the noise was.

Unfortunately, I, Gotterdammerung, possess my limits as the eternal servant, and I was unable to explain the sensation. Instead, I, Gotterdammerung, suggested that Mimi-mistress use her noble powers of communication transfer to identify the source of the sound, if it were to communicate something.

. . . Nah.

My Mimi-mistress, being the greatest and wisest of mistresses, informed I, Gotterdammerung, that this would not be effective due to the negation of the castle limiting her powers weakly, and any production of dolls would depend on her being around to follow them due to the limit on the control radius placed by this castle. I, Gotterdammerung, offered to take a doll on a stroll myself through her Mimisbrunnr power transfer, but upon noticing that my Mimi-mistress watched carefully as two immortals walked themselves to discover the source of the noise, my Mimi-mistress decided against me doing so. My mistress, being the greatest mistress, is always very careful about the welfare of I, Gotterdammerung.

However, I noticed that she suddenly lost her fatigue, my Mimi-mistress, bearing the sense of curiosity that affected her whenever she discovered a new sweet. I, Gotterdammerung, being the careful and observant servant that I am to my Mimi-mistress, assumed that my Mimi-mistress was considering something deeper within her consciousness. But this was incomprehensible to I.

​

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OOCXXXSETTINGXXXTARGETSXXXINTERESTS

​

SHE DID NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS. Annalynne was purposely antagonizing her, and as much as she would have liked to dragged the witch out of the Hall and take a more violent measure against her, it was impossible. Even worse, there was a mysterious bell resounding through the castle that was interfering with Marina's game, so Annalynne would have to wait.

The empty halls were a bit too wide for her liking, and the ceiling was so high that the diamond chandelier candlelight hung over the otherwise dim corridor in a haze. Without turning to see who had followed her, Crestatia followed the sound of the church bell, teleporting just a few feet ahead every time she found the energy to in a weak attempt to leave Annalynne as far behind as possible.

Everything was so big and wide and empty it disoriented her. The redundant chime droned on and on, bouncing through the emptiness like a rubber ball. When it became apparent that she was getting no where, she slowed to a stop and took a moment to calm herself. Gracefully, she turned around to face the small group who had followed.

❝Powers are weakened here but not eradicated. Surely one of you has a gift that might prove useful in this predicament?❞

No one stepped forward immediately but after a bit of waiting, the mousy Valen Crestatia recognized as Rosaline stepped up.

❝Yes, I suppose the most logical power to use would be my animal Mimicry. I'll be able to turn into a bat and find the source of the problem, if that will satisfy you ...❞

With a smile, she replied. ❝Of course.❞

Rosaline's attempt did not exactly go as planned ... Instead of transforming completely into a bat, she was only able to sprout small bat-like wings and, luckily, ears. Crestatia truly hated this castle.

« ❣ »xxxxxxx​

Even with Rosalie's help, it took a troublesome amount of time [ that could have been somewhere in the range of an hour or a few days ] to locate the bell. They found it in a colorful garden placed clumsily upon one of the castle's rooftops. The group had found themselves thousands of feet in the air and istill taller towers sprang up from either side of them. Their enormity caused the tall trees that sprouted up unnaturally above the rough limestone tiles beneath them to seem miniature.

As they walked a bit further she caught a glimpse of it. Just past a bramble of raspberries rose the bell. Mammoth and almost deafening at this range, especially with the immortal gift of heightened senses, the bell stirred a bit of a panic within Crestatia.

Perhaps a bit more than a bit.

It was a chord not often strummed within her.

A deep, sickening sense of dread that was almost dreamlike - it had been so long since she felt it.

There was something familiar about this bell.

Where had she seen it?

How long had it been?

❝The ... omthi ... ten !!❞

Crestatia could not hear anything Annalynne was saying over the roar of this insufferable chime, but the girl was mouthing off about something and pointing rather frantically at the bell. Deciding now not be the time to ignore the child, Crestatia peered forward to take a better look, avoiding being struck by the violent swings of the bell.

There was something engraved.

​

What time?

Wait ...

❝ ... Oh, no.❞

​