Above, Below, and Between ~ Chapter One - Crisis

[Bear]

As they proceeded, the light from the doorway opening faded, eliminating any chance at seeing what was ahead. Soon, they came to a engagement. Larion had confronted a dark elf. Or, something like it. The creature had the same basic appearances, except its skin was pale instead of tan. Furthermore, its face was wrinkled and ugly. Differences shown, Mordecai figured it to be a different type of dark elf. Maybe a retardation of some sort, or even a slight race variation such as ethnicity difference. He didn't know for sure, but he knew that he would find out soon enough.

Once the proposal to sit down and have a discussion was made, he gladly accepted and took a break. Among his equipment he found a small flare he had kept in case of dire emergency. It was a simple stick made of a very small amount of gun powder and other flammable substances bundled in writing paper. A thin wick protruded from the top of the cylanders head. Mordecai scraped it against the cold wall, lighting it. It fulminated until finally settling into a steady flame, giving off a red emanating glow for the company.

He was beginning to notice the cold now. A soggy mist hung inside the caverns and crept along and around each of them as they took their places. A new face or two, or at least what looked like new faces in the particular lighting, caught Mordecai's attention, but he paid no mind to adress them. He couldn't waste his breath on something that wasn't of immense importance now. Not yet. Standing, he took a deep breath in, inhaling first the fumes of the flare and afterwards clean crisp air.

"I must warn all of you... these caverns were sealed for a reason. Various beings wander here. Monstrous beings. A whole race of them, I have heard. Watch your selves. This will surely be unpleasant. But.. if we stick together, we can progress quickly. Our objective as of now is to reach Overn and speak to a man named Tristan. He will give us further instruction and information on the 'black'. We'll rest for a few minutes... go ahead and get to know each other. We have a long journey ahead of us. I'll start it off - My name is Mordecai Royland Ammecrine, loyal Prince and Maroon Knight of Ammecrine. You all are?"

Even as he spoke, his mind was baffled. The strange creature they had run into wasn't a 'black'. He was sure of it now.

 

[Keyblade Smitey]

OOC: Okay, after some tweaking of my template, Vendetta has cleared me for take-off, as it were. Here we go!

Name: Archris, The Daemon-Forged, The Fallen Angel Who Was And Will Be.
Age: Somewhere in the region of six figues.
Gender: Male
Weapon: Archris has trained with many weapons over the years, but his current choice is a lorge selection of kuni knives.
Powers: In his home dimension, Archris' powers are myriad and fearsome, on Aumicelia however, his demonic powers, granted by Zorsan are sealed and even his human magics require magite. His powers include; Ice Magic, Nature Magic, Light Magic.
Personality: Devil-may-care and cocky as hell. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, but hates being tied down to something he doesn't want to be. He loves a challenge and seeing new sights, but also has a sensative side - he likes sunsets etc. he also like music, doesn't have to make sense, just have a soul. Don't piss him off though and do NOT hurt his friends.
Apperance: Tall with brownish-blonde hair and pale skin. His left eye is grey-blue, but his right is red with a slitted pupil. He has a long, thin scar running down his right cheek, down his neck and onto his chest. He wears a brown t-shirt with kharki cargo pants, a pair of sturdy walking boots and a long, black coat. He also has a pair of metal bracers and a pair of pauldrons that protect his shoulders and neck.
Bio: Long ago in the distant past on another world, a young boy by the name of Kyle summoned a demon through use of an ancient tome. This demon's name was Zorsan, a fallen angel turned daemon lord. Their meeting was the first spark in an inferno of destiny. Discovering an uncommon bond between them, Zorsan and Kyle spent a long time together, but eventually the corruption of the mortal world became too much for Zorsan and Kyle conucted a complex ritual lasting three days and four nights to bind Zorsan within his human body and therein shelter him from the harmful resonance of the mortal realm. The ritual was a success, granting Kyle daemonic speed, power and magics, as well as slowing his aging process to a crawl. Taking their new freedom in both hands, Kyle and Zorsan travelled their world, searching out ancient magical relics and texts to fuel their insatiable curiosity. During this time, Kyle cast off his old name and the evil past it carried and took the name Archris after Zorsan's deceased brother.

After many years alone, Archris enrolled in a special school for those that followed the dark ways in an endevour to discover more of Zorsan and the powers they wielded. Within the school he found many people, many people he would eventually come to call friend, a title he did not lightly give. many events happened during his term at the accadamy, including Archris facing his own past and nearly sucumming to the plague that claimed the lives of his parents. Strong tensions between the forces of Darkness and Light rose to fever pitch during this time and culminated in a battle of epic proportions, during which Archris' past made one last effort to destroy him, before help came from the unlikeliest of places - a rival of Archris took it upon himself to save the Fallen Angel and in so doing gave Archris his scar. His past banished, hope restored and a new true friend held forever in his memory, Archris once again began his journeys after the re-building of the school. Although much happened to him in the interviening years that transformed him from an angsty teen into a nobel (allbeit still cocky) warrior, Archris' future really altered when he axidently activated an ancient device that catapaulted him between dimensions and through time and space into a whole new multiverse to explore. Aumicelia is the fifth new world Archris has explored and the second one in which his powers have gone haywire. Who can say what new adventures await him on this new world? Only time (and space) will tell. /OOC



Archris was well and truely lost. He pushed his untidy hair out of his mismatched eyes and peared down the two tunnels before him. A voice sounded in his head. Normally, hearing voices in your head is a sign of madness, but while being stuck in a system of pitch-black tunnels for three days with his food supplies dwindling was certainly frustraiting, Archris wasn't quite that annoyed yet. I told you we should have taken a left at the third crossesction. It was Zorsan, ever ready with a pithy comment, even if his fireballs weren't so forthcomming in this hellhole they'd landed in. Shaddup. You think you could do any better? Archris shot back. We've been stuck in this goddamn tunnel complex ever since we got catapaulted onto this dimension, seeing only by daemon-o-vision! I haven't felt the sun on my face or the wind at my back in over a effing WEEK! I don't know about you, but I'm starting to go a little bit stir-crazy! SO QUIT STIRRING! Archris peering into the blackness, thankful that not all of Zorsan's powers had been negated by this strange dimension. Archris could still view the eight planes of reality, revealing what others could not see, piercing illusions, concealment and most importantly, darkness. Archris chose the left-hand passage arbitrarily, striding off exactly as if he knew just where he was going. If only he felt as confident as he looked.

Stop. What is it? Archris inclined his head to one side and just faintly caught the last string of some noise or other, he was certain that even sound was muffled by this darkness. Reaching to a case strapped to his leg, Archris slowly and silently withdrew one razor-sharp, fire-blackened kuni and crouched low to the ground, skulking slowly forward, a patch of moving blackness in the dark. Carp... Do you suppose there are... things... down here? Better safe than sorry. Be careful - remember you can't use any magic here! Just typical of us to end up on a planet with no ley lines AND a dampener on the daemonic realm. Skulking cautiously down the passage, Archris blinked suddenly. Light. He was seeing light for the first time in seventy-two hours. Nearly forgetting himself in relief, Archris started forward, before common sense got the better of him. Peering round a corner in the passage, Archris spied a small group of people, lit by the glow from a flare of some kind. People. Think they're safe? Ya know what? I don't really care. If I don't talk to someone SOON I'm gunna go crazy. Besides, they might know a way out and even if they don't, they mustv'e got in somehow, so we can just follow their tracks back to an entrance. Slipping his kuni back into its holster, but keeping one hand on it just in case, Archris took a deep, steadying breath and stepped into the circle of firelight, "Hey. I'm sorry, but... Anyone know a way out?"

 

[TheTerrorofDeath]

The group look satisfied with the break. The tunnel surely was addled to the lot of them. He himself even felt confused and doubted his reasons for being here. Nevertheless he agreed and would stick with it. Several members agreed to stay along, but no one objected, that was key. He stared off into the darkness, imagining the realm outside of this dimension. Wanderously in thought, Mordecai struck up a conversation explaining himself and was looking foward to knowing the others.

"Well my name is Larion Blitz. Warrior of Lekiah. Nothing else......."

He was interrupted by a man no different from themselves. He look a bit ruffled up as if he had been here a little longer, actually alot longer. Amused by his appearance he seemed to be in the same situation. Lost. These caves were hell themselves and it would take quite a bit to find their way out.

"Actually we're lost too. Sorry we can't be of much help. Your welcome to join us as we are on our way to Overn. Im sure you'll find it necessary to travel with us if you have hopes of escaping. Speaking of which, don't you think we should leave now? I have a feeling the caves don't want us in here and they might respond back violently."

He drew his blade and stood himself up. Even if the others didn't follow, he was thrived upon abdicating. He swayed his hair to the side and pressed foward. He ran his hand upon the caves, feeling the ancient writing and spells of the walls. The light became dimmer. The adobe was their only source of light. He turned to look back, hoping others would join him.

 

[KHFanatic4565]

Gena had not only left the armory with the knives she had strapped to her legs, but with a bracer as well. Normally, this would be a strange occurance as a bracer is utterly worthless without a bow, but this bracer was special. Perhaps the most obvious trait of the bracer was the magist that it was made of; the hue of the sky. With no sense of urgency whatsoever, Gena walked calmly through the now decimated hallway of Goliath's castle. For a time, she encountered no enemies on her path to the caves. However, her luck would not hold/she would run into a welcoming commitee.

(There is more, but I'm lazy right now.)

 

[Zabazu]

Keras glared at the man who had seemingly come upon them from the depths of the cavern...Who was he. He has an odd appearance, mainly his eyes...but something else as well. Something...Demonic. He noticed Larion groping the wall in a effort to guide his way through the cavern. Keras himself had no problem in the dark, his eyes being elvish. Elves were renowned for having the best eyes in the omniverse, albeit those of gods and other beings. Keras smirked at his human weakness's. He muttured a word of magic, and his staff's obsidian gem became a loud and pronounced light, destroying all the darkness around them, lighting the way.

" Is that better for you...?"

He then decided to introduce himself to Mordecai as others had... It was not going to be long, knowing himself, but it would be to the point. He was not known for talking much. But now the words flew from his mouth as sweet as birdsong.

" I am but a mere mage...At your service. I am known as Keras, but you can refer to me as you wish."

Keras stopped in his tracks, as he stared at the ancient writing. Spells where littered on it. Strange... Keras thought as he saw them, and studied them for a moment. What does this say...and why in the Abyss are they here?!

 

[Swag]

[ With everything I have going on I totally forgot about this. Let me catch up, then I'll post.]

~~

Throughout the entire spectacle, Alkimos had remained mainly indifferent. He looked on as a dark elf was brought before him, shrieking and speaking in nearly inconcievable riddles. It was a disturbing sight indeed, and although his face was blank, Alkimos had been somewhat excited to see it. All his time in Goliath had been spent looking for something, a grand adventure, a chance to travel like he used to in his younger days, and much to his enjoyment this was indeed it. He then and there agreed to stick with these warriors through whatever trials and tribulations came about.

Some other warriors entered into their meeting, one a strange female, and Alkimos frowned. Tardiness was one of his pet-peeves, and hopefully it would not a staple of anyones personality on this particular mission. He was about to speak on the matters at hand, when the palace fell under a surprise attack. Scorching balls of rock rainede down from the heavens above, puncturing the ceiling as they did so. One struck the table he was sitting at, and Alkimos took one foot a backflipped a few feet away right before it hit; landing in a crouched position. He noticed that King Goliath's life had been taken, and that it grieved Mordecai so. Surely the boys was now thining revenge, and Alkimos did not blame him in the least.

Despite his lost, Mordecai took the leadership role; directing their band into a secret way towards a series of underground tunnels. Nodding to show that he understood, he ran after Mordecai and the others. Several of the flaming rocks came dangerously close to hitting the group, but, unbeknowest to them, they were diverted by Alkimos. In actuality, he probably could have sent them hurtling back out of the castle, but he had to keep up an image. They finally reached a great golden door, and Mordecai found the key on the corpse of a dead guard. Unlocking it, all of the warriors bursted through it.

Inside were the caverns, and the one known as Larion encountered what appeared to be a slightly different species of dark elf. Coming to a place where they could temporarily rest, Mordecai lit a flare. Addressing them all as a group, he suggested that we all get to know eachother; Alkimos concurred with him on this. After some other had introduced themselves, Alkimos figured it was his own turn.

"I am Alkimos Gryphonheart. I guess you could refer to me as a mercenary, though I do not required pay. Only the satisfaction of helping those in need."

Satisfied with his answer, he somewhat sat back, looking into the eyes of each warrior. They were ready, ready for any and everything. When he looked at Keras however, he paused for a moment and stared straight into the elves eyes. Of all the people here, he was the only one who new of Alkimos's true potential. And, as much as he hated to admit it, this gave him a bit of power over the Kambelian god. Now looking away, he closed his eyes and listened in on the rest of the conversation.

 

[Stryfe]

[Resurrection]

This is going to be an insanely short post. Why? I have missed so much and I rather not waste my time explaining it. I will explain everything later. I do apologize for being absent. I had finals and never really caught up. If it wasn'tfor Vendetta reminding me, this would've been long forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~

A creaking sound erupted throughout the caverns. A familiar sound to those that had already entered the realm of the dark. The golden door gradually unraveled and soon a immense light burst throughout the dark caves, but that was not all. In the middle of this light was the shadow of a teenager, no, a strapping young man. His blade was at his side and his cape seem to float in the wind from the outside. His shadow stopped just briefly in front of the travelers. Yet, if one looked close enough, they could easily tell who this was just from the shadow.

As the door began to close, the figure staggered and swayed inwards. The light which blinded everyone before faded and soon his face could be seen before all. Bloodied, bruised, and tired, it still remained gruff and proud looking. His hair swayed with the closing wind, and before long he was easily recognized; Malcolm Ammecrine. Looking around at the survivors, he soon smiled and stood tall. His clothing was tattered and worn out, but even then, one could recognize his heritage of kinship.

Finally, at long last, his eyes caught sight of his brother that was in the group and reluctantly chuckled a bit. Thrusting out his hand to brace himself on a nearby wall, a voice rang out, "N-nice to see.....you....again.....brother." Ice dropped from his hands and let out a ringing sensation throughout the caverns. And soon afterwards, his body collapsed right next to it as well, tired from exhaustion.

~~~~~~~~~

[/Resurrection]

 

[Keyblade Smitey]

OOC: I'm sorry I haven't posted, my high school finals have bee ncomming thick and fast these last few days, but now I've left school for good, so I should have plenty of time to post (if I'm not too lazy...) /OOC

Archris looked around the circle of faces as they each introduced themselves. They were certainly an odd bunch, for starters, they were down in these god-forsaken caverns. Archris flipped to the second plane again in order to observe their auras, an interesting little trick he'd learned. Every living and magical thing had an aura, unless they had learned to hide it. The size and colour of the glowing field that surounded the person or object indicated their personality and the extent of their power. A quick glance almost caused Archris to gasp aloud in shock - the entire cave was filled with swirling, pulsing light! Greens, reds, blues, purples, silvers and golds all collided and intermixed with each other. Archris had seen many powerfull auras in his travels, but this was a new record for him! Wow... These guys are powerfull. I don't sense a whole lot of magic though. Strange... Maybe it's just their personalities, or maybe this dimension's rules of magic are screwing with my sight, but the only people I've ever seen with auras this strong were rulers and generals... Archris' musings were suddenly violently interrupted with a blinding flash as yet another aura entered the area.

Archris shielded his eyes with his arm and immediately didn't like what he saw. A handsome, strapping young man, the light at his back, a blade in his hand and with an obvious sense for dramatic flare. Archris scowled; due to the nature of his powers he had never got on well with servants of the light and this new guy looked way too close to it for Archris' tastes. Archris snorted quietly at the ameture theatrics, even though the guy was on the point of collapse. When he did finally slide down the wall, Archris sat down in the circle around the flare, he couldn't help even if he wanted to, seeing as his magic was gone. He looked up, "My name's Archris. I may not have the second-rate special effects or acting prowess that guy has, but here I am, like it or not. Now could someone please tell me what you are all doing here? Judging by the weapons, I'd say not an ameture spelunking expedition. Oh yeah, and I don't know if you can answer this, but can someone fill me in on what the hell's up with my magic? Since I got here, I can do exactly sod all."

 

[Bear]

- For the sake of keeping Aumicelia virgin to its surrounding Omniverse, I'll have to ask you to limit your information a bit Smitey. You're alright now, but I see a little bit too much in the future without me advising. Just play dumb I guess. Don't say too much hinting that you aren't from there. Now, let's revive this; yet again. I'll be posting consistently now. Try to keep up.-

For a brief moment everything was alright. The group was conversing more than Mordecai had expected, and a handful of them introduced themselves to him. One of the introductions caught his attention; Alkimos. For some strange reason, Alkimos had reminded him of the letter Goliath had given him. With a simple reply, Mordecai nodded, then searched his gear for the note. Just when he found it, a light beamed from behind.

It shone like a dull daylight for a few moments, illuminating what the flare and Keras hadn't been able to, then was interupted by a figure. The figure stood for a moment, casting a shadow on the wall for all of them to ponder at. Mordecai was confused, of course. Was it a soldier? A member of the group that had fallen behind? "Who could it be?" His whisper was overwhelmed with a stinging idea; Malcolm. He shifted to the side and leaned so he could peek around the corner. It didn't help much, but as the figure closed in, he began to make out a man-like shape in the shadow. Noises followed afterwards until finally, the figure was revealed. Malcolm Ammecrine, in the full. He slumped forward as he adressed his brother, barely able to speak. Ice dropped to the cold rock floor and rang in high pitch. Mordecai rushed to him, briefly brushing past anyone in his way. He lowered and grabbed his arms. In a short but diffacult period, he hoisted Malcolm onto his shoulder and carried him to the flare, setting him gently down on a slightly comfortable looking rock.

"Malcolm.. what happened? What happened Malcolm?" Repeatedly he asked him, shaking him carefully in attempt to wake him.

Minutes passed by and nothing. Malcolm was out cold. Using the time wisely, he searched for the letter again, hoping to find something that would make the current situation a bit better. When he had finally found it, his plan was shot down by a simple sentence on the letter, written in bright red ink. Do not open this letter until briefed by Tristan. Mordecai angrily shoved the letter back into his armor; he would respect the wishes of his uncle, no matter how much of an urge he had to break his loyalty. Once again, he kneeled by his brother and waited for him to wake. Perhaps he would know what was going on exactly.