forum "Loud Thieves, Clumsy Princesses, Kleptomaniac Witches and Pyromaniacal Knights"

Started April 25, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

(did i just write a nearly 500 word response? yes, yes i did)

Ximena stood in the darkness, her eyes closed, as she held a glowing jewel in her hands. A soft hum reverberated around the room, and she could hear whispers of the past, warning her not to do it. That it wasn't worth it. But it was. She was going to correct this wrong, no matter what. No matter how dangerous it got. But as she started the chant that would change the world, whether that was for the better or for the worst was up for debate, she felt something change. The voices stopped, almost like they were being silenced, and she could no longer feel, or hear the power that poured out of the stone. She opened her eyes, and with a panic, she noticed that the bright blue color of the gem was fading, until it had become all grey.

"NO!" she screamed as she threw the gem across the room, shattering it into pieces. She had been so close, so close. She was so sure it was going to work…she had been so close to bringing them back. Ximena dropped to her knees in despair, and closed her eyes, letting herself cry for the first time in months. She curled into a ball, leaning her head against a chair, and murmured incoherently.

She was unaware of the bright flash of light that surrounded her or the fact that she was no longer surrounded by the darkness that was her home. No, it wasn't until Ximena had decided that she would get nowhere if she continued crying like a fool did she notice where she truly was. There was so much green. Everywhere she looked, there was green. Green grass. Green leaves. It was a place filled with so much color, and honestly, it was a bit overwhelming for her. She had gotten used to everything being so dark, that all these bright colors hurt her eyes. She closed them for a short time, before opening them once again. The colors around her were slightly faded, but at least they would no longer hurt her eyes.

As she looked around once again, she noticed that she wasn't the only one there. Various other people were standing around, what Ximena supposed was a clearing. But it was one person that made her turn pale. There, standing nonchalantly in the middle of the clearing, was Mayil. But no, surely it couldn't be them? She saw Mayil die in front of her very eyes. She could remember those stormy gray eyes staring at her, filled with such hurt as they took their last breath. She shook her head, and once again closed her eyes. She must be hallucinating. That had to be the only reason why she was seeing Mayil standing there, looking alive as ever. She never heard the words that the Mayil look-alike said, nor the words of any of the others in the clearing.

The thing looks around at everyone brightly, smiling.

"Well we're certainly a fun group aren't we! My name is-" insert random name here "-and I am-" insert random age here. "I have no clue where we are, or who any of you are, or even why we're here, but I'm sure will figure that out eventually." the things says with a laugh. (basically each of y'all hear a different name and age lmao)

The tree bark was… surprisingly soft. Naveil was moving up the trunk with relative ease. It was nothing like the brittle, creaky Everchill pines at all. These trees… oaks…? They had a dense leaf-layer that was nigh impossible to see through. He had to position himself awkwardly to get a half-decent view of whoever was beneath him.
But it was already paying off. Their voices were becoming clearer, and their silhouettes were coming into view.
He listened in on the conversation beneath him:
"…a fun group, aren't we! My name is…"
Naveil jolted at a painfully sharp sound that flooded his senses. He dug his nails into the branch bark, suppressing a hiss of his own. He closed his eyes tightly as his ears rang for an aching while afterwards. He glowered down at what he now realized to be a somewhat big group. Too big to win a fight against, at least. Not one of the other members seemed to mind… or notice. He spat again and muttered a swear under his breath. Witch-speak.
He pat at his side again, feeling for his dagger. He was much less confident now. Fighting against a group of witches would be suicide - he could see that with his eyes closed. With a defeated sigh, he settled back onto the branch.
His time would come. It was just a matter of when.

Aibhe seemed confused, she had heard nothing when there were blank spots, and could actively see every look the thing looked like in the eyes of the others. "I'm Aibhe (Sounds like Abby). I have an age. yes. I think. looks at readers Remind me if I have an age?"

The thing grins and stares at Aibhe as a sense of. . . discomfort pervades the surrounding air as whatever is watching the group disappears.

"Come on guys, we're not that scary. There's a wall seperating us, isn't there? Of your own design." it calls out with a subtle laugh. "Oh, well. Can't be helped if they too live in fear of us."

dora voice "Can you tell me what age I am?"

Caladium glares at the… creature. Its name and age were in some language they had never heard of. They point their knife at it. “What are you?”

Aibhe stopped breaking the fourth wall.

The thing looks around at everyone brightly, smiling.

"Well we're certainly a fun group aren't we! My name is-" insert random name here "-and I am-" insert random age here. "I have no clue where we are, or who any of you are, or even why we're here, but I'm sure will figure that out eventually." the things says with a laugh. (basically each of y'all hear a different name and age lmao)

"Nice to meet you Jerome!" The things visual form seems to have stabilized into a consistent image, as Andrea' brain no longer hurt as it spoke. "You're a weird fella."

The thing stares at Caladium so hard a physical form imposes itself into her mind and forces her to forget that it wasn't human.

"I am what the writers made me." it replies cheerfully right before Caladium forgets.

It turns to Andrea and chuckles. "Is that supposed to be an insult or compliment?"

"Compliment. The weird ones are more interesting then the average guy stuck in the star-born chains of society." Andreas grins.

"I'm Maria. Can somebody remind me how old I am, and what I am?" she turns to the audience.

("I don't think any of us besides Midnight know that kiddo-")

The thing looks at the sky - or appears to - before grinning. "The writer is right."

Andreas is mildly confused. Talking about a writer and an audience… they're talking as if they think life is a book… be a pretty depressing book if so…. He just looks back and forth between the two, trying to make sense of what they're saying, as he doesn't have any context for who they think they're talking with.

"Ah! I remember!!" Maria exclaimed. "I'm a Chilean Forest Elf! And I'm, hmmm 17?"

"Ah! I remember!!" Maria exclaimed. "I'm a Chilean Forest Elf! And I'm, hmmm 17?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Andreas, a star-child, I'm…… Not sure how old I am actually, we didn't keep track…. I've been on the mortal plane about 8 years, thats all I know. Been up in the stars for way longer though!"

Aibhe smiled. "I'm glad some of us know their age. I wonder…. Hey writer… er… authors? HOW OLD AM I?!?" (i need an age. anyone can choose, I don't really care.)

Maria listened for a second. "The audience says you are 18."

"Thanks audience/readers! I guess I'm 18!" Aibhe said, smiling. "Nice to meet you all!" (she pronounces it 'nice ta mee'cha'll')

Andreas waves at the sky. "Ahoy there loyal readers….. Yeah, thought not." He turns back to Aibhe and the others. "Alright, nice to meet you all, anyone know why the heck we're all here?"

"Nope!" she smiled happily, sliding the book she had into a bag…. that seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

Andreas instantly glances at the book, eyes lighting up with interest. "What book is that?" He ignores the magically appearing bag, as he was no stranger to materializing objects.

"Knowing would take the fun out of this, wouldn't it?" Maria leaned toward the audience.

"Its 'The Magical Guide to Blending In Among Non-Magical Entities.'"

"Oh I remember that book," Maria said, then whispering to the audience, "It was awful. There are some much better books out there. It was required in school," she said, turning back to the strange collection of people surrounding her.