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Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by j8cob
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j8cob The Gr8est / The J8est

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ACT I

Bright Skies and Strong Storms


The rock bounced several times before rolling to a halt in the middle of the dirt road. Walking along the dirt trail next to Lake Krukow, the blonde teenager found some entertainment in kicking a small stone. The sun was high in the sky, though it wasn't exactly hot. It was never "hot" in Krukow. Nor was it ever really cold. The temperature fluctuation was minimal, no matter the season. It was just as boring as this dirt road. Aubrey gave another light kick, watching the pebble bounce across the road further. However, it came to a rest near something that at first looked like another rock.

As Aubrey drew near, he stopped and examined the small object. It was a wooden butterfly, slightly larger than the pebble next to it, with some kind of thin lace. A necklace of sorts. At first, it seemed plain odd. Then Aubrey's eyes widened. "An Aeva?" he thought aloud, bending over and picking it up. Holding it by the lace, he looked at the necklace intently for a moment. "Hey." The wooden object remained silent. "Helloooo?" Still silence. "If you're one of those Aevum I've heard about, you better not be messing with me..."

The staredown continued a moment longer before Aubrey let out a sigh. Shrugging his shoulders, he tossed the necklace into the nearby lake. "I bet someone thinks they're real funny..." With his hopes now crushed, Aubrey kicked the rock again. This time, it made a sharp turn to the left after the first bounce, landing right in the lake. Now mildly disappointed that there was no form of entertainment for the rest of his walk, he paused to watch the ripples along the lake surface. But as the ripples died out, he began to hear a rumbling sound. The water of the lake began vibrating, creating small ripples across the entire length. Confused, Aubrey turned around to face the source of the low rumble.

Frighteningly low in the sky, there was a large airship. Heading directly toward him. "Whoa..." As the large ship, an open-deck freighter by the looks of it, passed overhead Aubrey rotated to keep his eyes on it. "Don't see too many of those pass by... That jackass was flying really low..." Suddenly, an idea came to his mind as he watched the ship disappear over the trees. "I bet everyone in town saw that too!" The teenager broke into a brisk run, no longer caring about neither the stone nor totem that had his attention moments before. He had a story to tell his mother.




"Vladmir..." A tall man with black hair and obnoxiously large glasses stood in front of a desk. Behind it was the Krukow mayor, Vladmir Maximus. Not only was Vladmir tall, he was also wide. Though he was grey haired and wrinkled, with a trimmed grey beard to boot, his size came from muscle rather than fat. Intimidating to look at. Hilarious to listen to. "I know, I saw it too," a surprisingly high-pitched voice came from the big man. The assistant adjusted his glasses. "It would seem that the freight ship that passed dangerously low has landed on the north side of the island. It was likely an emergency landing. Should we send a search party or...?"

The older man let out a sigh. "We never have ships like that come through this region of the world. There are no major routes nearby. This is suspicious..." As the overly-large glasses seemed to keep slipping, the tall man had to adjust them again. "I do not believe that ship was Crucibellian, Vladmir." "Of course not. It was too old to be a Crucible freighter. But things like this... they are a bad sign..." There was an awkward silence around the mayor's office for a moment. "Alright. We'll send a search party. Gather some of my men from Maximus, just in case."

Before the assistant could even agree to the plan, the double doors to the room slammed open. "Vladmir!" Another young man, barely an adult, had barged in. The sudden burst enraged the mayor, and he jumped to his feet. Now standing at full height, he seemed even more intimidating. "What did I tell you about kno-" "Three Crucible ships have been spotted coming from the south-east!" There was a tense silence in the room. As angry as Vladmir looked a moment before, he now looked scared. With nobody saying anything, the newcomer decided to continue. "Two Magellan-class ships and an Interceptor-class. The Interceptor will be here any minute!"

The mayor shook his head a few times and his angry expression returned. He pointed at the bespectacled man, whom was frozen in fear. "Gather all of Maximus. We have more important matters than the other ship. Go around the town and try to get all the women and children to the north-west part of the island. We need to get them on the skiff to Kuiper, fast." The assistant snapped out of his daze. "But sir... the skiff won't fit all of them. If you're planning on confronting them, you still won't be able to buy them enough time."

A scowl formed on his face. "We have to try. But we can't have a panic... Ugh... Change of plans." The other two in the room seemed surprised by his sudden change in tone. "Gather all of Maximus. But we won't be fleeing. We have to disarm ourselves and take what's coming. This way, we won't lose as many lives..." The youngest spoke up again. "But Vladmir! You've heard the stories. These people aren't going to be nice, even if we do just roll over and give up. Your Rift Hunting guild is strong, and many of the men that work at the lumber mill are strong too. We can fight!"

"No, we can't. The Interceptor's crew alone will be too much for us. And those Magellans... Those are battleships. If we put up a fight... they will annihilate us..."




Aubrey closed the front door behind himself surprisingly gently, considering how excited he was. Rather carelessly in a rushed fashion, he threw his small backpack on the living room couch. Despite the fact that his mother was hardly able to get out of bed, the house was incredibly clean and tidy. Perhaps it was Aubrey that managed it. "Hey mom!" he called out, rushing down the hallway and taking a tight turn through an open bedroom door.

Laying in the bed, under the covers, was a black-haired woman. Though her eyes were closed and her skin was pale, as well as being on the thin side, she stirred. "A huge ship passed over the island a few minutes ago. I'd never seen such a big airship around here before," he told her, going down on his knees next to her bed. His mother's eyes opened, revealing they were brown. "I've never heard of it either," she responded, giving him a smile. Aubrey grinned a bit, before pulling something out of his pocket. "I got paid today." He held up his hand, showing her the thick wad of cash.

This caused her to chuckle. "That's good. But we have enough groceries for the week. I think you should hold onto that." This seemed to surprise Aubrey. "Are you sure? Can't think of anything else to get with it? Are you running low on your pills?" His mother shook her head slowly. "We're all set. Thanks to your hard work." A grin formed on Aubrey's face as he put the money back in his pocket. "Now why don't you go and find your friends. You deserve to have your fun for the day." Aubrey stood up to full height now. "Sheesh Mom. You still talk to me like I'm a little kid." This made his mother giggle a bit.

"You always will be my little boy. Now run along. Make sure you're home by suppertime, and don't get into any trouble. None of your friends need to know how much money you have." Aubrey chuckled, before nodding his head. "Love ya, Mom." He walked out of the bedroom now, and with her son gone the woman rested her head and closed her eyes again. Now with everything done for the day, Aubrey walked into the kitchen. Before heading out, he needed one thing. A pair of sunglasses rested on the dining table, and the teenager quickly snatched them. After checking his reflection on the back of a clean spoon, he determined he looked cool enough to wander around town.

With a grin on his face and money in his pocket, Aubrey headed out the front door. Upon closing it behind himself he took a look around. The town seemed too quiet and boring for his taste. Before he could even decide where to start searching for people he saw several Rift Hunters walk by. It was obvious who they were, as they wore the Maximus uniform. The teenager watched as they walked by. Though it wasn't uncommon to see them around, as they lived here, something seemed off. The two men seemed almost suspicious. Aubrey watched as they walked down the street and turned the corner, likely heading for the town hall. Their boss worked his day job there as the mayor after all. Despite the strangeness of that event Aubrey shook it off and the grin returned. Time to find some friends.
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Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by Evil Snowman
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Evil Snowman Proptery of Demonic Raven

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Amelia




"Thank you for you business, have a pleasant day." A young woman said automatically as she handed an older man several articles of clothing. The young one small smile radiating a small amount of happiness as she placed small stack of money she had been given into the register. Watching as the old man left her store seeming quite happy with the clothes he had brought. The young man smile twisting into a satisfied one know she just made a really good sale, given she paid less then half the price she charged for those clothes. With the store now empty Amelia sighed, today had been a quite day with enough a handful of customers coming into her store. Even few actually buying something.
"Might sweep the front of the store. Haven't done that since last night." she though stepping to her shops back room. Grabbing one of several brooms she had. Amelia walked out the front of her shop. Slowly starting to sweep, starting to hum to herself mere seconds later. Her mind wondering as she swept, thinking of all the places she wanted to go see. Recalling images of a number of different places she had seen as a little girl. As she swept, Amelia was pulled out of her thoughts as she noticed a ship flying low, over town. Stopping she watched the ship until it was out of view.
"What a pack of jackasses. Flying so low, they do know people live in this town." Amelia though with a shake of her head. Retuning to her task Amelia went back to sweeping, since no one had come near her store. Amelia didn't mind moment where the shop was empty as it allowed to clean it a little or do the shops books. Saving her time after closing, time she could then use on other things.

Amelia wasn't even a quarter of the way thought sweeping her shops front when a young man approached her store.
"Hello" she stated in a friendly manner only to be ignored. Amelia continued to sweep as as she watched him walk passed her and enter the shop. Setting the broom down, she frowned finding the potential customer rudeness unnecessary. Entering her shop Amelia looked at the young man, seeing he was browsing though several books she had been able to acquire recently. Something she was quite proud of as the trader she got them off was quite reluctant to let them go for what Amelia was willing to pay. Going behind the counter, Amelia continued to watch the young man, lacking anything better to do while he was in here. Looking almost board she sighed to herself. It was never any fun when she had just one customer. After a couple of minutes the young man picked up a book and started to walk around shop. Amelia watched him try a pair of boots on before picking them up. He also grabbed a pack and an old looking cloak.
"He must be planning a trip somewhere. Failing that he news here and wants to explore. Either way, buying that old cloak. Which is good had that thing for two years and no ones wanted it." Amelia thought to herself watching as the young man came up to the counter.

What happened was the normal Amelia working out the combined price and the young man paying for his new items. All which happened without Amelia only stating the price. The young man having no interest in conversation. Amelia sighing as she placed the money in the register. Going back out the front Amelia went back to sweeping, humming to herself while she did so.
Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by Cello
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Cello Rainbow 2.0

Member Seen 7 days ago



@Evil Snowman 🌹


The chirping of birds whistled through the quaint village of Krukow, only slightly muffled by the moderate gossip and bantering of the locals. Even on its busiest days, the local markets were tame in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Kuiper. Though if Claudette were to be honest, she much preferred the quiet. Her frequent trips to the markets would be quite stressful if she had to make her way through a large crowd. Straw basket in one hand, her holo-pad in the other, Claudette browsed through the list of supplies her mother had sent her to acquire. The transparent screen glowed a light hue of violet, projected from the small capsule which was nervously clasped in Claudette's delicate fingers. Of coarse she would be nervous; tonight her father was expecting company for dinner. This was a common occurrence in Claudette's family, yet tonight was not just any regular house guest.

Maria Greenwood was coming for dinner. Maria Greenwood. Now, the lovely Miss Greenwood seemed all honey and sugar to most of the town folk. She was an elderly lady who regularly attended the Deacon's sermons and brought baked goods. Yet despite appearances, Miss Greenwood was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Her and Henrietta, Claudette's mother, did not get along. In her mothers own words;

'The woman's a smug, condescending old crow. And her quiche tastes like cat shit. I wouldn't feed it to my worst enemies.'

Claudette could feel her face going red just thinking of the language her mother had used when complaining in the kitchen this morning. The thought of speaking like that aloud was inconceivable. Yet her mother was a proud woman, and she loved her husband. She put up with the evil Miss Greenwood; who Claudette also detested with a passion, for the sake of keeping the peace in the community. So it felt only right that Claudette, who was strolling through empty streets when she'd much rather be reading under a tree, did the same. Though she still didn't like it. The thought of Miss Greenwood talking to her with that insufferable forced smile while she made passing comments on how Claudette should be more devoted to the faith made her stomach churn. She briefly considered saying a prayer for tonight's dinner to be quick and painless.

As Claudette approached a small shop, a comfortable little place ran by a woman named Amelia, she felt a sudden buzzing in her ear. The droning only continued to grow louder; the earth beginning to rumble a little. Claudette turned around and looked up to confront the noise. Eyes wide open in concern, Claudette slowly reached for the doorknob of Amelia's shop and pushed the door open. Creeping inside, she quickly shut the door behind her. Her heart was racing like a hummingbird. What were Crucible ships doing in Krukow? Suddenly the dinner with Miss Greenwood seemed like a trivial matter. The Crucible frowned upon The Children of Aura, and Claudette had heard many harrowing stories from her father about how they persecute those who practice it. Before she could get ahead of herself, she stared forward to see Amelia minding her shop while dealing with another customer. Pushing off from the door, Claudette walked forward with shaky legs. She did her best to remain composed, but the second she reached the counter she just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Oh, Miss Crovus! Did you see the airships? Why are the Crucible here of all places? I just don't understand." It was clear that Claudette was panicking. She had her free hand clutching onto her chest and her eyes were darting back and forth around the shop. She was seemingly having a little trouble breathing. However after a moment, her breath steadied and her stature stiffened. Claudette stood in silence for a moment before clasping her hands over her mouth in embarrassment.
"Oh dear, how rude of me. Good day, Miss Crovus. Blessings of the Mother to you." Claudette bowed polite, forming her hands into a circle at her chest. It was a holy sign among The Children; used for greetings, blessings and pretty much anything else. It was rare for most people to see Claudette so flustered, but even so she made sure to remember her manners. Even though she grew more frightened by the minute.
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