Champions of Order and Chaos
GM(s) – Ampharos
Co-GM(s) – None
The Hanging Grimstones, Sundown Forest…
Somewhere in the Sundown Forest, deep within the Western Dusk, one may stumble upon a clearing. In this clearing, he or she may find the Hanging Grimstones, colossal stone monoliths constructed thousands of years ago by a lost civilization. Upon closer inspection, he or she will discover that the Hanging Grimstones are organized in a large circle where the individual stones are coupled together with another, and a third is positioned on top of them. Then, in the center, if one dares venture further into this clearing, he or she will find a gigantic stab, at least two or three times as large as any individual stone on the outside of the ruin. For somebody who has been around the world and seen many things, this might not be all that impressive. After all, that somebody would undoubtedly know the power fully-evolved Pokémon, and recognize that any number of species could have moved these huge stones with Strength, just like with any other large boulder. What really sets the Hanging Grimstones apart, however, is that the stones float…
These stones float about thirty feet from the ground and resonate an aura so powerful that it could be seen by the naked eye. Then, if one was to venture to the center, strange runes carved into the stones would begin to glow, emanating even more power, producing even more energy. Even the most seasoned traveler or the most knowledgeable scholar would be unable to decipher these runes, make sense of what they say or what they mean, as the language they were written in has long since been lost, and nobody has thus far been able to crack this code and uncover the secrets of the Hanging Grimstones.
Nobody knows anything about this phenomenon. What exactly are the Hanging Grimstones? Who arranged them in such a way, and for what purpose? How did the creators make them float like this, and likewise, what powers them? What are these strange runes inscribed into the stones? Are they instructions of some kind, and if so, to what? Scholars from across the world have only been able to speculate as to their purpose. Most dismiss the Hanging Grimstones as a gigantic sacrificial altar to an unknown deity, possibly Arceus, maybe Giratina. Some believe the Hanging Grimstones to be related to the Great Cataclysm, but historians dismiss this claim, asserting that these monoliths were arranged long after the Great Cataclysm by a lost civilization that lived and died in the few thousand years after that catastrophic event…
Nobody except Kulero.
“By Arceus!” Kulero shouts. “It’s working!”
Many consider Kulero the Alakazam, also known as the Great Seer, to be one of the most powerful and influential Pokémon in the Western Dusk. Although not nobility in his own right, dukes and duchesses, kings and queens, and even emperors and empresses bow before him, recognizing the power that he wields and seeking the wisdom of a Pokémon considered to not only be able to see both the past and the future but also one who can read the thoughts, feelings, and desires of anyone in his presence. It is said that Kulero has his own interpretation as to what the Hanging Grimstones are and that he spent many years trying to figure out how to translate the runes and operate the monoliths. When prompted, he once gave an explanation to what he believed the Hanging Grimstones to be: “I believe them to be a portal between our world and another, possibly many more. By channeling the power of the Original One's power through these stones, I believe that I can activate this portal, possibly giving me access to the means of ending this ten thousand year era of darkness!”
Kulero stands at the center of the Hanging Grimstones, before the mystical stone slab directly above him. He attempts to draw upon the power of the Original One, using his powers to speak to Arceus himself and implore it to channel its power into his body. With both hands in the sky and his two spoons pointed upwards, he prays aloud to the Alpha Pokémon. Though nobody has ever witnesses Kulero channel the power of the Original One, it is thought that both he and the Great Seers before him have that power, and when they are in need, they can connect to Arceus itself and draw from its immense power.
A bright flash appears on the horizon, followed by the cackling of thunder followed by another flash and another boom.
The wind begins to pick up, and within a matter of seconds, it goes from a gentle breeze to a swirling vortex that consumes all around it…
Enter you. You awaken on the grassy ground with no knowledge of who you are, where you are, or how you got here. You feel confused and disoriented, and when you try to stand, you topple over and back onto the ground. Your eyesight is blurry, and all you can make out are dancing shadows in the near distance. Likewise, your hearing is somewhat impaired, and though you can hear somebody speaking, you have no idea what he or she is saying. Your sense of smell appears somewhat off as well, though you can vaguely make out the aroma of nature and get the sense that you’re in a forest of some kind. Lastly, your taste appears dulled, and if you ate dirt on your way back to the ground, that dirt is tasteless and otherwise bland.
Nevertheless, after a short time, your begin to collect yourself and regain your senses.
You appear to be in a calm grassy opening in the middle of a forest, sometime just before dusk: Sundown Forest. You see a number of other individuals around you, though your vision is too blurry and you’re still too disoriented to make out just who they are. Likewise, there appears to a man standing several feet away from you, shouting something you still can’t understand. You wonder to yourself, “What’s going on here? Where am I, how did I get here? Who are all these people, and what are they doing here?”
The first thing that you can see in any kind of detail is that man standing in the near distance… an Alakazam!
You hear him shouting, “It worked! It worked!”
“I can’t believe it worked!” He continues.
Wait… an Alakazam?
Confused at this revelation, you stare oddly at him for a second, trying to get an idea of just what's going on around here.
Then it hits you!
You’re also Pokémon!