The Muse

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

Sybil listened intently as Amaterasu and Mitsuko spoke, trying her best to understand the history of their world and the type of world that this group was about to walk into. As Mitsuko spoke about the powerful spell that could destroy cities with one blow an image of fire and destruction flashed through her mind. Sybil closed her eyes, focusing in on the memory. Black smoke, screams, and the smell of death lingered in the air. Sybil opened her eyes again, realizing that she had previously been to this world that Mitsuko spoke of. Not physically, but Sybil could remember seeing the world through another mortals eyes when she had entered her dream realm. It was a place she was guided to by Cetia some time ago, though she did not understand why at the time. Although Sybil was still not sure why Cetia wanted her to see those atrocities of another realm, she trusted Cetia. Perhaps she would know the reason in due time.

"Preparations? Sybil thought, glancing around at her fellow comrades to see what they would do or where they would go. She watched Illistrianna disappear through a portal and then turned her gaze onto her Goddess for direction. Cetia had already told Sybil to come prepared and before they left she had gathered everything she could possibly think of that she might need for her magic spells within her satchel. Not only that, but she had cast a spell onto the satchel that linked it back to a chest in her temple which had ample amounts of reserves that she had stored over the years. She prayed that the magic link would not break as they moved from one world to another; her magic had never been tested to this degree before. Other than that.. Sybil did not know what to do with herself. Cetia met her gaze, as stoic and silent as ever. Knowing that Cetia was not about to give her a whole pep talk, Sybil opened her satchel and began to inspect items that she could see from the portal within. Herbs, animal bones, ink, charcoal, an assortment of gemstones, feathers... As she browsed, her mind began to wonder why she was chosen for such a dire mission. "Truly, Cetia, what are you thinking? These are mostly great warriors. I am no warrior. I am a priestess. A woman of magic and visions. How am I to be useful here?" She thought, almost angry at Cetia for not outright telling her what her purpose is in the grand scheme of things.

"Trust." Cetia's ethereal soft voice entered Sybil's mind, only for the two of them to hear. Sybil looked up at her Goddess, staring at her in silence for a few moments as she thought about the statement. "Hm... Trust." She whispered in agreement, nodding her head once in a self-assured fashion.

"I am ready as well."

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

Taking a sip of her long awaited coffee, Reya closed her eyes and savored the moment as she leaned up against the kitchen counter. She took in a deep breath to smell the coffee and let the warmth of the mug warm her hands, taking the moment to center herself and calm her nerves. "Okay... festival. You love the festival! Martha's funnel cake..." She thought, reminding herself of her favorite part about the festival - Martha's famous funnel cake! She got it every year and every year it was the best funnel cake she had ever had. It was basically traditional at this point to get the cake, even if her dad wasn't around to enjoy it with her. It had to be done!

Hearing the kitchen door open, Reya opened her eyes to see her lead chef walk in through the door hastily. She smiled, "Good Morning Ben." She took another sip of her coffee as she watched the older man set his things down and grabbed his white apron off the wall. Ben had been working at the Fox Hole for almost as long as she could remember. The portly man was in his mid 40s and had been originally hired by Reya's father and so Reya grew up thinking of Ben as family. She knew he must have been going through conflicting emotions today just as she was, but Ben wasn't exactly the type to talk about his feelings.

"Good Morning, sunshine." Ben smiled back at her, heading over to the kitchen sink to wash up before he began his prep work. "Listen, I know today is the festival. You go on and enjoy it, I'll watch over the tavern today." He washed his hands and then nodded over towards the kitchen door, "Oh, and, the pilot kid is out front. I saw him walk in just before me."

Reya nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. She had already figured that Ben would offer to work while she went out - he almost always did as he wasn't big on "social time". The man liked his kitchen, cooking, his family, and that was about it. He was a simple guy, which Reya loved him for. "Thank you, Ben." She replied and set down her coffee mug. "I'll bring you back some funnel cake!"

Leaving the kitchen, Reya immediately noted the somewhat familiar face sitting at the bar. "Well, good morning there, Chris." She slid behind the bar, gently smiling at the man. Although she had not had extended time to get to know Chris, he was well-known around town as one of the few pilots of Sanctuary. "What can I get started for ya?"

---

Mentions:@Pilatus

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

@Expendable Looks good, go ahead and post her in the character tab :)

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

@Martian I'm sorry to hear that but I'm so glad you're starting to feel better! I recently lost someone too so I understand that pain, I'm really sorry for your loss. Keep your head up!

Adventure Awaits! - Prompt Voting CYOA (Always Open)

As for my choice...
• Write in: Check for Traps, Secret Doors/Passages, or any other secrets.
-As a Rogue, we know how to check for traps and we need to make sure that we don't get ourselves killed by our own carelessness.

@Guardian Angel Haruki

Great idea! I'll put my vote in for this too.

Adventure Awaits! - Prompt Voting CYOA (Always Open)

>Inspect the illuminated table on the right.

@Duthguy

I'll put my vote in for this one as well.

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

"BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Cetia, you can't be serious! This little lost lamb is your champion?!" Sybil felt her heart sink and her face flush red once again as she listened to Dominus laugh at her clumsiness. Sybil remained quiet, her eyes on the ground as she mentally scolded herself, reminding herself that she needed to be more calm and calculated. Despite being sought after for her wisdom from people all across her nation, Sybil had never been in front of so many people all at once.

Cetia slowly turned her head towards Dominus, her pale emotionless eyes staring at him for a few moments. "Dominus," her voice was soft, though just as cold as the rest of her essence, "you put far too much weight into appearance alone." She turned away from him, making her succinct judgement and moving on from the conversation. Sybil briefly glanced up at Cetia, interested in what her Goddess had to say considering she was a deity of few words. Immediately her attention was broken as she felt a hand on her shoulder, her eyes darting up to see that Dominus' champion had been the one to touch her in what felt like an attempt at comforting her after Dominus' mockery. She smiled and nodded her head to the tall woman, "Thank you, Cynthia. It's a pleasure."

Before Dominus was able to come back with some sort of quip, the Goddess Amaterasu and her champion Mitsuko began to speak. Sybil listened intently, feeling empathy towards Mitsuko as she spoke of growing up in less than ideal circumstances. Despite her hard upbringing Mitsuko was able to turn her life around and sounded extremely accomplished which Sybil admired. She was certainly strong in both the mental and physical compacity; definitely someone that Sybil was glad to have on her side of the fight.

Next up was the silver creature that went by the name of Zero. Sybil had never seen anything like him in her life and in all honesty it was difficult for her to listen to what he was saying while she examined his body and wondered just what kind of abilities he had. By the end of his speech she felt that she was left with more questions than answers: What did Genesis look like or act like and why weren't they able to attend?

The next to step up was a beautiful regal looking elf. Sybil had seen elves before so she was less distracting, but Sybil did take note that the woman seemed to embody the aesthetic of a moon goddess. Sybil raised a brow after hearing that Illistrianna was a queen. Although she did not inherently hate all royal people, it was difficult not to make a quick judgement about the type of person Illistrianna might be due to Sybil's own personal experience with royalty being one of decades of abuse.

Soon after it was Cynthia's turn to speak and Sybil smiled as she listened to her, feeling a comradery for the woman already despite barely knowing her. Sybil glanced over at Dominus as Cynthia stated that his views were not necessarily hers. She almost expected a quick outburst from the behemoth god, but it seemed that they both had a playful smirk on their faces and enjoyed the challenge.

Just then Sybil felt a chill creep down her spine; she could feel Cetia's gaze rest upon her. Obviously, it was time for Sybil to become the center of attention once again. Feeling her heart rate pick up, Sybil cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Thank you all for sharing about yourselves, I look forward to getting to know you all more." She paused and took a deep breath, her heart pounding against her chest. "As for me," She clasped her hands down in front of her to keep her hands from noticeably shaking. "My name is Sybil. I am choosen by Cetia and dedicate my life to her and am grateful for all that she has gifted me, and my world. I come from a kingdom called Valoria and serve their royal family with guidance as needed." She paused, unsure of how much to say about the true nature of how she became in service to the royal family. "When I was young I was taken away from my family to be of exclusive use by the royal family. These days... I spend most of my days in Cetia's temple." She bit her bottom lip, becoming more unsure of herself by the second. "This is the first time I have been in front of more than two people for... more than six decades by now." She let out a nervous chuckle, her eyes moving to the ground as she tried to center herself. "Uhm..." She turned her gaze back to the group, "I suppose that is all... Thank you, everyone."

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

_{Vision.Colour.}

Standing outside on the deck of the Fox Hole Tavern, Reya looked up at the sky through the surrounding trees. A mug of hot coffee in her hands, she leaned up against the wooden railing of the deck and admired the fluffy clouds as they floated across the sky ever so slowly.

_{"And what do you see in that one?"}

The memory of her fathers voice flashed through her mind along with an image of him when he was younger, pointing up at the sky with joy as he awaited for his twin girls to tell him what they imagined the clouds looked like.

Almost like a pain reflex, Reya blinked her eyes a few times and ripped her gaze away from the sky as if to try and erase the thought. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, she listened to the morning chirps of the birds and the slight breeze as it blew through the trees. The morning felt peaceful on the outside despite the turmoil she felt in her heart. Releasing her breath, she opened her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "It's not going to ruin my day..." She thought, reminding herself.

Today marked exactly one year since her father had taken his own life and Reya had already been receiving condolences from the people in town who knew her father well, which was most of the town due to its small size. It was nice, and Reya did appreciate being checked up on, but at times she wished she could just forget. There were so many things she wished she could forget. Damn her memory.

"Miss?"

Reya snapped out of her thoughts and stood up straight, turning toward the entrance of the tavern to find one of the guests peaking his head of the door. "Oh! I'm so sorry. How can I help you?" She moved towards him and entered into the tavern where the bar and kitchen were. The older bearded man moved aside and smiled at her before he took a seat at one of the tables.

"Just a cup of coffee, the strongest ya got!"

Reya smiled in return and hurried towards the kitchen, setting her own coffee cup down on the bar. "Of course! Coming right up." Just around the corner and behind the bar, Reya pushed open the kitchen door and headed for the coffee pot which had already been brewed. Her cook hadn't come in for his shift yet, but she didn't mind him being a bit late. Fortunately for him they weren't exactly the busiest at the moment. Summer was normally her busiest time at the tavern with campground travelers, though it seemed this year had slowed down significantly for families taking time off for wilderness adventures. Luckily, however, she could always rely on semi-truck drivers who needed a place to rest their head for a night, just like the man she was currently pouring coffee for.

Exiting the kitchen, she headed over to the mans table and gently set down the mug in front of him. "Here you are, sir. Would you like any cream or sugar?"

"You're plenty sugar enough, doll, thank you."

She forced a convincing laugh, "You just holler if you need anything then."

Quickly she turned and grabbed her coffee from the bar and headed into the kitchen, glad to escape further conversation with the truck driver for the time being. Unfortunately, truckers were always hit or miss in for her in terms of personality. Either they wanted to talk to you for hours on end, and slip in inappropriate comments along the way, or they didn't want to speak to you at all. She usually preferred the latter, although she remained grateful for all of their business. Awkward conversation was a small price to pay for the stability of her income.

"REY!!!!"

Reya rushed back out of the kitchen, her heart pounding at the urgency of the yelling coming from the bar. "What?! What is it, what happ-" She stopped mid sentence, the worry in her face instantly halting once she laid eyes on who loud guest in her tavern was.

"Ollie. Haven't I told you to stop yelling in here? What is so important?" She put her hands on her hips to take a stern stance, though a small smile grew on her lips. Before her stood a small child about the age of ten with a freckled face and bright red messy hair. He grinned back at her, finding great joy in their tradition of playful back and forth.

"Here! Mayor told me to hand these out to everyone!" He giggled and shoved a piece of paper into her hands before darting back out of the tavern, "SEE YOU THERE!!"

Reya smiled and shook her head before looking at the poster which was designed in colorful eye grabbing artwork and font styles.

---

SANCTUARY'S 15TH ANNUAL SUMMER FESTIVAL!

TOWN SQUARE
2PM - 10PM
CARNIVAL RIDES, FOOD, ART, MUSIC, PETTING ZOO, NIGHT MARKET, AND MORE!

---

The festival was probably the last place that Reya wanted to be today, but she reminded herself again that she wasn't going to let the past ruin her present. Reya had always really enjoyed the summer festival in town, it was typically one of the biggest events of the year. If only for the delicious food, Reya would force herself to attend at some point. Setting the poster down on the bar, Reya headed back into the kitchen and wondered if she would ever be able to finish her own cup of coffee.

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

Hi everyone!

I think I will have my first post up by tonight or tomorrow night, I was working on it a bit last night.

In the meantime, here's our official discord:

Sanctuary

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

I'm going to try to get my first post up this week, at the latest it'll be this weekend. Depending on how insane work is this week haha I'm also working on adding some more info to the town locations, plus I will soon input the info that you've all added with your characters and where they work.

And I kind of want to keep bumping the thread with the OOC for now, at least until we start posting IC. I may make a discord after that. But otherwise feel free to begin your plotting! Haha