VitaVitaAR

The Elder Scrolls IV: Cyrodiil

Well, she's right, but who aside from the Septims could lay claim to that capability in these modern times? It's not as if there's any Dragonborn running around willy-nilly at the moment---

It's mostly just a brief history/theology lesson. I guess whoever this elf is, she's really into that sort of thing. At least she's not trying to take the Amulet from me.

But, is she really suggesting... chosen? No, there's absolutely no way. It's by pure chance that I was there at the right time. Despite that, I have to fulfill the duty given to me. The stakes are so high I can barely wrap my mind around them, after all.

"I-I'm not that we-"

It's at this very moment that my stomach chooses to growl.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Cyrodiil

I knew there was no point in trying to hide it.

Not with this strange elf seemingly knowing everything. I can't help but sigh a little to myself, though. I'd hoped that I could have kept it concealed, but there's really no hope of that with this lady, is there?

"Wh---"

Before I can speak, she asks a question that comes completely out of left field.

Putting it on?

Why would I ever try that? It's not as if I'm anything close to related to the Emperor. I don't even know who my parents were, but they certainly weren't nobility or even close to it. I can tell that much.

What would the point be in me attempting to wear the Amulet of Kings when only Septims can wear it?

"O-of course not," I reply, her question nearly setting me off balance not just mentally, but physically as well, "Why would I bother? Do I look like a Septim to you?"

Really---

Why would I even waste my time on it?

The Elder Scrolls IV: Cyrodiil

Well, it's not as if it wasn't obvious.

The mental image of the Emperor's death scrolls through my mind once more. To be honest, it seems like some sort of terrible illusion then anything. But I witnessed it, no doubt.

The Dragonfires hadn't even entered my mind until now. What's about to happen?

I shake my head, sucking in a deep breath and clearing my thoughts as much as I can manage. My survival---

Is there any point in trying to mislead her? She clearly knows everything that's already happened. Lying to her seems stupid more than anything.

I have to keep the Amulet of Kings safe, but dying here because I refuse to tell the truth doesn't help me do that.

I'm perfectly aware of what will happen if she attacks, but at least I can go down fighting if I have to.

I'd really rather not, though.

"---I... The Emperor's guard entrusted me with something precious. I have to deliver it."

I can't bring myself to be more direct. But at the same time, I'm certain she'll guess what it is that I'm carrying.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

---It wasn't as if she was here from the start. She didn't know the very roots of this situation. But she'd been here long enough to know exactly what would happen if no actions were taken.

Robin took a deep breath.

She'd never been in this sort of situation before. Prior to now, her acts had largely been without any sort of pushback or resistance. Alone, she'd took up the pleas of those in need and struck down bandits and monsters who were at the root of their suffering. Together with this party, she'd fought at the behest of those who needed it most.

But here---

These were the ones who needed that help. Everyone in their nation needed that help. But they were resisting it? Wouldn't such a dire possibility warrant action as swiftly as possible? Wasn't there enough proof already?

"If they're not stopped," she began, "Your people will suffer. So many people are going to die. These beautiful forests---"

The boat ride here had been surrounded with a sort of beauty she'd never experienced before. Surely, she love the natural lands of her home nation, but this was different. The dense jungle filled with exotic cries, with flowers and fruits she'd never set eyes on before, had been nothing short of a wonder.

"---will be razed and destroyed. And it won't stop there, they'd drain everything they can, they'll bleed your nation and its people dry. I can't allow that. I want to draw my sword for your people's sake. So please, heed the words of my companions so we can put a stop to this!"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fanilly took a deep breath.

She couldn't exactly deny Lady Gertrude's words, as frustrating as they were. She was scared. They had to do something, but a fae realm sounded far beyond anything they'd encountered before.

At the same time---

This wasn't a battle. At least, their approach to the fae realm and this 'Moonlit Queen' wouldn't be. It was obvious this had to be approached not with violence, but with diplomacy. They would have to negotiate for the return of the Duke's wits, as opposed to fight for them.

If they tried to approach this in the wrong way, there was no telling what could happen. Stories of dangerous fae told of disappearances, strange transformations, the replacement of memories or simply mass confusion and scattering across the wilds.

None of that could be allowed to happen.

The Knight-Captain took a deep breath.

"We have no choice but to approach this as diplomats," she began, pushing her fears away into the back of her mind, "I agree. Perhaps... Sir Fionn and myself should take the lead in that regard."

While Sir Fionn did not have any sort of diplomatic training, his knowledge and relationships with the fae(exemplified by Lady Fiadh) seemed like a wise choice for some form of negotiation at the very least. As for herself, Fanilly recalled the more diplomatic side of her training fairly well.

Between the two of them, maybe---

"Er..."

Lady Fiadh herself... maybe she could work as diplomat?

"It's... a sort of person who helps one group talk to another so the situation ends favorably for both of groups."

It was the best simple explanation she could think of for the term.

Arken cleared his throat.

"While diplomacy is surely the right course, Sir Renar brings up an excellent point," he began, "The assistance of another fae of somewhat suitable power would be greatly preferred to trying to break into a fae realm on our own."

Of course. The diplomacy hardly mattered if they couldn't get into the fae realm in the first place.

"Of course, that necessitates finding such assistance, and convincing them to help," he continued, "All of which are, of course, incredibly easy tasks."

---

Though the look of concern was plain on Yael's face, she didn't say anything else after the aessyr's insistence.

The fairy paused for a few moments.

"It's... back that way!"

She turned, pointing back over her shoulder, towards the grove that she'd emerged from.

A metallic sigh emanated from beneath Sir Caulder's helmet.

"You may know your way around the forest, aessyr, but we certainly don't," he said. Despite his initial hostile reaction to the fairy's appearance, a hint of a more gentle tone could be heard underlying his somewhat gruff words, "It would help if you could tell us if there were any landmarks nearby, perhaps. Something we might recognize."

The tiny girl blinked, then her gaze drifted downwards.

"Um... u-um..." she fidgeted in the air for a few moments, her wings humming, "Um... o-oh! It's... it's... That Sleep place! Humans call it the sleep place! It's right by there!"

'That sleep place' was probably not particularly helpful.

However, there was a location that wasn't so distant from here that could potentially have been where the aessyr meant. Thomlin's Rest was a well-known location within Brennan Forest, known for it being the resting place of Duke Thomlin, who perished from his wounds after slaying an orc chieftan.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Cyrodiil

... It's bright.

It's hard to really explain how bright it is. It's something I hadn't really prepared for after scrambling in the darkness. I'm drenched in sweat, and probably other things as well. I'm sure there's plenty of red stains on my ragged clothing.

---It doesn't really make sense how I got here. That mistake that imprisoned me in the first place was just a mess, to be honest, the sort of thing that never should have happened and yet unfortunately did.

But things have changed so drastically, so quickly.

The Emperor came before me. The Emperor died before me.

And he left it behind, the crimson, warm gem wrapped in cloth. The unmistakable Amulet of Kings.

It doesn't make sense. It truly, truly doesn't.

But I'm here. There's been far too much reality to claim it's a mere dream.

The stains on the edge of my dagger are certainly, abundantly, very real.

And so is this person standing before me. I'm glad she's not one of those assassins, even if I wasn't about to simply let her have her way if she was.

To be honest, she's someone far more worrying then that. I have no idea what kind of elf she is. Half high elf, half dark, maybe? Possibly? But I'm not sure if that even makes sense looking at her now. It feels like she's trying to look through me, too.

---She's definitely not one of the assassins. She's far, far more dangerous than that.

That blade on her hip is something I only vaguely recognize, a weapon far surpassing anything that any warrior I've ever seen could hope to wield. The staff, too, makes it eminently clear that it's not just a blade I'd have to worry about---

If she wants to kill me, it's going to happen. I hate admitting it to myself, but there's no way I'd survive if she wanted to simply end my life.

But she's not doing so.

She's clearly here to meet the Emperor. Well, I have bad news for her if that's the case. Bad news for everyone.

I don't know what to say. I can't exactly just blurt out that the Emperor is dead, can I? I can barely even grasp that fact myself.

"... There's..."

I take a deep breath.

"---Th-the Emperor is... no longer... around."

---Brilliant. Excellent way to try and explain what's going on, Vivienne. Truly, you are a mistress of words, skilled in delivering vital information gently, carefully, and with discretion.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Heir to the Konpaku

---I can't say I don't feel a little guilty about knocking over the jiangshi. I know she's not totally without any kind of wits, and she didn't resist at all. Probably because she didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late.

But we need to get inside, and we don't need to deal with her trying to stop us. She's not difficult to fight on her own, but it'd still waste time.

... It's familiar in here. More than I expected the interior of the mausoleum to be.

Then again, since this is Kaku Seiga's work, there was no reason to expect anything else.

The spiral staircase is well-lit, at least, and there's spirits but no ghosts. I don't want there to be any ghosts. There better not be.

As one gets close, I lightly place my hand on Roukanken's hilt.

It veers off moments later. I guess they must be somewhat intelligent, maybe. Or maybe it's just coincidence. Despite my nature, I can't claim to know much about the inner workings of spirits like this, and I don't think they would have been directly brought over from Gensokyo to begin with.

It's even more familiar below. This is definitely Kaku Seiga's work. I don't really get how this sort of thing works, but I know that the Taoist Hermits can do something like this.

"Fujiwara-san is right," I say, walking over one of the stone bridges and approaching the building at the center of the space, "I think it's called a Senkai. They must be able to create these quickly, if Kaku Seiga arrived around when the rest of us did."

@Raineh Daze@FujiwaraPhoenix

---

The Scarlet Devil

I grip one of the remaining skulls between my fingers. It's human, alright. That much is obvious. Of course, it could technically be from some other race where you'd only be able to tell from seeing their flesh---

But human is close enough.

My slim fingers clutch its fleshless, dusty surface tightly, my eyes narrowed.

"Lazy. There's no style or substance here at all."

Who uses skeletons? They're just unsightly. You can't make them look better with outfits. They don't really fit anything but dusty, unpleasant old underground spaces and other similar locations.

Fairy maids might not be very smart, but they suit their surroundings well. Hobgoblins are ugly, but they're naturally inclined towards housework.

Skeletons are simply unpleasant.

I wind up and throw the skull. It hits the wall with a crunch, fracturing and breaking apart as it meets the stone.

"It's pointless to go to this dismal tunnel if we're just going to turn around and leave immediately," I comment with a sigh, glancing over my shoulder towards the others, "We're going deeper."

I hate it down here, but to be honest I'd hate it even more if we went down here for no reason.

Besides, I can still smell that faint blood-scent on the air.

@Drifting Pollen@Lugubrious@Rezod92@FujiwaraPhoenix

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

"There you are, Miina!"

To say it had been a little concerning when she didn't see the red mage on their departure from the boat would be a lie. While she wasn't defenseless, she had the feeling of the sort of person who got swept up in crowds and vanished easily. This was probably because she was just that short, really.

It was something of a relief to see her alright.

Robin had headed for the chapel pretty quickly, mostly in hopes that the other girl would have found her way there as well. Naturally, it was a relief that she hadn't had to go searching.

But even more than that---

"Cid!?"

She hadn't expected to see him after they left him in the desert! She'd hoped he was alright, of course, she was never one to let negative possibilities defeat her hopes.

But the fact she actually saw him right here, it was--- Well, it was some sort of spell obviously, but still!

"I'm glad you're alright!"

@Raineh Daze@Psyker Landshark

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Heir to the Konpaku

Given the jiangshi is warding everyone away from the mausoleum, or at least trying, it's probably true that Kaku Seiga has set herself up inside. And on top of that, given that the necromancer hasn't shown up the whole time we've been here since we showed up that means she's probably elsewhere at the moment.

So, there's really no choice. It's clear what we have to do to learn more about what might be going on, despite the fact I'm not particularly excited about it.

It's not that I'm not confident I can do it, I just would rather not have to deal with Kaku Seiga if I can avoid it.

But the jiangshi isn't prepared at all, she's busy with eating part of one of those spirits, so this won't take very long at all.

It only takes a few steps for me to get in front of her. This isn't danmaku, so it's not a problem if I take the quick and easy path while she's not ready for a fight.

My fingers grip the talisman on her head. It's not like this will do anything worse then make her forget what she's doing. That soft brain of hers isn't good at retaining orders.

In the same motion that I pull it off the jiangshi's forehead, my leg moves forward to set her off balance.

She's probably too stiff to get up if she falls forward.

That should take care of the biggest obstacle. It'd be more involved if she actually managed to resist and fight, but I'm still pretty certain I'd take her out regardless.

@Raineh Daze@FujiwaraPhoenix

---

The Wandering Cat

The needle left the oiran's throat in a spurt of blood, as the blue-clad woman smirked the moment she witnessed the appearance of the truely-divine Yasaka Kanako. Certainly, it wasn't her preference to be involved with such gods, but at the moment that was enough to guarantee this wicked spirit would be crushed.

Especially when combined with the knight-witch's efforts, ensuring not a single obstacle remained to reaching the evil ghost.

With the butterflies cleared away, her own body still struggling to move with the ghostly hands restraining her, the oiran couldn't do anything to evade attack.

"I'll drown you in---"

The ghost's snarl was cut off when the pillars reached her.

The onbashira slammed into the oiran all at once, skidding across the ground and dragging her body with them. Their divine nature only made them all the more potent against such a wicked ghost.

As they dragged her body against the ground, a crimson smear was left behind. The ghost's phantasmal flesh was being shredded, torn apart, bones and organs ground into unrecognizable states as her fine clothing was torn apart. Pieces of her body were spread across the empty street in a near-totally destroyed state, as nothing but phantom meat.

When they came to a halt, blood seeped from around the point where the onbashira had stopped, the pillars thankfully obscuring whatever gory mess remained beneath them.

But the oiran was not a living person.

A chunk of her head that had been thrown free, harboring her right eye, was still in sight. Despite the destruction of most of her body, that remaining eye was wide, burning with fury.

@DracoLunaris@FujiwaraPhoenix

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Mmmm..."

Arken let out a heavy sigh.

"It's not as if I'm unaware of the Moonlit Queens," he said, finally, "I had my suspicions when I heard the name used. It's less like they're unoriginal and more like it's a coveted title."

He fell silent again, looking thoughtful.

"Niyar, if this is a fairy who has maintained the Moonlit Queen title for herself, then do you think it's likely she's also created a fae realm?"

"Fae realm?"

Fanilly paused. She'd followed along to the summoning room, feeling it was best if she knew the details first hand and thus could plan for what happened next. But the term 'fae realm'...

It wasn't that she'd never heard of it, not really. There were plenty of tales of fairies, both seelie and unseelie, inhabiting their own layer of reality. She certainly knew that this was somewhat the case in the real world, that certain locations were gateways to this strange fairyland that few returned from.

"Isn't that to be expected?" she asked, "I know that powerful fairies tend to be found in their own realms instead of out in the open."

"There's more to a fae realm then simply being a fairy's personal closed-off space," answered Arken, crossing his arms, "If she has her own fae realm then this is a much more dangerous prospect then merely dealing with her and whatever entourage she might have accumulated."

There was more to this then Fanilly knew from the stories of her childhood, that much was certain.

"What do you mean?"

She had to know. For her knights' sake, as well as the duke's. Any potential obstacle towards mending the duke's mind, or something that could harm her knights, had to be out in the open. While she knew that venturing into a fairy's domain certainly would be a dangerous prospect, this went beyond what she knew from those children's tales or the later novels she'd read.

"A fae realm isn't just a space that a powerful fairy can close off from the rest of the world," replied Arken, "It's a layer of the world divorced from both the mortal and spiritual realms. A sort of pocket space birthed from a fae's desires and dreams. A dreamland that only the fae who created it can control. A fae realm twists to its creator's desires, and so does everyone within it."

Fanilly's hands tensed. It wasn't just that they could end up sealed outside or trapped inside, or that fairy magic would be more potent in such a domain. Instead, it was more like the reality within the fae realm was dictated entirely by its creator's whims?

How---

How did they even begin to approach such a thing?

---

"A monster?" questioned Dame Yael, placing a hand to her chin, "Hmmm..."

The aessyr paused for a moment, eyes widening and shining as she was distracted by the cherry-filled pastry. Her miniscule hands shot out and grasped it, and she was almost immediately burying her face in it.

It took a few moments before she returned, cherry filling clinging to her cheeks. Despite one of her friends having seemingly been swallowed by some kind of creature, it seemed as if eating something sweet had lifted her spirits considerably.

"Yaay! Thank you Sir Knight!" she declared, brightly, flashing a wide grin, "It's really tasty! And---oh, Enfys...!"

She lowered the pastry, the worry returning to her face. Aessyr were childish and easily distracted, but that didn't mean they would so easily forget something important like the life of a friend being at stake.

"It's... big!" she raised one tiny hand, attempting to illustrate a tall scale, "With big, long legs, and a really wide mouth. It's all dark---"

A shudder ran through the tiny fairy's body, her gaze now drifting away from the knights as she tightly clutched the chunk of pastry in both of her little hands. When she spoke, her voice trembled.

"I-It feels bad, really bad. The air wasn't right even before it appeared and started smashing everything up. It felt like everything was getting sick, a-and heavy..."

"That doesn't sound like a natural creature," commented Dame Yael, a small frown on her features, "The aessyr it swallowed could be---"

"She's okay!" insisted the aessyr, firmly, snapped to attention "She's definitely okay! Even if she got swallowed up, she'll be okay!"

Dame Yael didn't respond, but it was clear what she was thinking.

Explaining that concept to a creature that likely didn't understand it wasn't a prospect she particularly liked. At the same time---

Aessyr were fairies. Even if the creature was an unnatural one, Enfys's survival wasn't impossible.