[hr][hr][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aMsgxVi.png[/img][/center][hr][hr] The harsh landscape of tribal life is not always a pleasant one. The human clans gather together under the stars, who look down at them knowing that some do not belong in the skins they wear. Around them the world is drenched in magic, some beautiful and miraculous, other dangerous and deadly. Creatures lurk in the dark, to grant both boons and trouble. Still, there is beauty and gifts to be found in those magical places. The question is... will you be brave enough to go seek it? And so this is where our story begins: more then just a Gathering of Clans, this year beckons in the Gathering of Gods. And with it comes a whole new era of magic and upheaval. Today marks the first day in a long journey that will span the ages. As the sun finally sets over the horizon, the air cools and the evening draws in... [hr][hr] [@HowlsOfWinter][@McHaggis]Raydon[@Write][i]Eclair[/i] Your characters are safe among their various camps, lucky enough not to experience the troubles brewing under the surface of this year's gathering... for now. [i]Numas received information privately[/i][hr][@Inertia][@Angel Eyes] [i]already received, but here as Flydren and Eclair are nearby[/i] As you are speaking, the water around you glistens and takes on an brilliant golden light that illuminates the area around you softly. A quiet, peaceful thrumming fills the air, a hum that almost sounds melodic. What you do with this information is up to you.[hr][@AsheVelendar] The scents of foods and the sounds of children at play fill your ears as the sun finally crests the horizon. Luckily, there are braziers everywhere to illuminate your path. You overhear talk as you make your way through the village. [i]"Yeah not sure who got the better deal. Her or me - this is a nice bearskin but that dress.. one of the best I'd ever made.[/i] [i]"So that's where you got that bearskin! I thought you were too yellow to get it yourself, old man.[/i] The old man chuckled at this, unafraid to whack the young man round the back of my head. [i]"Now now. We've all got our skills and mine is weaving. It's no easy life travelling from Karill to sell my wares this side of the desert. I think I'll settle down this side of it. Living in Karill is no easy life. But that girl - Persephone, her name was, sold to her a few times - wanted the dress very much. For that wedding tommorrow, between the princess and the heir to the Wolfrahg tribe."[/i] Aha! Now you know where your mark will be in the morning...[hr] [@Melo] Floran & [@RedDusk] Your presence goes unnoticed as does your quiet conversation. It is easy enough to blend into the shadows as they grow long around you. None of the plotters discovered you were there, and you can rest safe tonight knowing your intervening in their scheme shall be a surprise to them all.[hr][@BlackPanther] & Ophelia It is growing dark, and the smell of a fresh hunt has wafted on the breeze towards the cursed forest. A howl on the wind and a flash of shadow among the treeline in the distance tells you to expect company. You're safe for now - but staying out in the open away from the camp for too long will not bode well... Of course, it might mean more game, but do you take the risk for more furs to sell...?[hr][@Write] The stew is delicious and the pair of you have a memorable evening together. The breeze catches your dress and it hangs down off the branch at an angle. You go to correct it, placing it back in it's proper place so it doesn't get dirty. It's then you notice a strange circular indentation on the branch, something you hadn't seen earlier. The shape is too uniform to be natural, though the colour camoflaugues it. What were the chances someone would get up close enough to see it? But here you are. Someone didn't want it to be found... but what is it's purpose? [i]Skill Check - success[/i] A owl hoots in the distance. It is with a sudden unsettling feeling you realise that is the first animal you have heard in the forest since Narcissa left. Your years among the forests and woods of the world, combined with your knowledge of animals and scouting, means you instinctively know something terrible is afoot in the forest. A magical creature, there is no doubt. What else could cause such a strange, unnatural silence? Something is wrong, and you don't believe it's a coincidence. Did Narcissa get back to camp ok...?[hr][@Melo] Narcissa's beauty was the subject of many songs in Karill. It was unsurprising she had so many suitors... but perhaps it would of surprised her that not all of them were [i]human[/i], and not all of them had fallen for her [i]human[/i] charms... [center][img]https://i.gyazo.com/b6e8ff4545d47d8319e5b9f1180aca54.png[/img][/center] It came on the light breeze. A soft humming that was barely noticable, and yet Narcissa felt her limbs growing heavier with each step. Her vision blurred slightly, or at least she thought it did - strange shapes surrounded her, shadows of grey and near-transparent silohuettes of white. They seemed vaguely people shaped, and danced in a slow, rhythmic movement. It was then she realised the humming was growing louder, and she could make out words - a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZuJMq7uO_w]strange song[/url] sung by a deep voice that resounded through the trees. And the princess was swaying in time with the strange figures, wandering back towards the forest. Except it seemed different - looked different. The ground glowed a vibrant green, and strange flowers turned their heads towards her as she trickled through among the trees. It was as if they bowed to her, and the vines beneath her feet curled away to allow her passage. [center][color=Lightslategray]"[b]Ylonia, you wear this mortal shell but your beauty cannot be contained within[/b]."[/color] that deep voice again, filling the air around her, filling her head. Ylonia? [/center] They came to a clearing, and the strange creatures encircled the edges of it, seating themselves among the moss. Narcissa kept walking into the center of the clearing, stopping a few steps away from the creature before her, her gazed transfixed. She knew of magical beasts and creatures, of course. But never had she encountered any from the west lands. [center][color=Lightslategray]"[b]I loved you in the heavens, but you did not know of me. I was banished here by your jealous husband when I first laid eyes on you. But I know you, Ylonia, I would know you anywhere.[/b]" [/color][/center] [center][img]http://orig14.deviantart.net/397a/f/2016/076/9/f/shrubbery_copy4podpis_by_mynameisswann-d9vg4go.jpg[/img][/center] It - he - was eight foot tall, all angles and points and barky. There was a commanding tone to his voice, and upon his head sat a wicked crown, that looked as if it could easily drawn blood. A robe encircled his shoulders and covered his face - you assumed he had a face, at least, but now you wonder if there was only blackness. Two pricks of white from within that darkness peered at you, haunting, and you felt your stomach lurch. Was this really happening? Surely this was a dream. [center][color=Lightslategray]"[b]You are to be my bride, Ylonia. I will bring you back to greatness.[/b]" [/color][/center] Some of the strange whispy people were around you in a second, decorating your hair with wildflowers and placing a cloak of pale white feathers around your shoulders. You had yet to gain your power over your body back, but perhaps with enough willpower... [center]One of them was pouring a strange glowing liquid into a pewter saucer.[/center] [center][color=Lightslategray]"[b]When you drink this liquid we shall be married... and when you drink it all, you shall be more Magick then human once more... dearest Ylonia... return to me...[/b]" [/color][/center][hr][b]Rimguage[/b] [i]rolls a 3 - little information on Narcissa's dissapearance yet. More concerned about Numas[/i]