[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/236x/53/78/87/537887fac74ee493713b9e56a78663e4.jpg[/img][/center] [center][h1][u][color=BC3823]Evander[/color] [color=CC5500]Fino[/color] [color=d4af37]Synesti[/color][/u][/h1][/center] [hr][center][h2]A[color=8D918D]bberation Apocalypse:  Lost in Time[/color][/h2][/center][hr] [color=c0c0c0]The Silk Portal was announced. Ersand'Enise cheered. Evander stood still. His thoughts rattled, high above on a balcony directly across from the Silk Portal. [color=FFFFFF][i]Imbeciles, they do not even know what they just did.[/i][/color] Ersand'Enise revolutionized trade, politics, and travel all in one swoop. The implications of this would shock the very pillars keeping the world stabilized at this point. He settled his emotions stirring around the idea of how the world would change over night when most were not prepared, [color=FFFFFF][i] I guess, this was inevitable[/i][/color] His eyes drifted upward into the sky. [color=FFFFFF][i]What next?[/i][/color] He asked the gods. Bringing down his bright blues, he continued to watch over the teams of the Trials as they waved, bid their farewell, and left through the multiple lesser portals in the square. He made his way down the steps of the building. Crowds of students and pedestrians were standing in droves. As Evander passed through the crowds of people, he came passing by familiar faces of Team Mozaru; Trypano, Yalen, and Jocasta. It did not take more than three whole steps before a feeling of terror loomed over the square. Out of thin air, a massive aberration materialized, followed by another, followed by a dozen... no... a hundred... no... a legion. Immediately in response to the growing fear of the invasion, Team Mozaru made their way North out of the square. It was not long before making their way to Balthazar that Team Mozaru began to feel something a miss in the aether. Jocasta felt as if she was tickled and Yalen too. The two turned to Evander as if to say, [i]are you messing with us?[/i] Evander had this look on his face that offered no reconciliation. It was someone else... TRYPANO! But, she too was as perplexed as the others until they felt it again. It was not until Jocasta felt it deeply, sensed it, and commanded the group to cleanse themselves. Something ephemeral, something otherwordly was snatching at their fabric. Until Jocasta and Yalen simply disappeared. Evander having a gut reaction to see what had happened launched forward to where Jocasta and Yalen were standing until he too... Vanished. [hr][center][h2][color=FFFFFF]A[/color][color=8D918D]bberation Apocalypse:  Stranger Places[/color][/h2][/center][hr] Black. White. Red. Green. Yellow. Blue. All the primary and analogus colors ripped by as Evander arrived on loose ground covered in sand. On his hands and knees, his gut shifted with nausea. He felt as if he had been launched by a trebeuchet. Feeling disoriented, a bit of spit tossed up and immediately dried on impact beneath the scolding hot sun. His eyes fluttered. Rolling over, reality felt hazy at best with white and black fireflies dancing in his eyes. [color=FFFFFF] [i]What happened? It's so hard to breath.[/i] [/color] His breath was shallow, the air thin and dry. If it were not for his Fireblood, he'd be cooking. [color=FFFFFF] [i]Where is Ersand'Enise? Where are the others?[/i] [/color] Evander thought about Yalen, Jocasta, and Trypano. All four were walking toward Balthazaar Square before he witnessed Yalen and Jocasta simply disappear [color=FFFFFF] [i]What was that feeling?[/i] [/color] Evander recollecting the tickling and poking sensation before they cleansed their body, [color=FFFFFF] [i]Was this the work of whoever was behind the invasion?[/i] [/color]His sense of urgency pressurized, [color=FFFFFF] [i] How in Pentad am I going to get back? Where am I! [/i] [/color] Trying to take a deep breath which turned shallow, Evander settled his mind. [color=FFFFFF] [i]I won't answer that question laying here.[/i] [/color] He rolled over to his chest, shoved his hands down into the sand, pulled himself up to one knee, and stood up. He coughed... again and again. In a small fit of finding his breath, he spotted water off in the distance, sand in all directions, clear skies, a hot sun, and five moons. [color=FFFFFF] [i]Was I brought to a desert?[/i] [/color] His sense of direction eluded him. His first instinct was to move toward the water, but there was some other energy he was sensing in a different direction. Raising one foot after the other, he decided to walk toward the energy he was sensing. Desperately fighting some vertigo to maintain a standing posture and trudging through shifting sand it was a less than optimal scenario to say the least. Sand started to creep into his shoes which rubbed against his skin,[color=FFFFFF] [i]That's annoying...[/i] [/color]The energy grew closer as he confronted a dune. Before crossing over Evander checked the otherside by enhancing his senses to detect heat signatures. There were ambigous forms moving about with a large radiance from a large interestingly shaped object behind them. Unable to tell exactly what these things were, he cautiously made his way to the ridge of the dune to observe. The shapes were revealed to be something akin to a snake, yet they were tall, and coordinating their behavior. [i]What in Oraff is that?[/i] He whispered under his breath. The group of snakes slithered across the sand with the lead holding a device. The lead snake placed the device down and the others followed to join in line. Their attention appeared to be at the moons. [i]Ok? Friendly, maybe not...[/i] Evander felt hesitant to go down as a stranger and outnumbered. He looked back at the water scanning the endless miles of sand, [i]Damn.[/i] Concluding, there was no other way to get back to Ersand'Enise except forward, these [i]"things"[/i] may be the only life for miles, a distance Evander wasn't certain he'd live through if left to his own devices in a place he did not know. Standing up, Evander made his way down to the snakes. His hands held high to show he came as no threat. The snakes broke into a frenzy, nerves rose. [color=FFFFFF]Thump. Thump. Thump Thump. Thump Thump. Thump Thump! Thump Thump![/color] Evander's heart beat harder and faster as he approached. Swallowing each vibration back down to keep calm. He could hear his mother's voice Mihaela in the back of his head, [color=ffc0cb]"Remain poised in the fretting of strangers, hold on to your judgement, listen to their expressions, sit with their angst, give them time to reveal if they are friend or foe."[/color] Steps away, Evander introduces himself. [hr][center][h2][color=FFFFFF]A[/color][color=8D918D]bberation Apocalypse:  Friends Over Time[/color][/h2][/center][hr] Something swelled inside of Evander. Something in him felt different. It wasn't the vision of the gods, or the massive abberation he ate along with the others, no... This feeling had everything to do with [i]them[/i]. The Doge, legacy, Avince... it all seemed small. He held out his palm visualizing the grains of sand in a time before his. Evander's weight leaned onto his desk. He got up to touch [i]three[/i] eggs that seemed to reduce his anxiety as they rested close to his burning fireplace. These eggs were of the Black Devil, and two Firetails. Enclosed in an iron heat chamber, each were preparing to enter the world under Evander's guidance. The comfort of their touch was not enough. Evander's thoughts and concerns returned. [i]Sipenta. Sireena. Sirrahi.[/i] First, the Traveler, now a war over time. [i]Time.[/i] Where to even begin. Dipping his quill into his cup, Evander penned ink to parchment beginning with, [quote] [color=FFFFFF][i]Dear Father, Our family's legacy rides on the balance of something greater than the upcoming war between Parrence and Revidia. I'll say, the Doge's plan to attack with his experiments are trivial at best. Not in terms of challenging Parrence and their order, but in terms of a grander order there is a matter that has and will last longer than Revidia, Parrence, and all of Sipenta. There are events that I need to share with you in person. Events tied to the recent disturbances at Ersand'Enise that I am sure you have been made aware of before I could pen this letter to you. Let us meet where night never sleeps. The sooner, the better. Your rising flame, Evander Fino Synesti[/i] [/color] [/quote] He folded the parchment into an envelope and sealed it with his personal mark. Sliding the envelope to the side, he gently placed his index and middle finger on another sheet of paper of different quality. Casually sliding the sheet in front of him, Evander examined with focus, a map revealing his next objective, [color=cc5500]"Thank you Sireena Diska."[/color] He praised under his breath, a bit of gratitude, sadness, and excitement bubbled all at once in the pot of his belly. Evander's head turned to gaze at the stack of books he could find relating to the history of Sipenta, Time, Myths and Legends, and rudimentary books on theories and applications of temporal magic. [color=cc5500]"I'll see you again."[/color] [/color]