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[hider=Forked Tower Part 3]
The antics of Shune-Zept ranged from underwater sharks and skeletons to curious dragons falling from the sky, all of which seeming to occur in some peculiar other world.

The sharks laughed - an act that would not seemed to have made sense on a number of levels - and people began to either thrive or suffocate, but all found their own solutions. The skeleton grinned. [color=#514BDF]"Well done!"[/color] Then, they were standing in some sort of large room of pure white. [color=#514BDF]"You all kept your cool!"[/color] It was a man in primitive clothing who addressed them now. [color=#514BDF]"I don't let just anyone in here, you know."[/color] The other two gods regarded him dimly. [color=#514BDF]"This is the Chamber of Time and Space,"[/color] he announced, voice booming. He spread his arms grandly and was suddenly dressed in an emperor's finery.

The students and their... chaperones stood on a raised circular stone platform, glowing with white light in a sunlike symbol. In each of the cardinal and ordinal directions lay an orb on a small dais, somewhat similar to those that had been in the basement of the Forked Tower. Only, they all rested in front of their own window and beyond was only mist and darkness. They came in an expanded variety of colours, including one that seemed to emanate not a glow, but a darkness. It was... otherworldly to look at. 

[color=#D9DF4B]"Thank you for the theatrics, Zept,"[/color] harrumphed Ahn-Shune, instantly drying all of the others off with a quick arcane spell. There was, as well, an hourglass. It flipped itself over with the flick of her finger. [color=#D9DF4B]"Now, we shall remain here until that runs out. Any question that you ask, we will answer. Five minutes remain."[/color]

With no more water breathing necessary, Nibbler landed back onto Zarina's shoulder. They were now in a bizarre room where time flowed differently. Time passed twice as slowly, and so their Forked Tower time could essentially be doubled.

The Virangish teen stretched her arms and sat on the white floor, one arm over her knee and the other's digits drumming over the opposite thigh, [color=C78A2C]“Must we ask our questions out loud for others to hear? Or do we also get the luxury of some privacy?”[/color]

Shune-Zept's smile was almost... predatory. [color=#D9DF4B]"Knowledge is best when it is not buried,"[/color] he replied, grin almost... sadistic. He suddenly seemed a good deal more... formidable than he had before, even though the group was technically safer.

Zarina sneered at that response and shook her head, [color=C78A2C]“Alright, fine.”[/color] her nostrils flared. She took a moment to ponder her question, but eventually it was posed, [color=C78A2C]“Ahn-Dami mentioned the nature of the Ice King. What is he, if not like you?”[/color]

[color=#D9DF4B]"Why, the living avatar of something... far more ancient and inscrutable,"[/color] replied Ahn-Shune. [color=#D9DF4B]"Worshipped by many as a god, he is not, in the truest sense. You might call him Vashdal."[/color]

[i]Not a God?![/i]

What was this trickery? A trial? A farce? First, the Gods casually graced some kids with immense insight and spoke like mere mortals, and now they besmirch the entirety of the Darhannic faith?! All of it made Zarina clench her jaw, with various, extremely negative thoughts plaguing her mind. Anger and loss being at the forefront.

[color=C78A2C]“If not a God, then what is he?”[/color] he managed to form a sentence without any sort of stuttering. Her fists trembled and her glare was venomous.

The gods were not foolish. They could sense her anger. They were not weak either. [color=#4B8BDF]"Ask and you shall receive!"[/color] boomed the voice of Ahn-Dami. She seemed to grow larger as her wings spread. They turned black and darkness seemed to emanate from them. [color=#514BDF]"We speak only truth,"[/color] hissed Shune-Zept, taking on a blazing white serpentine form that was nearly blinding to regard. [color=#D9DF4B]"You sought and now you have found."[/color]

Ahn-Shune crossed her arms. Issuing from her now were a dozen chained books, as if they were tentacles emerging from her form. Two of them clapped shut as she spoke. [color=#D9DF4B]"The being to which you refer is a primordial one, not alive in the sense that we would understand. It is Vashdal. It is the all-Knower. It is the deity paramount of many a faith. You will watch your tone, child."[/color]

The wrath of the Gods was a terrifying thing. Zarina did not even attempt to feign courage. Immediately, she prostrated herself the moment she could fathom the forms of both Ahn-Dami and Shune-Zept. Forehead to the floor, with her platinum Hexaic pendant hitting the flooring as well, she mumbled for forgiveness, eyes closed. Then came the enlightenment. Vashdal being ... Beyond what she or anyone else could have conceived on their own. The scale of which they spoke of him terrified Zarina. And in a sense, re-assured her too.

Eventually, she sat herself back down, head lowered and legs crossed, [color=C78A2C]“... Why does he walk among us? What is this Justice he obsesses over?”[/color]

The gods glanced among themselves and an uneasy silence built. Sand filtered through the waist of the hourglass. [color=#D9DF4B]"In truth,"[/color] Ahn-Shune admitted awkwardly, [color=#D9DF4B]"we do not know."[/color]

[color=#D9DF4B]"But we have learned that... he has a plan. He is... evaluating. This 'justice' is a part of his evaluation."[/color]

[color=#4B8BDF]"He is mighty,"[/color] added Ahn-Dami, [color=#4B8BDF]"but like a child in some ways, learning when he walks among you."[/color] Her voice grew softer. [color=#4B8BDF]"Educate him well."[/color]

That was intimidating to hear. Humbling, even. And yet it made a painful amount of sense. Zarina pursed her lips and swallowed, recalling every interaction she's had with that frosty being. And with more added by answering Ingrid's question, a small ambition grew bigger within Zarina.

However, there was something else she needed to know. About her and the potential devastation she had brought to the world.

[color=C78A2C]“What is 'Heart?' The one that slept in old Zaqhoria?”[/color] she blurted out in a hurry.

[color=#D9DF4B]"Heart is an ancient being,"[/color] began Ahn-Shune.

[color=#4B8BDF]"Ancient and grand,"[/color] agreed Ahn-Dami.

[color=#514BDF]"I've known her for a while,"[/color] added Shune-Zept. [color=#514BDF]"She's only a threat if -"[/color]

Then, amid the thanks of others, the three gods disappeared. Their artifacts pulsed eleven times and went still and silent, though now with a faint glow.

Steam was expelled from Zarina's nostrils, [color=C78A2C]“Fuck.”[/color] a bit of teeth gritting and temple rubbing later, she stood up, [color=C78A2C]“I'm surprised you two didn't have any other questions.”[/color] she regarded both Jocasta and Ingrid, arms crossed and lips pursed. Her last question made the meaning behind her words clear enough.[/hider]

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The Gods were mere people with too much power. The great Vashdal some demystified frosty entity that walked among men with the powers of a God, but not an actual God.

Blood stained Zarina’s hands and now she was to be wrangled by the one she considered a close friend, and yet was the most cautious of.

What she saw through the eyes of the giver of choice was both glorious and terrifying. An empire reaching its apotheosis. Whether it’d be her coffee business, or a violent uprising spearheaded by that monster she and her friends unleashed. With Zarina standing complicit in both.

All of this was enough to be content with their own misery and permanently withdraw without having to put effort outside of their own little bubble. While Zarina Al-Nader did withdraw into herself, the home and relations she had cultivated prevented the easy way to be taken. No, she had far too many things that mattered in her life, like the blue Monkeybird nestling on her lap as she worked on number crunching. There were so many creatures she had given a home to and looked up to her for care.

And then there were her friends. Ayla, Yuliya, Yalen, Kaspar, Jocasta, Marceline, Maura, the Tethered and even her own sister Ysilla. They mattered too much to just sideline, and they wouldn’t let her get away with it. To reconcile all of these with a need to keep herself in a den for most of the day, Zarina purchased a home almost on a whim - although her knowledge of markets had grown enough to make one wonder if she did this all on purpose.

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A comfortable home with multiple bedrooms, stables, spacious rooms, etc. Everything one would need for a menagerie and to live with multiple people. As well as a backyard with plenty of open fields and a barn, made by Abdel as part of his renovation project, that housed Zarina’s growing dragons. As she went to feed them and cleaned their den, she’d find a note like so many others have. An invitation to the Forked Tower, not all too dissimilar to something that happened a year ago …

With a few of her friends, she set off on Riesco, clad in her platinum armour with only her helm removed and her main weapon locked onto Riesco’s plated saddle.

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[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/d__XsxogYL8[/youtube][/center]

[sub][b]Characters Involved:[/b] Amanda [@Force and Fury], Jocasta, Ayla [@Ti], Yalen [@Pantothenic], Isabella, Marceline, Nibbler, Riesco.[/sub]

After a set of games more complex than the first one by Hugo and the group being divided, they would all end up in Zenith Upta’s chamber. A briefing had the summoned group split into two groups, with Zazzy’s being composed of: Jocasta, Marceline, Isabella, Ayla and a temporary Yalen. The details were vague and the undertones of the Refuge being in potential danger prompted pessimism from Zarina, but she kept it to herself, opting to instead offer a comforting hand to Marci in her time of worry.

As they stepped into the portal, there wouldn’t be a Royal Sand Wyrm to greet them like before. No, instead there were Froabases hovering the land as if surveying it. Intimidating to some, but for Zarina and like the others that had been here before they were very recognizable. Enemies turned tamed guards of the territory with the Alpha female roosting on a small plateau near the Refuge itself.

Once in the Refuge and the animals parked with the dromedaries, they would be greeted with curious ‘eyes’ of the residents. All drawing to get a view of the newcomers, a good majority of which was recognized by the little denizens. Zarina mustered a chuckle in response to Jocasta’s remark on the snooping.

They congregated in the warden’s quarters, only to be greeted not by Manuel Escarre, but the daughter Escarra - Amanda. Alive and her body functioning beyond what was normal of a Tethered. It was as Zarina’s friends said, the white aberrations worked and practically brought Amanda from death. Nibbler hopped off Zaz’s pauldron to explore the warden’s desk and take a few sniffs from Amanda. Zarina expected the worst, and it seemed fate wasn't going to be cruel to them today. She smiled briefly at this reunion. 

[color=#E5E4E2]“Ruins of old Zaqhoria.”[/color] Zarina spoke up once Amanda had briefed them and instructed them on their roles, [color=#E5E4E2]“We’ve seen this before.”[/color] her eyes purposefully shot glances at both Jocasta and Ayla. The armoured Virangish crossed her arms in metallic clangs, [color=#E5E4E2]“And I will warn you all again: Nothing but death awaits in these ruins. Expect only horror in lands where the dead cannot truly find rest.”[/color] she solemnly warned, [color=#E5E4E2]“Not just to the trespassers, but as the words of old say, to the whole world.”[/color] she did not need to say more. They had seen the undead, the emaciated bloodsuckers and the monster that cursed Zarina.

Still, as final as her words appeared, she continued after a sigh, [color=#E5E4E2]“But your father probably knows this better than anyone else. So, if he thought it wise to take the risk …”[/color] the Al-Nader gritted her teeth, clearly hesitant, [color=#E5E4E2]“We may as well be the ones to go there. However-”[/color] her tone rose significantly, [color=#E5E4E2]“I fully endorse condemning such ruins when we're done.”[/color] they’ve already let one monster out.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Who do you want here, right now? Ayla and Jo’ are best suited to come along to the ruins.”[/color][/color]