Estylwen

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

@Days Not at all, Days. You're incredibly attentive to detail, and your prose is always right on point. Don't sweat it; whatever you write will be perfect. :>

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

No worries, thanks for the update! Take your time.

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

Heheh, for now indeed. Very happy everyone likes it! :>

The Dark Beyond

@WhiteAngel25 I am indeed!

Working on Lexi's collab, which I should have a response to tomorrow. I will begin slowly working on the time skip post tomorrow as well. :> There's still some back and forth I want in this current collab, but we are almost there!

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

New post is up! :>

The Dark Beyond: Adventures in Candyland (Prequel)

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Egypt, Undisclosed Location

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Impatient tapping on dusty cement. A closed-off alleyway, a group of hooded, sleeveless lurkers, kicking stones. A motorbike rolled up, the smell of gasoline fumes in the air. Worn sandals stepped off, the aggressive twist of a key, and the engine shut off.

"What's the status, men?"

"Settled and unaware." Came a quick response from the left.

"Well," one from the right shuffled unsteadily on his feet. "The agents have been speaking, the Monsiuer. The Local. They... suspect something."

"Exactly what do they suspect?" The leader said, eninciating every word.

"Well. Suspicious of the burial chamber."

"Wise gits." A sigh. "Is it gonna interfere with our plans? Remember, we don't get paid, and we don't get belly rubs if this goes south."

There was a flicker of hesitation from the group. The leader, clearly irked, stepped towards the one who had spoken up, grabbing him by the collar.

"I said, are we gonna have a problem?"

The man whimpered, shaking like a leaf. "N-no sir. Everything will go according to plan."

"No. Everything is already going to plan. Now, don't muck this up. Monitor all channels. When the cage drops, we move. Fast. Got it?" He said, roughly letting go of the hesitant one.

"Yes boss."

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Pyramid of Giza, Burial Chamber

@Lexisheeps

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As Thierry examined the inscriptions in the burial chamber, any eye contact made with the glowing vortex inside the tomb was met with a... strange sensation. The vortex, with prolonged eye contact, would almost appear to become bigger, taking up more space in his vision. At least, until he would realize he had unconsciously moved closer, nearing the lip of the tomb. There was a lulling sense, a hypnotic trance that softly crooned for Thierry to do something so simple and easy: jump into the vortex, to come home.

Of course, a simple shake of the head would clear these thoughts. He could even write it off as exhaustion, staring at the markings too long. Regardless, even standing in the burial chamber appeared to be not as easy of a task as one would have initially thought.

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Pyramid of Giza, Louvre Tents

@Days, @WhiteAngel25, @Lexisheeps

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”When you and mom go into the burial chamber, do you mind if I go along?"

Little Cosette blearily stepped into the tent, dressed in the clothes her mother had set out for her the night before - a frilly white cotton blouse and jean shorts. As she rubbed her eyes, she couldn't help but overhear her elder brother, begging her mother and father to see the secret parts of the pyramid. Her pyramid. He was going to see something she wouldn't see? That wasn't fair.

She could feel tears prick her eyes, as she piped up. "Maman, I wanna go! I'm a grown-up too!"

Her mother hushed her gently, offering breakfast. "Bonjour mi petit, did you sleep well?"

Cosette immediately compared her breakfast to Theo's. When she saw it was the exact same fava bean stew, albeit in a smaller portion, she almost immediately sunnied up. She pranced over to her mother, her mouth open in awe as she accepted breakfast. Smiling wide, happy to have the same food as her brother, she sat down at the table beside her father.

"Good morning, Cosy, darling. Are you excited to see the chamber too? I know I am!" Her father said beside her. Her smile widened, literal suns in her eyes. Her father actually said she would get to see the chamber. She was over the moon. A happy squeal escaped her lips as she bounced in her seat.

"Oui, Papa. Je suis vraiment enthousiaste!" She chattered enthusiastically, smiling up at her father. In that moment, he was larger than life.

She then glanced up at her mother, sitting on the other side. "Maman, can we take pictures with Auri's camera? I want to remember ALL of this."

She then glanced at her older sister and smiled wide. She loved Auri's camera. Sometimes, Auri would even let her take photos with it! "Can we pleeeease, sis?"

Enraptured with the idea of taking photos after breakfast, Cosette dug into breakfast, trying to finish as quickly as possible, her little legs bouncing under the table. For that morning, the family was together, blessed, and united. Smiles exchanged, and internal troubles were eased and momentarily forgotten. They were picture-perfect, all together, happy.

For now.

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Wingram Academy, Classroom 103
@Nanaya, @Sifr, @ERode

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“As far as I’m aware, the Personal Barrier isn’t so simple a spell that one could acquire it without either an obsession with the study of essence or regular encounters with the possibility of bodily harm. Would you say that it’s a feature of primal magic, to be able to oversimplify such a process? Or are you, in fact, a prodigy? A veteran in violence could work too.”

Ciara's eyes widened, fearing she had given something critical away. Otis was too perceptive for his own good. As he spoke, images came unbidden in her mind. Sitting alone among the overgrowth of Vaal Kastrix, the Voices whispering. Essence pooling around her as plants lay on the ground in withered heaps. The taste of warm butter toast-

A cough. Her thoughts were derailing, reminding her of the pain in her stomach. Her face settled into a narrow stare, trying to hide the fear that had flashed across her features as she continued to listen to the dark one.

“You don’t have to answer that for now. I need to attend to my subject.”

Would he interrogate her later...?

Ciara's brow delicately furrowed. Another worry to add to the pile.

"Attend to your subject 'n' all, but primal magic is generally like that. Focused on connection rather than distinction,"

Ciara's eyes met Hidegunde, a tinkle of curiosity in the amber pools as Hildegune reaffirmed her thinking. So she really was a primal user, after all. Yes, she understood it completely. Connection, not separation. The classes of magic really were worlds apart from each other, weren't they?

THUNK.

Her gaze whipped around to see Davil fluttering about at his desk, his essence behaving... really strangely. Despite the dark one's tutelage, Davil seemed to be a fish trying to climb a tree. It was a shame. Not even an entertaining struggle. But, natural. It was natural for the pet of the group to need babying at almost every stage. Otis seemed to, perhaps, enjoy taking the little thing under his wing.

Ciara hummed to herself, a small smile on her face from where she sat.

The tickle of air from her other side. Ciara looked to see Hildegunde's Personal Barrier up and functional. Ciara smirked, detecting the competitive glint in her eyes. Yes, a little healthy competition never hurt. But Ciara remembered she had to take it easy, save her strength for later.

Nothing said she couldn't play a little cunningly, though.

"Fames..." She whispered.

From behind Hildegunde's head, she would feel an immediate pressure on her barrier. If she turned her head, she would see a giant shadow hand formed in a fist, slammed against her barrier, millimeters from her head. The hand pressed a bit more, trying to cut and divide the winds, searching for a weakness.

When Ciara was satisfied the barrier was solid enough, the hand vaporized, and she leaned back from where she sat. A low whistle sounded from her parted lips.

"It's pretty solid."

Her eyes flicked over Professor Wund, then to the door as Mannekin waltzed in. She snapped to a half-knee-up position, immediately on guard. But the puppets made no move, only shambling to occupy the empty seats. Slowly, Ciara sat back down, watching out of the corner of her eye. The ground suddenly didn't feel as safe.

She listened as Professor Wund spoke. His mention of 'interested parties' piqued her interest and her disgust. This school really didn't miss anything, did it?

"And when that happens, individuals with either no PB active or one insufficient in its construction will experience extreme nausea, broken bones, a temporary failure of internal organs, or in 1% of cases, death. Finish your talks, make your preparations, and settle in with an active PB within the next two minutes."

Her disgust increased. Yes, just as she thought. Another underhanded ploy, another disguised task, another chance where pets who didn't know any better, like Davil, could seriously be hurt.

Her eyelids half closed, and she gently tugged on Hildegune's sleeve, or what she could touch due to the barrier, and nodded towards the front wall close to the teacher's desk. "Don't like these puppets at my back."

She moved to sit against the wall, the roots and vines somewhat encumbering a typically normal task. With a small sigh, she sat with her legs together and tucked to the side, and placed her hands on her thighs. A Mannekin was making direct eye contact with her, and she scowled back, unamused. "You know I eat your kind for breakfast."

Focusing, she pulled from the beyond, and winds kicked up over her skin once more. She didn't know about the light, the analyst, the dark one, or the rest of the class, but she and the marksman were ready.

She gritted her teeth, and waited.

The Dark Beyond

So it’s just a week now instead of 2, and there’s still a gala for a restored artifact?

@Days

Yep! 1 week. And yes, the Louvre and Theo are hosting a gala for a restored artifact. :)

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

@Blizz Good thinking. After Void is finished with Auri, he'll give Jack a call. ;)

The Dark Beyond

More Thierry pov is goooood.