icmasticc

Kingsglaive {Filled}

My sleep schedule is pretty shitty xD usually wake up between 8-9am during the week then go to sleep around 3am.
Next week I start my new job, so I'll be waking up at 6am. Gonna suuck.

@Viciousmarrow

You sound like me too haha. Wake up at damn 8 or 9 in the morning and don't go to sleep until 2 or 3 am just cause.

Kingsglaive {Filled}

@icmasticc
Kudos to you for getting a post up at 7am xD
I would die.

@Viciousmarrow

Lol, it was so random. I was writing and then I found myself waking up at 2am @__@. I was like "Wtf?! WTF?!" hahaha. I went back to sleep and once I woke up for real I finished it off. It's my first of two days off so it's not so bad.

I woke up at 9 AM after falling asleep at 4 AM. I am dead X.X

@FantasyChic

Geez, you sound like me staying up late as crap.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

@Prisk - I couldn't do it lol. I've said that to myself before and then found myself in the gym like those cartoon scenes when they say they're not gonna do something and it happens in the next scene hahaha. It's too addicting, ugh.

Kingsglaive {Filled}

And my post is up!

So as I outlined previously, we're now split into pairs and this scene is more about conversation than the actual finding of any intel so don't worry about posting that your characters have found some piece of evidence or what not - they won't find anything as this is where the story kicks into high gear. That's also another reason for this personal time between your characters because after this, events will ramp up a bit character development will take a backseat for a short while.

I left the Palace interior vaguely described on purpose so you guys could contribute your own imaginative creativity. You can describe the interior of the Palace (except for the fact that the main lobby is circular) in any way you please. You can also choose where you and your partner would like to search and considering how big the place, any kind of room or area you can think of should exist within the Palace. I gave you the excuses for being able to converse and how to find your way around within my post so the rest will be up to you guys. I look forward to reading to your posts and, as always, if you have any questions just shoot them here and we'll see what we can do!

Kingsglaive {Filled}

K I N G S G L A I V E || N e r o S a x o n || P a l a c e o f I v a l i c e || June 27th, 12:01 AM

---

As expected, team synchronization was still impeccable even after six months off the job. The Kingsglaive, under the darkness of the night, descended from the hovering airship above and came down on each patrolling knight at around the same time. The group moved the armored bodies out of the dim moonlight and into shadowed corners of the courtyard before regrouping near the door. Before them, stood the grand Palace of Ivalice. The structure was located in the dead center of the city and was ornate and grandiose as could be. Spires rose to the starry skies in a circle around the main building which was built with a mix of old medieval architecture and something that would be described in an H.P. Lovecraft novel. Advanced technology ran throughout the exterior of the building as well and the Palace stood as the shining achievement of Ivalian construction. Nero stepped towards the small set of stairs before using two fingers to tap the bluetooth headpiece in his ear. His voice echoed within the minds of his fellow team members.

"I'm sure you guys remember these too," He began, an invisible smirk formed beneath his mask, "Luckily the coding was never changed. We'll be able to free communicate with each other while we're inside and no one should be able to intercept the frequency or get passed the encryption... Unless they had another one of us on hand, and what's the chances of anyone else being able to use magic?" Nero softly chuckled and stepped closer to the door. "The plan is simple. If you tap your earpiece twice, the eye panel should pop out and give you the pre-loaded map of this place. The Palace of Ivalice is public record so we'll get a basic idea of how this place is laid out. We'll need to find any evidence of traps or planned conspiracies against Algareth. Should you find anything, use the eye panel to take pictures as we won't be taking anything. We're gonna have to split up though, this place is just too damn big. Dianthe is with me, Gideon is with Blair, and Saga with Mirany. We'll take the library upstairs, you guys can use the map to determine your own searching locations. There's a shit ton of rooms and we gotta check everything. We only have a few hours... Let's do this." Nero turned and faced the door.

He brandished a small tool which distorted the palm scanning pad next to the golden door and after a few seconds the red light flashed green. The door clicked and Nero pushed it open carefully, yet quickly, and the team filed in. The back door brought them into the large, circular main lobby of the Palace. The interior was set up with hallways all around leading to different locations and a spiraling set of wide stairs leading to the upper floors. Nero nodded to Dianthe and the duo, hunched over in the darkness, made a beeline for the spiraling stairs. At the same time, Nero tapped his bluetooth twice and a small grin lens folded out in front of his right eye. The map of the Palace was really a blueprint of the final design back when they first finished the construction. The rest of the team would need to figure out where they wanted to and search there, but also avoid the patrols of knights scattered around the area. There was to be no forced used against anyone in the interior though stealth had never been a problem for the Kingsglaive.

The problem they were yet to face loomed in a quiet, secret area of the Palace not shown on the blueprint. It would be of a magnitude no one was expecting.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

Taking a day off today, so I'll read the new posts and write some stuff. No gym, no studying, no bullshit.

@Prisk

No gym??!! NO, BLASPHEMY!

Kingsglaive {Filled}

Sorry about the delay, I fell asleep last night while writing lol. I don't know if that's happened to me before. I should probably sleep at proper times. In any case, my post will be up in a few.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

Okay, I've posted. Considering this is the first battle, let me know if things need changing!

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

_{T H E F I E L D S -{}- Nicholas Vanceon -{}- H a m m e r O f T h e A r m y}

---

It was a distinct memory, one he could feel much more than simply watching a mental rerun of events long transpired. As the ground shook and pulled itself apart and a grotesque, irate, Mordrem rose up from the earth, Niko could not help but feel the reminiscence stabbing at the back of his head. The Dark Zone was a part of the world he had never ventured into, but the scene unfolding before him was very similar to mishaps of the past during his stay at the Cathedral. The long buried feelings eagerly took hold of the young man again and enveloped him in their tightened embrace. The intangible sensation was physically suffocating, his chest constraining from sheer visions of jumbled moments and pieces of a memory that refused to fully reveal itself. Despite this internal struggle however, the outward visage of the suddenly serious Guardian was deathly solid. His eyes narrowed and locked onto the unholy creature in front of the small group and his brow furrowed in the sort of anger that desperately tried to manifest itself into some sort of physical form.

This was the enemy - the enemy.

Nicholas had never seen the world in black or white. It was another teaching of the Cathedral, albeit one that rested on the opposite end of a common lesson. Instead of being taught that one should ignore good and evil because all life is precious, the young boy was indoctrinated with the remembrance that good and evil never mattered, rather one should always hold contempt for the enemy. The enemy was any being that impeded the goals of a Guardian - or in their words, one who possesses an abundance of spiritual presence. Intentions and their tethers to the human condition were meaningless in the face of one who had been - again, in the words of the twisted Cathedral - shown the light of the true reality. With this in mind, a young Nicholas had been systematically desensitized to the feelings of empathy for another's plight. If he were to stand in front of an "enemy", that being would need to be cut down no matter who it may have been before. And as the beast roared with all its might, one thought screamed and shouted in the mind of the Cathedral raised Guardian:

This is the enemy - the enemy.

Instinctively, Niko pulled the blunderbuss from its back holster with his left hand and simultaneously unsheathed his shortsword with his right. Purposefully, however, the shortsword clicked into the barrel of the blunderbuss and the apparatus was extended while the thickened blade unfolded into two additional sections that curved into a vicious, shining crescent moon. There was no point in holding back anything against a monstrosity so big and admittedly strong looking. If this was going to define his first foray into the Dark Zone, the newly graduated Guardian was going to enter battle with everything he had. As a numbing feeling washed over the young man, a vile smirk pulled at the corners of Niko's lips. His two-handed grip tightened on his giant scythe as the beast began its offense. It started with charging towards the group and clawing wildly at them, Monika deftly dodging the swipes and Niko putting his own agility to use with pirouettes and evasive rolls. Muddy earth stained his clothing as he danced and rolled away from swipes, but insignificant things like that did not matter in the heat of the moment.

Niko exhaled sharply as he came up from a roll only to narrowly dive away from the thud of a thrown boulder. The damned thing was resorting to literally throwing a tantrum. Large chunks of earth rained down one by one as the young Guardian dove and rolled to safety each time; agility was one of Niko's biggest assets, but he quickly became tired of playing the defensive game. It seemed like Monika agreed with the unspoken notion as well. As soon as she found herself open, she let loose a flurry of holy endowed offense that ended with her massive claymore gleefully eating into the hide of the weakened beast. In the split-second moment of processed thought, Niko found himself genuinely impressed with Monika and her ability to take control of such a small window of opportunity. Finally finding himself open as well, Niko heeded Monika's battle decree and shot towards the now softened membrane of the Mordrem's hide. A fury of emotion welled up as the boy used his running speed to launch into a slide that took him around Monika and allowed his scythe to violently rise up in a clockwise crescendo that ended with a curved blade piercing the Mordrem's right side and digging deep into the soft tissue and weakened muscle. Not content with just the initial piercing, Niko pushed upwards, carving a deep gash as he went before pulling down hard and ferociously tearing the scythe from the innards of the beast completing a full circle.

Instincts and involuntary body movement distanced the boy and the injured beast immediately with a few hops. The feeling was overwhelming; Niko had not felt this good in the entirety of his life. This was truly what it was to live, indeed.

Summary

Niko finds himself triggered by the fact that an enemy Mordrem appeared almost immediately and he is struck with the need to stand against it. He dodges the claw swipes and thrown chunks of earth narrowly before witnessing Monika attack with her impressive Claymore. He's impressed by her offense, but also pounces on the opportunity she opens up to injure the beast further. He attacks its right side with a rising impalement and then pulls the blade up and out through the same side in an overhead downwards motion to complete a full circle. He then immediately jumps back a few feet away and revels in his first Mordrem battle.

Kingsglaive {Filled}

Another good round in the books, you guys are doing fantastically. Well then, I'll let you guys know how we're moving forward then. My post will come after work tomorrow evening most likely so you'll definitely have time to think on what I'm about to say.

My next post will move us into the palace and into the meat of the mission. However, this next scene is not really about the intel at all. This next scene is the first chance purposeful chance you'll have at early character development and some good conversation. The characters will split up into pairs and explore different parts of the Palace searching for any intel on conspiracies against Algareth, but they'll be able to converse due to a method you'll see in my IC post. This will allow you to dig into your character through dialogue and such with your partner. The nature of your conversations will be completely up to the pairs; you have some creative freedom in this regard.

The pairs will be as follows:

Nero + Dianthe
Gideon + Blair
Mirany + Saga

Keep in mind, this is the just the first time for this type of scene. There will be more opportunities to pair up with different characters as the story progresses.

Once my post is up, it should have all the necessary info you need to proceed with your partner. The reason I'm telling you all this early is so you'll be able to think about what kind of interaction you want to have before it's actually time for you to write and maybe coordinate with your fellow players too. This is also a good scene to do a collaborative post if that's what you feel you want to do (you don't have to employ this method). If you have any questions about this, you know I'm here.