Letter Bee

Royal Rumble!

Ok I finished reading and my God has it really been a month since I started?

@Crazy Scion

Heh. So, come talk to us on Discord?

Re: Zero: The High Council

Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks

There had still been a sensation of fear when shortening Lord Talus' name to 'LT', but it was slight and more managable. Nevertheless, Ashton was surprised and a little uncomfortable when Kimura told too much of the truth, coming close to saying that Earth was another world. But he had to trust the other boy to know what he was doing; Ashton needed to let others have their share of the... Effort.

In the meantime, he was prepared to theorize about the 'Archbishops', before Flame tugged on his shirt sleeve. Ashton turned towards him to find the latter a bit nervous, even frightened. This was explained by his boyfriend's next words.

"I, Alistair, and 'Father Whiskey' abandoned those monks when we escaped from a few monsters back in our... Starting point. Considering the fact that we had nothing to fight with, it would be understandable to do it if they knew that. But they probably didn't, and as they seem to be warrior monks, they might demand that we be punished for 'cowardice'."

Ashton nodded in comprehension, before saying to Flame, "I think you should apologize." Upon seeing his boyfriend's shocked expression, Ashton held up his hands and said, "I know, I know! You don't think it'll work. But, the way I see it, you abandoned them in their time of need. Yes, I know you feared for your life and so did the people with you then, and it was probably good that you ran away, but that was then; this is now. And we can't afford making more enemies than necessary."

Flame looked nervous and looked down before he got up to gaze at Aer, then the Monks, waiting for the latter to fully register his presence. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Hey. It's me. One of the three people who abandoned you to that wolf-thing. Multiple wolf-things, in fact. I'm not going to justify my actions; they're not excusable. But if you want a reason that we left, though, it's because we are afraid for our lives."

His expression hardened. "No, we did not do anything wrong. But it was clear that we were suspected of being criminals of some sort, even members of a deadly Cult, and that those who were sent against us were authorized to let go of due process. We didn't want to die."

Then Flame's face softened; cynicism was still there, but it fuelled fear instead of defiance. "I am sorry. I and my companions should not have left you behind. Now we truly will die, innocence or no innocence."

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

Also, any ideas on how to nerf High Magic?

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

@Gentlemanvaultboy@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88@The Jest@CriticalHit:

Clarification; John Green's 'Transcendent Transformation' does not turn him into a literal river; he only has the mass of a pond or training pool.

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

Innocence Lost

"Everyone's okay!" John said to Rachel as Orky pointed the Anti-Tank Recoiless Coilgun at the Tank, letting loose a swift lancing shell that would pierce it through and through before it can fire its machine guns. It wasn't enough to fully disable the vehicle, but its main weapon was definitely out of commission. Now it was time for John to make his move.

With a shimmer, the young man transformed into a puddle of silvery-white fluid, his ampoules of condensed mana simultaneously opening in order to add to his mystically-liquified mass, which became a pool-sized wave that crashed into a squad of Ascendancy soldiers with concussive force.

If anyone else was observing the former child soldier, it was obvious that he was still restraining himself; trying his best to spare the lives of his enemies. As Rachel and Orky were granted an opportunity to counterattack, John surged towards the tank, his flowing mass buffeting any enemy who tried to intercept it with the force of a fire hose.

As the Ascendancy soldiers cried out in surprise and sudden fear, they shot bursts of coilgun fire at John, who just absorbed the shots with his liquified mass. He counterattacked with arms and tendrils of silvery-white fluid, which entered the coilgun rifles and lit itself on fire from within their workings, disarming entire platoons of infantrymen.

The small pool of fluid then reformed a mouth, then a head, saying to Rachel and Orky once they had made use of John's rampage to further their assault, "Finish off the tank!"

------

Eldrid would follow Stella once she planted 'The Surprise', turning invisible as well. As they made their way further inside, the young man would slowly grow more nervous, as he detected the presence of... Something. Or someone. As a small roomba-like robot traveled past them, the young man would whisper to Stella and Reisus, "That robot is enchanted with Supernal Vision as well, along with two other spells; there's another Mage inside and I don't think he/she's an ally."

He used one minute saying his piece. The next was occupied waiting for Kelan, who, of course, arrived with a bang, attracting the attention of two soon-dispatched Ascendancy soldiers. With him was the Captain, Natasha, and it was clear that the two intended to participate in the battle.

"So, kids," Natasha said, "Let's go rescue Realist. But first..." She turned to Kelan as she walked alongside the former merc. "What was the purpose of that stunt? I thought you were going to fire yourselves at the enemy when they're already engaging the kids - more than they had already - or otherwise launch yourself into the middle of the climatic battle! With this... Can't you just have managed the same effect by going with them through the countryside?"

A pause to receive the answer even as they kept walking, before Eldrid would say, "Mage detected with Supernal Vision some distance to our left; perhaps they're the one spying on us?"

-------

Snow Cecil moved forwards with his two 'Tayanen in Shells' escorts. Despite the size of said escorts, Snow knew which paths were empty and which were not, and so was able to sneak himself and the escorts closer to Realist's holding chamber. Nevertheless, he and his group ended up in a prisoner's cafeteria two walls and a corridor away from where Kelan and the others were. Looking to his right, he saw the bright beacons of Magic that were Reisus and Kelan (whose Tayanen Symbiote had a Kaisoken shard bonded with him).

He froze at that; this was too close for comfort. So Snow Cecil prepared lies to greet the Moonstrike people with, lies that would further his goals...

@Gentlemanvaultboy@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette@KillamriX88@The Jest@CriticalHit

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

I've discussed things with @LemonZest1337 in private, and he's decided against joining.

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

creeps in and looks around

Is it possible for me to join this rp?

@LemonZest1337

You can; special slot is opened up for you.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks

Ashton blinked at the mention of 'Mono'; they were going to that guy? For a brief moment, the boy chilled with the thought of remembered death, as well as the unnatural fear that struck him when he had tried to tell Mono of their means of transport the first time. So he would have to reword what he would say next in order to tell as much of the truth as possible while not violating the rules of his 'Geas' (single s' not double s'). Pausing carefully, Ashton was the first to speak to Aer.

"It all began in our land, our unknown native land and country. I and Flame were having a romantic walk, close to our house, when all of a sudden, we found ourselves in a sudden darkness." A pause. "Within said Darkness was a figure of pure black, with the initials L.T."

Ashton hoped that not referring to 'Lord Talus' directly would deter the mental block from making its apperance. "This darkness spoke of ferrying us, taking us to someone who was in love with us - even though Flame and I are already taken by each other. And then the darkness lifted and we found ourselves in the middle of a merchant's district in your land."

A pause. "You spoke of Cultists earlier, and magic, from the looks of it, is based on the four elements, light, and darkness." A guess from his Videogames and Wisp's show of fire magic earlier. "Could it be possible that some sort of darkness-based magic has been cast on us? If so, it might answer an earlier mystery."

Ashton smiled at his discovery, "Basically, if Cultists are being hunted down, there must be some way of detecting them, as well as detecting Dark Magic. If we've been immersed in said magic, then we might show as Cultists to magical senses. Basically, I think a curse has been cast on us by our kindnapper, L.T., as part of an experiment. It could also be that darkness-based magic was responsible for our 'insertion' into Priestella, if that were the case. If so, the reasons why are shrouded in mystery, but it's clear that we are as ignorant of it as you are, and therefore relatively innocent."

A pause. "Now, would this be within the realm of possibility, and if so, would the one you calll Mono be understanding of it?"

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

@KillamriX88@The Jest@CriticalHit:

Forgot to mention you guys!

Innocence Lost: Space Western Science Fantasy (Temporarily Open Again!)

Innocence Lost

"Sometimes, you just cannot run, lest your demons find you anyway," Natasha said. "Sometimes, you can't run, lest you always be haunted by the ghosts of the past. Legion, you're sapient; can you actually say that you don't regret running away from something and letting others be hurt or worse?"

Natasha didn't know all of Legion's backstory, but had guessed quite a bit; perhaps more than Legion would find comfortable. "Nevertheless, the choice to let the kids fight stands for today; again, if the operation fails, we can send them home."

She changed the subject, "Now, should I dive into battle, can you manage the ship by yourself?"

------

The two teams went out of the Xuanxang, hiking to the site of the Circle of Hell's wreck without incident. Reisus, Stella, and Eldrid were directed by the maps given to them by Moonstrike, maps that allowed them to reach the outside of the ship, where there was a gap between two armor-plates to the side of the ship's stern from which they can enter the ship without the enemy's knowledge.

Should they take it as their path towards the hull breach?

------

John, Orky, and Rachel, with Orky carrying an Anti-Tank Coilgun whose long tube resembled an Old Earth Recoiless Rifle, also arrived at their destination, which was the edge of a former hangar bay patrolled by a substantial number of grim-faced Ascendancy Infantrymen, with a tank (itself equipped with anti-personnel machine guns and a forcefield as well as a main railgun) as the centerpiece of its defense.

For a brief moment, as John snuck into the bay, the young man hesitated; was he really ready to take this final step, the step to treason against the Ascendancy? As he, Orky, and Rachel snuck past the boxes, downed shuttles, and rubble that made up the crude enemy defenses, John almost blanched at what he was going to do.

That moment passed as he reminded himself that no one needed to be shot yet, that they can potentially make it without having to kill anyone. It was a remote chance, but still possible. So he said to the two over comms, "I'm going to wait for Stella to give an all-clear to fight, but be ready to set things on fire - whether with magic or mundane means - when given the chance."

And then he saw it; a small skittering cleanng bot (that resembled an ancient Roomba), which was suspiciously close to them. On instinct, John opened his Supernal Vision, and was shocked to find various magical enchantments of surveillance on it.

John pursed his lips, before saying, "We're being watched; it appears this ship may have a few Loyalists in it..."

------

Snow Cecil had been discovered. He would dispute the assumption that he was completely a Loyalist, but the boy had to preserve his cover. Looking at his Tayanen escorts, Gog and Magog, he knew that he was already looked at with suspicion by his superiors due to being 'allowed' to work with Aliens, and so he had to do something, something to both confirm his 'loyalty' while at the same time furthering his own plans to get ahold of Realist and the information he possessed. So he took out his commlink and said, "Attention to all local troops within the Circle of Hell! This is The Provocateur. You may not know me by name, but your superiors have informed you we're on the same side, right?"

A pause. "Well, a rebel team have been detected close to the South Hangar Bay of the Circle of Hell; they have an Alien with them as well. Infantrymen and Tank, begin shooting!"

The die was cast as Ascendancy infantrymen and small drones began to fan out all across the hangar; they would find Rachel, John, and Orky in mere seconds and draw their weapons, not expecting to fight Mages.

Snow Cecil then went forwards to where Realist was, hoping he did the right thing...

@Gentlemanvaultboy@Starlance@Bartimaeus@Stern Algorithm@Crowvette