Marrakt

The Genesis of Ansolera (Guardian Angel Haruki / Marrakt)

Merrill nodded at her comment about the surge.

”Its not a surprise. I would imagine that magic expenditure of that sort would be draining, let alone using that sort of energy when you are not that practiced in it.”

Standing up after catching his breath, he lead them slowly away from the track, Merrill went into the undergrowth for a little bit. The rain continued to fall now, and he could feel the damp of his clothes pressed against his skin. It was, most decidedly, an unpleasant sensation.

Looking back to her as he pushed some of the foliage away with his hands, also holding a path open for her in some of the thickest areas, he nodded.

”Besides unlocking the doors on the plane, was that the first time you had used magic?” he asked in a soft tone of voice.

Letting her pass, Merrill then let the foliage close softly behind them as he continued to push his way deeper into the thick brush.

”It is wise to stay away from the path tonight Callie. I would also advise not setting up a camp fire,” glancing back to her, a small smile crossed his face for the briefest of seconds. ”Sorry.”

They walked for another half an hour. Merrill’s feet were burning, let alone the gash on his leg, a gash that caused him to walk with a slight limp. Finally, the two arrived in what seemed to be a small clearing in the depths of the word. It was a round, circular clearing, surrounded by the thick trees and brush that had been typical of the forest in which they were trying to traverse.

When Callie commented on his leg, Merrill merely smiled that ghostly smile. ”I have suffered worse Callie, I can assure you of that. This is nothing but a slight injury, it won’t stop me.”

Looking around the clearing, he nodded.

”We’ll be sleeping rough tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be better. I will see what I can scavenge from the land around us, and tomorrow, I will teach you to hunt.”

Beginning to limp towards the edge of the clearing and the shadows that lay beyond, Merrill suddenly stopped. Turning his head back to her, there was a strange expression on his face, one his features had not worn before.

”Callie.....once I have taught you to hunt, I will take you to the nearest village. From there, I suggest you head into the wilderness. Travel east, you will find safer refuge there than the lands here. I......I cannot travel with you. I’m sorry.”

His face torn, he looked away from her, hesitating for a second.

Perhaps once I can defy the visions. Perhaps once, they will turn out to not be true.

The only way that he could be sure of that though was to leave Callie. To leave her and go far far away, to where she would never see him again. It was the only way.

Yet the truth of it, it wasn’t the vision of her death that terrified him....it was the vision he had seen immediately before that that had scared him to his very core.....

From the shadows, the watcher watched. It watched, and it smiled as it’s eyes glowed red......

The Heart of Decay

Hopefully so. If there is another one or two biters in here then I’ll fire up a proper ad in the role play forum

The Darkness Within

”Ensign Kayler. Ensign Kayler.”

The buzz of his personal intercom was as persistent as it was irritating. It would not go away however. He opened his eyes with a groan, shielding them from the red blinking of his personal comm.

”Ensign Kayler, you are late for your briefing,” said the slightly irritating robot woman.

”Whatever,” he raised his hand, clenching it into a fist and bringing it down on top of the stupid blinking light.

It smashed, and the red light was no more. ”And fuck off too,” he moaned again before laying his head back down.

Turning his head to see who was lying next to him, he smirked at the sight of a shock of blonde hair coming out from under the cover. It was then that the memory of last night game to him. He remembered the disco. He remembered the flashing orange lights at the top of the dance floor. He remembered seeing her there, alone. He remembered working his way over to her, placing his arm around her.....

Morgan slid out of bed, casually noting his officers uniform crumpled on the floor. As she lay there, still asleep, he gathered his clothes, smoothing them over before putting them back on. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a small round metallic object. Bringing it to his lips, he whispered, ”One hundred and fifty four,” into it.

Placing it back into his pocket, he walked over to the mirror and looked into it. Ignoring the sight of his two bloodshot eyes staring back at him, as well as the shadows under them, he reached up, pushing the loose strands of hair back into place. Then glancing back at the sleeping girl, he smirked again.

”Sorry, duty calls. Be seeing you.”

Of course, being asleep, she couldn’t answer as he glided out of her apartment, pushing the door shut behind him.

***

The flight deck was a long, almost cavernous room. On either side of the room, lined up in order next to each other, exploration pods. Small and round aircraft, they were only designed to fit two people per craft. So it was that the exploration teams that were sent out were sent out in groups of two, first to reconnoiter and report back when it came to exploring new planets.

Their ship, the Galacticus, was a cruiser designed to house many such teams. Posted out in a remote area of the universe, inside a quadrant that had never been explored before, it was down to the people on board the Galacticus to discover and explore new frontiers.

Today, it was Morgan’s turn to go out, and his new partner, Beatrice.

They were stood on a metal walkway overlooking the exploration craft. As he came running down the walkway, Morgan noted with a strange sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach that she had already arrived, as had their superior, Major Carver. Morgan was late.

Very late.

”Sir,” Morgan began, running up to them and saluting his superior officer.

A grim, stern faced man, Major Carver did not look like the man to suffer fools gladly. Which could be borne out by the cold expression on his face.

”Ensign Kayler. If you are late again to your briefing, I will suspend both you and your partner for a week without pay,” he said in a voice that lacked any sort of warmth and humour.

”Noted Sir,” Morgan turned to look at his partner.

She was an attractive girl, not far removed from his own age. Her hair was the strangest colours, waves of purple and blue combining to give off a fascinating sheen.

”Hey there,” Morgan whispered with a grin just seconds before Major Carver cut him off.

”Ensign Kayler. Your reputation is almost legendary here on the Galacticus, as are your, uh, habits. The Science Officer, Beatrice, is not to be considered as one of your, ahhh, conquests.”

Morgan scowled at that, raising his eyebrow as the Major began detailing assignment. They’re sending me with a SCIENCE OFFICER of all people? Not a co-pilot, or a gunner? Great....just fucking great.

”Two thousand clicks away, near the edge of the system, our advanced ships caught site of a planet that we have not yet documented. This planet, from what we can see, is an arid desert world. You will have to take the appropriate gear and equipment to cope with the hazards such a desolate place will bring. You are to take the Falcon, fly over to the planet, touch down and document what you find. Do a cursory Investigation of your surroundings but don’t stray too far from your pod. Of key importance to us are signs of life, and an indication of whether the planet is suitable for colonisation?”

Glaring at the two of them, Major Carver then added, ”Any questions?”

@Guardian Angel Haruki

The Genesis of Ansolera (Guardian Angel Haruki / Marrakt)

Merrill looked at the strange being that Callie had summoned. He watched it as it headed back in the direction of the winged demon.

”Your magic is powerful, but uncontrolled. It is like a wild tempest. We need to find....”

The smoke thickened and Merrill coughed, unable to finish the sentence. Taking his own shirt, he nodded as he held it to his nose and mouth, blocking out the thick smoke. Staying low, he went down the dirt path, staying close behind Callie. On either side of the thick brush, the shadows danced, weaving in and out, illuminated by the flickering, burning inferno that raged not far away.

”I don’t like this,” Merrill whispered, taking the cloth away from his mouth for a second.

”There’s something else here.....something I can’t quite put my finger on. Something is wrong.”

For however many hours they travelled, Merrill lost count. Yet as they did traverse the winding trail in the forest, travelling deeper into its depths, the smoke lessened, as did the raging fire that burned through the undergrowth. Eventually, as the rain began to fall, the sensation of smoke lessened altogether, becoming nothing more than a slight annoyance.

Nor did the flying demon make another appearance. Perhaps whatever it was that Callie had sent at it had delayed it enough for them to make a getaway. More hours passed before Merrill finally stopped, lowering the cloth from his nose and mouth.

”I think we’ve gone far enough now.”

In front of them, the forest trail continued onwards, the muddy path disappearing into the shadows ahead.

”Perhaps we have come far enough.....to rest now,” he nodded, exhausted.

Looking to Callie, his dark eyes gleamed.

”I don’t know what to do about your form. Maybe another surge like before will restore you?”

He sat on the floor, crossing his legs as he continued to watch her curiously.

”I will watch over you while you sleep,” he said, wincing slightly at the sudden pain from the gouges on the back of his leg.

What he didn’t say though was that still, at the back of his mind, there was the strange feeling that something was wrong. There was something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, something out of place around them.....

@Guardian Angel Haruki

The Genesis of Ansolera (Guardian Angel Haruki / Marrakt)

”I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do.”

Merrill walked away from him, leaving the man in the street, his hand outstretched, looking for coin and help that he couldn’t give.

How could I tell you?

Merrill’s mind screamed at him as he walked away. Nothing I could do could help you. The beggar would be dead within the week, a knife plunged into his gut. Merrill knew not who wielded the knife, but it might as well have been his own hand.

He turned the corner, his vision blurring. The rain poured, coming down from the heavens, soaking him to the skin. Walking into the alleyway, Merrill leaned against the wall, sliding down it, head looking up to the sky as the droplets continued to fall.

”I’m sorry,” he whispered.

He reached his hands up, running his fingers down his face, scratching furrows in his face as the tears fell. So much death. He had seen so much......so little he could do. He would have saved them all had he the power.

But he did not.

The visions....they always came true.

Finally, as blood mixed with the rain in the alleyway, Merrill’s hands fell as the stinging pain came from the tears he had ripped into his skin. Bringing his hand back up to his waist, he touched the hilt of something attached to his waist. A knife. A knife carved with the hilt of a dragon. Closing his eyes, he whispered again, ”I’m sorry.”

And then the knife was free from its fastening. Turning it in, he placed the tip of it against his chest.

”Its the only way.....”

Seconds passed. A sharp pain from his stomach. The knife fell from trembling, nerveless fingers, clattering on the floor of the alleyway. Holding his head up to the sky and the rain, eyes closed, Merrill laughed.

And as he laughed, he committed the beggars face to his memory. He committed the faces of all those he had seen die to his memory, to live there for the rest of his life.

”I’m sorry,” he whispered once more breathlessly. ”The world may forget you, but I will not. I will remember.....always remember.”

***

Merrill watched Callie. He watched her as flames burst from her fingers, striking the creature in its chest. As it screamed it’s agony, he continued to watch her. Not the girl she had transformed herself into, but the woman that she was. Time had hardened him beyond his years, turning him into the cold and emotionless person he had become, yet......

......he committed her face to his memory. This one. This one would hurt the most. It would kill him, and he did not need any visions of the future to tell him that.

Shaking slightly, as the creature reeled from the blows, clutching at its eyes even as it tried to smother the flames, Merrill ran forwards, ignoring the pain from his right leg.

”Come on.”

He grabbed her hand, and once more they ran.

The forest came, and as the demon roared once more, they burst through into the thick foliage.

Great oak trees, standing the size of two houses, shielded them suddenly from the outside world. They loomed over the two as they crashed through the forest and into its depths. Their tops blocked out the moon, and they cast great shadows over those below it.

Breathing heavily, Merrill held out his hand, and the globe of light whizzed through the air, hovering over his palm. It shedded a small amount of illumination around their surroundings. On either side, large bushes could be seen amidst the bark of the great oak trees. The foliage was thick here, almost too thick and dense to penetrate.

With the exception of a small dirt path leading its way deeper into the forest.

”I guess we have no choice but to go deeper....”

An explosion to his right cut off Merrill’s words, followed by the orange flicker of flames and thick smoke that started to billow in their direction. His eyes widened in fear as he coughed, covering his mouth as his eyes started to water.

”Its trying to burn down the forest....to smoke us out. We must run!”

As the flames started to get closer, Merrill looked to the young Callie, his eyes showing the fear that he felt inside of him......

@Guardian Angel Haruki

The Darkness Within

Name: Morgan
Profession: Pilot
Age: 22

Appearance:

Personality:

I cling on to the ghosts of the past. I wrap myself so deeply into the illusion I have weaved around myself that it has become who I really am. This is me....perhaps it has always been me.

Morgan is the quintessential joker and flirt. Brash and cocky, when he is not on duty he can be seen losing himself behind the latest cocktail or alcoholic drink. Either that or bedding someone else on the station or planet that he takes his leave on. Irreverent, arrogant and seemingly devoid of scruples and generally just not giving a damn, Morgan is the ultimate source of frustration to his superiors and his poor, long suffering partner. If he wasn’t so damn good at what he did, he would have been excised long ago from the space corps.

This is who he is.......perhaps.

The truth is something different. A man besieged with his own insecurities, believing himself to be nothing more than a failure, Morgan carries with him the ghosts of a past that he cannot truly rid himself off. He believes himself to be in over his head — and that it is nothing more than a matter of time before the truth is realised and he is exposed for the fraud that he truly is.

Morgan is haunted by the sight of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes...looking up to him as her life slowly faded away from her. Holding her hand because for that moment, for that one moment in his life, he was powerless to do anything.....powerless to save the girl that he loved with all of his heart and soul.

It is something that is eating away at him slowly from the inside.

Morgan is afraid. Of friendship. Of companionship. Of commitment. He is frightened to love again, or to believe in anything, because if he does.....if he loses someone he cares for deeply again.....it will kill him.

It was.....is far easier to drink his troubles away. Carve another notch on that bedpost.

It allowed him to forget.

Background:

Her name was Vanna. She was the best of us, of all of us. She was better than I deserved. Now, and certainly then. Sometimes I still see her. In my sleep, in my dreams. It is the only way we can ever see each other again.

Born the son of a long line of pilots in the space corps, from an early age, it was believed that Morgan would follow in the footsteps of his parents, and indeed he did.

Just not in the way he believed that he would.

Morgan passed every single examination set in front of him by the space corps with ease. He was always the brightest and the best of his class. He was future commander material. When he met his beloved Vanna at the space corps facility and became engaged to her, it seemed his future was bright and there was no mountain that was too high for him to reach.

When it all came crashing down, it came crashing down hard. It happened the night before their wedding.

At one of the finest restaurants on the space station Eclipse, where they had met, and where they had due to be wed, Morgan stood. Taking his bride onto the dance floor, hand in hand, arm in arm, they began to dance to the sound of violins. When the loud bang came, they were all already too late. Vanna slumped forwards, into Morgan’s arms.

As he lay her down gently, cradling her, crying for help....as the blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, she looked up to him. She reached up with trembling hand, touched the side of his cheek......

”Carry on.....always....for me. I love you.”

They were the last words she ever spoke.

Vanna was given a funeral befitting her, as her coffin was sent out into space, as she would have wanted....

Two years on, Morgan honoured her final wish. Carrying on with his line of duty, he was nevertheless scarred by what had happened. A pale shadow of the man he used to be, where he acts on the surface like a cocky and arrogant braggadocio, the truth is simply that he is a person who is beset by his own insecurities and demons that he cannot truly excise.

He believes himself to be trapped in a situation that is slowly spiralling out of control....

The Darkness Within

The year is 2126. The concept of space exploration, of reaching out and travelling galaxies beyond our own is no longer a fantasy or restricted to the dreams of those with vivid imaginations.

Technological advancements mean that this is no longer a flight of fancy, it is a reality. The First Wave, a division dedicated to space travel and exploration has reached out to other galaxies and other life forms. Beginning to settle and colonise space, space stations and way points exist now all over the multiverse.

Humanity has not only met, but have formed peace treaties with other species, and are only now beginning to explore the many weird and wonderful planets that comprise the cosmos. Planets of ice, planets of lush, green tropical jungles, desert planets.....planets not unlike our own.

The multiverse is a place of many many wondrous things and unparalleled beauty, and the First has dedicated itself to finding and documenting all of them.

This.....is the tale of two such agents. Two intrepid explorers who will find themselves sent on a mission of a lifetime. They will push themselves to their very limits and in doing so, they will discover the truth of the universe itself and their genesis.

They will face their own darkness within as a threat unlike any they have known threatens them and their very existence.

Most of all, they will discover the truth of who they are.

The Darkness Within

The year is 2126. The concept of space exploration, of reaching out and travelling galaxies beyond our own is no longer a fantasy or restricted to the dreams of those with vivid imaginations.

Technological advancements mean that this is no longer a flight of fancy, it is a reality. The First Wave, a division dedicated to space travel and exploration has reached out to other galaxies and other life forms. Beginning to settle and colonise space, space stations and way points exist now all over the multiverse.

Humanity has not only met, but have formed peace treaties with other species, and are only now beginning to explore the many weird and wonderful planets that comprise the cosmos. Planets of ice, planets of lush, green tropical jungles, desert planets.....planets not unlike our own.

The multiverse is a place of many many wondrous things and unparalleled beauty, and the First has dedicated itself to finding and documenting all of them.

This.....is the tale of two such agents. Two intrepid explorers who will find themselves sent on a mission of a lifetime. They will push themselves to their very limits and in doing so, they will discover the truth of the universe itself and their genesis.

They will face their own darkness within as a threat unlike any they have known threatens them and their very existence.

Most of all, they will discover the truth of who they are.

Marrakts Repository

Name: Morgan
Profession: Pilot
Age: 22

Appearance:

Personality:

I cling on to the ghosts of the past. I wrap myself so deeply into the illusion I have weaved around myself that it has become who I really am. This is me....perhaps it has always been me.

Morgan is the quintessential joker and flirt. Brash and cocky, when he is not on duty he can be seen losing himself behind the latest cocktail or alcoholic drink. Either that or bedding someone else on the station or planet that he takes his leave on. Irreverent, arrogant and seemingly devoid of scruples and generally just not giving a damn, Morgan is the ultimate source of frustration to his superiors and his poor, long suffering partner. If he wasn’t so damn good at what he did, he would have been excised long ago from the space corps.

This is who he is.......perhaps.

The truth is something different. A man besieged with his own insecurities, believing himself to be nothing more than a failure, Morgan carries with him the ghosts of a past that he cannot truly rid himself off. He believes himself to be in over his head — and that it is nothing more than a matter of time before the truth is realised and he is exposed for the fraud that he truly is.

Morgan is haunted by the sight of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes...looking up to him as her life slowly faded away from her. Holding her hand because for that moment, for that one moment in his life, he was powerless to do anything.....powerless to save the girl that he loved with all of his heart and soul.

It is something that is eating away at him slowly from the inside.

Morgan is afraid. Of friendship. Of companionship. Of commitment. He is frightened to love again, or to believe in anything, because if he does.....if he loses someone he cares for deeply again.....it will kill him.

It was.....is far easier to drink his troubles away. Carve another notch on that bedpost.

It allowed him to forget.

Background:

Her name was Vanna. She was the best of us, of all of us. She was better than I deserved. Now, and certainly then. Sometimes I still see her. In my sleep, in my dreams. It is the only way we can ever see each other again.

Born the son of a long line of pilots in the space corps, from an early age, it was believed that Morgan would follow in the footsteps of his parents, and indeed he did.

Just not in the way he believed that he would.

Morgan passed every single examination set in front of him by the space corps with ease. He was always the brightest and the best of his class. He was future commander material. When he met his beloved Vanna at the space corps facility and became engaged to her, it seemed his future was bright and there was no mountain that was too high for him to reach.

When it all came crashing down, it came crashing down hard. It happened the night before their wedding.

At one of the finest restaurants on the space station Eclipse, where they had met, and where they had due to be wed, Morgan stood. Taking his bride onto the dance floor, hand in hand, arm in arm, they began to dance to the sound of violins. When the loud bang came, they were all already too late. Vanna slumped forwards, into Morgan’s arms.

As he lay her down gently, cradling her, crying for help....as the blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, she looked up to him. She reached up with trembling hand, touched the side of his cheek......

”Carry on.....always....for me. I love you.”

They were the last words she ever spoke.

Vanna was given a funeral befitting her, as her coffin was sent out into space, as she would have wanted....

Two years on, Morgan honoured her final wish. Carrying on with his line of duty, he was nevertheless scarred by what had happened. A pale shadow of the man he used to be, where he acts on the surface like a cocky and arrogant braggadocio, the truth is simply that he is a person who is beset by his own insecurities and demons that he cannot truly excise.

He believes himself to be trapped in a situation that is slowly spiralling out of control....