Nerevarine

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Alexandria, Isaurian Egypt, Green Sahara, 1245 AD

The two pirates shuffled themselves around, tension growing in the air as they stared down the official seated before them. Hirutila sat more or less still, his eyes closed and only making the occasional movement to keep the shackles around his wrists from falling into the cuts they had previously made. However, his partner, Rago, was fidgeting every second, as if he was to die if he sat still for more than a second. His body undulated with each deep breath that he took as he burned a hole through the Egyptian official with his gaze. Perhaps if he could have done some real damage with that, he and Hirutila would be walking free. But for now, their lives rested in the hands of this civil servant, who perused through a small document detailing the nature of the two men he was tasked with judging.

"I'm sure you men know that the nature of your crimes is severe," the man spoke, peaking over the parchment to gaze upon Rago and Hirutila. "The confiscated stolen wealth on your ship, in addition to the verifiable deaths attributed to your actions, and the resistance of your crew and yourselves to your arrest all constitute very harsh sentencing."

Rago simply spit into the official's face as he eyed him, prompting one of the soldiers in the room to smack him over the head with a club. Hirutila opened his eyes at the sound of his partner being beaten but refused to say anything. The official rested the papers onto the table before him, and spoke in a soft voice, though the attempts at affability fell flat immediately.

"The Pharaoh is willing to extend an offer to you men. Under normal circumstances, you would simply be sentenced to life in prison. However, your pasts are of interest to our Emperor, and he is offering a stay of your imprisonment in exchange for a lifetime enlistment into the Imperial Army."

Rago and Hirutila stared once more at the man, Rago's face locked in a devious smile, while Hirutila seemed to let off a pained grimace.

"You're letting us walk away from prison to go kill?" Rago inquired incredulously, pointing a look at the official as if he expected the man to retract the offer as some kind of joke, though a few passing seconds of silence only caused the pirate's smile to grow as he nodded furiously. "I can't see what the punishment is supposed to be." Though Rago was so willing to sign his life away, he didn't pick up on the official's sinister gaze upon those words.

Hirutila, however, remained uninterested. Rago glared over at his partner as he refused to join in the same path.

"What? You're just going to let them throw you in some cage, Hiru?"

Hirutila sighed as he spoke, "I'm tired of the death, Rago. If you wish to revel in it further, then go ahead. But I'm done with it. This was always about going back home. And if that will never be, then I don't want to fight any longer."

Rago looked over at the man with a confused, and infuriated look, as the soldiers went to escort them away. The last look Hirutila got of his former partner was when he was marched out the oak door behind them. Hirutila let out a sigh of relief to watch Rago leave, like a weight removed from his chest.

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Bethlehem, Israel, Green Sahara, 1250 AD
@Tenma Tendo

Rago's eyes were fixed upon Capella, his body swaying in its movements like some kind of depraved dance. The man walked a semi-circle around her as the grin on his face continued to twist grotesquely. The serrated sword in his hand quivered as he anticipated the first attack, planning out just where to lunge to get her. Lost in the grizzly fantasies that played out, he seemed unaware of the magic around Capella, like he couldn't see anything but the visions of blood and gore in his mind.

With that Rago lunged forward, but as soon as it had begun, the battle was over. The fireballs made a clear impact, as the silk robe ignited, to the horror of the swordsman, who in the brief moment that the flames stung his skin, he was pulled back into reality, only to be met with impact from Halcyon. The force from the fireballs sent the man flying through the air, the chared robe striking against the beige walls of the guest house, and destroyed hat flung from his body to land before Capella's feet, still smoldering from the spell. Rago's body was flung through the open window, falling some distance away. Rago lay there lifeless, the smell of burnt flesh and silk wafting from his broken form.

At the moment of Rago's demise, the Heartless seemed to begin their retreat from Bethlehem, as if in a panic as they swarmed away with the defeat of their commander. Though the pirate's body was simply left to smolder and burn in the dirt, as the heartless didn't even bother with what little life was left in the vessel as they singlemindedly fled from the town.

The young woman, the mother of the boy Yeshua, sat stunned for a brief moment, before suddenly throwing herself upon the keyblader in a fit of joy and tears, clinging to her tightly in a fit of emotional studdering, as she showered Capella in thank yous and sobbing, as the baby at her side began to whimper from the commotion.

As the woman began to compose herself, she expained the situation, "I'm sorry miss, my...my name is Maryam, I had just given birth to my son, and then the village was attacked. My husband and I took refuge in this guesthouse, but the found us none the less. But you...you saved us!" Maryam seemed overwhelmed with joy once again, however her emotions were quickly refocused when the man who had accompanied her managed to get himself back to his feet.

"Josef! Oh, you're alright! Oh this woman saved us from that pirate. That man, he was after Yeshua...but why? Could they..."

The man shook his head in confusion, "All I know is it's not safe here anymore. We should leave as soon as we can. We can go to my home town, in Galilee, far from here." Josef then turned his attention to Capella. "But you, you saved not only my wife and son, but this whole village. You have come as a hero, and so we will give you a hero's celebration."

Josef took Capella by the hand and pulled her into the street outside, proclaiming her as the savior of Bethlehem. Though not much was left of the village, the survivors cheered at the sight of the young woman. The people immediately saw to it to provide what little they could to give a hero's welcome to Capella.

In the commotion of it all, no eyes would spy as a hooded figure dragged the burned body of Rago away from the guest house, far beyond the limits of the village. Rago let out only a few moans in pain, until he felt a sharp electric shock radiate through his body, to gaze upon the sight of a figure, clad in a blue tunic covered with a dark mantle, hood over his face, though it was little surprise to Rago who this was.

"Have you come to kill me for failure?" Rago said, the defiant smile creeping onto his face once more.

"No," the hooded man spoke, kneeling down into the dirt next to Rago. "On the contrary, you have not failed me at all. You've done just what I wanted."

Rago looked at the man in confusion.

"You actually though you stood a chance, Rago? You had no idea what you were up against, even now as you lay there like a roast pig you don't understand. A common man has no chance against keyblade wielders." The figure reached into the pocket inside the mantle, pulling out a small crystal, green and hexagonally patterned, with a small red core, barely bigger than a coin. "I can imagine you want to salvage what's left of your dignity, and prove I got more than just a rat for testing out of the Egyptian Army."

Rago looked at the crystal, and then back at the figure. "What are you suggesting?"

"Did you ever wonder where the power that the messiah bestowed upon us came from, Rago?" the figure spoke as he took Rago's sword into his hand, and plunged it deep into the pirate's hand, pulling it out to create a deep wound. "I received them from him, and he from an angel. But the Angel left a few breadcrumbs, and I followed them until I found this," he spoke, waving the crystal in front of Rago's face. "Or rather, I managed to put the pieces together to recreate what Emmanuel has yet to figure out isn't godly magic. I call it magicite, and with it, Rago, you'll have power beyond what you ever thought possible, maybe just enough to deal with our little keyblader there." With that, the hooded man slid the small crystal deep into the wound. As he let go, the laceration began to radiate with a sickly green glow, as the crystal burst, and shards began burrowing into Rago's flesh. The pirate screamed out in agony, as he twisted and convulsed, the man's green eyes slowly changing color from their normal green, into the same sickly, ghostly color as the magicite. Rago continued to scream in pain as the magicite dispersed throughout his body. Before long, he had slipped back into unconsciousness.
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Palace Grounds, Constantinople, Renovation

Hirutila jolted up with a gasp of fear and surprise as he took a look around. The palace was left in great disrepair, the aftermath of the battle being apparent with the scattering of machine parts all over. However, Hirutila had little time to take anything in, as he immediately was being herded off by Felix to the hangar.

Seemed like finally, the party was off to go do this whole save the world thing. Hirutila groaned as he got back up, and walked alongside the others. He couldn't help but take note of a few new faces. At least he thought they were new. Perhaps he was just not paying enough attention before. Most disturbing of all to him, however, was the sudden change in demeanor of their Nobody companion. Hirutila had clearly missed out on something massive in his catatonia, better that he try and discuss it with someone while they make their way to the next world. Time cramped on a ship with this motley crew should be interesting.

Hirutila chimed up a bit, "Out of the cell, right back onto a ship. I never can escape this life," chuckling a little at his own observation. He only hoped the crew would be a little less murderous this time around. Not that that would be too particularly difficult. . But Hirutila was uneasy. There was no telling what was ahead. But the promise of getting back to life with Dammania was enough for him.

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Zekaraya slammed hard into the stone ground as the sword in his left hand shattered like glass upon impact with the Emperor's keyblade, the swordsman just barely managing to roll away as the Keyblade slashed towards him. Though Zekarya was drenched in sweat, the turban on his head sagging from the sheer weight of the moisture and lungs puffing his chest with every struggled breath, his opponent barely seemed winded. Zekaraya rose to his feet once more, wiping the sweat from his forehead before lunging at the emperor one more time. He simply turned to his side, swinging the blade onto Zekaraya's back, knocking him to the ground once more, prompting an exasperated cry of pain as he made impact. Zekaraya angrily turned himself over, struggling to force himself back to his feet, with a furious cry directed at the Emperor, who stood before him in perfect form.

"How....How can you have this much power!" He screamed out in a blind fury, face a bright shade of cherry red from exhaustion and fury. The swordsman threw his remaining weapon onto the ground and fell to one knee, groaning in agony as he tried to force himself up. "I am an agent of God, I am the sword of the messiah!" he roared, finally managing to get back on his feet once more. "You...You're nothing but some earthly king, you aren't even just beneath me, you don't even deserve to look in my presence let alone spill my blood!"

Zekaraya charged at Emperor Michael once more, "I am the Lion of Judah!" he howled as he dived towards him, only for the Emperor to simply raise his keyblade.

"Thundaga!" spoke the Emperor, as a bolt of lightning arced out, striking Zekaraya point blank in the chest, dropping him to the ground to skid across the stone floor, landing at the Emperor's feet. Zekaraya uncurled his body, aching as he tried once more to rise to his feet.

While Zekaraya's lifeless body lay there at his feet, the swordsman kept his hands tucked under his body, waiting for the Emperor to slip up. When he finally saw it, Zekaraya forced himself onto his back, and raised his hands in front of him.

"Blind!"

As the Emperor was struck by the spell, Zekaraya swung a kick at his knees, knocking him down as the Swordsman took off into the castle, swerving past anyone who may be in his path, before crashing through one of the castle's windows, tumbling out into the aftermath of the preceding battle. What caught his eye the most, however, was the airpad of Gummi Ships. Zekaraya charged towards the ships, immediately jumping into one, commanding the vehicle as it rose into the air and flew away from the ruined palace.

Zekaraya cursed as he relaxed, eyes fixated on the wounds he had sustained from the fight with the Emperor. Never before had he faced an opponent who so much as offered him a challenge, let alone outright defeat him. He looked at the burns from the Thundaga attacks and clenched his teeth in anger. Where the Gummi ship was headed, he did not know, but he vowed that he would make use of whomever he found there, and become powerful enough to not only cut the keybladers down one by one but return to exact his revenge upon the Emperor who bested him.

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Bethlehem, Green Sahara
@Tenma Tendo

The noise coming from Bethlehem was intense, as the streets flooded with people fleeing from the indiscriminate destruction of their homes, houses crumbled and burning, with people trying and failing to fend off attacks by the Heartless as they flooded into the city. But the Heartless were not the only threat to be found. As a small group of young men managed to slip away from the Heartless, they found themselves suddenly faced with a strange looking figure. The tall man with almost pitch black skin and long braided hair towered over them, his head covered by some kind of wide straw hat, his body wraped in an orange tunic, as he pulled out a shining long sword, with teeth like a saw, that he swung at the young men, taking each of them down one at a time before the others had time to react. The hatted man stepped out of the shadows into the stream of Heartless, the blood from the slain men still shimmering on the steel blade in the light of the fires. He smiled as he began walking down the road, simply cutting down anyone who was unfortunate enough to come in his path. He stopped at the sight of the fireballs, crashing into the city, burning away the Heartless that had accompanied him. He smiled at the sight,

"Heh, maybe there will be some real fun here after all."

The man continued on his path, seemingly unphased by the destruction but fixated on a single point, like a wolf stalking a deer. He gripped onto the sword in his hand as the began to descend upon a single building. It was no residential home, just a small dwelling set aside for travelers. As he approached, the man kicked in the door, to the horror of the two dwelling inside. The woman held tightly to the Child at her side, while the man in the room charged at the assailant. However, it was of little good, for the attacker simply grabbed the child's father by the throat, lifting him into the air before tossing him onto the ground outside of the inn, approaching the woman and her child with an almost gleeful abandon.

"You can't possibly know why this smile is on my face, can you?" He said to the terrified woman, who closed her eyes in fear, only to have the smiling swordsman grab onto her face, forcing her eyes forward.
"You wouldn't, hell you couldn't, know what it's like to be forced to be the Pharaoh's dog for 5 years of your life, but I got the chance to get out, to finally get my life back. And all I have to do," he spoke, "Is to take out the little baby you have there. So, if you feel like getting out of this with your life, miss, you'll do well to hand him over, or I can do you a favor and send you to next life with him."

However, the man's speech was cut short when he felt a presence behind him. The demented smile came back to his face as he turned around, seeing Capella in the doorway.

He scoffed at the sight of her, "You certainly are no Hebrew, girl. What, you think you're going to be some kind of hero?" He was perplexed by the sight of the girl, there was an air of both power and reservation to her.
"Are you from far or just stupid, girl. You're standing before Rago Yakubu, the Scourge of the Mediterranean! You think you can stop me. I'll have fun chopping you up before I take out these two."
Rago began to approach Capella, Sword drawn and ready to attack.

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

The rope dug into Hirutila's hands as he gripped onto it, swinging rapidly from the castle towards the giant mech. Hirutila opened his eyes, fixating on the spot of landing, right in the robot's leg joint. But any feelings of optimism were quickly dashed when he saw a rain of fire fall out of the sky as the robot shot a gummi ship out of the sky like nothing. He gulped in fear as he saw the robot immediate return its attention back at the palace, charging up the beam rifle.

Only have one shot at this, I have to make this count, or we're all dead.

At that moment, however, Hirutila felt a sudden grasp upon his forearm. He instinctively jerked his head to the side and met eyes with the unexpected visitor. At least, he thought that's where his eyes would be. The figure was clad in dark purple armor, unlike anything he had ever seen. Hirutila should have known not to be surprised by anything anymore, yet this guy was more than he had expected to see, more like a character in some story than a real person. However, the grip on his arm confirmed the reality of the other, as did the sudden jerking as the armored man began to twist them. Hirutila's eyes widened in a mixture of disbelief and fear as he felt the two of them turn increasingly rapidly, the force of the cyclone becoming almost unbearable for a brief second, as he felt his entire body beginning to burn and crackle, like a pan of hot oil, coursing through his entire body, the heat and the energy jumping off him unlike anything he had ever felt before, it left him unable to move, before he felt the pressure on his arm release. The purple figure slowly began to drift away, as time seemed to slow down to a crawl for Hirutila, the other falling away from him back towards the ground, with Hirutila turning himself around, to see the Gundam growing closer and closer, as time snapped back to reality, he realized he was heading straight for the machine.

"EAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The old pirate crackled in the sky with the scream following after, a trail of lighting following behind him as he whizzed like a corkscrew across the sky right at the Gundam's weapon arm. The robot charged up its attack, nearing completion, ready to blow the palace off the face of the earth. However, Hirutaila was in full panic mode, heading straight for the machine, he held his arm out in front of his face as if the brace would save him from the impact. Tocsax may have given him a little extra shielding, but he was sure an impact at this speed right into the robot would be more than enough to at least break something good and well. His heart pumped, as he came closer, spinning like a drill. In that moment of distress, Hirutila felt a sudden weight in his hand, as he opened his eyes, to spy his keyblade once more. Manifested in his hand, he looked ahead, finding himself just a few feet away from the Robot's arm joint. As if by instinct, Hirutila began to straighten out his body, and hold the keyblade ahead, letting it stand straight as his body spun around even more rapidly.

The loud crash of hte impact could be heard all over the area of hte palace as Hirutila slammed into the Gundam's arm joint with full force, and onlookers would see the robot spurt out sparks as the joint was severed through, almost immediately falling into disrepair and tumbling from the machine onto the ground, the weapon going with it. Hirutila followed after, being forced back to the ground like a ping pong ball as he crashed into the earth. The old pirate was saved from death on impact thanks to the extra protection the nobody had given him, but the old man was out cold from the sheer force, laying eyes open but motionless next to the sundered arm.

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Hirutila
Palace of the Blachrenae, Renovation

Damn, damn damn damn. This was not the way he was planning on jumping into the action. Hirutila grimaced in a mixture of agitation and sheer terror at the sight before him. The Heartless were one thing, the horde of little imps was damn frightening in its own right but the real awesome might was that humanoid mechanical monstrosity that was suddenly threatening to tear the whole palace down around them. The Empress may have managed to defend the place for that bit of time, but

"Damnable Mock-Man, we don't stand a chance against that thing!" Hirutila yelled out once the sheer scale of the Gundam had really sunk into his mind. How could something so huge even exist? Was it autonomous or was it more like a suit of armor?
He found his answer when Tocsax ripped the pilot out before his very eyes. So it was a suit of armor, but the pilot there obviously wasn't really controlling the mech. Hirutila gritted his teeth at the challenge. How was he supposed to fight against *that*? The damn palace was like paper to it, there was no way he wouldn't be killed instantly upon even attempting to challenge it.
But better to die trying to fight than to be just a casualty in a building collapse. He had some idea on what to do. The only weapons that were going to take down the behemoth were the ones it was carrying. Certainly whatever Heartless was possessing the Gundam wanted to wipe anyone out it got in clear sight, so why not turn that against it.

Hirutila looked around the room rapidly, trying to eye out anything he could use to get up close to the mech and get away before it could vaporize him. It was then that Hirutila took note of a display in the corner of his eye, a halberd of sorts with a plethora of long parts. He ran over to the weapon, pulling it out of the display and snapping the head off of the weapon, tying a long piece of rope around it.
"Alright, let's hope this works," he muttered out, before running off up a staircase, shortly after Tocsax had cast the haste spell on him. Hirutila was amazed at how fast he was moving, even better than back in his prime in the pirate days. This was just like pirate days right, boarding a ship to take it out? That's what he kept telling himself as he ascended the staircase, each footstep pounding in his heart as he approached a heightened point.

If I can just get this into one of its joints..., he thought as he stepped onto the windows sill, the vast drop of the castle below and the Gundam there before him. Hirutila swung the makeshift grappling hook around in a circle, turning back and throwing it with all his might. To his amazement, the hook landed into one of the robots arm joints. Now for the hard part. Hirutila took a deep breath, looking down at the drop before him. In his mind, it was just water, just the cold dark blue of the sea. He repeated it over and over in his head.

Nothing below me but sea, nothing below me but sea.

And with that, his feet left the stone of the castle window as the began careening towards the Gundam, hoping that Tiw was looking over him, and praying that his feet would make contact with the robot's metal and not his back splattered against the ground.

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Just outside of Bethelehem, Israel, 1250 AD, Green Sahara
@Tenma Tendo

The cart of pilgrims returning home were all busy chattering among themselves, though whispers concerning Capella could be heard being carried among the wind.

You don't think she's royalty do you? Whispered one of the women to the other, who chattered back

A Hasmonean in a cart ride to Bethlehem? What would royalty be doing here?

The other woman looked back at Capella, staring back at her for a short while before whispering back at the other, "But those clothes, how can she afford purple and still ride back in a horse cart?"

The ride back was slow, yet calming. There was much to see on the road back, groves of date palms resting in the moonlight, nestled within the mountainous terrain that seemed to gently slope with the clouds. At the same time, the calm had an eerie and sinister undertone, like static in the still air. The full moon cloaked the entire roadway in a hazy bluish tinge, adding to that underlying dread hidden in the calm. Capella's concentration on such thoughts would be broken by the intrusion of a young man, who attempted to get a few words in with her.
"You're not from here, are you?" The young man inquired, "What brings you out to Bethlehem. It's not exactly the most interesting place in the world. The bustle of Jerusalem to much for you?"

But any small talk was cut off with the sudden cry of the horses as the cart approached Jerusalem proper. The driver let out a shriek of horror as well, as the cart became surrounded by Heartless.

"They....They're everywhere!" one of the pilgrims exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger at the village, which was swarming with the little imps, running through the streets like wild beasts. Among the hoard of creatures were three more like disembodied suits of armor, bearing some kind of emblem, that were herding the other Heartless like dogs in search of something. The creatures tore through houses at the command of their superiors and watching them, the message of the letter would echo in Capella's head once more.

There, a legion of Heartless seek to slay a child named Yeshua, a child born of a Virgin Birth. Do not let them touch him, or all is lost.

She would need to act fast to save the cart of pilgrims, the people of Bethlehem, and the Child before all were lost to the swarm of Heartless. They numbered 100 in total, scattered throughout the village.

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The Valley of the Moon, Canaan, 2288 AD, Green Sahara

Audry stared at the discolored ceiling once again, letting the image burn into her retinas as she lay on the old cot, the stuffing long rotten away, nothing more than a glorified blanket wrapped around springs. She closed her eyes, though no sleep came. It wouldn't come any time soon. She lifted her hand up, taking a look at the device now affixed to her forearm, at the scar when that ancient technology had buried its way into her flesh, digging deep into her. The uncertainty of what was to pass was much like that same burning pain, though it radiated out of her spine across her body rather than merely in her arm now. She balled her fist up and slammed it against the worn down mattress, cursing and groaning loudly as she turned herself over, only to hear the creek as the door to her room opened. Audry simply layed on her side in silence, as the monk spoke to her, urging the young woman to wake up. The day was upon them. Audry rose to a seated position, nodding her head in silence as she rose to her feet, and followed after the monk without saying a word.

"You understand the necessity of this, do you not?"

Audry nodded, though she could not say that she fully knew what would happen. Worlds were at stake, a future worth getting out of bed for, a future with a mother who wouldn't die of a bad cough. The Galileans believed it rested in the Middle Ages, a time so long ago it was the stuff of legends now. She was to find the Legendary Hero, and go with her to face the Emperor who resided in the Horn of Africa and kill his minions.

"The Son of Aaron must die, remember that Audry, he must die at all costs."

"...I know." She uttered out quietly, as the Monks began to power on the ancient machines that filled the chamber. The Abbot looked at her one last time. "When you are there, follow her trail, you'll find her eventually. The Hero must complete her quest, and you must make sure all loose ends stay down. From there, you're on your own, our knowledge can't help you once you leave our timeline."

And with that, the conversation ended, once the gate was identified.

Audry closed her eyes as the Chronodex activated, and she felt herself break apart, as the particles of her body accelerated, faster and faster and faster until, she was moving backward in time. When her eyes opened once more she felt her self being placed in the middle of nowhere, in seeing in the distance, the walls of a great canyon, What must have been the Valley all those years ago. Audry stood herself up, looking intently at the cliff faces. However she shook off the thought, right now her goal was to find the Legendary Hero, the so-called Child of the Sixth Brightest. Now, just where in the world was she supposed to start looking?

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

@Nerevarine, Acceptable, although note that Green Sahara's future will be altered in this RP's epilogue.

@Letter Bee

Yep, I was counting on that

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Figure I'll give Capella someone to interact with more than just nameless villagers and villains @Letter Bee

The Scion

Name:
Audry Hjaurtly
Appearance:

My Hider

Bio:
Audry was born and raised in the remains of Carthage during the spring of 2268. A native of the Vandalreich, one of the last 'states' remaining in the devastated world of the Far Future Green Sahara in a time when humanity is rapidly approaching extinction, of both Vandal and Canaanite descent, she was born into a time when the lands of the Sahara were beginning to lose their fertility from a slowly accumulating desertification as a result of decreasing rainfall due to a climate shift provoked by a nuclear war, prompting the Vandals and the Canaanites to wander eastward across the Sahara towards the Middle East. Leaving North Africa and the Sahara when she was 13, her family moved to the region of Adelfi-Ammon, founding the city of New Ammon, in the area of the former state of Jordan, where she would spend the rest of her teenage years. New Ammon, built upon the ruins of a former capital of a major nation, was full of relics of the past, and Audry, who had become something of an adventurer, discovered many strange and unusual artifacts that lead her to become enamored with the idea of machinery and physics, which she took to heart to study in the hopes of one day making something useful from the scrap and long lost machines she found. While adventuring one day, she fell into a sinkhole and found herself in the mass grave of some kind of ancient army, whose bodies had long worn away into nothing but bone, but their armor caught her attention. Though it was archaic as if from the Middle Ages, the soldiers seemed to possess some kind of integrated technology far beyond its time, which Audry took with her to experiment on, only to have the machines seemingly burrow into her skin, infusing her with the magitec, causing her to fall into a period of illness. During a spell of delirium, she was seemingly instructed by a disembodied voice to venture out into the eastern desert. She did just that, taking off into the desert at night.
While out in the desert, Audry came in contact with a group of cloaked figures who took off at the sight of her, prompting her to chase after them until she reached some kind of monastic community in the middle of the desert, before being captured and taken back to the monastery. The figures revealed that they were founded by a great holy man who was saved from death by the "legendary hero" a young woman that they referred to as 'Gadyata', but who was later attacked by authorities and he and his followers driven out into the wilderness to fade into obscurity, as time forgot about them. These people, known as the Galileans, after the homeland of their founder, devoted their time to preserving the knowledge that they had collected over the centuries in their monastery, studying the Multiverse and the timestream, keeping knowledge of the Keyblade wielders and their long past quest, knowing that they were fated to one day meet a new hero, descended from one of the originals, who they would send back in time to meet the legendary hero, and with her, go to meet the other Keybladers and aid them on their quest to defeat Leo. The Galileans outfitted Audry with their magnum opus, a device known as the Chronodex, which would allow her to travel back in time to the Middle Ages, so long as she was able to find a sufficient space-time anomaly. However, Audry would require finding the Keybladers to be able to travel between timelines, something that the Galileans had never managed to figure out how to do.
Age: 20
Skills:
Audry has an expansive knowledge of machinery and physics, allowing her to make most anything from scrap.
Growing up, Audry learned how to fight rather quickly, picking up skill with both firearms and melee weapons, carrying a rifle and a machete as her primary weapons. Her body was infused with magicite from the remains of one of Malachi's deceased magitec knights, giving her some moderate skill in magic, though she has no skill in using it and is unsure of how to access it aside from activations when in distress.
Audry has a keyblade that can manifest, though she is completely unaware of its existence, believing that there cannot be any more keyblade wielders past the Middle Ages and that her time period is 'past that age'.
Personality:
A very cautious and serious individual, Audry grew up in the chaotic future of the Green Sahara, leading her to have a rather reserved and calculating personality, always analyzing situations before jumping into them. While a generally very polite young woman, she's known to have outbursts of anger when she feels that the situations before her are not being taken seriously, or the proper steps are not being taken to achieve the intended goal. She also appears to be afflicted with a degree of post-traumatic stress disorder from the hardships that she and the other Vandals-Canaanites faced in their migration from the Sahara into Canaan, and the generally violent nature of living in the ruins of a collapsed society.

Name: Green Sahara (Future)
Summary of History:
As the Green Sahara was saved by the actions of Capella, the timeline was left to be able to develop and mature in its own right. However, the People of the Green Sahara, while safe from direct invasion from Heartless or the Seekers of Darkness, found its inhabitants seemingly manipulated indirectly from an unknown force, leading them to become increasingly violent and warlike, leading to a Global Nuclear War in the year 1987, of such a massive scale that the earth was permanently damaged to the point that the climate began a rapid spiral downward into Nuclear Winter. The initial cooldown wiped out about 2/3 of the population, with the mass extinction of many of earth's plant an animal species pushing the global human population down to 10,000 worldwide by the 23rd Century, with the population only decreasing over time as the planet moves on without them. Humanity is left in the state of nomadic tribes in a sort of quasi-iron age with leftover technology from their past time. Humanity is extinct everywhere except for Africa and Mainland East Asia, containing a population of about 3,500 and 4,500 respectively.
Important Nations:
No true nations remain, only vague bands of people with similar cultures
Overall Technology Level:
Quasi-Iron Age with bits of Modern Technology
Map: N/A

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

((Collab between Letter Bee and Nerevarine.))

Zekaraya

Zekarya's eyes darted back to back as he took in the sights of the city. This place was so unlike anything he had ever seen, his head throbbed in agony as he took the cacophanty of sensation into his eyes, trying to make heads and tails of the strange architecture of the city's buildings, the unusual clothing that the people wore, and monstrous mechanical beings that seemed to be present everywhere he looked. However that was all overshadowed by the aching pain he felt as the faced the direction of the Palace. A burning agony, like white hot iron being poured into his eyes, burning into his skull. The sensaiton was like that he had felt when he encountered that Keyblade wielder in the prison, but magnified greatly. What was this power coming from that place?

Ioannes spoke up as they approached the gates of the palace, "Well, here we are, the Palace of the Blachrenae," he spoke with a chipper inflection, as he cascaded his arms towards the imposing structure. "So, what kind of business you have over here?"

"I have a meeting," Zekaraya replied, as he walked up to the gate of the palace, leaving Ioannes to simply scratch his head in confusion as his guest left him behind, only for him to shake his head and walk down the street.

A single guard was present, though Zekaraya made quick work of him. The swordsman pointed the tip of his blade at the surveying guard, and with a quick incantation, a dark bolt shot out of the tip of the sword, hitting the guard, who fell to the ground. The spell rendered the unfortunate guard blind, silenced, and paralyzed, a special concoction created by Malachi to deprive prisoners of their senses for depravation torture, though it also worked for taking out pesky watchmen. Zekaraya waltzed past the incapacitated guard, opening the door and entred into the palace.

The sensation of burning heat would intensify, even as voices began to be heard in the direction of the throne room. Then suddenly, a voice whispered to him in perfect Hebrew, and the pain receeded, as a layer of some sort was placed between him and the heat. The words of said voice were, <Zekaraya, Faithful Servant of The Messiah; hear me. I am the messenger who hath told Emmanuel of his destiny, and now guide you to yours'.>

He felt something poking at his mind, something guiding him to a set of maintenance stairs with a steel railing. <Zekaraya, go to the bottom of this Palace, find your way to the False Cornerstone, and destroy it.>

An image flashed before Zekaraya's eyes, that of a white slab of rock, rooted to the ground, that radiated light.

The warrior knew what must be done. He scanned the area to find the pathway to his goal, seeing a staircase that lead to the lower levels of the palace. As he descended into the palace, he readied his swords, which began to glow briliantly with with hot red flames as the weapons became infused with magic.

Behind the door in the corridor leading into the basement of the palace, two guards, were stationed, chatting among themselves. That was until they saw the iron door behind them begin to glow a faint red, growing into a radiant orange.

One of the soldieres pointed at the anomaly, "What is that?" he asked, as the other readied his own weapon. "Be on guard, I don't like the lo-"

The two soldiers were cut off as a hot chunk of semimolten door flew out, striking one soldier in the head, as the other turned to look at his companion, only to be cut down by the firey blade, burning the man into a crisp as his body was filled with the magical flames as the blade cut into his flesh. Zekaraya advanced onward, cutting through the second door in his path in much of the same way.

A soldier above had taken notice of the noice coming from below, and descended down the staircase to investigate, only to find the door looked as though it had been cut clean through, with some kind of heated instrument. He persisted forward again, taking note of the horrific sight of what looked to be a man burned with molten iron, and the armor of another, with burned ashes inside. He quickly ran upstairs, attracting the attention of another soldier.

"Quick, tell the Emperor, we have in intruder, whatever it is it is armed and dangerous," as he expained what he had seen in the basement passage to the other, "We have to tell him now!"

The Emperor receieved a message through the intercom, saying that there was an intruder close to the Cornerstone of Light. Turning to his wife and saying, "Prepare the Palace defenses," he then walked off towards a shortcut to the Cornerstone of Light that only he knew...

In the meantime, Zekaraya was led by the voice to the Cornerstone of Light, which radiated brightly in response, burning away the insulating layer that had guarded the warrior.

<Destroy the stone, and begin your destiny, oh Lion of Judah>. Zekaraya took two blades, one in each hand, and focused, as the swords began to glow with a radiant, angelic light, as he inflused the blades with the Holy spell. The Palace's defenses began to swarm towards the Cornerstone, armed to the teeth as the quickly and methodically approached the structure.

However, by the time they reached the stone, Zekaraya swung the two blades into the cornerstone, unleashing the full power of the Holy that he had bulit into the weapons, a shockwave sent out that rocked the entire palace, hitting all present with him with a powerful blast of holy energy, and shattering the cornerstone into fragments. Zekaraya then turned to face the defenses, raising his two swords, each that glowed different colors, one orange, the other blue, and cloaked him in magical defenses against both the physical weapons of his assailants, and any magic they could throw at him. He then charged, swords out to fight his way out of the cornerstone room.

But the use of Holy, a Light spell, on the Cornerstone of Light made sure that extra effort had to be taken to damage the slab, and that the fragments were large enough to still radiate Light, though weaker than before. It was then that Emperor Michael arrived alone, his Keyblade already out while his eyes shone in fury.

"Guards!" he shouted, "You can't take him alone; go reinforce the outer defenses!" Turning towards Zekaraya, the Emperor said, "I have many things to say to you, but right now I don't have time to say them - Thundaga!"

A bolt of lightning crackled at Zekaraya.

Important to Everyone (Except Tenma)

A gigantic Corridor of Darkness opened in front of the palace gates, and Heartless flooded out of it in huge numbers. There were 'Pureblood' Heartless, Emblem Heartless; the entire host was led by a Possessed machine; a Gundam itself!

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hirutila

Hirutila pondered over the words that Tocsax and Georgia said to him. there was a truth that indeed he had nothing to go back to. What little was left of his old life was impossible to return to. He closed his eyes and spoke, "Very well, I suppose there's nothing to lose. But you better make it worth my while. He said to the Emperor, "Get me out of debt and back home to my daughter, and I'll give you my help." So that was it, he would help in exchange for a chance at his old life again. Multiverse be damned, he just wanted to see Dammania again.

Hirutila's eyes roled over to the strange little foxish boy that was present the whole time. It seemed like the others were going to be off doing their own thing, he might as well unwind a little bit before they take off to where ever it is they're going. "Hey, you look like the type, you know where I can get a drink in this palace?"

However, before he had a chance to get a responce, the Emperor excused himself after a message was played informing them of some kind of intruder. Intruder? What was going on?

A massive shockwave roled through out the palace shortly after, as soldiers began rushing out stammering about Heartless showing up in mass numbers.

"Oh...that can't be good." he spoke out loud.

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

So is anyone else confused by the Green Sahara stuff? Feels kinda disjointed, like I'm reading excerpts from a completely different RP or something.

@Double

He tells me generally what his ideas for the progression of that side plot are and lets me make the challenges since I created the world, but I know about how much it links back as you. I assume Bee has some plan to link it back to the main story.

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Arrival at the palace came sooner than Hirutila would have hoped. The first moments of peace he's had in 5 years and now he was back on his feet to meet with someone the Moogle only identified as the Emperor of this nation. He yawned as the ship docked into the airbase, being nudged to his feel, lazily stepping off. It was at that moment that he caught sight of his surroundings with any kind of focus for the first time, the sight nearly knocking him back down to his feet. The beauty of the palace was stunning for sure, but the true bizzarity was in the city itself. Was this still earth? How could a place like this exist? The sheer size and design of the buildings of Constantinople were like something from another world entirely. Hirutila considered for a moment if he had in fact died and been reincarnated in the Dewis realm, but perished the thoughts immediately as impossible. He could not place his finger on the exact reason, but despite the alien nature of this place, it felt familiar, like he had been here before, though he could not understand what would be causing that feeling. This was unlike anything he had ever seen, a true marvel of architecture and technology.
However, Hirutila's marvel was cut short when he was taken by the arm by a pair of escorts who lead him into the palace.
Oh, humans! Hirutila thought to himself when the guards took hold of him. "I had expected that I would see more of your kind," he remarked to the Moogle who had accompanied him.
The guardsmen's target was a small gathering of others. Hirutila's eyes widened at the sight of other's in his situation. And so young, just what was the reason that they were all gathered here...one of the assembled caught his eye, a young girl. She looked no older than what his daughter, Dammania, would be. Dammania..., he winced at the thought of her, heart aching with the hope she was still doing okay. But any musings on the youth of those before him were killed when his eye caught sight of what was accompanying that girl.
What is that thing? A dragon? Possibly, to Hirutila it looked to be some kind of giant wingless bird with teeth and the skin of a lizard. He turned his eyes away from the repugnant creature towards the two new arrivals who seemed to be leading the guards.

Ack!

Hirutila barely had time to throw his arms up to brace impact as he saw one of the two young men swing his hand at Hirutila as if he was going to throw something. The ensuing Flash of light was likely the glow of death as he passed into Hell, he was sure. However, opening his eyes, he was still standing right where he was....In Chainmail and proper clothing that were not stained in blood and piss, and lacked that distinctively horrid torture victim odor too.

"What the hell..." Hirutila exclaimed in surprise as he looked over the new vestments. How did he do that? That one who changed his clothing. A bodisatta? Perhaps, it would explain the seeming reality manipulation. He was so fixated on the strange little dragon creature that he had missed the introduction of the two young men. Shame, but maybe he could get some clues about where exactly he was by their clothing. Constantinople sounded distinctively Greek, and the temperature was a pleasant warm like back home.

Good, he could be anywhere in the Middle East, North Africa, or the Balkans...

The clothing of the men was unlike anything he had seen. They weren't Ostrogoths, though this seemed to be the closest to the Bosphorus area by his own memories of the climate while travling there as a merchant. Definitly was Europe, he could tell that much. And yet they were so foreign, yet so familar. That was when Hirutila caught sight of the sheild of one of the men. Ah, a distinctive insignia, finally a clue.

A double-headed Eagle

Yeah...useless. He had never seen anything like that before being used for a nation's insignia.

"The armor suits you. You know, I've met actual knights in shining armor that didn't pull off this look half as well as you do. Have you been here before?"

A what in shining armor? Knight...that word he didn't recognize. The closest thing he could think of was a word in his own langauge, kneht, but that word...it meant servant or slave.

Wait...that language wasn't Vandalic, nor anything else he could recognize. How did he understand it? Could he...

"No, I've never seen this place before. I don't know where I am."

What the...how did he do that? Something wasn't right about this place. But then the guards began to lead everyone into the palace. Hmm, perhaps everything will be explained in there. He hoped that would be the case. The War Council introduced themselves, The Emperor and Empress stated their case, speaking of some kind of collection of different words, all supposed different timelines, alternate paths of time. The concept of their being multiple worlds existing within each other was far from novel for a Buddhist like Hirutila, but this tale of different timelines, that was something that caught his interest.

They they showed that threat, the Heartless, and Hirutila's interest was peaqued once more. Contact with the outside world was limited after he was thrown away in the Pharaoh's dungeon, but the image of that little creature recalled a memory long ago.

------------
"Stab it in the eye, twist it around real good!"

Hirutila shifted to the tips of his toes, looking over the shoulder of one of the hunters, who plunged a hot poker deep into the downed beast's eyes, shifting it around as the smoke wafting out of the wound stunk the air with the smell of burning flesh. Curiously, not even this seemed to get a reaction from the creature.

The men around here, Danes they were called, were complaining about these strange beasts showing up. They killed livestock, kidnapped women and children, sometimes they even took men, and left behind mutilated corpses when they left anything behind at all. Supposedly they had made it to Daneland though Slavic lands to the east. The Danes suspected that they were created by Slavic Witches, or were the corrupt ofspring of Slavic farmers and their animals. Whatever they were, they had become a massive problem, as nothing seemed to keep them down. Hirutila and Rago had come to the Danish lands to trade with their fence, an old man named Hrothgar. He and some friends had caught one of the beasts, what they had termed a 'derkvette'. The creature had been bound up, and the men were doing everything they could to kill the creature, though nothing seemed to really even bother it. Rago suggested just cutting its head off, though the farmers noted that previous decaptiations seemed to just cause the creature to just dissappear.

"Disappear?" the Chadian pirate responded incredulously

Hrothgar nodded, "I don't understand it, but they just...won't die"

Rago responded by pulling out his own axe, slamming it upon the creature's neck.

As if it was never theyre, it vanished.

Rago whisled at the sight of that, "Huh, now that's weird."
-------------------

When the two left Daneland to return to Corsica, Hirutila thought nothing of it, he suspected that it was a minor problem endemic to Europe. Now he was being told these things not only were everwhere, but they were an existential threat being commanded by some guy named Leo.

To be fair, the explanation made it quickly apparent that Leo was more than just 'some guy'. The demonstration became intersting when the War Council put up a display of the beings Leo was in cahoots with. The emperor described them as Gods of old, but Hirutila knew these deities were still being venerated back at home, even if they looked a little different back in his own time. But then the girl shouded out something that seemed to make things make sense.

"That's the Annunaki!"

"Annunaki?" he said in surprise at her, "Those are just dewos."
The name was a little off but he recognized it. The Canaanites back in Vandalia called the 'fallen' Gods who did not side with the Buddha as the 'annunoth'. And the girl's contempt for these creatures seemed to match the hatred that Canaanites held for these fallen gods. "unless...You're not some kind of Canaanite, are you?" he asked Georgia inquistively.

The thought lingered in his mind. Why would this Leo ally himself with fallen dewos?

The emperor claimed it was to give the Dewos vengence upon 'those who worship one god' in exchange for aiding him in his misguided light versus dark philosophy. Hirutila cared little for the specifics of a crazy man's philosophy, even if this crazy man had apparently destroyed a major organization and paved the way for destruction. But the talk of the worship of one god got his attention. Perhaps he had something to do with that warlord in Africa back home.

When the explanation was over, Hirutila spoke up once again.

"Look," he said, speaking directly to the council. "I get the need to take out this Leo, given he looks to be an existential threat on a scale I can't even fully comprehend because aparently we're far beyond the year 1455 Etos Ptolemaiou and technology has gotten to the point that I've stopped trying to figure it out because I feel like my head will burst trying to wrap around this all, but I think I have to decline your offer." Hirutila continued his speech, "If you really were spying on me you'll know very well I'm not a hero, I'm just some guy with bad luck who took to stealing on the seas to pay back debtors. I'm too old to be doing this whole, save the world thing."

Kingdom Hearts - The Lights of the Multiverse (KH and Alternate History) [Full]

Axum, Kingdom of Axum, Green Sahara
1248 AD, 2 years ago

The doors opened with a thunderous roar as Zakaraya entered into the throne room. The swordsman kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the figure reclining lazily upon his throne, a man garbed in a blue tunic over white robes, holding a scepter in his hand and a white turban over his head, with long hair pulled back, keeping eyes focused on the warrior walking up to the Emperor. Zakaraya dropped to his knees, falling completely forward to the seated monarch, prostrating entirely before the man.
"Rise, oh Lion of Judah," spoke the Emperor in a deep, booming voice, as Zakaraya rose to his feet, bowing to him and speaking.
"My lord, Emmanuel, I have come before you to discuss the taking of Israel. I ask of you that we begin the invasion of Arabia immediately. I believe it is in our best interests to take cities like Mecca to sustain our armies. These Arab cities have no allies except each other, taking them will allow our armies to march through the desert with minimal exhaustion before we invade the Levant. I believe we are ready to attack, but I require the approval of the Messiah before I may make such a decision."

Zakaraya dropped to his knee once again, with Emmanuel simply standing up, stroking his beard, and letting out a chuckle.
"Have you forgotten the revelation, Zakaraya?" Emmanual probed, prompting Zakaraya to groan under his breath. "I have been informed of the time to take action against the false king who resides in Jerusalem. I have been made aware that the barriers that Alexander rose will fall and of the coming of the hordes of Gog in Europe and Magog in Asia. They will swarm upon the land, and when they enter into Persia and Vandalia and those lands fall, I will be given dominion over them to turn against the false king." Zakaraya said nothing, simply nodding.

"I remember, Lord, however, I believe that taking Arabia up to Mecca will be of strategic advantage to our soldiers. We can prevent any needless exhaustion the ma-"

The robed figure beside Emmanuel raised his hand, cutting off Zakaraya's speech. "The Messiah has spoken, the invasion will be carried out when the divine hordes have taken down Persia and Vandalia. We need not to invest precious resources in preemptive invasions."

Zakaraya eyed the figure, "In all respect, Malachi, our direct route of assault will be through Arabia. Unless you intend a direct invasion of Egypt, oh High Priest."

Malachi eyed Zakaraya. "Lion of Judah, you may have command over our armies, but remember that I have command over the food and the pay that keeps your men loyal to you. You'd do best to keep my words in your head when you make your decisions."

Emmanuel turned to face his subjects, "Enough banter, men. You are my right and my left hands, so you would both do well to remember it, that you are extensions of myself. I will not have my hands clawing at themselves."

Zakaraya and Malachi stared at each other, before conceding and returning to their more docile states. However, Emmanuel pointed at Zakaraya, "Zakaraya, before you depart, I will inform you of a final task for which I have need for you."

"Yes, my lord," Zakaraya spoke, dropping to his knee once more.

"In Egypt, there is a man, one of great power, who poses a threat to us all. He is the spawn of my enemies, a dark sorcerer who threatens our entry into the Temple of Jerusalem. He wields a sword like a key, which gives him power not unlike our own. The establishment of my Kingdom and your Judgeship over this world is threatened to be thwarted by his presence. And so, oh Lion of Judah, I am tasking you to travel to Egypt to slay him before he becomes a threat to us."

"And how Will I know he is there?" Zakaraya asked.

Emmanuel smiled. "You will be able to sense his energy. It will radiate like ours.
------------------------------
Constantinople, Byzantine Empire, Renovation
The woman clung to her hat as the child at her side tugged at her skirt with increasing intensity. She struggled a bit to keep her balance, a large loaf of old bread in one arm as she shuffled her feet down the worn old steps that made their way to the muddy banks. The little boy pointed excitedly at a collection of ducks, some sleeping on the muddy shore while another group had taken to the water, preening and floating gently on the surface. When the two had reached the water, the small boy held out his hands, to which his mother obliged, breaking off a piece of bread, that the small boy quickly tore into pieces and threw into the water, watching with joy as the birds swam over, biting and gobbling down the bread greedily. The boy motioned for his mother to hand him another chunk of bread, and repeating the same process, let out a small noise of happiness as the birds continued to eat the provisions he had provided for them. The woman was watching her son intently, however, she took note of something out of the ordinary going on in the distance. At first, it seemed to be nothing that unusual, a slight change in the water's patterning, a shimmer but nothing too out of the ordinary. She smiled and called for the boy, pointing in the direction of the anomaly, believing it to be fish.
"Fish! Can we feed the fish? They're hungry too!"
The woman thought for a second, "I don't know if they'll eat bread, but there will be plenty left for the ducks to try."
The small boy cheered, running over to the shimmering spot, and quickly tossing a piece of bread into the water, which proceeded to bob untouched at the surface. The child stared at it intently for a bit, before turning to his mother in distress.
"The fish won't eat it, mama."
The woman sat at the side of her child, "They might not be sure if it's safe to eat yet. Give them some time."
The boy fixated on the bobbing bread, becoming soggy and discolored as the water of the canal seeped into it. The boy's hands twitched and shook with impatience as he turned again to cry to his mother. "They won't take it, mama. Maybe they don't like it."
The woman soothed her son, shooshing his cries as she tousled his hair. It was at that moment that she took notice of the water becoming more violent and displaced. She pointed this out, with the boy cheering at the sight. However, the cheers turned to screams of fear as a figure emerged from the water, a human hand grabbing at the muddy banks, pulling itself out of the water, pushing against the waterlogged ground, the ducks and sea birds taking flight as the man stood himself on two legs, scanning the area, as the woman held her child against her and kept her eyes on this strange figure. The man placed the sword he held in the scabbard at his side, locking eyes with the woman at the bank. They kept their eyes locked on each other for some time, before the woman spoke up, questioning who he was.
That language, the swordsman thought, Greek, the language of the Egyptians.
The man pointed at her, uttering a phrase in broken Greek. "Aigyptos..."
The woman stared in confusion at the man. The way he said it was so archaic, she barely comprehended the word he spoke. "E...Egypt?" she stammered out. "What about Egypt?"
"We are...Egypt?" The swordsman spoke, eying her interrogatively.
The woman shook her head, "No, no. This is Greece. You're in Constantinople."
The swordsman's eyes stayed in their questioning state, the woman's face beginning to furrow as she watched him some more.
"Not Nile...Not Egypt?"
"No, that's the Bosphorus. Why would you think we're in Egypt?" The woman asked aggressively, though the expression on the Swordsman's face never changed, his eyes only glazed over more as the names were processed in his head.
"Thank you," The swordsman spoke out, walking past the mother and child, the woman still grasping tightly to her crying child, as she watched the strange figure step off into the distance.

-------

The Swordsman walked up the hill, away from the park, until he made his way to some sort of road. He eyed the structure. It was like a river of stone, dark, darker than the stone used to pave the walkways he saw the others making use of. None seemed to walk upon it, though he supposed there was no trouble in trying. As he stepped upon the dark surface, his shoe made contact with solid ground. So it was possible to walk upon this after all. He continued to move forward until he heard a voice shout something out at him in Greek. He looked to the side, only to feel a hand grab him by the back of the neck, and pull back hard. As he was pulled out of the way, his eyes barely caught sight of some sort of metal vehicle, that went by faster than any horse, creating a crack of thunder as it passed by. The swordsman fell back, sitting in the shade against a building, as a man looked at him.
"Lucky that I caught you there, mister. One second later and you'd have been flattened on the pavement there."
The swordsman said nothing, simply looking at the other man, who looked back at him with a questioning stare. "Ey, you speak Greek there, bud?"
"I speak some," The swordsman replied, with the other man giving a thumbs up in approval.
"All right, that makes things a little easier. You're a traveler too, ain't ya? Name's Ioannes. I'm from Smyrna, but I like to come here once in a while. So what, about you? What brings you to the heart of the Roman Empire?"
"Name...my name is Zakaraya. From Ethiopia."
Ioannes let out a whistle as he heard Zakaraya's origin. "Wow, all the way from Africa. So, you here for business or just to have fun?"
"Business, just business."
Ioannes nodded sagely, "So, is this your first time here? If you need someone to show you around, I can help you."
"Yes, help is necessary." Zakaraya was stopped abruptly by a sudden feeling, like a sudden attack of pain in the head, he felt a great surge of power coming from the distance. He forced his eyes open, the power all radiating out from a massive building in the distance. He pointed at it, turning his face over to Ioannes. "Where is that?"
Ioannes looked over where Zakaraya pointed, furrowing his brow as he looked back. "The Palace? You need to get there? Well sure, I can show you how to get there, it's easy."
"Then let us go quickly."
-------------------------

Jerusalem, Israel, Green Sahara
@Tenma Tendo

A first-time traveler to the Holy City of Jerusalem would be stricken with awe to gaze upon the sight of the mighty Second Temple that dominated the skyline of the whole area, even from the ground. Anyone arriving by foot would be struck the image of the immaculate structure, clad in the brilliant white limestone, polished to reflect the light of the stars and moon, with gold shimmering in the light paving the crevices of its towering walls, with smoke gracefully wafting out from the center of the temple, floating over the city walls of Jerusalem. Though the protective walls themselves hid the less beautiful side of the city. For Jerusalem was far from a paradise. Beyond the open agora where hawkers shoved their wares in the face of any passerby, the labyrinth-like alleyways of the Israelite capital hid the seedy underside of the city, with traders in lest reputable goods, prostitutes, and gangsters hiding their activities away from the eyes of the common person took refuge in its crooked and disorienting structure. Jerusalem was only a short distance away from Bethlehem, however, any foreigner would do good to spend some time in Jerusalem to purchase the necessary garments to look like a local before traveling to a rural village like Bethlehem. Anti-Greek sentiment and general Xenophobia still haunted Israel like a poltergeist, and though it may not extend in a metropolis like Jerusalem, where the last vestiges of Hellenistic influence showed up in out of place Grecian architecture, anyone who didn't look sufficiently Hebrew could expect to face a lynch mob in a rural village not keen to outsiders. Capella would do well to take note of the distinctly medieval attitudes of the locals, for she was indeed in the real Middle Ages, though not any Middle Ages she would recognize. A full moon was out that night, the stars all shining brightly, the star of Sirius pointing to the southwest, on the road to Bethlehem. Anyone with a vehicle could take her out there for a small fee, though it may be uncomfortable, it would certainly attract less ire from the local farmers than to ride in on a Gummi Ship. But the road out of Jerusalem was by no means totally safe. Bandits roamed across the highways, but that was the least of her worries.
Guided by the light of Sirius, a hoard of Heartless, numbering 100, commanded by three superiors, three heartless who seemed to be nothing more than disembodied suits of armor, made their way to the small village, under the desire to say the child to be born there. A baby to be born to a mother under strange circumstances. Now, Heartless came to slay him and his bloodline. And seemingly no one would be able to stop them from razing the entire village, burning it to the ground without a trace. Capella would do well to make her way to the village quickly, lest the Heartless army approaches it before her.
-----------------

Axum, Kingdom of Axum, Green Sahara
1250 AD, Present Day

"I have lost track of his presence on this world, My Messiah," Malachi spoke, turning to Emmanuel. "Perhaps, he was not the true Lion of Judah, after all."
Emmanuel closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Do not speak such baseless judgments, Malachi. You know not what I know."
Malachi gritted his teeth at this, face twisting in disgust, though it quickly passed, as he began speaking once more. "Shall I offer a sacrifice for his safe return?"
Emmanuel nodded, "That will be good"
"Though, I must ask," Malachi inquired, "While Zakaraya is missing in action, who shall take command over the army?"
Emmanuel looked to the ground, agitated at the question. "While the Lion of Judah is unable to complete his duties, you shall take reign of the army. And, oh High Priest, I feel as though we are required to begin our assault. I have received the notification that Persia has become swarmed with the hordes of Magog, and the forces of Gog have entered into the lands of the Vandals."
Malachi nodded sagely, "Shall I begin the assault on the Arab Cities?"
"Yes, High Priest. Show no mercy if you must, the taking of Israel will be complete soon. I will summon a force of Gog and Magog's warriors to aid your assult, find them in Sana'a, and then take them to Mecca. Once it falls, all of Arabia will go with it."