Everflame: The Shard

[KittKat chunky~]

A small crowd of fishermen and city folk gathered at the bank of the river, standing around the group of Teresa clanswomen and watching with mild curiosity from a distance. The Teresa clan were not often seen in Tina city, except of course during the seeker celebrations, and such evictions from the clan even less common.


"It is not of you're concern, boy. You are not of the clan and therefore you are not deserving of punishment. Go back to your own people." The otter woman moved to push Yenchi aside, twisting the knife in her grip expectantly. She was surprised therefore when Yenchi did not move and instead pushed back at the elder. Shocked, she stumbled for a moment and then turned on the young feline.


"You dare to stand in my way? This girl must be punished for he insolence, but perhaps it is not just her that requires a lesson." The blade rose and fell in a savage slash, streaking pain across Yenchi's bared chest and lower arm. Blood soaked his white fur and from behind him came a whimper of shared pain from Imshi. Her whimper turned to a shout as Yenchi smashed the elder aside with unexpected ferocity, the rope that had bound him slashed in two and lying on the floor.


"Run!" He shouted the single word and pulled her into the crowd who, until this moment had stood silent and still, turned to confusion and panic. The clanswomen and otter Elder all gave shouts and yells of command or anger, but the two had already vanished into the surging crowd of people.

[Grace.E]

Not really interested but thanks anyway she signed quickly before she continued on ahead by herself, she was thinking about seeker, she was indeed mad at her for ripping away the ability to have her own voice and reducing to looking like a crazy person. she felt angry at te gods in general for not letting her speak her own mind...but what was her purpose for not having a voice?

[serpington]

the three heard the voices and freaked, dashing into their hiding spots just before the door opened, Ricca accidentally knocking knocked over a small item that had been next to it, not even noticing as they hid, hoping that whoever it was wasn't coming into the room, and that if they did that they wouldn't stay long.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Aman watched Entaru continue on down the stairs in a blind trance, and he ran his tongue along his teeth. A grin stretched with vicious teeth. He move behind the fox and whispered into his ear.
"That's it, feel in the fibres of your bones like an intoxicating flame." They reached the door and Aman opened it up. A wave of cold darkness spewed over them both , seeping into their fur, a stain on the arctic fox. Aman moved his head around Entaru, looking at every drip of black. He sniffed it, taking it in, and licked Entaru's cheek feeling his rough tongue taste the fox and the stain before stepping away and closing the door with his assistant left inside alone.
He raced back upstairs, pulling himself away from the unnatural draw of the shard and headed to the main chamber of office.




Saviour shook his head from Leo's pat and kept up his vigil on the world outside. The general watched wide eyed.
"So... there's no spaceship and no-one to contact?"
"You learn faster than stupid does." Hidden by the edge of the cave, Little0Hands stepped out with a pile of fruit and leaves in her arms. Saviour moved to her side and she rubbed her face to his with a giggle.
"How do you know all this," the general asked.
"Seeker," Little hands replied, while chewing on a leaf. She offered some to the guests.
"Oh, no thanks... Who's Seeker?"




Alex smiled and led Listy back through the hospital. He nodded in appreciation to the panda as they passed and headed out into the streets.
"Come on. You wanted to see the Queen, correct? Well I know just how you can see her." They headed down into the undercity where the Queen's palace stood embedded into the wall. The guard recognised Alex immediately.
"Hey man." He was a hyena. "Didn't know you were a kidnapper." Alex smirked with a breath of laughter.
"Hey Addae. This is..." he drew a blank and looked down at the girl. "I dont think you ever told me your name, did you?"




As the screams and yells spread through the crowd, the city guards swooped down into the crowd. The city folk were quick to point out the otter and three large men were quick to block her way while Imshi and Yenchi raced among the people.
"Hey, hey." Beside them, a small rabbit kept pace. He was remarkably short, his ears making up the difference.  "You guys should come with me. My mum wants to help."




Dim Lane shrugged at Aria and stepped close to Talin.
"The poor girl's so easily distracted by the outdoors. Though she's a good assistant when she needs to be. Me on the other hand, I'm always thinking about our fascinating past." He gestured with his wings as he talked, flapping about with the bob of his head. "I am curious to hear what you know, though what could you know considering you've been imprisoned while breakthroughs have been made."





Queen Tizzarath stepped into her room and yawned wide. She pulled off her cloak and hung it on a stand beside the door. She reached for her clock but it wasn't on the bedside table. It was on the floor. She stepped back toward the door and opened it a crack.
"Jason?"
"Yes your highness?" The reply was the guard standing in the corridor; a large badger with an obsidian blade.
"Did anyone come into my room while I was away?" the Queen asked.
"No your highness, is there a problem?" he replied.
"No, stay as you are, but leave the door open."

[x]

Listy balked, as though nervous at such a simple question. She pursed her lips for a second or two, thinking. . .could anyone be trusted with her name? It was just a name, but still, so much damage could be done with a name. If the Queen didn't like her, then her name would never be spoken gladly but in angry, hushed tones forever more...Such thoughts tore at each other in her head, and she wasn't even sure why, just that she was afraid of saying her name for some reason. It was as though there was a cold, cold, heavy weight in her throat, holding down her name from being spoken.
 
So the girl lied.
 
"My name is...Roxy." she said, then smiled.

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin laughed at the idea of 'breakthroughs' when it came to Tina City.
"High Priestess Kara does not like anything other than the Seeker being the dominant deity. While we have much to thank for in her gift of life and strength, she is hardly the only entity that existed beforehand." Talin raised a finger for each god that his "Memories" had given him the ability to know.
"To my knowledge, there are at least five others beyond the Seeker herself. The Shard society, if such a place can be classified as a 'society', follows Nero. Nero acted as a gatekeeper of sorts between where the gods resided and the world we live in now. There is also Vuranin, a goddess of unparalleled speed as well as a messenger between us and them. Then there is Howl, a close friend of the Seeker and also a very diplomatic wolf." He winced as he lifted his thumb, afraid of another manic episode upon bringing up his name. "Finally there is Chronin..." He tried to talk about him, but the fear of a mental breakdown kept him from speaking further.

[tangletail]

    Leo rolled his eyes at the girl's comment and turned to face the two and grumbled in his displeasure to the little girls insults "General Caisan, meet Little Loud Mouth, Little Loud Mouth meet General Caisan." "Now...Seeker... Seeker... Seeker,” he repeated in several different tones as he he draws a quick conclusion. “I would say this would be more so a goddess figure for the lack of her solidified presence to our eyes,” he stated plainly and then quickly snapped his fingers and continued, “who might actually be more then just a god from what I had witnessed. Because, unlike a god... which is very arguable in existence, she does exist. Making her something... of a cross of immortal-mortal.”

 
He paused for a minute, before frowning as he recalled his earlier conversation with Little Hands. The thought taunted him with the very soul image of his would be destruction. The last words he had remembered from this demonic beast had just echoed through his mind, quote “I WILL END YOU!” spoken in such hatred and blood lust, tempted for a shiver. But instead, the feline's face went blank; and then, slowly crept into an ominous smirk.

 
“Let's not forget our dear good friend Nero, you remember the angry hyena do you.” he asked in a peculiar tone.

[Grace.E]

Aria kicked a small rock out of her way, she let out a wistful sigh as she began to play a tune in her head and started skipping, before she began walking through a meadow, gently running her hands over the tall grass, she was feeling peaceful as the world around her felt serene. she was finally free, she wish she could laugh. she always knew that if she had a voice, it would be a beautiful one... she wasn't paying attention to Talin's proof of the different gods, she was and never will be a believer.

[Entaru]

Entaru felt the tongue slide across his cheek, but it wasn't his master's.  For a moment, he could have sworn that he had seen a hyena dart through the darkness and embrace him.  The black stained his fur a deep purple as he was overwhelmed by the black mist.  It was cold...colder than any cave or tundra...and yet he felt welcomed by it.  Ice crystals quickly formed on his muzzle and brow and he could feel his extremities losing feeling as he walked closer to the epicenter of the mist.  Deep in the back of his brain he could hear manaical laughter, as if a madman had foretold a prophecy and had it just come true in front of his own eyes.  Finally, he stopped just inches away from his symbol.  He could feel his own breath reflecting off of it and washing back over his face, much colder than before.  He could only stare in quiet awe as he beheld the object of his worship...the Shard.

[serpington]

Ricca silently swallowed hard, less than a meter away from the queen, she looked up a little and saw max passed the queen's leg. he was hidden amongst the branches, silently swearing at her in sign language. Joseph was hidden at the back of the room, a dart aimed the guard outside from his hiding spot, silently watching the two start to argue through sing language with the queen between them, hopefully unaware of the argument on either side of her.

[Self-sain]

"Special." Meredith never thought her self as special. If she were so special why would she be left all alone with no parents. If she were special why didn't any of the kids try to talk to her in class. If she were special, why would she feel a sense of emptiness. Then she looked at Siyan; then she knew that she was special, to have someone who cared that much about her, the chosen one was right she was special, but in what other way could she be special other then the love she received from her big brother. "You said the seeker chose you, does that mean I to have been chosen?" Meredith wasn't to knowledgeable about the seeker and the chosen for that kind of information was out of her reach at school.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Warmth beamed from Alex and he tussled Listy's hair.
"Now that's a lovely name," he said then looked up to his friend. "She says she needs to meet the Queen. It sounds urgent."
"Right," Addae said. "And what is it she wants to say?" He scanned his eyes down to the girl inviting her to answer. Alex nudged her. "Go on, tell him."




Dim Lane narrowed his eyes and peered up at Talin.
"As much power as the High Priestess has, my research discovers regardless of her." He hopped up close to the cat and scrutinized him. "Now I know of many of the others you have referred to, or at least I believe I do. But this there are no references nor evidence for this Vuranin or Chronin. How could you possibly know of them?" He glanced over to Aria who had drifted into a field. "Aria, don't stray. We have an important duty and an incredible opportunity."




Within the main chamber, he sat at his throne while messengers and officials swarmed around him. A pair of scientists, a mink and a ferrt, knelt to the floor in front of him and he watched them while his body stung with excitement.
"My Lord, we have found and stripped the craft. It was made of some sort of shimmering stone and within it we found this form of molten substance. It was contained in a see through container and on its side were the words, 'Fuel Cell.'" said the mink.
"Yes, yes and?" Aman leaned forward hands gripped on his chair as though ready to propel him forward. "What is a fuel cell, what does it do?" The scientists flashed a quick smirk to each other, all too happy to divulge.
"It's--" the Mink started, but the ferret held him back.
"Ancient records from the the city suggest that a fuel cell was used as energy to do all manner of things." The ferret said.
"My lord we can--" The mink began
"-- They powered everything with this, my lord." The ferret interrupted.
"My lord--" The mink was almost on his feet. The ferret dragged him down.
"My lord, we believe that with the power of the shard to magnify its potential." The ferred spelled it out with flowing pride. The enthusiasm pulled Aman to stand of his throne and step to them, kneeling beside them like young conspirators.
"So could Nero use this to reform, to revive?"
"Yes!" The mink almost screamed with pent up energy. "We could bring him back, soon, this week!" He was shaking with anticipation. Aman grinned wide with white teeth. The ferret put up his paw.
"But, he'd still need a vessel, which we still haven't figured out. It would be like containing a continuous breeze in a sealed room," he said. The leader shook his head and put his hand behind their necks, pulling them to him. He dragged their ears to his lips.
"That's all taken care of. Just do your tests, make it work." He slid his hands to their backs and pulled them tight against him in a crushing hug. His great arms gripping them close with all his strength. They squeaked in the pressure until he let them go.





The Queen moved to the bed and pressed against the animal fur and straw. She leaned on it and peered over the other side. It was mostly shadowed, but she spotted the flicker of movement. The flash of a tail.
"Jason," she called and the guard marched into the room as she moved back toward him. "Jason there's someone under the bed."






Chosen Akela patted Meredith's shoulder.
"Yes, I think so." She looked up at Siyan with a serious twinge in her brow. "I need to take her to the temple. The priestesses must see to this girl."

[Self-sain]

"What no, no you can't!" Siyan looked at Meredith her eyes where confused but she looked as if she wanted to go. "No.. uhh... I won't let her go alone." he reluctantly said.

[tangletail]

Leo clasped his hands together once more his face going dull for the brief moment as he spoke up, "I will take your silence as a yes." He turned back around bounded to a nearby tree. "Well, our native companion has explained that some cultist are attempting to bring him back from the dead. Now this is scientificly impossible but saying it's possible.." he would trail off as he began to climb up the trunk of the tree, "The most we have to do is put a bit of plasma through their eyes." His hands and feet carefully grabbing hold of the trunks as he scaled it further. When he finally reached the peak, the top most branch was stressing under his weight, causing the tree to bend in result. "BUT FIRST WE NEED TO FIND THAT FRICKIN SHIP, AND GET OUR WEAPONS!" he angrily screamed out as he looked over the horizon

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin did a few breathing exercises to calm himself down, something he felt necessary for every time he might be close to losing control.
"I have a connection of sorts, to the past. However, the only eyes I see through, are those of Chronin." Talin gauged the look on Dim Lane before continuing.
"If the Seeker is a goddess, then Chronin would be the first and possibly the only demigod to have ever existed. He received his power from his mother, the goddess Vuranin. Chronin's ability is hard to describe in detail, but it is probably the ability to control mass and gravity. If he were around today, it would not be a stretch for him to be able to change the shape of the heavens above us."