bravenewworld | Descent into Darkness

Descent into Darkness

As the characters arrive, they will find what appears to be a rather deep cavern. Upon entering, the caverns are quite narrow, with twists and turns everywhere and different tunnels that all seem to be interconnected. As characters travel deeper within the caverns, reality around them will start to warp, they will start to see and hear things that aren’t necessarily there - images of old enemies, past failures, voices of condemnation, visions that strike at the soul and core of the characters. Once this begins, it will only increase in power and volume, demanding it be confronted, lest they be trapped within these caves forever.

[OOC: This event will run for a week. All characters who enter the caves will be subject to some of their deepest fears, darkest demons, and most abject failures. To overcome them, characters must help each other out, finding their purpose through strength of character and resolve to move forward. In general, these visions should require characters to come to grips with themselves. Illusory images and voices can and will appear and can take any number of forms, depending on what is most appropriate to a character. Additionally, characters may thread with each other and are encouraged to help each other out to overcome these personal demons. For those who wish to take part, they are able and encouraged to narrate their own personal demons, which will be on display for everyone who enters their thread. IC threads may be made in this post.]

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The words were disturbing to hear, even for the ears of a fellow outsider who wasn't involved in these types of political affairs. Waver, following close behind Sinbad along his passage into the caves, made a small nervous sound when the images faded in the space of a heartbeat.

"...Don't trust everything you see and hear right now," Waver intoned with the odd clarity of someone who had experienced. "It's not all real."

Focalor perched himself on Sinbad's shoulders, the Rufflet letting out a squawk of annoyance as Badr slithers alongside the two teenagers.

White halls, dragon slash marks - is this where you found my egg, Sin?

"Yeah..." He breathes out slowly. "I know. It can't be real, but the fact it can yank that from my head." The youth shook his head, tail thrashing.

"Better to keep it locked away, layer upon layer, never letting them see the light of day. Pretty little lies are much better, don't you think?" a voice purrs against their ears, if someone's standing behind them - it takes a few moments to register, but it almost sounded like Sinbad... if his voice dropped a pitch.

Waver froze, and spun around on his heel wildly searching for the source of the voice that had come echoing through the darkness.

"Who's there?" he called, although he suspected that his question wouldn't come with a satisfactory answer.

"Me."

That was all it said, and the presence vanished - leaving Sinbad trembling with anger. "You're not me, so don't try to lie." he growls in the back of his throat.

"Lies? Truth? Who cares? It's what you get in the end that matters, right boys?"

His tail thumped against the ground.

As suspected, the answer was less satisfactory than he had wished for. Huffing in agitation, Waver cast a glance back at the trembling Sinbad. Although they didn't know eachother well, that level of anger unlike anything he had imagined to see in his fellow traveller's eyes.

"...And what are you aiming to get, if the truth doesn't even matter to you?" He crossed his arms, casting a withering glance out into the darkness. If nothing else, egging their antagonist on with some pointed words might get them a few clues about how to proceed.

"Same as you."

"Power."

"To prove everyone wrong."

Two voices familiar, but deeper - older whispered. Sinbad stops once more as the white halls appear again, signs half-mangled, half-hanging from rusted screws were covered with ancient writing and ominous looking warning symbols - but now covered with fresh blood that trail down to collapsed shadowy forms.

"It's not that simple." He turns his head away from the sight. Suddenly everything shook as if it was a massive earthquake, the few signs hanging on by a thin thread of metal fell with a clatter as a roar echoes through the caverns so deep that the sound practically rattled bones.

Grabbing onto Sinbad as an anchor when the quakes started, Waver ducked until he was almost hiding behind Sinbad The sudden gorey imagery were well beyond his comfort zone, and not even his usual bluster was enough of a shield against this sort of onslaught.

"What's he even talking about?" He asked quietly. Somehow, it sounded as if Sinbad was almost like him...

Without thinking, he moved on instinct - listening to the waves as he reaches to grab Waver by the sleeve, pulling them to a small crevice where some rusted hunk of metal was riveted to the wall.

He puts a finger to his lips, gesturing him to fall silent as the quakes grew closer and closer, it was something not from the earth. Another shadow, large and beastly passes through, snuffling the ground, hunting. Sinbad held his breath, eyes widening as his pokemon huddled together. Briefly, the great shadow seems to turn to them, a maw opening - then it suddenly turns and stalks off.

"I don't know who'd I'd be proving myself to, that part doesn't sound like me." He shook his head as he crept out to make sure the coast is clear. "That might be an illusion, but the waves said it was dangerous..."

"The waves...?"

He hadn't argued a bit at Sinbad's urgent movements, but that little note caught him off guard. Although he was ttold to be quiet, he had to know-- especially if that shadow beast were to come back, and they were to be eaten before the night was out.

"It's - everyone, and everything has these waves I can feel. It tells me when something's dangerous." He explains in a sotto tone. "I don't think it's here anymore," He crawls out on his hands and knees, keeping low to the ground.

"I don't remember it being that big..."

The explanation was sensible enough for Waver to accept, even in these bizarre circumstances. He nodded quietly at those words. "I see," he murmured in reply. It had to be somehow connected to Sinbad's abilities as an Earthkin-- or, whatever the terms they used in the south were. Following Sinbad a few paces behind, he cast a wary eye on their surroundings.

"And, what was that thing supposed to be?"

"A dragon-type, a huge one. Dra-someone I knew called it King Dragon because of how it lorded over the others." He explained. "Like a tyrant, the others hated us humans, but they were terrified of it."

He pauses trying to get himself oriented, are they moving deeper or away from the cave? Sinbad couldn't tell immediately. "Well, it's the best way to describe how it treated the other Pokemon - like some bad king or Tyrant."

"A tyrant? funny word coming from a human. Who are you to judge?"

The description of the figure alone was enough to make Waver question the wisdom of following Sinbad into this territory. The rumbling, unearthly voice demanding answers cemented the uncertainty, and had Waver wondering about if it was even possible to teleport the both of them safely away without either of them getting hurt.

Hunkering lower, he shifted closer to Sinbad for the small degree of protection that the action was worth.

"A tyrant is anyone who lords over others like this," he murmured, voice barely steady enough to be understood. "Sinbad, what exactly did you do?"

"We injured the King Dragon. We had no choice - it was that or we die." He answers softly. Least he thinks they only injured it.

Sinbad...?

"I found this nest when we drove it off, just this one egg..." He gestures to Badr. "And no sign of the parents." He kneels, stroking his head.

"And you call it a tyrant when you plan on ruling others." A voice chimes in. "And coming in, just taking what you want!"

"It's not the same thing." He growls through gritted teeth. "We didn't get thrown in that dungeon by choice!"

Waver cast a glance at the Dragonaire, understanding now that the beast that Sinbad had fought off with his cohort must have been a late stage evolution of that particular line. And, while he was still lacking in experience in the practical world, he knew for a fact that anything Dragon-typed was going to be difficult to take down.

Odds were that they had only injured it-- and that its return was something to be feared.

"He's right, that's not nearly the same at all," Waver said, speaking up a little louder than before. "A ruler and a tyrant aren't even close to the same kind of person. They make different choices-- and what's wrong with taking what's needed to get out of a dungeon?"

"Blood? A child?"

Focalor huffs, the rufflet having remained silent until now. font color="Green">You said the nest was abandoned...?"

"A tyrant never sees themselves as a tyrant. All that good intention, so much ruin that lies ahead - especially with ambitions unending."

Sinbad shook his head, growling. "We need to get going," He glances at Waver - speaking much more sharply then he intends to. "It's hunting, it didn't see us - but I'm not sure how long that's going to last."

Waver heaved a frustrated sigh before nodding in reply to Sinbad's words.

"Alright-- you have any ideas?"

While he could teleport them away for a quick escape, he didn't relish the idea of teleporting in unknown territory. Odds were high that they would end up someplace equally unsafe, and that they would all regret it.

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Descent into Darkness

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