07-15-2017, 08:27 PM (This post was last modified: 07-19-2017, 04:20 PM by Neowulf.)
The forest was noisy. On the high cliffs the birds darted restlessly from their trees, fleeing some unknown danger on the ground. All along the rain-drenched beach creatures were stirring up the wildlife, carelessly blundering along without a thought to what their presence may cause. Farther inland, a presence stirred, and ripples in the ether spread like rings on the water throughout the Rift.
Like a ghost, a spirit, a condensation of thought Ilunga hurtled through the air, swept along on the currents of energy in search of the source of the disturbances. Ze could take hir time; the body was safe back at the grotto, well protected by layers of stone and the narrow opening that no monster of the deep could wriggle through. There were other dangers of course. The Rift was never safe, not entirely, but ze would have to risk it this time. Curiosity was part of the reason, but the main drive was concern, laced through with veins of pulsating hope.
Maybe the priests were wrong. Maybe the Gods were coming back after all. Who else would be powerful enough to pierce the fabric of space-time and let this many aliens through at the same time?
Usually the Rift only picked them off one by one.
Farther and farther away ze went, extending the spiritual cord as far as ze was able. Already the tug of the body was growing weaker; soon ze would have to turn back, or risk becoming unable to return. Fortunately, the epicenter of the ripple was not far away now. This close to the Portal it was more a surge though, a tidal wave of energy that made it difficult to maintain hir spiritual form. Essence was fragile and easily corrupted - easily torn apart by the kind of forces that had been unleashed here.
More hurriedly now, Ilunga lowered hirself down towards the ground and searched for the others, the aliens that invaded hir lands. Dark thoughts nibbled at the edges of hir concentration, anger and fear threatening the focus that was necessary to maintain this spell. They were many. Strange energies clung to them, of a different character and weave than the dark forces of this place - like clouds of smoke gathered around each individual, colored in so many vibrant hues that Ilunga did not have name for them all - and sometimes, in flashes of radiant, glowing color-that-was-no-color, ze sensed the essence of the Gods.
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Joining a Native! :D
Magic:
{Save} Immortal - can be killed if skin dries out
Able to swim through the air on currents of magical energy (height limit?)
Able to travel by means of astral projection (mind splits from body and travels. Body stays in place in a trance-like state)
Items:
:: [ White whale-tooth Spear (looks like a naginata) | prevents blood from clotting in wounds opened by the blade ]
:: [ Dagger with sheath | blade glows when in contact with water ]
You are brave, child of the sea, to venture here. Physical form or not; the Rift is starving, and its gluttonous teeth pay no mind to native blood or foreign blood. There is no safety to be had here, on this day.
The forces shift, turn, stare at your ephemeral form. Many many many eyes fixate on your soul; an amphitheater of hunger observing, waiting. All predators before the kill.
And they lunge, in unison, at your formless body. None are safe. All is lost.
Magic:
Immortality: Immortal except if skin dries out.
Knowledge: Able to travel by means of astral projection. The Rift gleefully gorges itself on your other magic. The Portal knows no loyalty to natives.
Items:
Offensive: Whale-tooth spear that sucks blood when inflicting wounds and prevents clotting.
Offensive: Dagger that glows when wet, has sheath.
Emotions quivered outside the bubble of awareness, assaulted it with explosions of renewed hope and of outrage when it became clear that the glimpses of divine essence could not possibly be the living, breathing Gods. Their emergence from the Portal ought to have been announced through the dark lands like the strike of a gong, seen or heard or at the very least felt by all who lived here.
Fuming to hirself, Ilunga flitted like a restless ghost from one cluster of newcomers to the next, all while the strain of keeping up the spell ate away at hir strength. In the agitation, ze forgot the most important thing when doing anything with magic. Forgot every lesson ze had ever received on separating the mind and scouting ahead, lessons learned through time immemorial by hir honored ancestors.
Ze was not alone.
When the presence struck, it was already too late.
Ripples of alarm washed over the ethereal form of Ilunga as the entity tore at hir awareness, sweeping through hir being like a foul wind. In mindless fear Ilunga fled back towards the sea, hurtling across the expanse until ze slammed back into hir body and came awake with a gasp. The gold-rimmed gills pulsated rapidly to still hir beating heart, but it would take a long time before Ilunga was calm again. Ze felt sullied by the touch of the sentience, befouled and aching and... and somehow... less than before. Suspicion narrowed the eyes as ze hastily raffled through the abilities that had been hirs from the time of birth, and a scream of anger reverberated through the cavern walls.
Robbed! Bereft, it had been taken from hir! Oh, this was bad, this was very bad and it was all their fault. If not for them the presence would not have awakened, ze would never have been tempted to risk this travel, and now...
Now ze had grown more vulnerable still. And Ilunga would not stand for that.
The Portal
