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Home » Search » Roster » Whitepages » Records » FAQ » Guidebook
there's a devil inside of you
Private Halcyon Flats 
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#1
She remembered this place. In all of her wandering, there were only a couple places she recognized that came from Helovia. The Green Labyrinth was one and this, the second. She had yet to see what else the Rift held within its jaws before the Helovian’s had stripped it away from them. But now it was back, a brilliant land where the floors glittered and glimmered even despite the dark clouds that rolled forth, promising lightning as thunder roared nearby. It was a place that she held dear to her, one of the places she first sought her brother at his untimely kidnapping, a place where she had met a few new people, and a place where she was young, childish, and naïve.

So much had changed now – the girl, now a woman, stood with her head lowered to the glittering pools. Her ice hued eyes flickering at her reflection as she recollected at all that had changed, at all that had changed within her too. There were a few scars here and there, mostly obtained from Khairi and a few unfortunate incidents back in Helovia. And here, she bore no armor, aside from the rose gold spines that stuck straight out from her spine as that was the one armor she couldn’t remove. It was embedded in her spine, and she’d be damned if anyone tried to steal it from her. Instead, all Kiada wore were the little trinket chain along her neck, sitting beside the large X marking in her chest that continued to ooze that ominous glowing teal liquid – the same teal liquid that adorned Kisamoa’s mutilated, mix-matched body. She supposed it made her feel closer to the God that way, and deep down it should have been reassuring. But it wasn’t.

She huffed quietly, blowing out at the sand to ripple her reflection, before looking up to the sky to spot Khairi circling far above. Her inky black head helped her blend in with the sands around her, but the rests of her body shone in a darkened bronze hue, aside from the spots that adorned her rump. The blanket seemed to shine in an opalescent hue, and after a few moments of watching Khairi, she sprouted her magic for a brief moment – not worried that it might attract predators. Despite not having armor, she herself was a weapon. And as if the few moments her fire grew, she reminisced, before extinguishing them once again, to return to who she was now instead of what could’ve been.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Valkyrie <333 i'm so PUMPED

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Valkyrie the Hopebringer
Currently championing: Caevoc
#2
VALKYRIE
She stood in the storm


The shadowy silhouette of the spires rose like a lure above the horizon to the north. Valkyrie’s eyes surveyed them with rising interest, navigating each vertical length and burrowing down into the blurred, dimmer hollows. She had never ventured beyond the invisible line between the portal and the rainforest, though often, as aimless wanderings found small elevated clearings along the way, vision of those spear-like piles stirred burning curiosity within her.

What did they represent?

She couldn’t help but wonder if they towered above the city of sophisticated people like a beacon of hope, a relatable population which the Rift, so far, seemed unfortunately to lack. Perhaps excluding the woman with the flaming spine (what was her name again?) and K’yarie, the vast population in this potbelly of rejects, were neanderthal, unruly - man. She couldn’t believe that that was it… So the pretentious young Shieldmaiden had parted ways with her celestial goddess in the morning to utilise the well enough lit hours of day and delve into the flat span of land beyond the river. She sought eagerly and hopefully, whatever lay beneath that strange murky skyline.

Of course, the rain was yet to cease and it made the first leg of her journey quite challenging, for Valkyrie was unfamiliar with the deathly monotonous terrain - flat, dull and lifeless. She became careless with her tread, quickly disorienting, stumbling often upon unsettling, part-submerged skeletons and slipping through the soup of glistening quicksand. Queerest of all, were the fellow-travellers who passed her: intangible familiars - Sisters too, of old, as well as some infamous creatures from Loorien, all of which caused her to pause and consider. Though she tried to reach out, to swing nearer and touch them, they seemed always to sit at the same distance; nor focus their glassy eyes anywhere other than the course laid ahead.

It made no sense…

Valkyrie began to feel nauseous.

She had been drifting helplessly, caught in the web of lies and deceit for hours when a shimmer in the distance to the right drew her tired eye. Twin ears slipped forward quickly, examining the air for sound that might prove to be more than these illusions, though nought but the hideous sucking of the sand around her hooves could be heard. Were it not for the movement of the bird beyond, melting in and out of the backdrop of forming thunderheads, the Daughter of Sunnmōre might have resisted temptation. She was sure, however, that she had seen a sort similar, before. Slowly and with uncharacteristic lethargy pressing down upon her, she turned towards the fire and continued on.

and when the wind did not blow her way,
she adjusted her sails.



img
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#3
The Harpy couldn’t reminisce long. It hurt too much deep within, next to the monster she continued to keep leashed beneath her skin. It took too much effort to bring it up, to remember the scent of jasmine and sandlewood that adorned her twin brother’s flesh everywhere he went, the compliment to her own deep honey and lavender scent. They matched one another, in soul and spirit. Where he was her sun, she was his moon. They did not fight, they did not surrender. They each had their time to shine, to grace the world with their presence. Kindred spirits, the Lamb to his Wolf, where death by her hands was a beautiful, swift gift – death by his hands were brutish and slow. The dark prince to her bloody queen, for she knew if there would be one of them to rule one day, it was her.

But he was gone, her darkness and shadows hidden beneath the veil of good intentions. She missed him, so much at times that it hurt and throbbed in that tar covered heart of hers. It was a pain like none other, where she did her best to numb the pain by making things better for herself here. But she couldn’t dwell on it for long, as the sound of sloppy hooves caught her attention, driving her thoughts up from the dark dusty corners they had been, and she turned her inky head to view the creature that approached. She was ivory with wings behind her ears, thickly built but smaller than her. She remembered her before, with a spear in her mouth.

She remembered the surprise and small amount of fear in her eyes at her flames, and the darkness within her grinned at the memory. Stuffing it down, she dipped her head to the mare, recalling the name with surprising ease. “Valkyrie.” She nickered in greeting, attempting to create a smile that danced along her pink splotched lips. “It’s good to see you again. Have you been well?” She questioned, tilting her head. Her white forelock falling across her face, tangling within her crescent shaped horn.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Valkyrie <333

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Valkyrie the Hopebringer
Currently championing: Caevoc
#4
VALKYRIE
She stood in the storm


The warm beacon, alight on the glinting sands of this snare, was neither hallucination nor mirage and the nearer she drew, the bigger the air of relief that leaked through Valkyrie’s weary body. Repeatedly she lifted bemused eyes to examine the figure of the bird that circled yonder, so too the spires that seemed never nearer, never further way, until at last she had come to stand aside the familiar face of the horned woman which had (more or less) save the life of the irksome, dum male by the Portal.

Recalling their previous meeting with a tinge of resentment, she almost smiled.

The other appeared equally as welcoming as she had back then, so the stubborn young Shieldmaiden forced her mindset to shift, straightening into a more polite posture and completing the grin, which proceeded to illuminate the lovely features of her face. “You also, Kiada.” ...came the answer easily, for she would yet be wandering this field of dreams if it weren’t for the fire still dancing on the other’s back. “I’ve been alright - lost though, I was trying to find a path to those spires and I feel that a trip through the tar might have been simpler after all.” A gesture was made momentarily towards the shapes towering over the horizon.

Without the stinging presence of a man to distract her, Valkyrie was able to relax into conversation.

“Are you well?” She queried gently, leaning down her neck to graze a persistent itch on her knee briefly with blunt teeth.

There were questions still lingering in the back of her mind and the paler pegasus was hopeful that perhaps Kiada might now settle them. After pause enough to allow the taller female to answer, she guided the chat forwards, toward the first of her interests: trials… Her heart yearned for power and her head begged for retribution. There seemed no clearer path forward than to acquire a magical profession. “Have you any time free to talk? I’ve been thinking about a few things you mentioned back with…” (he never gave them his name), him…

and when the wind did not blow her way,
she adjusted her sails.



img


I'm really sorry for the wait <3
@Kiada
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#5
Valkyrie’s voice broke the darkness that wanted to drag her mind to a different time and place, bringing her attention back to the smaller ivory mare before her. The grin tossed her way was reflected with a smile from Kiada’s own pink splattered lips. And as Valkyrie continued to speak of the dreamscape land, she nodded in agreement, a small huff of a chuckle leaving her lips. “Ah, yes. This place has always been strange. Full of visions if you spend too long out here.” She offered the mare kindly, laughing quietly at the thought that the Harpy, too, had fallen prey to such whims.

Then, she asked if Kiada was well. Honestly, the spotted woman didn’t know where to start. She felt well, fine, healthy. But mentally it was becoming more and more of a struggle to push everything down and continue with this innocent, gentle façade when deep within her she wanted nothing more than to lay waste all of those that had wronged her. But she didn’t know Valkyrie that well, and so she offered a small smile and a nod. “Couldn’t be better. Yourself?” She replied, plastering a fake smile over the mask on her face as she looked to the pegasus.

As Valkyrie began to question her, she inhaled quickly causing a rough coughing sensation to grow through her chest, tearing at her insides. She was drowning, and it had been so long since she let that sensation bother her, but it had come back with the way she inhaled. Her eyes widened and as she calmed down she offered the mare an apologetic wince. “Sorry. I do have time now, what’s on your mind?” She questioned the mare, looking back over the glistening reflective pools, not even thinking twice about how she mentioned Seiji from the first time they met.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Valkyrie <333

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Valkyrie the Hopebringer
Currently championing: Caevoc
#6
VALKYRIE
She stood in the storm


Kiada’s thoughtful explanation made sense and Valkyrie gratefully received the other mare’s snippet of insight into this queer span of gleaming terrain. Consumed for a brief moment by the  sombre sting of disappointment, the Shieldmaiden’s icy-toned eyes ventured around to steal a snippet of the family she had seen. Only the reflection of the sky remained upon that field of sea and sand. Quietly her attention turned back and something like resignation teased the smile still lingering. Though she might have loved next to seek escape from The Rift, they young Sister was yet to take possession of the prize that would win her sought favour.

A silent sigh stirred the air between them.

In a show of likeminded charade, Valkyrie nodded and forced back the tempest of thoughts, lingering just beneath the surface.

As Kiada’s impressive composure wavered after, the paler carved an unexpected step forward, almost reaching her startled lips across to sooth the suddenness of her company’s motion; thinking better though, she recoiled, for the fire-wielder looked quickly in sequence to cringe, mild embarrassment maybe, decorating the tone of the voice that followed.  

The Daughter of Sunnmōre allowed the corners of her mouth to lift further and her shoulders shrugged gently.

Perhaps a fly, there were many swarming above the sand, after all, had sucked into her throat…

“I’d like to know how you attained your magic…” Valkyrie posed forwardly though with continued politeness, as she held Kiada, a fellow woman, with a generous amount of revere. The pink, plush of her nose drifted hither, subconsciously gesturing to the other’s spine while her eyes remained fixed. “An ability I once had, vanished when I arrived in this place,” she added unnecessarily, deviating away from the entrenched desire for power always flitting by the forefront of her mind. “I mean… It would be nice to have it back…”

and when the wind did not blow her way,
she adjusted her sails.



img
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#7
The Harpy didn’t look to see Valkyrie’s reaction to her coughing fit. Instead, she kept her face impassive, trying her best to keep the emotion away (mostly the anger at such an effect after saving Kisamoa’s life), but finally ended up turning to the mare in time to catch the shrug. A small apologetic smile crested her lips as well, quiet as she waited for Valkyrie’s question. “I’d like to know how you attained your magic…” She began and Kiada’s ivory rimmed ears flicked forward in curiosity, but the small shieldmaiden went on, explaining how she had magic and the Rift had stolen it from her upon entry. And quietly, she nodded along in agreement.

Then, she turned to face the mare fully, offering her a kind smile. “I was born with my magic. The Rift only altered them slightly when I came through. However, a couple of seasons ago I fell into a place called the Scint River. It doesn’t exist anymore, but I went into it in an attempt to save Kisamoa from dying. While I was successful, I came out of it different. I have this constant feeling that I’m drowning, which is what you witnessed just now. I currently have a trial to hopefully fix it.” She added, offering a roguish grin to the mare. “So while I don’t have experience with magic, I can however, suggest a trial to get it back like how I’m trying to fix this condition of mine. It’s what I was aiming to explain to that man in the Portal.” She added in.

I’m not sure what it will have you do, but I have a slew of unpleasant things to do for mine and I haven’t really started them yet.” She said honestly, rolling her shoulders with a shrug – the movement causing more of that teal goo from her wound to seep down her leg. Then, she shook her head slightly with a small laugh. “But I imagine when I finish this, I’ll trial again for something else.” She offered Valkyrie with a gentle wink, awaiting what kind of questions might arise from the other woman.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Valkyrie <333

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Valkyrie the Hopebringer
Currently championing: Caevoc
#8
VALKYRIE
She stood in the storm


The pastel mare’s throbbing, hungry heart sank as news of Kiada’s magical birthright touched her ears, however, the prospect of attaining such powers seemed not to be as hopeless as her splitting thoughts tried vehemently to believe. She battled back the wave of negativity and shook her pristine skull softly; a small haze of sandflies hummed in protest. As the horned woman spoke on, words eloquent and attractive, Valkyrie felt the nag of intrigue return and her posture slowly relaxed. The hoof beneath her left hock realigned itself at an angle.

Drowning… she mused at one point, rather surprised. The Shieldmaiden, though once already she’d trekked to the centre of the Southern Sea, preferred water for no other reason than to bathe. There was something wild about water, untameable and cruel, and the thought of suffering as her company apparently did, brought a rack of chills down her spine. “…well that’s gratitude,” she muttered with a hint of contempt. Vision of the lumbering black and teal monster, limbs and things dangling about him like a grotesque necklace, came easily and it only served to further enhance the uncomfortable shudder within her.

They both grinned, maybe easing the mood, and the other continued, divulging info on trials.

At mention of him, she withheld her own comment. Men were moronic and it hardly surprised her that his interest had waned (if that was what happened, she couldn’t recall) - regardless, with any luck, stupidity would bring faster their demise…

As Kiada concluded with a wink, luring forth a gentle murmur of laughter, Valkyrie nodded. “Who do I need to approach?” She asked quickly, even overly so, rooting her neat, round hooves to the substrate beneath her to prevent the eagerness from urging her suddenly forward. “And also for a sl… a pet… I would very much appreciate one like…”

Khairi!

“…like Khairi to accompany me through these trials” (there would be many, undoubtedly).Her eyes skated heavenward for a second, searching for the figure of the feathered predator, circling above. Of course, friendship wasn’t what she sought from a bond such as theirs, at all. Despite the savage reasoning within her, the Shieldmaiden presented before the other, fairly normal.

and when the wind did not blow her way,
she adjusted her sails.



img

@Kiada
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#9
Well that’s gratitude.” Her ears flickered toward Valkyrie as she spoke, a small laugh escaping her lips breathlessly despite the churning water in her lungs. She bobbed her inky head, smiling despite the aching she constantly felt now. She had become rather desensitized to it over time, but part of her was beginning to forget what breathing normally felt like – and it was something that frightened her more than anything. Yet, at the end of Kiada’s little informative speech, Valkyrie began speaking again.

She wanted to know who to ask, yet all Kiada knew was that she had simply wished it, and then something happened and she wasn’t sure how to tell that to the Shieldmaiden. So she lowered her head slightly with a shrug, a mighty roll of her shoulders causing her wound to ooze more teal goo down her chest. “I’m not sure who to ask. I simply found myself wishing it, asking the Rift to help, and then it reacted.” She offered the mare, tilting her head toward her with a small crooked smile, wondering perhaps what Valkyrie would wish for. But it was revealed shortly after – Kiada’s brain completely skipping over the idea that Valkyrie may have misspoke the true name of a companion to something else.

I really wish I could be more helpful.” She offered with another quiet laugh, shaking her head slightly. “I’m not sure how they’re attained here. I got Khairi when I lived in Helovia. My brother and I found them at the same time in the Labyrinth.” She offered easily, her eyes dancing toward the fellow woman to see what she might think of the reference to Kiada’s own twin before settling once more. “Perhaps that’s something worth wishing or asking the Rift for too and seeing where that gets you. It’s a strange place. Things here are so much different than where I came from.” Her voice grew softer, ever so slightly. Then she waited to see what Valkyrie might have to say to that.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Valkyrie <333

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Valkyrie the Hopebringer
Currently championing: Caevoc
#10
VALKYRIE
She stood in the storm


For the better part of their conversation, Valkyrie stood attentively, possessed by an overly intrigued expression—salivating internally for the knowledge spilling forth—yet as Kiada continued along innocently and obligingly, the patterned, horned girl made mention of a brother. It took all of the ghostly-hued adolescent’s willpower to not flinch visibly, repulsed, and wear the true nature of that feeling blatantly on the outside. She couldn’t help but pity the other (briefly), for the mar on what appeared otherwise to be a rather impressive individual.

Through barely parted lips, the Shieldmaiden sucked in a steady breath and nodded. “I understand,” she commented softly and with a surprising injection of empathy—a double-edged sword indeed. It appeared as though everyone outside the perfection of Sunnmōre was tainted in one way or another…

The smile, quietly comfortable with the amicable type of company Kiada provided—finer than many, shrewder than most—quirked subtly as she misunderstood the concluding suggestion put forward. “Oh?…” she mused openly, visibly processing the idea which she supposed had some merit. It would take a considerable amount of flogging to shape one into form. “A brother? I suppose I could make use of one, though I anticipate their variety is more a hindrance than help; a more intelligent creature would be of greater use.”

—but she grinned nonetheless, envisioning the complimentary picture of this world’s creator, the mother of the Rift, pressing an affectionate palm down upon her and revealing a wholly efficient servant; a gift. Perhaps she lingered on the thought too long: silence stood between she and Kiada like a great black wall.

“…and what of alliances?” she blurted hastily into the stillness. Valkyrie could only assume that there would be others like her, somewhere, with a mind to eradicate (or perhaps enslave…) the men in the Rift—and beyond.

and when the wind did not blow her way,
she adjusted her sails.



img

@Kiada - she wasn't finished lol