OOC: So much study to do sigh

IC: The angels passed through the corridors quickly and silently with Di'Ethe leading the way. As they progressed deeper into the tunnel system they felt something pressing onto there minds, a sense of urgency, a need to reach the end of the journey as quickly as possible. However Di'Ethe couldn't help but think the entire thing was an elaborate trap, there had been no branchings of the tunnels at all, each tunnel led to it's own chamber and another tunnel led from the chamber onwards. His underground sense told him they were slowly spiralling downwards but they had not gone very far into the mountain at all.

As he considered where they were heading he realised it was almost time to reach another chamber, the last few had been empty but he preferred to err on the side of caution. He motioned the others to slow down as he went forward first stealthily. Di'Ethe peeked into the chamber and noticed it too was empty, he motioned the others to move and started to move into the chamber and as the others joined him the pressing in there minds increased ten-fold.

Di'Ethe realised the others had fallen around as blacked out.

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He opened his eyes and sat up. Di'Ethe looked around quickly. The others were gone, and the landscape had changed. He was surrounded by charred stumps and blighted soil. He reached out with his nature sense and found no life, everything around him was dead and there was no life force in the vicinity.

"Eagle! Chori! Naur!!" he yelled out into the desolation, "Dammit! Where are they?"

He got up and looked around, there were no distinguishing landmarks on the ground, on the horizon or even in the sky. All around him was bare dank desolation. Choosing a direction in random he started to move, Di'Ethe's instincts told him not to stay in one place.

He walked through the blighted land and hoped that it would change, he called out everynow and again in a vain hope to find him comrades.

*Where am I?* he wondered to himself.

Suddenly, a bloodied body materialised in front of him. He ran to it and flipped it over.

"NO! Eagle!" He searched for a life pulse and found none, while he searched two more shapes appeared around him, he turned and looked and stared into the lifeless faces of Chori and Naur.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed.

~You let us die.~ Di'Ethe turned to the feminine voice, he thought it sounded familiar. Di'Ethe's face drained of colour as he looked at who had spoken to him. Li'Gelia stood with a bloodied hole through her chest pointing an accusing finger at him.

~You let us die and now you are all alone again.~

"I didn't! I didn't, I had no choice!"

~You let us die~ A new voice spoke out behind him. Di'Ethe turned to it.

"Gleryth!, No forgive me, I could do nothing. Forgive....."

~You're alone~ His finger rose to point at the dark elf. Behind the man he saw three more figures, Naur, Eagle and Chori each with bloodied marks all over them.

~You can't even help your friends, You couldn't even help HER!~ They all said, ~She gave you her heart and you left her behind~

"No," Di'Ethe whispered pathetically and dropped to the ground.

~You should have been there, you should have helped her, but you weren't~

"I couldn't..." Di'Ethe whimpered.

~Just as you were, so you are now. Alone. No-one to care for you, no-onr for you to care for. It is your own fault this has all occured~

Di'Ethe only clutched at himself and rocked on the ground, he mouthed words but nothing came out.

Gleryth, Eagle, Naur and Chori disapeared leaving behind only Li'Gelia. She watched on silently the only gesture she made was to stare at him accusingly.

"I didn't..." Di'Ethe whimpered

~You left me to die, Now you will die alone out here with no-one's love. You're all alone now, just the way you wanted. Just the way YOU planned~ She accused suddenly.

Di'Ethe shivered on the ground. He reqached out a hand towards her, begging her to understand that he needed her, that he didn't abandon her.

She only sneered at him and floated further away.

~You abandoned me and now I abandon you! Good bye!~

"No... Come back.... Please......" Di'Ethe pleaded in a whisper.

Li'Gelia vanished as the others had and Di'Ethe slumped on the ground.

Alone *All Alone* Unloved *Hated* I betrayed them *I'm... useless.*

Thoughts ran rapidly through his head as he shivered by himself. Slowly the ground ebbed his life's essence out of him, Di'Ethe started to grow cold.

*Good, I've done nothing useful, I've only destroyed those I cared for. I've caused enough damage. no-one will miss me, those still alive will take care of everything.*

As he lay still, his limbs began to cramp. He could no longer move. His shivering came to and end and his body cooled down yet more. As he closed his eyes a memory flashed through his mind.

I love you

Di'Ethe eyes opened as he remembered the last words Li'Gelia had mouthed before the blade had plunged through her heart.

*I love you, my love, I will not leave you*

Di'Ethe shivered....

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The dark elf woke with a gasp. He was back in the chamber. He looked at the others, they where still out cold. He tried to rouse them but there was no response and as he felt them for vital signs, he noticed each was getting colder. Di'Ethe shivered as he touched his own skin, he was cold but he was slowly regaining some body warmth. he realised each was goinf through the same thing he was, he sat down to wait and worried about what he would do if they did not wake..

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OOC: Okay. LOOONG post from me.... Anyway. Point of this thread to have your character face one of their greatest fears, can be anything but they need to face it. I guess it's a bit of character development this time. So you're making your own challenge Just wake yourself up after you face it. Have fun

OOC--Great the thing I am the worst at. This'll be fun. Cringes

IC-Chori wandered through the dark passages with the others. A strong sense of urgency pressed on her mind. The more she tried to bight it off, the stronger it became. suddenly, she felt herself spiraling downwards as she passed out on the cold stone.
____________________
She opened her eyes and realised she was lying in her sister's chamber in her old home. "Shaera?"
Her younger sister entered, robed in royal blue. Her face was stern.
"You left me."
"Shaera! I explained it all to you before I left! Please-"
"You left me! HERE!"
Chori put a hand to her head. She didn't feel like dealing with this.
"I hope that damned alliance of yours BETRAYS you!" She shouted.
At that moment, Tarisse appeared at Shaera's side.
"Foolish one, aren't you, Chori Seile?" She asked.
Shocked, Chori shut her eyes tightly.
"You trusted me Chori. What a stupid thing to do!" Tarisse laughed wickedly.
Chori's head was spinning. What was going on?
Shaera continued: "You know Diadon didn't really die? He just ran off--to get away from you. He could have cared less. Told me so."
Chori felt a stab of pain go through her. Diadon. How she missed him!
"He betrayed you, Chori."
Tarisse and Shaera began to laugh.
"NO!" Shrieked Chori. Every one of her limbs hurt, not to mention her head.
She began to cry biterly.
************************
Chori sat up fast. The floor was deathly cold. She saw Naur and Eagle lying motionless. Di'Ethe, however, was quite awake. He sighed with relief. "Chori."
She nodded. "Di'Ethe. How are they?"
"Still alive. We shouldn't wake them."
Chori nodded.


The world thought I had gone, but I was waiting for you.

OOC- So I didn’t get lost after all, go figure....


Naur fought against the spots she was starting to see in front of her eyes. She had a funny feeling that she didn’t like what was about to happen. She blinked furiously trying to clear her head but the pressure only increased... slowly the whole world went black and she sank to the ground unconscious....
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....everything was black...
cold, so very cold
Naur opened her eyes and found only darkness... somewhere there was the slow, drip.... drop... of water falling, repeating endlessly.
Something felt very very wrong... Naur struggled to place the feeling..
Suddenly it came to her and a cold fist clenched her heart, there was no life, not even a small trace....
Naur struggled towards the water hoping that the familiarity of it would soothe the searing pain that was spreading through her with each beat of her heart.
She reached out her hand to touch the water... and quickly drew back her hand in pain... the water sizzled as it hit her skin burning like acid.
She touched her hand gently with her fingers expecting to find the skin corroded away, but to her surprise the skin was smooth and unharmed.
Then it hit, a slow poison seeping through her veins leaching them of life, spreading from where the poisoned water had touched her....
She cried out, but no one answered because there was no one to answer. She was alone completely alone and there was no hope, no life..... only absence...
as each surge of pain radiated through her body Naur fought the urge to give up... just as she was about to let go she remembered what her water brother had once told her... she closed her eyes again and tried to force her pain ridden synapses to connect...
as she softly wimpered in pain a single tear fell on her cheek... perhaps there was hope after all...
********************
Naur woke with a start... her skin was cold but she was soaked through with sweat... without opening her eyes she reached out and felt the link with her water brother returned and the presence of the others and sighed in relief... She opened her eyes and looked around and wondered what agony the others had to endure....

OOC: WWWWooooooohHOOooo! Man, the Blues shutout the Blackhawks for the 3rd straight game! what an awesome game that was! Amazing... Damn, now i'm too happy to write something related to fear and hopelessness and all that. WooooHOO!
Sigh, nevermind, no one knows/would care about what I'm talking about. Ha, oh well o_O

IC:
"Di'Ethe! Chori, Naur! What's happening to all of you?" Eagle yelled and tried to hold them up as they seem to get all sleepily all of a sudden. He shook Di'Ethe's shoulder, but it seems like there was nothing he could do to wake the three of them. They have mentioned feeling 'strange', and in all earnestness Eagle was the only one to not feel anything...yet. Like a silent predator hunting an unfamiliar prey, this strange feeling crawls closer and closer, circling Eagle's psyche but never got close enough for him to detect it, until all of a sudden it found what it was looking for. It sprang up and seized his mind, as he too, falls slowly onto the ground as well. The predator had a hard time finding the weak spot, as there are far less on this mind then there are on the others. Yet these spots are caused by far greater beings, and could be exploited greatly...

As warmth and consciousness returns to the bodies of Di'Ethe, Chori, and Naur, Eagle's body remains cold as ice. The only trace of life is the slight rise and fall of his chest, and the thin trail of warmth seeping away from his body.

~~~~
Eagle has had a relatively easy life compared to those of his brethens'. He hasn't suffered the loss of the love of his life, nor has he been betrayed and left dead, or needing to fight his whole life in order to survive.
As he regains conscious, he feels air rushing pass him. He opens his eyes, and there was nothing around him, no friends, no enemies, no ground: he is free falling. No ground in sight. He remembers what this is about. His rite of passage. It has happened for what seems like so many years ago, Eagle himself has not thought about this for a long long time. He remembered how he struggled, how he fell through the air and could do nothing to save himself. He wondered. He became a member of the House of Altair through this, what a day that was. Has he done anything significant to help the AtW since? No, not really. Oh he was there alright, but he was never...important. He had his moments, being VSE, tricking the Dark One himself. Oh yes. He tricked the Devil himself.
~~~~

As Eagle's mind was recounting the events that led to his ascendance into the House of Altair, his companions have finally regained their strength and their body temperature have gone back to a normal level. Yet Eagle was still on the floor, his body cold still. They were getting worried about him. They wonder what he is going through, and why it is taking so long for him to get through it. They've never heard him tell anything bad that happened to him during his childhood or teenage years. What could possibly be so tough for him to get pass?

~~~~
The Inner Demon


VSE laughes menacingly as the mountain goes down with him... Dimindium, having finished the power transfer, seemed even older and shorter than what he was. It was the dark lord's power that now runs in VSE's veins...and VSE felt more powerful than ever...

Yes...Eagle was ultra powerful then. Not so now. He craved the power. And yet his sub-conscious told him to use his reasoning, his control, to resist it, to defy it, to contain it.
"Uh oh, ground coming up....way too fast to stop myself..!!!!" Eagle knew there was nothing he could do. His is scared, would he just hit the ground and 'die' and 'reborn' again? Or would he just...die? (Afterall he doesn't know this isn't reality yet) At the point of impact, everything blacked out.

As he opened his eyes again (still in 'dream'), he finds himself facing a cage. He walks up closer to the bars of the cage, and stares into the darkness, there is a form. It is the essence of power of VSE, trapped inside his body. The terrifying power that turned Eagle into VSE is still in his body without his knowledge. He thought through his change to the neutral path this evil had been gotten rid of.

"Come closer..." says the power. Eagle slowly gets closer. "Holy $#!^!" Eagle yelled as he darts back from the purple tendrils that shot out from the destructive purple aura. The tendrils however, stopped just short of touching the gates.
"I would love to destroy you right here, but I cannot get through these gates for I cannot break the seal on it...What are you here for...?"

Thinking about his tasks, the alliance, the evils that he will face...
"Since you're living in MY body...why don't you give me some of the power!"

"Hm...Muhahaha. Is that a threat? You are a brave one, since if you die, I die with you..."

~~~~

Back in the chamber, the 3 who has awaken began hearing faint footsteps. They look at Eagle, who still hasn't awaken, they begin to fear for the worst.
Footsteps are getting closer and closer, they have to do something.
"We need to go." Di'Ethe says, eyeing Eagle.

OOC: I think I'm onto something...erm....decide what you want to do, bring me along, hide me somewhere, fight off the on coming enemies or just leave me for dead there and go on your way =)