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Post by Arik Crimsonrose on Jan 22, 2013 19:51:18 GMT -6
Arik awoke to suffocation. He lifted his upper body out of the snowbank and started coughing to clear his throat. And then he became aware that he was somewhere different. Forget about not waking up in your own bed. This wasn't even the room in the White House the American Presidentess had given him to stay in.
He shifted himself to crouch in the snow as he looked around. Even if he was painfully aware he was not dressed for snow. However, given what he had experienced in his near 26 years, that was tolerable.
Arik went over his recollections. He had been scheduled to meet with the Generals and the Cabinet over what had been deemed 'The Russian Problem' in all official documents. To plead his case that the Americans should join forces with the English and the Swiss against Ivanov.
Apparently, some Higher Power had something else in mind for him. He pulled himself to his feet and hugged his leather trench coat tighter about himself. He hoped to find some sort of civilization that could at least tell him where he was.
He stopped to rest against some sort of ice formation but then he held some sort of sinking feeling. He stepped back and then dug a bit in the snow. He gasped as he found an eye socket in a large skull. They almost looked like dinosaur bones but... There was evidence of a wing a few feet away.
Could it be...?
"Here there be dragons." He murmured as he looked about. The question now would be a singular one. Were the dragons evil like in the stories Angelico had told him or...would they be noble beasts?
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Post by The Pantheon on Jan 22, 2013 20:09:27 GMT -6
Wingbeats sounded off in the distance. Steadily approaching... The source was a large white dragon with a pair of glittering gold horns. His red eyes swept the snow covered ground littered with the bones of dragons as if he were looking for something. These dragons were ancient as he was but they were not immortal. They came here to return their life force and their essence to Eden. Their memories still remained however and every so often, you'd see a mirage of a memory if you knew what to look for. If not, they looked like light reflecting through ice. Pretty and meaningless.  ...or perhaps someone. Life then flared his wings as he saw who he was seeking. A Dreamwalker that Eden had spoken of to him. He folded his wings against his sides into a dive and then flared them as he came in for a landing. The sudden gust of wind kicked up snow. "Welcome to Eden, Dreamwalker. I am called Life and you were brought here for a reason." Life announced in a calm voice that didn't convey any sense of urgency. Life folded his wings to his sides as he waited for the Dreamwalker's reaction to his presence. |
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Post by Arik Crimsonrose on Jan 24, 2013 21:59:25 GMT -6
Arik was surprised to see the dragon land before him. He held up his arm against the kicked up snow from the creature's wings. More out of reflex than anything else.
...And then it spoke to him. It said its name and where he was. Eden. Well from what he saw this place didn't seem much like the Eden he knew from Angelico's stories. He knew that much. ...It's name was Life? Well that was an odd name for a dragon.
"So...I'm a Dreamwalker and I'm here for a reason? Tell me, Life, for what reason am I here for?" Arik asked as he tried not to shiver too much from the cold he was experiencing. Was the rest of this place like this? He had considered Russia cold and he far preferred the humid climes of Vatican City. Washington D.C was not terrible, what he had seen of it with John and Matthew.
How he wished they were here with him. John had a temper true but he was noble and Matthew knew the subtleties of a person's mind. Perhaps he could glean more from this beast than he could. ...Well he'd have to do his best without them.
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Post by The Pantheon on Jan 24, 2013 22:10:27 GMT -6
Life smiled as best as he could with his dragon muzzle. "The reason you are here. The reason that Eden selected you is because there is a war coming. A war we started amongst ourselves, ignoring the warnings of the Precursers."
Life paused as he organized his thoughts. "My counterpart, the dread dragon known as Death fostered desires of being the sole power on Eden. A desire he did not have until very recently. We had hoped to contain him until he could regain his senses but...we fear he will find a way to break out of them."
The white dragon sighed as if speaking this to this Dreamwalker was removing a great burden from his shoulders. "And if I am speaking to you upon your arrival, I suspect-- No, I know that Death has spoken to a Dreamwalker as well to be his Champion. A being as power hungry and corrupt as he is."
And to really drive the point home, Life opened his maw and exhaled on the snow in front of him. From the snow rose a representation of the being he had seen in his meditations. The horned helmet, the green cape, those acid green eyes that seem to glow with mirth, the golden armor that seemed nothing like he had seen. And clasped in his hands, the ebony staff that glowed with an eerie blue light. Just like his brother's ice breath. The likeness of this mad being laughed maniacally. "This being enjoys destruction and chaos like I've never witnessed before.
"I would ask your help."
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Post by Loki Laufeyson on Jan 24, 2013 22:25:24 GMT -6
He'd been dreadfully bored cooped up in Death's Palace. Death hadn't sent him anywhere and none of the golems had the wit to appreciate pranks. So he'd taken to doing what anyone bored and cooped up does. He started snooping.
One of his orbs showed him a white dragon speaking to... Well, Loki was fairly positive the other side of the conversation was a Midgardian but not one of his brother's pets. Interesting...
And it just got more interesting when the white dragon created a likeness of ...why it was him. Oh, they were talking about him, were they? Well it would seem rude at this point to not make a proper introduction.
A simple spell later and he was the likeness. He grinned like a madman in the Midgardian's direction before he turned to the dragon. "You know it's terribly rude to discuss someone when they're not in the room." Loki scolded the beast before turning back to the Midgardian. "A Midgardian that does not know my brother. Perhaps if you come with me, I could learn to appreciate your kind better."
He momentarily flicked his eyes upward at the cloudy sky to see any flashes of lightning amidst the fluffy snow clouds. This was a Midgardian. His brother's pets. If he threatened one, he should come to its aid with Mjolnir ready. Oh he knew Thor was here. Just the same as he was.
It was just a matter of time until their tearful, sentimental reunion.
A split golden flash and then he was behind the Midgardian. Only not really. Just one of his doubles. A gauntleted forearm pressed against the throat to hold him in place. The original held out the tip of the ebon spear against the Midgardian's chest.
"You have heart."
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Post by Arik Crimsonrose on Jan 25, 2013 21:43:12 GMT -6
A war...
He'd been brought here to fight a war. Was that his only purpose in his life? To fight wars no one else could fight or would fight? To right the wrongs that others were all too willing to ignore?
He had responded to the mutants' plight because no one else would. And in doing so...he had made his enemy of a once trusted confidant. But...if this is what was asked of him. Then he would.
He listened to Life talk and did not falter when the dragon had raised an image out of the very snow. The form of Death's Champion. Arik studied the figure well and decided that there was no comfort in those mad poison green eyes or the cold armor.
Then the figure spoke. Saying the dragon was rude for discussing him when he was not there. The voice was...there was a hurt in the edges along with the madness he had heard in Ivanov's addresses. This was a being that had lost everything. And the being had called him...A Midgardian?
Angelico had told him stories of the Norse. Told him legends of Odin, and of Thor, and of Asgard. And of Trickster Loki. But Angelico had said they were mere stories of a pagan people and there was no harm in telling children such stories. In those stories, Earth was referred to as Midgard. Where the Serpent, Jormungandr was cast.
Then the point of the spear was pressed against his chest, bringing him out his reverie. "You have heart." But the point did not penetrate flesh. No, it rested against the fabric of his black shirt. He heard the words spoken by that venom-laced voice before power flooded his being. Cold power that froze him to his very core.
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Post by The Pantheon on Jan 25, 2013 21:48:17 GMT -6
Life was, to put it mildly, shocked.
Death's champion had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Talked to him as if he were a mere child and then...Life is not quite sure what happened. Magic obviously, but not one of Eden's making.
Life roared as Death's champion pressed the tip of the ebon spear against the Dreamwalker's chest. The Champion was not Death. So Life was free to do battle against him all he desired. However, the Dreamer was vulnerable.
Life opened his jaws and exhaled once more. The snow rising around him in the shape of great beasts made of ice. And Life roared once more. A mighty roar to the heavens itself. A signal to attack.
A sound that could be heard for miles around.
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Post by Loki Laufeyson on Jan 31, 2013 20:43:48 GMT -6
Loki had grown up on Asgard, home to one of the most warmongering races in all the Nine Realms. He knew a call of battle even if if said call had no words to it. That blasted, thick skulled brute he'd called brother for decades had uttered such a thing enough for him to recognize one.
He dismissed the copy of himself, judging the thrall to be complete of the Midgardian. "Roar all you like, beast! No one is coming to your aid and I am victorious in my trickery against you!" He shouted as the dragon raised his warriors from the very snow and ice around him.
Loki was far from pleased about this as they resembled to his eye the Frost Giants of Jotenheim. The race that had abandoned him to death. The race that he was a part of. A runt of one to be sure but the mere sight of them boiled his blood. "You dare summon these monsters against me, beast! I will gladly dispose of them again as I disposed of King Laufey!"
Granted, he dispatched his blood father with Gungnir in his brief reign as Asgard's King. He was no longer in possession of that spear but Death had given another. "Midgardian, unless you can use that sword on your hip, get behind me. You are too valuable to me alive to risk killing you by accident." He hissed, hoping what he had spoken would not be misconstrued as sentiment. He had no love for his brother's pet race and this one was no different.
He held the spear aloft and just as the one the Chitauri had given him, a bright orb of energy struck the nearest golem, causing it to shatter into pieces. The dragon would be more complicated. If he suspected, the beasts here were inherently magical and his magic was useless against them. And if this dragon could raise golems from ice and snow, ...then it was powerful.
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Post by Arik Crimsonrose on Feb 13, 2013 22:31:49 GMT -6
Arik stood up straight. The cold no longer bothered him. Not with this ice that had encircled his heart. No, the cold of this place was no pressing issue.
He heard what the armored man had told him and he drew his sword. "I can fight." He said confidently as he watched the man use his staff to attack the ice golems. A magician then...
He fixated his eyes on the white dragon and he recalled a story Angelico had told him once. The story of St. George the Dragonslayer. In Angelico's stories, dragons were evil beasts. Servents of Lucifer and not to be trusted.
But then again, dragons were the symbol of Vlad Dracul. A hero in his home country of Romania. The one who had resisted and driven back the Turkish Invaders all those centuries ago.
His heart wavered before the ice constricted about it, forcing him into action. "I can fight." He repeated as he started walking toward the dragon. His walk turned into a run and then he was leaping toward the dragon, his red wings sliding from beneath two hidden creases in the black leather.
On the descent he pulled his sword arm back, aiming for the creature's heart. If he could pierce the dragon's heart, it would be finished.
Then the ice would recede...
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Post by Vincent Valentine on Feb 14, 2013 19:27:40 GMT -6
Vincent had been close by Life, as he had been since the white dragon had approached him when he first arrived here. The dragon had given him a purpose here and helped him come to terms with his inhuman nature.
He'd been scouring for anything useful among the remains of ancient dragons when the roar sounded. He melded himself with his tattered cloak for quicker travel over the snow.
When he arrived, he wasn't sure what he had been witnessing. A man in armor attacking Life's ice golems and...a human. Though something was wrong with the human but Vincent couldn't delay since the human was attacking Life.
Vincent snarled like an animal and jumped into the air to knock the winged humanoid away. He got the human's sword in his back for his trouble. He hissed a bit from discomfort before he looked down at the sword soaked in his blood. Unlike Sephiroth's fabled sword, this one could actually be stained with blood. ...And it was sharp yet elegant.
"That would actually have worked, except for one minor detail. ...I'm already dead." And he simply walked off the sword, Chaos already starting to mend the injury.
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