Erasing Imagination – The Kingdom of Greed : PD

 

 

Dessy:

 

Immediately after the girl in red had been pulled away, she went back to normal. And she didn’t seem to remember anything. Weird. But, no matter. She watched with a raised eyebrow as the girl in red threw a cookie to the Jabberwocky. Where did the cookies come from? Coming back, Mariela slightly jumped when Aria ran over and grabbed her hands, jumping up and down. She gave a smile and light laugh, nodding her head. “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! Mammon was so mean to us. I’m glad there is a new princess!” Aria exclaimed, hopping around her. “I’m glad to see you so happy about it.” she said, and then this is when she started following the man. She then turned to the girl in black when she started to introduce herself and her sister.

Mariela gave a smile, then a nod. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a more… welcoming welcome.” she said, looking back to the ballroom. “But, welcome home.” she said. She then turned to look at Ayana. “Why did you come to Greed, if I may ask?” she said, continuing to speed-walk down the library. When she walked in, she saw black mist that looked like hands, and he was giving orders. That’s when she gave him a hello. She raised an eyebrow as he poured himself a drink, before shaking her head.

“I was going to ask you the same thing, but I decided to do a little investigating myself.” He said, and Marie titled her head.“I know the story of Alice, but I don’t know why Wonderland is in Hell.” she then said. As the mist came back from the book, Mariela walked over to the table and placed the helmet down, before picking up the hat and the watch. She walked back to Marcus just as he told the mist to get another book. “Scar never leaves his hat…” she stated out loud, before looking at the watch. “What’s this?” she asked, turning it in her hand. She then popped it open, narrowing her eyes. “The hands are moving too fast, and there are only six numbers on it.” she then said out loud. She looked up when Marcus began his introduction.

Mariela’s eyes narrowed when Raul was mentioned. “If you’re anything like Raul…” she spoke in a threateningly tone. The dislike for him could be heard in her voice. Hearing him mention the mirror, that confirmed that it was indeed the mirror that the shattered pieces were from. But that meant… what? Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked back up as he mentioned his mother. “Why is your mom ob- actually, nevermind.” Mariela said, shaking her head. They had more important matters. “You happened to end Lydia. Good one!” he said, then gave a thumbs up. “Yeah, well. She was a bitch.” Mariela said with a shrug.

She looked down at the book when the mist dropped it, putting the hat and the watch down and leaning over to look at it.“Why is someone erasing the books?” she asked, looking up at Marcus. “A champion?” she asked, and then she thought back on the story. “In the Alice in Wonderland story, a champion had to go and slay the Jabberwocky, saving all of Wonderland.” she spoke. “But the Jabberwocky was here…” she spoke, things slowly starting to click together.“Someone at Greed is the champion.” she then said, turning around to look at Ayana. Ayana was here when the Jabberwocky first showed up, and from the way she entered through the window, it could be assumed she was the champion. But, Mariela was still there too – so it could be her… but Mariela wasn’t positive. She was forgettign the fact about the sword being the only weapon to slay it – the same sword that she was sheathed on her side.

“If this can erase a story, not only are those in it in danger….another book is too. Probably the only one that can defeat the evil. Gee, and I thought I was bad. Whoever planned this from the start was insanely clever. Or a madman.”

The more Marcus talked, the more Marie’s eyes furrowed. As soon as he mentioned a book that can defeat evil, Mariela’s eyes widened. “The Book of Shadows.” she spoke. Immediately she raced to the back of the library, where the book was kept hidden. She grabbed the book, rushing back over to everyone else and setting it on the table, flipping it open and flipping through pages. “This is the only book that can defeat evil.” she said, but looked over when Marcus opened the Alice book. Seeing the Jabberwocky fading, she tilted her head. She reached over Marcus to grab the book and placed it in front of her. “The Jabberwocky is being erased.” she said. “Wouldn’t that mean the Jabberwocky was dying?” she said. It only made sense. If it was being erased from the book, that means it’s not there. That’s at least what she thought. She wasn’t sure if she was correct. She then glanced over at Scar’s hat, before flipping through the book. Scar was the Hatter in Wonderland. If the Hatter was still in the book, that means Scar would be in Wonderland. Right?

That didn’t explain where her family was… She still needed to find them. Mariela seemed to be completely calm by all of this, but in reality she was panicking on the inside. Hardcore panicking. How was she supposed to find them, and figure out everything else going wrong at the same time? If Scar was in Wonderland, that meant that they could possibly be in Wonderland if they followed him. If that was true, how was she supposed to get there to find them? This was causing a lot of panic inside, and it’s a good thing she was good at not showing that panic. She looked at Masumi from the corner of her eye, then asked, “Where did the cat come from?”

 

Sieg:

 

There were many forces in this world that could drive someone to do stupid things, things that were nearly suicidal, but sometimes this were not good enough, at least not themselves. Sometimes the thirst for revenge seemed too impure and they decided to call it justice, sometimes the love one denied to feel turned into painful care, a thorn in the heart, that somehow ended up digging so deep that it took roots somehow. And as terrible as this was, something like this could drive a man or a woman to do things that seemed impossible, it could drive them to greatness, to break boundaries that nobody else dared to get close to and at the same time do terrible acts without batting an eye. But it all meant nothing without the determination, the raw desire and the complete lack of care for the world that stood before you…it sounded terrible but in the end heroes, villains, and such were always driven by this forces when trying to change the world, a desire, a goal, and enough determination by their side to fulfill it. The trouble of course began when those who stood in between decided to step in, in the end heroes had limits and villains effort to just be “evil” make them predictable…but those who were neither, they were the most dangerous.

Here we are, Kingdom of Greed just like I promised!…pretty cool looking uh?

There was a saying, that sometimes a look or the mere presence of an individual could drive chills down a back and kill the silence, yet in a place like this sometimes that very phrases took a different meaning. Take this two individuals for instance, the first one was just smiling while he remained hidden under the many rags that forced his cloak and clothing, covering him whole as he grinned and opened his arms while from the distance before their eyes the Castle stood high and mighty, scarred, and yet still bearing that sensation of power on the ancient stones that formed it’s walls, a sight to behold if anything, one that the other man did not seemed very interested in. It was this the scary one of the two, cause while the other seemed beggar, this man literally caused the temperature to start descending as his eyes were glued on this place, sightly narrowed as the muscles from his arms tensed. She was there…her very presence shattering for a second his stoic exterior, one that he quickly recovered as one of his hands caressed a beautiful spear that in his hands he held. Despite how cold his hands were, he still could feel her warmth lingering within…as if a part of her very essence remained, from that winged warrior, that angelic and yet frightening lady of the battle, his friend that fell in the hands of the hands of the one who now had shelter within the walls of Greed. For a moment the warmth relaxed him, reminded him of the many battles that together they fought, the many things they did, the many they couldn’t…memories so beautiful that brought the ghost of joy into his eyes that seemed to bear the color of the bark of the trees…until finally they reached that painful one, that end that quickly took care of remind him of his reason to be here

You have fulfilled your word, it amazes me

Told ya Snowwy, I promise and I deliver…so, can I stay to watch?

The cloaked figure seemed to enjoy what would soon take place, yet the one with the white coat remained silent as his eyes raised with a look that made the other chuckle nervously. The one in white, that stood at two proud metres decided not to answer to his request and allow his eyes to give him an answer themselves. They warned him not to push his luck, not to get on the way or treat this lightly for this business were serious for him. And in turn the shorter one decided to be smart and take his proposition away, chuckling to dismiss it as a joke for his own health. Before him stood an Einherjar, once mortal, once dweller of Valhalla who sat at the side of heroes and kings and gained his place to become equals with them by the blade, but it was not this what frightened the traveller but the fact that no matter what he was, one thing was certain, before him stood a warrior, one he did not wanted to mess with

You may leave now, I will have your reward ready when this is over

S-Sure…and hey, if you manage to make a friend in here grumpy, bring them to good ol Venice, I might give them a tour around if you want

The Einherjar was not amused by the other jokes and attempts to get more clients on his business, and he did not hidden his intentions to end his talk soon the moment his hand slowly traveled to the hilt of the blade he had on his back, doing it slowly, as the other started to step back as he laughed a little, being pretty certain that his partner until now would be better off alone, for his own safety of course. So he did not lost a second, afraid it might mean one less second to live, as all he did was direct a thumbs up and a grin at the tall warrior before he jumped down on place and seemed to pass through the solid ground as a ghost, leaving the one in white alone, as he released the blade and turned his gaze towards the structure, still bearing that blank expression on his face. For a moment he took in account what would happened once his journey was over, how he would never enjoy peace of any sort…was it worth it? He his moved up, running along his hand as his thumb ran along the two feathers that were placed an accessory on his hair, one older than the other as he was only meant to have one with him

Valkyrie…cast away by Odin, blessed by Thor…forgiven for your crimes…

For a second the cold seemed to get worst in the area as from this cliff he stared towards the castle that remained far, his eyes carrying a small light in them, a desire for blood, a need for a revenge, to punish those who were guilty one by one, starting by the Valkyrie that made of that place her home. Her hands were stained with blood, and he would not allow that forgiveness was granted to her that easy, not after she took someone precious to him. He didn’t cared who got in the way, who tried to condemn his actions…he would face off against Valhalla itself and destroy it if he had to, if it meant making justice, if it meant punishing her for her actions in the only way he knew. So he stood there, on a hill far from there with a good look of the structure as he gripped the spear tightly as small pale lines appeared on his arm, slowly crawling towards his palm and from there forcing themselves into the spear. The warmth vanished, and the Einherjar looked towards the weapon, for a moment his eyes saddened as before him her face appeared, a mere confident grin that in the past brought up the same on him and that right now only caused something to fall from his face, a tiny drop that crystallized itself before it finally fell to the ground, shattering as he his orbs hardened again

Your judgement has arrived…and you will not be spared from it…no matter the cost or consequence…justice will be made

Nobody would listen, he knew, but this words were not spoken to anyone other than himself, to his inner ghosts, as a way to give him the final push to infuse the weapon, his friend’s weapon with his own icy magics before he tensed his muscles as his body got into position. He wasn’t going to murder her in her sleep for it would not be the same, he would not get an army and pit her against a foe much bigger than hers until she tired out and fell with honor. That mercy was too good for her, no, he would become a thorn in her heart, he would take away her joy and her sense of safety, he would make sure she would have no more place to call home and no person to call family by her side. He would face her then and take her head, and once he did he planned to throw it at Odin’s feet and then claim’s the one from his son, Loki…but that were just plans for the future, mere small ideas, for the moment, he would only make his presence known, remind her that in the eyes of many she was no warrior, no valkyrie, less a murderous animal. So with all his might he threw the spear that moved across the air like if it was an arrow, a spear that moved across the air until it finally reached a window that it shattered into pieces before a moment later it stabbed itself on the floor of a room, the tip of the blade the spear bore in,  digging deep enough into the ground for it to remain standing, as the very floor around it seemed to end up covered with ice that slowly seemed to crawl around, aiming to start covering more and more ground as it seemed unable to contain the power it was infused with. A Valkyrie’s spear that now bore a cold soul…a mere warning shot for the one that lived within that walls

Now…what will you do you animal?…what is your response?

The Einherjar crossed his arms as his eyes remained focused and expectant, as he tried to think of every possible scenario that would take place now. A few more certain than others, but all of them leading to a confrontation that would freeze many people’s blood but not his. He would not pray like others cause to no god he could pray and nor he wanted to, he would not fear for there was no pain left in this world that would hurt him, not even death frightening him anymore. The Einherjar that was baptized Reinier by the Valkyrie that perished in the arms of her sister had a mission, one that one way or the other he would finish, even if meant destroying this Kingdom or Hell itself with his own two hands

 

Matt:

 

Aria was slightly surprised when she felt herself being dragged away by the hood of her cloak, but she simply giggled, and raised her hands in the air as though she were on a ride. Then she heard her sister introducing them, and she simply waved her hands from the position she was in. This girl was as serious as a fluffy white cloud…. It was hard keeping her under control.

As they entered the library, Aria was released from the dragging, and quickly got to her feet with more of her bubbly giggles. Though as everything was getting all serious with the male in the room Aria felt out of place… So what did she do? What she does best. Ruin the mood.

The girl quickly seemed to vanish for a moment before appearing once again before the male. Her face would only be about an inch from his now, and her grin was as wide as the cat’s. You could tell she was being mischievous at the moment.

“You’re a cutie. Try to go on a few dates with her before you guys get to doing the nasty.” she said before vanishing once more.

A trail of rose petals were left in her wake as she left the library, though it seemed she had grabbed the cat from her sister before leaving. Now she was just skipping through the halls of the kingdom, petting the cat, and humming. That was until she heard the sound of glass breaking. At the noise she stopped, and turned to look in the direction that it had come from. It seemed to be the ballroom.

Aria quickly skipped into the room, and was awwed by what she saw. There was a large spear sticking out of the ground, and the floor was beginning to become covered in ice. Aria quickly giggled some more, and began sliding all across the ground, acting like an ice skater. She was having tons of fun…. Until she noticed that the Jabberwocky had begun to shrunk.

“Aww! No! Whats wrong with the Jabber-baby-Wocky?” she asked.

She seemed to have heard its actual name from within the library, but had changed it to be cutsie, and adorable…. Though how a creature that looked like that could be known as “Cutsie” would be well beyond the comprehension of most normal people.

 

 

Kiri:

 

Masumi could tell things weren’t going to be exactly simple at the moment from everything that had happened and was happening right now; she didn’t know what she had missed in the past couple of years, but from what she could tell everything wasn’t entirely sound at the correct level. Mariela was apologizing about not having given them a more peaceful and heartwarming welcome, but to that she simply smiled, unaffected by the fact. She seemed amused by the fact on the contrary, but who knew with this one; she was abnormally calm about everything going on as though it was nothing compared to what she had seen in the past. And in a way, it was.

Ayana didn’t give so much an audible reply as she did a murmur only loud enough for Mariela to hear, mumbling about her having gotten lost like an idiot, but at this point it seemed that Ayana too was calm. After having gone on a rampage, you’d think the Valkyrie would still have some sort of psychopathic mentality with her at the moment, but the fact that she was so calm at this moment was strange to Masumi, who was always abnormally calm. As the two stood on the sidelines of the conversation, Aria decided to… well she ruined the mood suffice to say, with Masumi sighing as she slapped her palm across her face. Ayana stifled a giggle when Masumi leaned over and mumbled to her, asking for a favor. It was a quick sign of trust, but it meant something to the Valkyrie, after what happened. Ayana nodded and crackled with electricity for a moment before bolting out the door as Masumi walked to the table; pulling the Book of Shadows to her slowly.

She had heard rumors, of course, but with Mammon being the sexist bastard that he was she was never absolutely sure as to how or whether or not it was even truly here. She was curious, the book able to summon and destroy any demon at all, it was useful, but the previous owners both had died, meaning the power of two princes were engraved in this book if the legends she had heard were true. Perhaps it wasn’t the only book, but Masumi knew it was invaluable to use if they had to defeat some kind of evil locked away inside of hell. The biggest issue was… what and how?

Masumi: “Is there anything we can do with this? Using this, we may have a chance to get into Wonderland and get back with plenty of time to spare. Is there anyone you can actually call for to help us?”

Masumi flipped back to the very beginning of the massive book, flipping through the pages as she analyzed each page with stunning speed, but what she was reading didn’t help them at all, in fact it only set them back more as most of the spells they were dealing with in here were meant for a trio of witches; something about a Power of Three, located on one of the pages. Then Masumi saw the Dominus Trinus, a spell she wasn’t sure of its use, but it intrigued her. Raising a brow at one of the lines, Masumi flipped back to the Power of Three, analyzing it in more detail as she thought silently. If Mariela wanted to know what she was thinking, she’d probably have to ask.

Meanwhile Ayana was arriving in the ballroom after having hunted for Aria for a moment, only to have a crash echo which drew her to it; luckily it had also piqued the interest of Aria herself, but with the roof creaking and groaning, Ayana let out a groan of her own as she dashed in; ignoring the spear and the ice as the used the metal pipes running through the flooring to magnetize and properly keep herself latched correctly to the floor as she dashed for Aria and the Jabberwocky; she would have grasped Aria by the hood as she jerked up the Jabberwocky. With a mad dash, Ayana rushed from the ballroom, and would have stopped at the entrance just far enough out so that the collapse of the place wouldn’t have caught her, Aria or the Jabberwocky. Knowing it would have come in a few seconds by the sound of it.

 

Razor:

 

The Book of Shadows? Of course. Now things were starting to make sense. Marcus uttered a cursed word under his breath, while slamming his fist down on the table. This was why Marguerite was so obsessed with the Greed Kingdom. She didn’t want the crown, she wanted the bloody book. How on earth the book wound up in the library of a Sin Prince was still a mystery, but it did explain why Raul was sent to sniff out Lydia. A foothold into the kingdom so Mother dearest could come and snatch the book right from under Lydia’s nose. Now, his calculating bitch of a Mother had sent Marcus, but the thing was, he didn’t come to the Kingdom to sate his Mother’s wishes – rather to meet the girl that had challenged all the Elders and other rulers in the face of losing her family. Realizing he might have caused concern with his sudden outburst, he smoothed his hand over the wood of the table, before reigning in his temper.

“This is the only book that can defeat evil.” Mariela stated, as she flipped open the book and ran her fingers through the yellow pages. What she didn’t realize was that the book was a weapon and a powerful one in the wrong hands.

”I have a question though. Did you or…Lydia summon any demon from that book?” This question had implications that stretched to the other books in the library. Whether Mariela realized it or not. ”Try to pull something or someone of power using an enchantment…think?” Marcus stared at her with an intensity as he wanted to see if she could remember, considering all the crazy things that were going on right now. In the background, the book of Alice in Wonderland had been showing signs of creatures and writing being erased. One was the Jabberwocky.

“The Jabberwocky is being erased.” she said. “Wouldn’t that mean the Jabberwocky was dying?” The poor witch was asking so many questions and having all these weird things happening all at once. Not to mention the girls that had come into the library. One that had found a strange orange and purple striped cat. The cat didn’t look like an ordinary feline. In fact, it was almost human like, if one could say that. Marcus remembered seeing the massive Jabberwocky when he had arrived and when last he left that part of the castle, the Jabberwocky was in battle with another girl. What was it about this castle and the high number of battle babes? That was going to be a question for later. ”Maybe…you should go see what is happening to it here?” Obvious is as obvious does.

“Where did the cat come from?” Another question. But one of the other battle babes stole the coloured kitty, before making a rather shocking remark or was it a compliment about Marcus and Mariela.

“You’re a cutie. Try to go on a few dates with her before you guys get to doing the nasty.”
”Thank you for the advice, I’ll keep that in mind.” Marcus couldn’t help but smirk at this girl’s boldness, but he only shrugged his shoulders playfully, if Mariela had been offended by it. ”Girls today…I don’t know. What I do after a date has never been considered nasty. Earth trembling…maybe. Orgasmic bliss…possibly, but never nasty.” Marcus beamed at Mariela, before turning his attention to Masumi, who was now intrigued by the Book of Shadows, after losing the strange cat to what was her battle bosom buddy.

“Is there anything we can do with this? Using this, we may have a chance to get into Wonderland and get back with plenty of time to spare. Is there anyone you can actually call for to help us?”

”Probably the only safe bet would be Lavinia’s apprentice. Esme. She’s not an elder yet, and probably the only one Mariela here didn’t threaten.”

Meanwhile, the cat who was being held by the strange girl with giggles and a grin that matched the cat itself, was doing what it normally does when being held oddly. Its body vanished from view, leaving only the head and the tail which swished about behind it. Seeing the shrunken Jabberwocky, the cat let out a loud laugh.

”It’s a teeny weenie nasty little dragonie wagonie. Not all hell fire and purple smoke now, are ya?’ The cat’s head then popped and only the grin remained, along with the tail. ”Not all powerful in Hell, I see. Red Queen will be mean, when she finds out!”

 

 

The Battle Babes of Greed – The Kingdom of Greed : PD

The Battle Babes of Greed.

Kiri:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

 

As Aria might have said in this current moment, they were finally home at last, there and ready to go back to the castle, to meet Mammon once again; to explain to him what had happened in their absence. It was a pleasing thing to the girl, even if she didn’t show it right now, the girl was definitely excited to finally be home; even on her most hyper of days, this woman was calm and always ready for anything. She kept her cool because of the demonic blood within her, afraid that if she ever lost control that she would be consumed by the power and it would take her over; it would leave her elder sister… unprotected and uncontrolled. After everything that had happened while they were gone, one thing stood out to the half demon. The things that had happened while they were in that land filled with snow.

That image was within her mind easily, and she would never forget it. Aria had unloaded everything, her entire mental breakdown state was unleashed on a group of hellhounds all at once, a massacre. In the end the girl was just left only to sit on the snow. Shaking her head at her sister, who had, while her younger sibling had been in thought, robbed a store of their cookies, Masumi resisted the urge to smack her across the back of the head. Mostly because she was wanting this day to go without incident, of course the elder sister had another plan sometimes. They soon reached the castle, and the girl who had the mentality of a sixteen year old seemed really hyper about it, and had already took off. Ugh, great. Dashing forward with her massive inhuman speed, she followed the girl as she moved to keep up. With the girl moving at such a high speed, Masumi was beginning to think it was about time she learned something that let her keep up easier. As soon as she got in though… oh the sight made her freeze, and within a moment some poor soul was trying to enter the ballroom at the same moment.

In that very instant, Masumi shot forward and would have slammed into the girl with a flying tackle, knocking her well out of the ballroom before she would have grabbed her hand and pulled her further away from the ballroom. The only explanation that she may have given was simple, putting up a hand she merely rose it slightly, freezing and then finishing.

Masumi Miyazaki: “Just… no.”

Treasures of Greed Theme: Take a Hint!

Meanwhile… as the girl in the ballroom unleashed everything, the dark aura didn’t affect her that much, but that was only because her own power seemed to be of the same nature at this point; with two psychotic, sadistic maniacs in one room against one opponent, you’d think it couldn’t get much worse. You were wrong to think so. Ayana’s cannon transformed itself as she jumped into the air, hovering there as electrical energy began coursing around her and the newly transformed cannon. As the girl finished off her third clip, Ayana was moving right over his head as she pointed the cannon at his head; intending to “return” the gift with interest.

“Thor’s Cannon!”

Once she had unleashed all of that power, it was obvious this was on a different level than her previous attacks. The payload of kinetically enhanced divine lightning would have slammed the Jabberwock with so much force that it would have slammed his head down into the ground with earth shattering force while paralyzing his body once again from the electrical currents that would have been unloaded into his body once more. Ayana was grinning widely as she did, obviously enjoying it as she went to truly just show him why he should have bowed down before.

Dessy:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Mariela felt kind of bad for leaving the dwarves there – but that thing was still in the ballroom and she still had her family, Alice and Scar to worry about. She’d go back later, but at the moment, she really needed to get up there to the Jabberwocky. She ran down the hallway, armor on, sword in one hand and the tablet in the other, running as fast as she could – only to get stopped. By… a floating cat head? Mariela stopped in her tracks, giving a confused look from behind the helmet. “Chesire cat?” she said out loud. Like… the one from the Alice in Wonderland story. She couldn’t question once more, before something was thrown into the cat’s mouth, and it sputtered and coughed, then shrinked away, becoming the size of a small cat.
The cat ran away, and Mariela spun around to look behind her after hearing a voice. He was… good looking, she’d give him that. She gave a nod of thanks, before turnring around and running off again. She’d thank him later… and also ask who he was. Because that was, like, need to know. She had stepped foot into the ballroom, seeing the same girl as before as well as another walk in. With… cookies? And said cookies got crushed by the thing’s tail. Now… the girl seemed unhappy about said cookies getting crushed. Before she had a chance to react, Mariela was tackled… by another girl.What the fuck?! Where the hell did she come from?!

“Hey!” Mariela exclaimed after she was tackled to the ground, lifting up the helmet to reveal her face. Her hand was grabbed, and she had to hurry up and gather the tablet and the sword, because the girl had grabbed her hand and was pulling her away. “What the fuck?!” the girl exclaimed. She pulled her arm away and glared. “Who the hell are you?” she asked. Mariela looked up when the first girl shouted “Thor’s Cannon”. She didn’t know any of these people. What the fuck was going on?

Why were they even here? One girl girl bursts through the window in lightning, the other one knocks the door down, and then she didn’t even see this one come in. Like… at all. At least not until she was tackled. “Who are those other two?”she said. “And why did you tackle me?! I have that thing to kill, you know!” She did remember seeing the girl before, a long time – when Mammon was alive. But again, that was a while ago. And even then, she was only a healer at the time. She didn’t know much about them. But three random girls just ran into her ballroom and she had no clue who any of them are.

Razor:

*

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

When Marcus thought he had entered into Greed at just the right time, he was soon to realize that he had missed a very special event. After just saving the Princess from the wily Cheshire cat, who the Black warlock had recognized from a children’s fable, the Princess was hit in a full on tackle by another female. One with flowing black hair. It was not like she was hitting her to do her harm, but get her clear out of the way. As strange as that may have been. From what Marcus could see, two others were fighting of all things….a Jabberwocky. Right there in the main ballroom. Something else that Marcus noticed was all the red and black playing card knights. As though made of paper standing around the outside of the battle, but not actually contributing to it. Like stranded spectators. There was so much damage….broken shards from the chandelier, the broken cookies…and then…Marcus spied the broken mirror. For a moment, Marcus stood frozen for he recognized the framing and knew immediately whose it was. The fact that it was destroyed and all the creatures were still in the ballroom meant that something had happened, but what? With all the lightning and fire power being dished out in the ballroom, the Warlock looked around his surroundings in the hallway…and happened to spy a hat. Sitting on the ground near a wall. Suspicious of this he walked over, while the Princess was asking her assailant who she was and what the hell was happening in her ballroom.

Marcus crouched down and picked up the hat. Underneath the hat was a pocket watch. Strange. The watch had a strange marking on the face, and when he pressed the clip it popped open only to show that it only had half the numbers that it should have, and the small hand was moving too fast. The warlock frowned, and started to rise to his feet. The Jabberwocky…..the cat….the cards….the hat…and the pocket watch. What did this all mean?

Hearing more destruction coming from the ballroom, the Warlock went the opposite way…heading for the Library. He needed to see, if what he thought was happening, really was.

In the ballroom, the table of cookies had been smashed by the swipe of the Jabberwocky’s tail, when it tried to make the attack on the lightning sprite with the massive release of the spear like spines. The girl was surprisingly nimble, and had managed to jump well clear of the tail attack, allowing her to be free from being hit. Angered by this, he was about to open his mouth to launch another purple haze of power, when he was struck under the throat by the attack of the newest kid on the block. Another girly come to try her luck, and with the distraction caused by the arm cannon wielding girl, it was all too easy for the jabberwocky to be hit from under and have his head pound the roof. This would cause large cracks, that ripped along the roof itself and undermined the superstructure – in other words, it was going to bring the roof down on top of them at this rate. The Jabberwocky’s ability to withstand multiple attacks was leaving him drained though. He howled and roared in protest, as the plucky Ayana was enjoying this torrent of electrical super attacks on the mammoth beast.

The Jabberwocky’s whole body slammed onto the ground with a sickening crunch. The paralyzing attack having now taken affect, and the soldiers all gasped to see the red queen’s prize pet almost defeated. Course, it could not be killed without the use of the vorpal sword. The large beast writhed and spasmed, though its eyes continued to glow fiercely.

“She has done what the Red Queen could not.” The Jabberwocky’s head fell to its side as though passing out from the pain. What did he mean by the riddle you might ask? The answer….was in the library.

Matt:

*

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Aria’s roars were cut off as the other girl blasted the beasts head from above. Quickly the crimson coated girl ducked out of the way of the massive falling head, just barely missing being crushed. For a moment she waited to see if the Jabberwocky would get up once more, but it seemed as though the abuse it had taken was finally taking its toll on the body. With a shrill, and demented giggle, Aria pulled back her hood, and moved towards the beast. At this point one of her pupils was larger than the other, giving her an even more demented appearance

Once she was close enough she slammed the heel of her boot down on the breasts head, glaring at it as though it were prey. Her tip of her scythe blade had slipped under the lip of the Jabberwocky, and was pulling its mouth open some now.

“Not so proud now are you?” She growled as she wrenched its mouth open with the scythe.

Once it was open she looked around for something to hold it open, but she didn’t see anything that wasn’t completely eviscerated from the fight. That was until her eyes fell upon the card knights. They all seemed weak and flimsy to her, but they would have to do.

“Hey! Get your lazy asses over here and hold this open!” she yelled at them. These knights though were under the influence of her aura though, and were frozen with fear at the sight before them. That was until she used her free hand to toss a loose stone at one of them.

When it hit, it seemed to snap them back to reality. With slight hesitation that they might be the next to fall under the blade, or the cannon of these powerful females, they rushed to do as they were told. It took the entire deck of the reds to hold the mouth open, but once it was Aria reached her hand into the maw of the beast, and pulled its tongue out. Not the saliva covered appendage was laying limply from the creatures mouth.

It was a pronged tongue, and was very sticky, but Aria cared little about this. As she stood there, she raised her scythe far above her head, and then swung it down. The blade sliced through the flesh of the tongue, and it fell from its owners mouth, completely detached now.

Though it was paralyzed, the beast still roared from the pain of the dismemberment. It tried to speak, but every time it moved its mouth, purple blood flew through the air, coating the knight, Ayana, and Aria in the vile liquid. Though this just seemed to enrage the girl more.

“No! Where is the red?! I must see the red!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

With a swift movement she took her sythe up once more, and moved to the side of the creatures head, near its right eye. The beast’s eyes were now wide open, and was bloodshot with the pain its body surged with.

“Maybe here! Is the red here?” she asked.

She quickly held her scythe like a golf club, and then swung it down, gouging into the beasts skull. The bastard roared with pain again, and this time it was red blood that flowed. Why was it different than in the mouth? Aria didn’t know, and she could give less of a fuck. She simply began laughing as though it was all a big joke.

“Yes!!!! That’s it!!!!! Cry me a river!!!!” she howled.

She then zipped to the other side of the head, and sunk her scythe into its other eye, laughing all the time. Even as she was covered in a shower of sticky red liquid. She seemed as though she couldn’t be any happier right now.

Kiri:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

The cat demon had to let out a further sigh as she slapped one palm against her face from her sister’s rage at the moment, that one was definitely angry at this point, and it wasn’t one of her minority rages either; this time she was in full run. The only thing the younger sibling could do at the moment was just sigh, and facepalm of course, at the fact that her sister was going berserk already the moment they managed to get back home. With the woman she had tackled and pulled away from the ballroom angry with her and asking a bunch of questions, she decided to answer those as her sister went and tortured the incapacitated beast.

Masumi Miyazaki: “I ask that you relax, getting worked up is only going to hurt your decision making in this situation. The girl in red and currently laughing at the top of her lungs, while torturing that big dragon-like creature, is my elder twin; by a few hours. The other one, I have no idea, I recommend you ask her. Now, excuse me for a moment.”

She seemed almost robotic with the way that she said it, quickly speaking the truth and getting the point out there before she turned on her heel and moved in a blur, running into the entrance of the ballroom as she drew her sword and let it shift into gun mode. Hurling the thing and forming an extending ribbon which further extended to the point she wanted it; Masumi then would have jerked the ribbon made just perfectly so that it would have pulled the trigger, causing a gunshot which would have propelled it at Aria. Should it have been left to continue, the move would have caused the weapon to wrap around the elder sister’s stomach, only to have Masumi jerk, hard, and knock her on her ass to pull her away from the beast. With the level of strength that she put into it, the elder would have been pulled hard enough that she skid backwards and stopped at the feet of the younger; who would have knelt down and spoke at that moment in a much softer and more emotional type of voice, a soothing one.

Masumi Miyazaki: “Aria, enough. Snap out of it, I’ll get you a new cookie later. First we have business to take care of.”

Meanwhile, of course, Ayana was landing and had already began building up a massive amount of kinetic energy into the cannon, intending to shoot every ounce that she could straight down his throat; no way in hell was she stopping now. Someone had to say the incantation to stop her, otherwise she’d keep going in this collapsing room. Well… normally anyway, instead Ayana actually dodged several pieces of the falling ceiling, jumping this way and that as she ended up outside of the ballroom; but she was still charging that cannon again.

Once Aria had calmed down and was back to normal, the younger sibling would have looked to the girl and spoke once again, catching glimpse of a male heading in the direction of… the library if she remembered correctly.

Masumi Miyazaki: “… Who are you, and why do you have Mammon’s sword? Where is he? Also, who was that man, and should we be following him?”

Oh… the poor witch had so much explaining to do on their trip to the library when it happened.

Dessy:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Relax? She wanted her to relax? She was just tackled by some strange woman she didn’t know, with two other girls attacking the Jabberwocky. How was she supposed to relax? Mariela took a deep breath, sheathing the sword on her side as she took deep breaths. The girl began explaining everything, and Mariela watched her and listened.“It’s a Jabberwocky. Not a dragon.” she said, recognizing it from the Alice in Wonderland book. Being caught up in a thousand things at once, it didn’t quite hit her at the moment that everything happening came from the Alice in Wonderland book. Alice, Scar being the Hatter, the Jabberwocky, the cards. The cat. She didn’t quite realize all of this yet.

As quick as the girl had tackled her, she had quickly left without another word. This allowed Mariela time to look around. The cards were still there, spread out all over the place. As she watched the Jabberwocky, the girl in red had… cut it’s tongue off. Holy shit. She then proceeded to gouge out his eyes. Holy shit.“Looks like I can’t question it for answers…” she mumbled under her breath. She then saw the broken glass shards on the ground – and her face fell to concern. She guessed it was from the mirror – it had to have been. But… it was just a guess. She turned her head to the other side of the hallway, only to see a brief glimpse of the guy from earlier picking up a hat. Scar’s hat. “Shit…” Mariela mumbled under her breath. Scar never went anywhere without his hat. That meant something bad happened. She didn’t see him pick up the watch. She finally remembered the Chesire cat. All of these things were from Wonderland. Wonderland was coming into Hell, but that didn’t explain where Scar and her family ran off to unless they were inWonderland. But they couldn’t be. Maybe Scar just dropped his hat in a hurry, but Mariela was starting to slightly panic.

The beast passed out unconcious after saying the words “she has done what the Red Queen could not”, and Mariela tilted her head. What did that mean? She remembered the Red Queen was Lydia – who she killed. That means Wonderland didn’t have a Red Queen. But what was the Red Queen supposed to do? And who did it instead? So many questions answered, and so very little time to get it.

The girl in red was saved. But that left the lightning one. Quickly, Marie pulled out the tablet from under her arm, looking down at it. Good news is, the girl was out of the ballroom. Bad news is, the roof was about to collapse any minute, and if she didn’t say this incantation and stop her from whatever she is doing, the roof would collapse on the girl. Mariela looked down at the tablet, before speaking the incantation: “The trickery of Loki undone, the skill of Thor turned to strength, the all seeing eye of the All Father opened; knowing the desire of her heart. By decree of these words, the seal is done, and the Valkyrie shall be forever masked with a power greater than hers.” After speaking it, she quickly moved, racing in the girl’s direction. Without knowing if it worked or not, she grabbed the girl’s arm and quickly began dragging her away towards the other two.

“… Who are you, and why do you have Mammon’s sword? Where is he? Also, who was that man, and should we be following him?” The girl in black spoke as Marie was catching her breath. She quickly handed the tablet back to the lighning girl, before taking her helmet off as she looked in the direction the boy had walked too. “We should be, yes. He has something I need. I don’t know who he is.” she spoke, and quickly began walking in that direction. “Follow me. I’ll explain on the way.” she said, and she waited for them to catch up with her. “I’m Mariela, the new Princess of Greed.”she said, speed-walking to get to the library. “Mammon is no longer. He died in a war against Wrath.” she continued.“His spy and top advisor, Lydia, took over after his death, and she promoted me from a healer to a Dutchess.” she spoke.

“Unfortunately, she ended up turning into an overly-ambitious bitch and I had to kill her.” Mariela then said, taking another breath. “I then took over as ruler of Greed.” she said, turning to look at the three girls, before looking at the twins.“As you will soon find out, I’m not like either of them.” she spoke, still speed walking to the library. “Names and explanations would be nice.” she said, turning to the lightning girl. “Especially you. Who are you?” she spoke.

They made it to the library, and Mariela swung the door open, catching Marcus right as he entered. “Hey!” she called out, slightly jogging towards him. “Thanks for the help earlier.” she started. “But who are you? And why are you here? And do you know anything about what’s going on? Like why Wonderland is in Hell?” she asked. She looked back to the three girls, motioning with her hand for them to follow.

Matt:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Aira was now coated in blood, laughing like a maniac. It seemed as though she was enjoying herself waaaaay too much. That was until there was a sudden burst of sound. Before she knew it her sister’s ribbon was wrapped around her tightly. When she was yanked back, she struggled. Fortunately though Masumi had also pulled here away from a falling piece of the roof. Even though it did not hit the elder twin, the piece did break itself upon the head of the unconscious Jabberwocky.

The bloodied girl continued to struggle for a moment before hearing her sister’s soft voice in her ear. The mere sound was calming the girl. The black aura around her began to fade until it vanished completely within her body. Even her eyes returned to their normal shapes, and for a moment she just kind of blinked for a moment, looking at the destroyed ballroom. She then turned to her sister, and smiled wide, he child-like attitude returning once more.

“Hey sis. Where are we?” she asked with her bubbly voice.

She slowly stood up, and unwrapped herself from the ribbon of her sister’s weapon. She seemed to have completely forgotten anything about what had happened since her cookies had been destroyed. Though she did not seem to react the same as the thought of her cookies being destroyed came to mind. Most would assume that she would return to her feral state, but she simply looked sad right now…. That was until she spied the cookies on a table nearby. They were simply being asked to be eaten…. Literally.

Aria cared little about the conversation behind her, running to the cookies, and piling as many of the as she could into her arms. She was about to bite into one, but then her eyes fell upon the Jabberwocky that was passed out nearby. She had no idea that she was the one who had caused it so much pain, and she felt sorry for the beast. So instead of eating the cookie herself, she walked up to the beast, and opened its mouth a little.

“You need these more than I do.” she said as she tossed one of the cookies to the back of the dragon-like creature’s throat.

She did not what the cookies would do. She simply wanted to give the monster a sweet treat. That was just how she was. That was when she heard that there was a new Princess of Greed. With a gasp she dropped her cookies, and skipped over to the girl. Quickly she grabbed both of her hands, and began jumping up and down.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! Mammon was so mean to us. I’m glad there is a new princess!” she chirped gleefully as she now hopped around the girl.

Soon the girl ran off though to chase after a man. How typical. She giggled to herself as she watched the girl charge off, soon following her lead. She skipped like a small child, and hummed the entire way, sometimes singing about a “Funny Farm”. Weird….

“The princess wants a man. How funny. She seems a little young for that though. What happened to the days of Chastity?” The elder twin mused aloud, most likely drawing the attention of those around her.

As they walked though Aria stopped, seeing a small cat hiding under a table. Her eyes grew wide, and she became giddy.

“Kitty!” she yelled before charging off after the stripped, and grinning cat. Was this girl really the same that had just been one of the scariest sadists to ever grace the halls of greed? It was hard to tell sometimes….

Kiri:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

You know, normally when people go and do things like that, destroying a ballroom I mean, you’d think that the person who owned said place would be so pissed off they’d think about nothing else; but at the same time Ayana was a bit satisfied that that wasn’t the case in this situation, in fact it seemed the contrary as she had more to think about than just the destroyed ballroom. Ayana rolled her neck as the seal was redone, kind of glad she was finally back in a stable state of mind, but the problem of the matter being that she had just went ballistic on the sucker with that form; she probably could have stayed in her most natural form, but she hadn’t and that was the issue there. Bah, oh well. Ayana looked a lot more calm now though, definitely psychopathically sadistic or anything of that sort wasn’t present, going from those two this was a bit extreme; but it was better than her trying to murder everything and everyone.

While the Princess had introduced herself, Ayana just listened in silent thought, and the same could have been said for Masumi who looked very… very calm considering what had just happened. While her sister went after the cookies, Masumi was looking at the Princess with what could have been a monotonous gaze that didn’t show any emotion; when asked to follow, she did, however, after a few turns in the corridors Aria ended up dashing into a different room. Masumi let out a sigh and ducked into the room herself, and would have grabbed Aria by her hood and dragged her from the room, but not before grasping the cat and placing him in her arms. With a murmured focus, and be nice to the cat, Masumi would have indeed dragged her sister along; but would have let her go about halfway in a sign of trust that also said not to run off. Looking to the Princess as they walked, Masumi replied and decided to introduce both herself and her sister. At which, Ayana had the same courtesy after.

Masumi Miyazaki: “Masumi Miyazaki, this is my twin Aria Miyazaki; she’s the elder by a few hours but… I’m sure you’ll figure out soon enough who keeps who out of trouble.We have been absent from Greed for a couple of years, last we were here, the sexist bastard Mammon was in charge; a change in rulership may have been overdue if we went through two rulers in two short years. …Well then. Is there anything that you need, Princess?”

Ayana Hashimoto: “Ayana Hashimoto… I’m a Valkyrie, I was sent to Helheim, ahem, Hell, in order to gain control of my powers; namely the power that you just resealed away. I’ll explain more in detail when it seems we aren’t being heavily pressed in time.”

With that the two had continued on in a sort of silence as they all rushed to the library, seemingly with time being of the essence; but oh how little that they knew that was true. How little did they truly know, for time was slowly ticking away and they had no idea as of yet. Upon entering the library, Masumi and Ayana didn’t hesitate to follow her in, and Masumi made a quick wave to Aria to make sure that she definitely entered the library; they couldn’t afford to let her be staying on her own. And that was only one of the many things happening, for they had to wait on his response to all of her questions.

Razor:

*

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Greed was known for having the best of everything. Mammon, the previous Prince made sure that his library stocked every book in history, and always first editions. With what Marcus had witnessed out in the ballroom, and the clues of the hat and the strange fob watch, the young warlock was starting to gather clues of what might be happening. Everything pointed to a particular children’s story. Known as Alice in Wonderland. Written by a fellow of the name Lewis Carroll. A genius, whose story was much about a change in the moral values in a world that have strange creatures in power over others. Was it any coincidence that it was this very tale that perhaps had found its opposites in this world of Hell? Was it possible that the characters in the book, had a shadow version of themselves here? What was the link? Why was the hat left behind?

With the attacks and fights going on in the ballroom, it gave Marcus a chance to investigate for himself, if the watch face was a clue to the deletion of time. There was no mistaking that time itself was being messed with. Strange and unusual happenings were taking place all over, and from what Marguerite had said of the new Princess of Greed’s actions at Witches Circle, that even she was affected in some way. No witch in their right mind would dare refuse the offer of help from someone like Lavinia, let alone threaten the entire kingdoms of hell all by herself.

Walking along the line of many rows of book shelves, the Warlock knew he had to think fast, and use his magic rather than trying to find the book by more mortal means. Releasing a black mist, that had finger like ends, he said simply.

“Carroll, Lewis…Alice in Wonderland.”

The fingers snapped, and the mist rolled on down the aisles, one after another as Marcus placed the hat and the fob watch down on the nearest desk. It was then that Mariela and her new chums decided to enter the library. Talk about timing.

“Hey!”

“Oh hello.” Marcus was not rude, but he didn’t stop what he was doing either. Magically whipping up a whisky decanter and matching glasses. He kindly helped himself to a drink, as the girl continued on.

“But who are you? And why are you here? And do you know anything about what’s going on? Like why Wonderland is in Hell?”

So many questions, and of course Mariela brought up Wonderland.

“I was going to ask you the same thing, but I decided to do a little investigating myself.” The Warlock poured himself a drink, while in the background, the mist hand returned with the first edition copy of Alice in Wonderland and held it aloft between the Princess and the Warlock. The new battle babes would have seen it as well.

Talking to the hand of dark mist, Marcus said with a smile. “Thank you, would have taken me ages.” The book then fell to the desk and the pages spun open, but if one cared to look, half the words were missing. “Well well…look at that.”Snapping his fingers, Marcus said to the mist hand…“Grab me another book of fiction…anything.” The fingers snapped, and the mist took off again, so Marcus could go back to his introduction. Taking a sip of his whiskey and smacking his lips he continued.

“The name is Marcus Black….I believe you have met my hapless brother, Raul. He…created that mirror that has smashed into oblivion in your ballroom. As to who sent me…that would have been my Mother, Marguerite. Bloody woman is obsessed with your kingdom, lord knows why. Tried to marry Raul off to Lydia. Course…he had to be a man whore and knock up some bandit. And….” Marcus smiled at this part. “You happened to end Lydia. Good one!” he gave a thumbs up before the mist came back with another book, that fell down on the table and opened, to show….all the pages were blank. It was now becoming apparent what was happening.

“This isn’t good.” Marcus said almost to himself, but it would have been heard by the group of girls. Raising his head, he then said what he believed was happening. “Someone is erasing stories….books. Quite the clever plan really.” he picked up the empty book and flipped through the pages, before slamming it shut.

“A very clever way of erasing a potential champion, and using a distraction to stop her from seeing it for herself.”Marcus stared at Mariela and then the others.

“If this can erase a story, not only are those in it in danger….another book is too. Probably the only one that can defeat the evil. Gee, and I thought I was bad. Whoever planned this from the start was insanely clever. Or a madman.”

Marcus opened the book of Alice again, and you could see that there was an outline of the picture of the Jabberwocky, but it was fading….fading from existence.

Down in the ballroom, there was a god awful creak coming from the roof, while on the ground, the paralyzed Jabberwocky was shrinking due to the eat me cookie that was thrown into its mouth by one of the battle babes. Unable to speak…unable to see….its fate was about to be sealed.

“Eat me.” – The Kingdom of Greed : PD

 

 

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

You know, normally most people would have given in after being shot with so much electrical energy that they can’t even move, but this one definitely was a firebrand who didn’t know when to stop, someone who Ayana could have a lot of fun with in the long run considering everything that was going on at this point in time. She just kept giggling as he stopped his eye beam and then redirected another one for the chandelier, snapping its chain. As the thing fell, Ayana didn’t make any moves as the thing fell at her, not a one as she didn’t care one bit; the only thing that she did was she actually instead… mumbled under her breath a specific incantation so low that no one would be able to hear her. What she said was: The cunning of Loki hides away my impulses; the strength of Thor shirks my skill; the omnipotence of Odin commands me. By decree of these words, the Seal is Released; the Valkyrie’s Force shall reign. Funniest part about her saying this was, that as she said the last word, the chandelier landed upon her already changing form.

With a cry, a roar as her raven colored wings unfurled, the Valkyrie caused the chandelier to be shattered into pieces from the sheer force of her power being unleashed all at once. As the Valkyrie was left standing there, she didn’t care that the Jabberwock had decided to buy himself time, she was just waiting for him to do so, just so that she could do as she pleased. As she stood there, her hand cannon began to glow brightly, but this was seemingly natural as it did it the moment that she had revealed her form.

It was time to show this Jabberwock what true force could do.

Dessy:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Mariela had the armor all placed, and she held the helmet in her arm, watching Suda. When she asked if there was “anything else she needed to know about”, she meant about the armor. She did not expect Suda to stop and pull down some levrl. Mariela looked up, seeing a massive stone wall turn around, and Mariela furrowed her brows in confusion. “Guess you should see the lab.” Suda spoke, and Mariela just gave a confused expression.

“Um… As much as I’d love to, there’s a giant creature in my ballroom right now, and I need to make sure my family are out of harm’s way, sooo…” she spoke… but the dwarf didn’t listen. He started walking towards the lab anyway, leaving Mariela completely confused. “Oh…no rush to go fight the beast, I am sure it will still be there when we are finished…NOW…welcome to Greed central. It is here that we are working on new and wonderful ways to defend the Kingdom.” Suda spoke, and Mariela just looked at him in confusion. “It can wait?!” she spoke. “It can’t wait! There is a beast in the middle of my ballroom!” she spoke. She gave an exasperated sigh, turning to look around her at the army of dwarves. She’s been here since Mammon – how did she not know this was here?

She followed him to another dwarf – known as Rupert – but literally the entire time she was antsy and anxious to get back up there. She didn’t know how well the girl was holding up, plus her brothers and Tessa were still there, as well as Scar. They needed to hurry up so she could leave. Suda introduced her to his son, and Mariela bowed her head. “Nice to meet you.” she said, but her voice was rushed and hurried. She giggled a bit when Suda lectured his son, before he bowed and Mariela gave him a smile.

“Ah yes…the legendary Princess of Greed. You’re the one that turned Lydia into slime. Nice work. I hate to say it, but…you don’t exactly look the evil ruler type to me.”

Mariela couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “I’m not the evil ruler type.” she said with a shake of her head. “Women do like to be told nice things… but, there’s a way you phrase it.” she then said. When Suda asked to demonstrate the gauntlet, Mariela shook her head. “Look… as much as I’d like to see it, I really need to get up there.” she said, looking up as a piece of the ceiling dropped down, and then giving a worried expression.

Rupert began explaining the gauntlet anyways, and Mariela gave an annoyed groan. She listened to the explanation, raising an eyebrow at the claws, and then her eyes widening when the net of plasma was thrown, giving an apoligetic smile to the dwarf on the wall. He then demonstrated the invisibility, and Marie raised an eyebrow. “That’s all really cool and everything…” Mariela spoke, looking back up at the roaring. “But as much as I’d like to sit here and learn more… Ireally need to go.” she said, beginning to walk away backwards. “No questions. Um… come see me whenever it’s finished, and I’ll come back when I have time to know more and get to know you all. Okay?” she said, giving a warm smile before placing the helmet on her head.

She then ran out, picking up the sword in one hand and the tablet in the other. She immediately raced out of the armory, heading back up the stairs, just in time to hear the cry from what she guessed was the other girl. “That… didn’t sound good…” she said, racing down the hallway and into the ballroom.

Razorbackwriter:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Like a vacuum cleaner seller having the door slammed in his face, Rupert’s face fell after giving a stellar performance at trying to show off the wonders and attributes of the magical gauntlet. He had described its properties, and the many magnificent things it could do, but then part of the ceiling happened to collapse, enough to remind the Princess that upstairs a girl was fighting for her life against the majesty of the Jabberwocky. The Red Queen’s favorite pet. Seeing her walking backwards, the disappointed dwarf took the gauntlet off and shrugged his shoulders. No sale today. Suda simply shook his head, before waddling over to give his son a pat on the arm.

“There there….why don’t we go test out the new catapult? I’ll even let you throw Wilson over the castle wall.” Suda and Rupert chuckled together, while Wilson’s muffled cries were heard in the background. “You drive a hard bargain, Father.”

With the Princess fleeing from the blacksmith shop, wearing her armor and carrying the sword of souls, she looked ready to take on anything…anything at all. And…there was someone watching.

Having lost out to the White rabbit, the Cheshire cat’s red eyes were the only things visible, as it chuckled darkly to itself. Oh, she must be heading for the little fight in the ballroom. Stealth, was something the cat was good at, along with being able to blend into any scene, be it a hedge, a tree or a stone wall.

As Mariela was about to slide into the now partially destroyed ballroom, a massive cat’s head appeared in her way.

“Aren’t you fancy, little Princess. Don’t you know, you’re late for the ball.” Wickedly, the cat grinned, showing off all its razor sharp teeth. The cat’s face got closer and then it opened its mouth, to show of all things….a clock.

‘Tick tick tick tick tick…..”

“Tock!”

In behind the Princess, a dark shadow appeared and it threw something into the mouth of the Cheshire cat. The cat’s mouth closed and it started to splutter and cough, before the head started to shrink away. In fact, the whole cat appeared, and it was getting smaller and smaller. So small, it became the size of a domestic cat.

“Meow!” *Screeech*…..the cat ran away, disappearance around a corner, and if Mariela looked behind her, she would see a tall….good looking dark haired man standing in behind her.

“Hurry! She needs you.” The man said, urging her to go on. He didn’t reveal himself, since time was of the essence. Even Marcus knew that.

In the ballroom, the little lightning girl was being a real pain in the ass. The chandelier had broken its chain, and its landing was meant to disable the girl, but alas all it did was unleash a locked power. It gave her the very reason to bring out her true self, something that for a split second, even the Jabberwocky took notice of. Struggling against the warp of lightning energy that had it bound, the chest of the Jabberwocky grew larger and larger, as it writhed to give one last bout of strength to overcome its many injuries. The beast would not give up….it couldn’t

“The mirror is gone…little sprite.” The jabberwocky felt its only way out now destroyed. “If I cannot return…then you will join me in HELL!” The mighty tail of the jabberwocky had not been caught up in the girl’s power, and it reared up behind the beast. A ball like club at the end of the tail produced large spikes, with spear like tips. Like a cat, the tail stiffened, and then the jabberwocky lowered its head, to unleash a series of spikes like rapid firing darts, that headed toward the girl, who had her arm cannon at the ready.

Little did anyone realize that in behind the jabberwocky, where the mirror had stood, was now a table…that contained a table of….cookies. Each cookie had words written on them.

“Eat me”

~RB~

Matt:

It had been ages since Aria, or her sister had been back to their home in Greed. About two years to be exact. However they had finished the job that the great Lord Mammon had sent them on, and now they were returning. On the way in though there was a grand shop along the road. It had a giant wooden cookie sitting above the door, and as Aria looked upon it a giant glimmer shone in her eyes, and a grin spread upon her lips. Before her sister could stop what was about to go down, Aria vanished into the cookie shop.

There was a giant ruckus in the shop before Aria burst out the doors once more, running at high speeds away from the shop. In her arms she carried bags and bags of varying cookies. As she ran she was actually leaving a trail of the treats behind her. From the shop the owner burst out, yelling at her to bring back the merchandise. Yes. The young girl had stolen over a hundred dollars in cookies.

Once they were far enough away Aria slowed down once more, and began walking normally, munching on a cookie. She seemed rather like a child as she munched the treat. One would not believe that she was the older of the two twins.

Not too long after that, the castle of greed came into view.

“Yay! Almost home!” Aria yelled, dropping a couple of her cookies in excitement.

That was when a terrible roar ripped through the air. It was coming from the castle, and didn’t seem friendly.

“”Uh oh. I hope Mammon is ok.” she said, and then she vanished, a trail of roses following the path she had taken.

She was now standing directly in front of the ballroom door from the outside. She noticed the windows were smashed, and there were sounds of fighting coming from the inside. However her hands were full of the “Borrowed” cookies. She sat there, and thought for a moment, and then she seemed to decide on something. In the next moment her black booted foot was raised up, and slammed against the fragile doors of the ballroom. They were broken from the hinges, and fell to the ground with a crash.

Aria walked in through the doors, her eyes closed, and a smile on her face. This was her first mistake after being back. As soon as she was in the door way a giant tail came crashing down on her large pile of cookies, effectively crushing them to a non-edible level. It took the girl a moment to realize what had just happened to her, and as she looked upon the remains of the cookies a dark shadow fell across her face.

For a moment she stood there frozen, as though she had just lost a dear friend. This giant dragon-like creature had just crushed her cookies…… This was….. Unforgivable…… With a sudden explosion of force a pitch black aura surrounded the poor girl. The force of the sudden energy forced the ground under her to rupture, and sent her cloak billowing around her. Her hood had even flipped onto her head, casting more shadows upon her face.

This was a completely different girl from before, and it was clear, even if you did not know her well. With a snap of the wrist a large log of something red was in her hand. Though it did not stay like this long. The thing quickly shifted, and transformed into a giant scythe with crimson running all across it.

“I’ll…. I’ll never forgive you….. Let….. Let me…. Dissect…. you!!!!” her voice was quiet at first, but it quickly rose to a blood thirsty, and devilish roar.

Her body crouched low as her eyes showed from the shadows under her hood. They were not the same as before now though. Her iris’ were tiny, and each was filled with the veins of rage. Her body was pumping blood all across her being. Now though came the delayed reaction of her dark aura. Those affected by it would start to see a world coated in blood. Everything would be dripping with it, even their bodies would be covered in the life-blood of all things. It was not a simple illusion. Aria’s dark aura was so powerful that it transferred her view of the world onto those around her.

That’s right. This is how she sees the world. Covered in blood, and dead. As the girl’s body lowered she laid the pole of the scythe across her shoulders, the blade aimed at the ground. The creature seemed to be suffering from some paralysis, though it was still moving some. With her highest possible speed Aria dashed under the chin of the creature, and spun, aiming the back of the scythe for the bottom of the jaw.

If this move were to connect it would have enough of the girl’s deranged force behind it to send the beast’s head into the ceiling. Following up with this move, the girl slammed a mag of her high velocity rounds into the slot in the scythe. These rounds were powerful enough to propel the girl as she rode the scythe, and so imagine the damage, or at least pain they could inflict upon this monstrosity, and cookie- killer. From her position under the monster she placed the end of the scythe on the ground to give it a stable setting, and began to fire off the rounds at the Jabberwocky’s under chin.

As fast as she could she would pull the trigger, and cock again, repeating the process until the mag was empty. This did not stop her though. She would load a second mag in, and continue the process until this mag was empty as well. She finished with a third mag, not wanting to let up on the assault of the beast. She would avenge her cookies if it was the last thing she would do. This entire assault was being played to the music of Aria’s blood curdling screams, and demented aura.

Fights like a Girl – The Kingdom of Greed :PD

Back at the Greed Kingdom, the Princess has no idea that her family have vanished, while she is getting fitted out to fight the Jabberwocky.

Kiri:

You ever have that moment when you’re so caught up in the enjoyment of the moment you can’t control your thoughts or actions? That was Ayana at the moment, she was caught up in such a creepy mentality that she was even going as far as to run the bottom of her tongue along the tops of her left hand knuckles with a look of what looked to be expectation of the moment. She wasn’t lying when she said she planned to break this beast, and oh he was a fiery one considering the tone of his voice, but it only brought a look of even more glee. As his eyes unleashed their little eye beam, the girl didn’t hesitate to lift a hand, unleashing a torrent of her Divine Lightning right into the beam in the shape of a wall of brilliant, white, crackling energy which coursed and fought off the beam with ease. While that beam was able to char the flesh and burn it away, her white lightning was a different matter all together, the only true way to defend against that was another form of energy; for a very good example, his own sprays of energy and flame, as well as the eye beam. What most didn’t know is… if you didn’t have a way to negate the lightning itself… blocking it was pointless as the electrical energy would still channel through and seize up your muscles to the point of being unable to move. The most debilitating use is paralyzation. Which she did to the Jabberwocky.

“Ah, you’re being a very bad boy~ Time to teach you a lesson.~”

Even with the eye beam coming at her wall of lightning, the girl jabbed her sword as hard as possible into the ground, jamming it there before she lifted her right hand and smiled as she charged up a large amount of Divine Lightning around her curled fingers. It was a bit scary how she was finding everything he was doing to be kind of… just plain bad, like he was a child to be scolded in spite of being a massive dragon. Ayana would have pointed her hand right at the Jabberwocky, discharging so much of that holy energy right at him that once it hit he’d be put in excruciating pain; keeping it going she wouldn’t stop till he released his little eye beam, but as she finished she’d just be standing there. Giggling with insanity and speaking with a bit of a tone which told she was going to enjoy every little thing she did to him.

“Do you give in yet?~ Or do I need to break you further?~”

And with that she just… continued giggling, laughing with such a wide grin you’d think her face was about to split as she let the electricity continue coursing through him and paralyzing him if it had connected, obviously ready to continue dealing out this torturous damage without end.

Dessy:

“Aye…armor, the likes that be fitting for a woman of your stature.” Suda spoke, and Mariela tilted her head. Suda was loyal – that much was obvious. He’s been with Greed since Mammon and never once left. If that wasn’t loyal to Greed, she didn’t know what was. Mariela lifted her head when the ceiling tremored, and dust began falling. “I’m running out of time…” she mumbled, looking back at Suda

She looked at the armor as Suda spoke. It did have enchantments. That’s what Mariela had assumed. “Power booster?”she repeated. That meant it amplified her powers. Otherwise, made them greater than they actually were… at least that’s what she was getting out of it. That could be useful in many ways. And now that she thought about it, she forgot that she inherited Lydia’s powers. She might have to play around with that one day. That’d be useful.

She kept listening to him as he talked about the powers. “But then again, you aren’t no ordinary witch, are ya?” Suda spoke, and Mariela shrugged. “That’s what everybody else keeps telling me.” she said. “I don’t know.” she said again. She didn’t understand it – but that’s what they said. Mariela took the suit when it was handed to her, holding it up and looking at it. She looked up as Suda finished talking, before looking down at the suit. “Well…” she said. “Let’s try this thing on.” she spoke again, taking the suit and beginning to slip it on.

She then took the gauntlets, beginning to slip those on as well. “Anything else I should know about?” she asked, speaking as she continued to slip the armor on. She didn’t know how much time she had left. But she needed to get to the ballroom.

Razorbackwriter:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

There was so much about the Greed kingdom that Mariela didn’t know about. Suda, who had been faithful to each reigning monarch for as long as he could remember had always kept busy in his little blacksmith shop – but there was more to this underground dungeon than met the eye. Dealing with the Princess, while the upstairs ballroom was being turned into a gladiator arena, Suda found himself in a situation that he never expected himself to be in. Instead of whipping on the armor and racing off with sword in hand to go and fight the might Jabberwocky – who was going ten rounds with a lightning sprite, she wanted to know….if there was anything else she should know about.

Suda paused. Standing still…staring at the girl. Perhaps it was time to allow her to be privy to what really had been going on beneath the bowels of Greed castle.

“I was going to wait for a more opportune moment, but…since you forced my hand.” Suda reached for a large lever and pulled hard on it. What happened next would leave the girl truly spellbound and probably in shock. A massive stone wall started to turn around, revelling what was a large passage way. From the sounds of it, there was something going on down the tunnel.

“Guess you should see the lab.” The Lab? What had Suda been keeping a closely guarded secret? Motioning with his stubby little hand, he urged the Princess to follow, even with the loud roars still coming up from the ballroom. “Oh…no rush to go fight the beast, I am sure it will still be there when we are finished…NOW…welcome to Greed central. It is here that we are working on new and wonderful ways to defend the Kingdom.”

If she was to look, she would see an army of dwarves….more than Snow white ever had, and they were doing everything from making swords, to testing out new flame throwers against other dwarves in special protective suits. In the background a young dwarf was tinkering on what looked like a special gauntlet. Rupert…was his name and he was sporting a large pair of blast goggles and had a blackened face. His lab coat was covered in singes, and he smelt…like crispy bacon.

“Rupert…I have someone to introduce to you.” Suda then mentioned to Mariela “This is my son, who is training to follow in my footsteps.”

Glancing up, Rupert turned off his blow torch and shifted the googles off his eyes. He’d not seen Mariela before, and had no idea who she was.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?’ Rupert was not the most polite of chaps.

“Son…this is the Princess of Greed. She is the ruler of this Kingdom. Show some respect!” He was typical of youth of the day – outspoken and brash.

“Ah yes…the legendary Princess of Greed. You’re the one that turned Lydia into slime. Nice work. I hate to say it, but…you don’t exactly look the evil ruler type to me.”

“RUPERT!” Suda couldn’t believe his son’s brutal honesty. Yes, she didn’t look evil, but then again looks could be deceiving. The young dwarf coughed before shrugging his shoulders. “I thought women liked to be told nice things.”Poor boy was trying to pay her a compliment. Dragging his hand down his face, Suda then asked Rupert what he was working on.

“Care to give a demonstration of that…gauntlet?’ This was a prototype that had yet to be tested out properly. Rupert was a bit shocked that his father wanted to do a presentation…especially with the noise coming from upstairs. A piece of the ceiling dropped down as you could hear the Jabberwocky going off the deep end.

Rupert carefully lifted the gauntlet off the stand on which it was placed and then fitted it to his hand.

“One size fits all, comes in an array of colours….” he twirled his hand around and wiggled the fingers. “High quality adamantium, which we harvested from a passing chap who looked a lot like Hugh Jackman.” He coughed, then continued. “Retractable claws, capable of tearing through any fabric or metal. Perfect for playing tic tac toe on a dragon’s face….ALSO it throws a net of plasma when you press this button….right…here!” Rupert pressed the button, only for the net to shoot out and hit a passing dwarf, pinning him to the wall.

“Test 27….ah a direct hit. Sorry about that, Wilson.” Rupert saluted the dwarf stuck to the wall, and then continued. “This button activates an invisibility cloak device…which makes the wearer invisible to the naked eye. Rupert clicked the button and then he simply vanished from sight – though..you could still hear him.

“As you can see….or rather not…this gauntlet is a wonderful addition to your armor, M’lady. Thinking about making you matching boots to complete the ensemble. One can never have enough of those. So…any questions?” Funny thing was…he was still invisible.

Upstairs, the Jabberwocky was getting as good as he was giving. Ayana had released a powerful lightning beam to counter the fire blast from his eyes, with a spectacular ball of power now hovering between them. The plucky little fighter was not about to be giving up anytime soon. And neither was the Jabberwocky. The bitch had used her spear strikes to incapacitate the creature, as well as wrap him in a type of binding hold, but there is always other ways in which to fight. What the Jabberwocky did not count on however, was the use of her holy powers. Strange you might say for a creature who was in the very bowels of hell, in a sin Kingdom. That alone was enough to make you question everything. The Jabberwocky let out a terrible noise of pain, with his muscles twitching and contracting during the onslaught. But there was one thing the beast was capable of and that was being able to continue to fight through the pain, as bad as it was. If he couldn’t move the bulk of his body and his eyes still could, he directed the fire beam to the iron chain that supported the very new and shiny chandelier, that was hanging right over the plucky little lightning strike. With a great exertion of power, he fired a blast that would sheer through the chains, causing the chandelier to swing and then fall…..plummeting at speed towards the girl who was in its path of landing. This was to serve as a distraction and give the Jabberwocky the chance to regain some strength of movement, to break through the debilitating lighting strikes.

~RB~

Down the Rabbit hole – The Greed Kingdom : PD.

In the Princess diaries series, we go back to Greed.  The Homecoming was the last chapter, and now the world of imagination and wonder has entered the Kingdom of Greed with disastrous consequences for Mariela and her kin.

Razorbackwriter:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Oh what strange things were occurring. The Jabberwocky had not been the only creature to arrive via the mirror. The red and black army was well before the beast but before that, there had been a rolling mist that had seeped and crept its way through the ballroom, and up the stairs. With all the excitement of the arrival of the lighting girl, and the battle that had begun, there was the setting for a wonderful distraction, that had very serious implications. Lavinia had asked if anything strange had been happening at Greed. Little did the new Princess know, that this was only the beginning. Words echoed by Esme, the apprentice to Lavinia and probably the only witch that Mariela could really count on. Pity that Mariela left before getting to speak with Esme further, it may well have served her to have done so.

So many things were happening at once, it was hard to keep track, but if we were to go to Mariela and her ever faithful Scar she had begun to issue orders. First, to a guard. Telling him to throw a shield for the lightning girl to catch and be used as defense against the Jabberwocky, who was now getting seriously pissed off with the little warrior.

“Scar. Go get Alice. Bring her with Tessa and my brothers and make sure they are out of harm’s way. Stay with them and do not enter the ballroom.”

As much as Scar wanted to do her bidding, he couldn’t help but feeling that he should stay by her side. He could just feel that this was not going to end well, and while he wasn’t a great warrior like Miss Zippity Zap with the spear, that he would give his all if he was called to do so. Instead he could only nod in response that he understood what he had to do. Taking a last look at the scene, he ran out of the ballroom, where he was to see Alice talking to a floating cheshire cat’s head…..Yes…a floating head. Scar blinked at the sight, and when he reached Alice’s side, she quickly grabbed his hand.

“The cat knows a place where it is safe for Mariela’s family.”

“That cat? Oh come on!” Scar didn’t trust the beaming feline with his life, let alone that of Mariela’s family. The cat twirled its head around till it was upside down. It didn’t belong in Greed at all, it belonged in Wonderland. “What is that cat doing here anyways?”

“Oh…Hatter, I knew the Jabberwocky was coming for Miss Alice and I came to rescue her. But…I can save you all too. Just follow me.” It said with a cheeky voice. But then, another voice was heard.

“Don’t listen to him! It’s a trap! Follow me, Hatter, Alice….People.” The white rabbit in the waist coat and holding a time piece in his hand looked up at them pleading.

“Time is all over the place. We must hurry. Come…come.” In a trice, the rabbit took off down the hall, hopping this way and that before reaching a door, that suddenly burst open. “In here….this way!” The rabbit bounded inside, and Alice pulled on Scar’s hand. “Then we follow the rabbit.” She blew a raspberry at the cat, who just popped out from sight leaving behind a trail of sparkling dust and a titter of laughter.

As Alice pulled Scar along, he grabbed Tessa’s hand, and urged the boys to link together, to keep them altogether. Once they reached the doorway, Alice was first to go through….then Scar….as each was pulled in, a violent force sucked the three remaining into the room…..and then the door slammed shut!

At that precise moment, the mirror that was in the ballroom, exploded…..sending shattering pieces of glass in all directions. This meant one horrible thing. The Jabberwocky could not be sent back….and others were now lost…..to Wonderland.

Who was….the White Rabbit?

(TC – Wonderland : Alice, Scar, Tessa, Sam and Sean)

Down in the armory, Suda was busy working on crafting a new type of battle axe, when he heard the scream of Mariela, singing out for the sword that Mammon last wielded in battle. When she appeared, you could see that she was very much in need of it, for with the roars that were now filtering down from the ballroom, Suda knew that it was time for the Princess of Greed to be prepared for her first real test.

 

The blackened faced dwarf took up a cloth to wipe his hands, and bowed before the Princess, who looked to be in a real hurry. “Nice of you to finally pop down and introduce yourself, your Highness.” this was said with a deep and raspy voice, as he then went to wiggle a finger in his ear, before smacking his lips and musing about where he kept the sword.“Ah yes….Lydia wanted it polished. I have it here.” Turning around he went to a display case and undid the lock, before lifting the glass top. He brought out the most magnificent looking sword you had ever seen. ‘Isn’t she a beaut? Crafted by the dark elves…and carries many souls of those that died in battle. Be careful with it though. It’s call is painful….especially to your enemy.” Suda presented the sword to the Princess with a flourished bow, before standing upright again. “Won’t you be needing armor?” he asked. “A helmet? Maybe a shield?” He had many to chose from, some were even her size. “I took precautions of making you something, just for this sort of occasion.” Walking over to what looked to be something Mariela’s height, Suda whipped off the red velvet cloth to reveal a highly polished silver looking suit, complete with helmet, and gauntlets…boots too.

“Isn’t it splendid?” All she needed to do was try it on.

Up in the ballroom, the Jabberwocky was taking in a deep breath before releasing another blast of the purplish coloured energy at the young warrior. The girl had started to use some funky new power, associated with her viking heritage, or at least that was how it looked. Rising up again to slam the Jabberwocky’s head down to the floor with a sickening crunch, but as she went to flip away, the beast reared and spun 90 degrees, its tail swinging out with full force to knock the electric sprite right off her feet, right as she was shouting at him with all the ferocity of Valhalla. Spinning back the opposite way, it cracked it’s jaw, before it started a tirade of abuse.

“I’m going to make you cook and eat your own BUTTOCKS!” This was of course followed by yet another fiery purple blast, enough to singe her fringe.

~RB~

Kiri:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Thank God for the help of the Princess and her guards, with one of them throwing a shield at her she reached up and caught it, just in time to fit her arms in the straps as she did so and spin around; catching the full force of the tail as she landed and roared out at him. She was thrown a good several feet, but her intention to piss off the beast definitely worked wonders considering his response. She barely pushed herself up on one knee long enough to take the fiery blast of purple energy on the shield, letting it raze about around her as she growled under her breath. She waited till the exact moment before it stopped, then she dropped the damn shield and stood up in full, giving a cocky little smirk as she raised up one hand and brilliant lightning coursed around her.

“Oh forget killing you, I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

That was her response to his little tirade, now it was her turn to return the favor in full; switching to her spear, she picked up the shield again and wreathed her body in lightning once more as she charged forwards with a crack of thunder.

“Thundering Dash!”

Within a second she was inches from the beast’s nose, but she didn’t stay there, flashing around him she wreathed the spear itself in a large amount of lightning as she thrust at blinding speeds that were nearly impossible to follow. These would have felt like wasp stings to the beast, but of course they weren’t intended to kill, their real effect would be realized to the Jabberwocky when he was unable to move properly. In fact, once the barrage had ended, the amount of electrical energy that would have been in his body would have made his muscles convulse and seize up to the point he wouldn’t be able to even so much as shift a talon. With her standing in front of him with a slightly… unnerving smile as she decided to speak slowly but surely. Her actions during that moment were creepy too, if you had known anything about the curse at all, you might have thought that those were just her suppressed emotions coming to the fore; in a way those people were right, everyone had an inner sadist, without control of the power that mentality leaked through on occasion… this was one of those times as she dropped her shield and called on her sword instead. Lifting it slightly as she spoke with some very chilling actions that would probably make the guards shiver with chills going down their spines.

“Well then, time to play.~ How should I break you first?~”

Dessy:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Mariela seriously hoped that her brothers and Tessa made it out fine. As well as Alice and Scar. She had no clue that they went into the mirror, or that they were in Wonderland. All she told them was to get to safety. Where they went? She had no clue. But right now, she was in a desperate need to find this sword, and end the Jabberwocky. Hearing Suda talk, Mariela turned her head. “Yeah, yeah. I should’ve introduced myself sooner. But I haven’t had a ten second break since I killed Lydia. Apologies.” she said, looking around again.

Mariela turned to face him and walked over to where he went to a display case. She watched him pull out the sword, before he turned to face her, holding the sword out and giving a bow. Mariela reached out to grab the handle, holding it in her hand and turning it. “Hm.” she said in thought, running her figners over the blade. She turned to face him when he mentioend armor.

“Armor?” she then asked, before following him where a plate of armor was standing. “That might be useful.” she said. She turned and placed the sword on a nearby table, as well as the stone tablet, before turning back to the dwarf and armor. “Hand it over. I wanna try it on.” she then said. Did this armor have special properties? She didn’t know. But she knew the armor would actually be a bit of a good thing right now. Especially with the Jabberwocky.

Razorbackwriter:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

If it was one thing to be noted about the blacksmith dwarf, it was the pride he took in his creations. Not just able to bend certain metals beyond their normal capabilities and resistance, he was also charmed to generate powers within the metals, or to enforce the wearer’s power therein. Mariela was in a hurry, sure – but she was new to all this side of being a royal and a warrior of heart. She had proved her worth against the likes of Lydia, but done so without the need for special protection. The time had come however for her to step up to the plate and be equipped properly for what dangers lay ahead, namely a rather angry Jabberwocky that was now destroying the newly refurbished ballroom.

“Armor?”

“Aye…armor, the likes that be fitting for a woman of your stature.” It was not like Suda had to do whole sales pitch. Everything he made was for either the reigning monarch or the army which served under them. Loyal to Greed till the end.

“That might be useful.”

Hearing the din coming from above, with the odd tremor and some grit and dust falling from the ceiling due to the fight currently going on, the dwarf rolled his eyes.

“Might? Bloody will, I say.” Suda confirmed, showing the suit to the girl, while she set down the tablet and the sword that she had already been given.

“This suit….is enchanted, M’lady. Think of it as a power booster for your magics. Say…like you inherited Lydia’s fire power, yes? Well, this suit here….this is like an amplifier…the bass to your killer beat.” Suda was emphasizing this with his hands. “When the helmet is fitted on your head, it locks on and engages a protective aura right around you. it lessens the affect of say…a fire attack, and you can still cast your own spells and magic from within. I know witches don’t normally get about like a Knight…but then again, you aren’t no ordinary witch, are ya?” Suda handed over the suit for her to try on, even though time was of the essence.

“Think of this…as an enchanted exoskeleton.” Smiling he offered her the gauntlets. “Heh, any beast will soil himself and turn tail when he gets a load of you, M’lady.”

While the metal appeared to be lightweight, it was incredible strong and flexible, allowing freedom of movement. You could say that this was well ahead of its time. A glorious tribute to the new Princess of Greed.

Suda folded his arms and waited for the Princess to try the armor on. No doubt she was going to look spectacular.

Meanwhile….in the ballroom.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Oh that tricky little lightning bitch. She was a girl that was wickedly fast, insanely so. Able to speed her way around the Jabberwocky before he could even turn his head and shower her with more blasts of the same purplish energy. He did however roar loudly in protest when the spear struck him again and again, each time like it was a very sharp electric cattle prod. He was no cow! Dare she treat him with such disrespect. At the end of it, yes he was finding his muscles were seizing and locking, convulsing in pain – oh but this pain fueled the inner fires that burned in a place that she found herself staring into. What gaul to assume that the Jabberwocky relied on size and of course his energy blasts. There was more to this creature than met the eye. A flash and he watched the girl who now proclaimed;

“Well then, time to play.~ How should I break you first?~”

“After I roast you like a marshmallow, it’ll be me breaking you!” From his eyes there was the glowing fire like embers that burned hotter than the sun. In a trice he fired what was known as a Heat eye beam blast. It was enough to not only char his victims but burn off their skin. The Jabberwocky was a master of this power, and while he was confined in the binding of electrical energy, his eyes were not part of that. The trick to the beam was also that it was able to bend and warp and follow the direction of movement of his target -ie…the cheeky lightning bitch.

~RB~

 

The Homecoming – The Kingdom of Greed : PD

Mariela, Scar and her brothers had returned from their visit to the Witches Circle, where things hadn’t exactly gone as well as one would hope.  Leaving the Kingdom virtually unattended, it allowed for the start of new dramas…just as Esme had warned.

 

 

Dessy:

Kingdom of Greed – Castle

It was silent as they headed back to Greed castle – with good reason, most likely. Mariela wasn’t sure what was to happen now after the events at the Witches Circle. Considering she just threatened everyone there, as well as the other kingdoms, it probably wasn’t a good thing. But Mariela was prepared for anything they intend to throw her way. She turned her head to look behind her, seeing Tessa and her brothers following behind. She gave a smile, before turning to look at Scar.

“Well. Looks like I have made a few enemies…” She spoke, clenching her teeth together and making a bit of a face.“Threatening them probably wasn’t such a great idea. Might have been a mistake, actually.” she said, coming to this realization. “But I guess all royals have to have a few enemies, right?” she then said with a shrug. She gave another smile, before looking forward as they climbed up the steps to the Greed castle, giving a nod to the guards.

She walked into the castle, the door shutting behind them as she turned to look at everyone else. “Now, I suppose the first thing we should do is check on Alice.” she said, moving her hands up to untie the cloak from her neck. “I don’t know the girl, and being how she came from the mysterious place behind the mirror, I don’t much how much she can be trusted.” she said, now taking the cloak and draping it over her arm. “I know she’s a friend of yours, Scar, and you know more about her then I do. I just… don’t quite know what to think of her yet.” she said, looking at Scar.

She then turned her head to look at Tessa and her brothers. “Second thing is to get you three home.” she said, moving her eyes between the three. “You three have been here long enough, and I don’t want you guys to still be here should anything major happen. So we need to figure out a way to get you three home.” she then said, looking back at Scar. He should have a way, right? She certainly hoped so… “Now. Let’s go find Alice. And hope she didn’t get into any trouble…”she said, turning back around to start walking forward again.

Razorbackwriter:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

It wasn’t such a good idea, to have left Alice behind in the castle, while the group had gone off to see the Witches Circle. Alice was from Wonderland, a place of magic and wonder but also some very dark creatures. Having snuck out of her room in the tower, Alice was feeling a little lonely. The young girl had some friends on the other side of the looking glass, and since Hatter and the Princess of Greed had left her to her own devices, Alice decided she was going to use the mirror in order to bring in some much needed companions.

Carefully sneaking down the winding stair case, she kept an eye out, as guards walked past on their rounds, checking that everything was as it should have been. Giggling to herself, the girl in the blue smock dress skipped out when the opportunity was right and made a dash for the ballroom. Recently reconstructed due to the damage that had occurred during the Masked ball. The magical mirror that had been loaned to Lydia by Raul was still hanging in the same place that the gardening staff had left it, and oddly enough a mystical fog was pouring out of it, like a rolling mist. Thinking that this meant the mirror was still somehow connected to Wonderland, Alice clapped her hands gaily, and danced up to the mirror, singing out.

“You can come out now and play!” She bent forward and peered into the mirror, thinking that her side kick – the white rabbit would come bounding out of the glass. Instead however there was the sound of men yelling…their feet pounding on the other side of the mirror, till all of a sudden, a whole deck of soldier playing cards both red and black came flying out. Spears aloft, but they were actually running from something…..something large.

Alice squeaked and fell back as the playing card soldiers leapt over her and ran around the ballroom, trying to assemble into defensive formations. You could see that they were terrified…of something.

“But the Queen of Hearts is dead…..What is wrong with you deck of fools?” Alice cried.

One of the soldiers then pointed as he stuttered.

“You…forgot about….about….the…” He could barely finish the sentence, when there was a god awful roar. The mirror was actually growing in size to accommodate the bulk of the creature….the monster that was making its way through to the Greed ballroom.

“It’s the Jabberwocky!”

~ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!~

Alice turned around with a horrified expression, her hands coming up to slap against her own cheeks in terror.

“HATTER!!!!!” She screamed as the playing card army all looked up at this most terrible sight.

The creature unfurled each of its wings one at a time, with the tips smashing into the ceiling, before being extended out like massive bat wings. When the wings were unfurled, the elbows came down to the ground, to help the beast to walk forward. Its over sized head had a leathery frill neck that splayed out -with razor sharp teeth that were capable of biting right through skin and bone with ease. it was different to a dragon, but more like a demonic beast with oversized wings. A creature of the purest evil, one that showed no mercy or remorse. It’s pleasure to kill and destroy all in its path.

While Scar had been following along with Mariela, and sadly acknowledging that the whole trip to the Witches Circle had been a mistake, he suddenly heard the terrified screams of Alice, followed by the din of many a soldier. It was only after he heard the mighty roar of the beast….the Jabberwocky, that he knew that Alice was not the only one to have made it through the mirror.

“I think…trouble found her.” Scar cried, as he took hold of Mariela’s hand to run towards the ballroom, and where the newest nightmare to befall Greed had already begun.

~RB~

Kiri:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

You know that moment when you leave somewhere only to get lost the moment that you walk out? That just happened to be Ayana at this very moment, she couldn’t really say she was happy about the fact, because she wasn’t, and why would she be anyway, but she was definitely pleased that she hadn’t come across anything that was really… aggravating. Of course, with the fact that she had to leave Asgard because of something so easy to have avoided was annoying and shameful in its own way, but even then she carried on with what task she had been given; taking control of this damned power that was afflicting her now. Ayana thought she was going to stay lost for a while, till… of course… things HAD to go wrong. The Valkyrie gave a jump as she heard that damnable roar, not sure where it came from, but she had been walking towards the large castle nearby and with this happening… oh the Valkyrie really didn’t think it could go much worse; of course she was wrong as always.

“….Well, time to test this. Thundering Dash!”

~A few moments later~

With the sudden sound of thunder roiling through the kingdom, it probably wouldn’t be clear what was happening at the moment, but with the Jabberwocky running rampant inside of the ballroom nothing was truly clear at the moment other than there was trouble; at least to Ayana that’s how it was. She didn’t know what the beast was, nor why it was running rampant, but it was definitely something Ayana would bite; she was a Valkyrie after all, combat was her forte and something she could do without a thought in her head. Slamming through one of the glass windows, the bolt of lightning only lasted a moment as it slammed into the head of the Jabberwocky, slamming it shut as it prepared to roar once again with the Valkyrie becoming visible with a raging amount of lightning on the spear. Flipping off of the creature, she dropped it midair and called on her naginata, swinging it so that the long bladed weapon had its edge pointed towards the ground with bright white lightning trailing behind it.

“Well then, been a while since I saw a Dreki(Dragon). …Or a type of one anyway.”

Who was she? She must have been insane… maybe… who knew. Perhaps she was just a battle ready maiden. Obviously, it was the latter.

“I may have to release the seal if this is stronger than I’m expecting… expect the unexpected, huh.”

Dessy:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Mariela was certain that they could get back to the castle in peace, and not have any other problems. Mariela was about done with today, and was ready to greet the new day. A lot has happened today, and it was a wonder how she managed to stay so calm during all of this. You’d expect her to have rage quit by now… but she hasn’t. She was still somewhat calm during it all.

They were walking back to the ballroom, and Mariela was anxious to get her family home and away from all of this. But at the sudden sound of a loud roar, Mariela stopped and turned her head. “What was that?” she asked, but Scar already grabbed her hand and ran towards the ballroom, the trio following behind them. Mariela stopped and widened her eyes, looking up at the big dragon-like creature. She took a great, frustrated sigh, closing her eyes slightly as she did so, before opening them and looking back. “Scar… what on Earth is that?” she then asked.

Just when Mariela thought things were over… apparently not. Now, she has some giant dragon-creature-thing ruining her ballroom that they just finished rebuilding. She huffed in frustration, and then whipped around to face some guards. “You. Get them three and Alice out of here. Now.” she spoke, pointing for them to lead them out. She then turned to Scar and opened her mouth to speak, before the sound of thunder was heard. Then the sound of shattering glass was heard, and Mariela jumped back when someone seemed to have came from the window.

“I have no idea who that is, but I’ll thank her for the distraction later.” she said. She grabbed Scar’s arm, quickly running, and trying to avoid the shattered glass, to a hallway. “You know this thing better then I do. Is their a weapon or something that can defeat this thing?” she asked urgently. “I don’t know how long that girl can hold it back… but there has to be something.”

Razorbackwriter:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Scar could hardly believe his eyes. The sight of the massive Jabberwocky took him totally by surprise. Sure, he had heard of the legend, that the Red queen kept one as her favorite pet, but he had never been privy to see it either in a cage or in the midst of battle. The fact of the matter was, it had come out of the mirror, just like Alice, and by the looks of it, both the red and black playing card armies. The Princess of Greed, his beloved Mariela was asking what the hell it was…and Scar tried to answer her the best way he knew how.

“More of a nightmare than I.” Never a truer word was said. The creature was the embodiment of evil, and not only did it roar loudly, it also had the ability to speak common. As it opened its mouth, showing off rows and rows of razor sharp teeth, a loud bang occurred – the window just to the right of the beast was smashed inwards by a force that was beyond that of Mother nature. A crack of lightning struck the head of the Jabberwocky with enough force to make it snap its mighty jaws shut.

Blinking at this sudden turn of events, Scar could not help but whisper to Mariela “Did you do that?” But, it was not Mariela that caused the diversion, it was a plucky girl that had appeared, holding a lightning charged spear, and she had just flipped off the Jabberwocky’s own head and landed with gymnast like grace on the floor of the ballroom.

Who was this girl? A maiden of white and blue, that scar had never seen before. She certainly didn’t come through the mirror. The girl was talking, but maybe it was too herself. A battle with a Jabberwocky was not exactly the place to make formal introductions. One thing was clear, she was here to fight the beast of Wonderland, and the Jabberwocky turned its attentions on the dangerous little sprite. It snarled viciously, splaying out its frilly leather like neck to make its head seem even larger than before. It was smarting from the lightning strike, and the low rumble from it’s belly indicated that it was hungry……Hungry for the little blue lady.

“GET IN MY BELLY!” The Jabberwocky roared as it opened its mouth again, but only this time it released a purple and mauve coloured spray of energy, that crackled and blasted towards the girl with the spear with as much ferocity as her lightning strike had.

With the girl being caught up in the fight with the beast, Scar waved his hands for the nearest guards to get Tessa, Sam and Sean to safety, while Alice was still hiding in behind a large file of playing card soldiers. She was too scared to move away.

Scar was now trying to get Mariela out of the way too, but she wanted to know if they had a weapon in the castle that could defeat such a beast. It took a good minute or two to think of something, till he suddenly had a flash of memory about a sword that he had seen in a glass display case in the blacksmith shop. The shop run by Suda, the dwarf.

“Mammon’s sword! Down in the work shop of Suda…..its all I can think of!” He had to shout to be heard over the roars and terrified screams that echoed throughout the ballroom.

~RB~

Kiri:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

Oh Ayana was not pleased with the current turn of events at all, but she at least was finding a decent time to take control of the current situation with her powers. Which meant it may be a good idea to get the others out of here, but first… precautions had to be taken to prevent something from going wrong once she did unlock the seal; meaning she did one thing. Turning around for a moment she reached into her armor and hurled a stone tablet to Mariela. It was inscribed in two different languages, one was Old Norse, of course, and the other in the common language. The words inscribed were as such: The trickery of Loki undone, the skill of Thor turned to strength, the all seeing eye of the All Father opened; knowing the desire of her heart. By decree of these words, the seal is done, and the Valkyrie shall be forever masked with a power greater than hers.

“That’s a seal to replace the limiter on my true form, you’re going to need it if I use it! Now get the hell out of here, things are about to get really ugly! OI YOU STUPID FOOLS! QUIT LOLLY GAGGING AROUND AND TOSS ME A SHIELD!!!!!!”

That last sentence hurled at the dumb ass cards cowering from the massive dragon while a maiden fought, it was a sight to see in all honesty. They were supposed to be men, and instead they cowered like school girls. Humph. Pitiful.

Spinning at the Jabberwocky, Ayana’s naginata was already positioned as it became wreathed in brilliant white lightning while she swung straight at the dangerous, roaring beast with his stream of violet flames. With a ferocious battle cry of her own, the girl lashed out at the spray of energy and sliced through it; creating a wall of lightning which took it on as she wreathed her own body in lightning.

“Thundering Dash!”

Shooting into the air with a crack of thunder, Ayana landed on the roof within the second and then called on her halberd with its ax blade, letting herself fall down within a moment as she brought it down with all of her strength; roaring at the top of her lungs with every ounce of ferocity that lay within her being. That beast may have been terrible, but he definitely had a match here in this Valkyrie.

“Thor’s Hammer Blow!”

With the force of the halberd slamming down on the Jabberwocky with enough power to not only slam his mouth shut yet AGAIN, but it also would have slammed his head flat onto the ground while a massive bolt of lightning rained down through the window and slammed into the blade of the pole-arm, making it hammer with even more force that caused the flooring of the ballroom to erupt outwards around she and the Jabberwocky, creating what could have considered a miniature arena.

Should that have connected, she would have again flipped off of the beast while pointing the halberd at the beast, roaring right back at it with all the ferocity of Valhalla.

“Come at me beast! Dragon or not, I will not retreat!!”

Dessy:

Re: [RP]Kingdom of Greed – Castle

“More of a nightmare than I.” Scar spoke, causing Mariela to sigh in exasperation. She took her hands and ran them down her face. “Oh lord.” she then said. All thoughts were interrupted when the glass from the window shattered, Mariela moving away to avoid getting hit. “No. That wasn’t me.” she said, watching the girl land on the jabberwocky and then flip off. That’s when she had pulled Scar into a nearby hallway.

Her eyes shifted to the Jabberwocky when it spoke, before looking back at Scar. “It talks?!“ she spoke. She covered her ears at the roaring and screaming, but uncovered them when Scar began speaking of a sword. “The armory.” she said with a nod. Before she could run off she turned her head when the girl spoke. Mariela reached out, catching the tablet in her hand and looking down at it, before looking at the girl when she spoke. “Great. Wonderful.” she said at the mention of a seal, and to get out of there, looking down at the tablet and turning it in her hand. At the mention of needing a shield, Mariela looked at a guard. “You. Throw her a shield. Now.” she ordered.

She watched the guards remove Tessa and her brother, then turned to look at Scar. “Scar. Go get Alice. Bring her with Tessa and my brothers and make sure they are out of harm’s way. Stay with them and do not enter the ballroom.” she said, looking back up at the Jabberwocky. “I’m gonna go to the armory and get this sword while she’s distracting him.”she said, then without another word she turned on her heel and ran off, making her way down to the armory where Suda, the dwarf, and the supposed sword might be at. “Quickly!” she said over her shoulder as she ran off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening the door to the armory, Mariela stepped in and eagerly looked around. “Suda!” she called, turning to look around the armroy to see if she can find said sword. “Where’s the sword Mammon carried?” she then asked. “It’s urgent!” she called again, tucking the stone tablet under her arm.

The Witches Circle – Blood Magic : PD

 

Following on from “Just the beginning” – The Witches Circle series.

 

Fudo:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

Witches Circle

Oridin Lexington:” I see. So what does that entitle for us all ?”

– Oridin had kept quiet the entire time , hearing more and more that has been said it was implied Greed and Gluttony are not on the same boat when it came to understandings and the Apprentice realized this must mean that they had to be enemies possibly. These were all theories however, as the apprentice did not know who these people were or anything and was only going by the context that was given. He walked closer to Esme before looking around at the more empty space since more and more have them left and now leaving barely anyone in this area . Oridin would then ask her where they should go now , since there seemed to be nothing for them out here at this point in time. –

Oridin Lexington:” So where should we go next ? ”

Tory:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

In the middle of the circle a sudden burst of light spread out and was followed with the second half of the prince’s shrill scream of pain and when the light dissipated and lighting returned to normal, Astaroth was kneeling in the middle rubbing his temples and cursing all that is holy. Especially archangels and their barriers of no-leaving-for-you-mister. After about five seconds or so he stood up and looked around. He could feel there there was no shred of his powers in this golem, an uncomfortable feeling that left him on edge. He wouldn’t be able to protect himself at all, although perhaps he could just remove the crown and be fine.
He saw two people and bowed towards them as their attention would surely be on someone that appeared as suddenly and extravagantly as he had. If it had been up to him though, he would’ve arrived without screaming in pain and blasting out light. He was hoping he’d brought a little bit of his seal with him and thus weakened it. He had suspicions that were not the case though. That would simply be far too convenient.
“I do apologise for this horrid entrance. I would’ve chosen something less bright and soundless, but such is not my luck.” he smiled sweetly at the two. “My name is Astaroth and I hold the current title of Pride.” he bowed deeply this time. “I wish to speak with your elder, if that is alright?” he kept it short for the clock continued ticking and Salem had said he wouldn’t be able to keep the golem up for too long. Astaroth hoped the kid wasn’t exerting himself too much. He would feel horrible if Salem would use up too much of his powers when Astaroth really could’ve just sent a raven. All he could do now though, was his best at explaining his situation to whoever wanted to help and make it appealing enough for them to actually try and break the barrier.

 Dessy:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

“Do you even know why the Prince of Gluttony sought a new arm in the first place?”Shamus spoke, and Mariela raised an eyebrow. “No.” she said simply, and left it at that. Shamus then started speaking about Mammon, and Mariela’s eyes narrowed. “I am not like Mammon, nor will I ever be. I can’t be held responsible for the destruction he or Lydia have caused. That’s not my doing, and if it was up to me, whatever destruction they caused would’ve never happened.” she spoke, shaking her head as she talked. Shamus was then stopped by Lavinia, and she moved her gaze to look back up at the Elder.

She moved her eyes to watch Shamus leave, before looking up at Lavinia. “I appreciate the offer, but I made the mistake in trusting the wrong people before. I’m not making that mistake again.” she then said. She turned to glance at her family behind her when Lavinia spoke, before looking back at her with a curious expression, watching the Elder witch walk off with narrowed eyes.

“You were right about the heart. It’s not yours that is needed, but that does not mean that you are out of danger. This….is only the beginning.”

Another voice spoke, and Mariela turned to look at her. ‘I never said I wasn’t out of danger.” she spoke. “I know fully well the amount of danger I could be in, but I’m not at all worried.” she said afterwards. She turned her head to look back in the direction the other witches had walked to before speaking again. “As much as I appreciate your Elder’s offer, I’ve trusted the wrong people too many times.” she said, looking back at the girl. “One of those times lead to my death.”she then said. “Until I’m proven that all of them can be trusted, I’m not taking any chances.” she then spoke after.

Mariela heard a scream of pain, and then saw a flash of bright light. She immediately turned her head to the source, taking a few steps back as the person appeared. She gave a small curtsy when he bowed, before turning to look back at Esme.“I think I’ll take my leave now. Give your Elder my apologies.” she then said, nodding her head in farewell before turning and motioning for Scar and her family to follow her, before exiting the Witches Circle. Did she make a mistake? Maybe. She didn’t know. But everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has to deal with the consequences. Was Mariela worried? Not really. Good always wins.

(TC? Maybe?)

Razorbackwriter:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

Witches Circle

Scar hated being right. He knew from the start that going to the Witches circle was a bad idea. He didn’t trust the Elders at all, and the news that another Princess may possibly have been killed in their sacred grounds meant that the likes of the new Princess of Greed being there – she’s have no protection anyways. The alp however was proud of his Mistress. She handled herself with a sense of pride and dedication to the protection of her family, no matter who was making threats with them. She bluntly told them all, she would kill anyone that tried to harm them. So much passion in her voice, that tears welled in Scar’s eyes. She was nothing like Lydia, and he thanked the maker for that fact. Mariela didn’t need these beings protection. He and her family would be that circle of trust…their bonds already proved over and over. In the maze, and back at the castle. Mariela had been burnt by those she trusted. She swore never again to take that chance.

“I think I’ll take my leave now. Give your Elder my apologies.”

Scar stood by her side and bowed politely before Esme and Oridin. “It’s time we went home.” The alp was already making plans on how to help get Mariela’s family home. He didn’t need the Elders to do what he had already done before. But at least now, Mariela had seen what witches and warlocks – the Elders were like. Looking back at Tessa, Sam and Sean, Scar motioned with his head that they start to leave the area. They had a long walk home.

In the forest edge a dark shadow hovered and there was a distinct chuckle that watched the scene playing out before him. So this…was the new Princess of Greed. Pretty. He thought to himself. Watching them depart, Marcus fell back into the shadows. He would make his move….when they were least expecting it. Here, at the Witches circle, there were the ancients that were sure to start whispering their annoyance. Marcus was not about to let that happen.

(TC – Marcus – Scar to Greed Kingdom)

Now that the Princess of Greed and her party had left, there was a great explosion of light from the center of the circle. It seemed that the royals of Hell were continuing to visit the Witches circle. Perhaps news of Gluttony’s murderous spree was starting to filter out to the other realms and more were coming to protect their own interests. Oridin asked where they were off to now. With the newest arrival, Esme knew that they weren’t going anywhere just yet. The apprentice served Lavinia no matter where she was in Dyre.

“I do apologize for this horrid entrance. I would’ve chosen something less bright and soundless, but such is not my luck.”

Fireworks and a light show. It had to be a royal. Esme offered a sideways glance at Oridin as she returned to hear the rest of the introduction.

“My name is Astaroth and I hold the current title of Pride.”

“Pride?!” Esme’s sudden cry of the Prince’s name showed that she was now deeply shocked that the one that Shamus had mentioned was now standing in the Witches circle. Did this…Astaroth know about Gluttony? The introduction showed nothing but good manners, and no real fret or worry. You could see the blood run from Esme’s face, and she stood awkwardly, her eyes darting around to see if the great Glutton would suddenly return unannounced, even though Lavinia had used a banishing spell that meant he could not return.

“I wish to speak with your elder, if that is alright?”

“You mean, Lavinia. She uhm….she’s this way.” With a sinking feeling in her own heart, she turned and gestured for the embodiment of Astaroth to follow. “Lavinia was here, but she left the circle.”

If Astaroth and Oridin followed, Esme would take them deep into the forest. Normally she would lead them straight to the cottage, but from the feeling of magical power, Lavinia had taken a different direction. Heading to a much darker place, where there was a special clearing. Within it stood an ancient tree that was devoid of leaves and flowers. There were no animals except for the raven which sat upon her shoulder. There was a great chair fashioned from the twisted roots that had come up from under the ground. Lavinia was sitting in this chair, meditating. Only when the trio entered the clearing did she open her eyes.

Esme bowed as she approached, with Lavinia staring down at her with a look of disdain.

“I have a guest that wishes to be granted audience….my Queen. It’s…Astaroth…the Prince of….”

Before she could finish, Lavinia bore a great smile and watched Astaroth approach.

“Ah yes….the Heart. Such a proud heart. One that beats so fiercely. It’s a wonder that it is still in your chest, but don’t worry, the Gluttonous one can not enter Dyre….I sent him packing.”

No doubt this was going to bring a series of questions from Astaroth, who knew nothing of the plots of the Prince of Gluttony. If he did feel threatened however, it came from the realms, not the Witches Circle.

“I know you….I walked with you once upon a dream.” Lavinia seemed to be enjoying this now, smiling over at Oridin and then saying to the young mage. “You may well be leaving us to go to a Castle that lay in the center of a lake.” The Elder spoke of the Kingdom of Pride, but that of course all hinged on what Astaroth said next.

~RB~

Fudo:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

Witches Circle

– Oridin bowed his head in return to the male that had done so to him ; being awkward about the whole ordeal and not knowing who they were personally or their importance and had only done so out of respect . When seeing the Prince of Pride announce himself Oridin felt quite shocked as to how many royals had appeared here today. It had to have been at least 4 . He didn’t know what to say next ; in fact , he couldn’t find any words to leave his mouth at this time but instead respectfully bowed to the male known as Pride as he spoke to them , he allowed Esme to speak for him as he couldn’t find anything to say so he walked simply as a mute with her to where she was bringing Pride . He didn’t want her to go alone , he didn’t have anything to do also and wishing to know more about the Elders is one of the things Oridin wished to do . He wanted to more closely get in touch with the art of magic and get much more close to how it should be wielded and how to do so efficiently . His mind hovered around the thought of how to introduce himself when reaching the Elder ; finding himself in face of Lavinia upon reaching her domain which was quite grim in nature and held solely but a chair and the tree that it was near ; Oridin can only assume the Elder was quite spiritual and he bowed in respect when she spoke to the group and then seemed to have spoken to Oridin about going to a Castle in which Oridin’s behavior broke its structure as his response came . –

Oridin Lexington : ” C-Castle ? I’m going where ? ”

– Oridin’s eyes seemed to have showed the sensation of fear, however it wasn’t the typical being afraid of something but in truth it was him being uneasy about going somewhere where he hasn’t been , a place truly foreign to him . Oridin had gotten use to this realm , and as scary as it sounded he sighed thinking about what may happen when he’s gotten there . He tilted his head down and stared at the ground before taking in a deep breath to say –

Oridin Lexington : ” Wherever it may be , I’ll go if that is the will of the Elders. ”

– There may be some good in going to another land , as it may teach him more about the world as well as expanding his knowledge . He could always use more , more to learn and the more things he could find out while being in the realms beyond the Witches Circle . His fear slowly faded into inquisitive bliss . He felt as if he could really do it. –

Tory:

Re: [RP] The Witches Circle.

Lavinia’s Domain

Astaroth jumped as his title was suddenly cried out. He had been out of the game for several centuries, if not a few milennia. Appearing nowhere, never sending messages and really just not contacting the world outside of his prison. Such a reaction was to be expected, however, it still surprised him. It was almost rude. He did forgive though as it was justified. Anyone would be surprised to see a man that had probably become a story in his time away. A myth, maybe. Or perhaps that was just Astaroth’s wishing.
Just as the girl had cried out, the boy beside her bowed. Perhaps he held a higher rank than the girl and thus had better manners?
He bowed to the girl again before following her. He caught up quickly so that he’d walk just a little bit behind the two. He was being lead somewhere, walking beside them would be useless and he’d just seem awkward whenever he’d take a step in a different direction than where they were heading. So behind it was. Walking behind also gave him a chance to take in the sight of the forest. There were no forests on his island and he so missed the free nature. All he had was a garden with herbs, a few flowers and an apple tree. It was nothing fancy, but he was fond of it. It provided solace from everything, because despite his lack of appearances he did have duties as a prince as every other prince should have.
Much to Astaroth’s displeasure, the girl stopped in a small clearing with a dead tree. Dead trees of course had their appeal, but Astaroth preferred them alive. This particular dead tree should most likely be considered the elder witch’s throne, he guessed.
He carefully stepped passed the boy and girl when the witch smiled at him and bowed deeply.
“I thank you, Elder.” he had been hoping it was something else, but his heart was certainly worthy of this blasted pain in his gut and now chest. “I had no idea it would be Gluttony. Now I’ll be able to prepare properly knowing who to expect.” his lack of questions perhaps came as a surprise, but he’d already known that he were likely to be attacked. Although he did have one question. Why his heart? But that would be a question saved for later for the elder spoke again.
“Oh? I do hope I didn’t embarrass myself.” he smirked. “I hope I can take it that you know why I’m here then?” he looked towards the boy with a friendly smile when she spoke to him. Perhaps he was an expert on barriers with extensive knowledge of angelic ones. That would certainly make Astaroth more than willing to invite him to his home.

Razorbackwriter:

The Witches Circle.

Watching Esme, Oridin and the visitor – a golem of Astaroth approach the dead tree throne, Lavinia adjusted her posture so she was sitting more regally upon her knotted wood seat. Another raven happened to swoop down from the skies and landed just on the edge of the throne, bowing graciously with its wings spreading before the Supreme Elder. A note was tied to its leg, and while she could hear the one known as Astaroth give thanks for allowing this meeting and also the revelation about Gluttony, Lavinia untied the note and read the contents that were written in a familiar script. The Queen of witches could not hold back the laughter that bubbled up from the very pit of her stomach.

How odd. There were now two witches that held thrones of the seven kingdoms. Katrina had somehow managed to get the crown from the Princess Sayaka. It was completely unexpected, but there was a silver lining to this latest development. Folding the note, she tucked it into her dress, before returning her attention with a much more somber expression, when Astaroth had mentioned that he had no idea that Gluttony was after him, nor why.

“Now I’ll be able to prepare properly knowing who to expect.”

This statement brought a surprised look from Lavinia. Preparing for the onslaught of a demon Prince like Gluttony was going to be no easy feat, especially with the current upsets that were being caused by the time piece. Astaroth had not been present when the Lord Gluttony had, and missed the change in the Queen of witches herself, from the disruption in magic and time.

“You might have trouble expecting the unexpected.” By this, Lavinia meant that nothing was set in stone. “You see, there has been a shift in powers to many creatures both magical and not. This is more than some simple quest for power. For you see, there is a power that Gluttony cannot control – though he may fail to understand what that is.”

Rising up from her throne, she slowly walked down each step till she was on level ground and was standing before the gathering.

“You suspect I know why you are here.” Lavinia paused and then nodded to both ravens to take flight, before returning her attention to Astaroth. “A deal was done with a Prince who now wears a specific piece known as the right hand of doom.” The Dark one had explained to Lav earlier about what the consequence of this was, and that in order for Gluttony to keep the hand, he must bring a trophy that was worthy.

“The pain you suffer from. The stomach pains, the headaches. Your bodies way of letting you know that you are in danger. A sense that…serves you well.” It had, since the quest for answers to his ailment had brought him to the Witches circle, rather than going to a simple medicine professional.

“The heart that beats so strongly within you, is one of great power. The one that holds that heart in his hand….gets control of not just the heart’s owner…..but everything and more. A proud heart is akin to the heart of the Great Lion.:” If Astaroth was paying attention and closely, he might realize the severity of danger that he was in.

“You have one good thing on your side, aside from those that are honored to serve you till death. There is a time limit on acquiring the heart as the trade. You have six days remaining. I suggest, you return to your kingdom, but….before you do I shall give you a gift.”

This was when she looked to Oridin. The young apprentice mage that had been keeping close to Esme during this meeting, but eager to learn more about the path he was to take.

Lavinia went to a tree that had a large hollow in it and reached inside. She took out three black candles. Each one bore a special marking that was emblazoned as though by fire. She cut her finger and then with her own blood, she let it seep into each candle’s markings infusing them with a certain type of magic. Lavinia called over Oridin to her side as she went to hand him the candles.

“Take these, along with this.” Lavinia took a ring off her own finger, that contained a special stone that was jagged in shape. The black stone was small enough that it was easily carried on one’s person and remain undetected by others.

“Light the three candles at midnight, on the night of a full moon and place them in a triangle formation. The jewel ring should be placed in their center.” Handing the mage the ring, she added;

“Once all the candles and the stone are in place, speak the following words aloud:

Stone of the earth,
Guard my heart with your strength,
Protect it from evil and harm,
That no danger may pass,
No threat draw near.

Smiling at Oridin, she concluded what must be done after the chant. “Extinguish the candles and break them. Then get the Prince of Pride to wear or carry the stone any time he felt the need for added strength and security against an intrusion on his heart.”

The spell explained, Lavinia returned her attention to Astaroth.

“Take Oridin with you on your return and the gift will be put into play. It is the best I can offer you, and the boy will learn much on his travels. At the end of the sixth day, when the time piece has run out, he shall return to our circle and be raised to that of an Elder for his dedication to the craft.”

It would be a win win…surely. She waited with a smile for Astaroth and Oridin to speak.

~RB~

The Witches Circle – Only the beginning : PD

Following on from Power and Corruption, Mariela has to make a choice over family versus the Elders.  Is this choice a costly mistake?

Co-written with Fu and Dessy.

RP – Fantasy Supernatural.

Fu:

Witches Circle

– Oridin listened quietly as people spoke to the newcomer , back and forth several terms fly back and forth and slowly The Apprentice tried to piece these things together slowly . Hearing the titles such as prince and princess being thrown around ; he was only to suspect they were of royal value like he was back in his own lands but seeing the difference in situation he was to assume that he was outclassed by them . Oridin would begin to think to himself in quiet, lowly talking to himself as to not bother the current conversation going on with the elders and the newcomer and her party-

Oridin Lexington : ” Gluttony , Wrath and Greed ? Sounds like Sins. If thats the case then there should be more . And if there are more , then I hope to see them up close ; may learn a thing or two from them however that doesn’t seem easy . I must find an alternative for now , or simply hold it off until whatever seems to be happening no longer risks my safety if I do go . Hmm , The Glutton ate Wrath ? Would that entitle him growing stronger ? ”

– The Male rubbed his chin as he thought in his silence ; seemed like he was a child with big dreams but he was not a kid after all : He was the equivalent of a mature young human man of course with special traits but that didn’t change how he seemed to have been thinking . Hearing the Council of people speak about a proposal of protection the male listened eagerly about what was to come ; what did that mean though . –

 

Dessy:

The Witches Circle.

 

Mariela’s eyes turned to the one who was speaking, checking him over quickly, before narrowing her eyes in suspicion.“Are you even aware of what goes on beyond the walls of Greed, Princess?” he asked, and Mariela’s eyes were still narrowed in suspicion. “No, I do not. But I don’t feel the need to involve myself in other’s problems that doesn’t deal with me, or my people.” she spoke firmly. He continued speaking, walking closer. By this point, the witch known as Lavinia was turned to give the one speaking her full attention, asking the one – who she now knew as Shamus – to explain.

He began speaking about the Prince of Gluttony, and Mariela turned her head to watch the next one speak. He killed… the Princess of Wrath? Mariela’s eyes widened, although this expression still could not be seen. He was power-hungry… that much was obvious. If he killed the Princess of Wrath, there was nothing stopping him from heading her way next. Although Mariela wasn’t the least bit worried. As proven with the battle against Lydia – she could handle her own. If anything, Mariela would prefer to stay neutral on the entire situation.

Hearing Scar’s voice, Mariela turned to look at him. Of course Scar would be concerned – but he really had nothing to worry about. Now, there were talks of him having to take another royals hearts. Was it hers? Mariela highly doubted it. As far as she was concerned, no one even knew Lydia was dead, or that there was a new Princess of Greed. “It’s not mine.”Mariela spoke matter-of-factly. “Considering news is just now starting to reach everyone about Lydia’s death, I doubt it’s my heart he’s after. As far as everyone else beyond this circle is concerned – no one even knows who the new ruler of Greed is supposed to be.” she spoke again. “Therefore; how can it be the heart of someone no one even knows about?” she spoke again. She certainly brought up a point. Couldn’t exactly plan to take the heart from someone you knew nothing about. And if it was Lydia’s heart they needed… it’s a little too late for that.

“Besides…Lavinia here has offered you a chance at protection. She just banished the Prince herself. Could you possibly do something like that when the time comes?”

Shamus spoke, taking another step forward. “Can you?” he pulled out a wand, then winked at Tessa. This caused Tessa to shiver, and Sean and Sam instinctively stood in front of her. “What would you do, dearie? Put the family first or save yourself?” he spoke, and he sounded like he was making a threat. Mariela didn’t like threats – especially towards her family. Obviously she’d put her family first – there was no doubt about that.

Mariela looked at everyone behind her, before looking at Shamus. “As much as I appreciate the offer for protection…”Mariela started, also stepping forward to meet Shamus. “… I don’t need it.” she spoke. “As already proven against the fight with Lydia – I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” she spoke. “I killed the former Princess of Greed. As far as I’m concerned, banishing a royal won’t be an issue.” she spoke. She then took her hands, finally removing her hood to reveal her face. A beauty, with a certain kindness that could be seen – yet her blue eyes narrowed to stare back at Shamus, her blond curls falling over her shoulder. A beauty, that was smart, and could be dangerous when provoked. Lydia proved that. “Now, Shamus…” she then spoke. “That sounded like a threat. If there’s one thing I don’t like – it’s threats. Especially to my family.” she said, then took a step back to look around.

“My family comes first.” she spoke, looking back at Shamus. “I’d rather die a thousand times over and over again to protect them, then save myself and watch them die.” she spoke again. ‘I’ve already died once to protect them. I’ve already killed twice to protect them – one of them being what sent to me Hell, and the other being the death of Lydia. I’d willingly do it again if I had to.” she spoke. “If I have to kill every ruler of Hell, or every one of you to protect them,”she started. “I wouldn’t hesitate a second.”

Razorbackwriter:

The Witches Circle.

In the background, Marguerite stood silently whilst listening intently to all that was being said. The young witch truly did not know of the plots and schemes that raged across Hell and its many kingdoms. The Black Matriarch had her own wishes thwarted with the untimely death of Lydia, who she had hoped would be married to her own golden boy, Raul. She stood with clenched fists, still regaining her strength from the pull placed on her by the Queen of all witches. Hearing Mariela say that few outside her own realm knew about Lydia’s death was incorrect. News had already been spreading like wildfire as it had reached the Black tower, not to mention the Embassy. Marguerite began to walk around the outer ring of the circle, her movements not being noted as she blended in so well with all other Elders in attendance. The Dark One was stealing the show, or at least that is how it looked. Mariela giving her all to show that she would not be intimidated by the likes of the Dark one, or the head Elder – Lavinia. Whilst the young witch was shocked by the news of the possible death of the Princess of Wrath, and that the Prince of Gluttony himself had been banished from the circle, she concluded that since she had no such qualms or disagreements with the other kingdoms that that in effect made her neutral out of all of Hell’s Kingdoms. It was enough to make the Dark one laugh all of a sudden.

“Do you even know why the Prince of Gluttony sought a new arm in the first place?” Perhaps it was time that Mariela brushed up on her history of the Kingdoms. Revenge and hate were powerful forces and something like the loss of a limb would hardly be forgotten, even if it had been replaced. Leering, Shamus said. “A greedy little bastard of a Prince named….Mammon. Oh yes….you have inherited a Kingdom that was at war with the others. Don’t think for a second that you being the new Princess would make him suddenly want to kiss that dainty hand of yours in alliance.”

Stopping only to take a breath, the Dark one felt the eyes of Lavinia drilling into his back. Lavinia was approaching and her shadow was moving errily to encompass him. The Dark one had had his fun, and said his piece. She held her patience long enough. Placing a hand upon his shoulder, with an extra ordinary amount of strength Lavinia whispered with a dark tone.

“I summoned her to the circle, Shamus. You have done enough damage for one day. Leave.” Her words were said so as to make no mistake that he was treading on dangerous ground. With her awakening she was far more powerful than even he could have imagined. Lowering his wand he slyly pocketed it and wet his lips.

“As you wish….dearie. Tick tock. Ehehehe.” With a snap of his fingers, the Dark one vanished from the circle, now clearing the way for Lavinia to speak to Mariela directly. A calmness spread across the Elder witch and she bowed her head as though to show respect towards the new Princess of Greed.

“You have made your choice. Whilst I won’t say I am disappointed that you have rejected the offer, I shall respect it.”This was a once in a lifetime deal. Witches were not elevated to Elder status on a whim, and with the young witch going as far to say that she would protect her family against all comers, be it the other leaders of Hell or the very witches council that stood before her, Mariela had just made a terrible mistake.

Lavinia’s eyes cast across to Mariela’s family. Staring at each in turn before coming back to end the meeting between them.

“Good luck in protecting your family, girl.’ Lavinia suddenly grinned. “You’re going to need it.”

Picking at the edges of her skirts, she turned away from the group from Greed, and then raised her right hand waving all to leave the circle. The meeting was over. The hands of time continued to move and in the next seven days as the sands fell, no one was safe – no matter how much courage and determination they had. A raven swooped down and landed upon Lavinia’s shoulder as she started to make her way back towards her cottage. In droves the other Elders began to either vanish, or take flight. The only ones that didn’t leave were Esme and Oridin. The apprentice watched in surprise as the elders were all leaving without speaking more on the time piece. What the hell was going on?

Esme hurried over to Oridin and chewed her lip as she said. Esme had heard his questions about all the other sins, and how he was fascinated about what power could be harnessed if the Prince of Gluttony could swallow another royal like he did Wrath. “This is bad. This is….really bad. Lavinia just withdrew support.” Looking up at the Princess of Greed, Esme swallowed.

“You were right about the heart. It’s not yours that is needed, but that does not mean that you are out of danger. This….is only the beginning.”

Marguerite was the last of the Elders to leave. As she raised her hood, she had a twisted grin and then cackled as she spun her cloak and returned to the Black tower. The Matriarch was about to set plans in motion herself.

~RB~

The Witches Circle – Power and Corruption : PD

 

Fu:

 

Witches Circle

Oridin Lexington : ” A show ? If what happened a second ago was a opener for this………. I’m not so sure I am ready for this . ”

– The Young Apprentice said in a slowly decreasing tone to the man speaking to him , he was anxious at the words being said and furthermost he didn’t have the vaguest of understanding of what was going on . It all seemed a bit too fast for him , like being thrown into the middle of a tv series and having not seen the previous episodes before then . He didn’t know what to expect when expecting , and he didn’t have a word in edge wise because of this being his first appearance around all these people. When he saw newcomers come , all he could do was greet them before returning to silence ; he was here as a guest of sorts too so he wouldn’t try to stand out too much . All he had done would’ve been give a greeting a soft wave with his hand . –

Oridin Lexington : ” H-Hello.”

– Hearing the names of people he’s never met and the talks of Kingdoms had Oridin confused. He didn’t know much about the land outside of this particular region , and hearing about it had him stunned at the concept. Hopefully the Apprentice would get to hear more , but of course he would at least hope to make up some sense of it . –

 

Dessy:

 

The Witches Circle.

 

Once Mariela had walked into the Witches Circle, she turned to face everyone else, standing with Scar still by her side and the other three behind her. Her blue eyes moved between each person, narrowing slightly as she decided whether they could be trusted or not. Although, her face couldn’t be seen – not whenever the hood was up. She stayed silent, eyes shifting between each person, but they moved to look at Lavinia when she began speaking, her voice cool, yet holding no emotion.

“Welcome, Mariela and family.”

Mariela simply gave a nod of her head, watching Lavinia as she began walking in her direction. The little witch was suspicious – very much so. She wasn’t quite sure how much these people could be trusted. She looked at the male who spoke a hello, giving a nod. She looked down when Lavinia held out her hand, but simply looked back up at her. “I have.”she said in response to having taken over Greed. Her head turned towards the gasp that could be heard from the crowd.“She killed Lydia?” she spoke, and Mariela tilted her head. “I killed Lydia, yes.” she said, her head snapping to the one who spoke next, who seemed to be clapping. She narrowed her eyes, before turning to look back at Lavinia.

Feeling the squeeze of Scar’s hand, Mariela lifted her hand and put it on top of his in reassurance. “You’re surprised by this?” she then asked about the apparent shock at the death of Lydia – by her hands. She then silenced the one’s behind her, and once again Mariela moved her eyes around the circle. “Watch over me?” Mariela asked with a raised eyebrow – but once again this couldn’t be seen. She looked up when Lavinia walked towards her, Lavinia being quite taller than the small witch.

“I know of the curse of Greed – I was there when both past rulers fell, but only one was by my hands.” Mariela spoke. “I promise I’m not under the curse of Greed, nor will I ever be.” she spoke. One so young and so seemingly innocent, held firmness, delicacy and courage in her voice when she spoke. With everything she’s already been through, nothing fazed her anymore.

“An elder?” Mariela asked, eyebrows raising as Lavinia spoke. “Why do you want me to become an elder?” she questioned. “And what makes you think I want to become an elder?” she asked afterwards. But at the mention of her family, Mariela turned around to look at the three people behind her. She gave a nod of reassurance, before turning back around. “These are my brothers, Sam and Sean, and my good friend, Tessa.” she said, removing her hand off of Scar’s hand to gesture behind her as she introduced each of them.

“I do not know if you are aware, child but there has been a disturbance caused by the turning of the time piece. May I ask you, has anything out of the ordinary….or simply put – strange occurred since the death of Lydia?”

Lavinia asked, and Mariela glanced towards Scar. Immediately, her mind went to Alice and the mirror. “I know nothing about this “turning of the time piece”. she said, looking up at Lavinia again. “But… yes. A few strange things have happened.” she said simply, not saying anything more.

Razorbackwriter:

The Witches Circle

“I know all about it.” This was the time for the Dark one to step forward from where he had been standing as a witness to his historic meeting between Lavinia and the new Princess of Greed – Mariela. Lavinia lowered her hand slowly from the intended handshake, as the young Princess witch was wary of meeting the Queen of all Witches of Drye. Lavinia was not at all happy about what the Dark one had done, even though the turning of the time piece was the direct result of the Prince of Gluttony’s actions at the Hell’s Kitchen.

“Are you even aware of what goes on beyond the walls of Greed, Princess?”Shamus was pushing his luck to get involved at this point, but it was probably a good thing, since the Elders themselves needed to be informed of just why time was being played with. The Queen of Witches glanced back to see the slimy Dark one approach with a serious look about him. “A simple game of chess, dearie. That was the start of it. You….and your fellow rulers of Hell are on that board, but one decided that he sought more power than he should have.” The Dark one was now speaking of the Prince of Gluttony, the one that had just been banished from the Witches circle by Lavinia who had channeled the power of the Elders themselves.

Now everyone was listening intently. Even Lavinia herself. Hell had brought itself to the Witches Circle, due to that same time piece and while the Dark one did not control it, he knew the reasons for its turning and the dire consequences of that fact.

“Explain…Shamus.” Lavinia had taken her attention off Mariela for now, and even Marguerite was paying heed, as this affected her as well.

“We all saw who was here.” Shamus started, and this was when Esme – the apprentice and niece to the Queen of Witches chose her moment to speak.

“The Prince of Gluttony. He held a woman’s body….and…” The memory of what he had done, absorbing her into his own before they had shared a bizarre kiss still fresh in her mind. “That was no ordinary woman, child. That…was the Princess of Wrath.” Now, if Mariela was paying attention, this news that the Prince of Gluttony had attacked a fellow royal would be more than just shocking. “Turns out he is more power hungry than even I could have ever imagined.”

Scar couldn’t hold back any longer. The stark realization that his own beloved Princess could be in danger a very real fact. Mariela had released his hand after introducing her family to the Elders and the Queen. If Gluttony was going after the other royals, what was to stop him from coming after the Kingdom of Greed.

“Did he kill the Princess of Wrath?” Scar had to know.

“Looks like…he ate her. As to whether she was dead, the cat might know.” He meant by this, that Katrina, the servant of the Princess of Wrath was linked to her. But as many looked around, Kat was no where to be seen.

“And what has that got to do with the time piece.” Esme asked, knowing that only the right questions would get the right answers. She didn’t like getting herself involved in matters that were above her role as an apprentice, but it she felt she had to say something.

“Possibly the only way to save all of Hell from complete destruction, even if it does corrupt and cause chaos in its wake. The Prince wears the right hand of doom, a very dangerous piece that is a key…to the ultimate power. Now, I don’t normally hand that sort of thing over without a price, which was….a heart.” The Heart of Pride. Lavinia could see where this was going, and she looked to be getting angry once more. Katrina had not mentioned much at all about the Princess of Wrath, but now with the Prince of Gluttony gone with the absorbed body of the Princess, Kat must have gone off after them. Least that was the idea forming.

“Whose heart must he take?” Scar again now wanting answers. Was it Mariela’s? Was this why the Queen of Witches summoned her to become an elder and unite to save her heart from Gluttony? The Dark one tapped his nose and let out a chuckle.

“You don’t want me to spoil the show, now do you?” Oh how wicked he was being. The only one that had heard whose heart was to be needed, was Katrina, who had now left the circle and was currently out of the game. “Besides…Lavinia here has offered you a chance at protection. She just banished the Prince herself. Could you possibly do something like that when the time comes?”

He took another step closer and leered.

“Can you?” Shamus took out a wand and waved it, before winking at Tessa. “What would you do, dearie? Put the family first or save yourself?”

~RB~

The Witches Circle – Timing is everything : PD

 

Fu:

 

Witches Circle

Oridin Lexington : ” Elders ?…. ”

– Oridin would say in a lowering tone , his volume decreasing as he understood what that meant. They were the most powerful at their abilities , Gods of a sort in this realm basically. Channeling such arcane sources through their bodies and using it in whichever form they desire ; The thought of it made Oridin weak in his knees as a result. He was able to see the people in the vicinity freeze and then drop , something must’ve caused them all to be done in ; maybe it was from being so close to the Elder who had casted the banishment from the beginning . The Young Male Apprentice stayed quiet and watched as Esme went over to the Elder to touch her , but his attention had gotten the better of him as he jumped in place when a Man came up to him and welcome him . He didn’t know him , but he was able to tell he was most likely one of the Elders of this realm before he took off his hat and bowed in respect to the male ; as he returned to his normal posture several chunks of mana would slowly return to the area and surround him before moving to the other witches and wizards to restore vitality within their appropriate systems if possible –

Oridin Lexington : ” It’s an honor to be here Elder , My name’s Oridin Lexington . ”

 

Dessy:

 

The Witches Circle.

 

Mariela still didn’t quite know why she was asked to meet at this Witches Circle. But they had wanted her there, so as soon as dinner was done and they all got changed, they headed out. Alice stayed back at the castle, and Mariela made sure that the guards kept a very close on her. She didn’t trust the girl one bit, and she was not going to make the same mistake like she did with Lydia.

Unlike most witches who flew, Mariela walked. She always preferred it that way – plus, it was easier to do so when Scar, Tessa and her brothers were with her. Her hand was in Scar’s, before she stopped when they reached close to the Witches Circle. She looked at Scar, before pulling her hand away and turning around to look at the trio. “I still don’t know who these people are, or why they want us here. But whatever you do – do not say a word.” she spoke to the trio. “Let me do all the talking. I’m not sure how much these people can be trusted.” she said, looking forward at the path in front of them.“And I will not put any of your lives in danger.” she said, looking at Scar then. “Got it?”she said, looking back at them to see the trio nod.

The trio nodded their heads, keeping silent. They understood. They were strangers here, and they knew Mariela didn’t want to risk anything bad happening to them. So they would keep silent until Mariela said otherwise. “Alright.” Mariela said, looking forward and taking a deep breath. She had her cloak on, and she reached behind her to pull the hood over her head, looking behind her and nodding. “Let’s go.” she then said, clasping her hands in front of her before walking forward, entering the Witches Circle where all the other witches should be waiting.

She didn’t know who these people were, or what they wanted from her or why they summoned her specifically. Or who this “Lavinia” person was that had supposedly been watching her. She led the way, with Scar close by her side and the trio coming in behind her. She knew nothing of the events that happened before she arrived. Nothing at all. But… It was time to see what they wanted….

 

 

Razorback writer:

 

The Witches Circle.

Timing, they say is everything. No sooner had the circle been rid of the Prince of Gluttony, the arrival of another heir to the Hell thrones had arrived with her entourage. Holding the hand of Scar and her fair locks covered by the dark hood, Mariela had reached the destination of her journey. Little did she know of the dramatic event that had happened just mere moments before. Elders all around were still recovering from the harnessing of their energies by Lavinia – who looked completely different from when she had first entered the hallowed circle. At her side, Esme stood. Holding her Aunt’s hand and trying to comfort, though that was the last thing Lavinia needed. The blood link between the apprentice and her Mistress was still strong however, and it was this gift, that saved Esme from harm.

Scar was getting that nasty prickling feeling on the back of his neck. Walking with Mariela, but looking at those they passed with a nervous expression. Courage seemed to have left him, in the wake of the increasing bad feelings he was getting. A low hush fell over the entire gathering, all except the Dark One – who now watched the arrival of Mariela with marked interest. He had no knowledge of the new Princess of Greed being invited, but one should never kick a gift horse in the mouth. He stood back with Marguerite, who also knew better than to speak her turn now. The floor belonged to the Supreme Elder and her apprentice. Shamus leaned over to the young mage that had appeared earlier with Esme and whispered.

“Well met, Oridin. You are in for a show, if I am not mistaken.” He gestured with a gnarled finger towards the circle, and as Lavinia cleared her throat, the gathering went to total silence.

“Welcome, Mariela and family.” Her voice was cool and she held no emotion or warmth in her facial expression. This was due to the dark spirits that had inhabited her form before she expelled Beel from the Circle. Esme glanced across as Mariela approached, and the apprentice offered a nod, before releasing her hand from that of her Mistress and Aunt.

Lavinia began to walk towards Mariela, and offered a hand to her.

“It is not everyday we meet a witch that has defeated a sitting Royal of Hell. I understand you have taken the throne of Greed for your own.”

A gasp came from the gathered throng and it was none other than Marguerite, the one that had planned for her son Raul to marry Lydia and become the Prince of Greed himself.

“She killed Lydia?” The matriarch of the Black family was shocked to see that this slip of a girl had defeated the likes of Lydia. The Dark one could see the humor in this and started a slow golf clap. “It’s like that bible story…. David and Goliath…only in heels. Ehehehehe.”

On the other side of the circle, Scar was still holding Mariela’s hand. He really didn’t like where this was going, and though he had been told to keep silent, he instead squeezed Mariela’s hand as though to try and communicate on some level that maybe this was some sort of set up.

“SILENCE!” Lavinia ordered to the chatty ones in behind her. The Dark one lowered his head, but he could hardly hide that horrid smirk. With all now quiet, Lavinia turned her attentions back to Mariela.

“The ancients have spoken of you, child. I myself was given the task to watch over you.’ She stopped just short of Mariela and cast her gaze downward. The Queen of Witches was a lot taller than Mariela. “You have more than proved your worth, my dear. But to become an Elder, you must prove that you are above the curse of Greed. That kingdom’s sin is a very powerful one, as its former rulers have found to their peril.” Looking across at Tessa, Sam and Sean, Lavinia deduced that they were in fact family – all accept Tessa who was human and had no magical abilities at all. “I would reward you of course, on joining the circle as an Elder, by returning those to their rightful place with the help of the other Elders here.”

There was murmuring from the many witches and warlocks present, but Lavinia held up a hand.

“I do not know if you are aware, child but there has been a disturbance caused by the turning of the time piece. May I ask you, has anything out of the ordinary….or simply put – strange occurred since the death of Lydia?”

This was a leading question, for the answer was right under Mariela’s nose.

“People being where they should not?”

 

~RB~