this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Claire is still salty with the rejection. As if her rank isn't enough to prove her worth. She had worked hard to get to this point. She had been a good citizen of Sundial, following every order, following the rules, enforcing the law, even if they are questionable and unreasonable. She did her best to compensate for her delinquency back then by being the righteous Knight she is today.
Yet, everything is in vain.
Claire had insisted to take the matters to Lunacea, maybe even Medeia, but the stuck-up masters prevented her from doing so. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath and stormed off.
It may look like Claire has a long string of patience. It is quite the opposite though. She only has a considerable amount of patience, and it was spent all these years. She can't wait anymore--time is ticking, and it may be too late.
This day she volunteers to guard the Halls on night shift. But she is far from standing guard. Her station is supposed to be on the outskirts of the Hall, with the duty to stop infiltration. The apprentices are stationed further inside, where have a lot of liberty to move about and inform the higher-ups. Claire knows this, with years in service.
So what is she doing inside the Hall? Simple. She is going to take matters into her hand and rummage through the accounts of the Knights, gather intel regarding the group that ransacked the Hovel years ago.
She does not even know the group's name. She only knows the time and date, their former headquarters. Claire is banking on it. She treads softly and nonchalant as she passes through the corridors. The general area of intel is left empty most of the times. She is the only person here.
Then she hears a sound. Footsteps behind her. Eyes widening, Claire spins, knocking the person over, covering their mouth quickly her hand and dragging them to the nearest wall. Her hold is firm and strong, it is very unlikely for the person to be able to escape. It is dark, with the nearest lamp meters away. Claire tightens her grip on the person and speaks with a dangerously low voice.
Sybil was still fresh meat in this environment, the young witch was learning new things every day - things that all witches are expected to know regardless. Of course, Sybil lived a surprisingly sheltered life even though his family were well known for their collection of trinkets and large mansion. Sybil was expected to follow their footsteps, be a witch just like them. Obviously little Sybil tried, hence the reason he had joined this Coven just like his family members before him. He did love it here, but he still had no idea where everything was.
The place was like a maze, one wrong turn and bam! you're far far away from where you wanted to be... Which is exactly where Sybil was. All he wanted to do was get to one of the balcony's overlooking the city but here he was, lost and confused. To make matters worse, a woman had spun around, knocking him back slightly before she grabbed him and pulled him to the side.
Sybil was quiet, he barely made a sound. Not because she told him to, but because he was a naturally quiet person anyway. The grip around his mouth was tight, the light too dim to make out exactly who this person was. Was she even part of the coven? Maybe she was an intruder? Nevertheless, Sybil did as asked and stayed quiet, his eyes quivering from fright.
Claire's heart thunders. Someone had seen her, and now she can't let him go... unless she knock his lights out. As much as she does not want to hurt a fellow knight, it's inevitable. She must do it. There is no other way around.
She could feel the trembling of the boy, she could feel him quiver under her tight hold. Guilt and ruthlessness battle inside of Claire's mind. It is a battle of ideologies, and it freezes Claire for about a minute. Maybe even three. There must be a compromise somewhere, Claire desperately thinks. Something, something along the middle, something that won't force her choose between the equally dreadful options.
Claire grits her teeth, hard, before releasing the initial grip to the boy. She spins him around so he is facing her. Claire stares at him dead in the eye. She won't hurt him, she won't torture him. "You will come with me," Claire orders. "I can't let you go, conscious or not, so I'm taking you with me. I will explain the reason behind this when we are safely inside the intelligence."
Her choice still is against her principles. She planned on doing this alone. She was confident she could do this alone. She had prepared alibis and reasons, but then again she isn't a very reasonable woman. She had not anticipated her initial reaction to the threat. She wants to slap herself. Now she has scared, and worse, dragged someone to the pit of hell with her.
Claire has acid in her mouth as she speaks. "Scout ahead, see if there is anyone in the vicinity. Report back to me."
She leans back against the wall, crossing her arms. "And don't even try to run away."
This wasn't fun, not one bit. In fact, Sybil was ready to burst into tears and start panicking to the max. After the demons nightmare, he sometimes forgot that the real world could be just as scary, but at the same time, it was nowhere near how terrified he felt back then. Sure, his heart was pounding in his chest but being buried alive was a much different story. Not daring to open his mouth, he'd simply nod very very slowly, keeping his eyes locked onto the monster of a woman before him. Just do as she says, he thought, then maybe everything will go back to normal.
He wanted to open his mouth, ask a question right here and now, but something told him that she truly would explain some more stuff to him later on. But right now, he was just a worm in this coven, an annoyance that got in the way and did little errands for old people and bullies. Whether or not this woman was a bully was beyond him, but he didn't want to make her mad.
"S- Scout?" he'd ask shyly, he had no idea where he was right now. Was this place out of bounds for witches of his rank? And hers considering how sneaky she's trying to be. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he'd nervously take a few steps forwards before scampering off down the hallway, eyes darting side to side as he kept his footsteps light and quiet.
Nothing. Or he couldn't see anything anyway. Pressed against a wall, he'd glance back and wave a hand, hoping she'd look ahead and notice the coast was clear.
Post by claire fermont on Aug 16, 2017 6:24:53 GMT
[attr="class","ig"]
[attr="class","ninety"]
[attr="class","joker"]
[attr="class","game"]
Sybil Chime feel free to invent dialogues to the npcs :eyes:
[attr="class","kikan"]
“
Claire holds back the influx of feelings as the boy opens his mouth. His voice sounds so small, so feeble, so innocent. Claire has a hunch that his record is still short and sweet, and here, if they get caught, it'll be tainted with dirt. A fledgling, trying to infiltrate the intel headquarters. How ambitious of him, how foolish! Claire understands the consequences he might face. And hers as well.
They're not pretty, she would admit.
But it would only go downhill if they got caught. Claire would not allow that to happen.
She nods, and beckons him to continue. Claire hangs out in the back, senses hyperaware. She listens all so carefully for any sound that may denote the arrival of man. She hears nothing, the shadows are in place, the air is cool and calm. That doesn't ease Claire, but it is still fortunate.
The coast is clear on her side. One look at the boy, and she knows it is the same on his side. Claire moves past him, tapping his shoulder and giving him a level look. Her eyes seem to glint in the light of the lamps, dim and serious and unforgiving. Claire believes he knows what he's supposed to do.
Claire continues to a corridor, then turns to another, until she is weaving through the maze-like headquarters in a steady pace. They a few pass Knights along the way, people who Claire knows would be in that post. Claire only gives them a glance that seem to snap them back to reality. They eye her companion, and Claire realizes he is catching too much attention.
"Quit it," she thunders, and the Knights on duty freezes. "He's my student, right...?" Claire looks at the boy, tilting her head, again giving him a signal to provide his name, perhaps an introduction even. "There should be no questions asked to a student tailing his teacher."
Thankfully, she got the message and trotted up behind him. She seemed so on edge and it was frustrating not knowing why. Sybil was worried that some kind of infiltrator had wormed their way in and was going to take him hostage, maybe use him as a bargain to get what she wants. He wasn't very knowledgeable on the coven but he figured they probably had some sensitive information that people would love to get their hands on.
For a moment, he had a feeling he'd be able to make this out in one piece. But the turns they took led them to some coven members. It was a good thing he was just a fledgling, or they might have noticed him and wondered why he was skulking through the shadows with a barbarian of a woman.
"S- Student, y- yeah!" Sybil nodded a hundred times, keeping his head down and practically bowing to everyone around him. "S- Sybil Chime! She's j- just showing me around, te- teaching me things just like a teacher d- does!"
Claire is not able to catch the boy's first name. It sounds like Civil, and she is fairly sure it is indeed Civil, but Claire would not risk saying it and getting it wrong. The 'Chime' does ring a bell, though, pun intended. The Chime family is a well-known family throughout Sundial. Claire might have worked with them before, but cannot remember what with the multitudes of families she had accepted offered jobs.
It's not a rare sight, Claire thinks. Helios Knights is full of the rich. This also means that if they get caught, Claire would not only face the wrath of Medeia and Lunacea but as well as a prominent family.
The duo trudges on, and the routine continues until they reach the area that is basically off-limits to lower-ranked witches. They'd be safe for a while.
"You can drop the act now," Claire says, voice low and calm. She has no intent on scaring the little boy anymore. She moves with the map of the area memorized, so even if Sybil does not know where they are headed, he needed not to worry. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. I somewhat panicked a while ago and now I can't let you go."
Claire casts a glance towards Sybil, hoping to see him at least not shaking out of fear. Claire loves to see enemies pissing their pants in fright, but not allies. She knows of a sure way to ease his nerves--telling the purpose of why they are here, treading in dimly lit hallways to a place that isn't supposed to be approached by a novice, much less fledglings. "I'm Claire. We're going to the intelligence to get information. I hope to gather information on this certain group. They won't let me get it, but I will still do."
The Knight then pauses and gives Sybil a solemn look. "Now, may I formally ask for your help?" A pause follows.
