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.
[attr="class","smdbody"]With a large yawn, Xuan waited patiently for his partner to arrive for patrol whilst eyeing the group of Helious Knights nearby. Really, if not on his coven's request, he would have been working away with his new supply of herbs from day to night but here he was, doing a Helious Knight's duty for them.
His gaze drifted to the sky, watching as white clouds crept past at a slow but constant speed and his mind drifted off into the depth of his memories, of days where playing hide and seek was all his days comprised off. With a blink, the memory fades but still lingers like the residue of smoke at the back of his mind.
He peeled himself off the wall as a small figure approached from the distance. "You must be my partner. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Xuan." He smiled while hiding his surprise at her age, are there supposed to be children assigned to tasks like these nowadays?
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■ let's do this
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
I press the button and[break]it bursts into life[break]This time nothing will escape my sight
It's not often that Ling's assigned a patrol. It's not often that Ling's assigned anything remotely dangerous, actually - probably because of her age ( she refuses to think that it might be her affinity also ) - but she doesn't mind honestly. As much as she likes adventures and reading stories of valiant knights, of heroes and villains and warriors that triumph over evil, she's.... well aware she's not the best at dealing with danger.
But hey, patrols should be fairly peaceful, right? Besides, she's got a mission partner to fall back on, and while she might be kinda hesitant about silvertongues right now, her partner should be fine.... right?
Approaching the wall, Ling waves to the nearby Helios Knights and grins as they nod back. There's a tall, dark-haired man leaning against the wall that she's assuming is her mission partner - he looks, well, not exactly friendly, but not like an assassin or murderer or whatever the rumours are spreading about silvertongues currently.
She waves at him too, bounding forwards into earshot, a wide smile spreading across her face at his greeting. There's a glimmer of surprise in his eyes, but no hint of patronising attitude- already, she's beginning to like him. "Hi Xuan, it's nice to meet you too!" she beams. "I'm Ling. So," and she rocks back on the balls of her feet because gods he's tall, "ever been on patrol before?"
[attr="class","smdbody"]There's a spring of youth in each of her steps and he sees it in her eyes as well. He tried to recall what it was like to be like that but fails, the iron fist and teaching of Guerra blotted out most of the memories during that period.
"I'm afraid not, that would have been my brother's job. Though I do have experience of being beyond these walls. What about you? I'm assuming Jester's Den don't send children on patrols regularly do they?" Xuan gave her a puzzled shrug before gesturing towards the ladder. "Ladies first, I'll hold it still for you."
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■ let's do this
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
I press the button and[break]it bursts into life[break]This time nothing will escape my sight
Something darker casts a temporary shadow across his face before it vanishes back into congeniality, and she wonders what thought had caused it. Had she said something? Reminded him, somehow, of a negative experience? But it is none of her business, just as the question of 'you have a brother?' that lingers on the tip of her tongue is also none of her business. Insatiably curious as she is, the use of past tense had not escaped her notice.
Instead, she focuses on the other information he's revealed. "You've been out of Sundial?" she asks, wide-eyed and eager to hear of others' experiences. "I've been out a few times- I went to Gale Valley recently for the apprentice exchange program actually! - but never really outside of other cities."
She frowns a little as Xuan indirectly calls her a child- while it's true that Ling is kinda young compared to most other coven witches, that doesn't mean she likes it mentioned, or thrown back in her face. Revising her earlier assumption of non-patronisation, she decides to wait for a little longer to form opinions. "I'm one of the younger witches in my coven, yeah," she admits as she climbs the ladder he holds still for her. ( She can't tell if it's an attempt to 'cater' to her young age in treating her like a child, or if it's just him being nice - think the best of people until they prove otherwise, she reminds herself. ) "But they wouldn't have sent me if they thought I wasn't capable."
And maybe her tone is a touch too defensive, but hey, it's not like she can take her words back.
[attr="class","smdbody"]Wide-eyes and the look of wonder focuses on Xuan and he's reminded of the same expression on his younger brother. The nights Ju had pestered him for stories beyond the crumbling shelter that they called home, nights they huddled around a small fire waiting for Wei to come home. He's tempted to reach out and pat her head, the same way he would do for Ju when the child was too excitable but pauses at her next words.
"It's not always something to enjoy, the forests are not so forgiving especially during the night. And you are right, I've assumed things too fast. My apologies." He climbed up nimbly after her, years of foraging for herbs in the wilderness giving him extra agility. Wei's right, the view from here is something else. Xue Mei murmured at the back of his mind and Xuan finally takes in the scenery of the wildness.
Hues of green were cast in the limelight by the sun, each promising adventures beyond the walls they are bound behind. He recalled his first visit out there, alone and seeking solace where no other beings were there to harm or bother him. A grave mistake judging from the faded scars that lingered across his back.
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■ let's do this
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
I press the button and[break]it bursts into life[break]This time nothing will escape my sight
She falters at his apology, not having expected that of him. And now, guilt rises up in her own chest, ichor-dark and cloying; "I'm sorry too," she blurts out, fiddling with the end of her braid in a nervous habit. Heat begins to creep across the bridge of her nose, and she forces it back with a fierce internally-directed glare. "I really shouldn't be this sensitive. I guess I'm just a little nervous." She smiles sheepishly at him, inviting a mutual truce and new start.
Turning to look out over the wilderness that lies beyond the walls, her eyes linger over the tangle of verdant undergrowth with a chiaroscuro of shadows and light pooling in their branches, the scent of the beautiful unknown, the potential for adventure hazy in the air. A brief moment of exhilarating impulse seizes her, a golden rush of adrenaline and daydreams turned psychedelic in her veins- to leap down the wall and to run into the heart of the mysterious, the yet-to-be-discovered, the nimbus of sheer possibility that the structure and order of sundial cannot offer; but then it passes, leaving behind Ling standing solid on the wall, once more grounded in reality.
"Do you think anything's gonna happen?" she asks idly, scanning the treeline without really expecting to see anything. Considering their low ranks, they're hardly going to be assigned an area of high activity.
[attr="class","smdbody"]The wilderness promised secret and mystery laced with a hint of danger. Its promises more than likely drawing in the foolish souls that think they can survive like the hero in tales told among the travens.
He glanced to the Helios Knights below, his eyes cold with a smile still present on his face. I wonder how many of them with their arrogant pride and ideals of glory and honour would be able to survive the night alone. Xue Mei chuckled darkly with him.
"Everyone has their share of firsts, I'm glad I have such a reliable company for my first patrol." He turned his mind back to his companion, smiling back assuringly at her. At her next question, he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We never know, though it wouldn't hurt to be careful."
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■ let's do this
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
I press the button and[break]it bursts into life[break]This time nothing will escape my sight
She turns back to her partner just in time to see the tail of something flickering across his face ( for an instance, she shivers and thinks, ice in the dead of winter, too cold, too bitter ) but it's gone before it registers, like a phantom, like a mirage, like it was never there in the first place. Ling blinks, wondering if it had been merely her imagination, even as the recent rumours regarding silvertongue witches spring to mind.
He smiles kindly at her, nothing there at all to indicate what might have been, and she grins back, banishing the suspicion from her mind ( is there falsity in warmth? is it a mask, a facade? ). "Aww, flatterer," she says teasingly, placing her hand over her heart in mock delight ( though, if she were being honest, the glow in her chest is not false at all ). "True that."
A shout breaks into their interactions; Ling whips around to look at the Helios Knights stationed below running into the forest with alarmed expressions, pointing at something she can't see. She frowns down at them in concern, bending her knees ready to blink down to see what's happening, only to stop when one of the Knights looks up at them, shakes his head and motions for them to stay where they are, before disappearing into the undergrowth.
"I think I might have jinxed us," Ling mutters to Xuan, straining her eyes to try and see into the tangled undergrowth. "I wonder what's happening." A moment of quiet, the soft breeze and the still trees revealing none of the potential strife happening within. Ling chews on her lip, and side eyes her mission partner uncertainly. "Should we... go after them? Or stay here?"
[attr="class","smdbody"]Just as the next few words of agreement left her lips, a sudden cry of alarm rung throughout the complex. Xuan glanced down, watching the nervousness in the Helios Knights spread as they rush off to the dense forest.
A twisted grin briefly emerges before turning into a chuckle at Ling's comment. "I think you might have done just that. " It certainly would have been extremely entertaining to watch from afar.
His brows lifted at her next words, surprised and amused. "Stay. They have their job and we have ours. They know what they're doing, they'll be fine. After all, they're the great and mighty protectors, the Helios Knights." He added in, eyes clouding briefly before glancing away.
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■revives
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
Fidgeting on the spot, Ling shoots another anxious glance at the ominously still forest before jerking a nod at Xuan. "Yeah," she says, straightening as determination settles across her expression and she shoves steel forcibly into her spine. "Yeah, you're right. We've got a job. And they're experienced Knights. They- They'll be fine."
Her voice, starting strong, trails off into a note of uncertainty towards the end; Ling shakes her head to clear her thoughts before nodding again, decisive. "It's probably just some sort of minor disturbance..." she muses, not quite addressing anyone in particular while she continues frowning down at the forest. Her familiar, having quietly materialised without a word, presses himself against her leg in a silent show of comfort and support. She absently reaches down to run her fingers through his fur, too perturbed to remember to introduce him.
Moments tick by. Still nothing. Her fidgeting gets worse. A quick side-glance at Xuan and she makes up her mind; "I'm just gonna scan the area real quick," she says quietly before closing her eyes and focusing on her WITCH'S INTUITION. The five seconds it takes for the magical presences in the area to coalesce into something coherent feels like forever, but then, finally, she can feel.
There's the icy cool shimmer of mana from her mission partner by her side, and the ever-steady presence of her familiar on her other side; further from that, stretching outwards into the forest, she can feel the flare of one of the Knights' mana rapidly moving towards them. She frowns. There were two - where is the other...? Then, she registers the other presences: there are a dozen or so really odd... tree-like? sparks also moving their way, and beyond that, a mana signature that feels almost wild and terrifying.
"What...?" she begins, opening her eyes with alarm flashing across her face; but she never gets to finish, because the Knight she had felt fleeing towards them chooses that moment to burst through the treeline with a near hysterical expression and bleeding from more than one location.
"The trees are alive!" he screams, frantic and terrified and every bit as hysterical as his appearance seems. "The trees are alive and they're attacking us!"
[attr="class","smdbody"]He eyed the oncoming chaos with nonchalance but a slight chill in the air around him signalled his disgust and fury as he watched only one return from the party of five that went out oh-so-nobly in search of the disturbance.
Of course, they will choose to abandon their own coven members at their time of need. The same freezing burn sparked into life as he took in the screams from the forest. His fingers itched to dig into flesh, longing for violence and vengeance that has yet to quell in fourteen years. A whine and a nudge on his leg stopped him sinking further in these thoughts.
Not here. Not now. Would Wei want others to experience the same? Would you? He stared at his familiar's eyes for a few moments, before letting out a breath he'd been holding in. Empty. As if his purpose had vanished but yet another not so gentle nudge urged him to the ladder down. " I guess that's our signal then. Your jinxes are really quite something. Shall we?"
With a smile that never really reached his eyes, he turned back towards his partner and waited for her answer.
[attr="class","smdtags"]word count: no idea ■líng lù-xī■what is uni even?
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
Ling watches the Knight burst through the treeline and yell with all the frozen, fascinated horror of watching a train wreck happen right before her eyes. Only, this train wreck is going to crash into her as well, and there’s nothing she can do about it other than fervently wish she hadn’t jinxed them like this. Of all the people here, Ling is perhaps the least capable of dealing with an attacking force like this - she’s a runescripter, thanks, one that specialises in barriers, support, and alteration, not whatever, whoever this is.
“Trees coming alive?” she repeats weakly, instinctively looking to her partner for guidance, for advice. “A rouge plantshaper?” Her voice trails off at his expression - it could have been carved out of ice, so cold and hard it is, and his dark eyes are cool as flints. Ling isn’t really sure what has caused this reaction - is it her? she dearly hopes it isn’t something she’s done - but it’s kind of scary, and it really, really isn’t the reassurance she had hoped to see what with this situation hanging over their heads.
“Xuan…?” she says hesitantly, before shutting her mouth as he finally turns to her. She flushes at his words, a little embarrassed, a little ashamed, a little guilty - maybe she really did jinx them. “S-sorry,” she mumbles, averting her eyes. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Ling swiftly climbs down the ladder, Valkea dematerialising and rematerialising by her side. She honestly kinda wishes he were in his much larger, much more intimidating true form right now - but hey, maybe by the time they reach the disturbance they’ll be far enough out of the city for the familiar size limitation to lift. One look at the Knight who had returned and Ling takes a wild guess he won’t be accompanying them.
Stomach twisting itself into knots, she tries her best to muster a smile at her mission partner and gestures to the ominous cluster of trees that lie ahead of them. “This way,” she says, pointing in the direction her Witch’s Intuition had revealed the foreign magical signatures. Absently, her hand drifts to pouch at her waist containing all her pre-written arrays. If anything happens…
[attr="class","smdbody"]Xuan didn't allow himself to think much before following his partner into the woods. His memories of the forest was rather despressing what with his most recent encounters with three crazy sisters. There's a far off scream that tears his attention back, he might have enjoyed if not for the fact they were heading right in that direction. The next scream isn't that far off and he wonders how only one rogue plant-shaper could have done this.
His mind rushes as his chest pounds faster. Cautions and warmings force him to stop and drag the girl beside him to a halt as well. "It's probably best if we don't rush head first into this like those hard-headed buffoons." Xuan whispers to her, his eyes scanning their surroundings. His fingers dig into his coat and pull out two bottles of THE ALCHEMIST'S TRADE: VANISHING DROUGHT.
"Pour it over you, DO NOT drink this. You'll be able to stay invisible for a few minutes. Hold onto my hand so we don't lose each other." Xuan hands one to Ling and pops the lid off the other, pouring it over the crown of his head. The solution tingles against his skin a little and he smiles when the rest of him starts to disappear.
A scream echoes through the forest, followed by another one in slightly higher timbre. The fact that it's confirmation they're on the right path is hardly consoling. Valkea lopes beside her in easy grace, dark eyes narrowed and intent as he takes in every detail, every movement that might possibly speak of an attack. She can almost feel their mana coiling beneath his skin ready to be shaped into a spell at a moment's notice. What Ling would do without her amazing familiar is not something to be contemplated.
A hand snags her arm. Her heart leaps in her chest even though she knows it's just Xuan. Ling looks at him with wide, scared eyes, though she is determined not to show or voice her fear. She's a novice, for gods sake, she can apprehend a suspect, she can.
She thinks there's something bitter and dark lurking beneath Xuan's words even now, and something about his word choice doesn't sit right, but now is not the time to contemplate verbal intricaties and linguistic implications; her fingers wrap in a white-knuckled grip around the neck of the vial handed to her and she jerks a nod, once. "Okay," she whispers hoarsely, and before she can think too much of it, dumps it over her head.
Becoming invisible is an interesting sensation, almost enough to distract her from the potential of injury and death they're heading towards now. Almost. Before they can take off again, she fumbles for her pouch and draws out a couple of pre-written arrays and a small talisman strung on a cord. She presses them into Xuan's hand. "The talisman is protective," she explains. "It'll decrease the damage you take and increase your rate of healing by a little. It's not much, but better than nothing. The arrays are explosive arrays. They'll provide a small to medium explosion five seconds after you channel mana into them." It's not much, not compared to what the runic masters can create, not even much compared to Ling's own specially modified arrays and talismans, but it's far better than nothing.
She smiles wanly at where she can feel her mission partner before remembering he can't see her either. A breath as she checks their surroundings with her WITCH'S INTUITION again, and she tugs gently on Xuan's hand. "We're getting closer. This way."
[attr="class","smdbody"]Something cool is pressed into his palm. His first instinct is to throw it as far away as possible and run but he manages to control this urge. Trust, he thinks, is still something he had yet to acquire. Xuan's shakes a little before closing around the talisman cautiously and hooking it around his neck, the array he tucks into one of many pockets in his jacket.
"Thank you. " His response is short and curt. His eyes sweeping the area around them. Searching for movements out of the ordinary. He feels the tug of his hand and lets her gently lead them in a certain direction. He's glad for the protection of invisibility offered him.
Ling couldn't see him, his expressions, the violence he struggles to control and the bloodlust. A few more steps and another scream attracts his attention. Close. Too close. His eyes zeros in on the figure in the shadows. The remaining members of the Helios Knights party were wrapped tightly by vines and branches of the trees nearby. Their mouths are wide open, struggling for air, as their faces deepen in the colour of red.
They shouldn't be able to speak much less cry. His brows narrow, not realising how tight his grip on Ling's hand was. The hair on his neck and arm raise as he spots a young child, not that much older than Ling, shaking in the shadows. The trees around them seems to cower with every breath of the child.
[attr="class","smdtags"]note: tell me if you need anything changed ■líng lù-xī■Potion used: 2xTHE ALCHEMIST'S TRADE: VANISHING DROUGHT
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
