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.
As they run forth, Ling can't help but press a hand to where her own talismans her hidden beneath her clothes. Shield, focus, healing, stamina; elhaz, kenaz, uruz, ansuz - she feels just that tad bit better with their protection against her chest. 'Breathe,' Valkea reminds her, his voice gentle but firm in her mind and she nods, knowing he feels it despite being unable to see her.
What little confidence she manages to wrestle back deserts her at the next scream however; she finds herself clenching her mission partner's hand with a white-knuckled grip as the terrified sound tears through the trees. His own grip on her hand is just as tight; her bones just about creak in protest at the handling but she simply cannot bring herself to care. He is a lifeline, a presence, and his grip is just a reminder that she is not alone.
As soon as she spots the group of Knights bound to the trees, her eyes widen. Without thinking ( and certainly without remembering the fact that she's currently invisible ), Ling tugs Xuan over and quickly slaps an Uruz on herself, accentuating her physical strength with a burst of mana and so reaching out to rip the vines away from the other witches. "Just hold on, I can get you free!" she tells them, tearing off another chunk of branches.
[attr="class","smdbody"]Xuan curses silently when he is tugged towards the Helious Knights. He's glad that Ling and the knights couldn't couldn't see the sneer and hatred that sharpened his features. He hears a similar response from Xue Mei in his head.
Before he could move to stop her, Ling starts to free the trapped members of the Helios Knights. He stiffens, his gaze quickly flashing back to the cowering girl, praying that she had not noticed or heard them. She did. The child's eyes are drawn to them and though they are invisible to her eyes, they were still at the mercy of the plants erupting from the ground beneath.
She screams again, and Xuan tries to tug Ling along with him and steps back allowing Skater to form a layer of ice beneath his feet. The maneuver draws him closer with the rogue plantshaper. His eyes narrow as he tries to catch what she is whispering. "Please don't take me away. Please. Please."
His blue eyes flicker with a foreign emotion he has trouble identifying. He sees his form appear back into existence as does Ling. His appearance startles the cowering girl beside him and the trees sway violently around them as if knockabout by a vicious hurricane. "We're not here to take you away." His voice is steady and strong, like the one he uses on Ju as the figure of authority when Wei is not around. He knows what the feeling is, the brotherly instincts that had dulled since Ju had disappeared, flared up in that moment.
[attr="class","smdtags"]note: tell me if you need anything changed ■líng lù-xī■Potion used: 2xTHE ALCHEMIST'S TRADE: VANISHING DROUGHT, TECHNIQUE: SKATER
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
The group of knights continue to struggle while Ling tears at their restraints, and she almost tells them to calm down and stop flailing so she can properly help before she catches herself and considers their situation empathetically. She doesn't say anything, in the end, because honestly? She knows panic, and she knows that telling a panicking person to stop panicking really wouldn't do anything to help the situation.
Just as she pulls the last vine free, Xuan tugs on her arm and drags her away, her feet slipping and sliding on the ice that has suddenly coated the ground. "What-?" she begins to ask, before her eyes ( and ears ) are drawn to a crying girl around about her own age, perhaps a year or two older. "Hey," she says with as calm a tone as she can manage, adding her own reassurances with Xuan's. "Don't worry. We're here to help."
Their invisibility potions wear off around about now, and Ling takes advantage of her very much non-threatening appearance to ease closer, holding out her hands. "Are you hurt anywhere? Are you here by yourself?" She wonders if the girl had been out here with the Knights she had freed and looks around for them to ask, since it seems the girl isn't really capable of answering coherently right now.
But the Knights are gone; there is no sign of their presence anymore save the remnants of the vines she had torn down.
[attr="class","smdbody"]With a glance back, Xuan let out a dark chuckle. Of course, of course they would leave behind the ones who had saved them. Whatever light that still flickered within him with hope that the Helios Knights were still those legends his brother had told him about went out, replaced the familiar chill of ice.
A small movement drew his gaze back, small shivers racking the girl's frail body. Her breaths came out as white smoke and fear in her green eyes caused him to pause his thoughts. It was then that he had noticed the chilling ice that surrounded him and with a sigh the cold receded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Can you stand? It's not safe for you here. Those people will come back."
He reached forwards gently, careful not to startle her with any sudden movements. With the gentlest touch he could manage, he brushed a few fallen leaves off her hair. Xuan turned to his partner, urgency evident in his eyes. Could he trust someone he's just met?
"Ling, we need to get her away from here, the Helios Knights..." He paused, mind racing like a whirlwind trying to find the right phrase, the right words that made people step to his beat. Too late did he realise the truth had already escaped, through the venomous gaze of his eyes, the tightness of his jaw.
The girl, still quivering whether it be from the lingering chill or the adrenaline from her attack looked towards Ling as well. She shifted her should, revealing the tuft of feathers at the end of an arrow.
[attr="class","smdtags"]note: tell me if you need anything changed ■líng lù-xī■Potion used: 2xTHE ALCHEMIST'S TRADE: VANISHING DROUGHT, TECHNIQUE: SKATER, COOLANT
[attr="class","smdlyrics"]strike
[attr="class","mdlyric"]me down
[attr="class","giveitlyric"]give it everything you've got
Ling does a double take at the dark laugh that comes out of her partner's mouth. To be honest, the expression she sees there uneases her a bit too, though it fades a moment later and she wonders it she'd just imagined it all. Even more so when the sudden icy aura emanating from Xuan eases up, and he addresses the girl with a gentle tone. She hovers at his side, trying to be a further reassuring presence with a kind smile and confidence in their abilities.
He turns to Ling with urgency in his eyes, and she stares back, startled, before squaring her shoulders and meeting that gaze straight on with as much determination as she can muster. There's something intense in her own eyes too, because scared or not, sixteen or not, Ling is a novice of her coven with the magic to back up her rank, idealism enough to still believe in heroics, and heart enough to care for everyone. "You're right," she says, taking note of their situation. The venom and emotion broiling in her partner's gaze scares her a little, but it's a serious situation and Ling's own heart is attempting to break out of her chest.
"You're right," she repeats, and more ideas flash through her brain before it settles on one. "We need to get her to a healer. But the Helios Knights aren't here, and the person behind all this is still a threat." She flashes him a tight grin, an attempt to be brave that cracks as soon as she dons it, but the determination in the set of her shoulders never wavers. "You bring her back, and call for reinforcements. I'll stay back and deal with the threat, or stall them, at least. Val'll go with you so we can communicate-" and here her familiar protests fiercely, but she stubbornly ignores him, because Ling has an obligation to her rank and her training, to the people of Sundial, and as a good person - and she's not running from it.
She flexes her fingers and feels the earth stir beneath her feet; raises her chin and meets Xuan straight on. "I'm confident I can buy a little time, at the very least."