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.
There was no pain. No fear no doubt about what had to be done. He was hear the kill something. The details were very fuzzy as was the usual for something from the government. They were a bureaucracy to their core so it inefficiency isn't surprising at all. It is something to be expected.
Here he was outside a dingy little farm that couldn't have more than a field or two of plants. This explained why there wasn't much information to go on. This little rinky dink place probably only had a handful of inhabitants and was far enough outside the city that nobody really paid attention to it. It was honestly surprising how bad the shape of this place was and yet here he was on a mission. Maybe the creatures caused all this damage? The wood rotting and broken roof of the barn said otherwise. This was time washing away something that was trying desperately to stay afloat.
"The creatures weren't nesting far from the farm... or so they said..." he hummed with a small sigh in his voice. His familiar was to his right, staring up at him. He seemed to be doing better these days. The nightmares still came pretty much every night but he tended to get more sleep before they started. He was more resigned to the unknown.
He was supposed to be meeting a woman here as his mission partner. He wasn't really told anything about her except she was not a knight and was not much older than himself. Again with the little to no information given. He shouldn't be surprised anymore. He really shouldn't.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 7, 2018 5:47:56 GMT
she's whistling cheerfully as she strolls towards the meeting point, fingers linked casually behind her head, her bright red scarf fluttering in her wake. half-dried grass crunches beneath her boots; the air tastes dusty and dry. the area looks pretty much abandoned - she's actually rather amazed someone would bother commissioning a mission to defend it. honestly, iolani wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she sees a tumbleweed or two breezing past, this is how clichéd it feels.
oh well. who is she to question the weird wants and desires of idiots, especially if it's beneficial to her?
approaching the farmhouse, she spots a brown haired guy standing outside, a dog at his side, looking a bit too pretty-boy to be the owner of this place. probably her mission partner then. also a little knight, how cute~ iolani saunters up to him, smirking as she wont to do, and wriggles her fingers in a casual wave. "hey hey, you're here for the creatures and shit right? i'm alana, guess we'll be working together today."
high above their heads, huginn sweeps through the sky in a wide circle, a tiny black dot against the vast blue. of course the little shithead doesn't want to draw attention to himself yet.
He was not sure what he was expecting when the woman with a bright red scarf showed up but... this was probably not it. The small dog familiar seemed to stiffen at her approach but was immediately put at ease upon seeing her. He always did have a soft spot for the ladies after all unlike his master. It was kind of funny how he'd let girls hang all over Charani without help but as soon as any boy got within like thirty yards of him he became an attack dog. I mean he knew there was no chance of anything happening with a girl after all.
"Um yes... hello... nice to meet you Miss Alana. My name is Charani... and this is Teddy. May we have a productive day," he hummed being overly polite. There was that rich kid training kicking in. No matter how hard he tried to shake it that kind of courteous greeting that had been drilled into him never could really leave. Even now with someone he didn't know on a mission it still came up while standing outside a dingy little farm.
"From what I've gathered they aren't very far from the farm... do you have any idea what kind of creatures they are or... a suggestion?" he was wondering if she had been told more information about this situation than he had. Personally he hadn't really been told much... even about this girl. He looked down towards the little valley area just outside the rotten fence of the farm. His vision lost color for a few seconds as he tried to let his magic guide them in the right direction.
There was a grey line that flickered in and out of focus going towards the left of their position. He wasn't very good with telling good from bad yet but that was so far the only path he could see right now. That had to be at least the general direction they should go right? Right?
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 7, 2018 6:22:43 GMT
she pulls a slight face at the formal address, though her tone is evidently more amused than anything. "just alana is fine," she says, waving a dismissive hand. pretty face, pretty manners, pretty accent - rich kid, maybe? definitely not a street kid, not unless he has some mad acting skills. which, if that were true, would be pretty goddamn impressive and also someone to keep an eye out on.
iolani herself can, of course, pull off the same pretty formal societally-ordained bullshit ( yay for heiress training - just feel the sarcasm dripping from her tone ), but she would really rather not. "you can loosen up a little, ya know?" she grins at him, grey eyes glittering. "no one's watching, no need to be so formal."
she shrugs at his question. to be honest, iolani's skillset really isn't the most ideal for this kind of mission, but hey, killing things was in the description, and she needs to let loose a little steam. "i have no clue," she admits cheerfully, readily. "do you wanna just scout around the farmhouse first, see if there are any clues?"
her eyes sharpen fractionally as she sees his own defocus momentarily, a brief instant where he seems to stare into nothing. nothing in the material world, that is. interesting, interesting. with nothing in her tone or expression changing, iolani tilts her head casually and asks, "unless you have an idea as to where we should go?"
"Oh um sorry Miss... er... I mean Alana." He was trying to stop the ideas and training that were drilled into his head flow down the river. It was kind of like what he was told to do when he wanted to use astral projection. Let all emotions and feelings just flow outside his body into the void. You were leaving behind a shell empty and devoid of your spirit. Same kind of thinking.
She hit the nail on the head pretty easily. It was more of his grandmother's training and time with the kids that caused this to happen. His parents were wild hippies who barely took care of them growing up being more like the cooky aunt and uncle to Charani and his siblings instead of real parents. They did what they wanted and were selfish... at least that is what he thought.
"We could look around the farmhouse if you think it would help." Diplomatic. The kind of trait a knight exemplified along with that kind of righteousness that made them stand out among the other covens. He had less of that quality than he did diplomacy thanks to his rather wealthy and mildly sheltered upbringing. He own thoughts drifted with his eyes back to their left.
"But um... I think we should go this way... just a feeling..." he said, a little nervous as he had been but slowly the formality was slipping away to just being a nice young man. The dog familiar walked up to the girl and was cooing to be pet while trying to rub against her leg. He was being weird again. Damn girls. Items Used: Guide (bas)
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 7, 2018 6:52:00 GMT
she has to suppress a snicker at his pretty diplomatic phrasing ( hey, she's trying to be a little nicer here - please appreciate her effort ). really, iolani couldn't care less that they're not going to follow her suggestion - it's not like it's a life or death situation, or that her pride in her skillz™ objects, or something equally as ridiculous. not to mention, she has a sneaking suspicion that the knight knows more than he's letting on...
...something furthered by the nervousness underlying his words. who does the kid think he's fooling, really. 'just a feeling'? if it's 'just a feeling', iolani'd eat her boots. but no need to call him out on it.
offering him another casual shrug and a devil-may-care smile that fits perfectly with her messy windblown hair ( something she knows for sure because she's spent time perfecting it in front of a mirror, thanks ), iolani leans down to run her fingers through the dog familiar's fur. "we'll do it your way," she says, good cheer unwavering in the slightest. "wanna lead the way?"
besides, huginn circling up in the sky hasn't spotted anything interesting around the farmhouse either. not that she's gonna tell charani that.
It was then decided that they would go to the left towards the field. There was a grove of trees that looked like the start of a forrest or maybe just some odd woods not to far along the path. That was probably where the path led he'd bet his short shorts on it. To certain death! For their enemies of course.
"Okay... I don't mind we should just stick together I guess? Um... yeah... so... onward?" He was obviously not used to being in charge. He honestly mostly just went along with whatever he was told to do most missions as he tended to be paired with much older or higher rank witches. That or he had been paired a lot with a certain boyfriend who has since gone... well lets not think about it right now.... the nightmares did enough of that for him.
The small dog familiar leaned into the petting until it was time to move. The small saint bernard marched to the head of the pack in front of Charani like a danger hound, sniffing the ground occasionally as the group started walking. Charani kept a pretty okay pace, slowing down ever so slightly as he used his mana to check they were going along the same path as they should.
"Maybe... those trees would be a good place for creatures to hide... but... there's a cave over there too... hmm..." he said to himself mostly but also to the girl he was with. The path diverged at this point so they had to make a choice. Should they go into the wooded area or the cave. Neither option felt particularly more dangerous than the other but then again he didn't have that much experience distinguishing paths. "What do you think Mi... umm....Alana?" Items Used: Guide (bas)
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 7, 2018 7:51:00 GMT
"sticking together is probably a good idea for now," she agrees, and grins at the knight's hesitancy. obviously, the kid isn't used to leading or making decisions or anything like that, and she's actually having quite a lot of fun not helping him at all. hey, one could even argue that she is helping him - she's helping him develop his leadership skills and independent thinking!
... at this rate, with bullshit like this, she could totally become a salesman or something. huginn, the bastard, isn't even trying to hide nir laughter, though high above their heads as ne is the sound doesn't even reach their ears. she sends nem the mental equivalent of flipping nem off, just on principle. ne returns the favour.
sauntering after the kid's familiar, a casual observer would never guess that iolani might be heading into potential danger, not with her entirely unworried posture and unwavering smirk and a relaxed gait more suited to strolling along the beach than into a possible fight. then again, most people wouldn't be able to spot the several daggers hidden beneath the folds of her clothes, or the glint of merciless lethality in her eyes.
she eyes the two most likely hiding spots for the creatures even as the knight points them out, cocking her head slightly as she considers them. she's a little surprised, if she's being honest, that the kid isn't using his possibly-athenean-possibly-something-else affinity spell to pick one of the options, but then again, maybe he's just trying to be discrete. or to 'include' her, the cute naive kid.
eh, it wouldn't hurt to take the reins for a moment or two. she just wants to stab some things, damnit, not loiter around in the middle of nowhere debating about what option is right. "let's check out the caves first," she decides, already moving in that direction. she throws a grin at him over her shoulder. "be on your guard~"
They would go to the caves first then. It was as good a plan as any since the two paths looked nearly identical to him. Both some shade of grey he couldn't distinguish and one was bright and the other even brighter. He had no choice but to guess and her guess would be as good as his after all. Besides she could be born lucky or maybe have some other form of magic to help her spot out creatures or something he didn't know. He knew almost nothing which is probably just as dangerous.
"Um... yes of course... shall we?" He was more resigned to the unknown as they walked into the cave. Neither option was very far from their current location so it would take maybe two minutes of walking leisurely to make it to the mouth of the cave. The cave itself didn't look to terribly big but there was a weird stench about it. It wasn't quite the smell of rot but it was simmiliar... maybe mold? Wetness? Something weird like that.
"You smell anything?" the young witch said as he knelt down to his dog. The canine familiar sniffed the ground in front of them, moving around in circles and across the stone ground and walls of the cave entrance. He smelled something but couldn't quite tell what it was. 'I'm not sure what but something is down there for sure... I can't tell if its what we are looking for.' The dogs voice echoed in his head as Teddy communicated inside his mind.
"Teddy thinks something is down there but isn't sure if its what we are after..." he says with a resigned sigh. It'd probably be best to investigate the cave while it was still bright out. As the sun got darker so did the light in the lighter parts of the cave. They'd probably need to figure this out soon before something happens. Something always happens. He could just feel it in his bones.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 10, 2018 9:03:00 GMT
in a rare show of restraint, iolani resists the urge to whistle obnoxiously as they make their way towards potential death. okay, so maybe she's being a little dramatic - possible danger and mild injuries would be more accurate - but hey, what's life without a little drama, right? that restraint doesn't extend to looking as if she's taking anything seriously though; lacing her fingers together at the back of her head, she strolls on forth with as shit-eating a grin as she can muster. which is pretty damn annoying, if she does say so herself.
( with quiet subtlety, she creates a DRONE when charani is otherwise occupied, which zips off to explore the other path, accompanied by her lovely familiar. said lovely familiar threatens to destroy her drone if she doesn't give nem booze when this mission is done and over. why is this her life. )
the cave, like most wet enclosed spaces, smells dank and musty and gross. just what she likes. she watches the dog run around sniffing at the ground in mild amusement, and more than a touch of magnanimous patronisation - with the wet-cave mustiness smell so strong, of course the dog isn't going to pick anything up unless some animal has very recently been there. ( so, maybe she's being a little unfair, but fuck it, it's not like they can read her thoughts. )
"let's just go in and see what happens!" she says with as much irritating cheer as she can manage, and doesn't bother waiting for the knight before she saunters ahead herself. it's not dark dark inside, but it's certainly not bright, so she waits the requisite time for her eyes to adjust to the relative dimness. it smells even worse inside, but it's got nothing on some of the shitty places she's been.
a bat flutters by; stupid thing immediately tries to dive-bomb her with claws outstretched and fangs bared. she's got nothing against bats, honestly - they're small, fuzzy, and creep people out, so what's not to like? - but hey, if it's attacking her, it'll get attacked right back. a shadowy tendril shoots up to lasso around the critter, then proceeds to fling it back into the depths of the cave with prejudice. "looks like it's just bats so far," she calls back to her mission partner, grinning.
tag:Charani Petrov mission prompt:here scrolls used: 1. THE MODERN ATHENIAN: DRONES
"Very well," he hums as he steels himself for the deep dive into the unknown depths of this place. Whatever happens can not be predicted so easily... whatever this is. The cave before them didn't look very large from the surface. The entrance itself was rather small and the area around them had a lot of water so it is likely not very wide or very deep.
Soon Charani steps closer to the entrance... the smell of rotting plant life and wetness hits his nostrils. The cave smells oddly familiar to him... maybe from a dream? He couldn't be sure but all he felt right now was nervous. He always was. Well any time he was not fighting sleep deprivation that is. This had seemed to be a constant problem. A constant burden of the future... of magic.
The woman enters before him and he follows not ten seconds after watching her go inside. The inside of the gave isn't particularly bright but it is by no means pitch blackness. It isn't the kind of darkness that swallows everything around it. The kind of darkness he saw sometimes when he closed his eyes. No it was the regular illuminated moonlight type darkness that human eyes tended to adjust to well enough. A bat swoops down and flies past them. He doesn't react because all he hears it the sound of it swooshing past him and his body doesn't understand a sign of danger fast enough. Or more accurately it doesn't have enough energy to react.
"It doesn't look very big... it shouldn't be hard to find the creature if it is here" he said in a calm voice. There was a low echo reverberating the cave walls. It was almost like they were pulsing with sound every now and again. Something was definitely down there. Something loud. If you listened closely enough the faintest sounds could be heard. If they went down it should be easier to hear... the closer they got at least.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 13, 2018 4:43:15 GMT
the little bat doesn't come back for round two. shame. she was looking forwards to testing her aim with throwing knives. oh well, the creature was kinda cute. she doesn't really mind sparing it - as long as it doesn't try and attack her again or something as stupid as that.
there's another flutter of wings, and she turns around just in time to see the little knight do absolutely nothing to defend himself as another bat flies too close. wow. great. she gets the partner with shit reflexes - or no self-preservational instincts. lovely. ( does she still get paid if he dies? ) fortunately for him, his bat doesn't try and scratch out his eyes - maybe it mistook him for a statue or something.
quirking her eyebrow at his very calm observations, iolani wonders anew whether or not this little knight has survival instinct whatsoever. honestly, how has he survived this long? "right!" she says in response, obnoxiously cheerful. "should we go in deeper, then?" he's right, though. there's a weird sort of reverberation to the cave that cannot be natural, something boarding on the edge between pulsation and rasping breathing. iolani sure as heck wants to find out why.
but before she can take more than a few steps forwards, there is, again, the sound of frantic wingbeats - and then a fuzzy ball of leathery wings and maniac eyes and unholy screeching descends upon them from the darkness.
it's a big bat. it's a really big bat - probably superlatives like 'huge' and 'gianormous' and 'holy fuck that isn't normal ohmygod rUN!' might be more appropriate. don't get her wrong - it's a really fucking cool bat. but it probably wants to kill her ( a theory supported by how it immediately dives for her head ) so... obviously it's gotta die. iolani ducks to the side to avoid its claws, then pulls out a dagger in anticipation.
is this what's causing the weird cave sounds? and is this the creature they've been searching for?
tag:Charani Petrov mission prompt:here scrolls used: 1. THE MODERN ATHENIAN: DRONES
His partner in this mission seemed obnoxiously happy about fighting. It would normally grate on his nerves... people like her. People who lived only in the ecstasy of death and battle. People who's only life was measured in blood and strewn corpses across the ground. He saw what their lives ended in. He saw it often... the destruction that kind of life brought.
The woman at least agreed with him that they should move forward. The pulsing got quicker and louder as they moved. It wasn't very long before a large bat creature was upon them. It was large with wings like leather and smelled of rotten meat. The screeching was loud enough to drown out all other sounds of the cave... its mere presence forcing everyone to notice. Something like this had to be what they were looking for right? To easy.
"It's... smaller than I thought" he said in a confused tone as he gripped his wand out of his waistband. The creature swooped in on Iolani first as she was closer. The girl seemed fairly nimble in her movements at least so that was good. He just needed one good shot. That was all.
The canine familiar stood at the ready, back arched in anticipation as Charani rushed to the side to keep out of the creature's flight path since missing the target. Say what you want but even sleep deprived he had good aim. He poured his mana into his wand and magic energy shot like lightning out of the wand as he cast Vibrionus at the bat hoping to bring it to the ground. You can't fly if your body is spasming uncontrollably and/or burned.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 13, 2018 6:29:16 GMT
she spares a moment to glance at her mission partner when he comments on its size - and it's true. now that it's out in the lighter areas of the cave and it's more clearly visible, it's not as big as it had initially seemed - perhaps due to the fact that it's no longer all but merged into the shadows. it also smells like rotting flesh, a corpse ( and she's been around enough of those to know ). her first thought: zombie?
"maybe it's a distraction," she says brightly, though her eyes are dagger-sharp. the little knight appears to be gearing up towards an attack as he grips his wand; not knowing how good his aim will be, iolani quickly lassos a SHADOW TENDRIL around the bat to keep it mostly in place.
and it works, because the bolt of lightning-esque energy that shoots out from his wand hits the bat dead on ( though, she has to admit, he would have probably hit it anyways without her interference - the knight's got pretty good aim, surprisingly ) and it spasms before crumpling to the ground, not dead yet but certainly close. she walks up close to it and quickly slices its jugular, killing it in one clean stroke.
"well," she says, frowning down at the corpse. "that was easy." too easy, really.
of course, the zombie-bat picks that time to screech back to life and attempt to kill her again.
( she dodges in time, but seriously, what the fuck??? )
tag:Charani Petrov mission prompt:here scrolls used: 1. THE MODERN ATHENIAN: DRONES
The lightning like energy hits the creature dead on. Sure a little assistance with what looks like shadow magic certainly didn't hurt but even bone dead exhausted his aim was something that had yet to fail him. Maybe it was those hours spent throwing knives at a wooden board in one of the mansion's spare bedrooms or the hours of 'don't get kidnapped' training his grandparents had drilled into he and his siblings through their lives. Who could tell. It's a mystery™.
The creature fell to the floor and spasmed from the magic. The woman made a quick and clean slash across the throat to slay the beast. He didn't move closer to the body and yet he could still smell it like the thing was right next to him. Even when it was moving it smelled like a corpse. Was it a corpse? Or maybe it was half dead already. Necromancy was way to far fetched. Perhaps a parasite? It'd explain the change in aggression for this type of creature. Bats don't normally just up and attack people.
"It looked half dead... hmm..." he said in a confused tone as he stared at the body. It all happened way to fast as the creature roared to life again and snapped at the girl. He instinctively shot out with his wand again as it was in his hand. Lightning energy crackling again as the woman dodged the creature. What on earth was this? Something very odd is happening. The creature was dead for sure so technically... their mission was a success... but something was off. Further investigation was for sure required. Was this just a simple creature struggle or... something more... sinister.
