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.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jul 1, 2018 15:33:43 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
there is a pause before any reply, a moment of silence that stretches on for far too long in the darkness and suffocating quiet, and he does not realise just how worried he is until the tidal wave of relief crashes over him at the sound of maddox's voice. it is almost dizzying in its intensity; he has to physically bite his lip to restrain the halfway hysterical thank god that wants to escape.
"i am-" fine, he was going to say, but stops and starts again when his voice comes out a few shades too shaky to be convincing. hopefully unnoticeable, chalk it down to shock, and the dust choking the air. "i will be fine," he says again, and this time it sounds steady, like normal. and it is not a lie, he is fine, he is physically uninjured, merely tired and drained.
the dark presses in on all sides, bringing with it too many memories of confinement and terror and pain, and he wants to summon some light but his mana refuses to cooperate. for a moment, he is eleven again and being punished, being caged, the pitch black shadows stealing his sight and burrowing into his very flesh like parasitic worms intent on devouring him from inside out. it is... not a good feeling, being caught halfway between nightmare and reality; only kirjava's fierce mental assurance and the very real presence of small fingers gripping his arm ground him in the present.
the relief that floods through him at the light of maddox's athenian interface could very well rival the relief he had felt upon hearing maddox's voice earlier on. something tense and hard and suffocating eases in his chest, and his magic finally cooperates with him to illuminate the space. ( it is not a summon, and thus not of his own mana; kirjava would normally berate him to conserve strength in such a situation, but she does not here, because they both know what nightmares an enclosed, dark space can bring ).
with visibility restored, kasimir is reassured as to the truth of maddox's assurance of being unwounded ( save for a minor injury, but even he knows it is not of real concern right now ). what is not so reassuring is the still-unresponsive little girl, maddox crouched beside her with the faint glow of episkey around his hands and a frown painting his face.
he forces his stupidly weak limbs to move, dragging himself over to the girl's side with determination set into the line of his mouth. "here, let me," he says, and closes his eyes to focus on dredging up the last of his mana. selenity's mercy shines forth again, much much dimmer compared to the light before the collapse, but still more effective a healing spell than episkey would be. kasimir does not know what injures the girl has and how serious they might be, but he knows that he refuses to see any possibility of her dying today.
Post by maddox rothscus ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 4:28:09 GMT
the episkey does dreadfully little, the spell minor in its application. there are a few superficial cuts that continue to draw closed, but the girl's breathing remains steady and shallow. he tries to recall whatever medical training he can, and eventually settles with resignation. whatever is wrong is internal and beyond his means; the best he can do is hope that kasimir's summoning will help her, and that an actual trained medic will eventually arrive.
tentatively, he reaches out into the surrounding mana with another full reset, this one concentrated within a smaller radius. there is no harm to be done anyway, considering the building has already collapsed. he smooths out the mana gradually, hopefully easing the strain of the summoner's healing spell somewhat. with that complete, he remains still, concentrating on maintaining some semblance of an air flow in here, keeping the atheneum interface bright to stave off the darkness.
it seems like an eternity, but then they hear voices. a question, quickly, muted by the layers of rock but loud amid their silence. "are you able to move?"
maddox looks briefly around at the group. shouts back up, voice bouncing off close-pressed walls. "somewhat."
"we're going to get you guys out of there. mind your heads." there is a brief rumble of earth again, and for a moment maddox thinks the ceiling dips a little lower than it had been before; a ray of sunlight bisects the darkness, little more than a thread. the wall of wind shimmers back into existence to deflect a few small loose rocks.
help has arrived.
#items: operationalization of magic, volume 1 full reset episkey
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 4:54:23 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
he feels rather than sees maddox reach out with a reset, the strain of mana leeching from the marrow of his bones easing to something a little more bearable. he feels slightly less like he will collapse in a tangle of dust and hair and uncooperative limbs at any moment, which is always a positive. coherent words are not something his brain is very capable of currently, so kasimir settles for sending his partner a small, grateful smile before returning to his task.
the little girl's breathing eventually deepens, evening out into a rhythm less concerning than the shallow movements indicative of broken ribs and internal bleeding from earlier; he lets the light flicker out from his hands when the spell ceases to demand more mana, telling him that the healing is done. kasimir slumps down on his knees, too tired to even bother with the upkeep of posture; "she will be fine," he makes his mouth say both to the concerned eyes her brother is watching him with, and to his partner. after that, moving and talking becomes a little beyond him; hopefully, help will arrive soon.
the voices of witches from the surface sound like salvation when they filter through the rubble. kasimir manages to smile reassuringly to the little boy while maddox does all the actual talking, and is treated to the sight of hope lighting up in the child's eyes as the first ray of sunlight slices through the dark. the rubble is quickly and expertly removed, and he regains control of his body enough to shuffle the boy over first. then the little girl; "i should have healed all her injuries," he explains to the people pulling her out, before accepting a hand that hauls him out of the rubble too. "i think i have mana exhaustion," he informs them woozily upon reaching the surface, and promptly sits down before his legs collapse from underneath him.
Post by maddox rothscus ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 5:30:01 GMT
earth elementals and enchanters alike make quick work of the rubble. which is good news, really, because maddox is really beginning to notice that his partner isn't doing too well. mana exhaustion, most likely. why would anyone even stay back after an intense mission like that and want to help with the clean-up? he could have just went back and taken a nap, but no, of course he had to stay back.
for a moment, he simply watches kasimir with undisguised incredulity, before assisting to lift the children out. the air condenses beneath their feet, lightening the burden somewhat as the other witches pull them out. maddox clambers back out, grabbing onto moosely's antlers to pull him from what used to be a building. the familiar obliges, begrudgingly, hauling him out onto stable, not-going-to-collapse land.
he enjoys the relative peace for a moment, then he realises two things at once: one, he should probably help kasimir; and two, he needs to continue purifying the rest of the area.
"you probably do," maddox says (not) helpfully. he stands up, brushing dust off to the best of his ability. "c'mon, i'll help you to the medics tent. get you some potions to you don't pass out on the way home. and don't say anything about how other people might need it more, i'm sure they have some to spare."
#items: operationalization of magic, volume 1 full reset episkey
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 5:50:21 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
too tired by far to restrain himself to the polite neutrality he normally displays, kasimir scowls at maddox for his very unhelpful agreement and tries to pull himself to his feet to prove his partner wrong. it does not quite go as planned - he manages to rise to his knees before his legs simply refuse to move any more. he stares at the maddox, vaguely uncomprehending; kirjava's voice is sarcastic and dry in his head berating him for not sticking to his limits.
'stop playing hero,' she orders him with exasperation underlying every word, but both of them know that kasimir would have done no differently were they to repeat this situation, and that kirjava would have done the same as he. it is a futile order, but it is how his familiar shows concern so he accepts it for the care it actually it.
a hand is shoved in his face, and kasimir abruptly realises he had accidentally zoned out. he blinks slowly, before maddox's words sink in and he frowns, grounding himself back in reality. "no need, just let me sit down somewhere out of the way," he protests, though accepting the hand to help him up. he is aware enough to admit that sitting on the ground next to the remnants of a collapsed building when he feels unsteady enough to maybe fall back in is not a good idea. "i will be fine, i just need some rest."
Post by maddox rothscus ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 6:21:39 GMT
apart from moosely, kasimir has to be one of the most stubborn people he's met. he waves the offered hand around for a moment, stilling only when kasimir's eyes refocus and he replies once more. maddox is not convinced.
"that's a terrible idea," he says bluntly, gripping kasimir's arm firmly to pull him up. "how about this: you will go get a potion, let the medics make sure you're not going to pass out on the way back, and then you will go take a nap and rest, and not stop to rescue a stray cat or something on the way back."
part of him is certain that his advice will go unheeded, and that kasimir may very well insist on further assisting something or other. then he remembers that kirjava has some modicum of common sense and does care very much about her witch, and will likely persuade him from doing anything too stupid. ( moosely, following this train of thought, reassures maddox that he is only ever a partner in crime, and would never dissuade maddox from doing anything stupid simply because it is too fun to witness. )
"seriously, you should take better care of yourself," he insists, now looking over to the plain white medic tent not too far off. "it'll just take a minute, then you can go back and rest and leave some heroics for the rest of us."
#items: operationalization of magic, volume 1 full reset episkey
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 6:55:02 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
"ow," he says in a rather detached tone at the pull on his shoulder as maddox hauls him up, the soreness of muscles from his fight earlier on in the day now making itself known again with a vengeance. he is vaguely surprised his limbs are awake enough to feel pain though, which is probably a good sign. or a bad sign? he is not sure, at the moment. thinking is becoming increasingly difficult.
but his brain is still working well enough to know that he really really does not want to be sent to the care of the medical tent, much less be forced to drink unknown potions. he has had enough unknown potions for a lifetime. "no potions," he manages to say with as much firmness as he can muster, briefly considering using an illusion to enhance his authority before giving up the idea before it can germinate. he promptly forgets what the rest of is argument was though, and just repeats, "please, no potions."
it is here that he makes an important discovery: maddox makes for a very nice support. very solid, very firm. were he more coherent, he would most certainly be mortified by the way he is all but sagging into his partner's side, but currently the emotion is a bit beyond him, just like intelligible sentences are. he blinks as the white blur of the medical tent swims into view, then remembers hazily what he had been protesting. "just sit me down here," he says, tugging on maddox's arm, before he decides to take matters into his own hands and promptly sits himself down right there and then. "not heroics. i'll be fine."
Post by maddox rothscus ✨ on Jul 2, 2018 7:42:45 GMT
"fine," he says, relenting, "no potions." he doesn't understand an aversion to them, but he doesn't particularly care for it right now, nor does he think the summoner could offer him any coherent explanation right now. he is simply glad that kasimir is agreeing to go to the medic's tent. moosely lingers for a moment, watching to make sure neither fall, before he eventually does wander off to assist further with the cleanup. after all, that's one whole (former) building to deal with now.
he's really not sure how much walking kasimir is actually doing right now; it feels almost like he is half-dragging, half-carrying kasimir along. he doesn't complain, though, and simply makes his way there slowly and steadily. thankfully, kasimir isn't particularly heavy. for someone who seems to have made a habit of wrestling with their oversized familiar, the journey there is more of a challenge in not tripping than in lifting.
one of the medics rushes forward as they approach, looking both very tired and very alarmed as kasimir simply sits down, unceremonious and decisive. even maddox is a little startled, for a moment worried that he had truly passed out, before he simply looks down with mild amusement.
he leans down, gives the red-haired witch a friendly pat on the shoulder, and repeats, "no heroics." there is the sound of hooves outside the tent all of a sudden; maddox straightens back up. "i better get back to work before moosely tramples me to death," he says cheerfully. "take care, alright?"
and with that, he breezes back out of the tent, comforted by the fact that, one, kasimir will probably be fine; and two, the rest of the buildings look far more stable than the last one.
#items: operationalization of magic, volume 1 full reset episkey