2 Aug 2018, 01:08
Cabin of the Lethifold
Angela opened her eyes. Her mind was clear again. She didn't have to run anymore. She
could stay right here. It was okay.
She was lying down in silvery grass. She must have been sleeping. It was a misty night. It wasn't cold anymore. Just peaceful.
Navy blue sky was circling above her quietly. Some stars could be seen. Swirling golden clouds were taking shapes. Golden owls. Golden dragons. Golden butterflies. They were all leaning towards her. Waiting. She reached out her hand.
Come.
And like the sky has overflown, they all surged towards her at once from every direction, a million creatures at her command. They surrounded her in a thick whirl of wings and feathers, cooing, whispering, fluttering, made of golden, ethereal light, moving, overbearing, blinding...
---
Angela opened her eyes the second time. There was something very wrong going on.
It was dark again. There were only three winged creatures left. Three brave, glowing Hippogriffs surrounding her closely, protecting her with their wings. Beyond them there was only darkness. It already ate up almost the entire world, leaving only this small circle.
She felt anger growing inside her chest.
How dare you? I am the Lethifold. You are nothing. How dare you eat my army? You think they are gone? Don't you know they are mine? You only weakened yourself. Come and fight!
Her wand was in her hand, and the darkness seemed to hesitate. It didn't even have a voice now. It was nothing. It was a lack. What was there to be scared of?
She looked the biggest, brightest Hippogriff straight in the eyes. There was the same anger in there. She broke the winged circle and walked to his side. When he kneeled, she was able to climb his back.
Then they will come for you, coward!
She pointed her wand and the darkness exploded.
All the golden birds and dragons started appearing again everywhere, pecking, burning, tearing the black curtain from the inside. The black shreds were hissing and dying in the golden glow. Black hands were torn apart. Black dragon roaring in fear.
See how fun it is to be eaten?
It was a satisfying sight and she wanted to watch longer, but the Hippogriffs knew they have something more to do elsewhere. And they flew up and up through the battle, and no darkness could touch them at all.
---
Angela opened her eyes the third time. She could hear Edric calling her. The egg walls were glowing bright like molten lava. She was furious.
You think you can scare me? You think you can mess with my dreams? You should be scared of me.
She sat up straight, ready to jump for her wand and attack the shadows, wherever they were coming from. It was time for revenge.
I'm here, Edric. And you... Show yourself!
could stay right here. It was okay.
She was lying down in silvery grass. She must have been sleeping. It was a misty night. It wasn't cold anymore. Just peaceful.
Navy blue sky was circling above her quietly. Some stars could be seen. Swirling golden clouds were taking shapes. Golden owls. Golden dragons. Golden butterflies. They were all leaning towards her. Waiting. She reached out her hand.
Come.
And like the sky has overflown, they all surged towards her at once from every direction, a million creatures at her command. They surrounded her in a thick whirl of wings and feathers, cooing, whispering, fluttering, made of golden, ethereal light, moving, overbearing, blinding...
---
Angela opened her eyes the second time. There was something very wrong going on.
It was dark again. There were only three winged creatures left. Three brave, glowing Hippogriffs surrounding her closely, protecting her with their wings. Beyond them there was only darkness. It already ate up almost the entire world, leaving only this small circle.
She felt anger growing inside her chest.
How dare you? I am the Lethifold. You are nothing. How dare you eat my army? You think they are gone? Don't you know they are mine? You only weakened yourself. Come and fight!
Her wand was in her hand, and the darkness seemed to hesitate. It didn't even have a voice now. It was nothing. It was a lack. What was there to be scared of?
She looked the biggest, brightest Hippogriff straight in the eyes. There was the same anger in there. She broke the winged circle and walked to his side. When he kneeled, she was able to climb his back.
Then they will come for you, coward!
She pointed her wand and the darkness exploded.
All the golden birds and dragons started appearing again everywhere, pecking, burning, tearing the black curtain from the inside. The black shreds were hissing and dying in the golden glow. Black hands were torn apart. Black dragon roaring in fear.
See how fun it is to be eaten?
It was a satisfying sight and she wanted to watch longer, but the Hippogriffs knew they have something more to do elsewhere. And they flew up and up through the battle, and no darkness could touch them at all.
---
Angela opened her eyes the third time. She could hear Edric calling her. The egg walls were glowing bright like molten lava. She was furious.
You think you can scare me? You think you can mess with my dreams? You should be scared of me.
She sat up straight, ready to jump for her wand and attack the shadows, wherever they were coming from. It was time for revenge.
I'm here, Edric. And you... Show yourself!
Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.
Angela Silverberry || Sta: 4 | Agi: 6 | Str: 4 | Con: 7 | Arc: 3 | Acc: 6
Angela Silverberry || Sta: 4 | Agi: 6 | Str: 4 | Con: 7 | Arc: 3 | Acc: 6
2 Aug 2018, 17:33
Cabin of the Lethifold
"these nightmares wrap their evil hands around my soul at night, they try to pull me deep within a world that's ruled with fright. these dark thoughts may follow me but they'll never win the fight. i'll escape the looming shadows with the help of dawn's first light."
Usually, Rosie embraced darkness. When she shut her eyes and all she was faced with was the dark, she felt like she didn't even exist in the moment. It was a technique she used when she was younger. Whenever her father or mother would lecture her on something, she'd shut her eyes and block out their voices by covering her ears. If she didn't exist, they couldn't yell at her. Of course, this was obviously not the case, and Rosie ended up being yelled at more for making such an odd escape from their lecture. But it worked for Rosie.
But this wasn't like that.
Rosie had her eyes open, but all she saw was darkness. Her ears were open, she could hear everything. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest, and ready to come out of her throat. Her shaky hand gripped the wand, and she looked down at it desperately when Lumos didn't cast. "Wh-Wh-" She stuttered. Why wasn't it working? Rosie's eyes fell back up to the darkness. Why couldn't she see anything?
But then she started to hear whispers.
Rosie's heart might as well have come up her throat, because whispers started to fill her ears and head. What was going on? She let out a quiet whimper and shut her eyes. "No..no..no-" She mumbled, covering her head. Rosie's eyes fluttered open when she realized who the voices were.
Poor Rosie.
No friends. No one loves you.
W O R T H L E S S.
No. That's wrong. They'd never say that to her. Well, Max? Maybe. But Anatole and Eris would never say those heartless words to her. Never. Rosie couldn't believe that. She started backing up on her feet, shaking her head. She wasn't a coward. Rosie wasn't a coward. She planted her feet back down, and clenched her fists, trying to talk over the whispers. "I-I am not worthless. I am a Lethifold. I am brave. I am resilient. I am not a coward. You don't scare me!" She yelled, stomping her foot.
YOU ARE A LETHIFOLD, ROSIE.
With that thought in mind, Rosie looked around. Her cabinmates had to be here somewhere. She didn't have time for degrading thoughts. Something was very wrong.
And she had to do something.
STAMINA 13 // EVASION 13 // STRENGTH 6 // WISDOM 6 // ARCANE POWER 9 // ACCURACY 8
7 Aug 2018, 00:27
Cabin of the Lethifold
I Am The Lethifold
Lyonel
The mind is truly something. It can show us all our hopes and dreams, ponder the difficult thoughts and make sense of truth and lies that would see us go mad, compartmentalize the good and the bad memories and keep them separate, never to cross paths for fear of consumption, and remind us of what makes us unique, powerful creatures far above any species to walk the earth. It is truly something, for it also shows us our greatest fears, wants, failings. It reminds us that all is not as they seem, that we are not walking in flowerbeds touched by rainbows and sunshine. There is cruelty in the world, most of which we inflict on ourselves unknowingly. Ask ourselves, we must, what do we want? We have to mean it. We have to believe it. We have to understand it, or it would all be for nothing.
Nothing, just like the war being raged in [Lyonel]'s mind as his body sat paralyzed under the tender hold of the shadow that embraced him. Fear, a powerful fear, one that was all-encompassing in its persistent whittling away of the boy's psyche. He would not survive in this world, for his fear is unwonted and impractical, impossible to tame, impossible to live with. "This is a mercy, young Lyonel. Escape with me. They do not understand you. They will never understand you." The whispers were soft, almost cooing, lulling the boy into a stupor that could be exploited. And all the while the culmination of his deepest fear swallowed him. The representation of fear as the shadow consumed him was almost at his throat, and it was a matter of moments before he ceased to exist.
Nothing, just like the war being raged in [Lyonel]'s mind as his body sat paralyzed under the tender hold of the shadow that embraced him. Fear, a powerful fear, one that was all-encompassing in its persistent whittling away of the boy's psyche. He would not survive in this world, for his fear is unwonted and impractical, impossible to tame, impossible to live with. "This is a mercy, young Lyonel. Escape with me. They do not understand you. They will never understand you." The whispers were soft, almost cooing, lulling the boy into a stupor that could be exploited. And all the while the culmination of his deepest fear swallowed him. The representation of fear as the shadow consumed him was almost at his throat, and it was a matter of moments before he ceased to exist.
"Scourgify!"
”Scourgify. Scourgify! Scourgify!” "Aren’t you a wizard? You can't even manage a spell?" "I am. I am! Leave me alone!" Frantic thoughts the shadows could contend with, for the boy was wildly lashing out with what he thought he believed. "I'm not… a wizard." "You're not?" The eyes in the darkness watched, waited. "I am a L-Lethifold" The shadows laughed and spat their abuse at him, unconvinced. "You're not. You're not!" The consumption was complete. He rested in the belly of the shadow that continued its wretched laughter, sated by its easy prey. But then something began to stir. It was almost like... "I am a Lethifold. I am a Lethifold! I AM A LETHIFOLD!" The shadow slowly relinquished its hold over the boy and crept away, seeping impossibly deeper into the wall directly behind as it watched. "You are." The voice faded into nothing and Lyonel found himself relatively free from the wickedness that had almost consumed him.
But something was not right. The moment he started to relax he could hear it. The incessant cackle that haunted his nightmares was back, or it had never left. He could feel the sting of the cold darkness that hung like a weight on his head. "You are no Lethifold! You are food!" Where had he gone wrong? What did he not do? Everything. And nothing. He did not believe. A frantic utterance of hopes and dreams were not enough to invoke the power of true imagination. The cacophony of fragmented thoughts was not so easily swayed. Lyonel did not yet understand. The rule of three was not invoked by word alone. He did not yet believe. He had yet to truly imagine. He was weak. He would not survive. His loss was inevitable. His death was nigh. The darkness lashed out with a shaded tendril across the boy's left arm and another across the left side of his neck. Thin cuts opened along the two areas and the metallic smell of blood filled the boy's nostrils. He was bleeding. He needed to know that this was no dream. This is no dream. The shadows were laughing their hateful laugh until they were all he could hear, all he could see. And when the fear and finality finally struck, they fed, cloaking the boy in overpowering darkness.
He would be dead within the minute.
But something was not right. The moment he started to relax he could hear it. The incessant cackle that haunted his nightmares was back, or it had never left. He could feel the sting of the cold darkness that hung like a weight on his head. "You are no Lethifold! You are food!" Where had he gone wrong? What did he not do? Everything. And nothing. He did not believe. A frantic utterance of hopes and dreams were not enough to invoke the power of true imagination. The cacophony of fragmented thoughts was not so easily swayed. Lyonel did not yet understand. The rule of three was not invoked by word alone. He did not yet believe. He had yet to truly imagine. He was weak. He would not survive. His loss was inevitable. His death was nigh. The darkness lashed out with a shaded tendril across the boy's left arm and another across the left side of his neck. Thin cuts opened along the two areas and the metallic smell of blood filled the boy's nostrils. He was bleeding. He needed to know that this was no dream. This is no dream. The shadows were laughing their hateful laugh until they were all he could hear, all he could see. And when the fear and finality finally struck, they fed, cloaking the boy in overpowering darkness.
He would be dead within the minute.
Edric
The shadow lashed out once again, lunging for Silvertalon in its fury. [Edric]'s warning thwarted its attempt, for the Hippogriff was well-trained and knew to follow the command without a second thought. The shadow clung to the wall and moved with them, following their every move, watching them like a predator does prey. This predator would not tire. It would not stop. It would haunt their waking nightmare until nothing of them was left. The three Hippogriffs flying in practised unison was a majestic sight to behold. Their fierce pride could intimidate lesser beasts, but the shadows knew no such fear. They brought the fear, commanded its submission, and used it to bind their unsuspecting prey. No one is safe. There! Swiftfeather had glided too close. She was prey. She would fall. The shadow again released itself from the wall, ready to wrap its darkness around the unsuspecting Hippogriff, but again it had to relent as its efforts were thwarted by the unexpected.
Edric was finally beginning to understand the power he held within this space. Power enough to drive the shadows away. Blinding light. Burning light. Seething light. A soul-shattering scream rents the air as the amalgam of bronze, silver and gold shone with adamant intent, casting light where there was darkness. The shadow that stalked them was no more, the light tearing it asunder until not even its memory remained. Many of the others followed its example, for they too were powerless against the joyous light. The room was blessed with a glow that dispelled evil and its cousins, wry screams proclaiming their death as the shadows faded from existence. [Lyonel] had much to thank Edric for. The boy was saved by this beautiful light. The shadow that slowly digested him fell victim to the brilliance, and it too faded into nothing, leaving Lyonel on the ground, cold, pale, shivering, bleeding, toeing the line between the living and the dead. He could bask in the radiance of light, for it was rejuvenating in its persistence.
Bright the light may be, but it could not capture the essence of every shadow that lingered and hid in the room. Some were not so weak. Others thrived in its presence. Even as the second ball of light joined the glow of the Hippogriffs, a powerful shadow, the most powerful of them all, released its hold over [Rosie] and the nightmare it inflicted, reforming into a solid mass of pitch in the very centre of the room. It became darker, more pronounced, something far more real and worthy of fear than any of the other shadows had been. It made no sound, it had no singular form, it just was. The smaller shadows in the room that had hidden away from the light were now being absorbed into the mass of absolute darkness, and even as the room glowed brighter it seemed to get darker still. There were no shadows left but the black omen in the room's core. It watched them all in different corners of the room without eyes.
Edric was an inspiration, and the others could take an example from him. He inspired love and warmth in others, and with the power of his thoughts, he could channel these things into reality, making them a force to be reckoned with. He understood the professor's words, but not in the way that another of his peers did. He did not possess the insurmountable will that Celynne boasted, and he knew better than to invoke a power he did not fully understand. But he believed, and he imagined, and these brought him to understand. "We are the Lethifolds." This is their space. This is their territory. The shadows that claimed to be what they were are nothing more than unwanted intruders. They invaded a place that was not their own, believing they would find prey. But the hunters would soon become the hunted, for the true Lethifolds were already here.
Edric was finally beginning to understand the power he held within this space. Power enough to drive the shadows away. Blinding light. Burning light. Seething light. A soul-shattering scream rents the air as the amalgam of bronze, silver and gold shone with adamant intent, casting light where there was darkness. The shadow that stalked them was no more, the light tearing it asunder until not even its memory remained. Many of the others followed its example, for they too were powerless against the joyous light. The room was blessed with a glow that dispelled evil and its cousins, wry screams proclaiming their death as the shadows faded from existence. [Lyonel] had much to thank Edric for. The boy was saved by this beautiful light. The shadow that slowly digested him fell victim to the brilliance, and it too faded into nothing, leaving Lyonel on the ground, cold, pale, shivering, bleeding, toeing the line between the living and the dead. He could bask in the radiance of light, for it was rejuvenating in its persistence.
Bright the light may be, but it could not capture the essence of every shadow that lingered and hid in the room. Some were not so weak. Others thrived in its presence. Even as the second ball of light joined the glow of the Hippogriffs, a powerful shadow, the most powerful of them all, released its hold over [Rosie] and the nightmare it inflicted, reforming into a solid mass of pitch in the very centre of the room. It became darker, more pronounced, something far more real and worthy of fear than any of the other shadows had been. It made no sound, it had no singular form, it just was. The smaller shadows in the room that had hidden away from the light were now being absorbed into the mass of absolute darkness, and even as the room glowed brighter it seemed to get darker still. There were no shadows left but the black omen in the room's core. It watched them all in different corners of the room without eyes.
Edric was an inspiration, and the others could take an example from him. He inspired love and warmth in others, and with the power of his thoughts, he could channel these things into reality, making them a force to be reckoned with. He understood the professor's words, but not in the way that another of his peers did. He did not possess the insurmountable will that Celynne boasted, and he knew better than to invoke a power he did not fully understand. But he believed, and he imagined, and these brought him to understand. "We are the Lethifolds." This is their space. This is their territory. The shadows that claimed to be what they were are nothing more than unwanted intruders. They invaded a place that was not their own, believing they would find prey. But the hunters would soon become the hunted, for the true Lethifolds were already here.
Asteria
One possessed an indomitable will, another possessed jubilant understanding. The next, [Asteria], possessed raw, uninhibited imagination. Her mind held a power she herself did not, could not understand, but it understood her and knew what she wanted without conscious thought of her own. "We have come to eat!" Valtome. There could be no mistake. The voice was far too individual to belong to anyone else. And yet it had not been meant to be heard as such. Wild thoughts challenged the shadows, and a glimmer of the truth was revealed to her against their wishes. They lashed out in earnest, hoping to strike her down where she stood, but her reckless thoughts could not be contained. She pushed them away without effort, and as she did so she retreated to the roots of her mind. Logic. She wished to invoke the power of logic in a world that thrived on the illogical. She wished to employ the practical in a world that wallowed in the impractical. What would she do? How would she do it? The space waited with bated breath for the ministrations of her turbulent imagination.
Light! She had no need to give it any amount of greater thought, for the space had been waiting. The space had been ready to bend to her whims. The light, before she had even dreamed of its form and size, had already started to form in the air high above her, blue and brilliant in its scintillating radiance. It joined and hugged the light from Edric's Hippogriffs, becoming something alive that worked to fulfil an unspoken wish. It pulsed and throbbed as it grew in size, bathing the space in light and warmth. It was like a small star conjured to dispel the darkness. Asteria and Edric may not know it, but they had brought them all one step closer to the final stage. For the stage was set, and the darkness that hung over Rosie was now ready to put an end to the display of understanding. It formed, absorbed the other dying shadows, and became something of nightmares that only the most twisted of souls could dream.
'We are the Lethifolds.' "Think it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Dream it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Believe it." A man with a flair for the dramatics tended to drench his words in hyperbole, but these words were true. "We are the Lethifolds" he had repeated thrice. Lethifolds. The kids did not yet fully understand, but they were close. They were closer than they had been, and would get closer still as the truth came to light. The mass of darkness in the light was the example. What were they not seeing?
Light! She had no need to give it any amount of greater thought, for the space had been waiting. The space had been ready to bend to her whims. The light, before she had even dreamed of its form and size, had already started to form in the air high above her, blue and brilliant in its scintillating radiance. It joined and hugged the light from Edric's Hippogriffs, becoming something alive that worked to fulfil an unspoken wish. It pulsed and throbbed as it grew in size, bathing the space in light and warmth. It was like a small star conjured to dispel the darkness. Asteria and Edric may not know it, but they had brought them all one step closer to the final stage. For the stage was set, and the darkness that hung over Rosie was now ready to put an end to the display of understanding. It formed, absorbed the other dying shadows, and became something of nightmares that only the most twisted of souls could dream.
'We are the Lethifolds.' "Think it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Dream it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Believe it." A man with a flair for the dramatics tended to drench his words in hyperbole, but these words were true. "We are the Lethifolds" he had repeated thrice. Lethifolds. The kids did not yet fully understand, but they were close. They were closer than they had been, and would get closer still as the truth came to light. The mass of darkness in the light was the example. What were they not seeing?
Angela
One possessed an indomitable will, another possessed jubilant understanding. The next possessed raw, uninhibited imagination. [Angela] possessed the freedom to traverse the dreamscape as she pleased. Her dreams were wrought with peace, tranquillity, silvery, dew-kissed grass with skies of blue and clouds of gold. Golden clouds that she called friends. They watched her, waited patiently for her, protected her. She beckoned. They came. A beauteous blur of gold and wings surrounded her in this waking dream, fighting a battle she was only half aware of. The shadows had almost consumed her, would have consumed her had she not called for her friends. They fought the valiant fight, the loss great, and the victory greater. Three remained. One remained. Dozens remained. The dozens watched the one past the three, imposing their collective wills into her space, attempting to invade her dreamscape and make it their own. The minute she opened her eyes she would see all the damage that had been done. She would see the inviting darkness waiting, watching, drifting ever closer.
I am the Lethifold. She understood much, yet she understood nothing. The shadows registered hesitation as she spoke to them in their own language, but the voice was not their own. She was not one of them. She was lack. She was nothing. They had nothing to fear. They loomed, poised to strike. The moment she ascended the back of the Hippogriff they made the move, ready to devour their prey. But they erred. Her power to dream within her dream was too much to contend with, but she still did not understand. The report of gold exploded from within, the inky darkness unprepared to counter such an invasive display. The hollers and screams of myriad voices wailed through the darkness as they died by the score, torn, burnt, eaten, dissolved by the very light they tried to snuff out. The light erupted from within, and there was nothing they could do but fade into the ether as they, in turn, were swallowed from the inside out. Angela closed her eyes and stepped within her dream, only to open them a third time to find herself airborne and awash with a brilliance of gold, silver, bronze and blue.
The three golden Hippogriffs that she called friends reflected this light threefold. The Wiccan rule of three. Whatever energy is put into the world, whether positive or negative, will be returned three times. Three Hippogriffs each. Three sources of light. The darkness stood no chance as the crux of positive energy overflowed into the space. Nothing was free from its brilliance. Where once there had been darkness within the room, nothing but tenebrous madness, now there was nothing but light to illuminate everything. Nothing. Nothing but the big blotch of nothing that used this light to empower its final stand. It hung in the centre of the room watching them all, doing nothing as of yet. Angela, miraculously, was in the air with Edric, while also waking from a dream within her egg. When she spoke in response to Edric her voice came from two places at once. Angela was in two places at once! Yes. Her power to negotiate the mysteries of the dreamscape was finally seeing the light of day. Quite literally. She flew high above with Edric and the Hippogriffs, and she stood below in the protective bubble of her shell, ready to face the darkness.
I am the Lethifold. She understood much, yet she understood nothing. The shadows registered hesitation as she spoke to them in their own language, but the voice was not their own. She was not one of them. She was lack. She was nothing. They had nothing to fear. They loomed, poised to strike. The moment she ascended the back of the Hippogriff they made the move, ready to devour their prey. But they erred. Her power to dream within her dream was too much to contend with, but she still did not understand. The report of gold exploded from within, the inky darkness unprepared to counter such an invasive display. The hollers and screams of myriad voices wailed through the darkness as they died by the score, torn, burnt, eaten, dissolved by the very light they tried to snuff out. The light erupted from within, and there was nothing they could do but fade into the ether as they, in turn, were swallowed from the inside out. Angela closed her eyes and stepped within her dream, only to open them a third time to find herself airborne and awash with a brilliance of gold, silver, bronze and blue.
The three golden Hippogriffs that she called friends reflected this light threefold. The Wiccan rule of three. Whatever energy is put into the world, whether positive or negative, will be returned three times. Three Hippogriffs each. Three sources of light. The darkness stood no chance as the crux of positive energy overflowed into the space. Nothing was free from its brilliance. Where once there had been darkness within the room, nothing but tenebrous madness, now there was nothing but light to illuminate everything. Nothing. Nothing but the big blotch of nothing that used this light to empower its final stand. It hung in the centre of the room watching them all, doing nothing as of yet. Angela, miraculously, was in the air with Edric, while also waking from a dream within her egg. When she spoke in response to Edric her voice came from two places at once. Angela was in two places at once! Yes. Her power to negotiate the mysteries of the dreamscape was finally seeing the light of day. Quite literally. She flew high above with Edric and the Hippogriffs, and she stood below in the protective bubble of her shell, ready to face the darkness.
Rosie
One possessed an indomitable will, another possessed jubilant understanding. The next possessed raw, uninhibited imagination. One possessed the freedom to traverse the dreamscape. And one, [Rosie], possessed an untouchable innocence that the nightmares and their hateful lies could not fathom. The girl said it best. "I-I am not worthless. I am a Lethifold. I am brave. I am resilient. I am not a coward. You don't scare me!" A moment of irreproachable defiance that stayed the malice that the shadow visited upon her. It tried again. "Poor Rosie." "No friends. No one loves you." "Worthless." The voices were her friends, the people she trusted for whatever reason she trusted them. They were hurling abuse at her. They called her vile names, told her secrets that no child should ever have to hear. They wanted her bent. They wanted her broken. They wanted to consume her. They wanted her. They could go no further.
Untouchable innocence. She could not be swayed. She simply...ignored the thoughts that wanted to break her, resting her thoughts with her friends whom she knew would be close. The darkness could do nothing to her, no matter how it tried, and it was only so that as the lights cast by Edric, Asteria, and Angela dazzled the room, the shadow retreated from Rosie. Her rejection of its existence denied its power, but it was not enough to deny the nightmare that followed. A battle of the mind had failed, but a battle of the body and soul would not. She could no sooner deny what was real than she could deny her own self. A dream within a dream. A dream within reality. A dream that was nothing, and everything. How would they fare against the new threat that wanted nothing more than to swallow them into the void?
Untouchable innocence. She could not be swayed. She simply...ignored the thoughts that wanted to break her, resting her thoughts with her friends whom she knew would be close. The darkness could do nothing to her, no matter how it tried, and it was only so that as the lights cast by Edric, Asteria, and Angela dazzled the room, the shadow retreated from Rosie. Her rejection of its existence denied its power, but it was not enough to deny the nightmare that followed. A battle of the mind had failed, but a battle of the body and soul would not. She could no sooner deny what was real than she could deny her own self. A dream within a dream. A dream within reality. A dream that was nothing, and everything. How would they fare against the new threat that wanted nothing more than to swallow them into the void?
Syrah | Celynne | Kyden | Elora
[Syrah] slept. Darkness, understanding, belief. None of it meant anything to her as she slept. The shadows have stopped their creeping, hovering over her paralyzed form with mouth-watering glee, ready to delve in and claim their prize. They started from the limbs, engulfing them in a darkness that only exists at midnight. She was cold, she was alone, she was helpless. There was nothing she could do alone. Nothing she could do to set herself free as the darkness consumed her whole. Nothing but her head remained, and that too would be gone within seconds. This was the end of Syrah. We knew her well, but the shadows had taken her. She is no more. [Celynne] is a Lethifold. Her will could not be tested. She is a girl with her head stuck in books, books that had sharpened her mind to withstand the test of logic, emotion, reason. The shadows cannot sway her. The shadows cannot touch her. The shadows cannot be her. The beautiful words she lived by: Fabula de Magicae in Bibliotheca Logicae.
[Kyden] slept. His room remained staunch in the face of all that would do him harm. But the question is begged as the room descends further into madness. How long will such protection last? [Elora] slept. Her dreams soured by nightmares that invaded her safe space in search of something. The overpowering thought in her mind met resistance in the form of a glass badger fighting feverishly to protect a friend. It was failing, for the thought was too powerful to be deterred by a toy abandoned. The reinforcements would not come. Its master had forsaken it. Its ward now forsook it. It was alone and dying, and with a final thrust of mental energy, the badger shattered impossibly into millions of shards that Elora would feel like burning splashes of acid beneath her skin, fighting its way out rather than in. The thought persisted, finding the core of what made her who she was. And then it began to feast. It ate at her dreams. All her hopes, her wants, her future. It would devour until nothing was left. While it consumed from within, the shadows consumed from without. She would soon be no more than a distant memory.
[Kyden] slept. His room remained staunch in the face of all that would do him harm. But the question is begged as the room descends further into madness. How long will such protection last? [Elora] slept. Her dreams soured by nightmares that invaded her safe space in search of something. The overpowering thought in her mind met resistance in the form of a glass badger fighting feverishly to protect a friend. It was failing, for the thought was too powerful to be deterred by a toy abandoned. The reinforcements would not come. Its master had forsaken it. Its ward now forsook it. It was alone and dying, and with a final thrust of mental energy, the badger shattered impossibly into millions of shards that Elora would feel like burning splashes of acid beneath her skin, fighting its way out rather than in. The thought persisted, finding the core of what made her who she was. And then it began to feast. It ate at her dreams. All her hopes, her wants, her future. It would devour until nothing was left. While it consumed from within, the shadows consumed from without. She would soon be no more than a distant memory.
Lethifold
They knew what it was. They had to have known after all they had witnessed. Shadows that attacked while they dreamed. Shadows that ate the living. Living shadows that hugged the walls and materialized from nothing to claim their prey. They had to have known, for it was the cabin's namesake come to haunt their dreams and warp them into ugly nightmares. Nightmares so real it would follow them for a lifetime if they succumbed to it. If they gave it power. If they did not believe. The truth had been told to them many times, a form of defence that was riddled with flowery words from an eccentric individual. He had given them all they had needed to know what to do should such an occurrence rear its head. The head was reared, and the shadow hung like an omen in the middle of it all, distorted and unreal; singular and very real.
"I AM THE LETHIFOLD."
It spoke in a single, clear, known voice. There was no more hiding the truth. There was no longer a reason to. They had come this far. They understood more than they had before. The Lethifold was alive and larger than life, blotting out a greater portion of the room, easily dwarfing them all many times over. Had they learned anything? Did they finally understand what Valtome had been preaching all along? Would they stand a chance against this greater evil? Understand. Believe. Imagine. Conviction was the only thing with power enough to stop this thing as it readied to strike in whatever way it could. They needed to understand it. What it was, its purpose, what it wanted. All of this had been made clear before as it tormented them in its fractured form. They needed to believe it. Believe all that they had learned as they contended with the darkness. Believe in all that they had heard and learned from the moment they entered the cabin. They needed to imagine it. Imagination is power. Yet its only power is derived from the former two aspects that they needed to share. All present had to be ready or it would all fail.
There was no more time to think. The shadow was already challenging the very foundation of the space. A humming vibration reverberated from the walls, the floor, the ceiling. The walls and flooring began to crack, and the ceiling showed signs of battling an imminent collapse. Loose fragments of solid gold and silver tore from the walls and ceilings and started to fall like so much refuse to the ground below. Angela's egg started to crack. Celynne's space looked like a chaotic whirlwind had blown through. Edric's bed had been reduced to ash. Syrah's galaxy distorted and began to fade. Even Kyden's room, the unpassable stronghold that it has been till now, started to show signs of decay as an eerie darkness strangled the walls, crushing it from the outside. The entire structure of the cabin was starting to collapse in earnest. Large rubble falls all around them, threatening to crush and bury them beneath. The darkness that reached for them started to take hold as it crept along their forms slowly. They had no time. Something needed to be done.
Quickly, before it's too late. What is it that the professor had been saying this entire time? Think. What are the things most prominent in your minds? The things that stood out during the course of the events. Omne trium perfectum had been invoked long ago with a phrase that holds more significance that none but one has yet to fully understand. None but one had yet to fully believe. The girl fully understood the words, the boy fully believed the words, but the others had yet to fully grasp them. The two understood what the professor wished for them to do. Alone, you will fall. Together, nothing, not even the unparalleled persistence of the darkness, could remain.
There was no more time to think. The shadow was already challenging the very foundation of the space. A humming vibration reverberated from the walls, the floor, the ceiling. The walls and flooring began to crack, and the ceiling showed signs of battling an imminent collapse. Loose fragments of solid gold and silver tore from the walls and ceilings and started to fall like so much refuse to the ground below. Angela's egg started to crack. Celynne's space looked like a chaotic whirlwind had blown through. Edric's bed had been reduced to ash. Syrah's galaxy distorted and began to fade. Even Kyden's room, the unpassable stronghold that it has been till now, started to show signs of decay as an eerie darkness strangled the walls, crushing it from the outside. The entire structure of the cabin was starting to collapse in earnest. Large rubble falls all around them, threatening to crush and bury them beneath. The darkness that reached for them started to take hold as it crept along their forms slowly. They had no time. Something needed to be done.
Quickly, before it's too late. What is it that the professor had been saying this entire time? Think. What are the things most prominent in your minds? The things that stood out during the course of the events. Omne trium perfectum had been invoked long ago with a phrase that holds more significance that none but one has yet to fully understand. None but one had yet to fully believe. The girl fully understood the words, the boy fully believed the words, but the others had yet to fully grasp them. The two understood what the professor wished for them to do. Alone, you will fall. Together, nothing, not even the unparalleled persistence of the darkness, could remain.
"𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔰 𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔪 𝔬𝔪𝔫𝔦𝔞 𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔰"
14 Aug 2018, 04:33
Cabin of the Lethifold
Carpe Noctem.
There, there-- the creature was gone. It was no longer existent; it was fully, completely and irrevocably banished-- and with it, her fear of darkness. It had vanished like her nyctophobia often did as she became accustomed to the lack of light, and she became still and calm in the somber embrace of darkness.
It was the unknowing that scared her in the black night-- the frustrating, frightening notion of not knowing what was around her, what she could expect to come out of the darkness, what it hid in its depths. And when she didn't know what to expect, she assumed the worst, so as to never be disappointed-- and fortunately or unfortunately, she had a rather imaginative mind. As she feared, she would think, and as she thought, she would imagine, but tonight... tonight was time for a different kind of imagination.
Softly, deftly, she stood and pivoted in one motion, scanning the cabin-- had anyone else quite broken free before her? Still her mind felt muffled, still, her senses seemed dampened, but she could see now-- see the others in their own struggles; the ones asleep, the one by the hallway.
And they were failing.
The blonde one-- he was there, he'd been awake, but he was not strong enough, not steady enough. Syrah, the girl from the Hospital Wing-- her Lethifold triumphed as she slept. The others-- a majority were not in immediate but definitely would be in harsh danger. The only other who held his own strongly seemed to be... Edric the Slytherin with his Hippogriffs, and still the shadows lingered to eat away at the cabin's doubts.
Seldom was Cel in such a position-- she'd conquered her opponent; the rest was up to her. There was a reason she spent her school year in the Ravenclaw Tower, and she did not flaunt the trademark Gryffindor bravery that the Sorting Hat had considered for her. But here she had the upper hand; here she had to decide for herself what to do. Option one: Stay and wait. Option two: Attempt to get between a Lethifold and a student. Option three: Wing it based on the inkling of a plan that her crazy brain had somehow concocted.
Curse her brain.
Another step, another step-- the girl carefully leaped over her tiny moat of clear water, strands of glass beads parting around her, their cool brush against her face like light rain on her skin, the whispers they made as each bead touched another as if exchanging secrets that were secrets no longer. Green-brown eyes fixed on the ceiling, Cel followed the dimming galaxy to its center-- above Syrah's section of the cabin, around her divider-- and there it was again, a patch of black by the waterbed on which Syrah lay asleep. Slowly she saw the blackness shift-- so black that the light of the galaxy seemed to be sucked into its core, not reflecting off but absorbed-- and she felt its tendril of consciousness poke experimentally at her own.
Who are you?
The other Umbra, the other shadow-- it had looked for her doubt; it had hoped to disable her with them, to confuse her then destroy her. It had been built to decimate her will by unstabilizing her understanding. It was strange, though, that it was her will that overpowered the Lethifold in the end... or was it because she understood its darkness, not her will at all? This one, however, was different. This Umbra sought not to unbalance her comprehension... You will not escape, it hissed at her, the path is closed to you... and darkness and night will forever rule. No, this one was for Syrah, matched her-- this one tried to keep her from imagining.
"I am Celynne Flores," she spoke, staring the Lethifold down. But you are not, you are not! You never were, and you never will be! The black presence cackled in glee, growing ever so slightly in its delight. Cel stopped, feeling herself losing, but returned just as quickly. And... why would she not be her name? "I am Celynne," she said again, more forcefully, and the darkness shrank again, a cacophony of overlapping growls and hisses sounding in her head. "And if night seeks to reign, I will be the queen of its realm."
So it shall be.
And yet her words did not deter this opponent. She needed... more. She needed a weapon against this; pretty words would not be enough. Cel needed light... light brighter than what she had now. The girl tilted her head up, again letting the glittering galaxy reflect in each eye, risking taking her attention away-- but the blackness didn't attack as she considered the light. It wasn't enough; the galaxy's light wasn't enough... she needed more of it. But how?
It was that feeling of some thought, some answer, some memory just beyond her reach, hovering so tantalizingly close yet just not within reach. The most vexing part of it was the knowledge that no matter how long one reached, it wouldn't come until it wanted to, and in the end, one would simply let go, give up. Now, though, as the young Ravenclaw began to so give up, she blinked--
It was the galaxy. She couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't quite wake-- she began to panic-- and then she touched something and started. So she could feel. It wasn't that she could reach out and touch it as one might reach out to tap on the stem of an apple, but the same space and action that her touching her Lethifold's consciousness had been in. Each spot of light dotting the galaxy, she could not quite see but feel, as the strands of the color inside one's closed eyes, were there, yet not quite there. But there were the minute patches of light, just barely there... and just a little ways away. There was the looming presence of the Lethifold, waiting-- for her next move, it seemed. And just as she did before, the girl unspooled a thread of her own mind, reaching toward the blackness.
Immediately she recoiled.
This one was different. Cel could not outthink, outspeak, outdo this one, built to stave off thought yet to be destroyed by it. Only Syrah could defeat this one... but Syrah could not help her, help her right the deterrent wrong she had felt upon contacting its consciousness. Not when Syrah was helpless as a sleeping child, which she was, at the moment.
...or couldn't she?
Again Cel touched one of the galaxy's lights, and the cold wrongness in the tip of her extended thread of thought disappeared, as did the light. So that was what the light did-- but there wasn't enough light, not enough to fully undermine the blackness that simply swallowed it up. This was Syrah's creation, and this was why Syrah was not already dead, but it was still not enough.
And what might Cel do about it?
Think it, the professor had told them. Dream it. Believe it. Three, the rule of three, omne trium perfectum. The aspect of imagination coming to life had disappeared... but this was not exactly life, was it? This was the level of consciousness on which creativity worked... and that, that was something she could definitely use.
Slowly, painstakingly, she imagined-- she thought-- she brought before her eyes an image, no, an object-- but she stopped. She had everything she needed here, provided by Syrah. Cel only neede to use that, to somehow unleash Syrah's imagination all on the Lethifold... so it was not an object or image she needed to conjure this time.
You will never escape this cage of darkness, the Lethifold tried, and while its words were lost in her thoughts, the alarm she heard in its voice was not. No, she needed for the galaxy to bend to not Syrah's, not Professor Valtome's, but to her will. Was that possible, for her to take Syrah's imagination, wield it as was fit, and use it to save its creator? At least try, her mind whispered. indeed, the anxious doubt in the Lethifold's communication was quite enough for her galvanization, for her move. She could not shut her eyes, but she withdrew her tendril of thought in favor of imagining in silence, undisturbed by the carefully orthodox, cold, solid Lethifold still feeding on the Slytherin girl or the solemnly bright lights littered throughout.
And then the galaxy moved.
She moved somehow and found her back in her body, the stars above her swirling in eddies of action. Per Aspera ad Astra-- and yet the stars moved now, clustering around the spot directly above where she stood-- the epicenter, if you will. Each particle of light spun into the cluster, and then in mere seconds, the light had ceased its steady weakening.
As the last speck of starlight flitted into the building, spiraling mass, streaks of blue-green light shifted across the ceiling like sidewinder rattlesnakes, their iridescence shedding teal light on everything below. Aurora borealis, her mind murmured to her in awe-- somehow they had joined the sky, their splendiferous, grand light show sprawling across the sky. As she stepped forward, moving toward the Umbra that had recoiled against the wall, still doing its best to feed, so did the Northern Lights, rippling across the deep ceiling to follow. Arching back, she reached two fingers toward the ceiling, and then she found herself back in the mental space again, yet still able to see, to hear, to move physically.
You, her own self sent flitting across to touch the Umbra. I imagine you, you no more. It snarled at her, a jumble of knotted frustration and anger-- much more complex than the last Lethifold, at least to her, her who did not recognize something built to unbalance another. Yet her words frightened it, and so the girl continued. Darkness does not exist in the face of light. I see light. Fiat Lux... I do not see you.
One moment it was there, another, it wasn't-- no parting words like the other had given her, no warning, just a vanishing out of the blue. It was like here when she thought of her belongings and pushed them from her mind, and they simply appeared, simply were... the same, yet reversed. And Syrah was... safe?
Dazed yet strangely wide awake, Cel closed her eyes, rocking back and forth on her feet for a few moments of peace. Syrah was all right, wasn't she? Cel had succeeded in this; why couldn't she just go back to sleep now if her mind would let her sleep in peace... Then her heterochromatic eyes snapped open.
The others.
In an instant for which she was not quite aware, she was conscious in the mental world again and searching, searching. Who else was in immediate danger? Who else was defenseless like Syrah? She did not see her Aurora join the nebula in the room, and yet she very much did notice Elora, nearly gone, Lyonel, alive and not threatened but barely so... and nearly all of them not making progress as she did. In her body, she moved, making her way out of Syrah's space, toward the hallway-- there, the blonde boy, half alive and pallid as a sheet. Still connected to both mind and body, she checked his pulse-- living, at least for now, though the Northern Lights, light in general, seemed to be helping him. On a whim, before she knew what she was doing, her own thought pulsated thrice through the net of consciousness.
Three words, English so as to be understood, so fast but so clear that one could not misunderstand them even as he or she questioned briefly their existence-- they streaked through the space that she had accessed, this half-dreaming, half-waking universe. Whether asleep or in wakefulness, each would hear, and each would know.
We are the Lethifolds
We are the Lethifolds
We are the Lethifolds
It wasn't until after her whimsical thought had been sent that she realized the destruction, the voice, the blackness that had blotted out her light. So the others had been fractured out of this monstrosity; after all, this... this creature was not so easy to defeat.
Now she understood, conscious of mind and body. Thought. Imagination. Belief. More. They were not like her, yet vital to her, just as she was vital to them. Celynne possessed understanding, not only of the situation but of the night-- she spoke its language, called her fear of it her own, comprehended its words, knew it like an old friend. She did not hold something to destroy the darkness. Cel's part was the wielder of the weapon, for she could deliver their words to the darkness that others could not, traverse their land as others could not.
She was one, one with the Lethifold-- a Lethifold too.
But no, the only other who could give her power, a weapon to wield, right now: Edric, the Slytherin boy. The others were not protected, not available, not present enough to fight-- and gods knew they needed to fight, now and no later. One alone could not do it, two alone could not do it either, but could two bring the others back as well? The logic ran through her mind at the speed of light; her decision was made: another pulse of thought was shot away, this time directed toward a single person, Edric:
Help Me
And she was back again, back in her body. For a moment she thought she had withdrawn herself completely, but no, the tiny, slightest little sliver of connection threaded her consciousness to the alien, otherworldly space, just enough to sense change... but oh, what had happened to the cabin? Her space was trashed, the ceiling had faded dangerously, and there, right there, that mass of shifting black... she felt her fear creeping up on her again.
No. The young girl shoved it away. No, that single thought, and the fear progressed no further. Now was not the time to be pulled under the surface, trapped in the clutches of her fear. Now, it was time for a confrontation.
Ave atque vale, Umbrae.
Reducio
Seize the Night
Hail and farewell, shadows.
Hail and farewell, shadows.
16 Aug 2018, 01:22
Cabin of the Lethifold
Asteria looked up at her light, wondering if it reached anyone else, when she noticed the size of it had grown larger than she had made it. Could someone else have shared her thoughts about light as well? She could say for certain it was not her that made it this big alone. If this was the case then that was good news, it meant that at least someone other than her was alright. She couldn't be so sure when it came to the others however. Asteria immediately began searching for her next idea, she looked around where she stood; stopping upon seeing something growing in what looked like the not so far distance from her light.
The thing that was growing was....darkness? It was dark, distorted, and disturbing, truly the personification of what the worst dream could look like. What Asteria saw near the giant mass made Asteria's eyes widen in shock. It was the girl that the professor had scolded earlier, if something wasn't done, Asteria feared it would not end well for the girl, or any of them for that matter. Asteria knew what
it was undoubtedly, a Lethifold. It was much more horrible than the smaller ones, but still she had to help the others and no matter how big it was, Asteria would not fear the being, nor would she let it stop her.
"I AM THE LETHIFOLD." the voice spoke in what Asteria now knew for certain was Professor Valtome's. "That you are." Asteria said to the creature, "But so are we." Asteria said, her voice showing the confidence and bravery that trademarked what made a Gryffindor a Gryffindor. 'I have to do something.' Asteria thought hard when an idea came to her. Looking back, "We are the Lethifolds." was not the only thing that the professor had said to them. 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Think it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Dream it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Believe it." "Think, Dream and Believe it.", surely this too followed the rule of three did it not? 'I conjured light to keep the darkness at bay, a storm drove them away, but in the end they only became one. 'she thought.
Asteria looked at the girl that laid asleep before her, she was certain the Lethifold must be giving her the worst dreams. Asteria mind went a mile a minute in search of a way to help her, 'Imagination, dreams,lethifold, believe, think....' Imagination, believe, dreams, lethifold.... Imagination, lethifold, dreams...lethifold...we are the lethifold. She would take this thing on that's for sure, but she can't do it alone. Thinking back to her light; Asteria came up with another idea, she imagined that her voice could carry loudly, hopefully if anyone was near by they could hear her. "HELLO! IS ANYONE ELSE AWAKE? HAS MY LIGHT REACHED YOU? PLEASE ANSWER!" Asteria's eyes never left the being as she spoke, only time would tell if it worked, but she prayed that it did.
The thing that was growing was....darkness? It was dark, distorted, and disturbing, truly the personification of what the worst dream could look like. What Asteria saw near the giant mass made Asteria's eyes widen in shock. It was the girl that the professor had scolded earlier, if something wasn't done, Asteria feared it would not end well for the girl, or any of them for that matter. Asteria knew what
it was undoubtedly, a Lethifold. It was much more horrible than the smaller ones, but still she had to help the others and no matter how big it was, Asteria would not fear the being, nor would she let it stop her.
"I AM THE LETHIFOLD." the voice spoke in what Asteria now knew for certain was Professor Valtome's. "That you are." Asteria said to the creature, "But so are we." Asteria said, her voice showing the confidence and bravery that trademarked what made a Gryffindor a Gryffindor. 'I have to do something.' Asteria thought hard when an idea came to her. Looking back, "We are the Lethifolds." was not the only thing that the professor had said to them. 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Think it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Dream it." 'We are the Lethifolds.' "Believe it." "Think, Dream and Believe it.", surely this too followed the rule of three did it not? 'I conjured light to keep the darkness at bay, a storm drove them away, but in the end they only became one. 'she thought.
Asteria looked at the girl that laid asleep before her, she was certain the Lethifold must be giving her the worst dreams. Asteria mind went a mile a minute in search of a way to help her, 'Imagination, dreams,lethifold, believe, think....' Imagination, believe, dreams, lethifold.... Imagination, lethifold, dreams...lethifold...we are the lethifold. She would take this thing on that's for sure, but she can't do it alone. Thinking back to her light; Asteria came up with another idea, she imagined that her voice could carry loudly, hopefully if anyone was near by they could hear her. "HELLO! IS ANYONE ELSE AWAKE? HAS MY LIGHT REACHED YOU? PLEASE ANSWER!" Asteria's eyes never left the being as she spoke, only time would tell if it worked, but she prayed that it did.