[META ORP] To New Horizons - FINALE page 22

[theCorniest]

Breeze puffed steadily, lagging a little behind even Half Truth. Since he couldn't pour on the speed, he focused on hitting as many stones as he could.

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[Scaramouche Fandango]

"Got it!" called Half Truth. She watched the stones as they flew under her feet. This path would cross over the first one up ahead, and she wanted to make sure she stayed on the correct set of stones.

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((OOC: we have until :26 to finish up!))  

[Mika_Yumi]

Dew Drop Sun gave a solid nod, "Good. We have to finish together!" She hoped that much harder that they would end in a tie, suddenly.

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[theCorniest]

Songbird-self and stag-self puffing away, Breeze kept is nose to the ground and watched his steps. He'd hit the bend later than the others, but it wouldn't do to lose focus.

15  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

They were nearly there now; she could see the racers ahead of her almost ready to touch the final stone. As long as they got there in time and didn't step on the stones outside their path...

She braced herself mentally for what was likely to come. It had not been good the last time. The suffocating light wasn't a pleasant memory. She slowed and caught Wildflower Breeze. "Did... did Motes tell you what happened when we woke the other obelisk? When someone hits that last stone, close your eyes."

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[Mika_Yumi]

The blonde doe cast a cheerful smile over at her running partner as he caught up to run beside her. She could make sure they finished on the same pace with him if they kept it up.

Realizing that the others behind them were not racing the way they were, Dew gasped enough breath to call back some encouragement, "We can make it, everyone! Keep running strong, we're almost there!"

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[theCorniest]

Breeze barely registered Half Truth's warning, so intent was he on the tasks before him. But, when her words penetrated, he remembered what Motes had said - the terrifying power the obelisk had emitted. He nodded, no longer having breath enough to speak, As he rounded the bend, he braced himself.

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[Mika_Yumi]

Dew Drop Sun hadn't heard the doe's warning behind them, and was slightly confused at Minstrel's warning. Nonetheless, with such urgency in his voice, she hardly had time to think to do anything else. "Okay!" Worried about being sure to hit the last stone, she closed her eyes nonetheless at the last moment.  

[theCorniest]

[[muffled rendition of we are the champions plays in the distance]]  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Their running done, Half Truth sprinted to Rose, her reserves exhausted. She pressed the other doe's face to her neck, hiding her eyes. She shut her own against Rose's hair and braced for what was likely to come.
 

[thyPOPE]

A circle has no beginning and no end - but when Minstrel's hoof touches the first and final stone, it glows very brightly. Observers and participants alike will realize that all five of the round stones are glowing.

The obelisk itself immediately begins to glow even brighter, brighter than it had at any point since their arrival. It becomes mesmerizing, a bright beam of light arcing into the sky, and all kin in the area feeling a pull towards the obelisk's light.

If you were a part of Lull in Sunlight's expedition, you feel very certain that touching the obelisk now will grant you safe passage back to the swamp.

If you are a kiokote who was born in the plains and have never left the plains, you feel a pull toward the obelisk. Touching it while it's glowing might mean that you won't see your home for a long while, though...

With this knowledge, you have a choice, do you touch the obelisk?

If you touch the obelisk...

You are immediately overtaken by visions of a colorless, formless place. As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but empty air. You hear nothing. You see nothing more than grey. Underneath your hooves is a ground made of small colorless pebbles that seem to reject being seen. Trying to examine anything too closely leads to the exact opposite, your eyes slipping away and losing sight of whatever it was you were looking for. Almost instinctively, you begin to walk.

There is no sense of movement, and that is distressing, so you begin to run. Despite the fact that it seems as if you are making no progress, eventually you see a tall tower rising in the distance, glowing from within. It seems as if you are moving now, but as you approach, darkness creeps into the edges of your vision, threatening...

Then you wake.

You are in the swamp, at the foot of the obelisk that's already been found there, and you are unimaginably tired. The walk here should have taken you at least a week, but you can't even tell whether the sun's position in the sky has changed. Overcome by the need to sleep, you lay down and tonight you dream...

If you helped pull up the grass or run the paths, when you dream you dream that you are chasing after something - or someone - that you want very much. It's so close - just within reach. You just need a little bit more speed. What do you do when you reach it? What have you been chasing? The feeling of success lingers in you for the remainder of the day after you've awoken, despite the eerie realization that the void that you saw before falling asleep was not just a vision, but reality. You are back in the swamp, where the first, dark obelisk lays, foreboding as ever. Touching it doesn't trigger any more strange dreams or out-of-body experiences, and it is completely unresponsive.

If you did not either pull up the grass or run the paths, your dream is tumultuous, unsettling. You are lost on the plains, but it is not as you left it. The grass has died, turned to rot underfoot. The trees have lost their leaves and stand curled over as if in pain. You run, hoping that you are heading back to the swamp, but instead, you come across the obelisk. It is glowing so strongly it hurts your eyes to look upon it. Ever step you take towards it weakens you, but you are sure that it will bring you home. You wake in a cold sweat, home in the swamp, but you feel unwell. Touching the obelisk here, in the waking world, does nothing; there is no pain, no reaction, no weakness. The next time you sleep, there are no strange dreams.

If you attempt to travel out of the swamp again, you are beset by the Ache, as usual. When you ask around, it's only been a few days since Lull in Sunlight's expedition first left the Swamp. And if anyone asks how you got home...you're really not sure. You're not sure how you could return to the plains, but something has changed...

If you are a kiokote who has never left the plains before, having entered the swamp, you are now affected by the Ache. Attempts to go home are met with failure. For now, you are stuck...

If you do not touch the obelisk...

You are able mingle for a while, enjoying the sights of the plains, but the crowd has thinned immensely - where has everyone gone? Eventually you are overcome by the need to sleep.

No one dreams in the shadow of the obelisk on the plains. Their sleep is so deep and so peaceful that nothing can wake them until they are ready.

If you have previously set foot in the swamp, when you wake, you Ache - physically and mentally, and Lull in Sunlight is not there to help you. All you can think about is returning home, to the swamp. Your travel is tired, painful, and slow, but you will not die--though that does not seem a mercy at the time. You've never traveled this far while feeling the effects of the Ache. It takes several days before you reach the swamp again, and when you do, you learn that the rest of the expedition has already arrived. If you attempt to travel out of the swamp again, you are again beset by the Ache, as usual.

If you are a kiokote who has never left the plains, you wake up and feel fine - but it looks like the expedition from the swamp has just vanished overnight. The obelisk is dormant again and all you are left with is a mystery.

Thank you for coming to claim the second obelisk! If you have reached 500 words in this thread, you may claim this thread as a legendary requirement. It'll be open until August 5, 2016 for a few more OOC days of roleplaying in case you need to reach word count, during which the obelisk's light will still glow very brightly. Just remember that before an hour or so in-character, your kin will either need to touch the obelisk or go to sleep.

If you reached 500 words in this thread, you may write a 500+ word solo about your dreams, or about your long trek home, and claim a legendary requirement for that. You may not claim legendary requirements for both this solo and the Ache solo released after all the grass was removed.  

[Mika_Yumi]

Dew Drop Sun kept her eyes closed, but she wasn't sure how long she was supposed to keep them closed. Actively squeezing her eyes shut was not giving her any read on the environment, however, and she pulled back a bit so that her eyes were closed, but she might be able to determine if, in fact, it was necessary to continue doing so. Things did seem... maybe brighter... but not so much that it seemed dangerous to open her eyes once more and see what was happening. Perhaps it would be fine to open her eyes, as long as she looked somewhere less likely to glow -- away from the stones and the obelisk itself.

Cautiously, Dew Drop Sun shuffled her hooves to make sure that she was no longer close to the path or the stone at the end of it, and somehow didn't bump into anyone around her on the way. When she felt stable, she turned her face down so that, when she opened her eyes, she was looking at the ground.

Something about the world was brighter, certainly, but it was not blinding. She was sure she could look around, but she wanted to still be cautious. She lifted her head slowly, could see the exaggerated shadows being cast, and began to slowly turn back to look at the obelisk, where the light seemed to be emanating from. The obelisk was glowing brighter than it had since they'd seen it, and casting an arc of light toward the sky -- bright, but not blinding. She blinked against the light and looked back at the group still standing at the end of the path.

"It's okay, you can open your eyes," she urged anyone who still had their eyes closed to look around them. She made sure that they all seemed to be safe, but turned her eyes back to the obelisk quickly after. There was something about it -- as if it were drawing her in. She could feel it somehow. Without saying anything else to her comrades, she began to slowly walk towards the obelisk. She couldn't explain it, but she was sure that she would be fine if she were to touch it. She was even feeling fairly certain that she should touch it. She was slowly approaching, but stopped halfway there to look back at the group.

"Is anyone else coming?" She was sure that it would be fine, that they would be fine if they came with her. Still, she hoped that she wasn't the only one heading for the obelisk. Was she the only one feeling its pull? Even if she was, she knew she wouldn't be deterred. She would continue on her path to the obelisk, but if someone wished to join, needed encouragement, she would wait for them.