Things of Myth and Legend - RP Version

[Dwayna DragonFire]

(( OOC: You yourselves will be some of the survivors of this calamity, finding your way to success... or failure. Please PM me your interest in this RP, and your favourite colors might have some bearing on which quest I end up giving the team I will decide for you. Some of you might get totally NPC groups depending on how many people sign up.

EDIT: I have decided that you do not have to be human. Please feel free to throw your ideas at me. I am still open for having other people join.))

BIC:

Humans were always such a peculiar species. They fought constantly for more power, always greedy to have more. In some way, all of them wanted to be better than someone else. Wars were constant, sometimes over quite trivial things, and it was never fun to watch these people die.

The planet was dying with them, and as the years and wars wore on, this became more and more apparent.The climate was changing at a rapid rate, becoming less bearable to go outside. Sometimes it would be hot enough now that if anyone stepped outside, they would literally melt. Winter became the only safe season to tread outside everyday, and there wasn't ever snow anymore. Snow was almost an unknown concept now, a thing of myth and legend.

The outside became an ugly place, the green of trees fading to yellow, then to a more dead state as water became more and more scarce on the planet. Humans drank any liquid they could to survive, soon not caring about their struggle for power, but more for their continued survival. They were always the most persistent with this factor.

At first we were reluctant to appear and help them. They had always thought of us as things of their imagination, and some of them would no doubt want to do experiments to us. As the planet kept dying, science soon became the least of our concerns as everyone turned against each other. But it wasn't trivial this time. They needed to kill to survive.

We had always watched them, from the beginning of their lives to what almost looked to be the end. We had already had the technology to travel between different planets and solar systems before they had even discovered fire. Some of our people showed themselves to the humans over the years, being remembered for several millenia afterwards.

Some of us frightened them, but others thought the ones that they saw were awesome beasts of strength and power. As technology grew in their culture as it had with ours, they became more interested in capturing us for study, and we invented devices to help us hide from the malicious, greedy humans. They soon started portraying many of us as threats, so we decided it was best just to watch from the stars, with only a few of our kind still in place.

We took pity on them as we watched the cycle of Earth almost go in complete reverse in a matter of a few centuries. Soon some of them were scared to go outside, but at the same time, they knew they needed to. We decided to seek out the ones who just wanted a way out. The ones who wouldn't care who or what it was as long as they were saved from the wasteland that Planet Earth had become.

On that fateful day, we decided to change the climate in our own way, with our own technology. Clouds started gathering together all over the planet - the temperature outside dropping - causing several people to relish in the cold that had become so rare. It was an appropriate introduction for what was to come, as we were thought to be things of myth and legend ourselves.

We made it snow.

***

Many people swarmed into the streets when the strange phenomenon started to happen. They had heard of this thing called snow, but it was a thing told of only in the olden days. everything that was hot now became cold and frosted over, which was enough to cause people to gape in wonder.

But that wasn't all that seemed to be coming down from the sky. Large, dark shadows started moving in their direction behind the clouds, and one descended in her general direction. What came out of the clouds was the most beautiful creature they had ever seen.

The emerald-green scales of the colossal beast glimmered in the moonlight, making the silvery edges pop and dazzle against the white and black of the night sky. Four legs with menacing claws were pulled next to the body of the creature, its tail waving like a directional rudder as it flew down towards the earth.

The horned head of the majestic beast rose up with its body as it suddenly swerved up away from the ground, causing a few gasps in awe from the dramatic flair of it all. Rows of sharp teeth peeked out of the mouth of the beast, and it finally opened its eyes, revealing them to also be a sparkling silver.

On the chest of the large beast there appeared to be a mechanism of some sort that held a large red gem. It glittered and shone along with the rest of the dragon, and it suddenly seemed to glow a little bit. That's when the group felt a sort of a pushing sensation in their mind, before a deep voice resounded.

, said the voice, and everyone assumed that the creature was not only speaking to them this way, but to the entire crowd.

Some of the group backed off right away, frightened by the dangerous looks of this legendary creature. Braver ones stepped forward, and some found themselves contemplating the different scenarios. On one hand, the dragon looked like he could devour them without a second thought. On the other hand, there was a possibility of finally leaving this place; surviving without having to hunt and kill their own kind.

Their hope for survival won out over their fear of the beast that towered over them all. Some tilted their heads upwards to find themselves staring into the sparkling, silver eyes of the male dragon. Those that did felt shivers going down their sines, whether out of fear or admiration for the beautiful creature that had descended from the sky to save them. Nevertheless they stood their ground, feeling the tingling in their minds again, in awe of the sheer power of this creature.

The dragon was very stern and blunt about this, and more people stepped away from the beast, leaving only a small portion.

The creature stepped closer to the small group flocking in front of him, making him tower over them even more. Some wondered again of how much power this creature possessed. Supposedly, he could control the way he talked, and to how many people he talked to at one time. Not to mention he was positively glistening with raw power.

With that statement, the dragon unfurled his tail and laid it on the ground next to his body.

The people beneath the dragon started climbing upwards onto the dragons back via the tail. One by one they noticed that they didn't seem to be slipping at all, soon assuming that the dragon's magic was somehow keeping them steady as they climbed upwards. When everyone was loaded onto the tail, the dragon lifted it upwards, startling everyone considerably, but even still they were kept in place by that invisible force.

As they all started to clamber off of the tail and onto the dragons back, they grasped their hands tightly around one of the scales on the dragon's body. Even with the magic holding them in place, they felt safer holding onto the dragon, one last increment of paranoia in their bodies. After everyone was settled, the dragon lifted his powerful wings, and lifted off after a few moments. Then the dragon flew back up into snow filled sky, the wind blowing through the hair of his passengers.

The earth fading away as the dragon ascended back into the sky, taking them to the gate to his world, towards their test of character. Some of them looked back, some hearts filled with remorse, but in the end they were all happy that they were going to a new home.

 

[Rex]

The world was ending, slowly, painfully, but still ending.

Rex had read, back when there were still books to be read, that it would happen, though mostly the theories presented were a bit outlandish. Out of all those hundreds of theories it was the most simple of them all that happened to be correct. The deserts that had once provided Sanctuary to him now threatened to kill him; and more and more Rex found himself exploring the remains of coastal cities, instead of hiding under the cloak of a sandstorm.

It was the heat that got to him the most. The heat that on some days threatened to boil him alive unless he found some shade. The fact that he had to wear heavy clothes that concealed his less-then-normal appearance made the problem all the worse. But, he was created with an excellent adaptability; it was one of the last things going for him in this dying world. He had found that he was very good at breaking-and-entering, and was able to spend most days hidden away in an air conditioned building. Air conditioning! One of the best things Man ever learned to do!

Today was one of the cooler days, cooler as in below two hundred degrees. "A good day to collect supplies," Rex thought to himself, setting off for the oversized, understaffed, building containing the basic needs of anyone, human or otherwise. It wasn't very hard to go unnoticed, the Sun wasn't very high up yet, so there were many dark alleys to hide in. Once or twice he had encountered a mugger while exploring the hundreds of shadowed passages the city had to offer. A quick show with the dagger hidden in his trench coat was enough to guarantee passage, although it always took days to get the blood off.

Rex arrived at the back entrance to the building, it was easy enough to slip in; the security system was fried from long days in the heat anyway. "This is what I have been reduced to in order to survive," Rex though as he went though the medicine, something always in short supply, "To steal from civil services, it's unforgivable, but necessary."

After he was sure he had enough Aspirin to keep him from dying of disease any time soon, he went on to the next big thing on his list, liquids. Next to nothing existed in liquid form anymore, only poisonous metals like Mercury and others will a low melting point. So it was no surprise to him that there was almost nothing in the room that was for drinkable items. Luckily water vapor proved to be a lot more resilient then its liquid counterpart, on cooler days water was stored in air-tight containers, so that on hotter days when it evaporated it stayed put. There were several of these air-tight containers lying around the room. Rex shook one and was rewarded with the sound of churning. He took three of these, enough water for a month or more if he rationed himself.

The final thing he needed was food, which meant a small room filled with boxes. The most common type of food was the kind given to Astronauts; back when Outer Space still interested Man. Irradiated meat was one of the most common packages, though no one really knew what animal the meat came from, there were always rumors that it was human. Rex grabbed a bunch of these. Several rehydratable foods were also there, Rex grabbed a few of these as well. Then it was time to leave, the staff was starting to arrive.

Rex slipped out of the back door, making sure to leave it just as he had found it walking in. Back in the safety of the alleyways Rex pulled the scarf away from his muzzle and took off his ski cap. The sun was farther up now, and when the sun went up, the temperature did too. "Looks like I was wrong, it'll be another hot day," he thought, "I'd better get back inside before it gets any hotter." He pulled the scarf back into place, and returned the cap to his head.

Rex looked around trying to find a door, or a window, he could slip into. After going several blocks he was able to find one, and started picking the lock. While he was working, he noticed the temperature was dropping. Rex enjoyed the slight change, but soon realized that it was still getting colder. The thermometer next to the door was steadily dropping. Rex watched in amazement as the thermometer dropped below one hundred fifty, then down to one hundred, then fifty, it was never fifty degrees anymore! Still it dropped, forty, thirty, twenty, ten! Rex stared dumbstruck as the thermometer stopped hovered at nine degrees. He didn't look away until a large white snowflake fell onto the scarf hiding his muzzle. Rex's gazed snapped up, the sun was gone, hidden behind a layer of clouds, more large snowflakes fell. Rex saw something descend from the clouds, locked door forgotten; he dashed to the place he saw the large thing going.

He made it to the area to see something he never expected to see outside of a book. A Dragon, its scales were a beautiful emerald-green, standing in clear contrast to the gray world around them. On the dragon's chest was a machine with a red jewel in the center. The moon peeked up from beyond the horizon, rising early as it sometimes did now-a-days. The moonlight glistened off the dragon's scales making in all the more mesmerizing. A large group of people stood watching the creature, some, like him, were awe-struck from the sheer beauty of it all. He found himself joining them, standing a few feet apart, but still close enough so that he could get the same look at the dragon the rest of them did.

The red jewel glowed, and Rex felt a slight pushing in his mind. "Hello humans," a voice resonated inside his head. "I am a beast known as a Dragon, and I have come to take some of you with me, to live your lives peacefully in a new home, away from this wasteland. Those who think this is a trick, you may stay here. But to those of you who believe in me, I will bring you in for a test of character before I let you come to our peaceful home."

Some people backed away from the Dragon, fear in there eyes, some braver ones stepped forward. Rex's survival instinct kicked in, and he stepped forward as well. He liked the idea of being able to leave this dying world behind, of never having to suffer in the heat, or kill, or steal.

"Those of you who have stepped forward, I give you this warning: If you enter this place with me, you may never come back to your home here on Earth. This is your last chance to leave," said the voice in his head.

More people stepped back, leaving only a small part of the group still standing before the dragon. Rex was among them, his survival instinct refusing to let him step away. The dragon came closer to them. It towered over the rest of them, glistening with raw power. Rex's heart skipped a few beats, primordial fear awakening in him. But his mind was resolute, he would not step back!

"Since you are all brave enough to still stand in my presence, I hope none of you have a fear of heights. You'll all be filing onto my back, because we're not going to walk to the gate," with that, the dragon unfurled its tail, laying it down near itself.

Rex's stomach did a flip-flop; he was Acrophobic, AND Aerophobic. But he climbed onto the creatures back along with the rest of them. An invisible force kept him from falling off, though, even when the dragon lifted the tail again. As soon as he was settled he clutched one of the large scales and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping his hat or scarf didn't fall off mid-flight. After a few moments the Dragon took off again, flying back into the snow filled sky. Rex's free hand went periodically from another scale, to his hat, to his scarf, three fears fighting for supremacy.

Deep down, Rex was glad to leave that dying world behind. But his mind was to busy stopping the stream of curses that normally accompanied him when ever he was scared, to express this feeling.

OoC: My favorite color is Black, by the way, and it manifests heavily in Rex. I hope the post meets all your standards, by the way, I read the fic this originated from. Here's to hoping that this can go above and beyond it!

 

[Hunting Rifle]

On top of an old, bricked building, deserted except for the insects between the walls and the stray dogs desperately looking for shadow, a young boy, dressed in dirty clothes, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun, was looking at the neighbourhood at his feet, listening to the sounds of the city.

As he went down the stairs, he loaded his revolver. He had only a few bullets left. He hoped he didn't have to use them.
He desperately needed some cash- he hadn't eaten anything yet since he had woken up this morning, let alone something to drink. His mouth was as dry as the desert surrounding the city.
Before stepping out of the doorway, he glanced at the street around the pillars at the entrance. Nobody was around. The way was clear.

Quick as a lightning flash, he ran through the street, grabbing a rusty iron ladder and climbing on the roof. Panting, he lay down at the other end of the roof. This was his standard spot- the street he was looking down used to be a main street, going around the center of the city, but except for an occasional mugger or homeless, nobody lived here anymore.
A lot of people used it as shortcut for going around town, though, which was the only reason Drake was still alive.

Just then a person materialized out of the shadows, looking around suspiciously. It was a white-haired girl, around his age.
A feeling of remorse slashed trough Drake's stomach, but still his muscled tensed for the jump. He took his revolver from his pocket, and as the girl walked trough the street, trying to stay in the shadows of, he jumped.

He landed only a meter in front of her, and as he landed he did a sideroll to avoid injury, standing up and pointing his gun at the girl. She backed away, finding herself stuck agains a wall with nowhere to run. 'Give me your money.' Drake grunted, trying to keep his voice low and intimidating. 'I-i don't have any! Go away!' the girl yelled at him. 'That's what they always say.' he answered. Dropping his gun, connected to him with a wristband, from his hand, he grabbed the girl's arms and slammed her against the wall, leaving the gir unable to move.
In a quick and fluent movement, he took a small bag of coins from her pocket and threw her at the ground. His soul mourned at this action, but this world didn't leave space for friendlyness.
He had to survive.

As he walked away, he heared the girl scrambling to her feet.
But instead of running away as his victims usually did, the girl kicked him in his back. He cried out and fell flat on his face, the coins flying out of his hands. The girl picked them up and started running. He stood up and ran after her. She could be the only one out on the streets today, and he needed the money. He knew the girl would give up soon enough- in this temperature running was almost impossible to do and he had a condition like nobody had.

They ran trough the streets, scaring away the crows picking on a long dead squirrel. The girl was unbelievably fast, and it was a neck-on-neck race. The girl seemed to know the streets just as well as he did. Drake noticed the girl was fleeing towards the centre of the city. He was panting and his muscles ached, but his keen ears noticed that the girl was in the same state.

Suddenly, the air around him thinnened a little and the temperature lowered a little, making it easier to breathe and slightly lifting his pain. He started to close in on the girl. He noticed that the sun was stinging less and less, and the air was going straightforward to becoming almost... fresh. The girl kicked a wooden crate at the bottom of a big pile of barrels and other crates, and the whole pile was toppling over. He had to do another sideroll in order to avoid being burried alive. A cloud of sand and dust flew up, and Drake closed his eyes to protect them. By the time the dust had cleared, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Drake felt desperate now. He had almost caught her. But now... An odd, instinctive body movement woke his from his thoughts. He was shivering. He hadn't done that in years.
But the air had become really cold now. The word felt strangely.
Coldness was something almost non-existent now. How could this be? He looked up. Grey clouds were cloaking the sky, and something was falling from them. Small pieces of white. Drake, utterly mesmerized by the whole event, tried to catch one. It melted in his hand. Water. Frozen water. His brain brought up a word for it, that he had heard somewhere in his youth; Snow.

Suddenly, a black silhouet flashed accros the sky, traveling towards the city centre. Filled with new energy, he followed.

At the main square, around the dried-out fountain, a big group had formed, gaping at the sky. Drake followed their gaze and gasped. A giant creature, with brilliant green scales, was floating high up in the sky. An enormous red diamond surrounded by what seemed to some sort of machine lined his chest. Something pushed his mind, making his own thoughts dissapear and filling it with new ones. A strong, deep voice sounded in his head, promising him liberation from this rotten world, if they believed he was of good nature.

The lion's share of the crowd, intimidated by the dragon, stepped away. Drake stayed in place. He would do anything to be freed from his misery. The dragon repeated his warning, saying that they would never be able to turn back to this world.
For some reason, more people stepped back. Idiots.
The dragon landed at the square, laying his tail before them. Confused but excited, Drake did as the dragon told them and climbed on the dragon's tail. He saw that the white-haired girl was doing the same thing. As the dragon jumped up in the sky, Drake held on to the green scales as thight as he could, but he didn't even have to, because some sort of force was holding him in place. Not Fgrav or Fmus. An invisible, but inpenetratable force. Drake felt the same kick as he had felt in his youth when he canoed down a river. He looked around. He was sitting behind a man in heavy black clothes, and the white-haired girl was sitting a few places in front of him. Somehow, Drake knew better times would come.

 

[Aura]

Bree looked up at the sky, feeling the… snow… fall onto her face, soft and gentle. She drew in breath, the… cold… air filling her lungs. It was such a good feeling. Wind whipped at her face, blowing her long tangled black hair backwards as she clung to the dragon's back, despite the fact that she could feel a supernatural force holding her in place. It was just human nature to cling on. Bree could feel her thin white shirt being blown about by the wind, and she shivered. A strange feeling was taking over her body. Small bumps formed on her arms. She didn't know what on earth they were called.

It was getting very cold now, as the dragon climbed higher and higher. The sweat that had been dripping off her body just a few minutes ago that had been a useless attempt to cool her body was now working far too well. Cautiously, Bree took one arm off the dragons back, then the other and was amazed to find that she didn't fall to her death. Wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to keep warm, Bree looked over the strong, emerald back of the dragon, to see the world below. The land was a light brown colour, dead grass was only seen rarely, dead trees scattered the landscape. The majority of the buildings of the only place Bree had known were crumbling into ruin, most of the damage done by natural disasters such as earthquakes. Just that sight alone filled her with an incredible amount of sadness and a faint stirring of the will to deal out revenge. But that would mean killing herself…

The dragon's flight was graceful and powerful, each flap of it's wings sending the air downwards. The dragon… no. The amazing, beautiful, powerful… there wasn't enough words to describe the creature that she was on the back of. Bree remembered how she'd been convinced that she was going to die the second she saw it.

She'd been savoring the stale bread she'd brought from the money she'd stolen. Even though it was hard and the crumbs irritated her throat, it was far better than nothing. Then, she'd shivered. She'd frozen for a moment, wondering what automatic action her body had just preformed. Then realizing that she'd shivered, her mouth had popped open, her light blue eyes widening to a huge size. The next thing had almost stopped Bree's heart. A small, cold touch on her forehead. Eyes widening even futher, she'd turned her head to look at the sky.

Dark clouds were forming, and an unnatural substance had started falling from the clouds. No, it wasn't unnatural. That was… it had taken Bree a moment to remember the word: Snow. Dark shadows had flown around behind the clouds, one coming closer and closer. Moments later, the shadow had broken out of the clouds. A huge green lizardlike creature had flown down on massive wings that were larger than it's body, required to lift it's weight into the air. Emerald scales covered it from head to toe, glittering like the gem itself. Four large, muscular limbs were held close to it's body, each with talons larger than swords. Pearly white fangs jutted out from it's jaw. A red diamond was set into a mechanical device fitted on it's chest. It had opened it's eyes, a liquid silver and Bree saw herself clearly reflected in those wise, all knowing eyes.

The stale bread had fallen to the ground, forgotten. Her eyes were wider than what she would have though possible, mouth open in shock. She'd fallen to her knees without knowing it, tearing her already ripped black pants on a rock.

Staring into the eyes of the magnificent beast, Bree had been convinced that she was going to die. She couldn't stop looking at those eyes, barely noticing the other people joining her in the square. A deep voice filled her head, greeting them then telling the crowd that it, a dragon, was here to take them away from the wasteland now known as earth. It said that it would test everyone who came, and that those who didn't believe what it said could leave. Bree didn't notice the crowd move away from her, nor did she notice her limbs automatically pick herself off the ground and move silently towards the dragon. If the dragon was lying… well she would die sooner or later. Bree didn't think she'd cared if the dragon was the one to take her life.

The dragon asked again, telling the people who were at his feet that they would never see earth again. Bree hadn't moved, but others did, hurrying away thinking of loved ones, ones they couldn't leave behind. Bree had never known her parents. She didn't know who her relatives were. She had no reason to stay, and a million reasons to go. When the dragon moved it's tail towards them to help the few humans who were determined to go, Bree climbed up with the rest of them.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Bree focused on the person in front of her. It was an elderly man, seemingly Chinese. Bree herself had the same kind of golden skin and black hair as he did. He was looking at the dragon in a kind of worshiping way, making Bree remember that a dragon meant good luck in Chinese mythology. The elderly man's spirit was contagious. A new feeling — hope — filled her to the brim as the dragon flew onwards.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: Minor autoing of everyone to finally advance the storyline! Hooray for having three people :3))

BIC:

Dragons of all sorts of colors were zooming in the sky all around the green dragon's group as their dragon flew towards their destination. Red, black, blue, white, silver, gold... multicolored dragons, all sparkling with the raw magic that was inside all of them.

Soon, in the distance, the group could see more shadows heading in their direction. More dragons heading the opposite way to get more people meant that they were close to their destination. Suddenly, their dragon swooped to the right to follow another dragon, causing a surprised reaction to come out of some of the riders.

They descended back to Earth, the dragons gracefully flying around each other, a beautiful sight to behold. When they touched down again, their dragon lifted his tail again, allowing everyone to clamber back down. Once everyone found their place on the tail, and held on tight as the group was lowered once again to the ground.

They all clambered off of the tail and watched as the gem at the dragons throat started to glow. The other dragon's machinery took on the same quality, and soon the dragons began to shrink, giving the impression that the gems themselves had magical qualities. For now they merely noticed that it seemed to change his size.

The dragons all stepped forward, creating a circle in the center of the field. The people here felt a bristle of energy rising as they noticed some of the dragons eyes seemed to flash. A bright light suddenly came from the center of the circle, shining up into the overcast sky and causing many of the nearby people to look away. When it finally dimmed down, they looked back and there was a large, circular metal thing standing in the center.

They felt the many whispers of the dragons in their heads, and watched as the center of the metallic thing start to slide open. Many gasped as beautiful scenery met their eyes - the portal revealed lush, green vegetation, something that was completely unheard of on this world.

The green dragon spoke into his groups mind again, before he turned to go through the gate. Many noticed that he seemed to be the first to go through, but others simply kept their eyes on the beautiful scenery around them, enjoying the brush of the warm air around them in contrast to the cold Wintry skies that had now overcast Earth.

Reds, purples, yellows and several other colors popped out at them as they walked on. Creatures that they had long thought extinct on Earth thrived around them, as if welcoming them to this place. It was so much more alive than any of them had ever known the Earth to be, and small wonder why the dragons wanted to protect such beauty.

Soon the group came up to a large mountain that seemed to go for miles in every direction. A singular cave was in front of them, and the dragon continued on into it with everyone in tow. The darkness that surrounded the group was held at bay by torches and strange lights lining the walls. It wasn't long before the dragon stopped, in front of a similar gate to the one that the group had followed him through, speaking into their minds yet again.

The silvery eyes of the beast gazed around at the group one by one, sending shivers down their spines as they felt something tug at their minds a little bit. What was the dragon doing...?

They didn't have long to wonder, as the dragon started wandering off to their right, at which the group simply followed again. The dragon brought them into another cave, where there were separate paths stringing off in the large room, and a wooden table in the center of the room. On the table was a hat, some strips of paper, and some pencils.

At this point, the dragon walked up to the table - gem brightening again - and this time his shape changed.

His bone structure seemed to realign itself as he transformed, his back straightening so he could walk on two feet instead of four, making it seem like he was human. The group watched watched as he picked up a pencil and wrote down whatever his name was, and placed it in the hat, to the understanding that he had done this to even out the numbers, the sound of excited murmurs passing through the group.



((OOC: So, write again about your experiences so far, and when you write on the paper, put down a -full- name please so the dragon may pick you out of the hat accurately.))

 

[Rex]

Dragons were everywhere; dragons of all colors of the rainbow. They sparked with something that Rex could only call magic. Their where lots of dragons still heading for Earth, picking up people themselves. The dragon he was riding swooped to the right. Rex smashed his face into the scales, they would hold his hat, goggles, and scarf for him, his other hand now permanently clenched a scale.

Eventually the dragon returned to the ground, and they all climbed off of its tail. Rex practically fell off, lying on the ground like he hadn't seen it in years. Falling had hurt his own tail, but he didn't care, it was nice to be on something solid again. The gem on the dragons around them started glowing, and they all shrank. It seemed that the gems controlled the dragon's appearance to some extent.

Rex closed his eyes and missed the summoning of the portal.

"Open," Rex opened his eyes to see the metallic portal slowly obey the dragon's command. The color of the land on the other side of the portal was green, a color Rex hadn't seen in years.

"Follow me," Rex got to his feet, and did as the dragon commanded. One the other side of the portal was more colors then just green, all the colors of the rainbow assaulted his eyes. He shoved his hands into his trench coat pockets, feeling extremely out of place in the colorful world. Ahead of them was a huge mountain, something that would rival even Olympus Mons, the largest mountain in the solar system. The dragon led them into a cave in the face of the mountain. The inside was lit by torches and another odd lighting system.

The Dragon stopped before another large gate, "This is the gate to the rest of the world. As I explained before, I will only allow you to go through this gate if you pass a test of character. However, if you do not pass, then there will be... dire consequences."

He felt the dragon tug at his mind some more, as if diving into his memories. It wandered off again, and everyone followed. In another part of the cave there was a table, looking extremely out of place. On the table were a hat, some paper, and a few pencils. Rex recognized it as a raffle.

"Please write your names on the pieces of paper and place them inside the hat. Afterwards, by decision of the hat, you will be put into groups of three," the dragon walked up to the table itself, the gem glowed, and the dragon's bone structure changed, it became bipedal. It wrote its name, and placed it in the hat.

Afterwards it stepped back, allowing the group to walk up to the table. Everyone got into line, Rex made sure to be at the end. It had been so long since he had used his last name, he couldn't remember it anymore. He dug a piece of paper out of his pocket; it was his own subject report, from when he was still in White Plateau. The name read Rex Morrison. He shoved the paper back into his pocket; unfortunately it also showed a picture of him without anything covering his face or fur. Finally he reached the table, he wrote the name on the paper down.

 

[Hunting Rifle]

In the sky, more and more colourfull dragons appeared, who followed the green dragon they were riding. Pople were sitting on them, as if there had been a global resque operation. There probably had, Drake realized.

As a young boy, Drake had often laid down on the green hillside, dreaming and staring at the sky, wondering what flying freely trough the sky felt like. And now he knew. It was the most wonderfull sensation, the feeling of defying gravity and limits, the air tugging at his clothes, the wondrous feeling in his stomach. He was feeling great, although he was shivering from the cold, cold he had never experienced before.

Suddenly, he felt that they were descending, and after a short while he saw the ground coming closer at an increasing rate. Immidiately, his instinct kicked in, but he wasn't able to do anything. So, instead, he closed his eyes and waited for the crash.

Luckily, the dragon flapped his giant wings just before they hit the ground. Most people chose the same way back, but in an impulse, he slided down the dragon's leg, landing on two feet, but falling down anyway because of disorientation. His stomach felt like he was still flying. A few meter apart from him, the heavily clothed man was lying on the ground, but his face was covered by a pair off goggles, a hat and a scarf, so Drake couldn't say if he was hurt or not. He was about to leap over to the man when a blinding light distracted him.

All the dragons had gathered in a circle and their gems were shining brighter then the sunlight itself. They were directing their magic at a portal seemingly made out of metal, which began to shine. The emerald dragon they had been riding ordered the portal to open, and after it had done so a lush green landscape became visible, much greener than even the forests and field in his hometown... his hometown...

As the river rushed by, creating a peacefull sound that somehow always made him want to go the toilet, Drake was staring intensely at his float, as if he could make it more attractive for fish just by doing that. Next to him, he heard a deep sigh. 'The salmon ain't biting this year, They sure aren't.' his brother, dressed in his working clothes, said.
Drake shook his head. 'We used to catch more then we could carry 'round this time o' the year.' 'Maybe it's those effin' iceblocks tumblin' down the river. Remember that night when whe heard that scraping sound?' Drake nodded, his lips forming a grin. 'Yeah, the next mornin' we found an iceberg blockin' half o' the river. Didn't stay long, not with this sun.'
'Got that damn right.' his brother laughed. Drake couldn't help but laughing along with him.
'I'm glad you're back. We've missed you, ol' guy. 'It's only temporarely, 'shame.' 'Dad said seeing you back a'live is worth a fortune already.' 'Damn right, with this job in this times.'
'You haven't been thinking 'bout takin' an other job?' 'Nothin' pays like this. Government is desperate for soldiers.' Drake had to think about that for a moment. 'The whole damn world's about money these days.' he said eventually. 'So true.' For a while, they said nothing, just enyoing the sounds of nature and eachother's presence.

He took a deep breath. Another flashback. He had those more, and he hated them because they fed his longing for peace and his former life, and he adored because they, along with his watch, where his only reminders of the fact that you could have a good life in this world.

At the dragon's command, a line of humans followed them into the portal. The land on the other side of the portal was even better then he had expected. His parents would have done anything for a slab of land over here, that's for sure, Drake thought.
They were lead to a tall mountain, with a giant portway in the middle. The dragon explained that they would be tested before they could enter this gate, the portal to the rest of this world. If they would not pass, there would be consequenses. Drake thought he knew what that meant. These dragons didn't look like mercifull creatures, at least.

As the dragon told them, Drake felt something alien entering his brain, which felt like his head become heavier and like a slight headache. They were then lead to a big hall, with a table in the middle, filled with scraps of paper, pencils and a hat. The dragon told the they would be divided into three groups by writing down their names on a paper and putting them in the hat. Drake pushed his way through the mass of people around the table and wrote 'Drake Jones' down on a paper and put it in the hat. After that he joined the line of people standing before the entrance. Trough sheer luck, the white-haired girl was standing right before him. He wasn't sure why, but he tapped on her shoulder.

She turned around, and immidiately backed away when she recognized him. 'You!' she hissed. 'The thief!' Drake raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was the positiveness of the situation, or the knowledge that he would never have to steal or rob again, but he said it without thinking about it. 'I'm sorry.' The girl stood motionless with eyes wide open for a moment. Clearly, she hadn't expected that answer. 'Ah... well... I guess it's alright. I don't know if we have to use money here.' she said and relaxed her shoulders. 'I hope not. That would give the same problems we had on Earth.' 'Probably, yeah.' 'So, how about you? Who are you?' The girl seemed surprised with his straightforwardness. 'My name is Iris Smith. I'm born in the city. My parents did a lot of illegal things to survive, so i ran away to prevent from getting caught in the net. Soon afterwards, I realised that i needed to do something if i wanted to live longer then a day. So i turned into smuggling money, fluids and drugs. I knew the city better then everyone, so i was the perfect person for the job. But i hated doing illegal things and i wanted to escape my life.' Suddenly, her face brightened. 'I guess i did. Thanks to you. I only ran towards the main square to dump you when you chased me. Without you, i hadn't been there when the dragon appeared.' Drake thought about that for a second, then shrugged. 'Lucky coincidence, i guess.' 'Maybe... a few months ago, i was smuggling a bottle of wine when an elderly women spoke to me.
She said that i would be saved by being hunted down and survive with the help of the hunter.' 'Ok, that's officially creepy.' 'I know.' Their conversation went on and on. No idea i'd ever talk so much in one day, Drake thought by himself.

 

[Aura]

Bree couldn't forget the fear of falling to earth, the fear of being crushed against the ground, but the dragons distracted her from it. Each one of them was a different shade or colour, glittering and shining like a collection of rare gemstones. Some carried other humans. Some were heading back to earth to collect more. Whatever they were doing, Bree couldn't help but marvel at the graceful, yet powerful and deadly way they moved. She was certain that she'd never seen something with more natural beauty or a deadlier air in her life.

Soon, the number of dragons in the night sky increased, giving Bree the feeling that they were reaching their destination, wherever that was. She yelped loudly as the dragon swerved out of course suddenly, turning to follow another dragon. She wasn't the only one, a few people screamed, others yelled. She couldn't blame them. If the force that was holding them on the dragons back hadn't been there… they would have all plummeted to their death.

The dragon that the green dragon was following swooped downwards suddenly, and the green dragon followed. Clutching desperately onto the slippery green scales, Bree shut her eyes tightly, trying not to scream. Seemingly seconds later, the dragon levelled out again and Bree opened her eyes.

All the dragons were flying around in a graceful dance, flying slowly down to the centre of a dry, dead field. Once on the ground, they let down their tails, allowing everyone to clamber off. The green dragon glanced at Bree once, stunning her with it's silver eyes. Then it moved away, and the dragons formed a circle. All at once, the machinery on their chests glowed, and the dragons appeared to be shrinking. After this had happened, a strange kind of energy filled the field. Bree could feel her hair becoming static from the amount of energy. The eyes of the dragons began to glow and a blinding light came from the centre of the circle. Bree raised one hand to shield her eyes and shut them, looking away from the source of the light. The sun seemed dim in comparison. When the light faded, Bree looked cautiously at the centre. There was a metal circle in the centre. She could see the working in the metal and knew somehow that if she gave a push here and there…

The dragons many voices filled her head, some high, some low but all with an amazing amount of wisdom and strength.

The metal circle did open, sliding open where Bree had known it would. It revealed a world of green, of lush thriving plants and creatures unheard of, believed to be myths and extinct these days. She couldn't take her eyes off the plants and animals. Not long later, they reached a mountain. Bree couldn't see the peak; it was hidden by clouds an to see those clouds she had to turn her head up as far as it would go. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed it earlier. The dragons marched straight on; they must have seen the mountain enough times to not have to gape at it's immense size.

There was a cave directly in front of them and this appeared to be where the dragons were aiming. Bree followed the dragons along with everyone else into the cavern. It was quite dark inside, but strange lights coming out of the walls made the darkness less threatening. They soon came to another metal circle, like the one that had brought them here.

The dragon said, it's silvery eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Once again, it's eyes stunned Bree. She couldn't look away… the dragon broke eye contact and started walking off to the right. The crowd followed. What else could they do? The dragon led them to a room with a table, a hat, some pencils and pieces of paper. The appearance of the ordinary objects confused Bree. She'd been expecting to never see anything remotely human created again.

The dragon said as it walked over to the table, the gem glowing again.

Bree let out a gasp as it's skeletal structure changed, making it appear more human. The dragon picked up a piece of paper, wrote… his? Her? Name on a piece of paper, then put it in the hat. A murmer ran through the crowd of humans.



Finding herself close to the back, Bree was forced to go almost last. She decided to pass the time by trying to get the tangles out of her hair with her hands. Not that it would work. Sooner than she'd been expecting, it was Bree's turn to write her name. Picking up a pencil, she scrawled ‘Brianna White' onto a piece of paper, then dropped it in the hat. Moving away from the table, Bree found a gap in the crowd and continued trying to get the tangles out of her hair as she waited.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

After everyone was finished, they all watched the hat in interest, wondering just exactly what it would do. The dragon stood at the ready, as if something was about to burst forth. Suddenly, a sparkling silver flame came up out of the hat, and with it, a piece of paper. The dragon caught it tentatively, and cleared his throat to speak through his mouth for the first time.

"Nerezza Dellanotte." A woman with midnight black hair stepped forward, her icy blue eyes staring around a bit timidly, as if a bit shocked to be picked first. Her slender form exemplified her dexterity, a sign that she was one of the people those would call 'hunters'. She was the type to stalk the night and the shadows to search for weaker prey amongst the streets.

"Brianna White," he called, looking expectantly towards the crowd with Nerezza, who turned back towards the dragon as he caught the last name for their group. He smiled then, rows of his sharp teeth becoming apparent.

"Looks like you two are with me." A few disappointed noises came from the other people present, and Nerezza looked to be filled with glee at the thought that she was going to be grouped with the dragon.
"You can call me Orn." he said to the two of them more than the crowd. He turned back towards the hat as it spewed out more papers.

"Rex Morrison. Drake Jones. Iris Smith." he called in succession, waiting for the group to get together. He quirked his eye ridge slightly at the fuzzy otter-like man, shrugging his shoulders as if this was a normal occurrence for him to see.

The rest of the groups were sorted, leaving them with ten groups of people. Light suddenly shone above the cave entrances, drawing numbers over top of them. Orn gave out some sheets of paper, keeping one for himself. Then he spoke up again.

"On these pieces of paper is your objective for the test. You will all be finding something of interest, and there are plenty of things keeping you from your goal. Whoever completes their objective and survives will pass the test, regardless of how many group members you have left over."

Then he turned towards Nerezza and Brianna again, and read what was written on their sheet.

"Cave #3, turn right at fork. Go to temple. Retrieve diamond medallion. Optional: Find weapons."

((OOC: For the other group, it will read "Cave #3, turn left at fork. Retrieve sapphire medallion. Optional: Find weapons." Hooray for plot advancement!))

 

[Rex]

Rex returned to the group, biting his lip, hoping the Dragon would be in a different group. If it had searched his memories, as he believed it had, then it knew what he looked like. It might have him reveal himself, which would not be good.

Once Rex was back among the crowd the hat shot a silver flame out, along with a piece of paper. The Dragon caught it, clearing its throat as if to speak.

"Nerezza Dellanotte."

A woman stepped forward, despite her appearance, midnight black hair and icy blue eyes, see seemed to be a bit shy.

"Brianna White."

Another woman, Black hair and golden skin, stepped forward. The Dragon smiled, or, that's what it looked like at least.

"Looks like you two are with me."

Moans of disappointment came from the crowd. Rex, on the other hand, sighed with relief. It introduced itself to the two, calling itself Orn. More paper shot out of the hat.

"Rex Morrison. Drake Jones. Iris Smith."

While heading over to his group, Rex noticed the dragon watch him, brow furrowed, before shrugging. It definitely knew what he looked like. The people in Rex's group were a silver haired girl, and a brown haired boy. Both looked about his age. He waved to them half-heartedly. The sorting continued until there were ten groups. Then light shone above the exits to the chamber, a number formed above each of them. The dragon started handing out paper.

"On these pieces of paper is your objective for the test. You will all be finding something of interest, and there are plenty of things keeping you from your goal. Whoever completes their objective and survives will pass the test, regardless of how many group members you have left over."

Rex took his group's paper reading it loud enough for both of them to hear it through his scarf, "Cave #3, turn left at fork. Retrieve sapphire medallion. Optional: Find weapons."

"Well, I'm covered in the weapons department," Rex thought to himself, thinking of the dagger in his sleeve, and the Browning Hi-Power in his pack.

OoC: so short...

 

[Aura]

Bree didn't have long to wait. She had been on of the last people to put their name in. Everyone was staring at the hat, waiting, wondering. The dragon moved towards it and that caused a murmur. Something must be going to happen soon. Suddenly, a silver flame burst out of the hat, sending shimmering lights around the cave. So absorbed with the beauty of the flame, Bree didn't see the piece of paper fly out of the flame into the dragon's waiting claws.

It called out.

A woman, suited to stalking people in deep shadows headed towards the dragon, her blue eyes wide in shock. The dragon gave her a small smile — if you could call it one.

The dragon called.

Shock: That was her name. Bree walked forwards, feeling every eye on her as she walked forwards to stand next to Nerezza. She could feel her limbs shaking slightly — she'd never been one to like being noticed.

"Hullo." Bree murmured quietly.

It must have been too quietly, for Nerezza didn't respond. The silver flame sparked up again, and the dragon looked at the piece of paper, then looked back up, it's stunning eyes on Bree and Nerezza.

The dragon said, and a few groans came from the crowd.

A chill crept up Bree's spine as she realised exactly what that meant. She would be with this amazing, yet terrifying creature would could take off her head sooner than she could blink. Nerezza seemed delighted that she would be with the dra- Orn.

More names were read out and people got into groups of three. In all, there was ten groups, so only twenty nine people had been brave enough to climb on the dragons back. It saddened Bree a little. Light started glowing above the entrances to the caves, drawing numbers above them. Orn handed out pieces of paper to each group, keeping one in his claw. This he read out to Nerezza and Bree, after explaining what was on the paper.

He said.

Automatically, Bree turned to look at the cave that had the number 3 hovering over it. Inside, it was dark and damp. She couldn't help but shiver slightly at the thought of what might be lurking in the darkness.

 

[Hunting Rifle]

Drake didn't know it if was sheer luck that he was placed in Iris' group or not. Still, he was relieved he was. It was the only person he knew around here that seemed trustable. The other member of his group was the thick-clothed man seemingly called Rex. Drake couldn't make out any details about him, but he didn't exactely smell good. Nobody did nowadays, so he didn't really pay attention to it. They were given a mission paper, which Rex read out loud. 'Cave #3, turn left at fork. Retrieve shappire mediallion. Optional: Pick up weapons.' It was probably harder then it sounded, Drake thought. A memory of an classic action movie he had seen on his town's annual movie night. Something about a skull and a person also called Jones. He couldn't quite recount it. He felt at his Colt Python .357. It was still there. Somehow, he had a feeling he was going to need it.

After they had entered the cave and turned left at the 'fork' as the mission paper had said, Drake noticed it became darker with every inch they moved. His well-trained night instict immidiately kicked in, his pupils becoming wider and his brain concentrating at hearing more then every other sense. The air felt humid and warm, making it slightly hard to breathe well. This could mean two things; either a hot spring or decomposing floratic material. Plants, he corrected himself. But there was no noticeable stench, and a soft gurgling was hearable further into the cave. So it was probably the hot springs.

As they stepped trough the cave silently, the gurgling sound became louder. It was definitely water. Tiny droplets of water stuck to his face. Drake was still in front of the group. Neither of them had said a word yet. The sound of voilent water became really loud now, as if near a giant waterfall. Step by step, he continued. He was sure they were near the stream now. He went trough his knees, feeling at the ground before him. There was none. Instead, he stuck his hand in hot water. Immidiately, he jerked is hand back. It was covered in slimy rags. Seaweed. 'There's a river here.' he said. His voice echoed trough the cave. 'It's pretty rough, hot and filled with slimey seaweed.' he continued. He heard Iris gulp. 'Hot water?' she asked him. She seemed terrified. Drake picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could. He heard it scrape accros rock. 'That means the cave continues on the other side. The river's about sixty feet wide. We have to swim.' He concluded.

'No way.' Iris said in a trembling voice. Drake asked her: 'Can't you swim?' 'Not without getting carried away by the current. And not in hot water.' She answered. Seemingly, she was traumatized by hot water. 'Why not?' He asked her. She murmured something about a tea boiler. Drake understood now; she had a burn and she didn't want another one. 'This water is not hot enough to damage us.' he assured her. He removed any unnescesarry clothing from his body and wrapped it around his waist. He took his Colt Python from his pocket and clenched it between his teeth to protect it from getting wet. 'I'll gho hirsh.' he said and jumped in the water.

It was a long time since his last shower, but this wasn't exactely a clean bathtub. It was though navigating through the slimey seaweed withouth getting washed away, but he managed to get to the other side. He pushed himself up to the cold cavefloor and rested for few seconds before yelling 'J'arrivé'!' 'What?' Iris shouted back. Drake was just as confused as she was. Where had the French been coming from? 'I'm at the other side!' he corrected. 'Alright.' He could hear a deep sigh over the river's noise. 'I guess i'll go next!' she yelled. He heard a ruffle of clothes and a plunge.

He concentrated on the paddling sound she was making. The sound was getting softer and slower; she was getting carried away. Suddenly, the paddling sound stopped and he heard her panting. 'I can't do it!' she yelled in a screeching way. She was hyperventilating. Before he could say anything back, he heard another plunge and an impossibly fast paddling sound. After about eight seconds, Rex clambered onto the cave floor, helping Iris to do the same. 'What happened?' Drake yelped. 'Rex...' Iris said. She took a few deep breath before continuing.
'Rex swam after me. He clenched my arm and rocketed towards the side.' 'How the hell did you do that?' he said to Rex, standing before him with dripping clothes.

 

[Rex]

Rex had quietly followed his two teammates. The cave got darker as the proceeded. None of them said anything. The air was heating up; Rex found it harder to breathe, even though his scarf filtered most of the air. The sound of running water reached his ears. It sounded like rapids, or a waterfall.

The boy dropped down to his knees, feeling in front of him. His hand pulled back, covered in seaweed.

"There's a river here," way to state the obvious, "It's pretty rough, hot and filled with slimy seaweed."
"Hot water?" the girl gulped.

The boy threw a rock, hearing it scrape across the cave floor on the other side of the river.

"That means the cave continues on the other side. The river's about sixty feet wide. We have to swim."
"No way," the girl was terrified.
"Can't you swim?" the boy asked.
"Not without getting carried away by the current. And not in hot water," she answered.
"Why not?"

The girl muttered something about a tea boiler.

"This water is not hot enough to damage us," the boy assured her.

To prove his point the boy stripped off any unnecessary clothing. He pulled a Colt Python from his belt, biting onto it.

"So he's armed too," Rex thought.
"I'll go first," he said, or, at least, tried to.

The boy jumped in.

After a moment Rex heard him on the other bank, "J'arrivé!"
"What!?" the girl shouted.
"I'm at the other side!"
"Alright," the girl sighed, "I guess I'll go next!"

Rex turned away, allowing her some privacy. He turned back after hearing her jump in.

"How am I going to do this?" Rex asked himself, low enough so that no one else heard.

The sound of the girl's paddling was getting softer, and less frequent. She was slowing down!

She stopped, "I can't do it!"

No time to think, Rex stripped down to his jeans, jumping in after her. He rocketed towards her. It took him three seconds to get to her, impossibly fast for a human. He grabbed her arm, and rocketed towards the opposite bank, reaching it about five seconds later. He climbed out of the steam, then pulled her out.

"What happened!?" the boy yelled.
"Rex..." she took a deep breath, "Rex swam after me. He clenched my arm and rocketed towards the side."
The boy turned to him, "How the hell did you do that?"

Rex standing with his back to the boy, he looked down at himself. His fur was soaked; it looked like he was wearing a sweater. Well, he might as well come clean; he didn't have any other choice now.

He hooked his thumbs into his pockets, and turned to face the boy, "You want to try and guess?"

Even in the darkness of the cave, Rex knew the boy could see what he looked like. His tail hung limply behind him, ears almost flat down from the trip through the river, muzzle dripping water. Rex definitely didn't look human.

He turned back towards the water, "'scuss me for a sec."

He jumped back into the river, swimming back to the opposite bank. He picked up his clothes, putting them into his pack, which was now filled to bursting. He put it on, and swam back to the two on the other side. The whole thing took him no more than a minute.

Once on the other side he dropped the pack and shook himself dry. The two of them were both staring at him. Rex needed to find a way to diffuse the situation. He looked around, spotting the boy's Magnum. He picked it up.

"Colt Python right? I once played a game of Russian Roulette with one of these," he looked at the boy, then handed the weapon back to him.

"Sorry," he muttered.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: Great job using your imagination, Hunting Rifle. But now for my part :3))

BIC:

The group looking for the sapphire medallion soon stumbled upon a several paths weaving into a forest, but there was something blocking their path. Sitting coyly in front of one of the paths was another strange animal, this one covered in golden fur like a lion, but seemed to have a female, human head. A sort of a smirk came over the features of the cat-like creature as her almond eyes peered at the group.

"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me. However you must answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess, I let you pass. Answer wrongly, I attack. Remain silent, I will let you walk away from me, unscathed."

The sphinx stretched slightly, in a catlike manner, before sitting back up on her hind legs, still smirking a bit eerily at the people before it. It seemed to know what they wanted, as if it were deliberately placed here to challenge them.

"If you like pretty gems that sparkle and shine,
I invite you to dig in my virtual mine.
My first is purple, fit for a king,
My second is green where Dorothy did her thing.
My third is red, July's birthstone as well,
My fourth is seen in strings and is found inside a shell.
My fifth is hard, pure carbon and expensive to buy,
My sixth is crocodolite, striped like the big cat's eye.
Seventh is two words, a man-made fake of April's stone,
Eighth is very dark and found at Lightning Ridge alone.
Now take from each gem, one letter in its turn,
And you will find the stuff for which even the Gods yearn."

The sphinx finished speaking, smirking at her own cunning mind, and waited for their answer.

---

The group looking for the diamond medallion soon found their way out of the winding cave, to come upon what seemed to be a large desert in front of them. The cave dissolved behind them like it had never been there, and Orn merely smirked a toothy smirk. He turned to the other two, nodding his assent to their presence.

"You are at an advantage by being with me here, it seems. I am from this world, after all," he said, seeming to trail off a little at the end in favour of giving another smirk. "However, I am as much of this group as you are. I am here to help you get through this, because that's what being in a group is about. Trust and teamwork equals triumph."

"Do you know where we are then, Orn?" asked Nerezza, delicately. "Can you tell us what we need to do to find the medallion?"

"All in due time, my human friend," he replied with a smirk. "You are meant to figure out the purpose of this test by yourselves by using your minds. However I will give you a small hint. This is more of a test of character than skill."

Nerezza furrowed her brow in confusion and frustration, at which the dragon merely smirked all the more. He turned himself to face Brianna now, soulful silver eyes staring at her from beneath his scaly, emerald ridges.

"What of you, my other friend? Do you have anything you wish to ask, or can we begin walking?"

 

[Rex]

Rex didn't say anything more. Eventually they exited the cave, and found themselves in a forest. Several paths diverged from the one they are on. One was guarded by a Sphinx.

"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me. However you must answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess, I let you pass. Answer wrongly, I attack. Remain silent, I will let you walk away from me, unscathed."

It stretched, very much like a cat, then sat up. It was here to stop them from taking the easy route.

"If you like pretty gems that sparkle and shine,
I invite you to dig in my virtual mine.
My first is purple, fit for a king,
My second is green where Dorothy did her thing.
My third is red, July's birthstone as well,
My fourth is seen in strings and is found inside a shell.
My fifth is hard, pure carbon and expensive to buy,
My sixth is crocodolite, striped like the big cat's eye.
Seventh is two words, a man-made fake of April's stone,
Eighth is very dark and found at Lightning Ridge alone.
Now take from each gem, one letter in its turn,
And you will find the stuff for which even the Gods yearn."

It smirked, waiting for their answer. Rex pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his pack, and wrote:

"I'll answer, so you two should stepped back. To be safe we shouldn't speak until we answer, I'll put in what I know, I'll need some help with the rest.

1. Dragonstone (Guess)
2. Emerald
3. Ruby
4. Pearl
5. Diamond
6. Tiger's Eye
7. Synthetic Diamond
8. Black Opal

I don't know which she means by the next bit, my guess is the first letter of the first gem, second of the second, and so on. So it would look like D. M. B. R. O. S. T. A., which is why I think the first one is wrong."

He passed the paper and pencil to the boy.

 

[Aura]

The two groups, one searching for a diamond, the other for a sapphire, both headed into the 3rd cave at different times, each taking a different fork in the tunnel. Orn, Nerezza and Bree took the right fork in the tunnel, which turned out to be dark and narrow and winding. No one said a word. Bree was far too shy to say anything, Orn seemed to be content in the silence, and Nerezza seemed to have nothing to say at all.

Soon, they exited the tunnel, a relief for Bree. They entered what appeared to be a desert, stretching for miles. Bree scanned the empty land, trying to see if there was any sign of a temple. Nothing. The heat was something she was used to, but she still hated it. Orn turned to face both humans, eyes having the stare-into-your-soul kind of effect. He nodded at both of them before speaking.

He paused to smirk at them.

 

[Hunting Rifle]

Drake took the paper from Rex. He wasn't particulary good in riddles, but he used to own a gem collection.
After some thinking, he wrote down: 'I think Nr. 1 is either amethist or topaz, although there's also a purple kind of shappires. So using your theory, that would become either A.M.B.R.O.S.T.A or T.M.B.R.O.S.T.A..
Thing is, I can remember ambrosta is a species of apple. And the gods yearning about apples... There's an ancient Greek myth about the Olympian Gods and the Garden of The Hesperides, seven nimphs who guarded the Golden Apples. So I guess the answer to the riddle is Golden Apples.' He gave the paper back to Rex, who read it, nodded and passed the paper to Iris.

Drake was surprised with himself. He and his brother had always tried to beat eachother in riddle contests, and he had won most of the time, but he had been thinking he had lost this ability by long now, his brain covered in survival instinct. But the riddle games with his brother had proven their worth... His brother...

Drake had never felt this scared before. It was a bonechilling fear, a fear of dying soon. The lawsuit was tommorow.

Drake had been accused of starting a fire at the local church. It was a false accuse, and he had nothing to do with it, but when the church accused someone, he was guilty. Even if it was obvious he wasn't. Drake didn't know what his punishment would be, but murder was the quickest way to get rid of him. He had no chance of surviving if he stayed.

With that thought, he made his descission. He stepped out of his bed and changed clothes. After that, he packed his belongings. He packed some clothes, his money, and went to the kitchen for some food.
There, his brother was waiting. Drake looked him in the eyes. 'You knew?' he asked. 'I guessed.' his brothes answered. 'I would have done the same thing. But before you go, take this.' He gave Drake a bag of dried meat and some loaves of bread, a silver watch and his trusted Colt Python .357.

Drake gaped at him. 'Won't you need this?' he asked, pointing at the gun. His brother shook his head. 'Nah, I'll just say i lost it.' 'And your watch? I can look up the time using the sun.' Drake said, observing the silver hull of the watch. 'I know. Keep it as a mememto.' Drake didn't know what to say. He shook his brother's hand instead. Tears filled his eyes. 'Don't cry, big guy. I'm sure you'll manage fine.' Drake laughed. 'Thanks. Live a good life, friend.' He put the stuff in his bag, and left the house silently so his paren't wouldn't hear him. After a few steps outside, he turned around and saw his brother wave at him from the doorpost. He waved back, and continued his journey to the coast, away from his hometown.

He was wakened from his thoughts by a poke in his side from Iris, who passed him the paper. It read: 'Who of us will give the answer to the sphinx?' it read. He wrote back, 'I'll do it.' She passed the paper back to Rex, who wrote 'Are you absolutely sure of your answer?' 'No, but it's the best we have.' he wrote after Rex gave back the paper.

Drake stepped forward. The sphinx eyed him curiously. She seemed to emanate a mysterious kind of power, just like the dragons, but in a less intimidating way. Drake cleared his throath and said; 'Is the answer The Golden Apples of Immortality from the Garden of the Hesperides?'

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

The sphinx tilted her head slightly, grinning her head off. She shot at Drake, putting a powerful paw on his chest to hold him to the ground, her claws outstretched and taunting to kill him. However, she didn't seem to make a move quite yet, turning her head from side to side to look at the other two.

"I am willing to spare your friend, if one of you can answer my riddle. However on this next chance, I will not be so courteous." Her claws threateningly prod against Drake's chest, a toothy grin on her lips.

"You're on the right track with Greek mythology. However I am looking for something more specific. More of a... nectar, if you will. Your spelling may still be off. "

---

Orn seemed to just smirk all the more at Brianna's reactions, lowering his smile down some to become more serious. He seemed to be deep in thought on how exactly to answer her question. It wasn't long before he spoke again.

"If I remember correctly, this place has no temples or an oasis. Just seeming tricks of the mind that may become all too real. What we need to do is first figure out how it will trick us. As for food and water, well, perhaps I should show what contribution I can be other than a source of cryptic information, hmm?"

With that he extracted a green orb from his makeshift garments, the orb glowing a beautiful crystalline emerald in the sun much like his emerald scales had slight tinges of silver. In front of their eyes, a large mahogany table materialized, three matching chairs sitting nicely in place around the table. Orn sat at the head of the table, motioning for the others to sit with him.

In a few more moments, a large turkey-like cooked bird appeared on the table, a glass of water in front of the girls and a strangely colored drink in front of the dragon. He sipped his drink politely, afterwards giving a bit of a cough that blew some steam from his nostrils.

"Even if I am a dragon, sometimes dragon ale is too strong for even me," he comments, with a friendly smile on his lizard-lips. "Is everything to your liking, or would you like me to summon some more things?"

"D-Do you think you could make this water more... sweet and delicious?" asked Nerezza tentatively. The glass slowly darkened to a sort of a light brownish liquid, which she tasted and immediately brightened.
"Oh, thank you, Orn. what is this?"

"That would be chocolate milk, my dear," he replied. "One of the many things I've found in the alternate versions of Earth I've visited." Nerezza just stared at him, perplexed, to which he gave a hearty laugh. He turned to Brianna, still smiling.

"What of you, Brianna?" he said, rasping her name slightly as if trying to wrap his lips around the pronunciation. "Would you like anything?"

 

[Rex]

The sphinx grinned, and she shot at the Boy. She pinned him down with a paw, but instead of killing him, she looked up at him and the girl.

"I am willing to spare your friend, if one of you can answer my riddle. However on this next chance, I will not be so courteous," she prod her claws against the boy's chest, proving her point, "you're on the right track with Greek mythology. However I am looking for something more specific. More of a... nectar, if you will. Your spelling may still be off. "

Rex pulled out his Browning Hi-Power, not like it would do much, but hold it made him feel a bit more comfortable. If he got this wrong, he would shoot the Sphinx, hopefully stunning it.

"Golden Apples? Where did you come up with that!?" he thought to himself, "A.M.B.R.O.S.T.A, Greek Mythology. Ambrosia? She said a nectar, Ambrosia is with nectar in most of it's legends."

His finger tensed on the trigger, "Ambrosia?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

The sphinx grinned again, not yet removing her paw from Drake's chest. She looked thoroughly impressed, sticking her tongue out at Rex playfully. She stretched a little, twitching her ears in hesitation, before nodding her assent.

"You are correct, otter man. Ambrosia is the answer. However, I must still make my mark on the one who got it wrong," she said with another little smirk. She lifted her other front paw, flicking out only one of the claws on it and lowering it gently to Drake's face. There she made a tiny little 'X' mark on his cheek, licking the blood off of her claw tentatively before removing herself from him.

"Let that be a reminder, human, to listen carefully to others who are trying to help," she said, merely sitting aside to watch all of them. "You may pass. You will remain otherwise unharmed as long as you do not attack me. The temple is just ahead."

 

[Aura]

Once again, Orn smirked at her reaction to talking. Irritation flashed again. She had a feeling that she really wasn't going to like Orn. His face became more serious though, which was a relief for Bree.

"If I remember correctly, this place has no temples or an oasis. Just seeming tricks of the mind that may become all too real. What we need to do is first figure out how it will trick us. As for food and water, well, perhaps I should show what contribution I can be other than a source of cryptic information, hmm?"

Bree shuddered. Tricks on the mind? That didn't sound good. But he was right with the cryptic information. Orn confused Bree more often than he informed her.

The said dragon brought out a green orb, Bree failing to notice where from. It looked like someone had taken his scales and made them into a crystal orb form. In front of their eyes, a table appeared, complete with a massive cooked bird of some sort, two cups of water and a large glass mug of some kind of amber liquid. Bree instantly guessed that the water was for her and Nerezza, while the strange liquid was for Orn, who sniffed it then coughed politely.

He said, with a faint smile on his face.

"D-Do you think you could make this water more... sweet and delicious?" asked Nerezza shyly.

The water that was in front of Nerezza slowly darkened to a kind of milky brown colour. Nerezza's face brightened upon tasting it.

"Oh, thank you, Orn. What is this?" She asked curiously.

He said, laughing at her expression.

Bree's expression was one of shock. Alternate versions of Earth? What in the world? She tried to picture it, and failed, only bringing up the sad memories she had of her ex home world.

He asked, rasping his voice slightly.

"Uhhh… no I'm fine. And you may call me Bree if you wish." She stuttered, speaking the second part to both of her conpainions. "But if I do want anything, I will speak up. I promise."

They seemed satisfied with that, turning to the food and drink. Bree leaned back in her chair, sipping the lovely cool water slowly and having a try at that bird. It's flavour was unfamiliar to Bree, but it was a nice taste anyway. Turning her head to look at the sparce amount of desert, Bree wondered how on earth they were meant to find a diamond in this area. And what had Orn meant about ‘mind tricks'? Forcing herself to relax, Bree turned to look at her conpainions again, a feeling that they would soon find out what the mind tricks were creeping along her spine.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

The three enjoyed their meal in mostly silence, the soft sound of wind blowing past their ears. It was nothing that wasn't native to a desert, save for no sign of where it begun or ended. However Orn seemed to perk his head up a little bit, as if he heard something.

Not too long afterward, within their line of sight, was the shadow of a man, walking to move past them. He was too far away to see his face or even what he was wearing, just a silhouette trudging his way along the desert. Orn smirked a little bit, watching after the man as he seemingly disappeared into the distance.

Orn turned his head in the direction the man came from, as if waiting for something. Again, the silhouette of a man appeared on the horizon, so much like the other one that it was hard to even tell them apart. Judging by the way the two people walked, it was almost as if they were the same person.

"Ah, the tricks have begun," he muttered softly, folding his hands together. "Can either of you guess why the man who is passing us by looks so much like the first one?"

"Well, the general shape of a man is the same," replied Nerezza, "But they way they both moved seemed to be... identical. Which is peculiar, since no two humans are exactly alike."

"Isn't it, though?" replied Orn, a proud gleam in his eye, as if it seemed to him she was catching onto the whole thing. "The fact that they moved the same way was quite startling. Can you give a guess as to why?"

Nerezza shook her head, seeming contemplative about the whole thing. She watched as the second man disappeared on the horizon, and seemed to have an epiphany. She looked in the other direction, and watched.

Sure enough, yet another shadow walked by their vision, walking in the exact same manner, a bit slowed perhaps from a lot of walking, but nonetheless still intact. Every curve of the shadow was exactly the same as the last, and the first of them too.

"They move the same way... because they're the same person." Nerezza concluded, which gained a hearty smile from Orn. He nodded his head slightly, affirming her statement.

"Yes, but why do we keep seeing the same person over and over again?" He turned to Brianna, looking at her questioningly. "Perhaps you can help solve the rest of the puzzle. Teamwork is needed to pass the test."

 

[Aura]

Orn's head rose up, as if he'd heard something in the distance. The feeling that the mind tricks were about to begin came again, stronger than ever. Sure enough, a shadow of a man appeared. It was too far away to make out any details at all, so all the group could see was the silhouette he made. Bree failed to see how this was a mind trick however. She wondered why Orn didn't talk to him, call out. Also, she didn't know why the man didn't even acknowledge them. He must have seen them… or maybe he hadn't. Bree didn't know.

As soon as the man had left her eyesight, Orn turned his head again, looking in the direction in which the shadow had come from. To Bree's shock, another shadow had appeared, walking in the exact same manner as the shadow before it. Every movement was the same, every step. It was extremely weird.

Orn said, shifting his weight slightly.

Bree shook her head. No human moved like that, not even if they were twins. Wait. No human…

Well, the general shape of a man is the same," Nerezza said, sounding puzzled. "But they way they both moved seemed to be... identical. Which is peculiar, since no two humans are exactly alike."

Well Nerezza appeared to be thinking along the same lines as Bree. And Orn was just smirking. Obviously he already knew why this was happening. Irritation growled. Perhaps she would have been happier with only humans in their group. Oh well, nothing she could do about it.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Orn seemed to smile again, his grin sharp and toothy. He watched the silhouette of the man walk by again, finally slumping forward into the sand, before the image dissolved in front of them.

"Teleportation was a close guess, dear friend. Now, I will give you the answers you've been looking for." He stood, his gem glowing in his chest a little bit more. the two heard in their heads, the strange language becoming beautiful in its own right.

"This is the beginning and the end," he repeated in English, making additions. "This is a metaphor for infinity, where there is no true beginning or end. This is the never-ending desert, where the only way to escape is first to figure out what it does, and second, to find new enlightenment."

"So the shadow was merely an illusion to help us try to figure it out?" questioned Nerezza, ever the clever one. "What happens now?"

Before Orn could answer, the table in front of them cleared itself of any remnants of their finished meal, and in its place appeared to be a lowing gem. A brilliant, crystalline white light came from it, dimming down to show that it was a large diamond pendant set in silver on the end of a silver chain.

The gem lifted into the air by itself, the light from it enhancing again, before it shattered into pieces, three lights coming from it. Each light flew into one of the three standing around, the energy from them awakening new power within them. The silvery parts of Orn's scales turned a white color, as well as Nerezza's and Brianna's veins. The glow dimmed down after a short while, and they found themselves back in the cave, waiting in front of the silvery door.

"Congratulations," commended Orn, nodding his head to the two slightly. "You have passed the test, and perhaps gained some new knowledge or power within you. You remained my friend even though I was annoying with my cryptic words, and decided not to harm me in any way. Please, feel free to look within yourselves to search what has become of you while we wait for any others to arrive."

He sat down, merely looking contemplatively at Nerezza, who looked to be concentrating on herself. When she slipped into a calm state, her veins glowed again slightly, a diamond-like shape of light appearing in the middle of her chest underneath the frayed cloth.

For the first time, Orn shivered slightly in the wake of this, showing that he was no more beast than any of them were. He reluctantly turned hi head towards Brianna, curious to know what she would find within herself.

((OOC: Aura, now you can has White Tiger power! :3))

 

[Rex]

After the Sphinx left her mark on Drake, she stood aside allowing passage. Rex returned his gun to his pack, lifted the boy up, and dragged him down the path, the girl following behind. He went until the Sphinx was out of sight, the pulled the boy onto his feet.

He propped himself against a tree, pulling out one of the water containers he had stolen back on Earth. He released it, and took a sip. The water was a little cooler then normal, which was a nice addition.

"Want some?" he asked, pulling out the other two and throwing them to his teammates.

His pants had dried to some extent, so he busied himself with pulling on the rest of his clothes. He left the goggles and scarf off, no need to conceal himself anymore, but he did put on the hat. He left his trench coat open as well. A picture fell out of his jacket pocket. He reached down, and picked it up. It showed himself, Kris, and Maxie, maybe a week before Kris was captured. All three of them looked happy, unaware of the hard times ahead.

Had he ever really been that blissful? Rex couldn't remember much, it was so long ago. He was holding his SPAS-12, it had been his pride and joy. The old weapon had finally jammed up permanently a few months ago. He couldn't bare looking at the picture anymore, their where to many memories attached to it. If he didn't look away, all the memories would come flooding back.

He returned the picture to his pocket, careful not to bend it, before looking up at his teammates, "Ready?"

 

[Aura]

(Yay!)

 

[Hunting Rifle]

Drake gratefully picked up the water container. It was now that he noticed his thirst, although they had been this desert. He felt at the mark on his cheek- he hoped it wouldn't leave a scar. But he had endured far bigger wounds in his life. It would wear away soon enough.

He had been so sure of his answer that he hadn't even discussed it with his teammates. He knew he had been extremely lucky to be alive. If he would ever make such mistake againg, he would be gambling his life. Maybe it was because he was used to being alone and make desicions for himself. Or maybe he was just a stubborn kid. That was what his father had always called him.

At Rex's question they stood up. Drake hadn't completely recovered yet, but he was able to walk. Iris was still looking a little white- she had probably been just as scared as him. I must be the only person in her life she can really trust, Drake thought. They continued their journey, following the road the sphynx had been standing on. Drake looked around. The desert stretched endlessly around them, filled with some dunes, rock and on a rare occasion, trees. The temperatures where as hot as they had been on Earth, and there was no wind at all. He slowed down a little, standing next to Iris. 'You alright?' he asked her, without trying to remove the tone of anxiety in his voice. She looked up. 'Sure. I was just scared like hell for a moment.' 'So was I.' 'You're really lucky, you know that. You could have been dead.' 'I know. But...'

Suddenly, he thought of something. 'If the sphinx had killed me, what would you have done?' Iris blushed a little, which was clearly visible against her pale skin. 'Gee... I guess the same as Rex. I'm a kind of person that always makes the wrong choices.' 'But you still survived.' 'Pure luck, I think.' 'Or a really focused guardian angel.' Drake said. They both laughed. 'Well, I'm glad you're okay.' he said. Now he had checked up on her, there was still one thing left to do.

He acclerated, catching up with Rex. 'Hey Rex...' he started. With the goggles now removed, Drake saw how his black eyes concetrated on him, but he didn't slow down. Drake took a deep breath. 'Thanks for saving me. I would've been dead if you hadn't. I owe you one.'

 

[Rex]

As they walked on, the forest thinned into a desert. It was as hot as it normally was on Earth. Where had this sudden change in climate come from? Rex heard his teammates converse behind him, but he tried not to listen.

"What happens to those marked by the Sphinx," he thought to himself, "I guess we will find out before to long."

The boy came up to him, "Hey Rex..."

He looked at the boy, but didn't slow down.

"Thanks for saving me. I would've been dead if you hadn't. I owe you one."
Rex nodded, "It's fine, you'd have done the same if it was me pinned down."

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

He turned to Nerezza afterwards, who seemed to be getting another telepathic onslaught from Orn. Nodding her head in understanding, she concentrated again, the light at her chest glowing around her body, and she lifted up from the ground, floating slightly. She opened her eyes, and realizing she could sort of control it, she floated about the cavern, enjoying the rush of power running throughout her body.

Orn busied himself with the mechanism on his chest. he pressed his claws into some indents, and afterwards held his scaled hand out, his gem glowing. The light from the gem expanded out to his hand, and formed another gem there, this time white in colour instead of the red on his chest, and much smaller.

he said into her mind, before pressing the gem to the lower part of her fuzzy neck. Metal sprouted out from the sides almost instantaneously, wrapping around her neck like a collar. When everything snapped into place, so did a vibration into Bree's mind, causing her to feel calm and relaxed, like she was more in control.



---

The group looking for the sapphire soon found a large temple, or at least what was left of it. Some broken columns laid scattered about, pieces of what was once the roof on the grassy floor beneath them. In the center of the mess was a pedestal, on top of which laid a glowing blue gem encased in a silver lining.

As they got closer, the sapphire medallion seemed to react to them all being near. It rose up into the air, and shattered before their eyes, three blue lights spawning from the inside. One light went to each person, flying into their hearts and making their veins glow a dim blue. They all felt energy coursing throughout them, becoming part of them.

In a moment, they were transported back to the room with the silver door, finding that they were only the second group to arrive. Orn seemed to be dealing with a white tiger that had somehow made it's way there with them, and the other woman who had gone with him was... flying around the room.

they heard in their heads, though Orn didn't look at them.

With that, the mental link severed, and left them to their own thoughts.

((OOC: So, please PM me again to tell me what you want to get out of this energy change.))

 

[Hunting Rifle]

'It's fine, you'd have done the same for me if it was me pinned down.' Rex answered. Drake felt relieved now he had said it; he had always been a person not exactely eager to thank someone. His parent had called it shyness. But Drake just hated feeling nervous.

Suddenly, he spotted something in the desert, far away. It was nothing more then a pinprick, but it didn't look like a tree. The further they walked, the bigger the object became, and it looked like there were several objects, some stumps, but some tall objects too. 'Look...' He said to Rex and he pointed. Rex followed the direction of his finger and nodded. 'That looks interesting.' He said. Drake felt new hope. They would seen run out on water and they seemed far from any oasis or river. They had to find the medaillion soon.

Drake told Iris and the group accelerated. After quite a walk, they arrived. The stumps and tall objects he had seen had really been marble pillars, or what was left of them. Pieces of marble were lying everywhere, like there had been a rampage. It had probably been a temple, Drake thought. Suddenly, he heard Iris calling him. Drake followed her voice; he found her standing next to an altar of the same colour as the rest of the temple. On the altar was a glowing shappire stone.

He wanted to climb up the altar to get it, but before he had a chance to do so, The shappire rose up in the air. Rex had now arrived too, and the three of them watched in awe as the blue stone rose higher and higher. Suddenly, it shattered into three pieces with a loud crack. Drake yelped in surprise. Was that supposed to happen or had they done something wrong? Then the three shards flew at them. Drake wanted to do a sideroll to avoid it- Was that another challenge? Beat the flying shards?- When the blue shard flew straight through his heart. But instead of tearing it into pieces, it dissapeared, setting Drake's veins on fire, and suddenly they all dissapeared in a blue flash.

When the light died out, Drake found they had returned to the room with the silver door. Only one other group had arrived before them. The green dragon Orn, was standing with a really big white tiger and the other member of his group, the dark-haired woman, was floating in mid-air, moving around the room.For a second, it was too much to handle for Drake. Ah, welcome back. Orn's voice said, although he did not eye them. You have passed the test. You have worked together to the best of your ability, and kept your cool even when the spinxh attacked a friend. You have gained new knowledge, and with it, new abilities. Please, concentrate within yourself, and use your new mental clarity and perception to find out what has happened to you. Orn continued. Drake wasn't exactely sure what that was supposed to mean, but he did as the dragon told him. His mind concentrated on the disadvantages of being young, the dangers of the world of evil, the helplesness of being unarmed, and the power of the elements, without him even wanting it to.

Force. Power is what created every world, what controls them, what will end them. Force is balanced. It is evil, and at the same time the power that fights evil. You, young Earthling, have gained the same powers as the violent side of nature. The Force of the Universial Elements. Drake felt a little sick after the heavy voice left his mind. But somehow, he knew what it meant. It meant he had become stronger then he could ever wish to be on Earth. Driven by instinct, he raised his arms, clenched his fists and turned to a empty wall of the hall.

He concentrated on the sound of cackling thunder, the brilliant light flashing accros the sky. He opened his palms. Pointy rays of white thunder sprang from his palms, hitting the wall with a sizzling sound and making the air go static. After a few seconds, he clenched his fist again, let the image of lightning drift from his mind, and unclenched his fist. The lightning had stopped. Drake realized how tired and hungry he now felt. Seemingly, his power was limited by the power of his body. He looked at the wall. It was totally blackened. Drake stared at his palms in utter amazement. He had gained control over lightning. He grinned. This was going to be wicked.

 

[Rex]

The boy looked revealed with his answer. Rex grinned, he could be pretty shy sometimes too.

The boy pointed ahead of them, "Look..."

Rex followed his finger. A distance ahead of them were a number of objects, some much taller then others.

He nodded, "That looks interesting."

The boy went back to tell the girl, and they sped up. It took a while, but they made it to the objects. They appeared to be made of marble. There was marble lying everywhere. This area much be very old, the process of decay was astounding. The remained looked like a temple. Rex went over to examine an odd looking area. lying on the ground was a long dagger. The thing was big enough to be confused with a short sword, and had a black gem in the cross guard. He grabbed the blade, his instructions had said 'find weapons' as an optional objective.

Looking towards his group, he saw a sapphire rising into the air. He ran over to the others, and watched the gem rise higher and higher. The thing shattered into three pieces, and a piece flew at him. He crossed his arms in an attempt to stop it, but it went though his arms and into his chest. The whole thing was painless. In a flash of blue light, the temple disappeared.

When the light faded, they had returned to the room with the silver door. The group with the dragon had already arrived, which meant that they were second. The dragon was dealing with a white tiger, a species not seen on Earth for some time, and only one other group member was present, and she was flying around the room. The whole thing was weird.

"Ah, welcome back, you have passed the test. You worked together to the best of your ability, and kept your cool even when the sphinx attacked a friend. You have gained new knowledge, and with it, new abilities. Please, concentrate within yourselves, and use your new mental clarity and perception to find out what has happened to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rex muttered to himself.

Their was a crack. Rex screamed, crossing his arms in front of him in surprise.

"HELP, HELP, HELP," his mind screamed.

He had dropped the blade, which started glowing. A black dome closed around him. Rex looked around, examining his new predicament.

"Calm yourself young one, you are safe," called a feminine voice inside his head, "pick up the blade, and allow its powers to seep into you."

Rex did as the voice said. He picked up the dagger. The black gem on it glowed, then shattered. A black aura escaped from it, it entered his hand.

He dropped the blade, which promptly fell apart into dust. His hand glowed. And a crescent moon shape drew itself on his hand. The glow faded. And the crescent moon disappeared.

"What did you do to me?" He asked the voice.
I have given you a way to defend yourself from those that threaten you."
"How do I get out of here?" he said, motioning to the dome.
"Tell the darkness that you want it to stop."

He tried it, telling the dome to fall in his mind. It disappeared at his command.

"When you have the strength, you can tell the shadows to do anything you want"

Could this be used offensively as well? Rex decided to test it out. He focused on an area already black with whatever the boy did. A black bolt pulled itself together, and it the blackened cave wall, cracking it slightly. He attack winded him, he didn't have the strength to do much. Still, the ability was awesome. Rex remember a word for this power. It was... Umbrakinesis, power over darkness.

"How cool is that?" he asked no one in particular.

 

[Aura]

A white tiger? Surely he was seeing things? Bree adjusted herself, so she could see her hands… which appeared to be massive white with black striped paws, each with deadly sharp claws jutting out of them. Her head jerked backwards in shock. She examined each paw with the same amount of shock and curiosity.

As she raised her head to look at Orn, a strange feeling overcame her, a sixth sense. Below her, she could sense different kinds of sparks, each slightly different but with the same properties.

Orn said apologetically.

He reached forwards and pressed a white gemstone into her neck, giving her a small jolt. She could sense a much larger spark around her neck, but not where the gemstone was. The spark came from the metal. At the same moment, a tremor ran through her, giving off a feeling of calm and control.

Orn said, looking up as three move people appeared out of nowhere.

Now that she'd gotten over the shock of being a tiger, curiousity was all she felt. Those sparks… Bree placed one paw forwards, as if she intended to take a step. Instead, she toppled over to one side.

Bree purred, wincing.

So she spent the remaining time she had teaching herself how to walk in this form. It seemed she was used to having less weight and less body than she did in this form, which made walking and moving a difficult task. The sparks were not helping. She progressed onto running and jumping as more people arrived at the silver door.

(*shrugs* Damn it's short...)

 

[Hunting Rifle]

He turned around and looked trough the room. Rex was gone, he noticed. In his place stood a black dome, a cocoon of some sort. Suddenly, the dome dissolved and Rex was standing there.

He raised his hands just as he he done, and aimed his hands at the same wall as Drake had been testing his powers on. A sparking black orb formed in his hands, and shot out the wall. Without a sound, it dissapeared on impact, but the wall had been cracked. What the hell had he done?
Did he have control over dark magic?

At that moment, Drake noticed Iris standing by his side. On her face was an expression of utter amazement. 'Drake!' she hissed. 'What is going on? You shoot lighting, Rex uses some sort of dark power, a woman is flying trough the chamber!'

Drake looked at her in surprise. 'Didn't you notice something changed when the shards hit us?' he asked. 'I did. But I can't quite place it.' 'The medaillion gave us superhuman powers, Iris. Look within yourself, as Orn said.' Iris hestitated, but then closed her eyes, her fists clenched. After ten seconds, she relaxed and opened her eyes widely. 'A voice spoke to me...' She said. Drake nodded. 'Same here. What did it say?'

'Something about never being troubled by poorness or hunger again, for it was now within my power to create and shape whatever I want, as long as i had the power to do so.' Even Drake had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

Suddenly, Iris' eyes brightened. 'Create and shape! I am able of changing things into something else! That was what the voice meant!' She exclaimed. She picked up a pebble from the floor, clenched it between two fingers and narrowed her eyes, focusing on it. The pebble's color dissapeared, and it became transparent. 'Glass.' she whispered, amazed. Her eyes narrowed again, and the stone melted away, turned into water.

Drake was really surprised. But he still thought his own power was cooler. He heard the shuffle of clothes and turned around, seeing more people arrive in the room.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

After a while, Orn stood in the midst of all of them, seeming to know something. Out of all the people who had returned, there was one group who hadn't, some who had returned alone, and other groups who were only missing one member. He stepped towards the portal, and turned back to them.

"Now, this world isn't all perfect," he said to them, "There is still crime, forms of currency, ways to earn your keep. However you'll find we tend to keep our focus away from weaponry and instead tend to the needs of others. a better way to keep the peace among my people and yours. You will find other humans there, different from you. You may even find parts of yourself you didn't know were there before."

He turned towards the silver door and touched it, his silvery scales glowing white again. The white energy seemed to be leaving his person and siphoning itself into the portal, white lines etching their way around the edge. Finally, when all of the white had left Orn's body, the light etched itself into strange looking symbols.

The door slid open, seemingly revealing nothing but rock wall behind it. However, inside it looked to be wavering, distorting the air inside of it, shifting space like a pliable toy. Orn stepped towards it, and as he stepped through, he disappeared through the transparent veil.

"Are you going to come in or not?" he asked, as he peeked his head back out afterwards, looking like a weird, disembodied head. Some of the others looked at each other questioningly, but after a few moments they all followed Orn into the veil. They felt like it was a smooth caress, a sort of a tingling sensation as they stepped through.

They came out in the midst of other portals much like these, and a lot of them too. Further up towards what looked to be an elevator, more of the portals seemed to be being used, by strange creatures of all sorts. Human-looking people with pointed ears, more dragon-people like Orn, people with strange hair colors that looked all too natural on them.

"These portals were made by a race of super-intelligent machines that we call the Androids," Orn explained. "We've only recently been able to start exploring them, and when we found the state of your world was abysmal, well, we sent out a rescue party." He smiled his fanged smile again, and seemed to be waiting for something.

As the portal closed behind the last of the humans stepping through, another dragon-person like Orn stepped towards them. This one was red in color, looking to be of the female variant judging by her figure. She bowed to Orn, which was showing him a great respect, before looking towards all of them with her glowing red eyes.

"Thessse are the humansss?" she hissed slightly, as if unfamiliar with the English language. "Welcome to our home, little onesss. I trussst our king hasss treated you well?" She raised her eye ridge much like one would raise an eyebrow, questioning towards them. The statement seemed strange, as they had no inclination of a king in their midst.

Then a mutual understanding seemed to pass over them, along with realization. Orn was these people's king, which ultimately meant he was the one to approve their rescue. Some of the group looked to their feet in shame for doubting the dragon, others whispered about having to follow him now that they were on his world.

"Forgive me, little onesss," she amended. "You may call me Ssscarlet, if you wisssh."

((OOC: What is your reaction to all of this? How do you react when you find out Orn is their - and now your - king?))

 

[Rex]

Apparently the boy could control lightning, that was what had scared him. The girl could change things shape.

"That's Alchemy," he told the girl.

---

Eventually more people arrived. Rex made sure to keep to the shadows, debating if he should return to hiding. He choose not to when the dragon started speaking again.

"Now, this world isn't all perfect," the dragon said, "There is still crime, forms of currency, ways to earn your keep. However you'll find we tend to keep our focus away from weaponry and instead tend to the needs of others. a better way to keep the peace among my people and yours. You will find other humans there, different from you. You may even find parts of yourself you didn't know were there before."

The dragon glowed white again. The energy seeped off him, into the portal. It opened, revealing the rock wall behind. However, there seemed to be a distortion. The dragon entered it, disappearing.

After a moment it poked its head through, "Are you going to come in or not?"

After a few moments the crowd started to move forward, Rex followed behind. As he stepped through the portal, he felt a slight shock. The portal closed behind him, and the dragon began another monologue.

"These portals were made by a race of super-intelligent machines that we call the Androids," it said, "We've only recently been able to start exploring them, and when we found the state of your world was abysmal, well, we sent out a rescue party."

Looking around, Rex saw a lot of other portals, and an elevator of sorts. Lots of creatures far stranger then him were using them. He looked back at the dragon, and saw another one join him.

"Thessse are the humansss?" the new dragon asked, "Welcome to our home, little onesss. I trussst our king hasss treated you well?"

"King?" Rex thought, "Ah, the first dragon."

The first dragon introduced itself as Scarlet, elongating the "s" sound again.

Rex saw a few holes in the dragon's story. But where to begin?

"Don't lie, I hate lairs," He began, speaking just loud enough for the two dragons to hear, "dragons have been spoken about in legends for thousands of years. You have not 'just discovered' Earth. The descriptions of the dragons of lore match yours to the tee. So why don't you tell us the truth?"

It was a dangerous game he was playing. The dragons had a lot more power then him. If they wished it, he would be dead soon.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Scarlet narrowed her brow ridges, looking at the otter man with an almost smoldering gaze. However, she perked up as if hearing something, turning her head towards Orn. She gave him another bow, and turned back to the otter-man in question.

"We do not lie," she began. "Let me exssplain. Perhapsss there were dragonsss living on your planet before, that could be true. However, jussst becaussse you see one dragon sssomewhere doesss not mean they have all been there. Thossse dragonsss were born on your planet. We were born here, and thisss isss our home. Do you underssstand?"

"You remember I talked of other Earths?" Orn spoke up again, adding to the conversation. "Well, the other humans around here didn't come from nowhere. There are other universes and multiple possibilities of the same species showing up on an entirely different planet in an entirely different dimension. In your universe, dragons were made on your planet and died out, but in ours they originated from a neighboring planet, now dubbed Draconia, and lived on as you now see before you."

Understanding again bristled throughout the group. Nerezza seemed to be beaming at Orn in adoration, never having doubted him for a second. He seemed to sense her gaze, and looked towards her. He probably spoke in her mind again, as they parted the gaze with a mutual nod of understanding.

"Now, are you ready to come to my castle and become citizens, or do you have more questions?"

 

[Hunting Rifle]

When less humans started appearing, Drake noticed how few there were left in contrary to the amount of people that had left planet Earth. It seemed that they had been lucky to have lost nobody from their group. But it had been a close call.

Suddenly, Drake noticed Orn standing inbetween the people, looking around. He opened his mouth and said: 'Now, this world isn't all perfect. There is still crime, forms of currency, ways to earn your keep. However, you'll find we tend to keep our focus away from weaponry and instead tend to the needs of others. A better way to keep the peace among my people and yours. You will find other humans there, different from you. You might even find parts of yourself you didn't know there were before.'

The dragon's hull emanated a stream of white light, seeping of him and crawling over the floor, dissapearing into the silver portal. It opened without a single sound, showing the cave wall. Drake found himself surprised. Weren't doors meant for going through a wall? Then Orn stepped into the portal, and he was gone.
His head popped out several seconds later. 'Are you coming or not?' He said before dissapearing yet again.

Drake was one of the first in line, mostly because he had already been standing close to the portal but also because he didn't like waiting. Instead of being flattened against the rock wall, he stepped right through it, feeling a short buzz as he entered. After the last people had walked through the gate, it closed again. Orn turned to them and explained some history of the portals, about a race of mechanic organisms called Androids and how they had discovered the world they had been living in using the portals, and how they had sent out a rescue party to save them.
He didn't explain anything else. Drake looked around, seeing several creatures of all colours and forms traveling through the portals, some humanoid, but no ordinary humans anywhere.

Suddenly, Drake noticed another dragon materializing next to Orn. The new dragon was of the same size as Orn, but brilliantely red in colour and with glowing eyes of bloodred colour. It seemed to be a female. She bowed to Orn in a respectfull gesture and turned to the humans. She asked them if they were 'the' humans, without a real emotion sounding in her voice. She made every 's' sound very long, like an angry snake. She welcomed them to her world and asked them if her king had been treating them well. At first, Drake had no idea what she was talking about, but then he thought of Orn. Clearly, he had been riding the back of a blue-blooded dragon. Orn seemed like a friendly person, but he emanated some kind of seriousness too. I could live with him as my ruler, Drake thought. As far as he knew, Orn was a intelligent and honest person.

The red she-dragon told them her name was Scarlett. That was a female name on Earth, too, Drake thought. He wondered if it was a coincidence. He woke from his pondering at the sound of Rex' voice. He was just in time to hear the last sentence, about the description of dragons on Earth. Drake agreed with him, but he didn't sy it out loud. The dragons were still way stronger then him.

Scarlet bowed to Orn again before answering Rex'question. She told them about the different birthplaces of dragons, how there were different worlds with dragons in them. Orn added to her story, telling them about the different dimensions and different universes with the same races in them, and how there were even several different kinds of planet Earth. He then asked them if there were any more questions. Slowly, Drake raised his hands.

He blushed as he felt everyone around him stare at him, including Orn and Scarlet. 'If... If there are other dimensions, and you, the dragons, are in control of the portals that lead to them, does that mean that the dragons are in control of all dimensions and universes?' He managed to say.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

The two dragons looked at each other again at this human's question, and hissed their amusement, showing their teeth and smoke coming from their nostrils. Seemed a bit funny, to think that they were in control of the portals and different dimensions.

"Thisss planet isss oursss," replied Scarlet, "but the portalsss were made by the Androidsss. They are merely transportsss between the worldsss and dimensionsss that have sssentient lifeformsss. It doesssn't give usss rule over them, asss everyone has their own cussstomsss."

"It's like how government apparently worked on your planet," added Orn. "There may have been a King or Queen of England, but that person only had rule over their lands. In America, they had a President, an other countries their own rulers. It works the same here, but also with different planets, different dimensions, and different universes."

"The Androidsss merely put thessse portalsss here for usss to interact. Make friendsss in other placssesss, you sssee?" Scarlet shone her own fanged smile towards the group. "You'll have to forgive my hisssing. I am ssstill working on my Englisssh."

"I believe that was obvious," replied Orn, causing some people to laugh or giggle in reply. "Any more questions?"

 

[Hunting Rifle]

Drake desperately wanted to know more about this 'Androids' but he didn't dare asking anything else and keep everyone waiting. He looked around, but nobody else seemed to have a question

Drake couldn't stop looking at the odd creatures that were traveling trough the portals. He saw humanoids with some sort of fur and ones with scales, creatures that resembled several animals, only then the size of buildings, and lots of other creatures. All those portals were entrances to other dimensions, Orn had said.

Everything was so different from at Earth. Over there, thousands of astronomers and scientists had tried to unravel the mysteries of other dimensions. Here, they were already traveling to them. If dimensional science was so advanced here, what about space science? And medical science? It was all just too much to comprehend...

In the middle of the night, Drake and his brother were lying in the tall green grass. A soft breeze made the grass waver as the two brothers gazed at the stars high above them. 'Bro?' 'Drake?' 'If the oil and the water wars hadn't happened, would humanity have reached Mars by now?' There was a short silence. 'I guess so. When we reached the Moon, everyone said Mars would be the next step. Forty years after the moonlanding, the American governement was already making plans for going to Mars. But the crisis in 2009, also known as the start of the misery, spoiled everything.' 'Humanity has always dreamed of reaching the stars. But we didn't come any further then the Moon.' There was another silence. 'Maybe the Earth will become healthier in the future.' 'Yeah, after the human race died out.' 'You sound like you want that to happen.' 'If it saves the Earth, why not? Maybe toads will become sentient after we're gone. And maybe they'll be smarter then us and not spoil the Earth.' 'Sentient toads? You need some sleep, bro.' They stood up and went on their way home.

Wow. That was years ago. How the hell did he remember that? He was having a lot of flashbacks lately. Did it have something to do with being recued from the Earth?

He heard people around him laughing over something and he turned to Orn, waiting for him to continue.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: FINALLY I can continue the storyline. Thank you so much, HR.))

BIC:

"Scarlet," called Orn tentatively, "Please inform the people of Terrater that our guests have arrived, and that they are to treat them as they would treat me. Understood?"

"Underssstood, Your Majesssty," she replied, turning to walk away. She pulled out some sort of square type device, tapping at it with her claws and beginning to speak into it in a foreign language. Orn simply motioned for the group to follow him, leading them towards the double doors at the front.

"My Lord," called a cheery, light voice, her following giggle twittering like little bells. "The donations have come in from all over Terrater already. When you register them they should each get enough to provide some new clothes and a week or two of food. It still amazes me, the compassion of your people." A woman who looked quite human approached, her black hair tied up into a bun, brown eyes peering slightly over glasses, a slight librarian look about her. Judging by her appearance, she looked to be human, even though she hadn't come with the group of people behind Orn.

"Oh, hello," she greeted at them cheerfully, her protruding belly indicative of pregnancy. "Welcome to Terrater. I'm Luna, the receptionist here at the Portal Corporation. If there's anywhere you need or want to go, talk to me about it and I'll point you in the right direction." she bowed to them slightly, turning to face Orn again, her posture straightening as much as it could right now, out of respect for her king, no doubt.

He nodded at her, smiling softly in return, before motioning for the group to continue to follow him. They were lead through some more doors to outside of the building, light shining at them as a sharp contrast to the dullness of the cave. It was hard to see anything for a short little while, causing many people to blink and rub their eyes quite a bit.

When the haze cleared, many gasped in awe at the sights around them. Buildings towering over them in every direction down the intricately curving cobblestone road, leading far away in both directions. More strange creatures bustled about the street, some nodding their head or waving at them in greeting, others brushing by only to bow at the king if they recognized him. The sky was a beautiful crimson color and the plants around them were a lighter, more noticeable red, with a blue-ish sun hovering in the sky.

They were lead down towards the left hand of the street, a large shadow looming in the distance. Some who looked back noticed that the Portal building was larger than any skyscraper they had ever seen. They felt so small compared to many of the other things here, but saw that some of the buildings did seem to accommodate people of their size. the street they were traveling down appeared to be filled with businesses, inns and cafes that lined the streets, leaving some hungry.

The looming shadow came into the light of the sun, and many more gasps came from the crowd. The largest castle anyone had ever seen or dreamed of laid in front of their eyes, glittering in all its splendorous glory. The windows and sheer size made it obvious that this castle was made for a dragon like Orn, whom in his large form could still fit through one of those windows with ease. It was emerald with silver highlights much like himself, glittering a little bit red in reflection of the beautiful sky.

They were lead towards large silvery gates that opened when they approached, leading down a path that lead up some relatively normal stairs to a gigantic, mahogany door. Around many spots of the tower, they saw a flag with the symbol of a silvery type dragon, indicative no doubt of Orn's rule over the kingdom. He Lead them through the doors as they again opened by themselves, leading into a winding hallway that was well lit, showing a red and gold carpet leading off in both directions.

Another pair of doors were in front of them, this time with another silvery dragon symbol on it. The previous doors closed behind the last of the humans of Orn;'s group, and they watched in awe as for the first time, he breathed fire. A silvery flame kindled with emerald and black sparks shot towards the silvery marking, causing it to glow and many clicking noises to be heard, and the door opened. They came into a room filled with ambient green light, filled with chandeliers made of silver metal and having green candles. The red carpet led up to the foot of the large throne, which was also emerald green in color, large enough yet again to hold a dragon of Orn's true caliber.

He held out a hand to stop the crowd as he walked up towards the throne, before gracefully turning towards them, a sudden flash of light giving him regal robes to fit a king. He sat upon the throne to which he belonged, peering out at the crowd with those calculating, silver eyes.

"Single file again, if you please," he said, "And when you approach me, I expect you to kneel before your new King."

((OOC: Please post your reactions to everything, and how you approach the king.))