Shards of Memory-Prologue: Fractured Union

[Rystil Arden]

Zaeryn:
[SBLOCK]
*Valyssa giggles.*

"There, there Zaeryn, its because you're like me--can't stop trying to learn new things for a minute!" she replies with a smile, "So, what's next? Can we look inside some of these buildings maybe? The one there with people walking upside down along one of the walkways looks like it would be fun!"

*She points to the Fryzi Centre for Spatial Metamorphosis, which looks like something out of an Escher painting*
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Rystil Arden]

Yuriko:
[SBLOCK]
*Rin seems fine, while Shinoa is shaking on the ground in a rapid seizure. Shinoa thinks she sees a flash of white from the direction of the howl, but then it is gone.*
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Keia]

Yotsu Yuriko, Martial Artist

Rystil[sblock]*Yuriko watched helplessly as Shinoa was wracked by seizures. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't want to risk getting too close and be attacked. It wasn't so much being attacked but being forced to kill Shinoa in self defense. Yuriko glanced warily at the surrounding wilderness and did the only other thing she could think of at the moment . . . *

"HELP ! ! !" Yuriko cried out as loud as she could.[/sblock]

 

[unleashed]

Zaeryn T'Erilan, Male Altanian Arcanist

Rystil

[SBLOCK]*Glum for a few moments, Zaeryn brightens up quickly hearing Valyssa’s giggle and comforting words. Smiling in return he says:*

“I think we can manage that! If I remember correctly there are a few more unusual situations I can show you in the academy as well.”[/SBLOCK]

 

[Rystil Arden]

Yuriko:
[SBLOCK]
*The wolf howls again as if in response to Yuriko's cry.*

*Shinoa tries to lift herself up but collapses again into a shaking fit.*

"Yu...Rin...help me," she calls out feebly to her children, who stand paralysed at the sight.

*Rin looks to Yu, then Shinoa, and back to Yuriko, unsure of what to do.*
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Rystil Arden]

Zaeryn:
[SBLOCK]
"Neat!" Valyssa exclaims, smiling gladly to have put a smile back on Zaeryn's face, as she follows him towards the spatially-anomalous building, "So how do you suppose it works like that in there?"
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Keia]

Yotsu Yuriko, Martial Artist

Rystil[sblock]*Yuriko tried to remember anything more about the great white wolf.*

'I called for help and the wolf howled . . . was it to drown out the call? Or was it trying to help?' Yuriko thought.

"Children, stay away from her . . . at least for now," Yuriko cautioned. "The wolf hunts those who are tainted . . . and it appears, at the moment, that only Shinoa is affected by its howl. Stay back!"

*Yuriko watched the woods, and called out for help again a few seconds later.*[/sblock]

 

[unleashed]

Zaeryn T'Erilan, Male Altanian Arcanist

Rystil

[SBLOCK]Grinning at Valyssa’s exclamation, he replies, “It’s likely a localised reverse gravity effect, but I’m not completely sure as I haven’t advanced quite that far in my studies yet.”[/SBLOCK]

 

[Rystil Arden]

Yuriko:
[SBLOCK]
*Yuriko remembers the tale of the Snow Maiden and the Great White Wolf:
[SBLOCK]A woodcutter was once attacked by a terrible ice demon in the frozen mountains, suffering an awful scar across his leg, only to be saved by the Great White Wolf. The wolf drove the demon away, sending a cloud of purification across its body. Then it turned, gazing deep into the woodcutter's eyes as it spoke to him, reading his fate. "I have saved you today, but be forewarned that your soul is still at risk. You must never speak of what happened here to anyone, no matter what, or you will surely suffer." Later that day, the woodcutter rescued a beautiful maiden who was nearly trapped in an avalanche. He fell in love, and they were married, having three lovely children, but no matter how she asked him where he received his awful wound on the day they met, he refused to answer. Then finally, one day, when the wolf's warning seemed no more real than a dream or distant memory, he told her the truth. Her eyes began to glow with a pale blue fire, as the ice demon broke out of its mortal shell and reemerged, devouring the surprised woodcutter, who could not bring himself to raise a hand against his beloved, even to save himself.[/SBLOCK]

"Yu...ri...ko" Shinoa gasps out, "I can't...keep...leave me behind...take the..."

*The howl comes again, this time much louder--much closer.*
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Rystil Arden]

Zaeryn:
[SBLOCK]
"Hmm...a localised reverse gravity? Cool! So that means if I jump high enough in the right place, I could switch gravities and wind up landing in a different direction--have any of the students tried that before?"
[/SBLOCK]