The peace that formerly reigned in Terra Nova has eroded, now little more than a memory. War ravages the continent. Disputes divide kingdoms; ideals divide families. The quest for power consumes absolutely and indiscriminately. None are immune to its allure.
Who will rise and who will fall? Only time—and ambition—will tell.
UPDATES
05.26.2023
2 month character creation hold for all existing members begins 6/5/2023. Ended 8/5/2023.
10.29.2023
Change in how times flows. Was 4 IC seasons, now only 2 IC seasons per 1 OOC year.
Our dearest and lovely admin welcomed her new baby boy, Jet, on Sept 7th! We're so happy for her and her family! Congratulations Mama!! Your boys are all so lucky to have such an incredible mom to love them! God bless!
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
They had only been here since yesterday, but Avalon had already claimed the throne as her own. It was the most comfortable piece of furniture she had ever put her behind on (but not really; it was a hard stone, but everything seemed comfortable if it wasn't rightfully yours). The redhead leaned against the back of it and had swung her legs over one of the armrests, her feet dangling over the edge. She was removing dirt from beneath her nails, and keeping herself busy with a bottle of ale she had found in the kitchen. It stood on the other armrest, within reach. She felt like a true queen.
But she was getting bored already. She wondered where her family members were. And what would come of Elena now. She was just about to get up to look for Honora to ask their latest addition to the pack of strays what she knew about the diamond and Elena's condition, when she saw the familiar blonde enter the room.
"Well well", she said, picking up the bottle and taking a sip of it. "You are just the woman I need right now."
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 6, 2024 17:12:55 GMT -5
Keep your friends close…
Go away.
Honora moved through the halls, as vast and labyrinthine as the corridors of her mind. Anything could lurk behind any corner: the haunted house that she had become, filled with so many ghosts it was getting harder to discern where she ended and they began.
And your enemies?
Do you even know who they are?
Right behind you.
Honora realized that she had stopped looking where she was going. Her feet had carried her to the throne room without her bidding them to. Now she stood at the open door, looking at Avalon from where she lounged on the throne. The contrast between the two women could not be any more severe. Honora was primly buttoned up in a black dress, every inch of skin covered down to her wrists and up to her chin. Her blonde hair was carefully twisted into a knot at the base of her neck…if it weren’t for the gauntness of her features, the hollowness in her eyes, one might think she was still the Queen’s governess from all those years ago, seeking out her unruly pupil.
When Avalon noticed her, Honora stepped closer. She watched the woman as if she were a specimen to be observed. As if Honora were one stepped removed from the reality in which she existed, looking at her from behind glass.
“Am I?” Honora inquired smoothly, tucking her hands neatly in front of her skirts.
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Jul 7, 2024 14:58:07 GMT -5
Like fire and ice. Avalon with her red hair, naked arms, decent cleavage. Honora with her white-ish blonde hair, dark clothing, hiding all her skin. They were opposites. Even their Gift was on other ends of the spectrum. Avalon's Gift was an exterior one, whereas Honora influenced the interior, the mind.
With her tongue pressed to the inside of her cheek, Avalon leaned forward on the throne, swinging her legs back to a regular sitting position, an open-mouth smile on her face. If Honora looked closely, she'd be able to see Avalon shift her tongue from one cheek to the other, in a playful manner, but also one that indicated she was thinking. Brooding, even.
The neat woman was intriguing, because she seemed to care so little about what anyone thought of her, except Hiram. Ava wished she could borrow Honora's Gift for just a moment, to read Honora like a book — so she could figure out why she had sided with them, and to know what she hoped to gain from it.
"I'm getting tired of waiting around for someone to explain to me what is going on with my sister and that diamond", she said, sitting upright again. "So why don't you come closer and tell me what you know, hmm?"
Last Edit: Jul 7, 2024 14:59:08 GMT -5 by Avalon Eldouir
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 8, 2024 14:24:55 GMT -5
The Eldouir petulance. Though her features remained unchanged, she found it as distasteful now as she ever had. Her alliance with the Eldouir was one of circumstance, not out of respect. And she certainly had no respect for the woman who now lounged on the throne. But, Honora looked on, proper and polite, contrasting to the woman who sat lazily before her.
Honora did not step forward. She responded in a matter-of-fact, instructive tone.
“The diamond contains your sister’s memories. Her joys and her sorrows, her triumphs and failures. But they are concentrated, difficult to parse from one another and take hold of.” Honora tucked her hands behind her back. “These things take time.”
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Jul 8, 2024 16:08:25 GMT -5
The words meant nothing to her, and Avalon quickly became annoyed by Honora's fancy way of talking. She wasn't the smartest, and liked things to be dumbed down when explained to her, but she didn't want to give this woman the pleasure of knowing Avalon didn't understand her. She groaned lightly. "So why are you standing around and not trying to get to the bottom of this?" she asked in a bored voice. "Does it take time, or are you just drawing it out? Hiram is not going to he happy if you fail us."
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 12, 2024 16:05:16 GMT -5
Avalon might as well have been one of Honora’s pupils, and she, the stern, tight-lipped governess waiting out a tantrum with the composure of a soldier. There was also an element of study to her gaze as if Avalon were a rare, fascinating specimen she sought to understand. It was equal parts disinterested and condescending, in effect. She’d seen Avalon’s gift in practice. Honora’s was not of raw power, but of nuance. Best Honora could tell, nuance and the discipline it required was not something this particular Eldouir understood. So her boredom was unsurprising.
“Hiram has made his expectations quite plain,” Honora continued jaw leveled at the woman, entirely unflustered, “And I understand the consequences if they are not met. But a procedure of this nature requires a steady hand and precision, not haste for haste’s sake. And if you doubt me…” Honora shrugged, “That does little the change the facts, I’m afraid.”
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Jul 12, 2024 16:23:09 GMT -5
The woman was oblivious to Honora's sternness and thoughts. She just wanted her to answer faster. How difficult could it be to form a thought? Weren't thoughts and brains her whole thing? She had no trust in Honora's abilities whatsoever.
Her words, on the other hand, made it clear that she knew what was at stake. Avalon relaxed a bit and nodded slightly. "Can I do something to speed up the process? I just- I want my sister back."
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 12, 2024 16:28:52 GMT -5
Empathy was, at times, an inconvenient byproduct of Honora’s abilities. To know someone’s mind, to experience what it was like to live in their skin, allowed her to see even the most detestable creatures as fully human. It had happened with Hiram. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was largely why she was still here. She’d touched a glimmer of something so deeply buried it was undetectable…but it was there. Despite the darkness, it was there.
And so, when she heard the genuine ring of loss in Avalon’s voice, Honora too softened. After a moment’s pause, she reached out her hand to the woman who sat on the throne.
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Jul 12, 2024 16:52:19 GMT -5
Avalon stared at the hand from across the room, hesitating for a brief moment before getting up. She walked over to Honora, uncertain whether the intention was for her to take Honora's hand, or simply come to her. But Avalon wasn't one to think too much, so she would reach out to the blonde, taking her hand in hers as she looked at her face, a slightly confused look on her face.
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 12, 2024 17:16:48 GMT -5
When Avalon took Honora’s hand, Honora would step into her, laying her other hand on the Eldouir’s cheek in a way that could almost be mistaken for romance. Immediately they’d plunge together into Avalon’s mind, into blackness, where memories exploded in flashes of color and sound around them much like the blasts that expelled from the Eldouir’s fingertips. It would be a shocking experience. Avalon could choose to fight Honora, and would experience pain in doing so, or could let herself be carried. Either way, Honora would weave through the cacophony of memories reaching her invisible feelers out further and further through the expanse of Avalon’s psyche until she found what she was looking for and seized it. The cacophony inhaled into silence as a memory wrapped around them.
What Avalon experienced next would be a reliving more detailed than anything she would have been able to conjure on her own. Honora could reach it all, all the buried details that lived in the subconscious but could not be accessed by the conscious mind. And Honora would be there with her, living in Avalon’s skin as the music surrounded them.
A roaring fire flickered off the walls, filling the room with light. Eldouir feasted at a long table, the spoils of the Tribute filling it so that it groaned under the weight. There was music and bawdy chatter. Some drank, some sang, one pair unashamedly fornicated in full view against the hearth. Elena sat on the throne and Avalon in her lap crossways, her feet hanging over the armrest with her back against the other. Elena pointed at the couple and laughed as the man humped his partner in a hilarious frenzy.
Avalon too was laughing, peels of laughter coming from her lips so hard that her stomach hurt. There was a bottle of sweet moonshine in her hand—as good as the Dresmondi were capable of making. Avalon was already drunk but took another good swig before handing it to her sister who followed suit. The music played, and both started to sing, Avalon cupping her sister’s face with her hand in playful imitation of a heartsick lover who was the protagonist of the ballad. Elena playfully batted her eyes before planting an exaggerated kiss on her sister’s cheek while Avalon fake-swooned. Cackling, Avalon took a swing of the moonshine again, as Elena pointed at the couple in excitement, the man starting to moan loudly and stupidly as he began to finish what he’d started. It was the laughter that Honora found most striking. The pure, genuine joy in an environment that was anything but. It was foul, but beautiful. Unbelievably beautiful.
Honora let the memory go. She dropped out of Avalon’s mind, and they would once again find themselves in Lorendale’s throne room, Honora’s hand on her cheek, and her other hand clasped around Avalon’s.
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Jul 13, 2024 8:14:38 GMT -5
Avalon wouldn't fight Honora, mentally or physically. She felt uncomfortable being so close to the blonde, cheek to cheek. It felt intimate, but the memory that Honora pulled forward made her forget all about it.
Elena and Avalon hadn't always gotten along well, but when things were good, they were wonderful. She loved annoying her sister, but more than anything she loved that moment when she was sitting on her lap, laughing at the couple and enjoying all the loot they had gotten. The memory was so vivid, she felt drunk, she tasted the alcohol on her tongue, and she smelled Elena. That typical Elena smell.
When the memory started to fade, Avalon started to fight mentally to stay in that moment, but to no avail. The memory slipped back to the back of her mind, nothing more than a regular memory now. The intensity of it faded, and Avalon found herself back in the here and now.
She looked Honora in the eye, still close to her. Her lip trembled and she placed her free hand on Honora's hand on her cheek.
"Thank you", she said, a genuine smile appearing on her face. It was rare for her to be genuine, because it made her feel vulnerable. "Maybe I have underestimated you. I just don't understand why you're helping us, but Hiram must have his reasons to trust you."
Post by Honora Allemeade on Jul 29, 2024 19:10:33 GMT -5
It was a curious thing. Honora remembered the first time she’d stepped foot in the Eldouir estate, before she’d started using her gift in any meaningful way. She’d been so certain of her self, of right and wrong and what it took to tell the difference. Honora envied those days. There’d been comfort in her self-righteousness, but now? Now she was doomed to see the humanity in all sides. To believe that nothing, no one, was beyond salvation. Even Eloduir. So when she looked at Avalon, it was with genuine affection, sapped from the memory they’d just inhabited.
“When Hiram found me, I was nearly dead,” Honora stated plainly, thumb running over Avalon’s cheek, “He healed me—but for a price. I’m here to see my debt is paid.” She smiled. “That’s more grounds to trust than most."
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Aug 9, 2024 10:03:28 GMT -5
Maybe she hadn't been loved correctly as a child. The soft touch of Honora's thumb running over her cheek made her feel small and vulnerable, but in a good way. Somehow, she felt safe. Was it childhood trauma, or Honora's calming energy? Who was to know. All Avalon knew was that she didn't want to run away from the touch. The memory still had a hold on her, and she almost felt like it was her and Elena standing close to each other.
Honora's voice brought her back, but she did share that affection that Honora's eyes showed. She nodded, even smiled. "Welcome a'board, then", she said, chuckling softly.
Post by Honora Allemeade on Aug 13, 2024 9:03:15 GMT -5
Maybe intimacy was both the blessing and the curse of Honora’s gift. That she was bound to live in someone else’s skin, to live the traumas and heartaches that had brought them to be what they are. It gave everyone humanity. Made affection and connection inevitable—no matter how twisted. How evil.
Honora dropped her hand with a smile, and indicated for Avalon to follow her with a linked arm—as if they were at court again, and were two ladies turning about the palace.
“I haven’t quite discovered what ‘aboard’ means,” Honora said, with a sigh, so long as Avalon accepted her gesture, “Elena is the task that lays before me. But after that?” She chuckled. “I can read people better than almost any, and Hiram still…” She chuckled, shaking her head.
Blast Generation - Avalon is able to generate blasts of powerful, pressurized air at whatever she targets.
A pressure-force generates in her core that creates a blast. She can direct this blast at people or objects. This means that if someone stands in the way of the blast force, it will not go through the person but hit them instead. If someone knows about her Gift and is feeling heroic, they would be able to throw themselves between her and her target to intercept her attack. This would result in them taking the blow.
The force of power behind Avalon’s blast is determined by how much she “charges” the attack. Charging looks like her focusing contained magical power into her core that she then releases at will. An attack with lesser pressure will be generated and released in a single post. An attack with moderate power will be charged for one post and released in the next post. Her most powerful blasts need to be charged for two posts and released in the third. For context, the most powerful blast from Avalon can tear apart stone, earth, and sometimes even metals.
Apart from power, Avalon can also manipulate the size and precision of her attacks. Sometimes they are large and all-encompassing, like a hurricane, and sometimes they are small and specific, like the loosing of an arrow. She can release any size in a single post, and the wreckage it causes is then determined by how much power she charged into it.
Post by Avalon Eldouir on Aug 13, 2024 14:22:05 GMT -5
Avalon accepted the arm without thinking twice about it. She felt more connected to Honora now, although it was partly a false connection and familiarity. It was Elena who she had felt, but Honora had taken the form. They walked, almost as if nothing had ever happened, and the Eldouir were still respected (were they ever respected, though?) in Lorendale.
"He's unique", she said with a grimace. Nobody seemed to be able to read Hiram. "Not even I fully know what his plans are. Which is why I do my own thing, as long as it doesn't interfere with his thing." She was glad he had given her the permission to kill Akagi. It was something she perhaps wouldn't have dared to do without his nod that had confirmed she could go in for the kill. Even the Eldouir lived in fear of Hiram. He was unpredictable and kept his ideas to himself. She had literally asked him what his plan was, to which he had replied by asking why he needed to have a plan. "I wish I knew, though. I wonder how long we can stay here before they send troops. They are not just going to accept it."