Vanguard: Into the Abyss

[Kauria]

Vatten dragged a hand down his face. It was far too late for this. Too early, he corrected himself, recognizing the glow of sunrise on the eastern horizon. He was going to take a step back from this conversation and he was going to think.
The portal was there, there was no denying that. And a sea cave . . . hadn't there been a group of mad explorers, years ago, who had vanished in search of something similar? That had been in the ocean on the other side of the continent, though.
Vatten drew back his head to regard the travelers. Definitely not those same explorers.
He exhaled. There would be no getting back to sleep. This was way too interesting.
"Why is it so important?" he asked, on the insistence of his last shred of skepticism. "Why do you need to do all this?"

[Midnightmoon]

"Because for one we aren't the only ones travelling. Demons and creatures have been finding and slipping through these openings as well, but that's not the only thing." Akari turned and started her pacing again. "In that last world a being called Eligor confronted us and implied he and his own are the ones behind this event. They're setting up to restart some big clock to wake up a being called The Sleeper. Now, i don't mean to sound mellow dramatic but if he wakes up it'll mean end of the world. We have to go back and find another way to get to him and stop this clock." The last sentence was said out loud but it was more for herself then anyone else.

[Nohiki]

"I can help!" Loki spoke for the first time since the new person appeared, "There aren't many things like these. It's spilling Void energy all over the place. I can sense that from a distance." He mentioned, responding to akari's concerns of finding another way to the other worlds. "And end of the world sounds motivating enough. Still scary, but I get the alternative."

[Midnightmoon]

(Ooc: lol, i was implying right after they got away from the hounds that Loki could find the portals, but instead Hashin stepped up XD)

Akari whipped around, "Truely! There's no more time to waste then!"

(Ooc:should we stop to rest or the energy high from Loki enough to keep us going a while? You want to be the first guardian nohiki or should i? )

[Zetherus]

Hashin woke from a small knock-out after crashing through the portal, "Uh, well that was nice!" he groaned as he stood to his feat, "Nice work on the portal Akari, I should have slowed down before approach heh, heh!" He walked around for a while and noticed that he was back in DE. He walked up to Akari and asked hesitantly, "Surely we didn't stop the invasion, so why the hell are we here?"

[Midnightmoon]

"Eligor did something to reroute the portal, i guess, I don't know." Akari explained hastily, though she found herself becoming a touch frustrated with having to explain herself multiple times when time is what they didn't have. "Loki, where's another portal?"

[Nohiki]

Loki finished closing off the one they took back home. "I don't know, but there is none around here." He shrugged, not feeling any void magic safe for the few orbs floating around his wrists he gathered from the portals. If they close every one they go through, which seemed like a good idea because of the demonic armies on the other side, it would barely refresh their powers at each dimension.

[Midnightmoon]

"You, sir," Akari stopped pacing and turned to the other dragon, "aside from this location have you heard or seen of any other portals or anything what would imply there being something there?"

[Kauria]

"No—" Vatten started, but a wave of energy that shuddered through his bones cut the response short. He clung to the sea-slick rocks, feeling for the first time like he was drowning. All around was the sensation of something incomprehensibly deep and dark and ancient. Like an ocean trench, he thought. The feeling lasted no longer than a second, but it was a second stretched to its breaking point.
The water dragon shook his head. His ears rang with the echoes of a low, metallic gong.
"Now that you mention it, I think I do think I noticed something," Vatten said at last with a bewildered grin. He flicked his wings open, crept to the edge of the natural pier, and gestured below it. "Is that what you're looking for?" he asked, pointing to the vortex that yawned open below them.

[Midnightmoon]

"Yes, exactly! Loki, Hashin, Lets go!" Akari excaimed, finally able to do something constructive. Turning into a dragon again on the go she went to the cliff edge. Before she could try and see a way down a something disrupted the surface energies and something came through. Akari saw that the being looked a lot like Eligor but had a more femanin air and pose. That was all Akari had the chance to analyse though, because once the being was mostly through she looked around, saw Akari and raised her had to her. Normaly Akari is unable to sense the magics like the other inhabitants of the land, but she felt something like a brush of the wind and surge of subtle energy and forgot everything.

"True enough, as Eligor said, you all are here and trying to go back." The being said as the white dragon with other magics topled over. When the enchantment she cast finished it came back to her acompanied by the dragons own magic. Fully emerged in the new dimenssion and ancored by a mortals spirit -without actually taking it- she looked down at herself as she became "real", and took on a different look then Eligor. Her feather lined cape had thinned and the rest of the fabric her outfit was made of was now more silk and airy under her armor. Flicking her fingers and stepping onto water washed stones she tried a touched of the magic she'd aquired. "Interesting taste. Luna with a touch of... devine." She mumbled to herself, then turned on her toes to look back up the peir. "Since you won't be continuing this little adventure of yours i might as well introduce myself. Call me Vertchal. I'll be your host from now till the end of time, not that there's much left."

[Zetherus]

Hashin joined Akari along the cliff edge but noticed something different about the dragoness as she wouldn't move. The air dragon glared at the priestess then turned his full attention as she toppled over. "Hey I got you." He blurted quickly ducking under the dragon and stopping her from slinking off the cliff. Hashin set Akari down and looked off the pier to sight the strange being that resembled the dragoness' human form. "Oh, nice trick! Now free her or perish." he growled while inching himself near a bolder that was embedded in the cliff face ten feet down. The feathered dragon began to charge his air blade power if the knight were to make a move at them.

(OCC: Hopefully this makes sense as to what has happened to Akari. Sorry if it doesn't, but let me know anyways if this is a bad move or wrong info.)

[Midnightmoon]

"She's perfectly all right." Vertchal replied. "I can even see her breathing from here." A intricate spear materialized beside her and she grabbed it delicatly. "Now as a resposable host, by that i mean me, I am obligated to entertain my guests, which would be you fine folk." She took balanced steps across the rocks as she spoke, periodically accenting her commentary with floaty hand guestures. "Through my time i have learned many talents that would be suited to the task; conversation topics, magic, acting, dancing..." She gave them a interesting look. "Yes, dancing." She repeated giving more emphasis to the statement, "From the expression on your faces i have the perfect dance in mind that i'm sure your all keen to participate in. Unless i can persuade you into a lively conversation on different cultures of the world. I have had lovely results with that one. ...No?" When she continued to get negative expressions from the dragons she sighed theatrically, "Oh well, pity, if you insist." Flicking her wrist over her shoulder she created a twining fern of magical crystal in front of the portal, blocking its access. After the spell was cast she was off up the bluff face before was even complete.

[Midnightmoon]

Vertchal was up and dashing over the rocky lip in seconds, slipping between Hashin's legs to take a stab at Loki. Behind her at the bluffs edge Akari seamed to shiver in restrained energy then her dragon form shimmered away, returning to her natural human body. After a long moment, groaning, she struggled to rouse herself enough to get up. "Wha, in Heavens glory..." She mumbled, dazed. She barely got herself up onto her hands and knees and couldn't find the strength to rise further. It was like she was nailed down. There was a sensation she could only describe as a phsycic tug that pulled her off balance and nearly to the ground again. Blinking furiously in its general direction, Akari thought a starry thread was connecting her to the attacking knight. "Have to clear her out, and this connection, gah." "Shanz!" She cursed, head slumping back down again. Fighting wasn't a choice, even sitting up was out of her league. Between heavy breaths she thought furriously, and finally came up with something plausable. Taking a deap breath, Akari whistled high and long, weaving in her summons which made it as clear as crystal. Slipping to an elbow a choarus of howls, hoots and feline screams follwed on the heels of her call. "hopefully it will be enough of a destraction to get a hit in".