No.4483[View All]
>Location: ???
>An idyllic yet alien rural landscape stretches out across rolling hills, lit with a golden light from a setting sun, its comforting presence slowly dipping below the horizon.
>Within one of the fields, a lone green-haired woman sits among a collection of bright, pastel-coloured flowers, writing down notes as she mutters to herself.
“. . .majority of plant life doesn’t follow. . . no native fauna. . .”
>After making several notes, the woman sighs and takes a crystalline object from her belt, touching it.
“Still being blocked by an outside source. I probably have four. . . maybe five spells left in the chamber - or one big one.”
>Putting the object back on her belt, the woman falls back, lying down and looking up at the sky.
“. . .well, I guess there’s worse places to die. . .”
>As the woman finishes her thought, the hill opens up below her, the void below her looking like a dark mouth of some kind, and “swallows” her whole.
73 posts and 94 image replies omitted. Click reply to view. No.4557
>>4556"Hmm…"
>Stephanie turns to face forward, thinking. "You're too hard on yourself. But for now, I have a gift."
>Stephanie waves her hand, the action being clearly trivial to her."You're now fully recharged. In fact so long as you're with me, you have effectively infinite use of your spells."
No.4558
>>4557"Prognosticator Argentea says I'm not hard enough on myself. . . and she's correct, I'm the worst performing scout in the division. . ."
>Trisran is silent as she trails off and Stephanie waves her hand.". . .are you sure that's permitted, my lady?"
>Trisran shakes her head, "dispelling" the thought."Of course, only when in your presence, you must have deemed this situation as being dire enough to require it."
No.4565
>>4559"Ah, I understand my lady, another test."
>Trisran does a small salute."I promise I won't misuse this power, I will only stay within the bounds given to me."
No.4567
>>4566"Is everything alright, my lady?"
>Trisran looks at the silent Stephanie for a moment before reaching her own conclusion.". . .ah, you're deep in thought, I understand. . ."
>An expression crosses Trisran's face for a moment, indicating she does actually understand Stephanie's reaction, but she otherwise goes silent as she follows behind.————————————————
>After some time, the area starts to darken as the trees above form a thicker and thicker canopy over the pair, the path also disappearing as the underbrush gets thicker.
>Despite the lack of light from above, however, it never gets dark enough to require any light source from the pair, nor any sort of nightvision, as patches of bioluminescent fungi scatter the woods, providing just enough light to see clearly.
>The woods themselves seem to open up again after slightly more travel, although the way that they open up makes it clear that this wasn't a natural occurrence, instead, the more open areas are marked by snapped trees and branches - the sign that the painter said to look out for. No.4569
>>4568>Trisran approaches one of the broken trees, looking it over."I don't think it will, my lady, if these are a sign of this 'Tiller' and that woman was telling the truth, I don't think it can talk. . ."
>Trisran steps away from the tree."Whatever made these is some kind of unthinking beast."
No.4570
>>4569"Maybe."
>Stephanie walks around, examining the glowing flora. "Or maybe it just has a different way of thinking and communicating."
No.4572
>>4571"You're thinking too rigidly. Almost all creatures can form some level of thoughts. They're just not necessarily the same as ours."
>Stephanie watches as the flora reacts to her presence, and then takes a step back. She turns to look at Trisran. "Let's wait and listen. It'll show itself soon enough."
No.4573
>>4572"That's not, like,
proper thoughts though, my lady - that's why we have to either eliminate or tame them."
>Trisran goes silent as the plan comes in place, and nods, pulling her cloak over her head, disappearing into the underbrush as she steps back. No.4576
>>4575>Stephanie remains still, looking up at the creature and presenting herself as non threatening as possible. She looks unafraid, remaining slow and deliberate not for her sake but the creature's."Hello."
>Stephanie speaks calmly with a soft tone. "Would you be the one the Painter calls 'the Tiller'?"
No.4579
>>4578>The creature looks confused as its jaws stop around the invisible barrier, then pulls its head back, letting out a roar, the forest seemingly responding to it.
>Changing the angle its approaching from, the creature lets out a burst of plant matter from its mouth, heading directly for Stephanie, only for the stream to be disrupted by a burst of fire within."My lady!"
>From her hiding spot, Trisran holds her arm out, the device from her belt now strapped to it.
>Coughing out a small cloud of smoke, the creature shakes its head and then stamps the ground, causing roots to burst out of the ground and attempt to entangle themselves around Stephanie. No.4583
>>4582"No! It's horrible!"
>Trisran goes to shield herself from the seeds and spores, looking up as she notices she's not being hit."It's very very horrible!"
>The creature arches its head up, then lets out another burst of plant matter towards Stephanie, the breath starting to activate whatever hits Stephanie's shield, causing growth around her, the pattern indicating it's intended to trap her in place. No.4584
>>4583"It's just defending it's territory is all."
>Stephanie allows the root and plants curl around her shield, forming a dome shaped mass of plants around her. She reaches out and casually moves some out of the way, unblocking her vision of the beast. "I suppose we should return to the Painter then. Unless you've noticed something I haven't…?"
No.4588
>>4587>The creature scratches at the tendril, managing to get some purchase but not managing to pull it away fast enough to get its mouth free.
>Trying a different technique, the creature moves backwards, or tries to, its eyes lining up with Stephanie's, a single emotion, the first one the creature has shown, visible within them - hatred.
>As it stands there, a realisation dawns, it would be very easy to kill this creature right now. . . a corpse can still be studied, after all. . . No.4589
>>4588>Stephanie furrows her brow at the creature. She feels a tinge of guilt about muzzling it, before becoming aware of the murderous thought trying to worm it's way into her mind. {"No. It poses no danger to me. To kill it would be inhumane."}
>She moves towards the creature, holding her palm out. The tendrils around it's face loosen slightly, giving it just a bit more room to move. "I'll make you a comfortable place at home. Then when I'm done you can return here, if that's what you'd like."
>Stephanie turns over towards Trisran."Are you alright? You got caught underground again."
No.4590
>>4589>The impression of killing the creature retreats, at least briefly, at Stephanie's dismissal of the idea.
>Brushing herself off, Trisran nods at the question."I'm alright, my lady! Besides, I'd rather it than-"
>As if responding to the dismissal of its threat level, the creature suddenly pulls out of the slightly weakened tendrils, letting out a roar as it finds a new surge of power within itself. Noticing the action, Trisran jumps forward."Watch out!"
>The creature let's out a new burst of plant matter from its maw, this one more powerful and concentrated than before, hitting Trisran directly and somehow managing to break through the shielding Stephanie placed on her, knocking her back and into a tree.
>Turning its head towards Stephanie, the creature growls at her, aware of its newfound potential for danger. . . No.4591
>>4590>Stephanie lets out an annoyed grunt. She closes her fist and raises it, streaks of light shooting out from the gaps between her fingers. She opens her palm, releasing what appears to be a small ball of light. It raises into the air, increasing in size rapidly and then stops just before reaching the canopy.
>A beam of light shines from the orb directly towards Trisran, providing healing properties. While this occurs, Stephanie glares at the dragon."The entity using you is starting to get on my nerves."
>Black ink begins to leak from her sleeves, dripping to the ground. It begins to snake across the ground rapidly, creating grooves in the earth before suddenly jumping straight towards the beast, ensnaring it once more.
>This time the ink coils not just around the creature's mouth, but it's legs and wings, holding it with almost incomparably greater strength than before."If you have the ability."
>Stephanie now speaks to seemingly nothing."Face me yourself. And if you don't? Leave. You do not want to anger the Sorceress Supreme."
No.4592
>>4591>The creature fights against the ink, pushing back with an impressive amount of strength, but still fails to break out.
>It does, however, manage to keep itself up, fighting the tendrils to a standstill.
>Then, reality pauses, including Stephanie's physical body, as the presence from before reasserts itself.
>No, this one doesn't work. . .
>Reality folds in on itself, like a book being closed.
>. . .will have to use a different one. . . alternate one? . . . same issue. . . the brother? Could work. . . a lot of work though. . . "that" one? The irony would be sweet but wouldn't work. . .
>. . .
>Oh yes, this one needs removing first. . . No.4593
>>4592"There you are."
>Wherever this presence is, whatever it is, however it is, Stephanie seems to have found it. She operates separately from her body, which remains frozen with the rest of reality. "You tricky types have a way of being incredibly annoying."
No.4598
>>4597"There's a certain simplicity to fairy tales, I find. Clear good and evil, makes for a good structure. . ."
>The woman shrugs."Still, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to share. It's not just about books, it's about building a 'story'."
No.4600
>>4599"Oh no no!"
>The woman waves her hand dismissively."You were
vital for it, well, not necessarily
you, just someone like you. You didn't act like you were meant to, perhaps, but I still need you. You're the only way I can power it enough."
No.4601
>>4600"Power it?"
>Stephanie leans forward a bit in her chair."What do you mean?"
No.4602
>>4601"The weapon, of course."
>The woman tilts her head, confused at Stephanie asking."The weapon to eradicate Aletheia."
No.4604
>>4603"You demonstrated quite beautifully how to do it."
>The woman does a gesture, summoning a small book to her hand and opening it, handing it over to Stephanie to see - the exact page it rests on showing her burning the field of sunflowers."With these things, you burn them all, every root, every bough, and salt the earth so nothing can grow there afterwards. Such is the appropriate punishment for disturbing the natural order of things."
>As the woman speaks, the slight smile never leaves her face. No.4605
>>4604>Stephanie stares at the page. After several moments of silence she closes her eyes, and the book as well. "We have a similar sentiment you know. Neither of us likes Aletheia."
>She opens her eyes, and then places the book on a small table next to her seat. She leans back into her chair, crossing her legs. "But I can't let you annihilate them all. The vast majority are innocent people living under their thumb, or those who have been brainwashed by their indoctrination programs."
No.4606
>>4605"Let?"
>The woman snorts and bursts out laughing."Why would I ask your permission anyway? I just need someone like you to kill the dragon and everything is complete, the only one who has the right to 'let' me is the Sleeper, and He very much approves of what I'm doing."
>The woman smiles, her next words not being automatically translated for Stephanie."F' h' fm'latgh nwngluii, ep nilgh'ri."
No.4608
>>4607"Ah yes, this trick."
>The woman waves her hand, and a twisted set of plants grows up from underneath her, setting up a chair for her to sit on."I can escape any time, the Sleeper ensures that. . ."
>The woman sits back in her chair, kicking her legs.". . .so why not? Well, I'd rather keep you in suspense. . .
when will she break out? What will she do when she does? Can I stop paying any mind to her? I do love attention."
>The woman beckons, causing a sunflower to grow out of the ground in front of her."It's why I love His eyes most of all."
No.4609
>>4608>Stephanie's voice can be heard all around the woman, though she herself can't be seen."Very well. I'll give you attention."
>All over the ground and in the "air" around the woman, tens of millions of eyes of all sizes with inky black irises seem to pop into being, almost like the reverse of a bubble bursting. They all stare directly at her."Is this satisfactory, or would you prefer the gaze of your beloved Sleeper? Either way, you're free to try and escape when you wish."
>Stephanie's voice goes silent, having apparently finished speaking. The eyes floating around the woman begin to burst, disappearing as quickly as they arrived and leaving her alone with her sunflower. No.4610
>>4609>The woman laughs."Cute. But I don't need that much attention."
>The woman runs a finger down the sunflower."Just a tiny bit, that little bit at the back of your head, a single. Maddening. Amount."
No.4612
>>4611>The woman chuckles, possibly to herself, possibly to Stephanie."I'll see you on that day, Stephanie. . . I'll see you on that day. . ."
>The woman grins to herself, closing her eyes."Ya hai kadishtu ep r'luh-eeh Vulthoom eeh, s'uhn-ngh athg li'hee orr'e syha'h. . ."
[The End?]