Memory Crystal #2 - Sight/Smell
She raced ahead up a spiral staircase - the scent filling her nose was that of age: dust, spiderwebs, old books, rusted metal, and moth-ridden clothing. She was not winded in the slightest, but as she ran she noticed something odd... Her arms were peach-colored. Black strands of hair were blowing in her face. Her clothing was also strangely comfortable, far more so than her garb in Edensphere.
She skidded to a halt at the top of the tower, light streaming in from the setting sun - and reflecting off of the giant crystal on a pedestal in the center of the room. People ran around her to either side; three of them she recognized, two she did not. She did not know their names, but they were definitely familiar... a young Elvan woman in leather armor, a tall human man in light clothing and no weapon, and a stockier gentleman in heavy armor with a symbol on his chest.
No sooner did they step into the room than the gem in the center lit up with a brilliant white light. It shot beams straight up in the air in a few directions before it lit up in a conical shape parallel with the ground -- straight at one of the nondescript men, the one wielding a dagger in leather armor.
He vanished and Seren smelled the magic stir up dust. She watched the older man in the symbol-emblazoned armor mouth something to her, shouting and pointing at the gem, but she could not hear him. It was then she realized she could not hear anything in fact.
However, she took a ready stance with both of her fists clenched tightly. Seren thought that a little odd -- what could her bare fists do to a gem the size of a humanoid head? Yet her body surged forward and she pummeled the white crystal, not able to feel the impact at all. Her hands didn't bleed, though, and her knuckles didn't break. She noted that the white wraps on her hands only barely shifted around her fists - they didn't tear up or become drenched in sweat from the effort.
And then a small crack appeared - she could scarcely believe it. How many punches had she just thrown? Three? Four? Five? It had been so fast... The Elvan woman was gone and a bear stood in her place, slashing at another side of the gem. The tall, lithe man raised his hands and bolts of magic surged against the gem, rocking it on the pedestal. An aura surrounded the older man as he beat against the gem with a longsword. More cracks appeared in the gem, but then the lights started streaming out from the gem again.
Once again, the lights surged straight up first, then in an upwards angle above their heads, and at last it surged outward parallel with the ground for the second time: flashing right in front of Seren's eyes.
All of the dust and grime from the Tower was gone. In that moment, Seren knew this light. She had already seen this light once before - in her birth dream, when the white sheet flew over her eyes. And she remembered how, prior to that light in the dream, she herself had been a different coloration than the pale version of herself now. The dream had been interrupted by a horse neighing, but the sensation was the same as the memory crystal filled in what she had forgotten.
She was praying to Rao - trying to summon the strength to repel the magical force controlling her mind. The gem was trying to drag her within itself. But she resisted, and she wanted to continue resisting until the sheet-light stopped covering her eyes. Having already experienced the dream, Seren knew now that Rao answered her prayer, but within the memory she felt the desperation, the struggle, the intense desire to continue breaking the gem - something about it, she needed to destroy it. And she could not do that if she was stuck within the gem.
Then the familiar feeling washed over her from within the dream: And it was like a well had opened up inside her, a slow, bubbling fountain of warm water coming from the core of her body and extending to each arm, leg, and coallescing in her head. When she opened her eyes, the sheet was gone. In its place, the whole world looked different now. She felt different now - lighter and more focused.
No sooner did she feel the magic's grip on her mind recede, and the scent of the dank tower return, than she started punching the gem once more. As her fists extended once more, she noticed that her arms were pale now - just like in her dream.
With the combined efforts of her comrades, they shattered the gem before it had a chance to draw in any other of her comrades. The light appeared once more in all directions, but no one was drawn in. In fact, the man she'd seen enter the gem had returned. He too was now bleached white - silver hair, pale skin, and red eyes.
As Seren was pondering the specifics of the white effect, her memory-self picked up a portion of the shattered gem to examine it. She was just starting to appreciate the edges of the small crystal in contrast to the smooth Memory Crystals when her eyes drifted to the dark lines curling around the far side of her right arm. How had she forgotten about those... marks? Tattoos? Birth marks?
One question answered, and another emerged as the vision faded.
OOC: This memory is taken from the final battle of the adventure Return to the Ghost Tower of Inverness, based on the original D&D 1.0 adventure The Ghost Tower of Inverness. The Elvan woman is Marigold (druid), the lithe man is Yohan (human sorcerer), and the stockier gentleman in armor is The Inquisitor / Joshua Rax (rogue/cleric/church inquisitor). The "nondescript man" in leather armor with a dagger is Rogue One.
This memory will be activated on Tuesday Feb 2nd, with the punishment lasting through Wednesday Feb 3rd and midway through Thursday Feb 4th. Seren's stuck with a beholder mask for 48 hours, during which the mask can't be removed, and is completely without any beholder powers. The activation will coincide with the final touches of Seren's shrine. "Seren's going about her usual business, and a remote control helicopter flies over her head. It circles about, whizzing around her head, until it pops into a puff of blue smoke. Falling from the smoke cloud is a crystal"
She skidded to a halt at the top of the tower, light streaming in from the setting sun - and reflecting off of the giant crystal on a pedestal in the center of the room. People ran around her to either side; three of them she recognized, two she did not. She did not know their names, but they were definitely familiar... a young Elvan woman in leather armor, a tall human man in light clothing and no weapon, and a stockier gentleman in heavy armor with a symbol on his chest.
No sooner did they step into the room than the gem in the center lit up with a brilliant white light. It shot beams straight up in the air in a few directions before it lit up in a conical shape parallel with the ground -- straight at one of the nondescript men, the one wielding a dagger in leather armor.
He vanished and Seren smelled the magic stir up dust. She watched the older man in the symbol-emblazoned armor mouth something to her, shouting and pointing at the gem, but she could not hear him. It was then she realized she could not hear anything in fact.
However, she took a ready stance with both of her fists clenched tightly. Seren thought that a little odd -- what could her bare fists do to a gem the size of a humanoid head? Yet her body surged forward and she pummeled the white crystal, not able to feel the impact at all. Her hands didn't bleed, though, and her knuckles didn't break. She noted that the white wraps on her hands only barely shifted around her fists - they didn't tear up or become drenched in sweat from the effort.
And then a small crack appeared - she could scarcely believe it. How many punches had she just thrown? Three? Four? Five? It had been so fast... The Elvan woman was gone and a bear stood in her place, slashing at another side of the gem. The tall, lithe man raised his hands and bolts of magic surged against the gem, rocking it on the pedestal. An aura surrounded the older man as he beat against the gem with a longsword. More cracks appeared in the gem, but then the lights started streaming out from the gem again.
Once again, the lights surged straight up first, then in an upwards angle above their heads, and at last it surged outward parallel with the ground for the second time: flashing right in front of Seren's eyes.
All of the dust and grime from the Tower was gone. In that moment, Seren knew this light. She had already seen this light once before - in her birth dream, when the white sheet flew over her eyes. And she remembered how, prior to that light in the dream, she herself had been a different coloration than the pale version of herself now. The dream had been interrupted by a horse neighing, but the sensation was the same as the memory crystal filled in what she had forgotten.
She was praying to Rao - trying to summon the strength to repel the magical force controlling her mind. The gem was trying to drag her within itself. But she resisted, and she wanted to continue resisting until the sheet-light stopped covering her eyes. Having already experienced the dream, Seren knew now that Rao answered her prayer, but within the memory she felt the desperation, the struggle, the intense desire to continue breaking the gem - something about it, she needed to destroy it. And she could not do that if she was stuck within the gem.
Then the familiar feeling washed over her from within the dream: And it was like a well had opened up inside her, a slow, bubbling fountain of warm water coming from the core of her body and extending to each arm, leg, and coallescing in her head. When she opened her eyes, the sheet was gone. In its place, the whole world looked different now. She felt different now - lighter and more focused.
No sooner did she feel the magic's grip on her mind recede, and the scent of the dank tower return, than she started punching the gem once more. As her fists extended once more, she noticed that her arms were pale now - just like in her dream.
With the combined efforts of her comrades, they shattered the gem before it had a chance to draw in any other of her comrades. The light appeared once more in all directions, but no one was drawn in. In fact, the man she'd seen enter the gem had returned. He too was now bleached white - silver hair, pale skin, and red eyes.
As Seren was pondering the specifics of the white effect, her memory-self picked up a portion of the shattered gem to examine it. She was just starting to appreciate the edges of the small crystal in contrast to the smooth Memory Crystals when her eyes drifted to the dark lines curling around the far side of her right arm. How had she forgotten about those... marks? Tattoos? Birth marks?
One question answered, and another emerged as the vision faded.
OOC: This memory is taken from the final battle of the adventure Return to the Ghost Tower of Inverness, based on the original D&D 1.0 adventure The Ghost Tower of Inverness. The Elvan woman is Marigold (druid), the lithe man is Yohan (human sorcerer), and the stockier gentleman in armor is The Inquisitor / Joshua Rax (rogue/cleric/church inquisitor). The "nondescript man" in leather armor with a dagger is Rogue One.
This memory will be activated on Tuesday Feb 2nd, with the punishment lasting through Wednesday Feb 3rd and midway through Thursday Feb 4th. Seren's stuck with a beholder mask for 48 hours, during which the mask can't be removed, and is completely without any beholder powers. The activation will coincide with the final touches of Seren's shrine. "Seren's going about her usual business, and a remote control helicopter flies over her head. It circles about, whizzing around her head, until it pops into a puff of blue smoke. Falling from the smoke cloud is a crystal"
