Persona: Sea of Djinn

[25K Now!]

NPC:

 

The streetlights fizzled. Lamps cracked and shattered. A spark of electricity burst from one, barely missing Sarah's head as it singed past the tips of her hair, striking at another post on the other side of the street. It was dark. Nobody else was present. And the sand ... it continued to move, grains climbing upon one another in a hypnotic rhythm before the woman. Slithering. Hissing. The sand, mysterious and strange, it continued to grow.

 

Grow and grow.

 

Something was beginning to take shape in the building mass.

 

An arm.

 

Electricity arced.

 

Glass.

 

The scent of ozone.

 

And there was no more sand.

 

In the darkness, there was a figure. Transparent, invisible ...

 

Except for those golden eyes.

 

Golychaf wledic pendeuic gwlat ri.

py ledas y·pennaeth dros traeth mundi ...

Edited July 4, 2015 by Tyler St. Francis

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

"What the..." Sarah's eyes widened as everything happened. Whatever this thing was, it didn't want her getting away. The question was - what was this thing? Sarah took a defensive position, having a bad feeling she was about to find out... and not in the way she'd like.

[25K Now!]

NPC:

 

The tinkling of glass.

 

It was the only warning Sarah would get before the darkness moved, golden lights streaking through the air as the creature of glass and shadow launched itself at the woman, the quiet sounds of glass echoing through the silent night. A blade of crystal was outstretched in its hands. It was fast. Too fast. There would be no way for her to dodge the being. She would die here.

 

The jagged glass seemed to glint in the moonlight.

 

Then suddenly, the blade missed.

 

It stabbed away from her stomach.

 

But the rest of the creature's body was still stumbling forwards into Sarah.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah decided then, that she would not die there. As hopeless as it seemed, the attack missing gave her the push needed to act. The girl, in one fluid motion, reached into her pocket, grabbed her swiss army knife, and opened it up. As she tried to shove the creature's body away, she also attempted to slash out at the creature's sword arm, not trusting the thing to stop trying to stab her.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Keep your hair on, I was counting. I have about 12 of these left, and none of the materials for making them." He held out 4 in each hand to the other two persona wielders.

 

"Make these count," Jake said.

[25K Now!]

NPC:

 

The creature of glass stepped back, tinkling in the dark once more. Sarah's attempt at placing some distance between her and the being had worked, though not due to the push, but the follow-up slash with the swiss army knife was parried with ease, the crystal's golden eyes flashing as its sharp arm knocked away the woman's.

 

And it stabbed forth again.

[Not Quite Dead]

IC:

"Alright..."

 

Shakily, she summoned her Persona. Adrenaline was all she had left at this point and it showed it her and her knight's movements, fast but short. Four bombs. The other two didn't have the close range strength that she did, so it would be up to her to clear a path.

 

"...Lauren, Jake. I'm going to distract the brick things, clear a path for you two to... I don't know, find a weak spot or something on the thing at the end of the alley, blow it to ." As she spoke, she handed one of the smoke bombs to St George and gave him as much length on his tether as was possible. Nodding silently, the knight advanced through the smog with speed unbefitting his size, mailed boots protecting him from the acid...

 

...and a mailed fist driving the smoke bomb into the nearest creature's maw.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Alleyway of Horrors

 

The monster tried to react.

 

It was too slow.

 

The smoke bomb immediately fizzed inside the maw of the brick creature, golden eyes flashing as it attempted to push the object out, acid running down its lips as it gagged (a horrible sound that could fill the nightmares of any creature) and failed. It struggled, choking, gagging - then something popped.

 

It changed tactics, and opened its mouth wider to enwrap St. George's arm around its maw.

 

Acid hissed.

 

Something sizzled.

 

And then the monster's head exploded, sending smog up into the air, acid raining upon the earth, and brick flying everywhere.

 

It was a monstrous explosion, with the force greater than even dynamite.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

This time, she was prepared. Sarah quickly attempted to step to the side, as she really was not interested in getting herself sliced open by some weird monster. She wished she had some better way to fight the thing, though, especially since her knife had been knocked away...

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

It was fast. Surprisingly so for its build. The creature of glass and crystal tinkled, pirouetting around to match its prey's sidesteps. Its sharp, bladed arms continue to gleam, and with a burst of terrifying speed and energy, it stabbed forwards once again, aiming to pierce through Sarah's heart.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara 

 

"Well, I found this bus ticket, it's dated 29/8/2015, the day Kassab died. So he must have purchased this either before or on that day. I think we should find out where he purchased this ticket and try to retrace his steps if we can." The other items of note she'd discovered, while interesting, proved to be useless for the moment, at least until she had more information. 

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Thanks. Holler if you need more." Jake said. "Come on Lauren, let's finish this." Jake rushed down the now clear path, trying to work up the mental focus to summon his Persona once more, ready with his smoke bombs in case the tongue made an appearance.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

Sarah's eyes widened, as the creature tried to attack once more. She seemed distressed at first... However, she frowned in determination, as an aura of light surrounded her. No. I won't back down! She thought, as she tried to push out once more, the light glowing brighter and brighter, as she thought she saw a shape appear...

[Not Quite Dead]

IC:

Another of the monsters loomed up through the ever-thicker-growing smoke, now acrid and almost black from the most recent explosion. Her saint opted for a simple thrust of his lance, aiming for the beast's neck. She wanted to save as many of the bombs as she could for the abomination waiting at the end of the alleyway...

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

Time froze.

The creature seemed to still in the night, its glass body outstretched, a shiver of its pointed arm mere millimetres away from piercing into Sarah's heart. Everything seemed to be cast in an ominous yellow, and the noise and bustle of al-Bareha City ... it was gone, all gone. There was only silence for all but the pulsing of a human heart and quiet sharp notes of an ethereal trumpet.

"Say its name."

I am thou.

"Say it."

Thou art I.

"Have faith."

From the depths of your unconsciousness, I come ...

Time moved.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Tyler St. Francis

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Course there was. You're just the sort to prefer to run with the joke."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Yeah. Must be me being the most fun girl you know in action yet again."

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Alleyway of Horrors

 

The golem of brick and acid roared as the spear scratched across its hard neck, moving its entire body to catch the tip of the weapon between its head and shoulder, unwilling to allow St. George to move any further. Even as it performed its stalling action, one of its compatriots moved through the smoke to engage at Lauren, firing a blast of acid towards the girl, bubbling spit flying through the air to envelop her entirely.

 

As Jake had expected as he ran down the path, the tongue jabbed outwards, spinning through the air to try and drill through the vigilante's heart.

[Constructelf]

IC: Clara

 

"Well, I found this bus ticket, it's dated 29/8/2015, the day Kassab died. So he must have purchased this either before or on that day. I think we should find out where he purchased this ticket and try to retrace his steps if we can." The other items of note she'd discovered, while interesting, proved to be useless for the moment, at least until she had more information.

IC: Yasmin

"Right... There was an incident involving a bus recently too... No better place to start I guess."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"I'd ask who died and gave you that title, but it's true."

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

The second the tongue appeared, Jake slid baseball style under it and tried to smash a smoke bomb into the underside of the slime-covered abomination's tongue.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Alleyway of Horrors

 

The explosion was tremendous, spreading out from beneath the tongue and encompassing the area. But its effects would not be to Jake's expectations; the slimy and abominable tongue of Asag was incredibly durable, as was befitting his reputation as an invincible and horrifying demon of Sumer. The blast barely seemed to scratch it, and in an instant, the tongue fell with great force, seeking to now crush Jake underneath its mass.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Des slurped a milkshake at her new boyfriend appreciatively.

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

IC: Karīm Pahlavi

 

Karīm Pahlavi was lost.

 

This would usually mean nothing to somebody who understood the winding chaos of al-Bareha's outskirts, where one could easily turn a corner and find themselves in a completely different part of the sand-covered streets. The city was a large place, one that was easy to misplace themselves in. Had he been anyone else, it would have been expected, and could have been easily solved with the use of a GPS-enabled phone.

 

However, the Iranian was not just a somebody.

 

An entity materialised behind him. The majestic figure of Cyrus the Great, Messiah to the Gentiles, seemed to brighten the darkness with its very presence. Yet even so, it was not lifting the dark cloud that had fallen over Karīm's mood.

 

He was attuned to the King of the Four Corners, but his power to know his location, to know where exactly he was in the world ...

 

It wasn't working.

 

He allowed his brown eyes to roam over the area. Sand. More sand. Empty stalls.

 

He didn't know where he was.

 

How?

 

And ... why?

 

---

 

The hot wind arrives, carrying with it single grains.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Tyler St. Francis

[Mel]

[Channah, Velvet Room]

"Thank you sir," Channah said, taking the key card from Igor and sliding into her wallet, behind her student ID.

 

Then, with another curtsy to the staff, she turned towards the door and walked out of the cool atmosphere of the velvet room.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

Des slurped a milkshake at her new boyfriend appreciatively.

 

-Tyler

IC:

 

"What's that look for, Des?"

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

Time seemed to slow down for Jake. Even as he rolled out of the impact zone, a flash of golden light appeared. His persona, though looking weak, had appeared in a perfect position; three feet above the tongue. Just as the tongue slammed into the ground, Quirinus attempted a two handed thrust into the creatures tongue, hoping to pin it to the ground.

[Blessed Blade]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

Time froze.

 

The creature seemed to still in the night, its glass body outstretched, a shiver of its pointed arm mere millimetres away from piercing into Sarah's heart. Everything seemed to be cast in an ominous yellow, and the noise and bustle of al-Bareha City ... it was gone, all gone. There was only silence for all but the pulsing of a human heart and quiet sharp notes of an ethereal trumpet.

 

"Say its name."

 

I am thou.

 

"Say it."

 

Thou art I.

 

"Have faith."

 

From the depths of your unconsciousness, I come ...

 

Time moved.

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

"Persona, Ratatoskr!" Sarah instinctively called out, unsure what would happen, but really not wanting to be skewered in the process.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Alleyway of Horrors

 

The tongue was mighty, durable like its owner, but even so it could not resist the overhead strike with great ease. It slammed down against the concrete, shattering apart the street and sending splinters flying through the air. Quirinus' thrust had not pierced through, but its power was pushing down against the tongue, keeping it from moving back into position.

 

It was also struggling, but still relatively unharmed.

 

Jake only had a few seconds to himself.

 

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

The gale came. Winds from the four corners of the city coalesced as a storm before Sarah. In its eye, a horned entity, a creature from myth and legend, spun into life, power pulsing from its body and into the mighty currents that shook the street. There was nothing the shadowy glass monster could do but recoil, unable to fight against the awakening of a Persona.

 

It was as if the heavens itself had shone light upon al-Bareha.

 

This was the expression of Sarah's very soul.

 

Ratatoskr, the Gnawer of Yggdrasil

 

Ratatösk is the squirrel named, who has run

in Yggdrasil's ash;

he from above the eagle's words must carry,

and beneath the Nidhögg repeat.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah seemed amazed as she looked upon the Persona that stood in front of her. Her awe didn't last long. "Alright... take it down!" Sarah called out, as she wanted this thing to be gone. The girl wasn't sure how this worked, but had the feeling this Persona had the power to defeat the enemy she was facing.

 

The squirrel Ratatoskr stared down the glass monster, as he roared out for a moment.  The winds seemed to die down as the squirrel roared, however, they picked up not a second later, as the seemed to be focused specifically on the monster in front of him. Ratatoskr used the move known as 'Garu' to try and defeat it, attempting to use gale force winds to rip the monster - and only the monster - to shreds.

Edited August 17, 2015 by An/A Blade

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

Evident distress seemed to emanate from the creature of glass as it attempted to resist the sudden counterattack, the gale of wind pounding hard against its body and forcing it back. The intention to tear it apart, however, was out of the cards, with the being lacking shearable bits to pull apart at.

 

Yet even in its struggling state, the glass monster swung a wild arm in Sarah's direction, helplessly attempting to cut her.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Tyler St. Francis

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah leaped out of the way of the glass monster's range, as she noticed it was being held back. "Now!" Sarah yelled out, as she commanded her Persona to go forth. The winds still howling and pushing against the creature, Ratatoskr dashed forth, and attempted to body slam the opposing monster, as Sarah realized the wind itself wasn't doing much at all.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

The squirrel struck true, its mass hitting the centre of the glass creature with a resounding thud. It cracked slightly, and a strange tinkling noise seemed to whisper across the air. Yet it was not enough to utterly overwhelm the shadowy creature, and it swept around again, this time trying to slice Ratatoskr apart.

[Mel]

[Channah, Velvet Room]

 

The walk back to the station was blissfully uneventful--though Hannah’s bag felt somehow heavier with the velvet room key in it.   She leaned her head against the window all through the train ride past Mallville into the small collection of streets that comprised the Jewish section of Al-Bareha.  She placed all the orders she needed to and then called her cousin.

 

Normally, she would have walked home.  She didn’t have to carry the heavy grocery bags herself, but something made her wait on the corner for the old Datsun to pull up.  She had no reason to worry, really, the sun wasn’t even scraping the horizon.  But still.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah frowned, as she watched the squirrel nimbly sidestep the slicing motion. She watched with a concerned look, hoping that Ratatoskr would be able to pull this off, as the Persona attempted to body slam the opposing creature of glass, having recognized the creature would be likely soon to break.

[Not Quite Dead]

IC:

The acidic blob was telegraphed, an easy to dodge projec-

 

She didn't dodge it, not quite. A single quick and horrifying look showed her left leg as the worst off. The clothing, durable polymers and outdoors wear was bubbling and searing like hot tar. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to attend to it, but the option presented to her was too good to miss. They had gained precious little ground in their struggle, but what they had gained let her see ever nearer to the end of the alleyway, into the maw of the beast or whatever orifice it's tongue lolled out of.

 

The remaining smoke bombs were in her hand as she dashed closer, George grappled with the golem and strafed just enough to give her a little more of his lead, enough for her to get close enough to throw all the remaining bombs at the source of the pinned tongue.

 

"Jake, aim for the mouth!"

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

It was as if the roles had been reversed. The crystal creature could not resist the relentless assault of the newly-awakened Persona, rapidly attempting to dart back in order to avoid the crushing blow from the squirrel. Ratatoskr's winds had weakened it, and the body slam, though not completely contacting, began to crack its body even further. The shadow was attempting to flee back, body already falling apart.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah braced herself, as Ratatoskr reversed the winds, so that they would blow against the crystalline creature. The squirrel darted around, and attempted one last body slam. The Persona could tell that things were about to end... and so could Sarah. "Finish it, now!"

[25K Now!]

NPC: Silicate Scrimmage

 

It never had a chance.

 

The sudden shift in direction experienced by the winds pushed the struggling crystal creature forwards, placing it dead-centre in the path of Ratatoskr's powerful tackle. Tinkling sounds radiated across the night as ripples spread across the point of impact, glass shattering apart second by second. It could not scream, it could not act, but its golden eyes, sickly and bright, flashed for one, final instant, before dying away into the darkness.

 

Crystals dropped to the ground, crackling and smashing against the hard concrete.

 

And it all returned to the sand, leaving only an exhausted young woman and her Persona alone in the night.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah panted for a bit, and then sighed, as she dropped to her knees for a moment. "Well that was an ordeal and a half..." She mumbled under her breath, then pushed herself back to her feet, and began to try and continue the way she was headed in the first place.