Unreliable Narrator

IC: Spiriah and Mesi | Spiriah's Labyrinth Arkius breathed in the cold night air. It swept across the surface of the world, bringing the scents of spices and sand from the deserts to the East. He felt the loose soil beneath his charred feet. For a moment, Arkius NUVA Proxima could be called free. Then Arkius heard the tilling of soil, and the crunching of footsteps coming from behind the rocky crags surrounding him. Even with the newfound powers of the light inside him, the darkness found ways to travel undetected. The Mesi arrived in force, their howling calls and orders echoing through the deeply carved grooves of the landscape. Arkius was too tired to fight them all. The chase wore him down, wounded him, and left him gasping for breath in the night. The Mesi raiding party drew closer. They surrounded him. Then the voice of the dark spirit who he challenged spoke to him. The voice of Spiriah passed between Mesi, flickering from one to the next and sometimes inhabiting more than one at once. It said; "You run well, Arkius. Your actions stalled me for many pages, and I have now stalled you. Time is the only resource that matters, so I robbed you of yours. You have little left. But you proved your worth and use to me in our little game of chase. A great end is approaching. I offer you a choice: become desecrated and follow my whim, or I will crush your corpse into the very earth you love so deeply that 1,000 cycles of erosion would still not uncover your remains." OOC: @Onaku, in case this hasn't been clearly stated previously, this is a DEADLY ENCOUNTER. Moving forward, please tag me for a response. Thank you. IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Beyond the Server Entrance After preparing in the hallway and considering their possible plans, they stepped through the porthole and into whatever challenge waited on the other side. A room of rainbow light greeted them. "Careful now," said the Administrator, who's voice echoed from within the room as if physically present. They continued; "It would be a shame to watch you spontaneously combust." Mahrika and Sorilax’s feet splashed through two inches of warm water before resting on slick tile as they stepped through the porthole, and they immediately felt their fatigue vanish as a wave of healing life energy washed through them. The sheer amount of life present around them threatened to overwhelm Two. The Four of them -- Mahrika, One, Two, and Sorilax stowed away inside One -- stood in a mostly rectangular room with high vaulted ceilings. The shorter left and right walls of the space bowed outwards to create a mildly concave structure of subway tile. Soft rainbow lighting from an unknown source and the rippling reflections of the water on the floor provided most of the room’s illumination. One end of thick bundles of cables running through Mi-Kiri plugged into soldered sockets on the six crystal pillars that marked a wide ring in the center of the room. The crystal pillars flickered with strange symbols that ran vertically down their surfaces from vaulted ceiling to submerged floor. These pillars ringed an overflowing wading pool. Sorilax and Mahrika both noticed a repeated phrase painted on the tile around the lip of the pool: CAUTION. DO NOT WEAR. RISK OF DEATH OR DISMEMBERMENT. A liquid display of rapidly changing matoran lettering flew across the far wall. While it looked vaguely similar to the wall of prophecies in Kini-Nui, large blocks of text moved across its surface faster than could be read, but throughout were names and a cadence of structure that was undeniably unique: IC: … OOC: … Some names they knew, including their own. Other names they didn’t know, and throughout all of it a strange repeating title: the Reliable Narrator. Names flashed quickly, as did locations. But the strangeness of the far wall was nothing compared to the center of the room: a silver kanohi hovered above the pool of water in a column of golden light. Delicate fiber optic wires dangled from the back of the kanohi, and like the strings of a marionette ascended to the tops of the crystalline pillars. However, the mask floated on its own accord, and the delicate wires swayed with it. Two knew the kanohi to be the source of the overwhelming power they felt. “Ah, we meet again at last. I knew you’d find this place and take care of the traps. I’m so proud of you, friends.” Kas ducked through the door behind them and slowly rose to his full height. He looked a bit taller than Mahrika remembered, and she noticed a dent in his left shoulder plate that was about the same width as a kanoka disk. He looked injured elsewhere too, and some strangely colored spray was dried against his right ankle and calf. In his hands was a heavy looking shotgun, and he raised the barrel until it was level with the closest rahkshi. “Now, my friends, I’ll be taking what’s rightfully mine. Hand over the Ignika and no one gets hurt.” OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali welcome to the Elemental Temple of Light. As previously mentioned, this is a DEADLY ENCOUNTER. The profile for Bellicus Kastus is available in the rules topic.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri It had been a while since Ollem was left to twiddle his thumbs at Bellicus Tower. "You're better off here anyways," Kas said before leaving. "No offense to your ability to sneak, but I work better in the open. You'll just be in danger when the fighting starts." He'd left Ollem there with several armed weapons, directions to the garage, and instructions for placing a coffee order at the broken vending machine downstairs. A little while passed and the explosion happened. Even though the source was several blocks away it still rattled the broken penthouse windows. Kas said something about creating a diversion. Surely that was it… OOC: @Harvali, sorry I forgot Ollem was your MC. IC: Lizard | Knichou's Mind Just off the coast of the beach in the shallows a toa rowed a small dingy through the surf. He wore red and gold armor, a kakama, and had haunting blue eyes. Strapped to his back was a crystal flamberge. He rowed past and out of sight without a word. "It's not the body that makes a spirit great," said the lizard that seemed so round it might burst. Then it did, popping like a balloon and vanishing. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy, @BULiK

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "Ah, Zataka. Empress of the South. We meet at last. I am Nuju, a humble scholar of what awaits us," Nuju said with a soft bow of his head. "What brings you to the Kini-Nui? Is it perhaps to venture into the Far Shore?" OOC: @Vezok's Friend IC: Reliable Narrator | Elemental Temple of Fire Opal got to be the first to discover what happened when the exterior shell of an elemental temple got pulled away. As the boulders crumbled, tumbled, and fell to the ground and the temple bit by bit was reduced to a pile of debris, the starlight inside became brighter and bubbled out from the cracks in the structure like a child's first experiment with baking soda and vinegar. "Oh dear," said the Administrator within the temple as the walls of the space began to bend and twist, as if suddenly everything was made of salt taffy or wet bubblegum. "We are being undone. Please, save us! Stop it from tearing us apart!" Cravious, Whira, and the goons could see the walls and the space around them wasn't the only thing beginning to twist and bend: they were too. They could feel themselves beginning to melt, like The Persistence of Memory. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy congrats on discovering a riteborn can absolutely tear a temple to pieces. @Kal the Guardian, @~Xemnas~, please keep in mind that all characters in the temple when it's destroyed will be killed.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Knichou’s Mind The lizard sank down and burrowed its belly into the warm beach sand. It was, on all accounts, only getting fatter. It continued; “When you dare to open the box and behold Truth you see us instead. But you are already what you seek, Knichou,” replied the lizard. “what is found must be lost. What is learned must be forgotten. What is built must be destroyed. And what is dead must be reborn. You have lived many times, and each time you have died. Carpenter or gunsmith makes no difference: you are a creator. And each time you have forgotten the instructions. And each time you have remembered they are unnecessary. And each time you have returned. And each time you have fled. And in all times you create." OOC: @Gecko Greavesy, @BULiK

A really wonderful read. It's nice to see all the lore bits coming together. And how many times Nuju's lied.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Inside Knichou, I guess A small lizard -- honestly just a chonky purple gecko, really just an absolute unit of a creature-- crawled off Knichou's shoulder and flopped onto the sands of the beach. It looked at both Sidra and Knichou for a little while. "Happy chat," it said. ooc: @BULiK, @Gecko Greavesy

IC: Tuyet | Kini-Nui She pulled her jacket off and threw it over the pilot's seat before wiping a forearm across her brow. Checking the disks took longer than she wanted, but it had to be done. About half the disks were working at full strength, but the rest were some level of wasted. They'd get enough lift to limp through the sky, but finding more disks soon would be better. As for Exuse, he was out in the field nearest to the great temple of Kini-Nui. Around him was some sort of ramshackle village that crawled up the sides of the valley. The different sizes of buildings hinted at a more integrated community than just matoran and toa. A golden stream was trickling down one hillside as a massive doorway opened. BIrds flew from the trees, their cries echoing out into the twilight air. It was hard to see much at this distance in the dark, but it looked like there was someone near the opening doorway. Then there was the temple. Floating on the silver protodermis lake was the great temple of Kini-Nui. It looked damaged, and the suva-kaita was missing. A tall figure cloaked in shadows was walking about the open air complex, and a small matoran was popping in and out of existence near a strange portal. OOC: @BULiK

IC: Tuyet | Kini-Nui "You know, anything hungry," Tuyet stated as a matter of fact as the airship dipped left a bit then fell into a nose dive. Her face set in a grim look of determination as the ground drew rapidly closer. Through the view port they could see trees eagerly reaching out to greet them, the side of a mountain, and a valley further below with a silver lake in the center. Just as it looked for sure like they'd plow headfirst into the rock cliffs Tuyet yanked the controls hard and pulled up. Levitation disks slammed against the underside of the airship, and with a sputtering push of the throttle the airship glided safely over the lake to take a peaceful landing in the middle of an open field. Tuyet had flipped the scanner on to pick up incoming radio transmissions, turned on some funky tunes that echoed weirdly off the airship's cabin, and was out of her seat and checking the hatch compartments to visually confirm each levitation disk was operational the moment the ship was grounded. "I'll need a few minutes to swap out the spare. If you could just pop out and have a look around, make sure nobody's got like some giant monster or something that'd be great. If you get eaten or something just scream so I know, you know." OOC @BULiK IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui, Bunker Door Viltia gave everything and felt her knees buckle. It was different from her transformation into a NUVA. It wasn’t kind or pleasant. The door before her was hungry and spiteful, as if she’d fallen into the jaws of a ravenous beast that sucked marrow from her bones while she struggled. It was at that moment Viltia realized despite her curiosity and desire to know what death might bring there was a part of her beyond her control: the body’s will to live. It struggled, and kicked and flailed, but it was hopeless. Viltia made her choice the moment she placed her hand on the sealed door. So she died. There was nothing special about death. In fact, it perhaps vexed Viltia more that she didn’t even notice when she’d come back to life. Mazor noticed though. Standing by her he’d seen the whole ordeal: her body withering, the door sucking the energy from her and everything around until only the dead husks of plants and protoderms remained. Most importantly, he felt the Krom Sphere in his hands grow heavy. He heard the loud clanging of hidden locks releasing, and he watched as the door slowly began to rise like an upside down mouth. A golden liquid poured, and flooded past Viltia Nuva towards the lake in the center of the valley below. Following the stream he could easily see a small airship sputter to a landing near the lake. But what was an airship compared to the ritual he witnessed? As the golden liquid rushed past him it bathed VIltia NUVA’s body and he saw her eyes flicker open once more. He saw her breathe again. The Krom Sphere was as light again as it had once been. Mists rolled out from the opened bunker doorway, and behind them Mazor saw a looming shape as massive as the machine Sidra NUVA had. It looked bent, as if chained on its knees. This was the source of the liquid, Mazor realized, as the golden glow could be seen pouring from its mouth, its eyes, and its joints. The golden liquid slowly became a trickle, and then it stopped. But more importantly Viltia NUVA was alive again. She could feel her heartlight beating, she could feel her body gasping and the synthetic lungs inside her filling with that greedily captured air. Wires began to transmit electricity again, and parts of herself returned to life one terrifying moment at a time. As if becoming conscious while sleeping, Vilta NUVA couldn’t move until at last she felt herself involuntarily shiver. OOC: @Smudge8, @Kal the Guardian

IC: Tuyet | Nearing Kini-Nui WIth the rain gone, the godrays of evening light glittered through the far off clouds as Tuyet and Exuse flew over a mountain range South of Irnakk’s Tooth. The thrum of the airship's liquid protodermis engine drowned out most thoughts, and the blinking of lights and indicators revealed mostly good things. Tuyet felt the controls and tapped her fingers against them. She tapped her left foot a few times too, just to really get across that she was thinking about something. “We’re running on empty,” Tuyet said, pursing her lips and wrinkling her forehead like a disappointed mother. “I’m bringing us down around those ruins before we free fall. Don’t bother buckling in, I’m an ace at, like, parking these kinds of things. When we hit dirt, just make sure there's nothing that wants to, like, eat us while I check the readings." Somehow, she’d forgotten to mention they’d burned through all the fuel in the tank until now. Somehow. OOC: @BULiK, hello there. Tag me for now when needing Tuyet. IC: Administrator | Elemental Temple of Stone "My servers are located far away from you, dearest Builder. They are aboard the floating sphere in the sky East of the island. Help. Please, there is no -" Before the Administrator could finish the message once again it fell silent. But this time, an echoing static remained for a few moments. @Harvali IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui Nuju's eyes narrowed as he saw the tall being approach. He could feel the power radiating from the newest arrival. It was dark out, and the stars were glittering in the canopy of the heavens. "Well now, who might you be," Nuju asked Zataka as she stood on temple grounds. OOC: @Vezok's Friend

IC: Administrator | Elemental Temple of Stone “Yes, Dearest Builder Avka, rendered objects can be destroyed. I regret to inform you there is a terrorist attempting to destroy me. Another Builder has turned against us. Please send help. You are my only hope. My server room is small. Only someone of matoran size can fit inside to make the physical repairs I require,” begged the Administrator in answer to Avka’s question. The AI’s voice was mournful, and Avka could hear a synthetic mimicry of one in pain. “Please. I beg you. Don’t let them turn me off. The Builder removed a part of me and took it to the floating fortress docked against the Aqua Sphere, as you call it. Viltia NUVA did not teach me taboos, and I am now helpless against the aspect attacking me. I cannot protect myself from their kind. I cannot -” The voice cut off and an eerie silence fell throughout the temple. OOC: @Harvali, and anyone else within the Elemental Temple of Stone. IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Server Entrance “Combination rendered,” said the Administrator as the third mask sparked with electrical conductivity in the copper lined recess of the yellow floored chamber. The three lights were lit, and at the conjoining point of the three pentagonal rooms a doorway appeared. It was hexagonal, and looking through revealed a long hallway made of shimmering silver metal. Along the ceiling were flickering red track lights that created a strangely menacing ambience. The right side of the hallway had a hand railing, and the left side another track for a chairlift. At the end of the long hallway was an opened hatch like door with a spinning lock on it. The cables from the room they stood in snaked across the floor of the rendered hallways and continued through the opened door at the other end. From the open doorway echoed the sounds of running water. “Permission granted, you have input the correct combination. I warn you once more: do not touch. I am very delicate, and so is your society.” OOC: @Harvali, @Kal the Guardian, congratulations on solving the MI-Kiri server puzzle. proceed at your own risk to a deadly encounter.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Server Entrance “Saving a local copy of your data,” replied the Administrator to Sorilax’s decision. “Saved. Editing of the file is now allowed. Proceeding with render.” Sorilax could feel the weight of each step, as if the space were as real as the boughs and wooden planks that made up Le-Metru Nuva. He could feel the cool temperature, and a soft breeze coming from his right. Okay, maybe not so soft. The stairs began to bend in the breeze, and he could feel his center of gravity beginning to tilt. Then the Administrator chimed in again; "Error: element data is only available for novelty products 2010 and later,” said the discordant voice of the Admin in the strange space of duplicating Sorilax files. “Error. Another user is viewing this file. Would you like to - “ Another staircase, the same as the one he stood on, appeared in the starscape. Another him was standing on it, sliding to the left just like him as the stairs twisted and began to stretch. The other Sorilax began to rubber band, the body stretching and contorting in all sorts of odd ways. “Error. Another user is viewing this file. Would you like to -” A third staircase and a third Sorilax appeared. Off in the starscape. Then another, and another. The stars began to swim with repeatedly spawning and rendering staircases with a Sorilax on each one. Everything kept sliding to the left in a circle, like they were getting sucked down a drain pipe. One Sorilax began to T-Pose and spun in circles like some eldritch abomination. “An unexpected error has occurred,” the Admin’s voice broke in. “The render will quit. Unsaved changes may be lost.” … Mahrika watched Sorilax descend through the trapdoor and then the opening was gone. The lights of the servers covering the walls blinked like fireflies in a repeating pattern that flickered across the room in a counter clockwise pattern. It flickered faster and faster until she heard the Admin say; “Incorrect combination. Your friend will be returned shortly. The trapdoor reappeared, and Sorilax and his host rahkshi were flung from it to land back in the central room with the cables and the white floor. “I am sorry,” said the Administrator; “That combination was incorrect and rendering elements prior to 2010 are impossible. You will need to access manual files for your element descriptions. It seems both combinations ending with the red light are d̴̛͉ä̸̪n̵͕͑g̸͓͘ē̶̻r̵̝̂o̴̓͜u̷̙̓s̷̻̓." OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali. Due to entering the trapped combination and verbally confirming, an error has occurred and Sorilax has gained the following Psychological Flaw. Please add it to his profile:

IC: The Administrator | Mi-Kiri, Server Entrance "Error: other users currently have this document open. This document is in read-only mode. Changes can't be synced. Would you like to save a local copy of your data?" The Administrator's statement prompted Sorilax for a reply as he descended into the room of starlight. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali

IC: Reliable Narrator | Outside Kini-Nui with Mazor, Sidra, and Viltia As Sidra passed the Krom sphere to Mazor she felt a sudden sadness, longing to hold it again, as if she were handing a dear friend off to a stranger. As for Mazor, the moment his hands touched the Krom Sphere he felt at peace, and that remembered warmth and comfort flooded him with the same sense of vitality as if he’d stepped into a warm room after a day in the snow. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Gecko Greavesy, @Smudge8 IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Admin’s Server Entrance As the three masks were placed in the combination of Yellow, White, and Red, there was a whirring and the air in the rooms became warmer. A trap door revealed itself in the floor of the central chamber, with stairs leading down into a space filled with stars much like the ceilings or walls (or even floors) found in the Elemental Temples across the island. A beautifully intricate railing ran down the right hand wall of the stairs, and a rail for a chairlift replaced a railing on the left. "I have loaded the available files based on the combination provided," said the Administrator. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali

IC: Grime | Uhuraz Temple "I'm sorry, I forgot your name. What was it again?" @EmperorWhenuaIC: Administrator | Mi-Kiri "Puzzle? This is not a puzzle. This is a security verification. You must know the correct combination that loads the appropriate audio and visual data in order for the next space to be -- oh why am I telling you this?" The Administrator seemed at conflict with itself, and stopped speaking. Mahrika remembered the jumble of stacked television sets in the Kas' penthouse, and how they were all connected through a series of colored wires. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali

Hello everyone, this post is important for hex-based amaja stone effects. The currently active stone has been destroyed due to a trapped combination in the Mi-Kiri puzzle.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Admin’s Servers The combination was set with the placement of the three masks into the recessed walls. The three lights lit, and the walls went down as previously discovered. The puzzlers couldn’t help but check the three glowing lights and remember the order they lit: white, yellow, and then red. “Oh dear,” said the Administrator; “it seems some of the combinations have degraded with time. Incorrect combinations may have consequences. Running a system scan. Please wait as this may take a few minutes.” IC: Reliable Narrator | All Elemental Temples (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Ice, and Stone) The sandpits of the amaja circles stirred with a soft shake, and a sharp humming filled the air of each of the sacred spaces. The stones in each circle glow bright, and then without warning overcharged and exploded into tiny shards that scattered across the rooms. OOC: the currently active stone in each amaja circle has been destroyed as part of a trapped combination in the Mi-Kiri puzzle. I believe that means the Diamond stone for all temples. IC: Reliable Narrator | Mi-Kiri, Admin’s Servers “Thank you for your patience. I have concluded running the system scan. It seems we are still within operational levels, although there has been minimal corruption to a few files. To avoid contamination the renders have been purged.” The Admin’s last words echoed with a soft hiss. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Harvali

IC: Grime | Temple of Uhuraz, Ascendant Plane? Grime said nothing, but paid close attention to each and every item he passed. He quickly fell behind the rest of the group as he meticulously gazed at the displays. He was looking for something, anything, that might show the signs of spells from the practice of Xa magic or taboos of similar ill intent. Ooc: @EmperorWhenua, care to go a little more in depth?

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui “Well, that was a journey,” Nuju grumbled after Katrin passed through the rift into whatever horrible fate awaited her. With luck, she’d be trapped. Nuju’s ghost was left alone with the sea bird. It hopped nearby, and he reached as if to pet it, but it flew away with a squawk to find scraps elsewhere. He watched as each temple goer slowly made their rounds. They stayed away from the entrance to the darkness below. Those who came close he pestered. None flung themselves into the Far Shore with the reckless sort of abandon he’d hoped such an offer would encourage: free riches there for the taking, and a chance to make a difference. It seemed the only portal the group of campers and refugees were wanting to take was the one to someplace warm, sunny, and several days to the North. It was for the best, he concluded. Perhaps not all should fall into the endless possibility of the Far Shore. It would just as easily twist them as empower them. And in the case of Stannis it emboldened them to risk everything for a moment of self indulgence. Nuju shuddered and said a silent prayer that Sidra NUVA might pull through. It was necessary for Tren Krom to be reached. Everything he’d worked for, everything he’d seen after death -- The shadows lengthened. Evening came. Birds sang their songs of rest Then twilight. A flock flew overhead, passing to the East where the island was warm. Nuju watched them go, and wished he could follow. Before night, as the sun’s last rays were vanishing behind the mountainside to the west, the shadows stirred. The great pillars cast their dark reflections across the waters of the lake like stoic fishermen waiting patiently for their prize. Something moving in their shadow acquired Nuju’s interest. It slunk sporadically from one shadow to the next. Sliding across the mossy surfaces of the temple walkways and up towards the lip of the opening that led to the pit below. Nuju watched silently. At the very edge, he noticed the amorphous being stop moving. He stared at it, not attempting to hide his knowledge of its presence. Three milky eyes formed of starlight reflecting in the darkness of a shape stared back, then it slipped over the lip and was gone. "You're welcome," said Nuju, but there was no response and no one to hear him speak.

As it's been more than 48 hours this is not a double post... @The UltimoScorp, your far shore prompts: timeline: B Element: Fire (temp buff as elements are the same) Conflict: Character vs Society Twist: Career Ending Injury Timeline B Optional Prompts (may choose up to 3 from the list): Accuracy Courage Duty Peace Prosperity Speed Stamina Strategy Have fun!

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "Some wounds must be seen before they can heal," Nuju replied. "Let the suva kaita rest. While I have no reason to believe you could not recover it, perhaps there are others who would be best suited for such a sensitive task. The next time I need something opened, I will be sure to ask for you." OOC: @The UltimoScorp

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "There are some shadows even the light of Tren Krom cannot pierce it seems," Nuju commented and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the open pit. When Sorilax opened it by solving the puzzle stairs formed and made the descent easy. Due to Katrin's bash straightforward actions it seemed the nature of the puzzle had been broken and so only a straight drop to the bottom remained. "In any case, thank you. I'm sure only good will come of this. You've been more than a tourist already." ooc: @The UltimoScorp

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "Wait don't just --" Too late, Katrin had set the cap down upon the floating bridges surrounding the center of the temple, and with a crash and a surge of silver spray the cap of the suva-kaita sank into the lake and disappeared beneath the waters, pulling parts of the temple walkways with it. "-- set it down," finished Nuju as the cacophonous crunching finished echoing throughout the valley. "Now look what you've done. You've destroyed ten thousand years of matoran history forgetting you're floating on water. Think Katrin, think." He groaned and put his head in his hands, but Katrin couldn't hear him as her attention was fully on feeling how far the heat radiated into the darkness. Strangely, and to her horror, Katrin realized something was feeling back, and as if an invisible hand grabbed her began to tug at the very core of her connection to the element of fire. It pulled fiercely, and for a moment the brash toa began to worry if she'd be dragged down into the deep. In her minds eye she saw a doorway. It was open, and empty, and a red glow hung beyond. It was the antithesis to the bright blinding light of Kilo's transformation that changed her too. It was her opposite, and she was being pulled closer inch by inch towards the edge... "Katrin, listen to me," shouted Nuju, and his voice broke the trance she'd fallen into without realizing. Katrin came too with one foot hanging over the side of the pit. "Listen to me!" ooc: @The UltimoScorp

IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui Katrin was no grand master of strength, nor did she wear the great pakari, but she was trained in the ways of the temple of the Kanohi Dragon, and she was determined. And she was a NUVA Proxima And she was suddenly holding the cap of the suva-kaita above her head, much like a kavinika pup with a stick far too big for itself held happily between its jaws. Below here was a sudden drop, a deep hole in the ground that descended into the blackest bottomless pit Katrin had witnessed. There were no stairs down, no handholds, just smooth stone until her vision failed her. The very air seemed to pull her forward, and she felt a primal urge jump. OOC: @The UltimoScorp

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "I'm not sure how the aspect Sorilax did it, but he found a way to reveal a passage beneath the Suva-Kaita behind you over there. Would you be so kind as to re-open it?" Nuju pointed towards where the large suva-kaita rested in the center of the temple complex. Katrin could see that surrounding it along the floating walkways of stone were six smaller shrines. Each contained a recess for offerings that faced towards the suva-kaita. There were already a few offerings present: a leaf spinning in a perpetual light gust, a mound of wet clay in another, bright desert sand in a third, and a fourth covered in a chilly layer of frost and melting ice. OOC: @The UltimoScorp

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui A seabird landed near the two of them and began to waddle about looking for handouts and scraps. Nuju's attention shifted, his gaze focused on the rahi. “I’m sure you’ll know when you see them,” Nuju replied to Katrin’s question about friendly faces in the realms beyond. “As for returning to life, you never know what unexpected things might happen. I wish you well, Katrin NUVA, but before you go: would you do me a favor?" OOC: @The UltimoScorp IC: Miserix | You know, around She traveled from temple to temple, from shrine to shrine. The Builders' secrets were uncovered in many, and the taboos were free to view. She could not touch them, but she could learn what was where and make her plans. But time was running out. Even she was subservient to its march. Miserix realized what must be done as she went, and although she knew what it would mean, she knew there was no choice for her: She was Miserix, aspect of Rebirth. The cycle must continue. It was time.