Kal the Guardian

IC: Credence - Skakdi Kaita of Water, Ice, Earth, and Cyclone Location - Eastern Sea For a moment, all was still. Waves lapped against both vessels, large and small. A seagull silently flew past overhead like a splash of white in the cloudless pale blue sky. The cabin where Silver had blasted Crucia to was oddly quiet. And then a massive form rose from the cabin, destroying the painted box of a room as it stood. Wood splintered and cracked. The boat shifted under the weight. Piercing deep yellow optics gleamed from a large head, scanning the world in a new light. For Credence, the world was both new and the same. Similar and yet changed forever. They looked around with a single unifying identity: survival. Silver and her henchmen were the immediate threat to this identity as the group bristled with deadly weapons. So Credence took action. One step forward. The ocean froze with a sound like an iceberg cracking and falling apart, filling the air and demanding attention. The atmosphere instantly grew frigid and a layer of frost formed on everything in swirling fractal spirals. Silver yelled out orders and her followers attacked, elements and ammunition and vision powers issuing forth. Credence waved a hand. Massive amounts of wet clay issued forth in an all consuming deluge from the Kaita in a wave of crushing Earth, neutralizing or destroying all attacks. Skakdi desperately tried to claw their way up and out of the muck that covered both boats, some failing and suffocating under the onslaught of Earth. Others flailed in anger, reaching for one another to unleash their combined elements A second step forward. Kaita level Impact Vision tore apart a third of Silver’s vessel with sudden intensity, spreading wood, ice, and Skakdi pieces for miles around. The rest of the ship warped with a horrid sound of timber groaning under immense pressure as it deformed. A third step forward. A whirlpool of water freed Silver from the clay and then formed a squeezing fist around her, drawing her close. Credence’s Severing Vision dismembered the cruel Ko-Skakdi’s body, leaving just a head and torso. A blast of Fire empowered by wind hit Credence’s side, singeing them and forcing them to divert their attention. The ocean unfroze and then rose up to claim the rest of Silver’s vessel with great tendrils of water, smaller streams climbing inside any open orifice to drown the remaining Skakdi before they could even be pulled to the depths. It released a great many globules of air as it descended. They turned back to Silver, who was gasping for air as she was hit with the first panic attack of her life. Good. This proved they now held power. But it wasn’t enough. No. Not enough. OOC: @Sparticus147 @~Xemnas~

IC: Crucia - Skakdi of Water and Cyclone Location - Eastern Sea With - Dagrut, Vex Crucia nodded to Vex, thankful for his words. But then the good doctor chimed in with his odd words that both challenged and strengthened her. In the end, they only firmed up her resolve to move forward with determination, “Maybe we’ll have to resort to something more drastic, Dagrut. I have a horrible feeling that you’re right. But a lot of Skakdi depend on Silver’s network supplying fish, we can’t just attack her without reason. I’ll try talking with her first.” A loud, low horn sounded off in the distance, carrying over the chilling waves. They were almost upon Silver’s ship. Crucia gave her friends one last look and focused on steering, guiding the limping and broken vessel to come alongside Silver’s much larger ship. As Crucia stepped out onto the sloped deck that still held the corpse of the Tarakava, she noted the rope ladder thrown over the side of the big ship. Fear and determination burned equally bright in her as Silver started descending. Crucia stood as tall as she could with her injured leg. One guard stood by as Silver inspected the Tarakava Crucia had caught. Many more guards lined the railing of the larger vessel, weapons aimed and ready to fire. The boss huffed and turned to Crucia, “I commend you on your catch, but it sure came at a cost, now didn’t it?” She motioned to the deck below her feet that was filling with water. She came over and got in Crucia’s face, “How exactly are you supposed to catch fish for me with a broken boat? Huh?” She shoved Crucia. Crucia used her Cyclone powers to hold herself steady. Her whole body quivered. She opened her mouth and stammered before gathering enough courage to respond, “Because I’m one of your best fishermen and you know it.” She got lightheaded as she realized what she had just done. This was so much harder than when she had originally decided to do it. “I want a raise… and… and for you to have my vessel fixed.” Silver laughed immediately, the sound harsh and grating and sending chills through Crucia’s frills, “You want me to what, exactly?” Silver shoved Crucia again, “I think you’ve forgotten your place as my sla- employee.” Silver pushed harder than the air currents holding Crucia up and Crucia hit the deck hard. “I don’t care if you have a boat or just a piece of driftwood.” She unsheathed her knife, “I want my quota, or you all die. Do you understand?” Crucia shakily got to her feet. It was now or never. All her life she had stood down when the moment came calling. All of her life she had bowed the knee. All her life she had let the currents guide her path. No longer. She was taking a stand. She was going to be powerful. She was going to rise above and make her own way. “A raise and a fixed boat. Take it or leave it.” Silver’s mocking smile dropped and she grew grim, “So be it.” Before Crucia could respond, Silver grabbed the guard with her and Ice jumped from her hand, hitting Crucia hard enough to lift the Ga-Skakdi into the air and crashing through the door of her cabin in an explosion of splinters. Using her Cyclone powers to lessen the blow helped Crucia minimize damage, but she still felt the pain of the initial impact of Ice. Clear chunks of frozen water clung to her chest as she pushed herself up to her knees and crawled out of sight of the door and over to her friends. She tried wiping the ice off best she could and looked with desperation at her friends, “You were right, Dagrut. We have to work together just to live. To survive. We must become as one.” Crucia held out a shaking hand to her friends. Her mind was focused on a united front of survival. Nothing else mattered right now. OOC: @Sparticus147 @~Xemnas~

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - ??? Viltia found herself alone, Whisper nowhere to be found, or sensed. Not even her Muaka was still with her. She pulled all of her tethers close and simply walked. Not even the soft silver glow of her tendrils illuminated this suffocatingly black space. She kept her crossbow at the ready, though with time her sense of danger diffused so her crossbow drooped down more and more. After an amount of time she couldn’t place, noise caught her audio receptors’ attention. Hushed tones of barely whispered conversation came to her along with the sound of the sea on a hot and warm day, waves gently beating upon the shore. There was another sound, like windchimes that danced in the breeze, jingling bells and shaking rattles. It wasn’t malicious in any way. In fact, it calmed Viltia even more. As she followed the noise, she found herself staring at a red glowing ring in the floor. The noise seemed to be emanating from it. She curiously peered down at the light as she stood near its edge. What in the name of blooming junipers was going on in this dark place? OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Krrenchk, Drukarus, Detsu, Zekev Location - Fort Nektann "Krrenchk, Zekev, you two have yet to be tested. Enter this ring and ready yourselves." Krrenchk stomped his boots, “Yes! Yes!” He pounded his chest. He was so ready to rematch Drukarus again. He had been thinking of techniques for a while now. The gathered Skakdi filled him with empowerment. He knew they all wished to see if someone could finally best Drukarus. But for all his excitement and plans to beat the Skakdi of Gravity, his optics flashed to Zekev. Krrenchk would follow his companion’s lead. It would be easier that way. Zekev gulped, and forced himself to put on a calm expression. Inside, he was getting a little worried. Sure, finally getting to stretch his legs was great, and he’d be happy to beat up others, but Drukarus? That’s another thing entirely. No time for doubts. Time to work for my bread. Zekev hopped into the ring, checking his wrist blade. Its small indicator showed it was charged and ready. He looked up and calmed himself, savoring the rising excitement of the ring. He grinned. “I’m ready!” he called out, adjusting his helmet and pounding his axe on his shield. Detsu unlimbered his battle axe and let it drag across the ground behind him, kicking up dust and sparks, as he entered the circle. His joints creaked with age like the iron buttresses of Fort Nektann itself — but like the fortress, he did not seem able to topple yet. No matter what prayers he offered to the Destroyer. “Let’s have a nice fight here, boys,” Detsu said, giving the young’uns a tightly-clenched grin. “May the best warskaks win.” Drukarus didn’t speak any further words, instead, his eyes pierced Krrenchk and Zekev, the two Skakdi before him, one who knew a fraction of who Drukarus was and the other who knew the extent of the warlord’s might. He looked towards Detsu, the elderly Skak standing to his side. He knew that if the other two were to win, then Detsu was the one they needed to defeat, not him. But he would not make it so easy, no, this was a test after all, to see if they were strong, and more so, if they were strong together. “Alright then, time to prove yourselves. I shall give you as much as you give me, but do not think I will show you mercy. Prove to me, your war captain, that you are Skakdi!” Drukarus shouted out, slamming the Fist of Ruk into the arid earth, ripples of gravity warping around the head. The fight was to begin. Krrenchk hadn’t stopped pounding the ground with his boot. Thump thump thump thump. He stomped to the beat of an unheard war drum, nodding his head along to it as well. This was his moment to shine. He wouldn’t make his past mistakes. It was time for a plan. It was time to go all out. His elemental energy conversion rate wasn’t the best since he didn’t practice as often as he should. It was just so frustrating not to make immediate progress when training. So his elemental energy burned off of him like an invisible smoke as he pounded the ground, focusing his element through his boot and into the rock below. Four crude and massive pillars formed at equidistant points around the ring. The two pairs of Skakdi in between two pillars on each side of the ring so that each pair had a pillar on their left and one on their right. They continued to grow and grow as Krrenchk focused on his rhythmic stomping. And still they continued to grow, far too large to be any form of normal attack. They were several stories tall and still growing, getting ever wider and taller. The noise of stone grinding on stone filled the air, mixing with the shouts of the gathered crowd of onlookers. Several Skakdi booed as their view of the battlefield was impaired Krrenchk kept partial focus on Zekev and put a hand on him so the other could use his element. If the Ko-Skakdi moved, it was time for Krrenchk to move as well. Drukarus looked on suspiciously, not sure what the Po-Skakdi’s plan was, as clearly there had to be one if they were willing to expend so much power on creating these pillars. “Hey Krrenchk, tell me when we’re making a move,” he whispered to his teammate. Zekev wasn’t quite sure how they were to proceed with this, so decided to let the other Skakdi take the lead. In the meantime, he channeled his elemental power, a rare and unfamiliar feeling jolting his veins. Some Ice began to form on his shield and armor, adding bulk to his defenses, though he did not pour all his power into it just yet, as he knew the heat of the desert would simply melt it before long. Detsu dragged his axe across the ground until it lay in front of him. His grip was slack, but ready. He waited. Krrenchk stopped what he was doing, lost all combat readiness, and turned to Zekev, “HUH?” His mind reeled. He had never taken a leadership position before. That’s not who he was. The idea kind of scared him a little bit. Yeah, no way. Zekev was going to lead whether the Ko-Skakdi liked it or not. Krrenchk wouldn’t let himself be out-follower-ed by a newcomer to the group. “No, no. You tell me when we’re making a move.” Krrenchk was using his hands to accentuate his words. The idea of Krrenchk as the one to lead, even in a fight with one ally, was preposterous. This new guy had no idea how things worked around here. Drukarus sure understood pretty quickly and adapted to it. As the two Skakdi began to bicker and fight amongst each other, Drukarus could only scowl from the sight of it. Turning his gaze to Detsu, he muttered for the Ce-Skak to stay close behind him as he charged forwards. Moving towards his current adversaries, his old legs creaked as they asserted themselves, him gritting his teeth through the dull pain as he roared out, swinging down his maul overhead towards the bickering companions, its ‘Fist’ glowing menacingly with gravitonic energy. “Do you expect your foes to be so merciful? For them to stand while you bicker?! If I wanted to, you’d both already be dead!” Zekev pushed Krrenchk to the side, falling in the same direction. “Okay then! Pin or unbalance him with anything you have!” Zekev ‘aimed’ his axe at the maul which now lay buried in the sand. Channeling elemental energy, Ice began to form around the area of the maul where it made contact with the sand. Krrenchk let himself fall. That was much better. Zekev knew his place. As leader, that is. Now it was just a matter of beating Drukarus. The ripple of Gravity being applied washed over Krrenchk due to its proximity, a weight falling on him like a fifty pound blanket. Krrenchk strained to raise his foot slightly. He just barely managed to do so and let his heel strike the ground. The effect was a change in his plans, but potentially better this way. A circle around the three Skakdi formed. Maybe four Skakdi, Krrenchk wasn’t sure where Detsu was. A sound like crunching stone spidered out from Drukarus’ strike. Then the floor gave way and they were plummeting into darkness. Zekev flailed about, trying to catch a glimpse of Drukarus. He thought he saw the Skakdi fall into the hole as well, and mentally activated his amnesia power. A wave of mental lethargy and nausea bombarded his mind as feedback. Hope I don’t forget how to breathe. As the floor from where Drukarus struck began to fall away, the Skakdi warlord thought to himself. ‘So that’s what they were planning, wait a minute, who were they, what’s happening, why am I falling?’ Were the thoughts that flowed through his head, the faint grating background noise of the other Skakdi's mind growing more severe, or was that something else, he couldn’t tell let alone know what was happening. It was a bold strategy — one that Detsu had not seen many warskaks use over the years — and he commended the duo for it, silently. But they would need more than a single clever trick to win against the forces of the Godhead. Still plummeting, the ancient Skakdi angled himself until he could see Krrenchk free-falling through the air and — with barely a glance — activated his Spellbinder Vision. He needed to keep the other warskak from being at all able to coordinate himself or recover. Krrenchk suddenly became weightless, floating on a sea of darkness as the small hole they all had fallen through provided little light and grew smaller the longer he fell. Or did he twist in the air and just lost sight of the hole instead? He couldn’t focus for some reason. It felt like minutes of falling, the air rushing past and pushing against him, keeping him aloft far longer than was natural. He felt like a fall leaf on the wind, the barest breeze sending him aloft. He was supposed to be doing something, but what was it? He lost all sense of spatial relations and time. Everything was dark and felt windy. And then the ground jumped him out of nowhere, slamming into his body with full force. It probably had found a corner to jump out from behind while he hadn’t been looking. Krrenchk grunted, wind knocked out of him. The physical damage from the fall was minimal, but the pain of losing all his air stung his organic protodermis lungs. He wasn’t sure, but as he tried to regain his breath, he felt like things hadn’t gone according to plan, whatever his plan had been. Wait… plan for what? What was going on? What was he doing? Krrenchk focused on his own mind. Something was affecting it, he could feel that now. He didn’t have mental training, but he tried his best to throw off the feeling. He needed to clear his mind. Detsu let the effects of his Spellbinder vision fade in Krrenchk’s mind — sending a silent prayer to the Destroyer that the other warskak wouldn’t be able to regain his balance by the time that the Ce-Skakdi had made it to ground. And speaking of the ground.... Detsu reached out through the open air, looping one arm around Drukarus’ waist while the other reached out and loosed the battleax from his own back. He raised it into the air and, with naught but a thought, activated the levitation disks built into its head. Detsu’s — and, by extension, Drukarus’ — descent slowed abruptly as the two war skaks floated down to the bottom of the chasm as leisurely as if they were taking a stroll around the fort to check up on the war skaks. Zekev, for his part, shook his head clear of his self-inflicted lethargy. While they had still been falling, he saw Krrenchk flail about, then go limp. He watched Detsu grab Drukarus. They were vulnerable, but with no ranged options, Zekev could only shift his effort to assist Krrenchk. Zekev reached out, trying not to tumble, and grabbed Krrenck by the arm. Elemental power flowed through him, and Zekev reached out with his hand, focussed on forming snow. Lots of it, around the part of the floor the pair were racing towards. The impact still hurt, with Krrenchk taking the brunt of it, but at least there weren’t any broken bones. No problem anyway, as Zekev knew how to set- Oh, come on, Zekev groaned, aloud, as he realised he had mostly forgotten how to set a splint. The memory would return in time, and hopefully mostly intact. He did remember how to alleviate most of the effects of spellbinder vision, which was what he was sure Krrenchk was subjected to, given his rolling eyes and arm “floating” that was characteristic of it. He propped Krrenchk against the mound of snow. “Hey! Look at me. Count to five.” Krrenchk noticed a Ko-Skakdi in front of him. It was… Zekev. The newcomer. But counting up to the number five? That seemed pretty hard. “One… Two… Uh… Fo- no, Three.” His mind was actually getting clearer as he focused on counting. But Detsu had already stopped actively focusing on the effect and Krrenchk’s mind jumped back in full, “FourFive!” Krrenchk rose from the snowbank to see the pit was in a dim haze as sunlight streaked from the small hole up above. Drukarus and Detsu had already landed. Krrenchk placed a hand on Zekev and tapped his boot on the ground, “Let’s see if this distracts them.” A large chunk of stone above where Drukarus and Detsu were broke off with a loud crack, plummeting to crush them as it slowly turned as it fell. Krrenchk noticed his elemental energy was alarmingly used up. He must have expended more than he thought while making this pit. Drukarus couldn’t focus, a muddy-ness was masking his usually steadfast thoughts as he tried to concentrate upon the situation; but he just couldn’t, the effect induced upon him by Zekev was only being compounded in severity by his mental defenses failing allowing the needles of the other Skakdis’ minds to grow into spikes as they impaled his thoughts, his teeth gritting as too keep him from simply screaming out. There was so much noise. The sound level of the Skakdi up above cheering and jeering was little compared to how their unguarded thoughts jumped into his mind. But in that obfusicating cloud mixed with the distracting ringing pains, a glimmer of clarity took hold, as a cold squirming was felt within his chest as the stabbing pain of the others’ minds changed into a sharpened clarity as their thoughts and intentions soon became clear to him. And amongst those intentions, was the intention of Krrenchk to drop the ceiling upon them. Recognizing the presence of Detsu, Drukarus quickly grabbed upon them as he altered his grasp of his maul to the far more cumbersome grip of his gauntlet as he instinctively channeled his element in both manners. Around the two Skakdi, gravity failed, as the falling stone was caught in mid-air, while his maul increased greatly in weight, keeping Drukarus at least grounded. Silver blood started to bleed out of the warlord’s nostrils. Feeling himself drift upwards, Detsu brought his axe down, embedding the blade into the rough stone and keeping himself grounded. He reached out his hand towards Zekev, letting Drukarus’ use of his elemental energy to influence Detsu’s own. He focused on Zekev’s psyche, and tried to make it feel the way that gravity must be feeling in this pit: being pulled in two different directions. “Yield!” the ancient warskak shouted. “ARGH-” Zekev felt his legs collapse under him. Detsu’s voice seemed to echo too hard in his head, and he felt his control over his body evaporate. No no……. Zekev managed to struggle to pull his head up even as his limbs fell prostrate, forced by Detsu’s will. “You wish!” Zekev managed to snarl, and focused his gaze on where Drukarus held on to Detsu. He launched lasers from his optics towards there. It was but a gesture of defiance, but he also hoped to break the old Skak’s concentration at least momentarily, or separate the pair. Krrenchk watched in dismay as Drukarus noticed and nullified his attack. It was time for a more risky gambit then. Calling to bare most of his remaining element energy, Krrenchk stomped the ground, his control of his element moving unnoticed through the rock until it manifested around Drukarus’ feet. Once the effect was under the Skakdi of Gravity, the very stone itself became liquid. But it didn’t only become like liquid, it actively rose up Drukarus’ feet and legs, trying to pull him under the ground he stood upon. If this plan failed, then hopefully the stone Drukarus was holding up would continue its fall onto the rival pair. Krrenchk thought about that some more. Drukarus probably already had several unused tricks waiting to be used that would still neutralize the falling slab of rock. Krrenchk realized he needed to get as close as he could, while he could, to use his Silver Blade. Krrenchk started to move, but stopped himself. He would follow Zekev’s lead, of course. He stayed put for now. With Drukarus’ mind working off of a purely instinctual level, it guided by the cursed heart he now bares, his’ focus upon keeping up the zero-gravity field around himself and Detsu fell away as the warlord sought to break away from the rising ground beneath him, letting loose the stone that now once more fell upon the himself and Detsu. Detsu, catching sight of the beams of Zekev, had already moved away from Drukarus and was free from the crushing impact as the slab of stone fell upon the Ba-Skak. Such a weight would crush and pin most Skakdi, but not Drukarus, as his body grew in response to the rocks impact against him, his size increasing by a significant degree, the rock around his feet breaking away as he now stood over twelve feet in height. Although more silver blood began to spill from the corner of his lips, his optics starting to become bloodshot from the reliance upon his curse. The laser vision struck true, melting armour and searing skin — Detsu only just managed to pull his arm back before his wrist and his elbow were separated from one another forever. Still in shock, he dropped his mental attack upon Zekev, collapsing to one knee. He cradled his burnt forearm, saying a brief prayer to Irnakk that the pain would vanish soon— --when he chanced to look up and see death bearing down on him. Stones falling, masonry crumbling. Detsu stared up at it— —a son, an axe, a partner, a body— --but before the rubble could strike him— --a bargain, a price, a would-be king, a death wish— --his own curse acted, and where once he was next to Drukarus, within the blink of an eye, he knelt next to Zekev and Krrenchk. The battle was over. And yet, Drukarus still loomed, a titanic force — more beast than warskak, Detsu found himself thinking. Drukarus stood there with his titanic posture, his instincts ready to react to whatever may come. But that was when the blurry haze started to dissipate and Drukarus’ conscious mind began to take hold, building up the defenses that were so swiftly torn down by Zekev’s psychic attack. Once more sane within his mind, he understood that they had won, but only technically so and through luck rather than cooperation or skill. Krrenchk jumped at the sudden appearance of Detsu, the Silver Blade forming throughout his right leg. He moved to kick and hesitated. Why wasn’t Detsu moving? … “No…” Krrenchk noticed even Drukarus had stopped in the pursuit of combat. “No! That’s not fair!” The Po-Skakdi looked from Drukarus to Detsu and back again, “We can keep going, right? Right?” The look in Drukarus’ enlarged optics said otherwise. Krrenchk’s spirits fell. This didn’t feel like a win at all. This was so dumb. He wanted to beat Drukarus honorably, not through some technicality. This was so dumb! Krrenchk sighed. There was no use fighting the predetermined rules. He adjusted his mask and stomped the ground, his elemental energy all but gone at this point. A large section of the rock ceiling collapsed, forming a ramp to allow escape and allowing a large portion of hot desert sunlight to fill the pit. “Follow me, I guess,” his disappointment showed through his voice, “I’ll get you healed up.” He moved off to go to his Crushing Foot, which was parked nearby so he could heal all the other fighters throughout the day. Well, except for himself, unfortunately. His Rhotuka of healing didn’t work on himself. The cheers of the gathered Skakdi at the conclusion to the match fell on unfeeling audio receptors as Krrenchk hopped into his ACR and fired it up. He so wished he had been able to defeat Drukarus on his own. Well…. Maybe later. Krrenchk worked the controls and fired his Rhotuka from the top of the van, striking Drukarus, Detsu, and Zekev in turn. After that was finished up, he took out his Heartlight key and hopped from the ACR, walking over to the other three Skakdi. What was supposed to happen now? Weary, though renewed by Krrenchk’s Rhotuka, Drukarus looked towards the rest of his War Skaks, curious if any of them were starting to get ideas from the outcome of the last battle. He doubted it, as only a fool would think that meant he could be beaten so easily. With his commanding voice, he spoke out to his war host. “Skakdi! Each of you have fought today and shown me what you are capable of; some of you surprised me, others disappointed, most were acceptable. You are free to return to your usual duties, for I now need time to go over all that I have seen, to allow the strong to make up for the weak. You are all dismissed. Detsu, come.” Drukarus said, as he started to make his way back to the fort, to his quarters where he would devise his cohorts and prepare for the coming days. Krrenchk watched everyone depart and sighed. It was his job to repair the damage done to the makeshift arena and he would have to wait for his elemental energy to recharge. A few hours past, but finally he got everything back to normal and drove the Crushing Foot back inside the fort. Hopefully something exciting would happen soon. OOC: Jammed out with @Sparticus147, @Void Emissary, and @NorikSigma. So glad to finally have this posted! Let's put Fort Nektann back on the map before it gets wiped off the map!

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere, Giant Tower, bottom room When nothing presented itself after drenching the room, Sorilax spent an hour more bringing in plants and just sitting and pondering the situation. He discovered nothing further, though conveniently he had recharged the bit of elemental energy he had consumed with his Light bending technique some hours before. Which was perfect, as he now needed to scour the tower with a fresh mind. Perhaps the top would hold secrets to uncover. If not, there were many rooms to start searching. Sorilax bent the Light around his Rahkshi form continuously once more, disappearing from view. He extended his Silence to be a field around himself and dismissed the hardlight door blocker. Then he took one last look around the room and started his ascent, trying to see if going in the opposite direction changed perspectives enough for him to spot something new. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Life Kraata creation Muaka "We can settle our price after we're finished here," Her Aspect friend replied, beginning to drift towards the passageway, "I'm not one to open a door then depart without finding out what lies beyond it. I imagine that you aren't, either." Viltia nodded, “Oh yeah, I’m totally going in. Just give me a sec.” She held out her hands, Manipulated her element, and the rolled up dome of ironwood roots came together under the Rahkshi armor, raising it up three feet in the air. Viltia closed her optics and imagined. The remaining wood formed a tree stump that was three feet thick on each side of the Rahkshi armor, so that it was totally and perfectly encased. The roughly seven foot tall stump morphed and appeared to grow bark, though really Viltia was just manipulating the existing wood. When it was all done, it looked like it was a natural oak stump, though really it was still ironwood and housed a deadly secret. Writing with her finger in the air, a portion of the bark deformed, as if Viltia was scooping letters into a bowl of crushed pumpkin. When she was finished, Rahkshi was “carved” into the wood. She opened her optics and smiled, “There we go. If we ever need that armor later, we know where to look.” Viltia motioned her Muaka to her side and pulled her injured tether and the tether holding the boxed Kraata close to her. Then she pulled out her axe/crossbow and walked with Whisper through the doorway, once again relying on her Life Kraata to sense lifeforms for her. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy @Eyru

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Life Kraata creation Muaka “Yes!” Viltia growled from the Muaka’s mouth as her roots took hold and the Rahkshi stopped moving. She tentatively stepped out of the Muaka and towards the wooden dome she no longer was commanding to shrink. She still Observed through the roots inside and felt something small brush up against the wall of the dome, desperately trying to escape. Warping her element, Viltia had a large wooden box form from the roots already around the Kraata trying to escape and shrunk it so that it couldn’t get free. The dome then grew four seams and curled back like a flower when the sun goes down, revealing the pile of armor and the leaking form of Whisper. Viltia gasped, “Are you alright?!” She moved to her ally, a tether picking up the wooden box with no seams and a few pinholes that held the enemy Kraata. A leaking Aspect was a wounded Aspect. Kind of. She had an idea, “Here, I got you.” Viltia created an almost clear, yet tinted slightly brown, goop in her hands. She smeared the goop in large amounts around Whisper’s injury. “This is resin. A lot of trees and some other plants produce it when they get injured.” Viltia created even more of the sticky material and used her control over the Green to keep it in place. She reached out a hand and a portion of the curled back dome stretched to her hand. She took the amorphous glob of ironwood and set it over the resin, forming it and smoothing it out so that Whisper’s armor was as flat and smooth as it had been before the attack. Viltia stepped back and looked at her hands, having to focus on absorbing the remains of the resin. Absorption was the hardest thing for her to do with her element. She still needed to work on it. “Okay, the resin should harden, but I’ll throw in a Kanoka of Regeneration when I’m able to finish this trade because armor is better than wood.” Viltia looked at the other damage Whisper had taken and then at the pile of savage looking armor. She winced, remembering the damage done to one of her tethers as it throbbed, forcing her to notice it. She thought out loud, “Actually, I’ll probably throw in even more than just what we agreed upon. I wasn’t expecting a fight this hard.” Viltia looked to the doorway that was now open and waiting, “And who knows what’s through there.” OOC: @Gecko Greavesy @Eyru

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere, Giant Tower, bottom room Sorilax observed as the water drenched the heatstone and further splashed on the gathered Matoran bodies. As only made logical sense, they did not stir, nor did their bodies appear to rejuvenate in any way. Even the floor was unchanged, simply having a puddle in the middle of the room. So, more testing then. In a manner so as to remain hidden from the resident Rahi, Sorilax left and gathered water, sometimes warping Light to hide himself where needed, sometimes not. Each time he returned, he would douse another section of the floor, systematically checking every square inch for some hidden function or revealed pattern. Once the floors were done, he moved on to the walls. Once the walls were left glistening, he covered the ceiling with water, leaving glittering droplets that slowly fell with soft plops as they joined the growing puddle in the middle of the room. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere, Giant Tower, bottom room There was a lack of details to glean from this room. A lack of insects, amphibians, or Rahi. There were not even any plants or puddles or… It came to him like when he had figured out by deduction the properties of Ghekula saliva. There was no water here. He was in the center of a waterlogged city that was absolutely sopping wet to the touch and yet there was no water here. But why? Perhaps he should find out. Sorilax searched his memories. There wasn’t a large Rahi in between himself and the nearest puddle. Dismissing the hardlight door, Sorilax silently stepped through and out into the hallway. He returned shortly thereafter with a hardlight box in tow, water sloshing inside. He replaced the hardlight doorway blocker and maneuvered his box over the empty heatstone. Then he dismissed the hardlight box, letting the collected water fall and splash over the ground and bodies of the Matoran. Sorilax held out the faintest hope that this water might rejuvenate them, regardless of the floating drowned he had seen outside. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

Deceased Name: Credence Breed: Skakdi Kaita Faction: Riggers Brief Description: Twice as tall as a normal Skakdi and twice as wide in the shoulders. It is easy to see the morphed three torsos of the Skakdi that make up it. Its top right torso is blue, with the left torso being white and the bottom torso being black and brown. Its optics are a deep and piercing yellow. Background/Occupation: Formed out of desperation by Crucia, Dagrut, and Vex to overcome Crucia’s cruel boss, Silver, and her employees. Credence was created through cohesion of three minds and the focus on survival. Flaws: Physical Flaw: Horrible sense of smell after years of gutting fish. Even merged, Vex’s form keeps the Kaita from being able to run long distances or for extended periods of time. Psychological Flaw: Afraid of flying. Dagrut will end the merging if an event of overt danger occurs. Powers: Primary: Kaita level Impact Vision, Severing/Binding Vision, and Spellbinding Vision. Impact: Produces a powerful concussive force. Severing/Binding: Dagrut has the vision power of severing/binding. This allows him to sever anything upon a molecule level, leaving a clean and sealed wound in its place. In addition, he can also use his vision to fuse any two things together, create a perfect seal and even allow control of the attached object. Noted though, that anything attached with this vision power can only be used if it is replacing something else and that it'll only function as the replaced thing. So, to replace an arm with another arm, it'll work like a normal arm, but, to replace a leg with an arm, it'll only function as a leg. Though with practice and care, you could learn how to access additional functions or use the replacement for what it originally was meant to do. In addition, the power can only effectively work if both Dagrut and the subject is remaining relatively still. So, if he was to fire the beams at the feet of a running target, it would only really tickle at their heels while with a standing target he could bind their feet to the floor. Spellbinding: Vision power that Thok had in canon; disorients the target but only as long as Vex stares at them and concentrates. Secondary: From Crucia pre-Kaita: Kraata of Cyclone Stage 2 - Desecrated by Whira Stage 1: Instinctively influences wind currents for speedy travel. Stage 2: Able to raise a defensive field of cyclone wind. Breed quirks: Physically imposing creatures with sharp claws and large teeth. They are as strong as—if not stronger than—most Toa Kaita. Possesses an innate connection to Water, Ice, and Earth. As a Lesser Spirit, Credence has Kaita level control over these elements. Although Skakdi Kaita can physically wear Kanohi masks, they cannot access their powers, and they do not require masks in order to function properly. Ability to chew food as opposed to absorbing it. Equipment: Crucia’s Water Harpoon and Dagrut’s Hacksaw Blade have merged together. Vex’s two spiked gauntlets have enlarged to fit Credence’s hands, the gauntlets now designed to appear as if they flow naturally up the forearms. Fishing nets. Surgical Tools.

IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning, Mind Reading and Quick Healing Location - Irnakk’s Tooth, Lava flow away from the entrance With - Whira Cravious’ exhaustion was quickly forgotten as Whira accepted the mask and a power grew inside of him. His Mind Reading Kraata was hard to tell the enhanced effects of, but his Quick Healing provided him something he had waited a long time for. Cravious threw off his protective gear and grabbed a flathead screwdriver, jamming it into his ankle joint. He did a few quick turns, a couple of complicated twists of the foot itself, and his foot popped off, revealing the newly regrown organic protodermis muscle that had been held back by the prosthetic. Digging through his duffel bag, Cravious produced his old, natural foot. He laughed harshly and slid it on, the muscle slipping inside to once again work the pistons, gyros, and clockwork pieces. He popped it into place and screwed it in with a clicking noise that indicated the bolt was tight enough. He jumped to his feet, testing out his returned foot. That felt so much better. Cravious turned to Whira, still smiling as she put the Kraahkan on her face, her swirling purple optics mesmerizingly glowing from behind the stunning form of the Kanohi. She spoke, “Unfortunately, I currently am unable to access the mask's powers. But no matter. We can move on to our next objective: Desecrate a Kaita." “A Kaita?” Cravious stated more than asked. Where in Irnakk’s realm were they going to find a Kaita? “You’ll need to figure out how to do that, I’m certainly not forming one, and we just lost a Skakdi that would be willing to form one. All we have now is Clash, and he can’t make one on his own.” Cravious rested his hands on his hips. He had been the guiding factor in Whira’s ascension of power, but he wasn’t sure if he could help her here. “We should think about our options. I’ll get back to you.” Getting back in Debt Collector, Cravious began cleaning up his forging equipment, reinstalling it in its proper place in the Cube. OOC: @~Xemnas~ IC: Crucia - Skakdi of Water and Cyclone Location - Eastern Sea With - Vex As her boat limped to their destination, Crucia sat before her friends. They had always been there for her since the Rig was destroyed and before. And she needed them now more than ever. The boat started to tilt as it took on water, but Crucia knew from experience that she still had a couple minutes before she needed to use her element to empty it again. She looked to Vex and then to her other friend and spoke hesitantly, “I can’t go on living like this. I need to get stronger. We need to get stronger. I saw the way those Tarakava fought. Together, they had me beat. We need to stand together, to fight together.” Crucia gulped. She couldn’t believe she was saying this, “Something needs to change or we’ll die anyway. I plan on standing up to Silver. Together, we might just be able to persuade her to fix our ship and give us better pay. What do you guys think? Are you with me?” OOC: @~Xemnas~

IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning, Mind Reading and Quick Healing Location - Irnakk’s Tooth, Lava flow away from the entrance With - Whira Cravious watched with grim respect as Preceptor ended his own life for something greater and more powerful. Cravious knew he would never do the same. It was something that sounded noble, but most of the time just ended up being dumb and a waste. This time, however, perhaps there stood a change of change actually coming about. Whira offered the now severed Heartlight to Cravious. "Quickly, forge the Kraakhan!" Cravious took the Heartlight in his gloved hand. It felt oddly heavy for some reason. Unused emotion stirred in him. He pushed the thoughts aside. He could deal with that later. Carefully pouring in the pure energized protodermis into the already prepared Kanoka mold with the other ingredients for a Disc of Shadow, Cravious watched as the EP naturally dispersed itself evenly throughout the mixture as lava from below kept it heated. He was quick to add the Heartlight, which turned a bright white that flared for a second and then revealed a mixture that was now glowing like a strike of Lightning. Cravious didn’t even need to stir the mixture to disperse the ingredients evenly. He doused the molten protodermis mixture into a vat of water, steam rising and adding a little bit of humidity to the dry and draining air. Inspecting the result, Cravious nodded to himself in appreciation. It was perfect, almost as if the Taboo was helping along the process subtly. The completed disc itself was like a void of light, a hole in the air that seemed to darken its surroundings just by sitting there. Now it was time for what he had practiced for the better part of a month. Cravious lifted the semi hardened Great Disc of Shadow with a pair of tongs and brought it over to his anvil, grabbing a medium sized hammer. With a dash of sparks and a flurry of fine tuned motions, Cravious hammered away at the metal, forming it into shape. Everything needed to be perfect. Every line, crease, and opening had to be absolutely in place. It was perfection or failure. And Cravious didn’t fail. Not for long, anyway. Cravious held the forming Kanohi over the lava, letting it heat up once more. Then it was back to work, this time a smaller hammer forming details and defining every little speck of glowing metal. Cravious held up the mask, optics scanning every tiny bit of surface, looking for any imperfections. When he found any, he would get back to work, hammering away. By the end, his breath was short and he was panting, the prolonged exposure to the temperature from the lava overheating him even with his protective gear. But he remained strong of will and doused the mask in the vat of water. He held it up, inspecting it. The form was holding. Good. He set it out, letting the metal settle and harden fully. The process was rather quick in the heat of the lava. Once done, Cravious picked up the finished mask. It had the silvery glint to it, indicating that power was within it. Cravious smiled savagely. He knew he could do it. Thank you, Preceptor. The Skakdi of Lightning turned to his Aspect and offered her the completed Mask of Shadows. OOC: @~Xemnas~ We've done it! The Kraahkan has been forged!

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green, merged with Life Kraata creation Muaka Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Rahkshi Okay, this thing was too quick. Viltia needed another approach. She continued to manipulate her element from inside the Muaka, moving slightly closer to Whisper and the Rahkshi while still being 15 feet away. The blanket of grasping ironwood roots that surrounded the Rahkshi and Whisper retreated to form a ring instead of a circle and wove in upon themselves, flattening as they did so. They scraped each other as they slowly spun a dome around the two combatants 25 feet in diameter. The Karda Nui variant of lightvine grew in four patches around the dome, lighting the inside as the completed dome blocked out the sun. Then the dome started to contract, thickening as it did so so as to not lose any mass as it scraped along the basalt ground that it form fitted to. Viltia prepared herself for three eventualities. If the Rahkshi got near the ever closing dome ahead of complete closure, then the wood would reach out to grab it. And if Whisper sought to leave, she would create an opening for the Aspect, taking care that the Rahkshi’s speed wouldn’t allow it to escape first. And if the Rahkshi started hacking away at the dome, then she was ready to quickly reallocate the dispersion of wood. The plan was to have the dome shrink until the Rahkshi was encased in a several foot thick layer of wood. Then, death. … For the Rahkshi. Of course. OOC: @Eyru @Gecko Greavesy

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere Life was even more abundant inside the tower, something Sorilax noted as an indication he was headed in the right direction. The insect life had blossomed inside; flies, beetles, and even butterflies buzzed or fluttered past. There were pools of water everywhere and the flora seemed even more abundant than outside, clinging to walls and forming small islands of vibrant green in patches on the floor. Amphibians hopped about or croaked from the deeper puddles. Unlike outside, it appeared the waters had not been able to pierce any cracks in this tower and so he headed downwards instead of up. His steps were carefully placed as he avoided vibrant pink and yellow flowers and the bees that flew between them. A large number of glittering yellow and black wasps had built a hive that blocked off a particular hallway that thankfully seemed non-essential to his journey downwards. There were many doors along the way, reminding him of his Far Shore journey. But unlike there, this place was the absolute opposite of frigid. Through One’s Kraata, he felt the humidity of this place in full. And it was indeed humid, more so than even the Fau Swamp. But the Rahi here... for some reason their varieties were not known to him, though he could place the base species they derived from. This place truly was a treasure trove of life, waiting to be claimed by its rightful inheritor. But the end of the line and the deepest he could go confused him incredibly. Past a lone door stood a room in stark contrast to the rest of the building. The entire room was bare of life. The ceiling, the walls, the floor. The humidity lessened even as he stepped through the doorway and into the room proper. What had once been furniture was in various stages of decay around the room, as if they had been left out for the elements to beat upon for centuries. And something that hurt his soul: several deceased Matoran huddling together around a single heatstone. This too reminded him of a similar room in the Far Shore that had held much the same pile of Matoran bodies. He had learned to create Life in that room. Perhaps this room would hold much the same fate. Sorilax created a hardlight barrier over the single exit to the room and dropped concentration on his Light bending technique. For the first time in the Aqua Sphere, One’s ocean blue, seaweed green, and gray body was visible to all who peered upon it. He needed to figure out what had happened in this room, and it would not do to have distractions, like focusing on an elemental technique he had not practiced for millennia like his other Shadow techniques. He also reigned back his Silence so he could hear if anyone or anything approached. Instead of a field of Silence, he went back to his passive of silent movements. Then he took a good long look around the room, carefully scanning the walls and floor for not just details about the room, but also subtle clues that might tell the tale of these dead Matoran. Sorilax even created platforms of hardlight to stand on so that he might more closely observe the ceiling. When he felt he had gathered enough information from the room, he finally, and reverently, started inspecting the Matoran, looking for anything on them or beneath where they sat that might tell their story or provide more information about this room. He finished by picking up the heatstone. It was devoid of any semblance of heat, no doubt all warmth gone from it for a good long time. Sorilax set it down, slightly saddened with the thought that the heatstone going out probably correlated to all these poor Matoran’s Heartlights dying out. Then he took a step back and considered what he had learned from the room. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning, Mind Reading and Quick Healing Location - Irnakk’s Tooth With - Whira The past four days had been full of hard work and experimentation. He had discovered that merging discs was much harder than he had thought it was going to be, but that it could be done. And that triple merging existed, though he had only made one and had no idea what its power was. So far he had discovered a disc that made things consistently float, which was a giant revelation that had him already constructing custom machines to outfit the Cube with Kanoka strikers that would distribute the Kanoka’s effect evenly throughout his vehicle. His next amazing discovery was a Kanoka that increased the weight of objects. The perfect addition to levitation. Cravious had also figured out the rest of the elemental Kanoka. After that came a Kanoka power that made a temporary shield, one that made things have an X-Ray effect just like his own power, an illusion maker, one that made it easier to see in the dark, and one that moved things almost telekinetically. He theorized that he still hadn’t discovered all the powers yet and that perhaps merged discs could be merged as well. Not to mention all the triple merging combos he had yet to discover. So all and all, his four days were spent studiously, increasing not just his knowledge, but his skill as well. The Cube had floated through the ocean for three days, avoiding the dangers on land in the Fau Swamp and most of the dangers of the deep sea. The fourth day was spent trudging through the Ash Barrens and its sometimes deep ash mounds that made traversal far from simple and quick. But they had made good time by sea and so it was on day four that they entered the foothills surrounding Irnakk’s Tooth. Using his X-Ray and Telescopic Vision, Cravious angrily noted Yumiwak’s flying ship in the area. Cravious hated her and her crew by extension. Her kind kept their secrets of flight held close as long as he had lived. He hadn’t been able to find a way to glean their knowledge and take it for himself. But despite hundreds of years of not being able to figure out how she was able to fly, Cravious hated her just a little less now that he had discovered Levitation Kanoka. He looked at the beginnings of twin engines that sat nearby, waiting to be finalized and installed into the Cube’s morphing undercarriage. Those, combined with his Levitation and Weight Increase Kanoka would finally put him over par with the stuck up Yumiwak. But still, best to make sure to avoid her for now and stay out of sight. Cravious directed his vehicle to a side lava flow, far away from the entrance into Irnakk’s Tooth. It was there that Cravious set up shop, pulling out everything he needed to forge a Kanoka and then a Kanohi. Debt Collector was instrumental in the process, affording Cravious at least momentary relief from the overly oppressive heat as he worked through his ACR. He dug out a small channel leading to and away from his moved forge in the rock of the mountainside. All he had to do was knock out the thin barriers in the rock strips that held back the lava flow and then he would be ready to use the forge. Finally, everything was set up, and a hard decision needed to be made. Cravious hadn’t spent too much time thinking about this part. He hadn’t wanted to. All of his hirelings were important to making him money and he didn’t want to lose any of them. But where else could he find someone willing to give up their Heartlight? Perhaps through torture, but they didn’t have time for that. They had already wasted over a month finding pure energized protodermis. They couldn’t waste even more time in a potentially fruitless and costly endeavor. If he had to lose anyone, it would definitely be Voracious. The Water Skakdi was a pain to deal with and didn’t quite have the same drive Cravious did when it came to being a mechanic. But Voracious made it quite obvious he only worked here because Cravious saw his skill and paid accordingly. Cravious really doubted he could get Voracious to willingly die so Cravious could gain power. Sagacious was too important to give up, since she was the one that essentially ran all of his enterprises. Asperity freaked him out and kept everything truly important in the Cube safe. He was pretty sure she was on his side. Or if she wasn’t, he couldn’t tell and so it didn’t matter. But Clash. He could replace Clash and had thought about doing so many, many times. He just hadn’t because of the fool’s loyalty. A loyalty Cravious could now exploit. Cravious made up his mind. He started up the ramp and stopped in his tracks. Preceptor was walking down to meet him with a solemn look. Cravious squinted his optics in thought and a little bit of confusion. The Skakdi of Fire patted Cravious on the shoulder, “I have already taught you all you need to know. And I have lived through too much as it is. Perhaps Whira and you can finally break the cycles we seem to be stuck in. To become strong enough to set things straight.” Preceptor walked towards Whira, who was waiting nearby, “Come, Cravious, let us begin.” Cravious took a moment to consider things. Preceptor had finished teaching martial arts to Cravious over a couple years ago. Cravious had kept the old Skakdi around to help him remember all the lessons and to have someone to spar against. Other than that, Preceptor was the perfect choice, though not the one Cravious had first thought of. Plus, the old Skakdi apparently wanted it. Cravious smiled savagely. Yeah, this was perfect. Cravious suited up in gear to allow him to bear the heat of the lava. Breaking the retainers and letting the lava flow to and from the forge, Cravious grabbed his thin strip of metal and found the seam around Preceptor’s Heartlight. Cravious inserted the strip into the torso, felt it catch, and lifted up. The Heartlight slid forward, held in only by all the wires that connected it to the important parts of the body that needed energy. While normally Cravious would just unscrew the nuts that secured everything, the Taboo called for cutting out the Heartlight with a knife. Preceptor held up a knife he had carried for thousands of years. It was marked by age and battles past. He looked to Whira with a steady and peaceful gaze, “I am ready, young one. Take my offered gift and wear it well.” Before they began, Cravious started working at the forge, grabbing Black, Green, and Silver hued protodermis ore he had selected ahead of time. They started to liquify and Cravious watched them carefully. He checked three times before they were ready to be purified. His purification machine thunk-ed and whump-ed and sounded like it was going to rattle apart. But the process worked as normal and Cravious poured the result into the Kanoka mold. He moved the Kanoka mold over the lava to keep the ore liquid. He was ready to receive the pure EP and Heartlight. Cravious turned to Whira and Preceptor. He would honor his mentor by watching as the Skakdi of Fire died for a greater cause. OOC: @~Xemnas~

IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning, Mind Reading and Quick Healing Location - Outside of Icarax’s Temple With - Whira Cravious felt the new Kraata nestled into his frills next to its brother. It’s head shape felt the same as his Kraata of Mind Reading. New power washed over him, but in a much more subtle way than with the other one. He just felt… healthier. But more importantly, he could feel a change beginning in his left foot. If he looked, he was sure he would see the organic protodermis muscle slowly starting to regrow. Finally. He had waited too long for that to heal on its own. It had bothered him for long enough. Now it was time to look to the future. In the distance a steady THUNK-ing could be heard in increasing volume as the Cube’s form loomed through the mists as it approached. The massive protosteel vehicle loudly strode over on its legs until it reached a point over semi-level ground. Then it settled down on the black basalt and the garage ramp opened slowly, sealed air releasing with a hiss as it did so. Whira’s Nui-Jaga poked its insectoid head out of the opening. Clash poked out his head alongside the Rahi. The Nui-Jaga, which loved to get out of the vehicle as often as possible and hunt or fight or anything, really, must have sensed something was off about the Kumu Islets and scurried back inside. Clash waved hello. Cravious sighed. Clash was such a disappointment. Thank Irnakk Clash was at least good at his job. Otherwise Cravious would have fired him long ago, regardless of being able to fight with him whenever it was convenient. Cravious strode up the ramp, noting that everything seemed to be intact. Voracious had put the finishing touches on the latest war rig and had gotten to work on what looked to be a bipedal ACR. Right now it was just a couple parts and a work in progress frame. Preceptor sat in a corner, looking thoughtful, which was slightly unusual. Normally the old Skakdi would be going through his martial arts techniques to stay in prime shape. He had been acting weird since Cravious had told his hirelings of the Heartlight Forging Taboo. Sagacious walked up, looked irritated, “It’s been a month, we really should go check on our surviving investments. There are several debts to collect. Several Heartlights to go seize, should their owners still live. Who knows the state of our assets.” She looked like she was ready to continue on. Cravious waved her off, “We’ll get to it after I make this Mask of Shadows. We finally have what we need. It’s time to go back to Irnakk’s Tooth.” Clash butted in, “Why back there?” Cravious scowled at him, “Does it matter?” Clash stared at Cravious expectantly. Cravious closed his optics in annoyance and massaged his frills on the back of his neck, the ones that covered his two Kraata. Clash was such a pain. “Irnakk’s power flows through the lava there. It’ll ensure the success of the Taboo. We don’t want to go wasting a valuable Heartlight.” “Ahhh,” Clash nodded, not quite fully understanding. Sagacious narrowed her optics, “And then we get back to business after that. I’ll go get us moving.” As she walked away, Cravious called after her, “Take the sea. We’ll get there faster.” Making sure Whira was onboard, Cravious closed the garage ramp and it sealed, prompting the internal systems to pressurize the air. With a lurch, the Cube began to move east. It traveled in that direction for a few hours until it reached the ocean, then it walked right in, converting to its water traversal mode. They finally started north. Soon enough, they would arrive back at Irnakk’s Tooth. Cravious frowned at that thought. He had never wanted to return anywhere near that place. Yet here he was a month later doing exactly that. Cravious wondered what he might do for more money, err, power. Whira’s supplied Kraata had been weak so far, but they were far better than nothing and could only grow more powerful. And the more powerful she grew, the more he would be better suited to eventually break off from her. To contain her, if necessary. Though so far, she had proven trustworthy enough for him to allow himself to sleep in her presence. He liked to think he was too valuable an asset to ever cast aside. He knew he would never cast himself aside. Well, it would take at least four days to reach Irnakk’s Tooth, even taking most of the journey by sea. He wanted to start learning how to merge Kanoka. That might better prepare him for making the level 9 Kanoka of Shadow to then make the Mask of Shadows. He gathered his gear and protodermic ores and got to work. OOC: @~Xemnas~

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Rahkshi, Life Kraata creation Muaka The living carpet of ironwood roots three inches thick writhed on top of the basalt ground as the entire 25 foot diameter circle undulated after the Rahkshi as it went after Whisper, the entire surface area of the circle full of grasping root ends that reached out for the EP born creature. The roots moved with haste, directed by Viltia from inside her Muaka a safe distance away. The ones closest to the Rahkshi suddenly grew longer to add even more speed to their movements as several wooden tendrils drew close enough to once again try to surround and ensnare the deadly beast. OOC: @Eyru @Gecko Greavesy

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere Sorilax noted the inner workings of the tower in the split second before he looked down. Simple inner stairs with an outer ramp. Once on the ground, he noticed cords of wire running hither and forth through the abandoned and sunken city, with the new species sprinkled around it moving in patrolling patterns. He pondered what was going on and how they were able to twist their bodies that way, but only for a moment before he moved into the ruined tower. His business lay not with the new inhabitants of the Aqua Sphere, but the hidden secrets of the sphere itself. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Rahkshi, Life Kraata creation Muaka “Ouch! Ow!” Viltia cried out in pain, instinctively retracting her three tethers despite having the opportunity to further seize the Rahkshi. The Rahkshi had tried to grab her Staff of Hunger, but the staff end itself was the size of the Rahkshi’s torso and the tether holding the other end of the staff was out of reach of the Rahkshi’s own staff and it was quickly pulled back after the second tether had been damaged. Viltia hadn’t thought the shape of her own staff would mean it was sharp. Maybe because it had gotten bigger? But despite an opportunity presenting itself as the Rahkshi was busy attacking instead of defending, Viltia felt pain and immediately went with her prepared plan B. One of the tethers holding her up touched her Muaka. In a moment, her giant form was gone, shrinking to normal size safely in her pocket dimension. Some 25 feet away from the Rahkshi, the Muaka grew tethers. Secure in the Muaka and no longer having to focus on her Kanohi, Viltia dove into the Green, sensing the grasses in the area and everything they were feeling. Observation came so naturally to her. If only her elemental Creation skills were on par. Whisper looked like she was doing something and not in immediate danger, which allowed Viltia time to think. Trapping, ensnaring, binding, grabbing. Viltia opened the mental aperture that held back her elemental energy from manifesting. Elemental energy issued forth from her body and Viltia bent it to her will. Starting from her Muaka claws, brownish tan roots burst forth, growing from herself and snaking along the ground much like her tethers just had. But these roots grew and multiplied from themselves in a mesmerizing display, spreading out to form a circle around the Rahkshi of 25 feet in diameter with a five foot hole around the Rahkshi while it was distracted by a ton of bugs that had come out of seemingly nowhere to help them out for some reason. After the circle finished forming, the roots leapt in the air and ran along the ground from all angles and closed the five foot hole, seeking to ensnare the deadly beast. The roots not immediately adjacent to the Rahkshi grew new limbs that reached up into the air, preparing for any form of escape. The roots themselves were formed of ironwood. A type of wood not so easily cut through. Of course her tethers were as strong as her metal body, which was comparable to ironwood, but Viltia didn’t think of that. The roots all formed, Viltia was able to now more easily Manipulate them. Manipulation came to her far far more intuitively than Creation. Not to mention that Manipulation used up less elemental energy, which was always good. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy @Eyru IC: Crucia - Skakdi of Water and Cyclone Location - Eastern Sea Crucia hesitantly turned off the engine, relative silence falling over the cabin. The only noise that could be heard was breathing and the sound of the waves lapping softly against the side of the boat. This was location attempt number four. The sun was already several hours into the sky and time was running out. Tarakava loved to attack things near shore. So why couldn’t she find any? Life, Destiny, Fate, whatever, it all hated her. Her injured leg throbbed at the thought and she gasped, her friends looking over in concern. She waved them off and hobbled through the cabin door out into the briny air. The ocean was so much warmer this close to land and she at least was able to enjoy that. She sat on the railing and let herself fall backwards into the ocean. She bobbed to the surface and just let herself soak in the water. All her worries slowly ebbed away as she allowed herself time to just be. After a while, she stopped even feeling her leg pain. She hadn’t planned this, but apparently she needed it. Her whole body felt at peace in the warmer waters. She slowly let herself drift off, physically and mentally. … She wasn’t sure how long it was, but she was jolted awake by the sound of wood splintering and the sounds of her friends shouting. There was a sound like rushing water and then another sharp crack as wood was ripped asunder. Crucia flailed around, getting her bearings. Teal and aqua forms swam just under the surface of her ship, pummeling it. Tarakava! Crucia shot her Water Harpoon into the side of her ship, the damage minimal compared to what the Rahi were doing. As she was reeling in, she saw her vessel was already listing as it took on water. Crucia really started to panic. This boat kept her alive. Without it, she couldn’t catch fish or store them. That meant no daily quota fulfilled, which meant death by Silver. Her panic turned to anger at the Tarakava. She caught sight of the aqua one and dove for it. She would impact bash this thing to death just like she had with the Takea. She held up her reloaded Water Harpoon and... was sent careening off, spinning randomly, air stripped from her lungs as the teal Tarakava came from behind and punched her side. Crucia scrambled for the surface, gasping for air. She tried her best to ignore the pain and looked at her poor vessel. Why had she ever thought it was a good idea to hunt Tarakava? Why? To live. To gain more power, that’s why. Crucia felt her stomach flip as she went through potential plans, but she made her decision and dove. The Tarakava approached her vessel again to continue their destruction. As more wood splintered, Crucia made sure the teal one was distracted with the destruction and shot her harpoon into the aqua one’s neck. It jolted in irritation and spun around as Crucia reeled herself in. She knew she couldn’t dodge the swift strike of a Tarakava, so she commanded her element to throw the Tarakava up onto the boat. The movement of the water was too slow and the Tarakava too swift, but it trying to swim away kept it from attacking her. She latched onto its back and wasted no time blasting Impact Vision into the back of its head. It called out in rage. No! She needed more time. She frantically looked around. She saw a splash of teal but it was too late. She was struck in her back and painfully crushed into the back of the aqua Tarakava. She managed to hold her breath, but her insides felt rattled. Almost like all her pistons, bolts, and belts had come loose. Together, these Rahi were too powerful. She needed to separate them. She needed to- Crucia grabbed the shaft of the harpoon and threw herself from the back of the aqua one right as the teal one stuck again. This time it struck its partner’s back. Crucia hugged the aqua one’s neck, staying under its jaws and out of reach of its gloves. She ducked as the teal one struck again, this time the blow hitting the aqua one in the head. The aqua one bellowed in anger and struck back at its friend. Crucia dislodged her harpoon and swam away using her Cyclone power. The Tarakava pummeled each other ruthlessly, not caring that they were teammates moments before. Each successful strike only produced more anger in the other Rahi.She watched with happiness as aqua one lost, head caved in and starting to float away. The teal one swam off to nurse its own considerable wounds. Crucia, this time successfully, deposited the Tarakava onto the deck. Once it was secured, she used her element to remove as much water from her sinking vessel as she could. She was riding high from her victory, but reality came crashing back in as she went over the damage to her boat. She was truly done for. They might not make it back to Silver, let alone someplace to get repairs with widgets they didn’t have. At least the engine started. Her boat started to limp to the rendezvous. Crucia went over to her friends. She needed advice. The Tarakava had given her an idea and she desperately hoped it might help them.

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper, Rahkshi, Life Kraata creation Muaka Viltia stopped growing as the mists started to interfere with her vision. She let herself shrink just a little bit. The Rahkshi had miraculously dodged all of her attacks, which seemed impossible, so it had to be its power. It twisted and turned with incredible speeds in a blur of motion, but only to avoid the silent bolts of energy from her laser crossbow, never to attack or move normally. That certainly made things more difficult for the Toa of the Green considering most of her attacks were ranged and she felt she wasn’t up to par with elemental Creation in combat. As the Rahkshi reached Whisper and its blow struck, Viltia’s large mouth shouted, “No! Leave her alone!” The noise echoed across the desolate place. Whisper was too close for Viltia to take more shots safely with her crossbow, so from her elevated position on her tendrils, she sent two of her tethers snaking along the ground, the enlarged appendages moving in front and back of the deadly creature. They were both of them each thicker than any normal sized limb’s circumference. The one in front tried to wrap around the Rahkshi’s lower legs and the one in back tried to wrap around the Rahkshi’s upper arms. A third tether, which was wrapped around an enlarged Rahkshi Staff of Hunger, swung in from above, trying to whack the Rahkshi hard on the head. Viltia couldn’t focus both on her mask and the Rahkshi staff at once, so it swung down unpowered and just as a physical weapon. Her Muaka stayed by her side, as commanded. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy @Eyru

IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning and Mind Reading Location - Outside of Icarax’s Temple With - Whira Cravious nodded, “I look forward to it.” And he was. He was ready to put his past month of study and practice to work. Though, not quite yet. “But first, while we wait, I think it’s the perfect time for my second Desecration.” Cravious pulled out his briefcase and popped it open. Energy hummed from within and a sentient Heartlight sat waiting to be used. He had obtained it in the past month and its owner certainly didn’t need it more than he did. “I want to never be concerned over being hurt again. I wish to be able to heal from any injury.” OOC: @~Xemnas~ IC: Crucia - Skakdi of Water and Cyclone Location - East Sea Crucia went over her maps for what felt like the hundredth time as the sun started to rise. She had been up all night, trying her best to ignore the throbbing in her leg and catch all the fish she could. It wasn’t looking good for her. There was no way she would be able to catch today’s and the rest of yesterday’s quota before noon. There was just no way. She slammed her desk in the messy cabin, cursing. Why? Why was she so weak? Why couldn’t she just overpower Silver? She needed another Kraata. That was it. Yes. She needed to find Whira again and get another Kraata. That would solve everything. Having a goal reinvigorated Crucia and she made a decision she hoped to never make. She was going to hunt Tarakava, the twin boxers. It was the only way to make her deadline. Even killing one would be enough to fulfill her quota. Crucia spun the helm, turning to go west. Now she just needed to come up with a plan of attack. Her stomach dropped at the thought but she stayed the course. She could do this. No, she had to do this.

IC: Crucia - Skakdi of Water and Cyclone Location - Eastern Sea Crucia slowly drew close to her boat, Silver’s smug face looking down at her as the Ko-Skakdi leaned over the railing. “There’s the rest of the quota, I was worried for a hot minute there.” Silver laughed harshly. Silver’s much larger vessel dwarfed Crucia’s own. The Skakdi on it laughed with Silver, jeering at Crucia. Crucia used her element to deposit herself and her catch onto her deck. She slumped to her back, leg throbbing. She could hear the impending footfalls of doom as Silver walked over. One after the other. Each one sealing her fate. Silver glared down at Crucia, “Where’s the other one? Because this one sure ain’t enough, small fry.” Silver picked up her leg and brought it down on Crucia’s injured one, grinding it in. Crucia gasped in pain, vision blurring. In that moment, her anger overcame her fear and she called upon her Kraata and blasted Silver with a gust of wind. The Ko-Skakdi slammed onto her back and slid on the slippery deck to bang her head into the cabin, cursing and flailing. There was an immediate flurry of activity as Silver’s Skakdi responded. Crucia found herself bound to the deck with several different elements. And Silver was quick to get to her feet, growling and stomping over to Crucia. She kicked Crucia repeatedly in the broken leg, metal sparking and gears falling out. Crucia lost focus as her organic protodermis muscle was now injured, sending far more intense pain racing through her than before. After a while of this torture, she wasn’t sure what she could feel of her body anymore as she grew numb. She felt hot breath on her face and was afraid to open her optics. Silver’s furious voice spoke inches from her, “You’re lucky I need you in one piece, you filthy piece of trash. But if you attack me one more time, that’s it. You and your friend are donezo. D. E. A. D. DEAD.” Crucia was pretty sure she was kicked in her side, and then she heard Silver giving orders to take her catches on board her boss’ ship. Then Silver’s voice floated back Crucia’s way, “Oh, you don’t get to eat for a week. And if I catch you eating, I’ll sink your vessel. And don’t think I don’t want the rest of today’s quota. You get me the rest of today’s and tomorrow’s quota by noon tomorrow or you and your little friends become chum.” Crucia’s gut wrenched. Could things even get worse? Suddenly it felt like her whole body was throbbing. But not all of her pain was physical. Inside she was broken as well. She had actually done it, she had stood up to Silver, but she had been so wholly unmatched against her boss and her boss’s henchmen that she had been immediately restrained and punished. She had attacked when she couldn’t even use one of her legs. It was a stupid fit of emotion that had completely and utterly failed. Fear sat paramount in her mind. But in the midst of that fear, a confusing mote of hope sat. She had successfully attacked Silver and Silver had been damaged. Silver wasn’t infallible in her mind anymore. Crucia grabbed onto that thought, cherishing it. As one of Silver’s Skakdi patched up her leg so she could get back to work fishing, Crucia nursed the thought, placing it as a foundation stone for future hopes of power and getting revenge on Silver. It wouldn’t be easy though. Now she had a bum leg and had to work through the night to even have a chance of fulfilling Silver’s demands. One wrong move and she would be finished.

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere As he took stock of his surroundings, Sorilax was glad he had left his scrolls at Le-Metru Nuva. There was so much to document and preserve for future life to learn from. It would have taken his days or years to write it all down. The flora and fauna fascinated him and he almost started looking for a bee hive to observe before he stopped himself. Once again being forced to focus on his Light bending kept him on the right course. No matter the luscious green beauty around him, he had a Grand Wish to accomplish. He could explore later. If the island was still intact, anyway. He should really figure out the truths behind Nuju’s words. As his Rahkshi head turned, he spotted one area that really caught his interest. It was a grand ruined tower in the center of this flooded place. Thick vines and crawling roots adorned it like organic furnishings. It was spectacular to view. He would start there. Reaching out his hands in preparation to grab something, Sorilax teleported to a particularly sturdy looking cluster of roots on the large tower. He reached out, gaining purchase, but only for a moment as he looked at the ground and teleported there instead of trying to climb up the slightly damp roots and vines. Once on the ground floor again, Sorilax looked for an entrance to the decaying ruin. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper Viltia was disturbed as she watched the Rahkshi emerge. And it was a Rahkshi, whatever that was. Maybe kraata plus armor? Her Life Kraata whispered the information about it being a Rahkshi in her mind as it teleported to their location. And it had to be teleportation of some kind. If it had just been waiting around on another plane of existence, she would have still sensed its presence. The Life Kraata was awesome about stuff like that. But this thing most certainly was not awesome. It looked like a predator. And it acted like one too, letting out a horrendous shriek that was kind of soothing in an odd way. She had definitely heard worse things in the Fau Swamp at night. Worse things that now helped her get to sleep at night. As it strode forward, it moved with deadly intent. Viltia saw the way it held itself and advanced. She had been forced to have a sense for these things in the Fau Swamp, where danger filling the air was all the warning you got sometimes. This creature, this Rahkshi, was absolutely dripping with danger. It practically rolled off of the beast in thick rivulets, as if the Rahkshi had just emerged from a pool of water. So it was without hesitation that Viltia mentally sentenced this Rahkshi to death. It was either going to be her or it, and she had learned not to waste time doubting her intuition about this kind of stuff. She mentally commanded her Muaka to retreat to her side for now. In a now well practiced motion, Viltia’s tethers extended and drew her backwards, gracefully causing her to seem to float through the air. She took aim and started firing her laser crossbow right after Whisper shot that bright light at the Rahkshi. The same one that she had used to cause Viltia to notice her. The light wasn’t directed at Viltia, but it still caused her to blink rapidly. As she moved back on her tethers, she focused on her mask and began to grow. As she did, the silent atomizing bolts of energy from her lazer crossbow also grew. From fist sized to two fists to the size of a Kanohi. Even with her movement and the light from Whisper’s Kraata causing her to blink rapidly to adjust, hopefully the increased size would cause the atomizing rounds to strike the killing machine before it could harm her or her new friend. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Gecko Greavesy IC: Cravious - Skakdi of Lightning and Mind Reading Location - Outside of Icarax’s Temple With - Whira Cravious pulled out a walkie talkie with a strange box attached to it with a large switch and several knobs as he followed Whira outside. Once they were again in open air and away from prying ears, he turned on the walkie talkie and then twisted one of the knobs. Suddenly static sprung from the speaker. Cravious flicked the switch on the side of the addendum box several times in an irregular fashion. He paused, then started the same sequence again. When he got to the end of the sequence, he paused again. Several bursts of static came through, barely discernible as intelligent instead of just white noise. Cravious nodded and turned off the box and walkie talkie, putting the contraption away, “The Cube is on its way.” OOC: @~Xemnas~

IC: Sorilax Life Seeker - Aspect of Light and Silence Location - Aqua Sphere Unfortunately, the teleport had not been quite so graceful. The unkept conditions of the water drenched city created a floor of slickness that he was not prepared for. Thankfully, his actions remained silent as he splashed into the water. It took him several seconds to regain his bearings as he made sure to focus on his Light warping technique. He sank, unconcerned, noting his surroundings but not paying too much immediate attention to them as he crafted a dim hardlight ladder below the water that ran up to the ground above while not breaking through the surface of the water. It was harder to create the ladder while keeping up his Light bending up, but he had spent so many years creating physical objects out of shadow near subconsciously that he succeeded in doing both tasks at once after just a little bit of mental juggling. As he swam to the ladder and climbed back up, he noted the devastation of the Life around him. Toa, Turaga, Matoran, and all other species were strewn around the place, organics rotting away as their bodies became corroded in the water and eventually sank to become piles of scrap below. It saddened him and for a moment he paused to mourn their loss, but seeing so much death also pushed him forward. He felt he could find a solution to creating more Life here. And if he could not find it here, he was not sure where he ever might. So he must find it here. Or perhaps create the way on his own. There was some knowledge hidden in his mind. He could feel it in his mental seascape of Taboo knowledge. Something was lurking there, waiting for him to figure it out. He just had to figure out how. Sorilax grabbed the edge of the ground above him, dismissing the dim golden hardlight ladder that had not broken the surface of the water. Even with his Light bending and field of Silence, Sorilax remained cautious and slowly rose from the slightly murky and algae filled liquid, trying to cause as few ripples as possible as he did so. There could definitely be more of the species he had seen outside lurking about and there was no reason to disturb them. Water dripped from him as he climbed out and stood, the droplets silent in his field of Silence as they struck the deep green and moisture filled moss that squished under his Rahkshi feet. Alright, where to first? Sorilax took a good look around. What he was looking for certainly would not be out in the open. Perhaps it would even be hidden. Secreted away so that only those destined could find it. And he would not find it standing here. Watching his step on the slippery ground, he ventured forth. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper “Alright!” Viltia clapped her hands, “Okay, okay.” She turned, sensing her line of moss. She had turned from the Rock Rahi ruins just so, so that meant… “This way!” Viltia excitedly motioned Whisper to follow her and she moved through the mists, her Muaka moving to follow her. It took far longer than when she had been a giant. The “quick” walk turned into an hour as they eventually came across Viltia’s original trail of moss and turned to follow it. Soon after, the basalt amphitheatre came into view. Her muddy tread tracks from earlier still trailed across the stone courtyard. The courtyard stood at the center of an amphitheater-like structure that could fit maybe a hundred people, and was about thirty feet across. The empty stone seats of the theater had not seen an audience for a long time: parts of the black structure were half-crumbled while others had crumbled completely into ruin. Nevertheless, there was an eerie feeling that they were being watched by invisible spectators. On the opposite side from where they had walked up sat the black obsidian door, standing freely and rising from the ground like a chipped tooth. As Viltia led Whisper up to it, Whisper would be able to see a symbol glowed dully upon the black surface: an ellipsis with a line through it. Viltia pulled out her axe/crossbow and rose upon her tethers, “Now, I don’t exactly like the vibe here or those feelings of power and darkness earlier, specifically the darkness part. Be careful.” OOC: @Gecko Greavesy

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper Viltia smiled and then frowned, “Well that’s good to hear. But let me tell you, I’m interested because I have no idea what I’m doing.” Viltia motioned with her hands, a couple of her tethers mimicking the actions, “Here’s what’s going on. So, there I was at the Air Suva when a crazy legend I heard long ago came to me in a spectacular fashion. I remember the tales of Silver and Golden Kanohi that were actually several Kanohi in one. After spending most of my time making Kanohi since I learned how to, I knew I needed to figure out how to do that. “But I couldn’t figure it out on my own. It sure seems like the Air Suva should be able to do it, but I just had no idea how. Cue the Admin. Uh, Administrator. “So, I was in the Grand Temple Ruins, asking the Admin a ton of questions and feeling a little unsure about its character. If an electronic thingy can even have character. I have no idea.” Viltia shrugged, “Anyway, the Admin tells me that Golden masks are possible. Buuuuuut, apparently it won’t just let me upgrade the Air Suva easy peasy. Nooope. Apparently I have to learn how I can teach it how to learn Taboos. Like, ugh. But I really want Golden masks, so I’m going to figure out how to do this. “Next thing I know, the Admin sends me to Irnakk. He’s actually pretty nice. But he wanted me to steal the Mask of Creation from the kind of shady Toa Knichou. Now, I’m not going to steal anything, ever, so I knew I couldn’t get the information for the Admin from Irnakk. “So I head back to the Grand Temple Ruins and ask the Admin for another way. Thankfully, it said I might be able to find the information I need in the Kumu Peninsula. So I spent half of today racing around this place. Eventually, I find this broken down temple with a door. When I touch the door, it teleports me someplace else and now there’s a symbol on the door and I feel like I’m being watched. I couldn’t figure out what to do, so I looked around for another door or an Aspect. And hey, I found you! Or...” Viltia thought about it, “Actually, you found me I guess.” She smiled. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy

IC: Viltia - Toa of the Green Location - Kumu Peninsula With - Whisper Viltia grabbed her book from her satchel, flipping through it to show Whisper the symbol she had drawn. It was crude, but Whisper would be able to tell it was an ellipsis with a line through it. It was the symbol that represented the Taboo of Desecration. Viltia blinked at the floating tentacle/gas thing. She wasn’t sure if this Aspect even had optics to see. “I found this symbol on a door in a nearby ruin. It’s, uh, an ellipsis with a line through it. I can feel that the door there wants the Taboo, but I can’t learn Taboos. And even if I could, I have no idea what this symbol means. I also felt something powerful and a little dark behind the door, so I think there’s some kind of reward back there. Which is weird that I felt that, since generally I don’t ever have those kinds of feelings. “Oh, but, uh, payment,” her mind raced. What would an Aspect want as payment? “I can make you some Kanoka. Really high level. Or… or hey! I could get you some energized protodermis.” OOC: @Gecko Greavesy