The Dark Chronicler

“I saw endless pupil-less eyes, each one forever blinking but never closing, rising out of endless mouths that rose from the inky surface of its skin. Endless limbs spread out from its enormous form, each one branching into a thousand branch-like offshoots. These offshoots each ended in another mouth, which sang out in glory of his holy and unspeakable name. I could feel the darkness in my own soul trying to rend itself from my body in his presence, his sheer majesty causing it to writhe in agony. Then amid his center, a single massive opening appeared, the inside lined with burning quills.From this came a booming voice, that left my mind unable to focus upon anything else, as all of my sense faded. It said in words that were not our own, but my mind could through his power understand. ‘Mayixa, son of the people of the false spirit. I am the glorious one who is called -‘ what he said could not be translated, for no word of ours could ever explain it. I can’t even repeat it for I have not the power to speak it. ‘You see before you the truth beyond what you have been told. Mata Nui and Makuta are but mere specks of dust in my presence, their power is nothing. You must guide your fellow children of the false spirit back towards my path.’I managed to ask a single question of his endless greatness. ‘I can not speak your name… what is it that I may call you to those I must lead?’The booming voice responded with a name, and then I awoke. He said that I may call him ‘Neroxidecost’.” He is currently standing and preaching of the greatness of Neroxidecost over the false spirits. He also just helped a Turaga who slipped on the ice get back onto their feet.

Well, I have a mad cultist to an imaginary eldritch god named Neroxidecost standing around doing basically nothing in Ko-Koro right now, if that holds any interest.

This makes me very happy, and yet at the same time quite shocked. Excellently written said about a character created by me? Sure, I'm giving her posts my all, but I really wouldn't call myself an excellent writer or really even close to excellence in any form. Also, I'm sure I must misunderstand, but the Gecko of Mata-Nui? A lizard of the order Squamata?

IC: Eshai "I live to continue living. There is nothing more left for me, and yet I do not have the courage to merely end this empty continuation." She really had no reason to move onward, no real purpose to her life outside of just continuing to live it and deal with whatever challenges it placed before her. There was no clan to return glory to, no path to redemption that she could follow, she merely took each day is it came.

IC: Eshai "When one is brought down to nothing, they very quickly learn their place. Otherwise, you will find that having such a demeanor causes those who stand above you, even those of the classes once far below you, to find any reason they can to break whatever pride you may have remaining." She explained with the same cold calmness of her mind that covered her face beneath the demonic mask.

IC: Theriss Vouge had a point, the rest of the team really wouldn't be able to function without her, though she wasn't certain Voulge's little group would be able to fare much better. Two of the three had tried to drown themselves in drink, not exactly a sign of someone worth putting confidence in when you couldn't watch them, and one of the heavy drinkers wished to lead their small expedition. She already knew Voulge could be irritating and annoying, and who knew what trouble he would manage to get himself into without someone there to keep him in check. "A good point, both of you... Try not to get yourselves too badly harmed."

IC: Eshai "I'm sorry if I am not always clear enough. I don't have any need for money, because this job holds no place for luxuries. The money to survive is all that I require, which you have been move than generous in providing. ... Is there anything else that I have done or said that has caused you any confusion?" She really didn't want to explain herself any more than she needed to, but if it lead to some confusion in her employer, it may very well end up coming off quite differently than she had intended. Something as single as a misunderstanding could prove far more harmful than a direct insult ever could. It was best to be careful.

IC: Eshai She didn't really know how to respond to that. She was already getting payed enough for what she needed, and her job really didn't leave a lot of open room for anything else, any more money wouldn't have any real use to her right now, it would merely start building up with no purpose. It would certainly be nice to have, and possibly something worth thinking about. But she was better off just sticking with a steady paying job, and if her pay got too high, it might cause Sanei to become unable or unwilling to pay the rate and fire her. "My current pay is more than good enough, I do not have any need for more."

OOC: Sorry for the shortness, I'm not really feeling up for lengthy writing today... XD IC: Theriss At first, she glanced up with a smile to falsely sincere that it was sickening. She had been listening to the conversations of her group for a while now, and that note seemed to be rather interesting. Apparently someone had placed it in Voulge's glass, for a reason that she could only guess at. Someone wanted to hunt a Piraka and protect the lives of others? That sounded as though it held an unpleasantly high risk level. And yet, it already had the support of Vail, and perhaps even Crasaro, if what he had muttered could be translated into some form of agreement and not a request for a new sandwich. She pondered over her answer for a moment, trying to decide what would be the best choice of action. If it went well, their group would likely gain in importance, but failure would mean she was down three Toa, something the team could not really afford to lose. "I suppose there is nothing wrong with you joining this little mission, so long as you caution to keep yourselves alive and within acceptable shape for further acts of heroism." She turned for a moment, before turning back to the likely already-excited-to-get-going Voulge, before asking one question that she felt quite important. "So... when do we leave?"

When I'm designing a character, the first thing I focus on is personality. How they act and think is probably the most important part of a character, powers and weapons are nice, but you can't do a single post without including a character's personality. Once I know how a character will act, I can start working on the other sections based on how the character would likely choose them, such as mask power and armor color. I tend to be almost nothing like my characters, each one is very far from my actual personality. It really helps me think for a character when I can only loosely base it upon my own thoughts, I have to get into an entirely new mindset for each individual. If they're too close to my own, I tend not to split off from my normal thoughts enough to really make them enjoyable to write for.

IC: Eshai She remained silently standing behind Sanei, her fierce appearance only added to by her lack of motion. She didn't recognize the individuals before her outside of Sanei and Sato, but they certainly seemed important. Their names were not ones she was aware of hearing before, though she had not really been within audible range of the higher ups for quite a long time now. The eyes behind her demonic mask glanced over their surroundings, taking in anything that may prove useful if these people were less than trustworthy. She didn't want to accuse them of being dangerous, but when one was hired to guard another, everyone had the potential of being dangerous.

IC: Eshai It was a question that she had not really thought about before. Yes, it was true that Sanei had hired her, and as such was currently her master. But that changed nothing of her standing, it would still be of the lowest of the low. But she grew weary of trying to explain. "Yes, she is."

IC: Eshai While there very well may be someone for everyone, it didn't meant that a person would ever meet them. And once again Sato seemed to be looking at things in a much more positive light than they should receive. One could speak about the court and city all they wanted as an example, but that did not change the fact that every single one of them held both clan and caste. Society relied on those to function, anything outside was a black mark on the pristineness of their islands. One could say that wasn't true, but the people certainly seemed to think it was. "It is not a matter of finding the right person. Ask yourself, would you even even think about being anything more than friends with one who stood outside of your caste, let alone one so far below as a warrior without a master? No one would, it would be a shame upon their family."

IC: Eshai That comment seemed extremely cold to her. She knew that Sato had not meant it that way, nor had her time implied it, but the words stung greatly all the same. The conversation had now almost created for itself a full circle, back to an earlier issue that still came up to oppose the mostly sound logic that was being presented. But in this case, the flaw was quite stinging. "With who? Barely any would even wish to speak to one such as myself, let alone even think about a family."

IC: Eshai She really didn't know what to respond, she had never thought about her life in such a way before. She had always thought of it as a trap, something that she had fallen into without any hope of returning to anything close to what she had once been. But Sato seemed to see it in a very different light. But even this much brighter outlook found itself reached her mind to have holes stabbed into it as her own thoughts took hold. A single person building a clan, when she had no remaining family? How could that ever happen? There couldn't be a family of a single person, let alone the foundation to begin a clan from. And what other family would ever wish to associate with a family that was just one fallen warrior? It would be a family and clan of a single person... it would be neither. Physical power could only go so far when everything was judged off of your family and clan, and she was certain that she did not have the mental power to raise her own position, where else could she turn without the same problem reaching back around? She had no family, and as such she could have no hope of even regaining any power. "There can not be a family of one, and I have no relatives."

IC: Eshai She didn't have to wait for Sanei's answer to see the small flaw in the logic of the kind Sato. She seemed to see much honor to Eashai, which she certainly did not deserve, but the problem came when one questioned anything beyond just that single virtue. Even the most honorable of people were subject to the other two, and in in one of them there was absolutely no way that she could ever be considered honorable. Order... she was of no clan, she was standing against the order of the caste system, an outside portion that held no place. She was a living stain upon the order of the island, and therefor she was a traitor against the Virtues, thus she held no honor. When Sanei decided to ask her the question that she had known wold be coming, she had already decided her answer. "Because Honor is only one of the Virtues, My existence is against the virtue of Order. Therefor, I am unworthy of honor and beneath those who have it. There can be no honor without order."

IC: Eshai Though she didn't respond, remaining quiet even through mental speaking, Sato's comments had been very well received. Beneath her mask, a small smile had grown across her face. She knew that it was all unwarranted, but that perhaps was the reason that the comments seemed so pleasant. They were undeserved words of kindness from someone who seemed absolutely sincere about them. She had heard many comments during her time as a Masterless Warrior, but not until Sato had any of them been less than cruel. Sanei herself wasn't really any different from the normal when it came to her treatment, but there had been one very strange exception. Sanei had actually decided to hire her. That in itself was a form of kindness, even if it was only for Sanei's own benefit. And while Sat had seemed sincere, she couldn't really get a read of Sanei, who didn't even seem to have any real reason to hire her... Then she heard the thoughts about a pay raise, which was a massive surprise. Maybe it was just Sanei trying to emulate the higher ranked Sato, but it wasn't something that she felt like complaining about. Being seen in a more positive light was perhaps even better, even if it was completely undeserved. Though she had to question if Sanei would hold true to her words once out of the company of her superior. Then came the question that had held on Eshai's mind, and she silently awaited Sato's answer.

IC: Eshai She followed along silently after Sanei, The thanks she had received was riddled with anger, hopefully not at herself. She assumed it was after the unwelcome guest, but it was better to remain on the cautious side until she managed to calm down. They were heading somewhere, but she didn't know where. All she knew was that trying to say anything about where to travel would be ignored at best, and her job was merely to follow. Anything that might possibly turn Sanei's ire towards her was kept very carefully under wraps. Then she heard Sato's voice in her mind, and felt a slight sense of relaxation that it wasn't any action of her own that had inspired Sato to leave. She merely turned towards Sanei to await her employer's response. When she started walking towards Sato, Eshai quietly followed behind.

IC: Theriss She really did not feel like speaking at the moment. Any sign of the smile that she had been faking had vanished not long after she had entered. In its place was a look of weariness, a dull exhaustion that seemed to spread over her entire body as she slumped against the table. She balanced on her elbows, rubbing the sides of her forehead with her hands. This was nowhere near how she had wanted this day to go. Geklan had brought good news with him, why couldn't he have merely stuck with that? Things were actually going towards the positive, and Geklan had felt the need to ruin any cheer by bringing in that chair. Why was it that he could bear to let her have a single happy moment? She barely touched the steak sitting before her, not really feeling up to eating anything. What was once her favored meal now looking back at her as a sickening memory of what had just happened. No, food no longer held any sense of appeal. But the drinks, she had basically given up on any care for keeping the appearance of wine. She had ordered one of the strongest things on the menu. Alcohol certainly wouldn't cure the feelings of anger and sadness that merged inside her, but it would certainly allow her to delay them for a while. That would have to be good enough. Amid the panicking of Barthel and his pathetic noises, she noticed something. This was supposed to be a happy event for their entire team. Geklan had ruined it for her, but what about Barthel and the others. Was she not possibly doing the same for them, acting as a major storm cloud over their celebration? No, the day was spoiled for her, but they had earned their cheerfulness, she would allow herself to ruin that. She was going to make this party work, even if it meant putting on another fake smile and holding it for the rest of the celebration. With a smile forming across her face, she had tried to make it as convincing as possible, she sat up and looked towards the group of Toa that st before her. It was time to bring this back around. But first of all, there was something she had to say, it wouldn't be easy but she was certain that if she swallowed her pride, she could manage to spit it out. taking a deep breath, she began. "First of all, I would like to apologize to Barthel, I have not been feeling all that well and seeing him sitting in my chair was enough to cause a minor action of anger." Next she decided to answer Liano's question over the contents of the folder. "This is the sales report on our merchandise. The sales of action figured built in our likenesses are finding themselves to be reasonably profitable. We have just begun to collect money from this venture, so I would like to offer my congratulations to you all. Currently I have no yet received the money, so your portions of the income shall have to wait for another time. But for now enjoy your meals and drinks... except for you, Crasaro. You are done drinking for tonight unless you pay out of your own pocket. You too Voulge, any more wine is not going to be payed for." Then she turned directly towards Voulge with her fake calm smile spread across her face. He had some sort of question that connected into his involvement, though he had not said what involvement of his it related to. Most likely it was over his part in the team, but with Voulge she couldn't be quite certain. If it was a question about having a pet Ussal, she wasn't going to offer it anything more than a cold glare. No, she would have to respond to the negative, he might take her not answering as confirmation. "What is it that you wished to ask, Voulge?"

IC: Eshai The powerful brute placed herself firmly between Vatrica and Sanei, standing as an unmovable barricade. An unmovable barricade that could teleport and carried a weapon built for breaking armor and bone. One that looked like some sort of creatures from legends of fear. She could honestly say that she didn't think the Clanless "Wrath" would be foolish enough to attempt going around her, but she was prepared for the fight that would occur if she attempted to. Sanei's conversation did not include the likes of them, they were not worthy of being spoken to as equals. "Sanei will speak to you if she deems it worth her time." She remarked towards Vatrica with an innate coldness and harshness. The look in her eyes made it clear that Eshai was not planning on letting her interfere. "We are to remain quiet, not the speak aloud in the presence of those who still hold claim to clan, caste, and honor."

IC: Mayixa He stopped as the Turaga returned, clearly getting annoyed at his preaching of the Glorious and Holy Neroxidecost. But because it was not for religious reasons, but for those relating to his business, he was certain that Neroxidecost would not hold his actions against him. He could still be saved from his path of the false spirits, but not while he was annoyed. Mayixa would just have to- That was when the Turaga had slipped on the ice, landing with a very unpleasant sound. Maybe it was revenge from Neroxidecost? No... The Great One was above such simple and petty things. That meant that the blame lay directly on the cold, cruel ground. He couldn't let the poor guy just lay there on the frozen ground. "Turaga, are you alright?!" He shouted as he dashed over to help the fallen Norvak to his feet. He bent down and attempted to help the Turaga to stand once again, lifting him carefully to his feet.

OOC: I spoke to Nuju about this for creating this character and I just thought I should point out that the only people outside of clans and castes that still have a good reputation are the Datsue. IC: Eshai The situation was beginning to grow tense, and as she had seen Senai's had rest itself on her sword, she had reached for her own Kanabo in preparation for whatever may occur. She was almost certain that with her mask and strength, she might be able to end a fight before either her or Senai had gotten hurt, but she really didn't want to test her luck. The arrival of another person broke the tension very quickly, though she certainly didn't like the tone used by Vatrica right afterwards. She didn't move her hand away from her weapon, as that was the main part of her job. She was here to protect Senai, and that wasn't something that she was going to let slip by. If the new arrival, or those already there, decided to try to pull anything, they best be ready for a fierce fight. It was only the departure of Sato that caused her to slightly lower her guard. The only person who had called her a Menti since the fall of her clan was now leaving the area without so much as a departing word. She didn't need to say a thing for Eshai to feel a sinking feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach, as if it where soley her own actions that had driven her away.

IC: Eshai She thought for a moment upon the name, and like Sanei, she too came to the realization that the title seemed familiar. When one was outside of the culture, the names of others also outside seemed to stand out. But it had been a long time since she had found another that suffered from the same horrible reputation as she did. There was truly no honor in being a masterless warrior. Then Sato had spoken up, this time in a voice far different from the one that had been used to present honor that was undeserved. It was one with laced with threat. Eshai found she quite licked the previous way of speaking better.

OOC: Drat, I was hoping to get away with not posting as Theriss until tomorrow. XD IC: Theriss Theriss walked in with a calm face, the slightest hint of a grin spread across it's almost perfect falseness. In fact, it appeared to be almost too perfect, to the point of being almost unnerving to those who saw it. A calm smirk with a hint of anger still lingering upon it. That was what the Toa Sarsi saw when Theriss returned to the building. She did not know that they had heard her through the wall of the building, thinking that none had the slightest idea of her little outburst. She expected to get a few looks when she entered, but the expressions she met were certainly far from her expectations. Then LoJak spoke to ask her if she was alright. Maybe they had heard more than she wanted them to, or maybe they had merely pieced together the events separately. Whatever had lead them to actually seem worried about her would quickly fade, she decided, with her calm and unfazed return. "I'm quite alright, LoJak. I merely saw a past associate of mine outside and wished to get caught up." With that, she walked towards the table, stopping before Bathel who was sitting in her chair. Geklan could claim it all he wished, but it was her chair all the same, and she was going to eventually get it back. Now, even Barthel the screamer had found the nerve to sit in it to await her return. She merely poked the Toa of iron in the shoulder before returning to her own seat. She had not yet seen Geklan since her return, and was awaiting to find him having set something even of heartless to await her. What she found was a folder holding information about the sales for the team's merchandise. Apparently small action figures were selling extremely well, and they appeared to be turning a profit. Putting down the papers onto the table, she grabbed her glass and downed the entire mixture in a single drink. As soon as she finished, she merely slumped back into her chair.

IC: Eshai He family now held no power at all, if there was any left of it beside herself. How could one so closely related to the royalty of the Umbraline see that as merely a single misfortune? Perhaps it was merely her own inexperience with being thrown down without anything standing to stop the fall that lead her to speak in such an optimistic way about Eshai's situation. But that was not a common belief, most had viewed her with disdain, sometimes considered her to be below even Saihoku. One whos clan was inexistent could not hold power, nor even hope to claim the title of Menti. And even if she had, who would wish to claim an Menti from a clan outside of their own? No, despite the beliefs of Sato, there was no honor left in being the last warrior of a clan no longer alive. "My clan is not merely fractured, I am the last member surviving that I am aware of. To be without clan is to be without caste. There is no honor left for me."