Shinigami Dolls

[Taria]

Airxide had caught wind about tales of an ancient ruins from a once wealth kingdom; ruins everyone else was too afraid to explore because of the supposed haunting reported there. Having made a 3 day trip to the location, she sets her sights on the ancient and collapse buildings with interests. Surely there must be hidden riches somewhere in this place.

[Thae's character who he has yet to name] notices the presence of others entering [do I really have to say it?]s home. There seems to be one to the west and one to the east in completely separate camps, unaware of each other.

Argonaut had received a contract to dig at an ancient abandonned mineshaft of a kingdom once very well known for rare gems, especially emerald. The contracter did not seem a very sociable man, but he offered substantial pay.

(sorry about the late post. Had a lot of distractions)

[jayjaycaps]

Argonaut had liked the contractor, or at least he thought he did. He was still trying to get used to these sentient emotions, but he was pretty sure it was a feeling of friendliness he felt to the man. It was most likely the non-sociable aspect of him: Less emotions and inferences for Argonaut to figure out.

Gathering his supplies and tools, Argonaut did a final check before departing his "home". It was really a cave, a mine long forgotten. But it worked, and suited Argonaut fine. His tools were two pick axes, a shovel, a length of rope, a few candles and several bags to carry ore. Satisfied with his inventory, Argonaut left for this forgotten kingdom in search of riches.

Upon arrival in the kingdom, Argonaut set out to work right away. He didn't really need sleep or rest, and saw no reason to not start now. Standing at the mouth of the mine shaft, he examined it before entering, and contemplated human's want for seeming useless minerals and other things of no real value, in the grand scheme of things.

[Thaedael]

The murky waters of the bog had long given way to the lighting of the night, their surface acting as a reflection into the very soul of the moon, illuminating the world around it from above and below. Yet for all the abundance of light, there was darkness to be seen all around, the densely packed trees forming pseudo mangroves across the scattered land. The occasional blue light swept across the lands, will-o'-wisps playing along the surface, an elegant moon lit ballads before dispersing in different directions. Many had come to call these the dancing dead, the souls of the civilization having been murdered over night, their souls returning once more to frolic amongst mortals.

These lights were dangerous, fooling unsuspecting travels off the beaten path curving through the lands, only to die a death by drowning, their corpses fueling the chain of will-o-wisps once more. In a time of hushed suspicion necromancy reigned all with dark hand, driving those who did not understand to cower in fear. Yet the rumors were not entirely false, or without reason.

For there was indeed a spirit whom stalked the sunken cobble stone path, striding beneath marble arches. Travelers whom searched treasures of the city-state Mousillon have sworn to these spirits, each account more horrible than the last, earning the title of this land as Mousillon's Curse.

---

The leather soled shuffle of footsteps reverberated through the central square, a blue glow illuminating the ruins of a fountain, surrounded on all five sides by the facades of glory's past. These were the buildings upon which the city had been founded;

The silk works guild of the artisans who tended the trees every day, ensuring the balance of nature between those that lived off the lands, and the animals that allowed for them to do so, the humble silk worms that spun fibers along the weeping willows of the lands. It was a grand building, the facade of the building was carved sandstone layered on top of one another, with marble columns opening up to a central large courtyard where the talented once produced silk spools.

To it's side stood the guild of the artisans, from the fine silks they would create the works of art famous to this land, beautiful tapestry that told the story of creation, favoring the colors of golden yellow, and midnight black. Though it was more that just an artwork, it was a way of life, with all sorts of pieces produced within its grand halls, their dilapidated walls laid crumbling, as the tapestries were eaten by the larvae of moths.

Opposite the guild of the artisans was that of the church, the faith of Mousillon having lead to the foundation of the city state away from persecution, religious freedom highly valued in a world oppressed by the teachings of the necromancers. It stood, one giant building, flying buttresses breaking off in marbled chunks, a former shadow of itself.

To the side of the church was the soul of Emeralds, the green blood of what had been a rich civilization, for emerald was much sought after, worth more than any of the other precious gemstones found in the darkness of the lands. It was the lifeline that had long kept the city independent, providing too valuable for any one army or city to attack, for fear of the loss of production ran rampant amongst military minds. Little had it done in the last minutes of the dying civilization, one of two legacies left behind for those to witness...

---

Last were the workshops of the dead, from which all the elements of all walks of life came into one entity, the guild of Inner Circle. It was towards this the light strode, dodging the fallen debris that dotted the city scape of the dilapidated city. A singled hand produced from the blue glow, it's form light by the embrace of the light, pushing away the door towards the inner sanctuary.

Striding between the columns of the order, memories came flooding back, imparted knowledge from a life time of servitude to the ruins of this city. The wisest of men and women had come to the order of the Inner Circle, their craft from the origins of all necromantic arts. It was for this purpose they would all die, delving into the art of shinigami dolls.

---

The light continued on it's way, reaching to a large central staircase, the banisters of both riding up two sides of the room, before being met in a giant balcony that overlooked the whole room. The soft leather soles of the shoes were heard once more, the hurried pace of walking up towards the balcony.

It strode through the double venetian glass windowed doors of the balcony, heading out into the inner courtyard of the building, one of the few places that had continued to stand still in time, the architecture still holding up strongest within the four walls. The wind blew, and with it the light cast by the entity moved with it, like a flickering of a flame to the wind. The sudden wind had knocked over a bronze statue, a doll holding a polished mirror. Drawn to the moonlight flickering between the clouds on the mirror, the entity moved, peering into it cautiously.

It was of humanoid shape, a six foot six inch form of a human girl. Emerald articulated joints caught the glow of the blue light, illuminating from within and from without. Limbs were crafted of a blue cloth, the source of the lighting all along, wrapping the form of the girl in a warm embrace, protecting her from all those who slung the magics of heresy at her. From head to toe she wore the clothes of her people, carrying their mannerisms and tradition.

Loosely hanging to the form of the girl, hung the long midnight-purple dress of her people. It bore a low cut neck, with the golden frills rimming the edges. From the shoulders emerged two long sleeves, ending in open cuffs that hung solely down and around the arms, ending in the frilly yellow lace as demonstrated by the collar. The dress continued down past her waist, before splitting into two, allowing for the glowing blue cloth to peak out from beneath it's embrace. Her waist was adorned with the loose collection of brass ornaments, inter-lapping rings with emerald beads hanging from string.

The girl-entity moved from side to side, following the flow of her glowing form in the mirror, before shifting herself to look into its own face. The face was that of a young girl, looking to be in her sixteenth summer of age. Her eyes were of that of en emerald color, before giving away to the softness of a gentle face, beautiful curved lips set beneath a gentle sloping nose. Her face was framed on all four sides by her auburn hair, shoulder blade length, tied up and away from her face into a pony tail.

<<From my image you were made>>. The doll screamed an inaudbile scream, breaking the mirror with her hands.

[Sorry tried posting all last night but there was no internet due to the flooding]

[Taria]

Keltor lies burried in the mud, lifeless and hiden to the world as Argonaut begin clearing out the way to the abandonned mineshaft below him. A strange magnetic rock attaches itself to his hand with a loud clunk, and he frowns and tosses the annoying hinderance away. It splashes right above Keltor's obsidian chassis, pulling on her internal mechanism and kick starting them into action. With a sudden breath of life, she claws her way out from the muck, the light of the worl once again shining into her eyes. Her memory is fuzzy... being a guardian of some sacred place long ago, but now it seems like everything has been destroyed here. It feels strange to her having no purpose.

[kaibunny94]

Kelto stirred feeling the mud all around her. Her brain felt funny like it wasnt all there or something....hang on brian. she clicked feeling different from before. "nothing is telling me what to do" she thought. she achingly pushed herself up from the sodden earth and looked around. "hello?" she called out wondering what she had got herself into.

she dragged herself forward her limbs aching. she looked at the shaft of rock she was in. "HELLO!" she called again desperate for something to recognise her...she didn't know why.

[Thaedael]

She spun away from the mess, the glass everywhere within a twenty food radius, the glass catching and reflecting her blue light around the courtyard. The reflections cast star-fields of blue light, each shifting and dancing along the cracked stone walls of the building. She stopped, before twirling again, captivated by the beauty of the magic. Stepping from side to side in the moonlight, the moon ballet mimicked the lights of the swamp. Before long the soul calmed once more, before heading on her way, tracking back into the building, towards the grand central tower. The patter of her steps echoed around the circular staircase.

Ducking out of the central tower, she strode into the library of forbidden knowledge, running towards a grand cherry-wood pedestal, a grimoire resting open, its gilded leather binding split with age. With a swift gesture of her robes, a blue encased hand emerged, grabbing quill in hand. With delicate and calculated hand writing, knowledge and history of the city was ingrained to the yellow aged paper.

[kaibunny94]

Keltor began to journery around the ruins, she was a waifish thing, all black and white. her skin was a black rubber complexion over dark rock, she wore a white summery two peice it was simple and covered the areas which humans would be offended by when she was killing them to stop them looting her ruins....her ruins...where were they now?

[Taria]

Keltor spies Argonaut, a brass construct who seems hard at work with some kind of mining project, and with all the clatter she just made he is aware of her presence as well.

[napsii]

The Red Nitrose's crafted skin seemed to glisten with sweat.

Not on account of an organic cooling system (as her batteries had been engineered with perfect temperature control in mind) but rather moisture collected upon days of ceaseless travel. These areas were moist and damp and she was thankful her tough clothing repelled the water, else it might have shriveled up and left her naked. But she had arrived, at last, flown on mere rumors (which her calculative side substantiated with some plausible theories, thus convincing her to travel here) to these ruins.

She expected silence but as she plodded noiselessly into the ruins' outskirts, voices could already be heard. She paused. Clear, lively voices, too. Not the arcane whispers of will-o-wisps or spirits. The shinigami's hood was pulled low over her head, red eyes scanning with intent for her surroundings. Her batteries crackled inside her frame, supplying that near luminescent red mix of chemical through the fake veins in her limbs. It kept her supple and lissome. Indeed, her batteries kept her feeling nearly wired even after 72 hours, 49 minutes and 20 seconds of nonstop locomotion.

She looked around, cautious to call back to the unseen person shouting "hello". Alongside that, she can hear the beat of some tool against rock or metal of some kind, like someone's mining.

Airxide steps forward, her padded boots not making even a sound as she walks at this speed and tries to get a feel for her surroundings.

[jayjaycaps]

Jason stopped mining, looking over his shoulder at the disturbance. He saw Keltor, and quickly grabbed his second pick ax. Humans tended to not like him, what with him being not natural and all, so he was prepared for a fight. He tried to think of an appropriate greeting, bringing forth memories of past human's reactions.

"Halt. Who goes there?" He was quite proud of himself with that one, although his expressionless face didn't show it.

[Thaedael]

The nameless spirit continued to write the latest finding of it's research, having filled a single full page in her written scrawl, the glow of her skin playing across the wet ink of the ink, slowly drying into the yellowing paper of the grimoire. She stood up, content with the work that had been done, before moving towards a table in the wing of the library. The table was her home, returning to it time and time again, it's blood stained leather top being her birth place, where she first took the steps of her life, breathing out an agonizing wail. The memory continued to fade as time went, long gone with the woman who had breathed her very soul into the creation of the entity. On the table laid cut emerald, a loving toil of the past three years of her time. It was nearly complete, the segments laid out in the skeleton of a new body. It was missing a few more parts, a few more emeralds from completion. The entity spun from side to side, her dress tossed up into the air in a twirl, casting blue light across the room, the halo of her existence shining across the room.

[kaibunny94]

Keltor heard the voice through the darkness and moved towards the sound "hello...I think my name is K....Keltor" she stammered out. interesting, keltor? she looked up trying to see the owner of the voice that had called to her.

[jayjaycaps]

Jason approached Keltor, his brass body shining in the sun light, giving him an almost god-like appearance, toga and all. He emitted a slight whir and hum, his cogs and gears churning inside him. He cocked his head to one side, puzzled by Keltor's choice of words. "You think your name is Keltor? Think, as in you are unsure? That is strange, not knowing one's name. I am Argonaut." He stood there, rigid, waiting for Keltor's response. His brain went through hundreds of possible responses for his response, and he quickly made responses to her response.

[kaibunny94]

"I Do not function correctly i think. My name is Keltor yes, but I have these....feelings" she says not sure. the female doll positions herself in a sort of one hand on a hip pose. she didn't glow, glossy black in the sun.

[napsii]

Airxide's keen ears honed in on sounds she was used to: machinery? Not of a machine that printed books, or provided heat or power, but rather of something far more lively. And potentially, far more useful. A shinigami, like herself. The voices, however, sealed her theories. Very organic. Very animated. Two of them, in fact, whose terse conversation she followed to what she felt was quite close to their location. After some walking, shadows were being cast around as two approximately figures moved around the corner. The silent Airxide remained close to a wall, however, hidden from sight. She prejudged that they weren't particularly dangerous given how they were conversing, but she had been programmed to avoid any potential hostiles.

She peeked her head around the corner of a crumbling wall, perhaps once used to defend the ruined city, to snag a glimpse of them, her red eye teeming with interest before it vanished back around the corner, back of her head brushing against the wall with her shadow disguised by the large, square area of darkness cast over the gloomy city by the wall she stood against. A very noble but noisy brass construct, and a dainty little shinigami who didn't look like she was "all there". Red Nitrose's batteries, perfectly silent, felt like a quantum leap ahead of the brass shinigami (who had identified himself as Argonaut just as Airxide came into clear earshot, conveniently for her) who used what she had taught were "more primitive and more inefficient" machinery for his inside workings.

She didn't see fit to confront them yet, however, and remained a solid twenty feet away as she listened to them talk.

[jayjaycaps]

"Feelings. A human trait. Yet you say you are not functioning to your full capacity? Most troubling. I suggest immediate attention to the problem." Jason let out a little louder hum, trying to think of what may be wrong with Keltor. It quickly died however, as he could not figure it out without more information.

[kaibunny94]

"What are you doing Argonaut. I am to protect this place and though it does not look like it did I think i should still be doing that." She looks at him with a stern expression.

[Thaedael]

The project stood before her, before she spun away with the flutter of a dress, running back towards the library, through the courtyard, and back into the town square. She needed but a few more emeralds, a few more shards of the lifeblood of Mousillon to complete her companion, to bring unity to the existence of her form. She silently danced around the empty fountain of the square, her fabric throwing off a blue light, the warmth of the cloth always embracing her in a gentle caress, before heading off towards the mine.

It wasn't a very far journey to the nearest shaft, for it was just past the outskirts of the city, through the dusty beaten path leading deeper into the marshland. As she approached already something was amiss, the sound of arcane machinery used to drain the water from the ever flooding shafts could not be heard, and from a distance the sound of pick against stone. She drew closer cautiously, the forms of people talking to each-other inside.

[jayjaycaps]

If Argonaut's eyebrows could move, they would be furrowed. He cocked his head to one side a bit, but then waved his hand. "I don't understand. Now if you will excuse me, I have a task to complete." Argonaut abruptly walked back over to where he had been excavating and began swinging his pick ax again.

[kaibunny94]

Keltor felt in a little useless "HEY!" she said grabbing the pickaxe as he swung back "I am the guardian of this place. and though it may be in ruins I can't have you stealing and taking what you assume to be yours. Can we not see eye to eye here?" she looked at him a little smaller but made obviously more for battle than him. she REALLY didn't want to fight another doll.