Rosesong

Yawning, grey eyes opened, squinting against the already bright sunlight that shone into them. Slowly, Illiana unfurled her cramped, tense limbs, stretching them as far as they would go before slowly climbing to her feet, wincing as the cooler air seeped into her already sore limbs. Today is going to be a busy day, the girl thought ruefully, idly pulling blonde strands of her hair off of her shirt. Quickly running to the thin water barrier she had created the night before, Illiana ran a hand over it, smiling as she felt the mana she had placed into the water pulse back at her. It'll hold for at least another 12 hours, she thought, moving to the street and looking for a payphone. Upon spying one a block down, she dashed over to it, calling the number on the apartment complex and explaining to the manager that she and a friend were interested in renting a place. After confirming that he would meet them in a couple hours, the water mage jogged back to the apartments, softly calling out, "Natalie?" upon her arrival.

Pitter patter. Drops of rain, falling from the sky like teardrops, exploding as they make contact with the earth. It's so laughable, how I'm so much alike a thing that I generally despise. Rain drops fall to earth terrified of the aftermath that would ensue should they touch something and burst open, nailing an unsuspecting target with the raw, untamed energy harnessed within the liquid shell that they boast. So they run; run from their problems, run from those they care about, run from those they're angry at. Do they care where they go? Of course not, so long as their outburst doesn't hurt anyone. They go where they feel that they can cause the least impact possible, cause the fewest casualties possible. They fall to the earth, knowing that her gentle hands will catch and nurture them until they feel ready to return. I'm more like the rain than I ever thought I'd be. It's kind of ironic; whenever the rain comes to visit me, I despise it, cursing the being that sent the rain in the first place. I scorn her name, showing her obscenities and bracing myself for the inevitable gifts that she wants the rain to give me through its pitter patter. Being the ever reluctant recipient, I accept it all with complaint and bitterness-- pain, inability to move freely without assistance, aches. Now though, seeing how remarkably akin the rain is to my own being, questions arise within me, both about others and myself. Is this why when people are sad, they feel as though it were a rainy day? Do they feel the pitter patter of their own tears, of their own emotions, trying to escape without harming anyone else? Are they as terrified of the possible aftermath of their own contact with others that they, too, are looking for their own earth to safely explode upon? I'm not sure that these questions could ever be answered, as they are so subjective and dependent on every person's individual experiences. Then, I look at myself. Have I done something in this life to deserve the pain? Is it that I scorned that which I'm so alike that has cursed me? How was I so blind, ignorant to the pain of the rain, that I added my own insults without any thought. Why was I given this similarity to the rain? Even after long hours of reflecting, thinking, pondering, I still cannot fathom a reasonable answer; perhaps that is to be expected of unreasonable questions. Above all else, a question burns through my head. Where is my earth? Where is the place that I can drop to without fear or worry of the consequences? Who is the one that I can trust above all else to help me become ready to go back to where I've come from, able to face those that I've run away from unjustly and without explanation? How hard will the impact be when my barrier breaks, so that the rawness of the contents of my emotions are laid bare? I'm not sure I'm meant to know the answer to this question either, not sure that I'll ever find my earth. There is another thought that crosses mind, and it's the reverse side of the coin. What if the rain's trust hasn't been broken? Could the rain simply be too afraid, too stubborn to concede that it was wrong despite misconceptions that led to the misunderstandings, the miscommunication? Or does the rain believe that it has done nothing wrong despite what others think? Has the rain overreacted to a tiny detail? What if this is the rain that I am like, unable to see past its own shortcomings or worse, unwilling to see the logic of others? These thoughts will plague my mind forever and, as is likely with all other questions, most probably will never reach a concrete resolution. There is only one difference between the drops of rain and I. While the rain pitter patters onto the earth, always knowing it will be there, I can pitter patter to no one. There is only the looming impact against an unknown surface with the uncertainty as to whether or not anyone will be there to pick up the pieces.

The walls kind of get cranky when powers are used to circumvent the purpose of the maze, lol

Rose and Ixidor As Ixidor touched the wall, intending to erase it, the maze began to glow again, its black luminescence drawing in the gaze of all in the maze. As Rose watched, Ixidor's hand seemed to be forced away from the wall as the glow grew stronger. Shielding her eyes as the light became too dazzling to look at, the next thing she heard was a thud on the wall behind her and a groan of pain. Tearing her hand away as the light died, back into the wall, she looked around, only to see that the young painter had somehow been flung into the wall, now in a crumpled heap on the ground. "Ix!" she gasped, rushing over to aid the boy. Hearing Ellaria call to her to turn right, she quickly helped Ix to his feet. Brushing a stray strand of hair over her shoulder, she told the painter softly, "You don't have to come with me, though you're welcome to if you'd like; I have to go to her." Apologizing once again for scaring the young painter, Rose turned and began to follow the wall, not waiting to see if the young boy whom she had fought side by side with in the Circle of Lust had decided to join her.

Rose and Ixidor Taking a step back from the wall, the redhead struggled to recontain the sheer relief that still threatened to overtake her at the knowledge that Ellaria was safe and a few feet away from her, regardless of a wall standing in her path to the girl. "Thanks Ix," Rose said rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck apologetically while looking at the painter. "I'm sorry to have scared you." Positive that the boy meant her no harm, she quickly stored her knife back into her bag, wincing as pain flooded through her hand. Glaring at it ruefully, she noticed a bruise quickly beginning to form. At least my circulation won't cut off, she sighed, trying to block the pain out of her mind as she focused on the task at hand. Ix said there was a man with her, she thought with worry, afraid of what might befall her friend. Turning to the wall, she narrowed her green eyes at the unknown stranger that was on the other side, not caring that he couldn't see her do it. Hearing the man speak, claiming not to have harmed Ellaria, she slightly relaxed, but still felt the need to make her point very clear to him. "Listen you," she started in a low, dark tone. "If you harm one hair on that girl's head, I swear that I'll kill you right where you stand as soon as I see you. Understand?" Underneath her dark, danger-laden tone was desperation to keep the girl safe from harm, which despite her best efforts, still shone through in her threat. Phantom As the tall, mysterious man made his way through the maze, he caught heard a voice, so quiet he almost missed hearing it all together. "Well," floated a female voice to his ears, its tone unreadable. "Have you figured out what you want, what it feels like?" The voice sounded so familiar to Phantom; yet he couldn't place where it came from. Staring ahead, he caught the faintest glimpse of startling, deep green eyes as their owner turned away from him, her long dark hair shimmering softly as she began to round the next corner. "Remember, phantoms and ghosts don't exist here," her voice whispered as she disappeared from his sight.

I cannot wait to see; that was a fun surprise to read Kenny!

Rounding a corner, Rose stopped in shock as she saw the back of a head that she'd come to know very well, seemingly huddled over something small. Slipping a hand into her bag wearily, her numb fingers fumbled around, pricking themselves twice before she pulled out what she had been searching for: one of her knives that she had kept. Its silver blade was stained a murky brownish-red, dried blood from the last person or creature whose flesh it had been embedded in. Shoving her fingers against her sarong to staunch the blood flow quickly, the redhead adjusted her grip on the knife and held it at her side, a symbol of readiness to fight but unwilling at the same time. Narrowing her green eyes at the boy's form, Rose spoke in a firm tone. "Ixidor, what are you d--," the redhead gasped suddenly, hearing the voices that seemingly came from the other side of the wall that they were on, recognizing one instantly. Pounding on the jet black surface with all her might, a low, dull thwack could be heard from the wall at each hit. She had long forgotten about the boy that she had been ready to confront, anxious to reach her sister. "Ellaria," she called hopefully. "Ellaria, are you there? Please, answer me!"

No worries Darvan, just join in when you can

Exactly! Glad you all understand that you'll be stumbling around and killing interacting with whomever you come across in your travels. Snow, your first post was fantastic! I told you that you'd be fine~

There will be plenty of surprises along the way, don't you worry!~ I mean, I can't just let you know all of my tricks, can I?

Unfortunately for Kenny, whom was unconscious on top of the wall, his day was about to get much, much worse. All the walls of the maze glowed a deep black, drawing in the sight of all that were staring at the walls. As the glow grew stronger, the light actually seemed to pick up the young aura guardian's body, lifting the boy's unconscious body a few inches above where it had previously been lying. Suspended briefly, the boy's head lolled backward, still unconscious from the use of his power, and unable to witness what happened next. The walls suddenly flashed and exerted an unknown energy from deep within its center, pulsing a black dark enough to rival the darkness of a black hole. A gust of air ran through the corridors of the maze, a product of the massive amount of energy that the wall had given off, and Kenny was displaced from the top of the wall, landing back within his starting box with a dull thud. *** Rose stared in shock as the walls of the maze returned to their non-luminescent, jet black color. Terrified as to what it might mean and the reason that it lit up, the redhead shivered, the chill that had settled into her bones only intensifying with the gale of icy wind that had just past her. Teeth chattering, she zipped up her jacket and shoved her hands as far into its pockets. These are the times when I hate being a natural redhead, she thought ruefully, recalling all the rumors that redheads were more susceptible to the cold than others were. Beginning to awkwardly run again, her green eyes searched desperately at every intersection she came to, looking for some indicator as to what direction she needed to take. "Ellaria!" she shouted again, throat sore from screaming and the cold, "Where are you?"

How did I actually not think that far ahead, goddamnit, uh... Ok, so the way we had anticipated Matthew's power uses the more traditional coinflip method, in that the coin is tossed, caught in a fist, and placed on the top of a hand. However, should the coin, for whatever reason, end up on its edge, then the coinflip will be null and void, with no good or bad consequences occurring from it. Thank you for bringing that to light Kenny; I'll stick that info into the character post right now. Edit: Hooray for tripping maze traps! I honestly thought Ix would be the first to do so, should he have tried to erase the walls and straightshot through the maze ^^; Basically, powers do not work on the walls of the maze, and I'm so glad that was tripped! So, thanks for being my fun and unsuspecting guinea pig, Kenny!

Alright fellas! I think I've made the final changes to all the characters that have needed to be made. Furthermore, I'm going to highly encourage you all to make your first posts if you haven't done so, and remember that player encounters happen at will. Don't fret either; soon there will be some new friends to join you all... or perhaps old, I've yet to decide that. Perhaps a mixture of the two... As a side note, players that remain inactive will receive a... most amusing entrance to the circle... So don't dawdle, folks! Link to IC for reference: http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17240

At the sound of her name, being shouted from somewhere within the maze, Rose immediately froze. She knew that voice better than any other, as she had helped its owner several times since having entered the Hill, considering the girl to be the sister she never had. Almost as if by instinct, the redhead began to run faster, trying to follow the sound of her younger companion's voice. Warning be damned, she thought, desperately turning a corner. "Ellaria!" she hollered, stopping a moment to catch her breath, panting hard as the sudden explosion of energy took its toll on her. "Ellaria!" Rose called again, anxious to find the younger girl once more. "Where are you?" When last she had called out, the girl's voice had sounded distorted, almost as though her voice had washed over her from every direction. The older girl shook her head in agitation; now wasn't the time to be stationary. If she didn't find the blind girl first, someone else might, and who knew what they would do to her? Pushing off of the wall that she had unconsciously been using for support, Rose tried to breath more deeply, the coldness of the air stinging her lungs as she continued to run and search. I know I can trust you Ellaria, Rose told herself, thinking back to the trial by Minos that she and the girl had endured together; where she was told that the girl's sin was treachery. I'll find you and keep you safe. Narrowing her eyes to minimize the chance of them watering, she willed herself further, shouting Ellaria's name as loud as she could.

Bestill my beating heart, my adopted sister still loves meeeee <3 Sparks-- I know; at this point, think of it like this: 25% to work, 25% to work but backfire, 25% to fail, 25% to fail but backfire (meaning it works). It's still 50/50, there's just different scenarios with which it works or fails

Kenny-- alright, just make sure that it's roughly half and half. I'll trust you to be fair on this. Dobby-- well, I mean, the negative coinflips can backfire too, and if something bad backfires it ends up good, right? Commander-- we'll understand; everyone is busy with school and whatnot so we may all be a little sluggish when posting. I'm glad you took note that Evan's powers are moreso versatile because as you said, a lot can be done with them...

That's fantastic Strat, thanks so much. I'll place that link with the corresponding bullet in the Hill Mechanics. Also, we may have more old friends joining us... Though I'll let them announce themselves when they're ready

Yes... I suppose we could say 'rip'... or could we?

Darvan-- done

Strat, I think I was going to make it something in regards to his grandfather's former company, and I just forgot to write it in.... Edit: Fixed to show the desire; PM me if you don't like it and we can talk about other options.

Attention The IC for this Reroll has been posted. Characters can be found in the second post, located on the first page of this thread. The RPer for each character is noted at the bottom of the character entry. At this point, you are free to begin moving into the maze, causing player encounters at will. Please also pay special attention to the Hill Mechanics located in the first post of this thread, located on the first page. There are things that you need to abide by while within the maze; I will be enforcing these things as well, should I/Notus/Hukuna feel that they are being ignored. Best of luck players, and may the odds be ever in your favor... You may begin posting in the IC whenever.

For the first time since entering the Hill over a year ago, there was no portal waiting to take the travelers to the next circle of the Hill. Rather, at the edge of the Malebolge awaited giants, many famed within classical and Biblical tales. Each giant had chains upon his wrists, a prisoner to the hell that they had been sentenced to serve. Silently, as each person made their way to the end of the circle, they were directed onto a platform, separate from that which the others were getting on. Once all the travelers had taken their place on their platforms, a giant previously unnoticed lifted a hand free of chains, whip drawn. "Elevare eos," he spoke in a graveled tone, his voice rumbling so low and deep that each person tensed for fear of losing his or her balance. As he brought his hand down, a thunderous crack of the whip sounding, a chorus of, "Ut iubes, Antaeus," was heard from the other giants and the platforms that held each player jerked suddenly before slowly beginning to move downward. As the players were quickly lowered downward, they were able to catch a glimpse of ankles, also bound in chains, before passing through the threshold that the titans were standing on. The drop in temperature was noticeable immediately, each person unconsciously shivering or rubbing their hands together. As their platforms continued to move down, each person took the time trying to adjust their vision to the unnatural light in order to take in the view, trying to observe what this final Circle held in store for them. Each was quick to note the maze, stretching across the room with black walls. Past it was a clear, shimmering surface, littered with debris. The most prominent feature, however, was a large, solitary silver door at the other end of the room. Before they could note anymore, each platform began to become erratic in its movements, some moving sideways, others moving diagonally. Each traveler got close to the platform, trying to keep their balance from the fast paced jerks of their transportation. Just as it seemed that one of them would fall off, each platform suddenly stopped, gently lowering its captive into a small box that was approximately 5 feet in length and width. Each person was quick to realize that they were completely alone. To the sides, 15 foot jet black walls stretched up overhead, with an entrance to the maze directly in front of each person. A bronze plaque laid on the ground before the entrance, the words gleaming in the light of the circle. For so long, you have been together, helped one another. Now, it ends. Only one can fulfill their desires, can complete the task they came here to achieve. What cost will you pay for this? Can you handle this circle, that which makes even what should be the most reliable of things turn treacherous? Abandon all hope, trust no one and nothing. *** Rose shuddered, not having been prepared for the cold that the circle had brought. "Warmth," she muttered, trying to use a common spell she had in prior circles to help her handle the cold. The expense of the power hit her, but to her amazement as she clutched her head in slight agony, she grew colder. Slowly walking forward, uncertain as to why her incantation had failed her for the first time since entering the Hill, she read the plaque aloud to herself, teeth chattering incessantly. Most reliable of things... treacherous... she thought, trying to understand the meaning of the words. The redhead shook her head in obvious frustration, already having known that even though people could be somewhat trusted in prior circles, this was different; everyone had come and fought for this moment. That has to be the trust no one part... Then what could... Green eyes widened under her glasses as she realized, almost as though the thought had been imposed upon her. "Our powers might not work!" she whispered, scared at the mere idea that they could now backfire onto a poor, unwitting user. Realizing that standing still in her solitary box would do her no good, Rose ran into the maze, ready to make it to the end and finally have the means to pay for her schooling.

Jan, I admittedly don't know you as well as I should. However, I do really admire you for the work you've done on Rejuvenation, and hope that your success with the game continues to grow. Have the best of birthdays~