Topic: The Circle opens...

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2007-04-11 12:45 EST
He stands in front of the ruins, a place he's explored in depths. From the street, it doesn't appear to be much - the burned-out, abandoned shell of a building that has been disused for years, perhaps decades. The skeleton of the building is still intact, which speaks of the strength of this place.

Still, it's not the building he's interested in, but rather, what lies underneath it.

He had stumbled across this place almost by accident, wandering back from the cemetary one night, and decided to explore the place. He's always liked poking about ruins - some of the most interesting things can often be found in htem, and this one was no exception. There had been no valuable trinkets or hidden bits of magic or weapons or...well, anything, really. What had been found here was more valuable to him - and to his newest acquaintance - than any treasure.

Underneath this place was an underground compound the likes of which he had never before enountered. Not just passages, but several rooms, lit by a system that consisted of carefully aligned mirrors which transferred sunlight into the catacombs below. He had also found wall-mounted candelabras which had lit themselves as he passed them - though, oddly, there had been no candles in them.

Whoever had owned this place last had been not only smart, but had some pretty decent magical skills at their command.

He stpes forward into a flickering of violet light, and an instant later he is the wolf, pacing forward onto the grounds to sit in front of the building, facing the street. He settles in to wait for his newest associate, the one whom is bringing him what rightfully belongs to him.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2007-04-12 16:31 EST
He shows at dusk, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, walking down the road. Wolfe had described where it was but not what to look for - 'between the Library and a Temple,' as he put it. Wraith had been to the library already, but hadn't noticed anything between the temple and the library but an old ruin. He couldn't have meant there.

He arrives at the place and - sure enough - it's a ruin. No Wolfe here, though - except for the one sitting in front of the ruins, not Wolfe but a literal wolf, wearing a silver collar with a jet black stone dangling from it.

"So...nice place you got here, Wolfe. Who's your decorator, a rampaging dragon?"

He reaches under his duster and pulls out a beautifully ornate box. It looks to have been carved from mahogany, engraved with the shape of a writhing, dancing dragon across the top and jeweled with rubies. The clasp on the front looks to be gold.

"All right, I'm here." He opens the box, tapping the clasp just once. It pops open, and he lifts the lid to reveal four silver necklaces. From each hangs a jet-black stone. As the last of the dying day's light touches them, the stones glow - one red, one green, one blue, and one with golden light.

""So...what can you tell me about these?"

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2007-05-17 14:16 EST
The Amulets of Avalon.

As the last of the day's light touches them, he sees the glow that each of the amulets emits, and can feel the power of them a deep, pure resonance that is nearly enough to make him shiver, even in this form. The amulet at his throat shimmers slightly, putting out its own amethyst light, fading for a moment, then flickering again with sudden brilliance as he shifts back into his more normal shape.

He has not seen these artifacts for a millenium, perhaps more. It's easy to lose track of time, when you have been around for that long, and are looking at being around for a long time to come. His gaze rests only on the box - not its holder, not anything else around them - only the box, and the four amulets held within it. Were he human, he would have wept, for these lost amulets had belonged to the only humans he had ever counted as friends.

Justin - he had worn the red amulet. The First Amulet. Their names, the names of those he had thought he had forgotten, come so easily to him now, as do their faces. Michael, carrier of the Second Amulet, the one whose light matched Lupinius' eyes. Aaron, the holder of the Fourth, the green one - fitting, as he had been Irish and particularly in touch with the earth. And a drunk, he remembers with a smile - all the crazy things that man would do when under the influence. And the Fifth, the one that glows as though it had a piece of the sun embedded in it. Gareth had held that one, and a finer warrior one could not ask for - he had been the last to fall before Lupinius himself had been bid to run and Avalon faded from the world.

He struggles upward from the depths of memory, a smile still touching his lips as he recalls their faces, and finally speaks. "These, my friend, are the four remaining Amulets of Avalon - special stones given to the Guardians of Avalon, that they might fulfill their duties and guard the Holy Isle from the outside world. There were five of us, the only men allowed to pass freely between Avalon and the outside world without some form of escort from the Isle itself. The amulets were our way of getting there and back...and also our protection, and our source of power. The only way to kill someone wearing one was to take their head, and all of the Guardians were sufficiently skilled warriors that such a thing would be...extremely difficult. The four others who wore these...they were killed in the final battle, when Camelot and Avalon fell and were overrun."

He approaches the man, stopping just before him and looking down at the amulets. He can't seem to take his eyes away. To him, these are symbols of the only time in his long, long life he had ever felt at home, at peace. The times before and since have only held pain, unrest, years of wandering and lonliness. These amulets are like old friends.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2007-05-22 20:34 EST
Camelot? Avalon? What the frag was this guy talking about?

Granted, he had seen all sorts of things back home that defied the conventions of the century before, things that those people hadn't even thought could be possible - dragons, unicorns, that guy that got fireballed over a parking space - and that's not even going into the technological drek. But the things this guy was spouting were the things of myth, legends that hadn't been even told in the last fifty years. Hell, he wouldn't have even heard of them if he hadn't been an avid reader of old books. Most people where he's from hadn't even picked up a book in their entire lives.

But still...they were just legends...right?

He looks down at the stones, connected to the silver chains. He had known that they held some powerful mojo - just a quick peek in the astral had been enough to tell him that, though what they did exactly was beyond his ability to divine. In fact, every mage that he had come across and asked had been as mystified as he had. He had had to pull in a serious favor to see Ghostwalker - a dragon, powerful as they come - to even get the hint to ask this guy about them.

And as much as he distrusts dragons, they aren't given to lying about things, even if they don't usually tell you everything you need to know.

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2007-05-29 16:51 EST
He looks down at the amulets for some time, lost in old memories. Life as a Guardian of Avalon had been, for the most part, uneventful - they had only been called upon when someone was approaching the lake of mists that had concealed the Holy Isle, to form a sort of honor guard and escort. They had fought few battles, and instead had contented themselves with helping the Sisters of the Isle with their tasks. Still, they had had their battles, and had only lost that final one. Being forced to leave that place was the most painful memory he possessed - it had been his only peaceful time, the one place he had been content to call home.

Finally, he pulls himself out of his memories. Those times are long gone, lost to the mists of time. The only place the Holy Isle exists anymore is in his memory - that bastard Mordred had seen to that, though it had cost him his life in the end.

He looks up at the man in front of him, suddenly curious about him. He takes a step back, then two. "Tell me, my friend - who are you really? And what do you intend to do with these amulets?"

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-03-23 16:27 EST
He simply raises an eyebrow at those last questions. Simple, direct, to the point. It seems that the info he had on this guy is, in essence, correct. No games, no tricks - just simple, out-and-out bluntness. Down to biz, then.

"The name's Wraith, to most. And where I come from...well, they call us 'shadowrunners.' We do the dirty work for the big people back in my world, if they pay good enough. I've got enough money that I work fixing jobs for other chummers on the street, recruiting talent, whatnot." He looks down at the necklaces in the box. Since acquiring them, numerous people had attempted to steal them, kill for them, tried to buy them off of him. Apparently, someone thought they were valuable enough. And he's only had them a couple of months, at most. And after doing the most he could to keep them, what was he going to do with them?

Well, he is going to do exactly what he was told to do with them.

"And as for these..." He closes the lid to the box, the latch snapping into place...and offers the box to Wolfe.

"...they're yours."

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2009-03-23 18:20 EST
His eyes widen, and from within their sapphire depths comes a flash of the same violet light that seems to flicker from the amulet at his neck. At first, there is a wariness in his eys as he reaches out to take the box, but as it is transferred into his hands, it is gone. It is replaced by a look of almost utter disbelief as he opens the box again, looking in almost reverent awe at the four amulets - each nearly identical to his - that lay in the box.

Those memories flood his mind again as the last rays of light from the day play over the amulets in the box, of being introduced to the four other Guardians...of the tests and endless trials it had taken to earn their trust, of the days and nights they had sat around a fire, exchanging stories of battle and women and loved ones lost and times long past for all of them. Of them all, Lupinius himself was the only being who was naturally immortal, if not necessarily invulnerable. Still, the amulets had granted the others life that would not end as long as they kept their heads.

The five of them had served together for centuries, had met legends and seen them end. Those had been the happiest times of his long, long life.

And then, a more recent memory pushes its way into his conciousness - that of Hazel, telling him that he would know what had to be done soon.

He looks up at Wraith, his sapphire eyes glowing solid amethyst, not just a flickering of light this time. With his empathic abilities, he is able to tell many things as he looks this man before him over - that he is, among other things, a man of great honor, despite his mercenary past. A good man, one who has potential. And indeed, as Hazel told him, he does know what to do. "What is your given name, my friend?"

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-03-24 20:17 EST
He looks at the man for a long, measurign moment. Even without switching his vision to the astral again, he can tell when he's being looked over - and this guy makes it even more obvious with that glowing-eye trick. He can feel...something...here, too. The weight of those words...

Once, a long time ago, he had been a soldier, a Marine, in fact. He knows the importance of words like honor, of having a code. For far too long, he has forgotten that fact. Back when he had started in the 'running biz, he had promised himself he would stick with the code of the soldier, that he would act with honor and not let the corruption of the streets get to him.

Somewhere along the way, he had lost that perspective. And, with no way to get back to where he is from, he's found himself adrift. Looking for something to do.

But is something like what he thinks this Wolfe guy is implying what he wants...?

He struggles for a long moment, twenty years of mercenary thinking battling with the old code of the soldier, what his father and what the Corps had taught him. Finally, he comes to a decision. He straightens to military attention. "Michael Edward Stanton is my name."

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2009-03-24 20:26 EST
He sees the man who calls himself Wraith come to attention, a stance that he is quite familiar with. He's seen it numerous times over the millenia he has been alive. And he can feel the readiness of the man, the surety and freedom from internal conflict.

This one will make a good Guardian.

He straightens himself, looking him right in the eye. "Michael Edward Stanton, you have been chosen to receive a gift. But in order to receive that gift, you must know what it means. We are Guardians to all. We are protectors of Life, upholders of Justice, guides and beacons in the darkness to all those who call upon our aid. Those who would cause the downfall of all we hold sacred, we call our enemies, and they are many. We meet our enemies without fear, without reservation, without surrender, until death."

He reaches into the box and takes from it the Fifth Amulet, the one with the glint of golden light in its heart. "With this gift, great power is given, and care must be taken to guard that power from corruption or theft. If you are willing to receive this gift, then take it...but beware. Taking this gift means you are bound by this oath until death." With those words, he holds out the amulet to Wraith.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-03-25 17:26 EST
"If you are willing to receive this gift, then take it...but beware. Taking this gift means you are bound by this oath until death."

He knows an oath when he hears it, of course...despite the dark, corrupted world he has come from, despite the countless dirty jobs he has been involved in, he has always taken his oaths seriously.

This one will be no different.

He is, he realizes, more than ready to take this - it is as if he has been preparing for this his entire life, that the sum total of events in his life has led up to this moment.

He looks Wolfe right in the eye, his voice full of conviction. "I am willing, my friend, and I accept your gift."

He reaches out and wraps his hand around the amulet, taking it in his own, and without hesitation, wraps it around his neck. There is a bright, almost blinding flare of golden light from the amulet, he sees...which spreads like fire over and into his own body...

He is not ready for what happens next.

It is as if he has been plunged into blackness for a moment, but a warm, womblike blackness - as if he is waiting to be born again. He looks around him, trying to find the way out. As he turns, he spies a shaft of that same gold light, winking at him. He is just forming the thoughts, the muscular triggers that will start him walking towards it, when suddenly it zooms towards him...or did he move towards it? In this darkness, it is impossible to tell...and in moments, before him is the ghostly, indistinct form of a cobra, a huge, dragon-sized cobra that is coiled before him, its hooded head looking down upon him. From it comes a voice.

"So...you are the next holder of the Fifth Amulet. Michael Edward Stanton, also known as the Wraith, yes?" The voice is strange, sounding at once as if it male and female, old and young, familiar...and yet not. "You have had an interesting life, Wraith...full of pride, honor, courage...loss, despair, treachery...so many things! Ah, yes, I know it all...for now I am a part of you. From now until you die, I will remain a part of you, though you will not see me again. You will not grow any older, the wounds you receive in battle will heal fast, even faster than they do now, yes...and such a warrior you are now! What skill and power you already have! Why, I almost don't know what to do with you...except..."

The ghostly serpent lowers its head, so that it is staring directly into his eyes. those eyes...they seem to narrow in concentration, and the forked tongue of the snake flicks out - once, twice, thrice. "Ahhhhh...your brother, who was lost, so long ago. He was a great illusionist, I see. Very powerful, and could have achieved so much more!...had he not met his end. I see fit to pass his talent for illusion on to you, my new friend. And since you already have the name Wraith and the skills to match, I grant you one other gift - the power to become as insubstantial as vapor and invisible in the shadows, and the ability to use the darkness to travel between places, a gift befitting your name."

The serpent withdraws, pulling back. "Use your new gifts well, Michael Edward Stanton, who is also called the Wraith. And never forget...we are Guardians."

And suddenly, the serpent leaps forward, its fanged mouth opening up and falling down around him until he is surrounded in the golden light, swallowed whole...

And suddenly, the light fades around him.

He is shocked to find that he has not moved from the spot he was standing in, nor has he shifted his position. He looks down at the necklace, which gleams again with golden light - but this time, it is just a faint glimmer from the heart of the black stone.

He looks up at the dark outline of Wolfe. "So...your true name is Lupinius, huh, chummer?" He grins. "Where do we go from here?"

LupiniusAngelis

Date: 2009-03-25 18:46 EST
He watches Wraith as the golden light envelopes his body, not flinching away from the scintillating, brilliant light that has enveloped his new friend's body.

Not a friend...a brother.

He knows just what Wraith is going through at the moment - oh, sure, not the exact particulars, but a good idea. After all, he had to go through the same thing himself, and he remembers it clearly, even though it was over a millenium ago.

He waits patiently as the light plays over Wraith's body for a long, long moment. At last, the light brightens, flaring to painful intensity, and finally begins to fade, withdrawing into the amulet at his neck.

The process is completed...and Wraith is now a Guardian, like himself.

At last...the Guardians will rise again.

He feels as if this is a moment he has been waiting for ever since the fall of Avalon, and though he does not know what they will be the Guardians of, at last, there is a sense of purpose to his life.

He watches as Wraith looks down at the Amulet, then back up at him. Deep in the dark brown depths of his friend's eyes, there is a glimmering of golden light that flickers, then is gone again.

"So...your true name is Lupinius, huh, chummer?" He grins. "Where do we go from here?"

He grins back at Wraith, the familiar glimmer of amethyst light playing in the depths of his sapphire eyes. "That is my true name, indeed...though don't give it out to anyone else, please. I dislike anyone knowing it, since I can hear it whenever it is spoken, no matter how far away it is. If you have need of me, though, you can always call me by it and I will be at your side in a moment. As for what we do now..." His smile widens as he gestures to the box. There are three more amulets inside. "Now we get to work finding the others."