isane
New Member
Me arrogant? Your just showing that your weaker than me.
Posts: 47
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Post by isane on Oct 12, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -8
((Very nice ))
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spudnik
Echo Member
Caz did it!
Posts: 2,281
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Post by spudnik on Oct 12, 2008 9:55:59 GMT -8
(( :scratches head: ))
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Post by Sithlyn on Oct 31, 2008 23:40:40 GMT -8
((Boy is The Thorn going to be even more pissed off when she finds out that Olo has not one but two Blade Dancers that act as bodyguards. Not to mention the one not mentioned yet is her fiancee. Muhahahahahaha
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Post by Sadori on Nov 2, 2008 7:54:38 GMT -8
((ahem... ALSO her her fiancee, Sith. Giving Dori the boot already?))
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Kuros
Echo Member
Colonel Sanders
Posts: 816
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Post by Kuros on Nov 2, 2008 9:50:21 GMT -8
((O.O 2 of them?? Damn LUCKY guy. ))
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Post by Olorae on Nov 2, 2008 10:07:32 GMT -8
Chapter 7: If At First You Don't Succeed...
The dancer was quiet as she walked alongside the Celebrant, away from the stage. There were many concerns weighing on her mind, and all the pretty words and songs of the evening's festivities did little to put them at ease.
Looking around, she frowned, not sharing the relaxed air and smile the Celebrant wore about her. It was too open, they were too exposed. Any moment, an attack could come at range, and if she could not see it, there would be little she could do. She hated the Island.
The Celebrant, however, only appeared relaxed and calm. She could feel the dancer's worry, could read it in her eyes and on her face. Behind the smile and dreamy countenance, she felt herself coiling, tensing, awaiting danger she prayed would never come.
But it did.
Just as they were passing into the open plaza, past the stylized horns that marked the amphitheater's entrance, the attack came with lightning speed. The assassin had waited for hours; watching the performers go through their routines, bringing what they felt was culture to their audience. She waited, because she knew the opportunity would present itself, and it did.
The flash of a blade was all the warning they had, the dancer grabbing her charge and flinging her away, feeling the blade bite into the exposed flesh at her arm. Luckily, there was no poison this time, only murderous intent and the skill to carry it out.
With a flash, the Celebrant escaped, swathed in the magic of the blessed scroll the dancer had insisted she carry. As the energy dissipated and spirited her away to safety, the dancer and assassin faced each other for the second time.
Drawing her blades and invoking the words of prayer that accompanied her form, the dancer began to sway, feeling the Mother's blessings flow through her, the swords growing lightly, her arms growing stronger, her eyes shaper. She saw clearly through the assassin's magical haze, and she smiled.
No words were exchanged between the two women, only the flash of steel, the bite of blade's edge, the crimson blossom of blood upon dark skin. Each feinted and struck, testing the other, looking for an opening of some sort. The dancer's twin blades gave her an advantage, only to be negated by the lithe, almost liquid movements that allowed the assassin to slip out of reach.
But it would not be enough, and the dancer spun, bringing a blade up in a feinting arc, the other swirling behind her, catching the assassin's dagger and hurling it away, sending it skittering across the cobblestones.
For the briefest moment, there was a look of fear in the assassin's eyes. The dancer pressed her attack, only to connect with open air as her enemy vanished in a flash of light, the energy crackling around the dancer's arms.
Letting out an epithet, she knelt and collected the blade, carefully depositing it into a cloth and then into her back before turning to the golem that controlled the gateway, sighing as she stepped through the portal to find the Celebrant.
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The Thorn
New Member
Consciousness is much more than the thorn, it is the dagger in the flesh.
Posts: 20
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Post by The Thorn on Nov 2, 2008 11:59:05 GMT -8
...Take Revenge.
This last failure was more than she could bear. Something wasn't right. Everything was lined up perfectly, she should not have missed. Should not have been foiled. It was almost as if they had known she was there. And then to lose her dagger like that! She would have to cover her tracks extra hard for a while. The thought brought a smile and a memory to her lips. Mmm, just what she needed. A distraction. She'd let Ryle track her down.
~@~
Ryle's words echoed in her head, insisting on something she fought not to accept. But with all she had seen this day, there was no denying it. He insisted the mark was not a tattoo, but a mark of Shilen, "...all with this mark are born or reborn of the Mother herself.". She had debated with him to no avail. She had clearly seen the same mark on the Celebrant in the Bathhouse. And then on the Dancer on the Island. She tried to convince herself that he was mistaken, it was simply a cultist tattoo... but no, she remembered too clearly. Practically etched into her memory when the Guardian performed her Dance. And Ryle... no she could no longer deny the existence of "something", and given the situation, Shilen seemed as good an answer as any. This changed everything.
With a heavy sigh, Thorn twitched aside the curtains at the window, gazing out over the water. Behind her, a masculine groan alerted her that the man in her bed had awoken moments before he spoke. "Heya lovely, what say ya come back here an' let a man show you how it's done?". Without turning, she pointed to the door and stated clearly, calmly, "You can leave now.". "Aww now. No sense in bein' like that. Jus' let Thom here show you a real good time..." She turned, robe hanging loose, and leveled her golden amber gaze at the stranger. "Get. Out. Now." "Aw'right, aw'right. Ya don' like ta' cuddle. S'fine by me. But can a sailor have a name t' put with his dreams?" "No. You have ten seconds before I cut off your little friend and shove it down your throat." She gave him a murderous stare as she flipped one of her larger daggers in her hand. She seldom worked with it, but it was a fine deterrent in these situations. "Aw'right luv. I'm goin'..." "Seven...six...five..." She smirked to herself as the sailor fairly fell out the door and down the stairs. Turning back to the window, she caught the thought that had been eluding her. They knew. The Tetrarch Council knew the Celebrant was marked, and still sought her assassination. Or... sought it because of the mark? If Ryle was right about Shilen existing and the Celebrant being marked by Her...then he was also right about the Council seeking to keep Her sealed and subvert her Temple. Suddenly, the answer to her revenge was clear. She knew exactly how to make the Council pay for breaking their agreement...and for their hypocrisy. Perhaps Ryle was right, and the death of the Tetrarchs was not in the cards just yet. But by the time she finishedwith them, would wish they were.
~@~
Once more cloaked and veiled, Thorn stood in the center of the empty Tetrarch Council Meeting Chamber and spun, casting the final handfuls of black rose petals about the room. Hopping to the floor and striding to the door, she turned and surveyed her work. The entire room covered in the rare black petals, the heavy ornate vase from the sideboard moved to the center of the table and full of headless black rose stems, thick with thorns. The very same thorny stems that were dipped in poison and wrapped around the throats of each of the most promising offspring of the Tetrarchs. Each one of them a member of the Temple and striving for a position to assist their ill-intentioned parentage. A serious hit to whatever they were planning, unless the Assassin missed her mark- and that never...rarely happened. A grim light touched her eyes as she smiled beneath the veil. The memory of each swift yet agonizing death as she slipped from the shadows and wrapped the deadly thorns around their precious necks. Each barb coated in enough poison to kill a man with a single prick. She was taking no chances. She watched each of them die. Alone and in the dark, their voices paralyzed by the fast acting chemical even as it slowed then stopped their heart. Death was usually just her job, one she took pride in, but nonetheless- a contract. But this was different, this was revenge.
Turning on her heel she merged with the shadows and left the village, having sealed the death warrant on The Thorn. Work just got a lot more complicated, but for now that did not concern her. Thorn would go into hiding. There were other things to attend to now...she needed to get close to the Celebrant.
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Kruail
Full Member
LIES! It's all LIES!
Posts: 209
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Post by Kruail on Nov 2, 2008 14:08:53 GMT -8
((Erm, no offense or anything, but who the heck ARE you?))
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spudnik
Echo Member
Caz did it!
Posts: 2,281
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Post by spudnik on Nov 2, 2008 14:33:12 GMT -8
i think she (or he) will tell us when theyre ready.
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The Thorn
New Member
Consciousness is much more than the thorn, it is the dagger in the flesh.
Posts: 20
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Post by The Thorn on Nov 2, 2008 15:44:57 GMT -8
((Well, wouldn't that just spoil all the fun?))
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spudnik
Echo Member
Caz did it!
Posts: 2,281
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Post by spudnik on Nov 2, 2008 17:53:23 GMT -8
dont worry we have a pool going.
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Post by khanna on Nov 2, 2008 18:26:41 GMT -8
dont worry we have a pool going. ((I want in. ))
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isane
New Member
Me arrogant? Your just showing that your weaker than me.
Posts: 47
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Post by isane on Nov 2, 2008 21:02:34 GMT -8
((Can I get in on that pool too?))
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Post by Sadori on Nov 2, 2008 22:40:45 GMT -8
((Ooh ooh! Count me in! ))
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The Thorn
New Member
Consciousness is much more than the thorn, it is the dagger in the flesh.
Posts: 20
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Post by The Thorn on Nov 2, 2008 22:53:37 GMT -8
dont worry we have a pool going. ((A pool? For what? So much reaction to a few posts. I'm flattered and I rather enjoy being an enigma.))
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spudnik
Echo Member
Caz did it!
Posts: 2,281
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Post by spudnik on Nov 3, 2008 8:26:17 GMT -8
a pool to bet on who exactly you are. some say a former templar, some say possibly an old clannie in disguise, some say someone actually new, and again some say someone who was a friend of EOD but never an echo, some say an enemy.
lots of possibilities.
my money is on an enemy.
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Kuros
Echo Member
Colonel Sanders
Posts: 816
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Post by Kuros on Nov 3, 2008 10:09:08 GMT -8
((What do we get for being right? <prepares to make huge cash>))
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ValerieRose
Alumni
Kama Freak!
Zaken's Wife
Posts: 2,196
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Post by ValerieRose on Nov 3, 2008 11:00:04 GMT -8
((I want in... how much are we betting? ))
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spudnik
Echo Member
Caz did it!
Posts: 2,281
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Post by spudnik on Nov 3, 2008 13:45:12 GMT -8
wow guys cmon. inner circle voices please.
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Kruail
Full Member
LIES! It's all LIES!
Posts: 209
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Post by Kruail on Nov 3, 2008 14:34:09 GMT -8
$10 it's Olo playing games I don't anyone else that would use the word enigma in casual conversation :3
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Jhaelle
Recruiters
Cookie Connoisseur
Sell me your soul for a cookie, sucker--I mean, good sir. I'll turn it into the finest soul shots!
Posts: 1,050
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Post by Jhaelle on Nov 4, 2008 8:37:11 GMT -8
If I were honestly curious enough as to whom Thorn is, I'd jump in the pool and take your money, Kru. I'm 95% sure it's not Olo (I'm not completely sure, but I'm confident enough to go out on the limb). Personally, I like the dose of mystery of lack of identification from someone who is proving to be a remarkable roleplayer, one free of preconceived notions of "oh, it's just So-and-so doing one of his/her things". Would I like to know whom Thorn is? Yes, but I will not get so into wanting to know that I focus on that and lessen the appreciation of her posts and the quality of the writings. While the mystery lasts, I will enjoy it, and when it's over I shall continue to look back and appreciate it, no matter whom the person is. The enigma is refreshing.
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