Sign Up Black Symphony

[Inuyasha Fandom]

[center][i]A dark hall... spanning seemingly forever. Heavy footsteps pounded down it, echoing loudly. A panting noise could be heard from the lone and terrified youth running franticly down the carpeted path, past elegant and ornate woodwork. Candles lit his way, on large chandeleirs. A dark rendition of a classical peice echoed with the heavy breaths the boy took, like some morbid time keeper for the chase.

Then an end. A large painting of an elegantly dressed woman seemed to signify the end of the line. Looking her up and down, the boy realized it was no woman, but himself dressed like one. Backing away from the wall, his face clenched up, tears falling from his eyes onto the simple robes of a shrine keeper, the robes the boy wore.

"No... No.... Please, no...." Turning, he could see the dark cloaked figure approaching him. Stepping back, the boy's boot clad feet brought him against the wall. "Please... No..."

"You're so... beautiful..." the figure whispered, the echo of it causing panic to set in further. The boy was helpless. No one was going to save him. This monster had already killed the boy's lover, so there would be no knight in shining armor coming to rescue his damsel in distress.

"I'll make you immortal..." The figure said again, and produced a blade from within the cloak. "You shall live forever in a body of my making..."

"No!" The boy screamed, and supernatural power flung itself up around him, the boy raising his hands into the air, then launching the power at the figure. Saddly, his power was not enough. The figure merely batted it into the wall, causing an explosion, dust and debris rising around them. the figure only laughed, now invisible to the boy's eyes. "and so feisty! Yes... How I love you, Saio."

Saio bared his teeth at the figure. "You don't know what love is... You bastard..." Saio pointed blindly into the dust. "You will never have me!"

"I already do..." With almost dizzying speed, the figure leaped out of the dust, and Saio tried to back up, but had nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide. The wall behind him ensured that.

A sharp, peircing cold, and Saio looked down, slumping to the floor. He'd been stabbed. And now he would die, in the arms of a mad man, obsessed with what he could never have while Saio had been alive.

Death sweapt up over Saio, embracing him with its cold grasp. Through dimming vision, Saio could see something glowing, a small figure shaped like a person, and it was placed before his eyes, drawing him in. Suddenly, Saio was adtift, weightless and unable to see anything but the beautiful porceilin figure before him, of a geisha in her prime. But, then the sensation was over, and he was bound within that cold figurine.

Saio could only watch as his body was picked up from the blood pool in the middle of the floor, and then the figure he was trapped in be picked up as well. Bartholomew Coureisan began to whistle cheerfully, and took Saio dead body down several flights of stairs to a pottery room, and then outside and into the woods to a kiln that Saio could feel eminated a dark energy with its powerful flames, which would soon prove to be flames of both destruction, and rebirth.

Saio watched as his body was stripped of the clothing it wore, and placed on a cold metal slab. Within the bodu he had now, he was helpless, unable to move, and unable to protest the carressing touches Bartholomew placed on Saio's now cold and lifeless body.

"Such perfection..." the monster said. "So beautiful... Truely, It will be a challenge merely to emulate this beauty when I sculpt your new body..." The man laughed, placing his hand on the cold cheek of Saio's body. "So lovely... even in death... Heh heh heh heh... But not for long..." His hands trailed along the smooth muscles of Saio's chest, and Saio wanted to scream out, to tell him not to touch his body, but he couldn't. He could only watch in disgust and sorrow. Bartholomew leaned over Saio's corpse, kissing him deeply and passionately. Saio's own sense of revoltion and disgust bubbled up, intermingled with his hate. The passionate carresses, the loving touches, all of it made Saio want to throw up.

Saio watched as the flames roared from the inferno within the kiln, and his body rolled into it. Saio screamed inside his own head, no one able to hear his own screams. With all too much of a sickening clairity, Saio could hear the bubbling and hissing of his body as it burned. Inside his little tomb, he could only sob in silence and watch.

Then, the sensation of him being lifted brought Saio back to his senses, and stared into the face of his murderer. An immense hatred over took him, and the man laughed again. "My poor love... Don't think I've forgotten you, even with the allure of your real body... So sullied now, no longer are you the pure maiden you are so fond of appearing as..." Bartholomew's mouth curled upwards in a sinister grin. "It's something I've so relished to see for so long... heh heh heh heh heh.."

Saio knew it, he'd known it all along. This was what the man had wanted, for Saio to be his. And now he was... and completely under Bartholomew's control. Saio's fury grew ever more as he was held to Bartholomew's chest, forced to watch as his body was turned to ash.

Hours later, the fire out, the door to the kiln opened, and the tray with what had been Saio's body rolled out. The tray was covered in a fine, grey ash, the remains of Saio's mortal body. Bartholomew carefully placed the doll containing the real Saio on a table, and proceeded to sweep the ash into a large bucket, filling it to the top, careful not to leave any of it behind. If Saio had been campable of speaking, he would have been jeering the insane man.

Saio had known this man for years, though he had never liked him. This incident, of course, only furthered that instinctive dislike. Saio had been rather feminine, and often enough, mistaken for a woman. Saio's powers were strong, and growing. This man before Saio now, had sensed this, and so desired him and his beauty. Saio had refused him, over and over again, though had been kind enough to try to spare the man's emotions, until recently, when Bartholomew had begun to stalk him, harass him, and even threatened him.

Saio had had enough. He had come here to this place to outright proclaim that he wanted nothing to do with this insane man, and it had backfired, and now Saio was in this state, watching his remains be mixed in with something.

In a sense of morbid curiousity, Saio watched as his ashes were churned into a larger vat, and water added. However, this was not enough, and fresh dirt was loaded into the vat by Bartholomew, by hand and by himself. He was sickeningly loving with the materials, and Saio knew why.

Bartholomew was indeed sculpting a new body for him from clay made with his ashes. Indeed, this kiln was a devious device, and looking back, Saio realized that probably all of Bartholomew's henchmen were ressurected atrocities, much like he was about to become. Though something seemed off, like there was special care being taken with his remains. Saio watch as aa figure of vague human semblance was shaped before him, the painstaking care of it Bartholomew took was nauseating to behold.

Saio watched as his body was again formed, and perfectly so. Saio glared at Bartholomew, feeling his porceilin body crack from the rage he felt. The sound brought Bartholomew's attention to him, and his eyes grew wide with anger and fear. "NO! You will not escape me! You will be mine! This body is useless without your soul!"

Saio's porceilin face cracked even more, spreading into an evil smile. The crazy man screamed in a fit of rage. "NO!" He raced over to the doll, and picked it up, holding the sculpting blade to the doll's face. "You will not escape me... I will have you one way or another."

Saio's rage grew more, and Bartholomew placed the doll back on the table. "You won't be free from me..." Bartholomew took the sculpting utensil and etched a symbol on the dool's leg, and suddenly, Saio could no longer feel his body, his rage had no longer an effect upon it.

"There we go... Now.. you will watch me finish." Bartholomew went back to sculpting saio, smoothing edges, and refining features into a beautiful manly sculpture, though exagerating his more 'southern' features.

"Now... to fire you up... and make a true work of art..." Ever so carefully, Bartholomew placed the clay body on a backing of clay on a board, though this clay was distinctly another color, and it echoed with powerful magic. After lying the body back on the slab of the kiln, Bartholomew worked on finishing the front of Saio, and then covered it too with the second kind of clay.

"I'm sure you're wondering about the external covering I'm putting on your body... It will ensure the process is thourogh, and make you all the more susceptible to my power of control. And just to make sure..." Bartholomew picked up the sculpting knife, and slit his finger, dripping blood onto the clay. "Now.. you will be mine..."

The body and the clay were thrust into the kiln, to bake to perfection. Saio began to worry, he wanted no part of Bartholomew, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than his demise, or to free himself of his prison. But, it appeared that Bartholomew would have his desires fulfilled. Saio's inner rage built up, and he could feel it pressing against the doll, being like he was corked inside. Saio's sorrowwed rage grew ever more, his despair encroaching in on his sanity, threatening to break him.

But, Saio was not taken yet. He would be no one's little doll, no one's plaything. Saio's glass eyes shifted in their sockets, they turning to the mirror beside him. He did not wwant to watch his body be remade, he already knew it would be flawless, what with Bartholomew taking such care to make him into visual perfection. Saio's eyes, those within the doll were a pristine and pure blue, whough now they shimmered into the hue of freshly spilled blood.

Bartholomew came over to Saio, picking him up and lovingly stroking Saio's face. His eyes widened when he saw the look of pure hatered on the pretty face, the eyes thaat shimmered with the deire to rip him limb from limb. "Oh...How so lovely you are while dressed in rage..." Bartholomew laughed, and continued. "It was that very fire... that indomitable soul that I had to possess. And now you will be... Now you are mine!"

Saio did not respond, only glaring."So lovely to see the once pure youth so tainted by darkness...Oh, how much I've longed to see this..." Bartholomew began to rant and rave, cackling insanely. But, time only served to drag itself on, drawing closer to Saio's ressurection in his new body. Bartholomew delighted in tormenting and egging on Saio, relishing that Saio would be under his complete control, that Saio's indomitable spirit would be crushed, and of course of how bartholomew's triumph would be complete and total.

"My finest and most precious treasure..." Bartholomew said. "Oh how I long to caress your flesh, and now I will... and you will be all too willing to do so." Bartholomew chuckled, and turned to face the kiln. "Speaking of which.. I think your body is nearly done... Let's pull you out..."

Saio watched as Bartholomew walked over to the kiln, and opened the door, unleashing a raging inferno. which was put out quickly by a spell Bartholomew cast. Bartholomew pulled an olive branch from within his robes. Saio's hate dissipated paartially out of morbid curiousity as Bartholomew picked him up and carried him to the foot of the massive clay figure with a bare human semblance. Bartholomew placed the brach on the 'chest' of the clay form, and he turned to Saio, smiling. "Ready for your future?"

Saio's porceilin face contorted into a plain expression of "You will never have me."

Bartholomew closed his eyes, and began to recite a spell, with the purpose of ressurecting Saio's body.

"Existing in this place now are uncleanable lies
I wonder when it has begun
How far do
I have to go to see the light?

Stars in your eyes
Stars in your heart

You will live in shadow
of shade and commit eighth sin
Unrequited existence will turn
Everything into sin."

Saio felt a surge of magic, and the energies of life itself surging into the clay. Saio felt no pull into the body, no gradual fading of himself into his new body. Nothing. Bartholomew would never truely have him unless his soul was placed within that clay body. So, what gives?

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Saio could hear it as plain as day, and to his dismay, saw a hand, and then an arm emerge from the breaking clay. Saio new that limb better than anyone else, it was indeed his own. The hand grasped the olive branch, and slowly, the entire top of the clay shattered, and from it emerged Saio's new body, though as of right now it remained a hollow shell. It stood, almost basking in the the mysic glow of life returning to the body. However, the glow faded, and the body fell limp to the ground. Saio looked on, as bartholomew hurridly walked over, picking Saio's body up by its long black hair. The eyes were a beautiful emerald green, though once upon a time they reflected the bright fire of Saio's personality. Now they were simply hollow, with no one home within them. Saio's heart panged, would they remain that way? Bartholomew walked over to a small bag he had brought over earlier, concentraating on the mystery, oblivious in his obbsession as he dressed what was little more than a life sized doll.

"Strange... The soul isn't in the body... What kind of bullshit is this?" When he was finished dressing the doll, his attention turned to the smaller doll contain the essence of the real deal.

Bartholomew looked on at the doll containing Saio, realization dawning on him, and then his his face contorted into a hideous expression of twisted heartbreak and anger. "You! You did this!" Bartholomew began to lurch at the little doll, and he suddenly stopped.

Sounds came to Saio, and it was quickly apparent what was happening. Villagers were coming, they were coming to put an end to Saio's tormentor. They must have figured it out, they must have discovered the monster living amidst them.

"I'll deal with them first. Then I'll deal with you. I have no purpose for a useless hollow shell of a body."

Saio gasped in his own mind, and watched at bartholomew pucked him up. His touch was rough and angry, and Bartholomew snarled at him. "I'll make you watch as I kill them all." Bartholomew threw the doll, and Saio landed with a shattering noise, the doll's legs and arm had broken into peices far too small to be placed together ever again.

Saio started screaming, but only to the unfortunate side effect of screaming inside his own head, where no one could hear him. He tried to tell the villiagers to run, but alas, the only one to hear him was himself.

Saio could only watch and hear the villiagers screams as they died horribly, and in far too gruesome a manner to describe. That will remain Saio's own personal nightmare...

Saio thought of the body in the kiln, of how useful it would be now, if only to stop Bartholomew. Saio found himself wanting nothing more than to be in that body, to end Bartholomew and his slaughter.

Saio's mind reached out for the body, and suddenly, he felt himself leaving the broken doll, and racing into the body in the kiln. He lingered in front of the body for but a moment, all of his power surging and storming about the form of Saio's crafted body. It had stood, much to Saio's surprise. It reacted to Saio now even more, opening its arms as if to welcome its own soul. Then Saio became the body, it lifting up from the ground, the power of Saio flowing violently into it.

The boy landed on the ground, on his feet and slumped over. Slowly, he righted himself to a stiff and rigid position. Purpose returned to the doll as the soul filled this fake body with a counterfeit form of life itself. His skin flushed with the sensation of being alive once more as body's stiffness melting away. Drawing in his first breath, he could feel the magic of Bartholomew's blood that was supposed to keep him subdued and controled, and it felt as if it boiled and frothed as it was expunged, thus purifying the body and making it Saio's and Saio's alone. The touch of Bartholomew melted away, lifting off of the body as it it were steam. Exhaling his breath, Saio's emerald hued eyes opened, he slowly exhaling as his eyes tried to focus as they shifted into a deep crimson. A heartbeat throbbed in Saio's chest for the first time, and with it all of his emotions came flooding back. With this, Saio's new life was consumated. It was real. He was real.
Saio Cross was back.

The screams of the dead and dying had long since faded off, Saio could hear none of them. All he could hear was a loud cackling. Stepping forth into the light of day, Saio could smell and see the fires roaring as villiager's corpses roasted, they no longer within their mortal bindings. Saio took his steps heavily, not even remotely concerned with stealth. His red eyes glowed with his ferocity as he came nearer to the almost overpowering stench of burning human flesh. Bartholomew wasn't even paying even the slightest heed to him, he was far too concerned with apparently trying to burn down the entire forest. Saio had no choice but to surmise this what with all of the fireballs Bartholomew was hurtling into the brush and undergrowth. he laughed and laughed, the fires roaring about him, and no one had been spared from his wrath. In the nearby clearing, the outskits of the villiage neighbouring Bartholomew's castle could be seen ablaze coupled with eviscerated torched bodies as far as the eye could see. Saio's eyebrow twitched upon gazing at all of this, and his lovely face became sorrowed at the sight of a burning hand-stitched teddy bear lying next to a small figure that had obviouslyi been burnt alive. Saio's gaze moved from the bear and its deceased owner to the laughing madman standing less than a mere hundred yards from him. Saio moved through the trees noisily, wanting the monster's attention. Anyone who hadn't already been killed might have a chance to escape if Saio could draw Bartholomew's attention.

In fact, that was exactly what Saio wanted.

Bartholomew finally heard someone approaching, though when he whirled, he didn't throw a fireball. "Come out, come out where ever you are..."

Obeying in mockery, Saio stepped from behind the trees, his hand resting on the still uncharred bark, his eyes hidden in shadow.

Bartholomew cocked his head. "My magic worked? Yes! It had to of! The breaking of the doll! That had to be what I had forgotten!" Bartholomew raised his hand, beckoning Saio come to him. Stepping from the potential shelter of the forest, he obeyed, walking closer to Bartholomew. His eyes never showed themselves, hidden in the shadows of his face in the dimming light of the setting sun. The dancing fires around them didn't help either. Stopping halfway to Bartholomew, Saio remained silent, not moving.

"Resisting me? Saio, my precious, you have no choice. Come here, and give me a kiss..." Bartholomew spoke, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "You will kiss me like you kissed your precious Lucas."

Saio moved forward, stepping ever closer. Barrtholomew began to laugh, relishing what he thought was his victory, that indeed he possessed the one thing he would never have had otherwise. But, again Saio stopped, this time mere feet away from him. Bartholomew's expression became confused, he didn't know what was going on now. "I said come here!"

"No."

"You cannot resist me! Now obey me!"

"No." Saio raised his face into the light, revealing his blood colored eyes and his expression of dead fury.

Bartholomew screeeched in rage at Saio's insubordination. "I said obey me! Obey me, you filthy *****! You belong to me!" Bartholomew clenched his fists, his own eyes glowing like ice in the twilight of a winter night.

Saio stepped closer, and again stopped, but this time only mere inches from Bartholomew's face. "Kiss me like you did your lover..." he hissed. "Kiss me, and enjoy it. Do it now! Obey!"

Saio smiled, and he looked up into Baartholomew's eyes. "You want me?" Saio raised his hands to Bartholomew's chest, almost lovingly, the flats of his palms moving up to Baartholomew's shoulders. Nodding eagerly, he placed his hands on Saio's hips, raising him higher to get a good kiss.

"Then here's more of me than you can handle." In a move faar too quick to do anything about, Saio unleashed a powerful spiritual blast right into Bartholomew's chest, ripping him apart. Saio watched, smiling sadisticly, as Bartholomew was hurled away by the blast of power, a look of shock and dismay on his face. Saio's power churned and whirled around himself, his black hair fluttering about as it it had a life of its own.

Cocking his head, Saio looked on as Bartholomew struggled to a kneeling position. "What... did... How..?"

Saio shrugged. "Did you really think you could control someone like me? You arrogant ass, no one has ever controled me." Saio paced over to Bartholomew, his steps deliberate and with the grace of a dancer, Saio himself appearing as if to be some god of vengeance and death. "It is time for you to pay for all you have done... both unto me and the innocent people you have slaughtered merely for fun." Saio's eyes gleameed with a cold fury, and with the intent to kill without mercy. "I am your judge, jury, and executioner. Any last words? Final requests?"

Bartholomew bared his teeth, seething in pain and hate. "How dare you resist me... How dare you disobey me... How dare you not be MINE!?" Bartholomew screamed with all his might, his eyes blind with the rage of knowing that which he desired would never be his, even in death.

Saio didn't even acknowledge the question. "Really? None? How sad." Saio raises his palm to the bastard, the fingers splayed out like a star fish. "Now say good-bye to life, and hello to the devil for me." Saio did not even smile, this gave him no satisfaction what so ever. "Tell him I'll be there soon, to join you." Saio's words are but a cruel joke to torment someone he despised with all his heart and soul. Bartholomew snarled, and Saio unleashed another blast of raw power, listening to Bartholomew scream as he was ripped apart by it, and then incinerated to nothing.

Saio looked on at his work, his face showing no amount of pity or pleasure. Saio turned his gaze to the burning houses, and then to the weather brewing overhead. Rain would be comming soon. But it was all too clear that this carnage would never be washed away. To Saio, he already knew he would encounter far more scenes like this in his coming life... and for how ever long it would be. Saio turned away from the scene, and began walking through the forest to Bartholomew's castle. For now, it would serve him well, though possibly too well.

Mortals could be so blind sometimes... And Saio knew from experience. Walking back to the kiln, he gazed at it, before watching it crumble to the ground into dust, the eminated energies now dissipated, the worker of them now dead. Saio shrugged, and returned to the long stairwell that had brought him here while trapped within the doll. Too bad Saio held no desire to remember those moments.

It seemed to take an eternity to emerge back into the castle, as the servants toiled away at keeping the entire premesis spotless. They still followed their orders given to them by their previous master, and paid no attention to him. Saio, when he had been human, had thought Bartholomew's servants were simply all drug addicts, though even still, nothing had seemed quite right even if one thought that. Their eyes had been too hollow, like no one was home. That in and of itself could have been any number of drugs, but there was more to it. Saio, on the single occassion he had been to the castle before, had felt like nothing was normal there. No true sense of life could be felt within the castle walls, and now that Saio himself was no longer human, the sensation was stronger than ever. Saio could sense these people were in bodies like him, though they housed no true soul. They were simple golems, made in a fashion similar to how he had been in this body. Because that's the case, they would be simple enough to manipulate.

Saio ventured through the castle, no longer fearing anyone who might be here. No one here held the power to resist him, and so it would remain that way. Saio began to feel faint, so he proceeded to mve to the elaborate living room where Bartholomew had begun his assult on the boy. In the corners of Saio's vision, something seemed to shimmer there, beckoning him. Saio observed the shimmering mass, as it writhed and floated to him. Ever so slowly, it began to take form, becoming what appeaared to be a mix between a fish and a snake. It floated nearer, making no motions to harm Saio. Dream-like visages began to seep into Saio's mind, like knowledge entering into a young mind.

Reaching out, the creature came nearer, allowing Saio to stroke the forebridge of its nose. It made no attept to strike him, though it seemed to fill Saio's head with knowledge of the creature, what it did, and how it would serve him faithfully. Saio's brow furrowed, not understanding any of what was happpening at this moment. From what he could understand, his existance itself had spurned this creature, creating it with his death.

Saio's eyes widen suddenly, as realization of what the creature did drifted into his mind. Souls... soul collecting... For him. To keep him alive and walking this mortal coil. Saio's hand withdrew from the creature, his eyes stinging with the tears he struggled to keep in check. "So this is what I've become. A monster to feast upon the souls of the dead?" Turning, he looked on the maid cleaning up the curio cabinet across the room, pondering why she didn't have to do the same as he. Of course, it didn't matter, he would never know the answer. Clenching his fist, Saio's power reached out to her, and he spoke in sorrow. "who would want to be nothing but a doll and a servant, even in death?" Raising his hand, the maid turned to him seemingly in response. her face cracked as Saio's power began to work itself into her, as she was set free. A smile played on her lips, thanking Saio silently. Slowly, deep cracks appeared on her skin, and peices began to fall from her to the carpet. She shattered, falling to peices at the spot where she stood. Saio sighed, feeling better now, having seen that smile, that feeling of peace written across her face, her broken soul returning to the afterlife.

A bright, glowong orb began to drift from the broken doll, and the soul collector drifted over to seize it in the grasp of the six spindly legs it possessed. The soul of the departed absorbed into Saio's body easily, though, it didn't disipate, it merely filled his body with a more animate sense of power, with life that he couldn't have. The energy of the soul revitalized him, and he sighed. Of course, this power was only borrowed time, he would have to find course for it soon enough. Looking around him, it wasn't hard to realize it. Bartholomew had been the lowest link on the food chain, Saio knew very well that he would have his work cut out for him, that he would know peace only after he had dealt with those who would continue their work and purpose, though at the moment Saio didn't know quite what that was.

He would hunt them. He would bring them to their knees. And he would kill them. Soon enough, his enemies would very well know who he was, and they would come to him like pigs to slaughter.

-------------------------------

A woman stands atop a solitary structure, her face parially obscured by her flowing ringlets of darkest raven hue. In the distance, she could see the lights of a mideval metropolitan city. Corrupt, evil, and bound to the fate of that which she would bring upon them. Behind her, an ancient stone gateway leading into the tower chambers. It loomed over her, dark and foreboding. The Blood Queen, as she would come to be known stood on the threshold of destiny itself. Innocent people would die because of her choice to purify the lands over which she had fought so hard to save from the tyranical government before she had rose to power.

But... she could not stand before her people and ask them of their forgiveness. She could not give in, she must stand her ground. She had to do what must be done... before it was too late.... and at the cost of the light of the sun. However, she was not forsaking her people. The undead menace that plagued her people must come to an end.

Her black corsetted dress flattered her voluptuous figure, and the fractured amulet around her neck glittered ominously. The motif of a thunderstorm was emblazoned upon it. The dimming light of the setting sun seemed to bear no effect on the sheen, and she grasped it with her eyes closed, tears brimming on her long eyelashes.

There was no turning back from here. On opening her chocolate brown eyes, they blazed with her resolve. She entered into the broad chamber, and looked around at the marble brick walls. In the center of the room wa what at first glance appeared to be an intricately forged metal grate. Within the center, lied the other half of the amulet she bore in her hand. With a deep breath, she Removed the chain from her pendant, and placed it within the center alongside its counterpart. Turning the peices together, the grate began to fold into itself, and disappeared into the surrounding floor. Rising up on a pedestal was a book or ancient origins, one even she did not know where it came from or who was the author. It was a spellbook, one of which was unique in every aspect, and dedicated to the fighting of the same evils the Queen herself stood too against.

Reading the book, she looked over the illustrations, that which would happen if she continued on her present path. The lands would remain fertile... though the warm kiss of the sunlight would never again reach the hills and valleys of her beloved homeland. Nature itself would change if she cast the spell. With one final breath, she begane to recite the words of the spell, and from the metal grating came a pale glow of pale hue, shimmering irridescently. Symbols began to appear on the flooring, ancient and without meaning to those who could not comprehend them. The Queen finished her task, and looked to the sky outside, venturing again onto the terrace of the tower in which she stood. Towering thunderclouds were manifesting above her, and soon she watched with a smile as the dying rays of the sun were snuffed out for what would be eternity above her lands.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Her releived smiled turned to one of contempt and superiority. "I thought I smelled decay." She smirked and turned to face her enemy.

"Foolish girl... You will die for what you have done." he snarled, his pale and pointed face contorted into one of fury.

"You seem to be angry, good sir."

"Die!" He moved with startling speed, flying at her with all of his anger, to peirce her heart. As she died on the cold stone floor, she laughed at him. "The spell is permanent now. Never again will your kind plague my people."

The Queen died laughing in the arms of her murder, enjoying to her last breath his fury at having sealed away this land from the forces of he and his undead breatheren.
[/i][/center]

The year 2012 did indeed prove to be a year of change. Technology took a backseat to magic again reviving, though both now exist in peace and equal measure, though these two in conjunction proved to be the damnation of humanity. New York, with its towering skyscrapers, lies haphazard, the buildings jutting out of the waters of the Atlantic in random angles or they having collapsed. Paris, the city of love, lies abandoned and ruined. Tokyo and Kyoto, with their many beautiful landmarks is now a collapsed nightmareish ruin amid the waves of the Pacific. Much of mankind's great cities have been reduced to this state, great testiments to humanity's history and former greatness. But, this does not mean these once great cities are uninhabited. Humanity has not been wiped out, and now tries to renew itself. Mankind's plight is not yet over. Powerful forces march across the land now to conquer all that remains. Undeath and Deathless have surfaced readily, with undeath being quite the problem. Undeath is merely a mockery of live, these creatures animated by negative energy, while Deathless have rose to combat it, these creatures merely staving of death, and animated by positive energy, the essence of life itself.

Will you rise to face your destiny? Or will you cower and run away from it?

Alright, you play in a neo apocalyptic world, where humanity struggles to restore itself and survive against this new onslaught against it. Magic and Technology have surpassed what we thought possible centuries ago. For some reason, your character feels compelled to journey to the ruins of Chicago, whether from receiving visions of some kind of being told to journey there.

Here is the sign up sheet:

Name (please have a name that is realatively close to something from your country of origin. also, please, not everyone should be from Japan or the USA or anything like that. Spread it out please.)

Hails: (country of origin)

Age: (no younger than 10, no older than 150 if a deathless character)

Occupation: Just what is it you do? Are you a mercenary, a medic, a demon hunter, an explorer, a historian, or a number of other things?

Classification: Are you a fighter of some kind or a spellcaster of some kind?

Weapons/Specialty Attacks: What weapons does your character weild? What is something unique only to your character?

Talents: What talents does your character have? Can you pick locks with ease? Can you sense the paranormal?

Personality: What's your character like mentally?

History: DETAILED PLEASE! What has happened in your past? What drives you? Edited July 20, 2010 by Inuyasha Fandom

[Humaru]

[color="#2E8B57"]I think I understand everything here so I'll sign up. If I have any questions, I hope they can be answered.

[b]Name:[/b] San Wei

[b]Hails:[/b] China

[b]Age:[/b] 17

[b]Occupation:[/b] Fireworks; Making them and selling them.

[b]Classification:[/b] Warrior

[b]Weapons/Specialty Attacks:[/b] A sword with a futuristic hilt and guard. Also the blade glows green when in use. Also carries a well designed pike. It has golden blades and a carved wooden handle./ My character can create small explosions when he strikes anything with his pike.

[b]Talents:[/b] Creating small explosives. Unbearable charm that allows San to get whatever he wants. Northern Shaolin Martial Arts.

[b]Personality:[/b] San's personality is that of an experienced fighter. He is not very easily rattled after dealing with the abandonment of his family. He has allowed the world to be his oyster and is very laid back. He is quite enchanted by beautiful women and that's sometimes his downfall as he has ended up in weird places broke and smelling of woman. He is very charming though as you have to be to sell anything.

History: San was the 3rd child of a very large family. His siblings number up to 12. He was never like his siblings as they were snobby due to the large wealth his family had accrued. San spent most of his time learning martial arts and reading up on things. He became interest in explosives and wanted to own some of his own but due to his young age he had to settle for fireworks. He would always watch firework events in his city and be amazed. Then as he got older, his father demanded that he focus on the rich life and forced him to wear elegant clothes everyday. Being the rebellious kid he was, he always changed his clothes when he got to school. He became friends with this girl named Jia Lian and they got ever so close together. But after going to school for a while, Jia's family decided to move away. They vowed they would see each other again but to this day he has yet to find her. Back to his family, when San's father began to lose money he made a "business" decision to abandon one of his sons...guess which one he chose. After being cast out of the rich lifestyle, San felt more at home then he ever did despite having no home in which to live. He was taken in by a local fireworks salesman and thus his love for fireworks and explosives grew. As he got older, San became more adversed in the world and became quite a salesman. He noticed he had an unbelievable ability to talk his way in and out of anything and thus took advantage of it. He left his temporary home and began living on his own. he had no responsibility so he just lived life to the fullest.

He did this until the unimaginable happened...

Now in this neo-apocolyptic world, San has been constantly moving around. He had a feeling of emptiness and realized that the thing he wanted was a family to belong to and that wanted him. He decided that he would search for this family no matter how long it would take him. He decided to himself that if he wanted to be a part of a family, he would have to search for the only person who truly loved him: Jia. He figured if he could find her then his world would be complete. He grabbed his weapons and set out to find her. On the way, he got a sense of drawing towards a certain location. He couldn't describe what he was being drawn to but he kept moving towards it. The feeling felt as if it was coming from far away so San planned for a long adventure.[/color]

[Inuyasha Fandom]

well done. I like it. Welcome aboard.

[Elk]

[b]Name[/b]: Keiran Trahern Wogan

[b]Hails[/b]: Wales

[b]Age[/b]: 21

[b]Occupation[/b]: Farmer and Hunter

[b]Classification[/b]: Warrior

[b]Weapons/Specialty Attacks[/b]: Keiran weilds a crescent moon halberd infused with some magic. He cannot do any magic of his own.

[b]Talents[/b]: Keiran is a master at slight of the hand and technology. He's an odd case, because he was born without any magic whatsoever, rare in these times. To make up for his lack of magic, he learned all he could about technology and creating new technological weapons. Unfortunately, farming the hard land of these times in Wales takes up most of his time.

[b]Personality[/b]: Keiran is a pretty easy going guy. He makes the most of what he has and is determined to work hard for his family. He is fiercely loyal to his friends. His name means "the dark skinned one as strong as iron", and it is rightly so. He has a strong will and does not let circumstances bring him down and is very brave.

[b]History[/b]: Keiran is an only child. His mother and father both love him very much and need his help in the farm just to survive. He is darked skinned, with shaggy jet black hair and green eyes. As a child, he was constantly teased about his lack of magic. The other children would call him "Cripple" and show off thier magic skills in front of him. The adults whispered behing his back about "what a shame it was" to have "a disabled child." Keiran made friends easily enough as the years matured them all. There are still whisphers behind his back, but he has learned how to ignore them.
(bachgen = boy in Welsh)
One day, as a child of about six or seven, he asks his father, "Papa, what is [i]Chicago[/i]?"
"[i]Bachgen[/i], why do you ask such silly questions?" His father was busy pulling potatoes from the dark, hard earth.
Keiran looked towards the horizon. He did not know what this thing, this [i]Chigaco[/i] was, but he knew it was out there waiting for him, for whatever reason. His education had not been what might have once been expected of Welsh children, so he knew nothing of the once great cities of America. "I must find this [i]Chicago[/i], Papa." He said.
His father took the time to pause in his work for a moment and ruffled his son's dark hair. "Yes, [i]bachgen[/i], you will."
Now a man, Keiran continues to live the same simple life with his parents. He is not motivated by anything like lust or greed, merely by the strong love for his family. He remembers his dreams of Chicago, and feels he must set off soon to find it. He hates the thought of leaving his mother and father alone, but knows that this is something strong and fierce, like fate. And fate almost always wins out desire.
The spectacular thing about Keiran is that there is really nothing spectacular about him. Edited July 25, 2010 by Elk

[Inuyasha Fandom]

Nicely done. however, not everyone can cast magic, even in this world. But, your sign-up is still good as is. welcome aboard.

[ExcelExcel]

Let's play MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Name: Anastasia "Anya" Velek

Age: Unknown, estimated to be between 18-22

Hails: Russia

Occupation: Relic Hunter

Classification: Spellcaster

Weapons/Special Attacks: Anya weilds a powerful MAGE Blaster. A magical bit of explosive fun, the bullets for this gun contain various kinds of spells. Her fondest spells to fire are her lightning bolt spells or her fireball spells.

Talents: She's quite the accomplished spellslinger. She's masters several schools of magic, and can cast with ease almost all of them.

Personality: She's a bright girl, and easy to talk to, when not armed or wearing a dress and high heels. She's a crasher, a basher, and a shredder or her enemies. She hates it when innocent people are taken advantage of, and loves to go off into the forgotten corners of the world to find long forgotten treasures of humanity's great past.

:History: She has no past, she suffers from amnesia. She can't remember anything from beyond fours years prior to the present day. She simply woke up one day, lying on the roof of a ruined building in what remained of Moscow with the MAGE lying next to her, a single shot fired. Since, she has taken to the life of a wanderer and treasure hunter.

[Inuyasha Fandom]

Alrighty... this will be up in a day or two. let's just try to get another player or five...

[Lilt]

[b]Name:[/b] Maja Enok

[b]Hails:[/b] Scandinavia

[b]Age:[/b] 16, Jorunn was 19 when she died

[b]Occupation:[/b] Explorer

[b]Classification:[/b] Anti-Spellcaster
[b]
Weapons/Specialty Attacks: [/b] Maja, like her sister before her, always carries a single G1 Contender. She usually fires a single rifle round from this pistol, but has other barrels in case she needs to use a different caliber of bullet. Her weapons of choice while riding are two war [url="http://i38.tinypic.com/2w7pmkz.jpg"]hammers[/url], although she only uses one at a time so she can steer. The second one is a backup in case she loses the first. None of her weapons are enchanted in anyway.

Maja has both the ability to amplify magic and the ability to eat magic. She can eat magic to nullify it, but if she eats too much or a powerful spell it can be harmful to her. Also, she has to wait before eating so that means multiple spells will give her trouble. She only uses her amplifying spells when she needs to feed her sister Jorunn, since her sister needs more magic than she does to live. For the more powerful spells, Maja can eat them if she gets rid of it quickly and gives it to her sister.

[b]Talents:[/b] Through practice, Maja is an expert rider of her motorcycle. She's also good at hunting down magic sources. This is a natural talent though and not a magical one.

[b]Appearance:[/b] [url="http://i37.tinypic.com/33vmgl0.jpg"]Maja and Jorunn[/url] Maja, when riding or in battle, always wears black shorts, her bike goggles, and long black boots and no top. She doesn't see why she should wear a top anyways when everything has gone to hell so she's not really modest about it. When she's not riding or in battle and especially during times when she does have to dress up, Maja wears a [url="http://i38.tinypic.com/rhjtdy.jpg"]black dress[/url] that was passed down to her from her sister Jorunn. The dress has a strange ability, that if Maja curtsies three times in a row, random gemstones will fall from the skirt. She then can trade these gemstones to someone or find various other uses for them. Maja dyed her hair, much like her sister had dyed her own hair from blonde to black. Unlike her sister though, she dyed her blonde hair to grey. She did this to represent ashes and her morning for her sister's passing.

[b]Personality:[/b] Maja takes after her sister a lot. Like her, she is very protective, bold, without giving much thought to what people think of her. She is also very determined when it comes to getting her sister back and will do pretty much anything to accomplish that goal. She also can't stand magic, even though she is able to use it as well.

[b]History:[/b] Maja and her older sister Jorunn lived alone ever since Maja was little. Their parents killed by magic. Because of this, Jorunn helped Maja supress her magic powers and they both agreed not to use magic. They lived a peaceful life for quite a few years.

When Maja turned 13 however, time repeated itself and Maja and Jorunn found themselves under attack once again while going to go scavenge. They managed to escape, but not after Jorunn was badly wounded. Jorunn, with her dying breath told her little sister about one of their mother's secret spells. It was this spell that would save Jorunn. Not sure she could do it, Maja was finally convinced to try by her older sister.

Finding a motorcycle nearby as the only suitable vessel, Maja transferred her sister's soul into the bike. Then, after burying her sister, Maja set out for three years trying to find a new body for her sister and training her magic skills so that she can survive in this devastated world. Her search continues still. Edited September 28, 2010 by Lilt

[Thoven]

[b]Name:[/b] Carlin McGuinness

[b]Hails:[/b] US

[b]Age:[/b] 26

[b]Occupation:[/b] Hunter, explorer

[b]Classification:[/b] Fighter

[b]Weapons/Specialty Attacks:[/b] Bowie knife, sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, hunting rifle.
His bowie knife is kept constantly brutally sharp and can cleave through most things with ease. In addition, he can accurately throw it from up to 45 yards distance.
His custom-made sawed-off has been modified to accommodate various types of special types of ammunition. Mainly, he carries standard 12-gauge slugs and buckshot in equal quantities. Special ammo carried includes fire-burst rounds (which shoot a burst of flame up to 10 feet away), explosive rounds (creating, as the name implies, a small explosion upon impact), and rock-salt rounds, for non-lethal encounters.
Carlin is also a highly skilled boxer and grappler.

[b]Talents:[/b] A knack for combat, skilled survivalist.

[b]Appearance:[/b] Carlin is very sturdy of build. He stands 6'2" tall, weighs 215lbs. and is muscular. He keeps his deep brown-reddish hair relatively short and parted just off-center. His beard is flecked with orange and gray hair. He was several scars on his body, including one on his upper chest, two from deep cuts on his right forearm, and one short, shallow scar running down the left side of his face from his cheekbone to his jaw.

[b]Personality:[/b] Carlin is as friendly and helpful as he is dangerous. Acts of kindness and good will gain great respect, and will be repaid in kind. He always helps those in need in any way he can. He has a big sense of humor, finding most things funny in one way or another. As kind and good-natured as he is, cross him, and you very well may regret it. When angered or threatened seriously enough, he will fight with frightening fury and intensity. As far as friends or family go, he would die to ensure their safety. He will not, however, throw his life away carelessly.

[b]History:[/b] Carlin McGuinness was born to a small family of nomads who had been wandering the wastes for generations. His family included his brother, sister and parents, an aunt, uncle, and three cousins on his mother's side, two uncles, one aunt, and two cousins on his fathers side, and lastly his maternal grandfather. Each adult member of the family had skills useful for their survival. They wandered the wastes and ruins, searching for supplies or shelter, helping those in need along the way, even going so far as to adopt two young children who were either abandoned or orphaned. One of these children, known as Drab, became Carlin's best friend.

Growing up so close to family instilled a great sense of responsibility to provide for the whole, as opposed to acting selfishly. He was always witness to his family's great kindness, which rubbed off onto him. The wisdom of his family's patriarch guided him, giving him a great capacity for leadership, as well as patience.

As time passed, he was taught the skills necessary to survive. He took quickly to his first skill, hunting. It came naturally to him, and so he progressed. Each skill seemed to come to Carlin with ease, and he excelled in everything he did, be it finding food and shelter, repair of weapons and equipment, and field medicine. As he was quite capable in all fields, he wasn't able to concentrate in any single one. However, from his first hunt, Carlin knew that he was best at killing.

On one hunt, when he was 18, Carlin was sent out with his brother Faolan, his father, and one of his father's brothers. After some time of searching, they were attacked by undead. They managed to fight them off, but not before Carlin's father was killed, his uncle injured, and Faolan was dragged off. He tended to his uncle's wounds and they carried his father's body back to camp. After asking for permission to leave and search for Faolan. However, he was told that they believed his brother was lost. So, as they buried his father, Carlin mourned for his brother as well, believing that he could have helped him.

A few months after Carlin's 24th birthday, continuing their tradition of wandering, they stopped in the ruins of a large city. Carlin and Drab were sent out to search for supplies. After searching for several hours and turning up little, they decided to head back. Upon their return, they saw that the camp had been ransacked, and no one remained. It was as if the family had pillaged their own gear and fled. After a quick search of the area, they discovered no bodies, as well tracks that traveled in several directions. Gathering what gear they each deemed necessary, they split up and began their search, intending to meet up back near the remains of the camp before dusk. When Drab did not show up that night, or for three days afterward, he gave up hope and decided to set out on his own, hoping to find some clue as to what happened to his family.

His travels have led him to the ruins of Chicago.

[Inuyasha Fandom]

This RP officially starts tomorrow. I've been swamped with class, so my apologies. I'll be using a mystery character, So I'm not posting a signup myself. Edited September 25, 2010 by Inuyasha Fandom