forum THE TOURNAMENT OF THE GODS! (9/9) (CLOSED THOUGH SPECTATORS ARE WELCOME TO WATCH)

Started October 15, 2020 by Deleted user

tune

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Magnolia felt like she was watching herself walk to the museum, not actually doing the walking.
After packing some last minute things, she decided to go to The Archivist’s shrine for herself for once, and not just for others and their offerings. It was rare that she ever did anything at the shrine for herself other than to give thanks or meditate. But she definitely thought this could be an exception.
Veering to the right as she entered the museum’s lobby, the shrine sat in a little alcove, framed by intricate stonework and statues, separate from the rest of the building. Inside the alcove, nine statues of women in ancient clothing, each a little more than two feet tall, stood on expertly carved stone pillars. The nine pillars of history.
Mag’s cotton candy hair spilled over her shoulders as she bent down to light the incense, setting the plate of cream puffs to the side. This was the way it had been done for a very, very long time, as The Archivist was fond of tradition.
After the incense was lit, she took the cream puffs again and looked up at the nine women, each with a way to give an offering, their faces seeming to implore her. Mag took a shuddering breath.
Food, water and energy.
She set the puff in the first woman’s stone weaved basket.
Dwelling.
She placed another on the second woman’s bowed, flattened head.
Cleanliness.
The next puff was set onto the third woman’s outstretched towel.
Beauty.
She gingerly set the next one onto the fourth woman’s inviting lap.
Communication.
The next was set in the fifth woman’s wide, open mouth.
Community.
And again, another puff was placed into the sixth woman’s loving embrace.
Free religion.
The next was placed before the seventh woman as she knelt, her arms wide on either side of her.
Medical access.
She gingerly pressed the next one into a crevice in the eighth woman’s chest.
Free trade.
And the last puff was set into the ninth woman’s open hand, held high above her head, with other clutching a few stone coins.
Then Magnolia kneeled and began to pray.
O goddess, I fear my story is coming to the beginning of its close. I fear I will never see those I love ever again. I only wish that you could give me guidance, and please, let those whom I am spending our last days with- let our stories never die. Keep them somewhere safe, or let them run wild on the wind, I don’t care, but don’t let our stories die with our bodies. It was an honor to serve at your shrine.
When she stood, the stones beneath her were stained with tears. She felt goosebumps on her skin as she found the pad of paper and recorded her offering in it. Then, her legs feeling wobbly, she went back to the apartment, preparing to make some calls and do what little training she could with Claire.

(I kinda feel this is slightly boring, but I wanted to get all the details lol. Tell me if I need to change anything Cryptid :)

A few hours had passed since the last response and yes, I can break the fourth wall, I am god. A few hands reached through a small cut in the air, grabbing each character by their shirts and taking their bags. Through the rips in reality they went, being thrown onto the sandy stadium floor.

Juniper looked around at the people surrounding her, and her green eyes widened. She jumped to her feet, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "We're here! We're finally here!" The woman grinned from ear to ear as she surveyed the stadium. "I can't wait!"

Kiyo had winced a bit upon the rough landing, though he quickly stood up as well, shaking sand out of his hair as he, too, did an analysis of the stadium. He heaved a heavy sigh as he heard Juniper's exciting chirping about their arrival. He loved the enthusiasm, but it was far over the top for him and his thin patience. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. You wanna kill people, you're excited, now could you be quiet?"

Sterling crashed onto the ground and pushed themself up off the ground, resting against their crutch. Pulling their backpack onto their shoulders, they began to look around to see who was there. They weren't ready for whatever was about to come and they were terrified. Well, I mean, if I die, well I guess I die, but I guess I'll be an easy target for the others. Especially that one. They thought as they studied Juniper, Well she seems excited.

Magnolia slowly rose, adjusting the pack on her shoulder. Her hand clutched her necklace, slightly terrified that it broke. She didn’t feel broken glass underneath her gloves, so she let go and began wiping sand off her clothes, immediately heading over to Sterling. Wanting to least break the tension, she said, “Hey! It’s good to see you… though it would be, under better circumstances.” She chuckled nervously.

Curtis jumped to his feet and looked around at everyone in the stadium before smiling softly.
“Hello everyone,” he laughed softly after the greetings, not daring to move an inch as the knife he kept behind him in its sheath had came loose. If he moved, the knife would fall, and that’s certain… “How’s everyone doing? Okay, not a good question uh.. Ice breaking! I’m Curtis, nice to meet all of you. And, your names?”

"…Kiyowara," the red-head said, his irritated glare turning away from Juniper and meeting Curtis' eyes. "Though Kiyo works just fine. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, I guess." He mumbled the last part as he slid his hands into his pockets, analysing Curtis' strangely still posture. Odd in manner, but who was he to judge? He looked around to see if anyone would take the leap of trust and introduce themself, or if he would be the only one. Surely tension couldn't be that high already. Or maybe it could. Life did seem to go out of its way to contradict him sometimes.

Avlynn was dragged through the tear in reality with an outstretched arm. The feeling of Edmund's hand slipping from her grasp would surely haunt her through the coming Tournament. She hit the sandy floor with an "Oof!" Avlynn recovered, dusted the sand off of her jeans and attempted to get some out of her flannel shirt and sleeveless sweater before grabbing the bag and carefully placing it over her shoulder. Glancing out at the others with a sad smile, she felt realization set in. Not only were they stuck here, forced into this tournament, some of them looked like they were barely adults. They'd had their whole lives ahead of them… was the Host really this cruel, or were the gods just that detached from the lives of humans that they didn't notice?

"Here we are, then…" she said quietly, sadness in her voice. She'd do her best for The Narrator, of course, but Avlynn knew she wasn't particularly likely to go very far. When it came down to it, would she be able to take another competitor's life? Would she be able to move on, knowing that a grim fate would await her opponent if they didn't make it?

A few other people tumbled to the ground, three people to be exact. The first was a pale girl with tattoos of vines all down her arms, she landed in a crouching position, hands holding most of her weight. The second was a person with half white half black, long hair, they were completely quiet as they managed to roll into a crouch like the girls. The final was a person with wild black hair and arms dotted with black feathers, they weren't human.

(yeet skeet, side characters who will probably kill at least one of you)

Magnolia slowly rose, adjusting the pack on her shoulder. Her hand clutched her necklace, slightly terrified that it broke. She didn’t feel broken glass underneath her gloves, so she let go and began wiping sand off her clothes, immediately heading over to Sterling. Wanting to least break the tension, she said, “Hey! It’s good to see you… though it would be, under better circumstances.” She chuckled nervously.

When Sterling saw that Magnolia was there, they relaxed a little bit more, moving to hug the girl. "Me too." They said as they pulled away from her, fixing their crutch so they could balance better. "I just wish that this wasn't happening, although I'm sure that most of us feel the same way, except for a few, it seems." They said with a sigh, shaking their head. But when the other people came into the arena they looked rather confused, "I-I thought that it was just us?" Their voice was almost a whisper, and they were sort of shaking as they grew more and more scared, I'm going to die, to someone here… That's terrifying…

Kiyo looked startled by the appearance of the three new people. He stared at each of them for a moment, his gaze locking onto the one with feathers for a little while longer. He prayed that they had just gotten into a tussle with a crow or something and that the feathers would fall off at any moment, but that seemed less and less likely as the seconds passed. A greeting seemed in order, but not in his best interest. He directed his stare to the ground, hoping not to be confronted for staring too long.

Curtis had looked over at the new figures entering the stadium, already sensing something odd about them. He smiled at them, though, trying to be as nice as he could in the exterior. In reality, he already had his eyes on some people here. That person nearest to him— Kiyo— seemed promising either as a contestant or a first kill…
“Well, hello there fellas,” he spoke with a smiley smirk. He was definitely going to make notes about these… ‘people’.

The feathered one stood up, brushing off sand from their clothes and holding out a hand for the other two to stand up with. The three didn't really say anything as they stood up, simply turning to look at the other competitors right after standing. The girl one raised an eyebrow at Kiyo and Sterling, they elbowed the bird-like one. "Crypt, look, It's a bunch of humans who look like they've never seen a guardian before." Their face turned up into a small smirk, waiting for the bird's response. "Don't antagonise them, Jahli, that comes later." Was all the feathered one, Crypt they were called, said.

(hdsajkdsa, Crypt isn't actually my name, just an alias named after this lil fucker who I love very much.)

Charlie gulped and slowly stood up from her awkward position on the ground. She pulled the backpack over her shoulders and studied the newcomers. She tucked a bright pink braid behind her ear and had to repress the oncoming anxiety attack. Inhale. She took a long and audible deep breath through her nose. Exhale. She let the air out through her mouth. Charlie repeated the process a few more times before really looking at her competition. The knife in the front pocket of her backpack felt heavy, as if it feared killing someone as much as Charlie did. The Overseer had taught his followers that death was a gift, a chance to let go, but Charlie didn't want to send any of the devotees into Death's arms. Even that Juniper girl.

They all looked young, around her age. Charlie's 21st birthday was the next week. James had made plans with her to go out in the town and splurge just a little bit on a new coat or a nice meal. Her heart ached at the thought of her little brother. Charlie wanted to talk with the other devotees, but the words caught in her throat which soon turned into a heavy coughing fit.

Magnolia slowly rose, adjusting the pack on her shoulder. Her hand clutched her necklace, slightly terrified that it broke. She didn’t feel broken glass underneath her gloves, so she let go and began wiping sand off her clothes, immediately heading over to Sterling. Wanting to least break the tension, she said, “Hey! It’s good to see you… though it would be, under better circumstances.” She chuckled nervously.

When Sterling saw that Magnolia was there, they relaxed a little bit more, moving to hug the girl. "Me too." They said as they pulled away from her, fixing their crutch so they could balance better. "I just wish that this wasn't happening, although I'm sure that most of us feel the same way, except for a few, it seems." They said with a sigh, shaking their head. But when the other people came into the arena they looked rather confused, "I-I thought that it was just us?" Their voice was almost a whisper, and they were sort of shaking as they grew more and more scared, I'm going to die, to someone here… That's terrifying…

At first, Magnolia was confused, but she turned, spotting the new people. “Me too,” she said, noticing the quiver in his voice. “We’re just gonna do our best, right?”
She put a hand behind Sterling’s back in reassurance. She studied the strange people, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t be more than just snarky.

The first thing Avlynn noticed about the newcomers was that one of them had feathers. For a moment, she wondered if somehow they were both representing The Narrator, then realized that the stranger's feathers were less owl-like and more crow-like; rather than being fluffy and round, they were slimmer and more tapered at the edges. And their friend's words… "A 'guardian'? Would you mind explaining what that is?" Avlynn asked with a curious tone. "Not to be rude, I'm just… not familiar with the term." She felt like she'd heard it in that context before, perhaps in a poem or song she'd translated a few years ago? Regardless, the definition was evading her at the moment.

Felix was less terrified than he had previously been.
The day before, he hadn't gotten a good look at any of the other competitors, but now, he saw that most of them were just as lost and scared as he was.
Except the plant lady- Juniper… she would have to go as soon as possible if the rest of the tributes wanted a way out.
Felix was mostly quiet, but tried his best to portray that as fear rather than analysis. That's just what he was doing. Analyzing the rest of the competitors. He didn't intend to kill all of them, of course, but there were a couple he feared he might, just to keep the rest of them and himself safe.
Finally, Felix got to his feet, dusting his clothes off a bit. His gaze wandered over to the other strangers who had just appeared moments before- the ones who hadn't been at the meeting the previous day.

Charlie's hands shook as she felt the panic rising. She bit her tongue and grabbed her arms, folding them over her chest. Her deep breaths slightly helped clear her mind, but unshed tears still clouded her vision. I should have packed my cosmetics. She thought as she dabbed the forming tears out of her eyes with her jacket sleeves, noticing the pink and black smudges on the cuffs of the army green jacket. That seemed trivial, but Charlie was always concerned with her appearance. She tightly wrapped her arms around herself, praying that nobody would come to talk to her. She didn't trust her mental state or her voice to handle the pressure of conversation.

It's just like three years ago, A voice that clearly wasn't her own nagged in the back of her head. Charlie's heart stopped. She hadn't heard the voice for years, ever since the- well, incident. Kill or suffer the consequences, Charlotte Despereaux.

The sacred knife felt red-hot against her back and the hunting blade felt like a thousand pounds. She couldn't repress her anxiety and fell to the ground, her tears and sobs coming in heavy waves.

Crypt turned their head to look at Avlynn. "Guardians are The Protector's creations. We were made to guard shrines and sacred places, we do not have a lot of human worshippers, therefore, I was chosen to be part of this tournament. We were not seen before because we are the un-human participants." They explained in an even voice, it didn't seem like they were able to put any sort of emotion into their words.