A beautiful flower floats through the murky water, it's translucent petals shimmering before you.

The shimmering blossom twists quietly in the current, drifting teasingly past your face.

You quietly takes a hold of the floating blossom.

The flower twists past your grip, bobbing lazily in front of your face.

One edge of the petal turns a pale shade of brown, an earthy tone amongst the shimmering colours.

The dull colour spreads through the blossom as the flower begins to look sickly.

In an instant, the icy currents rip through the blossom, tearing the shimmering petals to nothing.

The surrounding water presses in upon you with sudden malice, the sudden force exerting a discomforting pressure on your body.

You blink.

You blink.

You say, "That's bad."

Somewhat nervously, you say, "Whatever it is doing this, go away!"

You feel something brush past you as the water grows murkier and murkier, leaving little visibility.

You ask, "... Lord Nocht...?"

You try to look through the murky water, shivering slightly.

A sudden iciness makes you jump with fright as a muffled voice whispers near your ear, "What if she is hurt?"

Slowly holding yourself in an attempt to bring warmth to her body, you say, "Then I will be sad, and worried.."

The water churns behind you as the hollow voice whispers, now in the other ear, "Then what a sorrowful life you will have... Do you expect one who plays with flowers to be any less transient, or any more powerful than them...?"

Speaking without hesitation, you say, "If the strength of a person is only within the might of their arms and not their heart, then yes. But one's strength, Divine or mortal, can be judged from the will and drive within their being."

You feel the current gently tugging at you, coaxing you into the murkier depths, as a hollow voice intrudes into your thoughts, "Ah... You truly think her will is any stronger?"

Closing your eyes part way, almost dazedly, you say, "... Her will is strong if She can still love You, Lord Nocht.."

Suddenly a warmth surrounds you, and you feel yourself drawn into someone's loving arms, as a clear voice rings out, "Be still, Nocht. For all the love I bear you, I will not bide this."

The water chills to a painful degree as a sudden pain stabs your head, "While I find mortals incredibly fascinating... They seem to have an inability to think before they speak."

Sourly, you say, "It's what makes us so charming, You never know what we might say..."

The empty voice pushes in upon you, ignoring the warmth nearby, "Oh... she thinks her love means something to me, though I told her oh so long ago... But it seems that you and your lady must share the same weakness, child".

The light bends around you, surrounding you in a bubble of shifting colour and soothing warmth, as the voice says fiercely, "What lies you tell yourself! There was a time when you were kind, when we laughed, when you looked on me and I am sure you felt the same. You are lot now, Nocht, and I pity you."

Firmly, you say, "Call it a weakness, Lord Nocht. I will not be able to love Maylea the way She may have hoped You would, but I will do my damned best to love Her more than You ever could. And so long as there are people who love Her, and people She loves, She will always be strong!"

The hollow voice takes on an icy edge, echoing through the murky depths, "You know quite well I held no love for you. I held love for none. But this is not the case with this one, is it? You love someone that you should not, just like your lady, no?"

You open your mouth but say nothing.

The brilliance surrounding you expands, threatening the murkiness in the water, as a voice says, "You have forgotten yourself. You are nothing that I remember! Leave My flowers alone, else I swear it shall be ill between us, love or no."

The voice takes on a softer tone, whispering in your ear, "Do words fail you now, little one? Perhaps I shall have to correct the thinking of the wayward boy..."

You exclaim, "NO!"

Your eyes tearing, you exclaim, "Leave him alone!"

You say, "I would rather You harm me instead! Leave him alone! Leave Lady Maylea alone!"

You exclaim, "Kill me if it would make things better for You, but, please, leave them alone!"

The chilling voice taunts you further, invading the privacy of your thoughts, "He would be made to see the error of his ways... He would abandon you... Unless, of course... you abandon Maylea to be with him properly."

Myrkr's whole body trembles, tears streaming down her face.

Cryingly, you exclaim, "Why...? Why can't we get along...? I don't understand!"

Energy pierces through the water, crackling with shades of green and blue as it burns away at the shadow. A voice cries out in rage, "Do you not hear Me? My protection is upon this mortal. Will you challenge My power with one of Mine?"

Icy fingers brush the hair out of your face, soothing you with empty, hollow words, "See what she has given you? A weak spirit. Poor, poor child..."

The voice cuts through the water like a sharpened blade, "You think yourself any challenge to Me, Maylea? Are you that foolish?"

Urazial tells you, "I am getting worried, Myrkr. If you do not want to talk, that is fine, but it is not safe to be floating around the water for too long."

A note of serenity enters the voice again, "If you challenge Me, you will find no solace. I will root you out of your cursed forest for the slight you give one of My own. Do you dare, Nocht? Have you courage to back your paltry threats?"

You tell Urazial Inseira, Thrum of the Forest, "I'm fine... G-Go somewhere safe. Away.... away from others."

Urazial tells you, "As you wish. You do not sound fine, love. When you are ready to talk, I will listen."

Weakly, you say, "... please.... both of You... don't... fight.."

The waters still themselves as the voice takes on a soft monotone, "Do not worry about My courage, little Maylea. But I wonder... Do you have the heart for it? To watch Me wreck and break the spirits of your children? Do you think there is any place I cannot reach? I have lived amongst the shadows for ages... You cannot stop Me."

(Exeryte enters, kills a squid, and leaves)

The voice laughs softly and says, very quiet, "Your own Order runs from you, Nocht."

You ask, "Lord Nocht... why did You even come to harm me? Why are You so upset? Who are You upset at? Why?"

Shadows writhe violently through the water as a cruel voice echoes, "Perhaps you should speak to your lady, child."

Warm arms surround you, sheltering you as a voice says softly, "He could have all, and has chosen ash and bitterness, Myrkr. Out of love and respect, I have laid no finger upon His, and now He seeks to harm Mine. I will not bide this."

In a sudden turn of violence, the shadows dart forth angrily, piercing angrily into the warmth and glowing green that radiates nearby.

Helplessly, you exclaim, "No!! Leave Her alone!"

The colour does no more but protect you from the onslaught, bending but not yielding to the shadow.

Tears fill your eyes and begin to slowly run down your face.

Violent, swirling colours briefly fill your vision as a great agitation washes through you.

The writhing tendrils press down against the enshrining glow around you before dispersing in a sudden explosion that shakes the waters of the Inner Sea.

You exclaim, "Lady Maylea... please... go! Don't let Him harm You! It is okay if He hurts me! But not You!"

The waters of the Inner Sea churn violently with anger as the Orders of Maylea, Bloom of Serenity and Nocht, the Silent declare their emnity for one another.

The warmth and colour buoy you up, keeping you safe amid the darkness, and a voice whispers, "He has no power over Me, and over none of Mine shall He exert his. Trust Me, little one."

The soft, hollow voice of Nocht, the Silent resounds within your mind as His words echo through the aether, "You will regret it, Maylea. All that is yours shall crumble before the Shadows."

With wide eyes, you say, "... no... not a war...."

Someone powerful's divine voice echoes across the land, "Keep still in silence, Nocht, or is that not your name? You will never lay a hand upon one of Mine again."

Linger shadows pierce your mind, drifting away as a dull voice grows fainter and fainter, "We shall see how long he stands by you..."

---

Swirling shadows gather high above the Basin of Life, coalescing into the form of Nocht, the Silent. He moves His hand slowly in an arcane gesture as thin strands of shadow surround Him, a glass widow spider attached to the end of each. He sets them down within the Basin as the sound of clinking glass closes in upon the Serenwilde Forest.

The figure of Maylea rises over the Basin. Kudzu grows and blossoms across the Southern Highway and Southern Mountains, encroaching upon the territory of Glomdoring at Her whim. The figure of Maylea rises over the Basin. Kudzu grows and blossoms across the Southern Highway and Southern Mountains, encroaching upon the territory of Glomdoring at Her whim.




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

Love is deadly. And Myrkr and Urazial's love have started a war.

By the way, Maylea and Nocht for the RP.

Crazy fun. It would be fun if he tried that on Doman, but mindgames never really work on him, Doman's a bit too full of himself for them.

While it looks interesting from an IC aspect... it's pretty hard to look at it OOCly and think anything except, "Sojiro versus all of Nocht's Order: Sojiro wins."

I suppose it'll be interesting to see what the Divine themselves shape of this, though (it seems like they're being a bit more active in this one than previous Order Wars at least).

Sojiro isn't in Maylea's Order.

... I am truly in awe. Well done.

And the thing about Maylea and Nocht having been together in the past.. yet another part of the puzzle I have been putting together.

Hmm. I thought he was. Ah well.

He does really like defending the Maylea-brandings, so I suppose it is easy to get that impression.

Notch needs to win one of these fights, goddamnit!


Well done.

Fixed

If I was in Maylea's order and he poked me I would play the random card for all it's worth.

Only if he has support from Nejii and a few of the other Order-mates. The passives won't quite kill on their own, though they will let him run away to regather spirits after they're burned up on defending him.

Spiritsingers aren't as great without that support (versus a group, at least). Of course, no bard is... they just have an easier time getting away than many other classes.

Please don't make this into a "My Demi is bigger than your Demi" debate.

Well... wouldn't it be "Your Demi is bigger than your Demi"? Xiel and Sojiro are both Serens, and they're the ones being discussed (in terms of the actual character-versus-character battle part of the consequences of this log).

Though I do suppose that the Spiritsinger side discussion isn't really necessary, it was needed to clear up Rika's somewhat misleading statement. I won't continue it, however.

What the hell's with the failure of a hijack Rika?


Why?

No, indeed, this thread is to bask in the awesomeness that is Nocht


...and me, I guess?


(Seriously, that was as fun for me as I think Myrkr found it. Nocht is one great God.)

To be perfectly honest, these things would not be quite as fun / interesting if the Divine being worked against didn't put in their own two cents as well. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot a mortal can do against a God, and I don't think it would be nearly as fun (for Nocht or the mortal) if it was completely one-sided.

It certainly would not be as interesting to read.

Edit: As clarification, since I was asked-- this post was intended to say that the rave should, indeed, be for Maylea as well. The log would be far less interesting without the Divine versus Divine level of interaction that was presented. However, apparently the phrasing wasn't perfectly clear.

I feel important now. Second time Myrkr has influenced the game directly. (1) curing the plague. (2) basically starting a war.

Again, for the awesome RP.

I want more Nocht interaction, dammit.

I want Nocht to respond to the thread...

What's sad is that there really are hardly any people active in Nocht's Order from what I understand. Oh well! Kind of neat having Serens raiding prime Glom again

I love dramatic love. Le sigh.