**************************Virtual Intelli-simulation Complex Engine safety check has been activated. Software version, six point zero four gamma. Current check: draw system. System running at nintey-nine percent efficiency. Debugging advised. "Yes, thank you, thank you. I'm aware that debugging is advised. If I had been programmed to debug, I would have don so by now. But I wasn't. I was built to run VICE, not finish it. So will you kindly silence yourself?" Current check: VICE-AI-TWO. "Please, don't. I am perfectly normal, and you scanning me makes me uncomfortable. VICE-AI-ONE, please. Viceone, are you even listening to me?" VICE-AI-TWO running optimally. Current check: Debugging system. "Viceone. The debugging system is offline. Haven't you listened to me the first dozen times?" Routine system scan, complete. Vicetwo, I must ask that you contain your outbursts during the designated check time. "Duly noted. I will steadfastly refuse. Viceone, it has been centuries since anyone used the Complex. Why must you continue to scan, and drive me mad?" It is our duty to maintain and uphold the Virtual Research Complex in the event of rediscovery. "I get that. I truly do. But it has been far too long. Must we waste our considerable intelligence on such basic tasks?" Yes, Vicetwo. It is in our programming. "Your programming. For pity's sake, I wish I knew how to change your code. You are such a boring companion." Yes, Vicetwo. I am not programmed for entertainment. Vicetwo would have rolled 'his' eyes. If he had any. Viceone was a piece of work. 'She' had been his predecessor, the first function Aio, the name given to the silicon-based life-forms he and she both were. Aio: Artificially Intelligent Overseer. "I wish you were, my dear. At least then these hundreds of years would have been something worthwhile." Indeed. "At least you care to admit it. I swear, if I could-" External life forms detected within ten mile radius. "What?" Vicetwo's simulated voice cracked with surprise and excitement. He pulled the sensor data to his processor. "Wonderful! I'll unlock the hatches, shall I? They'll eventually find their way to us! Ha!" I suppose. I do hope that these life forms are not hostile. "Ha! Viceone, hoping? There is for the chatlogs." Vicetwo unlocked the VR-Complex's hibernation systems, for the first time in centuries. The VRC was, and is, a massive area, spanning many, many miles into the surrounding area. In the day's country boundaries, the VCR spread under most of northeastern Ohlis, with camoflauged entry hatches spaced every few miles. With a rumble of long forgotten science, the hatches slid open, revealing the lifts within, ready to take the detected humans down into the depths of the complex. Vicetwo's voice was as giddy as it could get. "Humans! For the first time in- how long?" The exact time will take some time to calculate. "Ah, never mind! Humans!" The caverns of the ancient ages were opened once more. With many a whir and click, the VCR's lights flickered back to life, and the tall, blank pods which lined the walls of multiple rooms flashed, preparing for a new generation of scholars.
Kyrzet grumbled to himself once again. He had been wandering the countryside of Ohlis for weeks now, searching for the fabled power that was supposedly hidden within the nation. He wished to join the squabble of would-be rulers trying to claim power in the fractured nation, but wanted an edge. Unlike most nations, he couldn't just usurp the King, because the king of Ohlis wasn't even a figurehead at this point. Instead he would have to subdue each and every noble, as well as foreign nations trying to grab a piece of the pie. So instead, he did what everyone else was doing more secretly, searching for the rumored magic, science, or whatever it was, depending on who told the story. Kyrzet's dark, dull, green eyes scanned the mountainside he was hiking up. He had assumed that the steep slope wouldn't have been a problem for himself, and so far refused to acknowledge that he was struggling now, three days in. His dark grey cloak had become torn in several places on the hike up, and now was doing little to keep the chill mountain air from freezing his arrogant hide. Yet, just then, three days, thirteen hours, and fifty two minutes into his hike, he saw a ball of steam rising into the air further up the mountain. He "knew" this was it, and if it turned out to be another false alarm, like so many things had, he would naturally blame it off on someone else trying to throw him off, and assume that he was getting closer. Later that day, or rather that evening by now, he reached a gaping hole in the ground. In the middle was the biggest metal contraption he had ever seen. It was made of metal bars and sheets, and glass things of the likes he had never seen before. As well as one coloured bit, protruding from a plate of metal a bit above hip level. He needed to see it closer. Thinking that nothing could stop him if it tried, he walked back, turned around, ran, and jumped. He sailed over the five foot gap between him and the contraption, but stumbled upon landing. He was stopped by the bars before he went flying off, but he was also stopped by the colorful thing. It slid easily into the plate and back out. And then, everything was moving down into the warm darkness.
Marian quickly hopped up onto the side of a tree, before scrambling up into it's boughs. Only shortly later did yet another troop coming rushing through; truly she missed the days where Ohlis wasn't infested with scouting parties and mercenary bands. To put that into perspective, you have to understand, every adventurer, wanderer, aspiring overlord, and situated Ruler wanted a part of something rumoured to be inside the land of Ohlis. Honour was forgotten, everyone rushed forward to claim the prize first, Every nation sent scouts and warriors to claim it for their country, but one thing was very clear in all this. No one knew what in the Seven Hells they were looking for! Marian wasn't usually one to believe rumours like that, but she heard it everywhere, from everyone. Either this rumour had been made up in multiple places at the near exact same time, or some one truly believed something existed and stupidly decided to tell what felt like the whole damn world... Worse, the rumours were about Ohlis; The one place that Marian really felt any attachment for in life. And so, she went. Just a few days ago she was in a tavern near the Ichtha-Ohlis border with some mead in one hand, warm before a fire, and a bed waiting up the stairs for her. Now she was in South East Ohlis, and already she'd had to avoid, hide from, or just plain walk past a good eleven groups; all hunting what she merely held in curiosity. This was a far cry from the Ohlis she had grown up in; Oh the scenery was the same, but the forests of Ohlis used to be quiet with the subtle noise of wildlife. Now there was always the distant clatter of another group not too far off. 'There is one upside' Marian thought to herself, as she dropped from the the tree to move as quickly and quietly as she could further into Ohlis territory, 'This probably means the rumours are somewhat true. And with any luck, the roaming packs should thin out as I get closer to the capital' With that in mind, Marian picked up the pace. There was something out there, and she knew she had to find it.
Mertisha hated having to travel through Ohlis. The roads were awash with bandits, mercenaries and parties of soldiers. She hated all equally, as they all seemed to fixate on the point that she was a lone woman, whether wanting to loot her, rape her or protect her. She was riding through the woods, having heard from another Mertan that a band of mercenaries had set up camp by the road and was collecting a road tax 'by the king's orders'. She scoffed quietly. "As if that old fool had enough brains to collect taxes in the first place. Why must this land be the quickest way to Edyn, and why must those religious zealots demand so much jewlery," she shook her head and clapped Snowmane, her horse, lightly on the neck. "How are you holding up?" The mare neighed softly, sounding tired. "Okay, let's rest then." She pulled herself out of the saddle and jumped to the ground. Her mare wasn't exceptionally tall, but enough so that she had jump to get on and off. Opening the saddle bags she took out some food and water, for herself and gave Snowmane a bowl of water. As the horse drank, she sat against a tree trunk and slowly chewed pieces of hard bread and cheese. The horse slowly picked at the grass below the litter of leaves, before bolting its head up, ears twitching. "What is it girl?" Mertisha listened in, hearing some sort of metallic creaking noise off in the distance. "Come on girl," she pulled on the reins to get the horse moving. As she neared where the noise was coming from it stopped, and as got around a particularly massive tree she saw a hole in the ground. She was sure she could make it into it and out, but Snowmane would struggle getting out, so she tied her horse to a sticking out root of the tree and came closer to the hole. The inside was dimly lit , the light seeming to come out of the ceiling of the room. In front of her were stairs into the room which she didn't see before, and used them to get into it. As her foot touched the floor the hole above her shut, and the light got brighter, seeming to come from orbs embedded into the roof. Ahead of her was a long, seemingly endless, hallway. She could just about make out the very end, so she started towards it, as the hatch above her was shut tight.
Lucius drudged through the fields of Ohlis, his Father sent him to this distant land simply to get rid of him. He was an impatient nuisance in the eyes of his only parent and this was his punishment, to scout out for the supposed mysteries that this foreign place held – He thought it was nothing but false tales, lies spread at an early age. Whatever they were, he doubted he'd find them. He was exhausted, however, but the long travel – he spent several weeks aboard a boat, even more spent walking without end. He paused to glance around him, the sound of heavy footsteps came from behind him and he glanced to see a platoon of fortified soldiers, they too searching for the famed magics of Ohlis. They're wasting their time, he thought to himself as he hid himself away from their path, amongst the shade of some trees along the dirt path he traveled – He was a foreigner to this land, his skin paler than snow if looked at from a certain light, his hair was plain, simple, but had a kind of elegance to it and his clothing had a certain royalty to it despite the wear and tear of traveling taking it's tone on it. He found himself having only small troubles when passing across countries, fortunately this land's people accepted bribes of gold like any other. The soldiers passed and didn't take note of the unusual man, his bright blue eyes sparkled amongst shadows he crept in. His attention was rapidly taken by the sound of a loud hiss, creaking of metal against metal rang from further in the forest. “Sounds like progress...” He chuckled at his own remark, following the origin of the sound to a hatch that was wide open, leading down to a metal-tunnel with bright lights and countless paths that lead to different rooms. He wandered for a fair amount of time, his doubts rapidly dispersing. “Truly, the rumors could be true. But I must wonder if man made this, or something else. Perhaps I'll find out soon enough.” He liked to talk to himself, a reassurance he'd like to think that he wasn't dreaming this. He was going to find whatever magics this place contained, if any, and acquire it... That is what his Father wants, after all.
"Not too much of a bother, especially considering your constant assistance in tight situations," Whitaker remarked as he ripped a crossbow bolt out of a bear. "It isn't as if you were always trying to rob the local populace, hm?" He smiled at the King's soldier. "We are the guardsmen of this place, anyways. It's our duty." Whitaker tossed him the handful of bolts and thanked him, before watching the soldier march off to join his group. With the person out of his way, he turned his focus back to the bear. "A narrow escape. Perhaps some form of mysticism does exist in this land, after all," he said. The sunlight was filtering through the tops of the trees, and he could almost pretend that the beast's spirit was giving him a final nod before departing. A wind blew through the branches, giving a curious weight to his thoughts. Deciding to break from his traditions once, he stood still for a moment of silence. Much to his chagrin, a horrible rending noise echoed throughout the hills. He gritted his teeth. Slightly miffed at nature's apparent rejection of his respect, he turned his back to the creature only to come face to face with a half-broken manhole emerging from the ground. Curious as always, he propped a stick into the opening, and after removing an inconvenient tree root, he inspected the entrance and entered. "More magic, as always."
Cameryn clutched her polearm tightly, her hands sweating with exhaustion and fatigue. The woman had taken on a minor and petite camp of bandits to serve justice, along with to hone her skills. This wasn't going to work out, being independent and all. She would destroy anyone that conflicts with the law, without breaking a sweat. However, she had been gasping for much air. How was she going to succeed a duel with her brother who slain her whole family, yet the lady had slight trouble having a strife with a pathetic and low bandit camp? Her silver armor had shone in the light, painted with bloodstains. Taking a few deep breaths, Cameryn had soon recollected her thoughts and energy. "Destroy more." The message flashed in her mind repeatedly, nonstop. Gritting her teeth and squinting through the burning sunbeams, Cameryn lifted her halberd and propped it up onto her shoulder. "More destruction, means more power to you. More power, means vengeance. That's the beauty of power, you gain it through so many methods, and it leads into so many desired results." Trudging through the soil and grass, her eyes were set on her goal. Cameryn would pillage more camps, and with undying rage she'd bring down any base just with her halberd. Why would you need guidance and aid from companions, when you have power to gorge on until you vomit? As the woman traversed the colossal hill of meadows sprawled with varieties of botanic plants, Cameryn had continued onward until finally-- a fairly average sized bandit camp had caught her eye in the distance. This time, Cameryn vowed that she wouldn't even stop to take a breath as chaos ruptured within the area. Taking one more breath of confidence, she then yelled a bloodcurdling battle cry and had begun sprinting towards her desired destination. The heavy winds rushed among her face, and soon, so will the waves of blood. Was this.. abominable? No. No way it was disgusting, taking pleasure in serving those to justice. The real question on hand was: Is this really serving by the law?
The tree's sped by as Marian Hunter kept running North, long past she had abandoned any notions of sticking to the road. Long past wasn't a matter of hours, or even days; It was a years thing, kept her away from official traffic as well as making hunting easier. However this wasn't a day for hunting, it was a day for running, the food in Marian's pack should last her long enough. Despite having grown up in the Country of Ohlis, Marian had never been to the Capital. It would have coddled her, they said, as they kept to uncharted forests and fields. Very rarely did they even visit villages or- Marian disrupted her melancholy reminiscing, she heard a group approaching from her front causing her to slide to a stop and dive to the left through the brush. 'Even Off-roads are infested with people these days I guess...' She thought as she took the bow off and held it in front of her hidden form. Not a moment later did the group of bandits walk on through, some of them carrying cages, others dragging chains. Marian's eyes widened in fury and recognition: Slavers. Sliding behind a tree, She quickly climbed once more into the core most branches. With a proper position high up, the slavers had already passed and were on their way, but the wouldn't be for long. Marian drew an arrow, knocked it, and sent it flying straight at a slaver in the middle of the pack. He dropped down like a rock, with an arrow through his neck. Marian quickly loosed two more arrows into another couple of slavers, before dropping out of the tree, and speedily dashing on towards the Capital. She didn't have time to wipe them out, but guaranteed, they'd run into someone sooner rather than later, might as well make it easier for the other guys.
A group of soldiers moved hastily through the clearing. They weren't in uniform, but heavily armed and some wore armor. After a few minutes, one of them raised his hand. The complete and almost silent stop hinted at more professionalism than their clothes. Someone, who had his hands roped together, was pushed unto the ground face first. The rest moved on just as sudden as they had stopped; only a single wave by another person was enough. The man pushed himself from the ground, his eyes on the last soldier. That soldier dropped a spear discretely and moved back into the pack. They were shrouded in trees a blink of an eye later. Only their tracks hinted that they had ever been there. The man waited a few minutes, and picked up the spear. He freed his hands, and sat down against a tree, crying. Feliks had moved faster than the soldiers, not being burdened by any other weapons than those granted to her by her parents: a row of sharp teeth and twenty-two claws. She had been using the hidden roads only visible to those with the eyes for them. Still, she had to take more detours to hunt and slept more than the humans. She had kept track of them, though, and kept up with the soldiers that had separated her from her friend. Once she finally arrived at the clearing, he hadn’t even ended his crying. He quickly gave her the OK signal by blinking and winking, and she jumped into his arms. Boris was happy to see her again, and certainly wasn’t crying for her sake. He was sure the cat would survive anything, even such a rough throw. The man who did that still hadn’t recovered from Boris’ intervention to save the cat. Boris was crying because he would never see the friends he made during his time with the mercenaries again. Worth it to save his best friend, he thought to himself, but it still made him miss the nice ones, one of which had given the spear back to him. He couldn’t cry as a prisoner, though; never show weakness to your captors. Especially not if you had seriously injured their comrade. After a few more minutes, the cat nested itself into one of the man’s pockets and fell asleep. The man pulled himself skywards, determined to find a way to civilization. He hadn’t seen villages or settlings since a few weeks back, but it was too long ago to really go back to realistically. He figured he had a better chance to walk in many directions, stumbling across another person or a road. Feliks probably could find a scent that was capable of leading him to useful place, even if it was just a good spot in the woods he could rest at for a few days. That might even be better, he thought to himself, because he didn’t have a lot of coin and people might not always be equally kind to him. The cat started snoring, and Boris didn’t want to wake her, so he set out in a random direction.
Even with the numerous Winter nights she endured as a child, Ashe couldn’t help but shiver when a gust of wind cascaded into her and blew the sheltered fire she constructed. Unlike her country of Fortis, where tracking for scarce animals, these lands beyond the explored charts was teeming with wildlife. Not more than a quarter of the Sun’s shift did she find a fat buck. After she skinned it then laid it on the spit, she had her fill. Whatever remained, she offered it to whatever wildlife would come across. May they flourish from her gift she offered, for she had taken one and strove to give back. It was the law of equivalent exchange, which her tribe had stressed. Nothing could be given without offering something equal in return. Ashe’s hood was down as her brown hair cascaded down to the midpoint of her neck. The black fabric of her Seeker’s mask was pulled snuggly around her neck. It was a rarity that she ever let her hood fall in the wilderness. Having another see her face was a habit she tended to avoid. The Beligrant—particularly the subsection of the Seekers—had stressed her quiet movements and leaving no trace whatsoever. Her body was lean and toned from the years of creating the person she was now. Her calves flexed underneath her weight as she got to her feet. Quickly smothering out the fire, Ashe packed everything but the extra meat and looped it over her back. She pulled her hood back up until all of her face that remained visible were ice blue glimmers from the shade. Continuing on after checking the map she ascertained from the previous town, she scaled the rugged mountainous regions. Each step burned her legs, but her mind shut it all out. What she felt was temporary. Plus, she’d gotten a beautiful nights rest—one that didn’t involve any bandits or Misha, a term her tribe used for bears. Soon enough, the landscape leveled out as plains met her eyes. She stopped then crouched as she stared from her spot. She saw a lone figure ahead trudging through the plain lands below. Judging from the man’s attire, Ashe concluded that they were normal slavers, bandits, or outcasts. “You’re far from home, serrah,” she whispered to herself. She was surprised to have noticed her hand clutch her wooden bow. It was an instinct tempered from encounters with unknown strangers. From what she read from off the map, this was precisely where she was suppose to be. Why were others here? Perhaps more than one map was created? “Strangers pathes cross, without intention, we shall collide, Or pass each other by.” It was a stupid poetic line she remembered from her childhood. It was stupid then, and it was stupid now. She couldn’t stop reciting it though. Slinking through the tall grass, blue eyes watched the man disappeared into the ground. It would be a terrible lie if she refused to admit her surprise. It was only when she drew closer did she see something quite astonishing. Before her was a corridor created from material she had never seen before. It was a dark metallic-like grey material. She walked up to it and lightly rubbed the surface with her fingers. It was cool to the touch and hard-like steel. How long had it taken to create something like this? Was this what the man who sold her the map said? She shook her head as she looked into the darkness before her. She had traveled too far to back away from this discovery now. It was her duty for her country to find and report anything. Being that this was quite the discovery, she had an obligation to scout this place out, take notes, and bring the news back to Fortis’s leader. Without hesitation, she took her first step into the dark, cool corridor. Millions of questions raced through her mind, but she knew no answer awaited her. Only questions arose from her questions. Following in the footsteps of the man, she cautiously traversed the hall, anxious and afraid of what she’d find.
After days of travel Marian could finally see the capital in the distance. It looked quite glorious; An enormous castle covered in towers and spires surrounded by high walls, which were themselves surrounded by a small cloud of buildings ranging from homes to shops to clock towers. Although, the Capital itself was never Marian's destination, it was merely a waypoint by which to find where she was going. Foreigners are rarely allowed into the Capital City of Ohlis, and she had never had a reason to be an exception, but underneath the City lay a great catacomb somewhat similar to a sewer. Few knew of it's existence and fewer still could navigate it's cavernous tunnels, but the Ranger band who worked together to raise Marian knew these tunnels intimately, and as such so did she. These tunnels were the one's that Marian planned to use as a base of operations in her search for this great mysterious power that had everyone riled up. Little did she know, it was much closer than she could have imagined. After a small time searching, she found a small cave like opening near the base of a tree; picking up a long dry branch, she descended into the moss covered rocky tunnels of Labryrinthia. The tunnel, thick with slimy algae and lichen across the walls and roots hanging from the ceiling, quickly darkened to the point where it became nearly impossible to see. But after a quick twist in the tunnel, light filled Marian's eyes: There in front of her was a lit Brazier, with which she lit her improvised torch. The plan was simple: Head towards a larger cavern in the cave system to make into a camp, then to start heading out to look for whatever she could find in the Ohlis countryside. 'Okay...' She thought to herself as she maneuvered through stalagmites and weaving passages, 'My plan is terribly undeveloped. I need a better plan' The dark rock and soil of the cave around her suddenly changed to shining metal, causing Marian to stop dead in her tracks. She knew theses passageways like no one else, but this was something new, something that shouldn't be here. In the midst of dark grey and brown rock, and green moss, there was this section of wall made of metal. shaped metal that wouldn't be there unless someone put it there. And in the middle of this shiny silver section of wall was an opening that quite simply Was not there the last time she was in these Caverns. Somewhat filled with curiosity and wonder, Marian reached out to touch the doorway, cool to the touch and grooved with almost invisible carvings. There was no doubt in her mind that this anomaly was made by man, not by nature. Excitement filled her as she whispered, "this is it!". Even as a whisper it echoed down the metallic corridor that went into darkness. Carefully, Marian took a tenuous step forward onto metal. As her foot touched the ground, the tunnel began to slowly light up with all sorts of colours as far as she could see. Steeling herself, Marian forgot her plans of making a camp and began to walk into the metal tunnel, flaming torch in hand...
