002 [Action]

[lostherstrings]

[It had been a bit over a week since her arrival in Prospero, and until now Edel had been very careful not to be out during the Dark Hour. But helping to close the bookstore she'd gotten a job at had taken longer than she'd expected, and she was still walking towards the hotel when the clock struck midnight and everything around her... changed.

As the electric street lamps fell dark around her, the sky took on a sickly green cast, the moon seeming to become much larger and brighter overhead. As she quickened her steps on her journey back to the hotel, she began seeing the coffins that she'd heard ordinary citizens became. An unfamiliar icy feeling gripping her heart (fear, her mind whispered), she broke into a run, hoping to reach the hotel before any Shadows found her. She had no weapon, after all, and no idea what her Persona would even be capable of, should she manage to awaken it before one of them struck her down.]

[OOC: I'm so mean sometimes. Anyone want to help out this damsel in distress?]

Comments

[theheirofbreath]

Yeah, you got it! Don't worry, I do this a lot. It's pretty easy.

[lostherstrings]

[Edels nods. While John seemed rather young, he appeared confident in his abilities, and Edel knew better than most that age didn't matter when it came to the strength of one's heart.]

Then I'll place my trust in you. Lead on, please.

[theheirofbreath]

Okay!

[He starts hunting for shadows. He does this a lot, so it only takes him a few minutes to spot one.]

Oh, there's one! By that streetlight.

[lostherstrings]

[Looking in the same direction he was, it didn't take her long to see the creeping shadow that was moving by itself.]

I see it.

[Stepping forward to approach it, she could feel an unease she was unaccustomed to as she drew near to it. It seemed to sense her presence, turning to face her and rushing towards her as it began to take on a more distinct form. Raising her arms in front of her in a futile attempt to defend herself, it felt like her heart stopped as it swung one of it's limbs down to strike her.

And that was when she felt it, a power both unfamiliar and yet a part of her welling up from within. Syllables forming instinctively on her lips, she called out the name of her Persona.]

Blodeuwedd!

[Bloduewedd appeared directly before her in a flurry of feathers, blocking the shadow from reaching her. Backing away from the shadow while she had the chance, Edel knew the one thing she could ask Bloduewedd to do and was very glad she wasn't alone for this.]

Analysis.

[As her persona seemed to stare through the shadow and then disappeared, Edel could feel information on the shadow's strengths and weaknesses flow into her mind. Turning towards where she had left John, she called out advice to him.]

Hit it with your hammer - wind attacks won't be very effective on it!

[theheirofbreath]

Rats! Why do I keep running into this kind?

[Luckily his persona has learned a second trick by now.]

Pegasus! Bash!

[the winged horse appears and rears up, then brings its hooves down on the shadow. While it's disoriented from that, John rushes it with his hammer to finish it off.]

[lostherstrings]

[Watching John take care of the shadow helped calm her racing heart. He did appear to be experienced in fighting them despite his age.]

Fire burns wood but is doused by water. Everything has it's strengths and weaknesses. I am glad that you were around to help, though. Knowing what those strengths and weaknesses are isn't much use if you have no means to take advantage of that knowledge.

...Fighting these is the only way for our Personas to get stronger, right? And this... [She waves a hand, indicating the Dark Hour and everything that comes with it.] ...is the only route we have for unraveling the mysteries Prospero holds?

[theheirofbreath]

It was no problem! I don't mind lending a hand to newbies when I can. We're all on the same team, right?

[Thats really how John views this whole thing. It's all of them vs. the mysterious whatever that brought them there.]

As far as we know. It's more like this is our only lead. And anyway, why would they have a dungeon if there wasn't something important to find down there?

[lostherstrings]

...Right.

[Edel can agree with that. Even if she personally had no reason to return to her home, if they could unravel the mysteries of this place those who did wish to go home would be able to.]

That's quite true, structures rarely exist without a purpose of some sort.

[theheirofbreath]

Yeah, I figure that once enough of us get to be high enough level, we can make it all the way to the bottom and fight the boss or whatever.

[lostherstrings]

[Edel isn't familiar with some of the terms John is using - levels? boss? - but she's able to understand the gist of what he's saying.]

Do people often travel to this dungeon during the Dark Hour to train?

Also, what might you suggest as far as a ranged weapon that would be easy to learn? Since my Persona doesn't seem like it will be strongly-combat oriented, if I'm going to fight Shadows I'll need a weapon to use, and I would prefer to keep my distance from them.

[theheirofbreath]

Not really. Most people just train solo in the streets. But the dungeon is a little tougher, and you'd need to bring a few people with you.

What about a gun? Or, if you had something more old-school in mind, a crossbow?

[lostherstrings]

I see. And yes, I think I would be more comfortable with a crossbow. Guns weren't common where I came from.

[theheirofbreath]

There's a weapon shop! I bet they've got crossbows.

[lostherstrings]

I'll keep that in mind. Shall we resume our journey to the hotel now?

[theheirofbreath]

Oh, yeah, sure. I think it's over there.

[He starts leading the way.]

You were pretty calm about that shadow back there. Did your world have a lot of monsters, or something?

[lostherstrings]

No, not really. There were the crows, and a few other things from stories come to life... But it's more that I'm unused to experiencing fear or expressing it.

[theheirofbreath]

Stories coming to life? Weird...

[lostherstrings]

The existence of Storyspinners - writers whose stories can affect reality - seems to be something unique to the world I come from.

[theheirofbreath]

Storyspinners...?

So... everything they write comes true? Sounds complicated.

[lostherstrings]

Not everything. And even when they're trying to write a story that will become true, it may not be entirely successful depending on degree of talent and how much training they've had. And then there are the consequences of the story becoming true to consider... It is not a talent to be taken lightly.

[theheirofbreath]

Wow...

So how do you tell the difference between what's from a story and what was already there?

[lostherstrings]

Generally people can't. I could, but I'm something of a special case in that regard.

[theheirofbreath]

Are you a storyspinner?

[lostherstrings]

No, though the one created me was. But it has more to do with the material I was made from. There was an ancient oak tree, you see, that was used to test if someone had the talent to be a Storyspinner. Through it flowed the knowledge of all the stories ever written.

But the tree was cut down by those who feared the power of the Storyspinners, and now only its roots remain. But some of the wood from the tree was rescued by the man who created me, and it was used to fashion most of my body. Some of the special qualities the tree had remained in its wood, though I don't have the complete extent of the original tree's knowledge and vision.

[theheirofbreath]

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You're.... made of wood?