Forum Thread

“That dream... it was just someone talking and about an ancient university or something?” Azure pawed the ground slightly as he looked at the rest. “And then, that voice told me to come here....I’m guessing we’ve all had a similar dream then, right? The odds of everyone gathering here for different reasons while everyone is talking about dreams doesn’t seem likely.” When that odd feeling hit Azure, his fur spiked slightly. He could feel it, and he was hoping it was nothing major... he was looking around for any signs though.

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Finch tilted her head as if thinking. After a moment, she burst out in a jovial tone. “I’m Finch! Animated scarecrow toy thingamajig!” She leapt into the air again with a wide grin spread across her fabric head, slowly floating back to the grass. “It really does sound like that voice spoke to us all. Like, no way it didn’t, right? Does anyone know much about dreams? My dad said they mean stuff once, I don’t really believe it though...” She closed her eyes thoughtfully, tapping a wooden finger on her chin.

As if in response, the magic in the air got slightly heavier, before fading back into the rippling appearance it always had.

This time, Finch looked up towards the anomaly and tilted her head. She didn’t say anything, just simply staring at it with a thoughtful yet thoughtless look.

---

The release of such a heavy pool of magic made Alaparos' shoulders relax visibly, the iron grip he had on his blanket loosening. Around his neck his dog tag hummed with tension, the warm metal heavy against his chest. It was almost like the forest itself was alive and while Alaparos had long since learned and accepted that he walked amongst an ecosystem brimming with life, it almost felt other-worldly how the trees listened to their every word. But now that the magic had abated, Alaparos could still feel a set of eyes on him. "It's a honor to make acquaintances of all of you. However, if I may interject and invite another voice into the conversation? It appears that we have a listener within these forests and perhaps they have more insight into the situation than we do seeing as our memories of such a dream is hazy." He suggested, hands already wheeling himself backwards to make more room in their little circle. Although he had said that there was another person around, Alaparos himself wasn't all that sure of his observation. He could only hope that he wasn't wrong as he scanned the trees. There didn't seem to be anyone there and dread pooled at the bottom of his stomach at making an incorrect guess before an odd shape caught his eye. Two jutting horns similar to one of his own pairs that could easily been mistaken for tree branches could be spotted and Alaparos tried for his best gentle smile.

While he didn't want to chase away the newcomer, he did want to continue the conversation. For what reason were they gathered here? If someone had called them here, it stood to reason that something was at stake. After all, an elf was among them and to call upon such illustrious creatures was quite the feat. Ether the caller was powerful enough to sway even mythical creatures with centuries of pride and history, or things were just that dire. But Alaparos then had to wonder why he was called. He wasn't anyone special, not that he knew of. Sure the Ophiotaurus race was rare and renowned for their powers of foresight and clairvoyance but that was only when slaughtering one and taking a peek at their entrails. There was a reason why such creatures were rare now-a-days and Alaparos couldn't suppress the shiver that went through his body. Was his only purpose being called here was to die so that others could read the future? While he didn't like to think of such situations, it was an undeniable possibility. Suddenly his dog tag felt much heavier and he had to force himself to calm down. As far as the others could tell, he was just a human with a physical disability. Nothing more, nothing less. He wasn't in any large danger now until whoever called them reared their head.

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Ah, she had been noticed. It wasn't too surprising, really. Eyre hadn't hidden herself too well, and she had been distracted by the change of atmosphere in the area. It felt similar to when she passed by the fields of coral at home, but not exactly. She was familiar with the ocean, first and foremost, and this was pretty new ground for her. Eyre did know, however, that this feeling was magic of some kind.

Whatever, the change retreated shortly after it started, and she had been noticed.

Eyre came out from behind the tree, ducking her head as she passed a low hanging branch. She casually rose her hands, one of which was still clutching her small dream journal that had lead her here in the first place. She made sure not to lower her head, as she did not want to intimidate them with her horns, even if all the rest of her was as intimidating as a guppy.

"Sorry for prying in," she started. Her voice was higher pitched, resting nicely in her mixed voice, but was strong, and naturally loud. As she approached, Eyre was able to get a closer look at all the beings that had gathered. A wolf, an elf, a scarecrow, and a human. Two humans, if she counted herself. The human, a young man wearing a metallic tag of sorts, was staring at her, seemingly without judgment. A thought flew around in her mind: that the tag the man wore was, in a way, similar to her coral. She quickly threw the idea out. After all, it was way more likely that it was just an accessory or heirloom of sorts. "I couldn't help but hear you guys talking about dreams. Specifically, a dream very similar to one of mine from last night." She held her journal close to her chest as she recanted her dream. "Um...someone named Oneiro had told me in this dream that some kind of corruption or curse was arising again and to go into these woods." she gently tapped the book as she recalled the words. "I was nearby anyways, so I decided to listen to the voice in my head." She took another look at the others. "Clearly, I wasn't the only one."

---

Very soon, Vale found himself confused. He'd gone in a few large circles, it seemed. Grimacing, he pulled his tome from his back and opened it, drawing some power away from the faces that stretched and warped the paper. Lifting his free hand, Vale muttered, "Forbidden Pathfinder." The effect was quick, his free hand suddenly filled with a sphere of what seemed to be green fire. Dropping the sphere, he watched as it stopped falling about three feet from the ground. The fire was, of course, not at all hot. It could hardly damage anything. It only served to lead the way to wherever the user wanted to go. Bringing forth the memory of the University, Vale watched the small green wisp start to drift. Following it, he found himself in a clearing, his spell floating merrily towards several other creatures. He halted, his tome contained once more in his bag.

He smiled softly, welcoming the girl into the conversation. His grip on the blanket thrown around his shoulders was still knuckle white but he had more or less schooled his expression into a kind one that bleed warmth and hospitality. There was nothing worse than being shunned from a conversation and he did his best to involve everyone fairly. The newcomer had more information than anyone had combined, providing not only a name for their mysterious caller but also shedding more insight into the nature of their shared dream. He opened his mouth to thank her but a full body shiver that he couldn't hope to mask ran through his spine. Accompanying it was a nostalgic scent that ran within his own magic, one that Alaparos was uncomfortably familiar with. Death, and those who lingered beyond the grave. "It appears that we may have more guests." He murmured, and suddenly his warm clothes didn't seem all that warm anymore. The smell of death didn't bother him but its familiarity did. It was almost like unlocking the door to a house before inhaling the comforting stench of the underworld. He wondered when he had become so accustomed to such dark things as he looked over his shoulder. Faintly he could see a green glow that gently floated towards him. A stray spirit? It wasn't that far fetched as he carefully extracted himself from the circle. Rolling towards the floating green ball, he tilted his head as he observed it. It didn't seem sad at all so it couldn't be a lingering spirit. In fact, it didn't really seem to have much emotions to it and he felt another chill ran down his spine. Despite it being one of his two specialties, death magic really did creep him out.

But perhaps what really unnerved Alaparos the most was the fact that beyond the trees, he could see someone. Perhaps it was the summoner of the stray spirit but bracketed around the hollow trees of this forest, it seemed much more larger than life. One thing was for sure though. Whoever it was, they were almost if not taller than his true form. And that was saying a lot.

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Vale held out his scaled talons, the wisp of a spell slipping towards him and hiding itself between his claws. Closing a fist around it, he allowed the magic to hide itself within the book once more. The serpent slithered forwards from the trees, his eyes examining the human before him that had approached his spell. "This isn't it," he muttered. "Unless you might happen to be a large institution of learning?" He spoke directly to Alaparos, asking him if he were the university which he ordered the wisp to lead him to. "Or perhaps you're broadcasting a disruption spell?" His voice was as cold as winters ice, matching his white scales with a haunting superiority. Though, to knock over his large and impressive display, he let out a yawn. His jaws stretched open, lifting to the sky. He'd just eaten, it seemed. A few traces of something's fur could easily be spotted between a few of his teeth, evidently all that remained of his earlier breakfast.

The change in the man's demeanor irked her. Was this guest to be feared? He had responded to her introduction with kindness, but this, this was fear. Or maybe it was dread. Either way, she widened her stance and lowered her head ever so slightly; a precautionary measure. On her horns, small seeds of water planted themselves on the coral, growing and spreading until even the base of the horns were covered and the air seemed ever so slightly more dry. Eyre would not attack unless provoked, but she felt safer with her magic.

The being approached them, he was a large, white humanoid snake. While his stature was intimidating, he showed no signs of aggression. She backed down, Eyre wasn't one to judge based off of appearances, but the human's initial reaction still kept her on edge and water on her horns.

---

Swallowing his suddenly parched throat, Alaparos submitted to his more baser instincts by ducking his head, exposing his neck in a meek display of submission. He didn't dare meet eyes with the taller (slightly taller than his true form he noted absently) while replying. "If you seek the university, it is past this forest." He replied, voice steady despite the shaking of his hands. "I'm not strong enough to cast anything as grand as a disruption spell nor am I knowledgeable enough to act as an institution of knowledge." While he was sure that he could take the summoner on in a battle, he was keenly aware that right now he was at a disadvantage in regards to combat. The twisting forest proved to be a hindrance to his mobility, wheelchair much to clunky to smoothly maneuver between trees not to mention that he was simply outclassed in his human disguise despite his magic specialties. But with the dissipation of the summoned soul, Alaparos' shoulders did loosen though his heart did yearn for that familiar presence of death once again. If he was more sound of mind, perhaps he would have laughed at the fact that before him was a serpentfolk while behind him was a sea-goat, the perfect combination to create himself, an Ophiotaurus centaur.

Now that the aroma of death had receded, Alaparos' eyes flickered to take in the full visage of Vale letting himself examine the snakefolk in his terrifying glory. The sight of a recently eaten meal oddly comforted him. It meant that the other wasn't in top shape and was most likely lethargic after a filling meal. He and the others who were gathered would most likely not be a target for a hungry predator. Or at least that's what he hoped dearly. He had been wrong on occasion before.

---

Vale's slit tongue flicked out, his attention shared among the other members of the clearing. "A puppet.. A sea-goat.. A Lupis.. An elf.. And.." Vale flicked his tongue out once more, his gaze once again settling on Alaparos. "Hm, how interesting. Surely none of you are casting a diminishing spell.. No, no.. So who manipulated my wisp, then? Curious.." Vale settled into his coils, his tail moving backwards around him and collecting his body in a large loop on the ground. "Some lethargic voice, maybe. Dares to inflict my pathfinder with such confusion.. Tch, carry on with your conversation. If the wisp wanted me here, so be it." He did keep one serpentine eye fixed upon Alaparos, a slight threat of knowledge affixed in the pupil.

With the potential threat gone in her mind, she shook the water off her horns. The water and her hair dispersed into the air, making her hair look even more of a mess than when she woke up. The only thing she did to fix it up was moving the hair out of her eyes. "I do have it written down in my journal here, so if we need it sometime in the near future I have it." she held out the journal. It was a small thing, it probably only held 150 pages, if you were feeling generous. It was binded in black faux leather and had a pencil tethered to it with some white string. Shortly after showcasing it, she ended up moving it closer to her chest again. Eyre didn't want anyone else to read it and she would make sure it would stay private until her death.

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"That's very helpful of you, thank you." He praised, turning to the young girl. If it weren't for her book perhaps they would all have been stuck and uncertain on how to proceed forward. Though his soft praise, Alaparos caught the serpantfolk's eye and his mouth twisted at the uncomfortably observant gaze that the other gave. It felt too knowing, too insightful. Snakes were renowned for their uncanny ability to sense and observe the unseen and though it had always been something that Alaparos was aware of, having such eyes turned on him was unnerving enough. Did Vale know something that he didn't? Or was the rouse up and his true race made known to the other? Such questions ran through his mind as he carefully wheeled himself back towards the group. He wasn't ashamed of being a monster, not at all it was an aspect of himself that he embraced and was a bit proud of, but having his race out there was dangerous. He'd rather not be a sacrifice on some rando's alter even if it was for the greater good, thank you. He rather liked being alive.

Glancing nervously at Vale, he gently smoothed out the crumpled up blanket out on his lap. "I suppose it would only be right to fill you in on our topic of conversation." He relayed, letting his nerves rest for now. It would only damage his body in the long run and it only felt right. "All five of us for some reason or another all shared the same dream. A vision perhaps but we were all called to this forest because of it. Currently we are attempting to decipher what it could possibly mean." also can you please stop looking at me like that went unsaid.

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"Ah, a summons to a forest near the university.." Vale tilted his head towards the sky, his eyes rolling slightly as he sought to recall what he'd heard himself. "You are aware that you’re dreaming, right? This is real, but it’s a dream. Consider yourself lucid, friend. I feel like we should get personal, don’t you? Hah, well I’m Oneiro, I’ll be in your head for the next... while. You see, it’s embarrassing to admit that I need your help. Don’t try and leave by the way, I will just paralyse you. Wait a sec, you can’t see me? That’s hilarious. I don’t care. So onto you helping me... ahem... This stunt I pulled was about five hundred years ago, so I beefed it looong ago. I overdid it and might have got myself trapped in the Dreamscape, which is here. I honestly didn’t know there were other people here. God, I’ve been so alone, the silence was unbearable. Why didn’t you find me before? What took you this long, you pathetic excuse of a— no, I must stop this spiteful act. I’m sorry, just.. please don’t wake up, you’re part of my only chance. Um... my point is that I can tell that the things behind Inanis University’s corruption are back. They’re corrupting.. people. And I’m quite sure they’re gonna try to get into power again. When I was around, they were called Curses, if that helps you. Oh, and you literally can’t say no to this by the way. If you hate this and don’t help me, I’m pretty sure you’ll die, or you can wait for me to give you a mental collapse. I know you’ve got time, you just graduated University yourself, didn’t you? Don’t test me, I know more about you than you do. I want you to go to the woods which is sorta close to your old Uni, you know the place. Don’t let me down. Please, everything relies on this. Now wake up, don’t be late, friend." After the lengthy recitation, Vale crumpled his face in a rather revolted manner, then opened his jaws and removed what appeared to be a bone from the back of his throat.

"Hm,it appears we're quite a handful.I doubt what's come will be challenging in the slightest. Then again,if this 'Oneiros' person you mentioned had to call so many capable wizards it must be quite a tall order..." he cut in. After introducing himself, he took a good look in the distance. "Excuse me for asking such a question but,do we have any sort of lead,a plan? Other than that,I'd say we move slightly deeper into the forest. It would seem a bit suspicious if anyone saw that many people gathered here." he calmly suggested.

"By the way,are we expecting more people?" he asked as he looked at everyone's faces,trying to both memorise them and manage to get an answer from their expression.

"Oh!Are you okay?" he asked as he placed his hand on Vale's back. "That was what was said in my dream,more or less." he added

---

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you for your concern. The only thing to guess at now is time.." He glanced up again, then said, "I'd say roughly fifteen minutes. Two or three in either direction, as it usually is." He worked his jaw a little, a small puff of deer fur escaping his maw, covered in saliva. "Make that ten."

Letting out a sigh, Alaparos still plastered a calm smile as he fiddled with the chain that held his tag. For his own sanity, he hoped that no one else was coming. He loved interacting with people and drew energy from it, yes, but there was only so much wild magical hijinks he could take before he simply popped a wheelie and wheeled himself off into the sunset. Having some weird borderline prophetic dream he didn't even remember clearly as well as meeting up with six creatures of varying races because of said dream was already a very wild magical hijink in of itself. Twisting the chain until it almost hurt, Alaparos allowed himself to sigh despairingly for a moment before he put on his best smile. It was trying times like these that he had to stay strong! Or at least that's what he told himself before twisting around in his wheelchair to properly face Hokori. "I believe that the deeper we go, the thicker the greenery will be. It may be wise to leave some sort of trail behind. While my wheel tracks may be the most recognizable tool to retrace our steps, perhaps making marks on the trees in order to find our way back may be advisable. It would be a shame if we lost ourselves within this twisting natural maze." He suggested. This was mostly for himself anyways, his internal compass attuned to what seemed like a completely different map than what was present. His sense of direction was so awful that he sometimes still got lost on well walked roads around the university.

---

Throughout the duration of many people arriving in all shapes and sizes, Finch had just been watching in a manageable amount of surprise. Their wisdom and foresight was, in her opinion, brilliant, though she’d never claim that. Something about this situation was wildly uncomfortable, but so soothing at the same time. The scarecrow found herself staying on the ground, looking at people with hard, inspecting glances. She finally spoke, her high pitched voice sounding more like a collection of squeaks. “I agree! We should keep walking. Maybe we’ll find some more people who had that dream of ours.” Finch’s button eyes moved towards Alaparos, nodding eagerly.

---

“At the moment...seems like nothing is going to happen if we just continue to stand here. Perhaps.” Azure shook out his fur slightly, and took a look in the general direction to which everyone had suggested going to. “Who knows? Maybe we’d actually find what we’re looking for further inside.” He looked at Alaparos after they had made the suggestion of leaving a trail. “That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially if we find ourselves lost further in.”

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Hokori was actually quite pleased that no one opposed his idea. "Seeing as most of us agree,let us proceed,yes?" he said while turning around and slowly beginning to walk further into the forest. There was a vast variety of natural sounds produced by animals,mostly birds,which would be a lot more pleasing and relaxing had there been no sort of mystery or possible danger. A lot of thoughts intruded his mind. Would they have to go to that other university 'Oneiros' mentioned? What were they up against? Was there any sort of reward or gift to compensate for risking their lives?

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"Maybe I can strip small pieces of bark off the trees?" Eyre suggested. She hadn't done it before, but she knew terrestrial goats did that, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. She would probably need some sort of indicator as well, as it's hard to see the sky with the trees overhead. The thought of walking brought her attention to her footwear. Even Eyre knew that her shoes weren't fit for this terrain, but she couldn't do much about it. If push came to shove though, she could just take them off.

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