She nodded, standing up and ready to follow Iteral outside. It was
already beautiful through the window, and it would only get better
as they go outside.
Iteral nods. "Hope you don't mind." She grabs Auspice's hand and
takes her outside, as the aurora first forms, a beautiful display
of colors... then it shrinks. It shrinks and lowers, before moving
a little oddly, revealing itself to be a pair of wings, as a person
forms in front of the aurora. "... greetings. Borealis has
arrived."
"Looks like she's talking at the city center. Let's go there."
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
The city center itself was empty, except for a pedestal where the
Borealis would land. Nearby were three beings, a wolf with a barrel
on it's back, a jester with golden adornments and in the middle, a
tall woman with a curved blade and now also having wings of aurora.
The wolf sniffs the two and growls, as the other beings turn to
them.
"Oh, a spectator? They are rare. Are they like the others?" She
mentions, revealing three other beings behind them... the three
leaders of this land, chained to the wall.
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
Auspice, out of instinct, drew her sickles, just in case anyone
were to come out and attack anyone randomly. "Iteral, why are these
people chained? What's going on? Is there any threats?" She asked,
a hint of stress and panic in her voice. It was obvious Auspice has
been through a lot in her life. She could barely trust anyone. Not
only that, but thats to Rhulk, she was told to trust no one... but
him. But she was willing to take the risk of trusting Iteral.
"Let the wolf do the work." Iteral raises her arms, as the wolf
leaps in front of them... but does not attack. It first smells
Iteral, howling in confusion and hitting it's own head. "Damn,
Warwick, you still can't?"
"Shut up... witch..." It snarled,
as even the others on the stage are confused and mutter between
each other. Then, it just circles around Auspice.
"Warwick is meant to protect the lands. The three chained behind
are the leaders of the land, they were unable to share the gifts of
the aurora. So they are punished. The woman at the top is Diana,
this year's leader of the aurora. Winterblessed. Warwick over here
can smell your overall... performance. You know, if you did good,
bad, all that."
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
She nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, how do I pass? Do I
fight him or something? Chill out? What am I supposed to do?" She
spoke, confused as she gripped her sickles tighter.
"It kind of smells your past. Basically, it smells what you have
done the past year and rates according to that. Be a good one, you
get a present. Bad one, you get mauled." Iteral explains very
casually. "Or you are me." Warwick still smells, occasionally
shaking his head because of Iteral's presence.
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
"I see... well... I hope he doesn't consider my past... well...
bad. Wait- does he know about my private moments too!?"
Auspice seemed a bit panicked at the realization, flustering
slightly. "Please don't tell me he knows all about that too..." She
grumbled, putting one hand on her forehead to gather her thoughts
together.
"Nobody does." Iteral shrugs, as Warwick decides to answer that
question instead. "Only smell good and bad... I ignore details." It
snarled, before howling and stomping on the ground. "You are...
good. Your husband... is not." It howls, though then goes back a
little disappointed. The woman smiles at her hound, as it slices
into thin air and a simple present drops in front of Auspice. "For
your troubles."
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
Rhuna pulled her hood over her head, her helmet forming back on
her. She eyed down the wolf as he laid down the verdict. "Hmph. I
see." She watched the woman and the present appear before her.
"Thank you." She hesitated opening the box for a moment, but she
ended up doing so, wondering what was possibly in there.
"Aw, your face was so pretty!" Iteral whines, as the jester
automaton now moves to them. "Do you have a way back?" It asked,
sounding insane and artificial. "Because I would like you to leave
before you leave the Beast to escalate because of your scent!"
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
She then had a second thought, and she was going to open the gift
when she got back home. "Yes, yes we do. I must be going, anyway. I
can sense a strong aura in the air. A tear in the space-time rift.
Iteral, you are coming, right?" She asked, pulling her sickles back
to her belt before picking up the gift, keeping it in her grasp.
"Of course. See you next year Diana! And I'll bring a bone!" She
waves, as the beast just scoffs a bit in disgust, waiting for
Auspice to do her thing. "They're nice if you are. Or chaotic like
me where a year is like fifteen."
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
As she listened to them, she couldn't help but let out a little
laugh. She made it to the strong aura area, causing the sickles to
start giving off a yellow-orange resonant glow. She set the gift on
the ground, drawing one sickle. She traced a big circle in the air
with the end of the sickle, causing a black portal to form. She put
her sickle back after her business and picked the gift back up.
"C'mon, Iteral. Lets go~" She chuckled before walking through the
portal, teleporting the, to the enterence.
Iteral leaps through with excitement, laughing a bit and landing
softly on both feet. "Well well well, someone's a great interior
designer!" She looks around, then at Auspice again. "Kind of
getting an... an Old Aperture vibe from this place, y'know? Just
more... stellar."
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
Auspice pulled down her hood and her mask dissipated off her head,
revealing herself again and causing her hair to flow out behind
her. She turned to Iteral, a smile on her face before looking back
around. "Yeah, he is quite the artist. All these designs and
statues are all by him!" She giggled getting excited. "Come, come!
I'll show you him!" She sounded super excited at this point,
grabbing Iteral's hand and dragging her around through the
labyrinth of the Pyramid. It was very, VERY spacious, and there
were many Scorn around, guarding throughout the Pyramid. They
all growled as they saw Iteral walk past, but Auspice told them not
to hurt her.
"My my, it's rare that people hate me without a reason. Are they
not that fond of other humans or is it my witch-like charm?" She
laughs a bit, letting herself be dragged and looking around in
amazement.
You know the first rule in combat?
Shoot them before they shoot you.
"It's because they think you are a Guardian. They greatly despise
the Light, and they always mistake anyone as a Guardian at first
glance." Eventually, the two made it to this area, getting close to where Rhulk was.
"We are almost there!" She giggled, helping Iteral getting on and
off the platforms as they went.