* Da Party is spit out from one of the monoltihs; this one bears a perfectly circular
circle upon it.
* And everyone but Trast, (and possibly Carter) cease to do anything, cuz their players
aren't there.
<Trast> Do any of you recognize this place?
<Trast> ( Trast says, to the cardboard cutouts)
<Carter> Not in particular, no.
<Trast> ( and how did we get here again, Elo? )
* The surrounding landscape is pretty bleak. There's a paved path leading to a city
onwards, some distance off, and the monolith itself is on top of a plateu.
( Elo's Plot Teleport spell, yeah. )
<Trast> Hmmm. Well, perhaps this Monolith is "mine" then.
* Trast wanders up and examines it.
<Carter> We must so assume. Good luck, Trast.
* You can all but see a brittle blade floating within. It's more like a memory of it being
there being triggered, and some kind of sixth sense confirms it.
* Trast tries to focus on it more clearly.
<Trast> I see something....
<Trast> I think.
* It's -there-, you know it. The only thing lacking is the actual visual knowledge of
seeing it, but the knowledge of it is so complete, it almost subsititues for seeing it.
* Trast reaches out for it.
* And as soon as Trast makes contact with the monolith, he monolithifies, freezing in
position, assuming the same inky black texture of the monolith.
<Trast> ( monolithifies is *so* not a word)
* The surface ripples, showing a scene within....
( Bah. I know. )
<Trast> ( I like it though ^^;)
* Trast, with two figures to either side of him. Clay and Anya. The three of them are
facing each other in a triangle. The backdrop to this is ... a cave. The whole experience
has a curiously lucid feel to Trast.
* Awaymancer huhs. "This is the first time there haven't been words on the screen. Unless
there weren't on mine."
<Awaymancer> (Gah! That was Carter.)
( BWA HAHAHAHAHA! PC FLUB! )
<Trast> ( what on earth are you talking about?)
<Trast> ( And can *everyone* see this, or just me Jex? )
<Carter> ( Everyone can see it; it plays out on the monolith surface. )
( Everyone can see it. Its just that you're the only one -in- it. )
<Trast> ( Gotcha)
<Trast> (To Anya) Who are you?
* Anya is a young human girl. Yay human! She's lacking one arm, and is wearing a brown
leather jacket with one arm cut off. She's blond, and has a streak of hot pink in her
hair, and looks 'bout 16, and a bit on the thin side.
<Anya> I'm Anya Greyholmes.
<Trast> And you would be a Lord of Light?
* Anya nods. "Yep!"
<Trast> I take it you are proud of your position then.
<Anya> Well, kinda. I was just a kid when all the cool stuff was happening. So it's kind
of like a peacetime promotion.
<Trast> Oh? Did you replace another then?
* Anya giggles. "No, I was just a baby when the whole thing started for me. What are you,
from the stone age? I thought everyone knew."
<Trast> Yes, I am.
<Trast> You couldn't tell?
<Trast> Seems as though your education is lacking as well.
* Anya draws a blank look. It's replaced by a excited one. "You really are? Wow!"
* Carter facepalms. "No wonder Tobias said he liked her."
* Clay uncrosses his arms, and looks at Anya. "You have a task to perform. As do I."
<Trast> I suppose that would be to stop me?
<Anya> Quite the opposite, really. Unless thats part of what it takes for you to see.
<Trast> Oh? I thought you Lords ( Trast waves his hand to indicate both of them) were
trying to stop us?
* Anya giggles. "But I think either of us could mop the floor with you currently, so
probably not."
<Clay> Do not drag politics from outside into here. This is your place.
<Trast> What makes it mine? I do not hunt here, I do not live here.
* Anya taps Trasts head with her sole arm. "Because this is all going on up there, baka."
<Carter> ...funny, she doesn't look Japanese.
<Anya> You've gotta see. Because you're in between us.
<Trast> What is it I'm supposed to see?
<Anya> My story. And his. *points to Clay.*
* Clay dosen't do much besides stand there, arms crossed.
<Trast> And what will knowing your stories do?
<Anya> I'm not sure. But you're in the middle. You have to see them to obtain your key to
unlock the power trap.
<Trast> "trap" ?
<Carter> Now _that_'s interesting.
<Trast> this is a trap?
<Trast> set by whom?
<Anya> The whole world is. 'cuz noones found a way out.
<Trast> I see. If listening to your story will help me return home, then by all means,
start talking.
* Trast points at Clay.
<Trast> Lets hear your story first.
* Clay uncrosses his arms. "My story starts many years ago. My father was the sole
surviving practioner of the Dragons Soul style."
<Trast> A style of combat?
<Clay> A form of martial arts, that excelled at focusing and using ones own energy.
<Clay> My father, in his desire to make sure his progeny could continue his school, had
his only son genetically enhanced shortly after he was born. Me. *Clay tightens a shaking
fist.*
<Trast> ( Aaah, so you desired to kill him and take your mother for your own </frued> )
<Clay> And naturally, I was brought up in the Dragons Soul style as soon as I could start
to walk. My father was an excellent teacher, but he was relentless in his ideals. Power
and skill were the only morals he would recognize.
<Trast> What morals do you recognize?
<Carter> ( <Frued> Zo he encouraged these desires, suggesting you could have your mozer if
only you could take her... )
<Clay> Power and skill.
<Carter> ( Shouldn't Trast be asking what 'morals' are? )
<Trast> So you complain because your father recognized the same morals you do?
<Trast> (No, trast knows what morals are. Don't hurt your tribemates.)
<Clay> I do not complain.
<Clay> I detested my father. But I wasn't allowed to quit until I surpassed him. And once
I did, I killed him, and took up the mantle of teacher.
<Trast> "Weren't allowed to" What would have stopped you?
<Clay> The rules that he raised me with. He was stronger than me, and had to be obeyed.
<Trast> Why did you follow these "rules"
<Clay> Because they were all I knew at the time.
<Trast> Continue.
<Clay> As teacher, I was without students. I travelled the worlds, seeking worthy
students, but none were to be found.
<Trast> What makes a person "worthy" ?
<Clay> The potential to become strong.
<Trast> How do you determine potential? Isn't the whole point of "potential" is that it is
not known yet?
<Trast> ( and if someone says the curl of A, I will kill them )
<Clay> I can read the soul, and the soul does not lie.
<Carter> ( o/~ )
<Trast> Very well.
<Trast> ( Yes cameron, this includes you. )
<Carter> ( So, Soul stat represents potential? Wow, Carter has practically no potential at
all. :P )
<Clay> Eventually, I met the Pirate Lord, Garos. He offered to help me find students, in
exchange for working with him.
<Clay> I agreed, and joined him, with the agreement that I would split ways once I found
someone to pass my knowledge onto.
<Clay> We plundered the whole of over 40 systems, and I found not one worthy.
<Clay> And then we who called ourselves Space Pirates got trapped in the Realm.
<Clay> We easily gained positions of authority through blood and combat, and all the while
I was getting stronger.
<Clay> And I resumed my search for a worthy student.
<Trast> Why do you want to find a student? So you can have some sort of "legacy" ?
<Clay> To pass on the Dragons Soul style.
<Clay> It is my duty as the sole teacher to keep it from dying out.
<Trast> Duty to who? A man you hate?
* Clay nods. "I cannot escape his legacy."
<Clay> Years later, one came, in the form of a baby. A small girl, who's soul cried of
greatness.
<Anya> That's me! ^_^
* Clay ignores Anya, and continues. "I took her in, with the intent of raising her and
passing on my style."
<Clay> And then her father, with one other, came to claim her. I challenged him for
possession of her, and ... lost to their magicks.
<Trast> You took the baby from the mother then?
<Clay> The babe was alone when I found her.
<Trast> Not much of a father then.
<Clay> From here, her story and mine blend together.
<Trast> Then each of you contribute your part.
<Clay> She sought me out years later.
<Anya> Becuase thats when my powers were starting to kick in. My dad wouldn't tell me
anything about them, so I went to find him. 'cuz he was gonna teach me before, that much I
knew from overhearing meetings my dad was in.
<Trast> ( To Clay) She seemed to have no problem with disobeying her father.
<Anya> Me and my dad really never got along. He's so strict, and sad. And mean!
<Anya> And he'd never talk about Mom...
<Anya> Much less show me what to do with all this power. *She points at Clay* He would.
<Trast> And you thought him to be a good model?
<Anya> Hmph. Better than -my- dad.
<Trast> Regardless...
* Anya assumes a mocking voice. "Oh I'm a Lord and I'm so great and I don't have any time
for you and you should behave yourself because you mom would want you to!"
<Anya> He was always like that. Sometimes I wonder if he's really my dad, because he
dosen't even look human anymore. He used to.
<Trast> You're father is also a Lord? Do you know his counterpart?
<Anya> Counterpart? What? Huh?
<Anya> I dunno. He'd never talk about that kind of stuff with me.
<Trast> Who would replace Clay and I if he were there instead of you.
<Anya> You mean like in this thing? Um... I dunno.
<Trast> Oh well. What happened when you returned to Clay then.
* Clay nods. "She came to me, and I taught her as much as I knew. She learned quickly, and
had amazing power. But then her father learned of it, and was furious. He came again
against me with the same murderous intent as before."
<Anya> But I stopped him.
<Trast> How permanently?
<Anya> With just words... I saw him cry.
<Anya> And then he left me and Clay alone. I got stronger, and it was Clay, and not Xelph,
my dad, who let me in the loop of Lords.
<Anya> Try as I might, I couldn't get the Dragons Soul style down, though. I had the
power, but not the focus.
<Clay> When I realized that, I dropped the training.
<Anya> That sucked. That really really sucked. But I had power now! Well, I already had
it. But I knew how to use it now.
<Trast> I thought your power was unfocused?
<Clay> I left to continue to search the Realm in search of another, and she went back to
her father.
<Anya> Really unfocused.
<Anya> And it's all my story now.
<Trast> Clay: I take it you have not found another?
<Clay> I have not.
<Anya> Anyyyyways. I went back to my dad. He was so mad at me.... especially after I
showed him what I could do.
<Anya> He was so mad at me now that I was on his level. He said I wasn't ready to handle
such power. *grin* He may have been right.
<Anya> Because a little after that, I tried to blow something up. With everything I had.
'cuz I was mad at him, too.
* Trast takes a significant look at Anya's not-arm.
* Anya holds up her empty sleeve with her one arm. "Thats when that happened."
<Anya> When I woke up, my dad was out finding a healer to fix it.
<Trast> So, what did you learn from that?
<Anya> That having your arm disintegrate really hurts.
<Anya> Anyayways. He found one... but I had made up my mind. I'd keep it like that. As a
reminder. I'd show him that I could be responsible.
<Anya> But that caused another fight.
<Anya> So I took off again.
<Anya> Whenever we see each other, we get in a fight. Unless it's in a meeting, and then
we just ignore each other.
<Any> But anyways, that's my story! ^_^
<Anya> And....
* Anya reaches behind her back, and grabs a brittle-looking blade, that seems to be almost
visibly emenating power.
<Anya> This one's the most important of the seven.
<Trast> Who rates them?
* Anya shrugs. "I dunno."
<Trast> Then where did you get that information.
<Trast> And also, do I need to do anything other than hit things with it for it to "work"
?
<Anya> Um... from you. You know this. I'm just reminding you.
<Trast> ... I see.
<Anya> Ano.... not sure how it works. I just know that it's the most important one.
* Anya waves it around a few times, then offers it to Trast.
<Anya> You get to shape it.
<Anya> You like axes, right? It could be an axe if you want. ^_^
* Trast takes the blade.
* A voice in your head sounds, once you take a hold of it. "Choose a form."
* Trast looks at his old axe.
<Trast> I'm used to this shape.
* The sword takes that shape. It's stille got a brittle appearance to it, and the feeling
that it's leaking with power.
<Anya> Bye now!
* Anya waves, and fades out.
<Trast> ( so this thing looks like an easily shatterable old stone axe? )
* Clay dosen't wave, and just stands there with his arms crossed. He fades out as well.
* From the grip, the apperance seems to be rather decieving... you get the feeling it
wouldn't break even striking with it as hard as you could.
<Trast> ( I figured that much )
* Reality starts crumbling away, flakes of it dropping off, the cave being replaced by
emptiness.
<Trast> ( Trast attempts to catch reality flakes in a can, to feed to fish later. )
* And the Trast in the here-and-now unmonolithifies; with the brittle-looking axe in hand.
* Trast looks for something hard to smash with it.
* The monolith itself resumes it's inky-black surface... and the circle on it starts
glowing.
<Trast> ( Do I think that hitting the monolith would be a Bad Idea (TM)? )
( I dunno. Does he? )
<Trast> ( So no "Thing I already knew" remembrence from "before" ? )
( Oh, you remember everything that happened in there. )
<Trast> ( but nothing like that for this? )
( Nope. )
<Trast> ( so whats the hardest looking thing around that isn't the monolith.. or a PC ^^;
)
* There's a couple of random rocks strewn around, too. They look nice and tough.
* Trast attempts to smash one with his old axe.
<Trast> ( failure? )
* The old axe makes a resounding *thud*, and chips fly off.
* Trast smacks it with his new axe.
* The new axe makes a louder sounding *thud*.
( Ah, I remember what Trasts group was: Wildcard. )
<Trast> Hmmm. obviously thats *not* how it works.
<Trast> I'll need to look at this more.
( And unless Carter's gonna say anything, or ye wanna do anything more... )
<Trast> ( well, do I have any access to something to examine this thing? 
( Not ATM. )
* Trast asks, then commands the thing to work.
<Trast> ( if that doesn't work, I'm done. )
* Nothing much happens. And Carter says his sensors can't read it.
<Trast> (Then I'm done. )
* Endzezezesesezesesez.