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Note: There will be no set posting order for characters in this thread; it may be treated as a free-for-all until the thread concludes on 4/7. You are not required to interact with other characters and may simply post your character's arrival and curiosity to investigate.

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Negative effect: 「unbearable heat/burning beneath the sun」

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It was unspeakably hot.

The Wastes were always warm, even searing, especially during the height of summer, but this was brutal. It felt as if the earth was on fire, and the sun seemed to bear down with an unrelenting vengeance as the first tentative leaves of spring had already begun to wither and curl beneath its ire.

Skyspear stood tall, the only unique feature in this parched landscape for miles. Your paws burn with each step toward it as the height of the afternoon sun felt as if it were searing the very fur from your skin; too much exposure and you worried it might actually start to smoke.

You press on, finding yourself at the base of this great structure. It never occurred to you to wonder how it came to be here - or, more curiously, who created it. The great pyramid was surely no natural construct forged by Mythris. It was too foreign, too strange, too… purposeful.

Sunlight glinted from its four impossibly smooth sides.

A single dislodged stone, seemingly rolled out and away from the base of the structure’s foundation, catches your attention and you move forward to investigate. From where it had been disturbed, you can see a small corridor leading down into the pyramid’s depths - and naught but inky darkness beyond.

Something itches at the back of your mind and you feel compelled to enter.

Which had woken her? The dream, the heat, or the need? The need to ask, to be answered. That had been her life for days - waking from one dream into another, unsure which were her memories or another's. Now though, she knew she was awake. Never before in a dream had she felt such unrelenting heat, an exhaustion that ached down to the very marrow of her bones. Have to find shelter, have to get away from the sun, was all she could think, her tongue like sand in her mouth.

If it hadn't been curiosity that drove her to investigate the corridor, it would have been raw, unrestrained instinct - escape, escape, escape. Escape the heat, the sun, the searing sand under her paws. That dislodged stone, that corridor, offered shade. What did it matter that it also offered danger, the unknown, possible death? So too did the scolding world outside of the pyramid's gullet.

Abandoned by rational thought, Esther scrambled into the corridor's darkness, away, away, away from the sun. Her tongue hung from her mouth, her eyes wide, and her body trembled with not only fatigue but a sudden wave of uncertainty and compulsion. Some part of her, at least, had enough sense to lean against the stony wall, dragging her scent along the path...

She wanted to reprieve and answers - something she slowly began to remember once more as the memory of the sun's heat drifted to the back of her mind - but not desperately enough to die in the dark.

skill: seer

Pheo's reincarnation had not been an immediate one. How long had it been since she had felt the sun on her back? Had felt the shifting sands under her feet?

Much time had passed between her death and now. All the while there was silence. Stillness. Dark and endless, undisturbed slumber. Peace.

It would not be so forever. For Pheonix Rising did just that, rise from the ashes to ashes and dust to dust by defying death into a new awakening.

The emptiness of her existence was filled with a dream. A dream of a god in wolven form, or so she assumed. Speaking of a place named Mythris. Asking for help. It was not the first time she had done all she could by the bidding of the gods. Had not sacrificed. She assumed the god speaking to be of her own and so, blindly, she heeded.

Yes. As you command. Her words a whisper on dry lips. Her throat hoarse. She stirred. She felt achy, like one might feel when sleeping for far too long. She had, after all. When sun and sky eyes opened, they remained narrowed, blinking rapidly. The light of day had never felt more bright!

After she felt she was able, Pheonix would Rise. At first a stumble like a newborn deer but soon she was moving swift along the sands towards the massive figure before her. She had never seen anything such as this before. This was a place of the gods, of their magic, their power, for sure.

Bless you, Osiris. He who brought on her resurrection. He who offered her new life. A life theirs to command.

When spotted, Pheonix dove into the dark depths of the pyramid without an ounce of hesitation.

Wisp was in a frenzy.
Every once in a while she thought she could feel her power flickering at the tips of her claws, a dormant ember protected deep inside her mortal form. She often searched for it, grasping, hoping, praying to her Queen that she might yield it for just a moment. The feeling, the urge, the pull, the dream -- waking with the memory of someone pleading for help, for guidance, it riled her in a way she couldn't remember ever being enraptured. It wasn't her magic that brought it on, nor was it her divine spirit she followed, but the summons of something else.
She didn't know where Auberon was, but she was sure he would understand. He was her home, a companion in a strange world, a friend she'd come to respect over millennia haunting the same woods. He would know... she'd be back. She wandered, she guided those who needed a light in the dark, and she would return.
Perhaps he would feel the pull, too.

A tunnel brought her to warmer pastures, but Wisp hadn't ever been hot in any life. She was fire incarnate, even in her mortal forms; not even dancing within the flaming forest had brought her discomfort, unless one counted the smoke. Sure, fire would still hurt like a bitch if she were dumb enough to touch it -a fact she loathed- but heat? Pfft. Bring it on.
Right?
But it was apparent something was wrong, despite Wisp's initial obliviousness to her rising displeasure as she failed to place the feeling of overheating. She carried on, legs stiff and tongue bouncing low with each pant. She followed the pull to one of the places in the dream figure had shown her, squinting up at the pyramid looming overhead. It wasn't until she watched the rock clatter loose and set her gaze on the dark, yawning entrance that she realized what was wrong -- it felt like she was sitting inside an inferno!
Unsettled, she surged forward, her small frame heaving with each breath as she struggled onwards. She thought she saw someone else slip in ahead of her, but with a friendly burst of chirpy barks, Willowisp barged in next.

Wisp had no fear. She'd been called here, and with a job to do, she was frantic to see what secrets the pillar held.

She'd been to this place once before, when she had been young, deemed it worthless with it's lack of prey and other wolves in the area. But..

It's changed.

The sands have shifted from what she was used to, overnight what had once been a familiar backdrop changed, the sands retreating to form other things she couldn't see. So she had decided to get a better look.

And then she had the dream.

It felt wrong, the man that was not a man, familiar and yet not, telling her to seek out the pyramid.

The boring, unworthwhile pyramid.

And it brought her to hell.

Scorching her back, toasting her fur in unpleasant ways, burning her pawpads in the sun OH how she longed for shoes. Pollux was now heading towards the pyramid for it's welcoming shade, to hide out until the sun went down and it cooled down for her to explore further...but when she saw others enter through a hole...well.

May as well go see who else had been called to this hellscape.

The beast of a yearling made her move, slipping in after the others.

Things had shifted again.

Valor had watched from the savanna, as the earth rumbled, recieved dreams...she had to go explore. Wandering as she was, with no pride to claim as her own anymore or weird not-hyenas to take care of, these lands had held no ties for her.

So, she swam. She walked. For what seemed like days. The sun baked into her pelt as she denied her urges to sleep through the hottest part of the day. And then she was here.

With more not-hyenas scurrying off into the weird rock.

Seemed they had the right idea, though...she had to crawl her way inside, after the last not-hyena made it's way through. Can you darlings even see in the dark? she questioned, as if she wasnt the rarity here.

Piece : 「 1 」 

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As the unbearable heat radiates across you, there is a distant breeze of cold air. It’s small, and truthfully you’re almost positive you imagined it in your desperation for reprieve. A chill rushes down your spine, triggering your guard hairs to ripple up as you feel goosebumps blanket your back. For a moment you nearly forget the burning sensation that has been tormenting you since stepping foot near the towering structure. There is another gust of wind, faint yet promising a cooling breath. Where could it have been coming from? Logically you consider leaving, turning around and quickly making your way back from whence you came. Though a large fraction of you refuses to abandon the unnatural pull, regardless of how badly it burns. Your body begs for respite, but you are hypnotized by the the pull.

You must push forward, it is calling to you. Do not stop. Do not fall victim to the heat. Keep moving. Can you feel it? Find it. You must. the Dream Visitor whispers from the depths of your subconscious. Without thought, your limbs begin to move on their own, marching themselves further into the personified Hell that was the shadowy halls of the pyramid.

Another cold breeze, it smells refreshing, like the first sign of winter. It doesn’t make sense, albeit you revel in the relief it offers. You can’t help but follow each way the wind blows, even as you stumble blindly within the darkness. You are nothing more than a puppet to be controlled— left, right, forward, back, left, right. Eventually the air blows from directly above you, and as you sit to bask within its embrace, you see a faint, blue glow on the ceiling.

Strange, indescribable etchings are carved intricately into the sandstone. You’ve never seen anything like it before, but your heart hammers in your chest with a spark of relief. You’ve found it! the Dream Visitor’s voice is filled with appreciation, but then the chant begins. Ut sepal kina ali eaken, ut sepal kina ali fulfin dre krokhecyl fir lith eipal hale satificil iarsellal fir.  Fir dre wolf’al life sepil gilen fir yiar tuan. Words and pronunciations you couldn’t properly mimic even if you tried. As you wonder what it means, you notice the glowing of the engravings grows brighter.

The heat has calmed, quickly, you must flee this area. Reach safety and wait for me, I shall visit you once the incantation is complete. Do not fall victim to the pull of the heat. Run. In the wake of his words, your body cools and you take in the sudden sense of loneliness. The Visitor was no longer watching your every move. You should escape the burning sands while they are still calmed.

skill: seer

She is not the only one to be drawn here. Not the only one which the gods choose to speak to. Other filter in. Had they been dead all this time too? Had they been reborn, to do as what was required by those far greater then themselves?

The last to come was a lioness. It was this one which the Egyptian bows to respectfuly as she speaks. رؤية باستيت. (Vision of Bastet.) She does not know this woman. Does not know if she speaks her words and knows her ways. Yet the respect is offered there anyhow, for the creature who wears the face of the gods. As herself, of Anubis.

There were a great many gods. Some much more powerful then others. Bastet was high among them.

Yet these greetings are quick and fleeting. Pulled by strings they were, twisting and turning through corridors, deep further and further into the heart of the gods temple. Eventually, she comes to a sit, her body feeling like jello, her head spinning. Her movements were not her own. The chill touched her soul. The ceiling glows. And then - leave, run and so the puppet does. Those who had come along with her long forgotten in the face of her new life's mission.

Esther presses herself against the stone wall, seeking to become one with the shadows. She moves carefully, as if she might be able to slip away from the notice of any others that had sought the sanctuary - the answers - of the strange place. But of course, one could not hide from whatever pulls her forward. She was but a leaf within a river, coursing through the darkness until...

Desperately, she tried to copy the words... To understand, to seek familiarity within them... Yet, they slip away from her. It frustrates her, and she suppresses a growl from deep within. It feels as if her very skull could split in two, or that her heart might simply fight its way through her chest to join the rhythm of the chant...

Flee.

She does not need to understand anything more than that, and her body responds long before her mind could comprehend. Esther did not need to even think of where to go - instinct drives her out, out, out. Even when she feels the sun and sees the light, she does not stop.