Calm Minds {Bronze Woods}

by **Noaru** on June 25th, 2013, 10:02 pm

Summer 84, 513 A.V.

Silent Whispers filled the voids silence--this void being the woods surrounding a figure clothed in black, he was materializing into view. The figure cloaked in utter blackness indulged in the silence around him, his smile carrying every bit of joy his soul had. The summers breeze graced the woods with its presence, cheerful leaves run with the wind, passing the figure by in their pursuit. The figure despite being accompanied by his happiness was overcome with sorrow, he couldn't find the truths he so desperately sought after. The spirit's form flickered in the warm summers light as he neared complete materialization.

There was no one he could confide to, no one he could relate to, no one to acknowledge his suffering. Angry... He was filled with stifling, bitter hatred towards the cause of his suffering which even now, remains unknown to him. five-hundred years is a long time and he has been searching for this long for his truths, pieces that would free him from imperfection! This imperfect which he called The Dark was a soul compromising aspect, it is the very foundation of evil--not to be mistaken for the absence of light.

He understands this compromising aspects purpose, it serves as the core of his powers. The very appearance he upholds is a physical manifestation of it; he cannot deny that which cannot be hidden from the self but he seeks to suppress it. He wants to prevent this aspects advancement towards his soul. He materializes completely, standing amongst the tree's.

by **Noaru** on June 29th, 2013, 8:45 pm

There was always darkness, darkness and more darkness around him, everywhere he ventures--darkness greeted him. The element had an heavy influence over him just as his influence was over darkened hearts; he sought after souls who's radiance was dying and who's hearts were plagued with doubt and insecurities. The spirit saw no difference between him and the darkness, including the evil that lingered within the psyche.

A being born from such profound aspects, he understood what good and wickedness that resides within people. Yes! He knew the wickedness, the sickness that extends faster than light and brings forth more destruction than fire and lightning. The ''wicked sickness'' lacked a definite name but its meaning was known by all and could be interpreted by all things--spoken in all tongues!

A dark chuckle leaves the spirits mouth and his voice echoes throughout the woods, madness couldn't describe the outrageousness Noaru was feeling. The weight of his sins and years had finally caught up to him, he remembers all the wrong he's done throughout the centuries and the pain and hatred in the eyes of those he's harmed. It was only right for an existence such as himself to disappear; yes, fade away from this world he's loved for so long.

Noaru felt the centuries long heaviness fade into oblivion and soon he to would follow it. The years long sadness, disappointment and dread--they began to vanish... one by one. A voice calls out to him just as he was about to completely let go, it was a nostalgic voice but he couldn't grasp the mans voice entirely.

by **Noaru** on July 20th, 2013, 7:51 am

Noaru's eyes flashed open; he's in an open field of flowers. He remembers these flowers as the wind gently blows. These were the flowers that grew near his home before that fateful day.This field being the place where he met someone, someone that was precious to him; he couldn't remember this person despite his efforts to try.

The voice called to him to again: a mans voice, it felt close to him yet it echoed as if it was distances away. Instinctively he ran towards the voice, it was the voice of someone dear to him...someone precious. Noaru tried to fly but his body would not abandon the earth. So he ran, ran as fast as he could in order to reach this person! The voice yelled out a strange name continuously as he runs across the flower field... ''Radjutlas''. The meaning behind this name, he knew all to well and as he ran and the voice felt close to him. A sudden whirlwind whips, and pushes him backwards.

Noaru quickly regained his composure and proceeded to charge forward; wind was beating him and tearing bits of soulmist from his body. The pain, he ignored it and pushed forwarded, his will unrelenting! He would reach this person at all costs even at the cost of his own life. Noaru stumbled through the shrubbery and meets face-to-face with an elderly man, who reaches out towards him and smiles warmly.

Noaru's eyes widened and an overwhelming sadness overtakes him. A teardrop would have fallen from Noaru's face, if he was capable of shedding them. The spirit barely capable of standing, stands proudly to his feet while in excruciating pain.

by **Noaru** on July 24th, 2013, 7:09 pm

The elderly man continued to smile at Noaru, his eyes emitting a feeling of age, security and wisdom. Noaru finally fell to his knee's, he was overjoyed, he knew who this person was... he was named Vasq. A teardrop streamed down Noaru's left cheek as he began to cry; he'd missed Vasq so much, he missed the only person who truly loved him. Vasq crouched and placed his hand on the spirits head, paying no mind to the spirits distorted form. Noaru looked up, realizing the reality of things around him!

Noaru knew this wasn't real but he wanted to believe, he wanted to cry, he wanted to feel his emotions and not remain as an empty husk. The most cherished of his memories were returning and he stood up with a partial smile upon his face. Vasq stood up with him and chuckled, as if realizing what lost memories Noaru had reclaimed. The spirit embraced the man that was a father to him and cried, he cried deeply, forgetting what pride he held.

Vasq and Noaru released each other from their embrace and began to walk through the forest. Noaru's clothing turned white, his complexion lightened and he took on the appearance of a young man. A form Noaru has only shown to those he trusts. The spirit told him everything—all that he knew, experienced and remembered! Noaru was happy the happiest he's ever been but he knew this was an illusion... one he didn't mind staying in.

There were memories he'd forgotten coming back to him, he was starting to remember the life he had before the Valterrian. Noaru eyes changed from red to blue, losing the inhumanity within them entirely. He looks to Vasq with a grin on his face, remembering all the years they spent together. The greatest of his memories were restored but he knew—he would have to face the worst of them eventually.

“ Father, I've missed you so much. The pain and misery I've felt through the centuries. I endured only for you, knowing that you would be saddened, if I ceased to exist in this world. I understand now, the meaning behind you appearing beside me again, thank you. ”

by **Noaru** on August 1st, 2013, 7:26 am

“Radjutlas, my son, you hold onto my memory to strongly.”

Noaru heard his father’s words and he knew what Vasq was going to say next. The spirit backed away, unwilling to physically hear his father’s last words. Vasq faced his son, his expression of warmth and happiness, turning sad and empty. The elderly man walks towards Noaru and places a hand onto the spirits shoulder. Noaru's kept his eyes closed, his head tilted downwards and his fists clenched tightly, bracing himself, for the words he would inevitably hear. Vasq placed his other hand onto Noaru's other shoulder, he closed his eyes also, as his head lowered--he utters these words to Noaru.

“Let me go.”

Noaru's eyes opened, they meet with Vasq's eyes. The spirit understood what this meant as Vasq's body steadily began to fade; as if he was dust--the wind steadily began to carry him away. Noaru looked at his own body, he to was disappearing; his body slowly being consumed by invisible flames. The flames burned him and with the pain, his memories of the Valterrian resurfaced. The spirit was consumed by turmoil, as his mind and soul relived a moment where he and the world almost perished.

The flames now coating the spirits body burned fiercely! Noaru yelled in pain and agony--the flames which consumed and burned only him erupts and turns the flourishing and vibrant world around him... into an ocean of fire. In his torment, memories in multitudes of thousands fill his mind, closing the gaps within his consciousness! These memories with the preciousness of gold and the coldness of silver were cradled fondly within his suffering soul.

In his suffering, the whiteness of the spirits eyes blacken, light abandoning them entirely. This blackness, a daunting gift from melancholia and this, shrunk Noaru's pain. The next to change were his eyes; they became royal blue, symbolizing the first tear he witnessed falling from Vasq's left eye. The spirits pupils turned dark-crimson, they lengthened--edges pointed like a serpents eyes. This deepening red, represents the egregiousness which never leave him. The flames which caused his suffering clothed him, becoming an extremely aged and grey cloak.

Noaru, with his memories restored, stands alone in a desolate world--held deep within his own mind, he finds solace within his soul. A world where the earth is completely scorched and a single, leafless tree stands is where Noaru remains as of now. The spirit believed this was all going on within his mind, or soul; he looked upon this world with gratitude, thanking it for what it has done--awaiting for his next trial.

by **Noaru** on August 11th, 2013, 6:24 am

“I've lost my mind and now remain trapped within my own tormented soul.”

These severe hallucinations, this whole time, were showing him different moments of his life. He knew the meanings behind them but some were strange and painful--like the one now. This strange appearance he maintains, reminds him of the many he had taken before, it was like a mixture of all his previous appearances. The old tree standing before him, its branches were moving! The branches slithered in place, never moving close to one another--waiting at the bottom of this tree was Vasq.

The old man patiently waited beneath the slithering tree, knowing that the spirit would approach him, knowing that Noaru had changed. Noaru steps forward and the tree's branches move erratically through the air, as if agitated by the spirits presence. The branches lunged forward, creaking and moaning in their approach. Noaru didn't bother to avoid the branches in seconds they reach him and stop inches away from his pupils before returning to their original place. Vasq grinned and tapped the earth with his cane; something beneath the earth disturbs the soil and causes a small hole to form between the spirit and the old man.

There was a silence between Vasq and Radjutlas; one smiles as the other realizes the truth. The clouds that were in the gray-scaled sky, slowly moved across the sky, oblivious to the stillness beneath them Vasq was the one to break the silence, he wanted to speak, he wanted to release his son from this.

“That day when we met, you were a feral creature. I could barely approach you back then. I was astounded seeing an entity like you, roaming the woods on that bright summer’s day. The sense that you were something more, something slightly different from a ghost overcame me. I eventually taught you how to read and speak--like a parent raising a child.”

Noaru remembers that day when a human approached him. A stubborn man would come to see him and talk to him everyday, telling him stores of how his day went and how he felt about the world. Noaru chuckled, as he used to throw rocks at Vasq but the human persisted and eventually gained his trust. Noaru remembered those days outside those city walls, how hostile the world was. The monsters that roamed in darkness at night, he remembers how they sound in the dark and how they waited for movement; hating all forms of life.

“Radjutlas, my son I was happy to have spent the last moments and years of my life, raising you as my own--even though, you were not my child by blood. The time as of now isn't good for you Radjutlas; you are still not strong enough to see the road ahead.”

Vasq raises his right hand off of his cane and opens it... a leaf. A leaf flew from Vasq's hand and onto Noaru's forehead. The spirit grabs onto the leaf and tries to step forward but freezes in place. Two large, primal eyes stared from the hole Vasq had created before and a deep growl resonated from its depths. Noaru's head ached; he knew what was inside the hole. A part of him he that was subdued and chained by Vasq's kindness, something he was not ready to face. This part of him had deep eyes filled with resentment and malice; it was looking at him, clearly smiling, as its eyes narrowed menacingly.

A powerful wind forces Noaru from Vasq, rapidly causing his body to disintegrate. He fought against the wind, clutching his fists as he tries to punch and tear at the wind. Noaru wanted to ask Vasq a question, one that was simple and yet meaningful. A question he remembers himself asking Vasq before but he couldn't remember the answer. The illusion filled world faded into nothingness, as Noaru regains consciousness in the Bronze forest floor, floating on his back.

“Why did you care, for something like me Vasq?”

Noaru opened his hand and a single leaf was there, resting in the center of his palm.

by **Noaru** on August 22nd, 2013, 6:25 am

“I'm alright....”

Noaru said those words, as he stared towards the dim blue sky. The spirit sat up and dusted the tree leafs off of his body; he was acting different than usual. Noaru looked around him and saw nothing but the surrounding vegetation and wildlife. The spirit laughs, he laughs so loudly that he disturbs a flock of birds resting in the trees above him. Noaru was overjoyed, his lost memories had returned; he wasn't lacking anything anymore, he was complete... made whole again!

However, his happiness couldn't hide the fact he'd killed people, dozens of them. Noaru remembers this and his head aches, he could hear the screams and flames crackling against burnt flesh; he can hear himself laughing from the darkness, enjoying the dark moment. Noaru covers his eyes with his hands and shudders; he couldn't believe the atrocities he'd committed. The spirit's mouth opened slightly but not to utter words; only to smile sinisterly. That tinge of noxiousness still remained within him and he liked it, he embraced it.

Insects buzzed in the treetops above, dusk was approaching and night would be following closely. He would need to move, remaining anonymous was imperative, considering his nature, having many people know of his existence wouldn't be beneficial. The spirit reached down, focusing soulmist throughout his spiritual form; his will ignites to interact and pick up the stick. He didn't have a profound purpose for the twig; he just wanted to lift the little fragment of wood. Noaru was now certain that he was in the real world, not that imaginary world of distortion and pain.

He was happy that his days of seeking completion and solace were over but what would he do now? There was nothing to hold onto, no one for him to confide to... he had nothing. The completion of him didn't solve anything after all, or maybe it did? A grey moth flies from the forest onto the tip of the stick Noaru was holding; its yellow eyes looked into Noaru's eyes, as if trying to tell him something. The spirit watched as the grey moth travels down a path to his right and lands onto a large tree. The moth just sits there, waiting for his arrival.

“Where are you trying to lead me to little one?”

Noaru levitates over to the tree the moth was resting on, wondering why the little insect would take such a path.

by **Noaru** on October 14th, 2013, 12:47 am

“Where did you go little one? ”

Noaru grinned as the moth fluttered in front of him, its tiny wings capturing his heart. There was this uplifting feeling that Noaru felt, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Noaru indulges in the moth’s playful presence, as the moth and he traveled down the path together. This reminded him of the time he once followed Vasq and journeyed with him across the old world. Those were good times, moments where he came to understand humanity and freedom.

A shadow moves in the corner of his eye which immediately gains the attention of the spirit. Noaru glared to his right and saw nothing. The spirit looks in the direction where he noticed movement but continues to follow the moth. However, when he looks to find the moth, it wasn't there. Noaru looks around for the moth and checks the bushes by poking them with a stick he had been holding.

Noaru felt a little sad, he couldn't understand what the moth was trying to show him and now he wouldn't be able to find out. The spirit questioned whether or not the moth was actually trying to show him something: maybe, he was losing his grip on reality like before. Noaru drops the stick once he realizes a grave was ahead of him. The spirit approaches the grave and notices that there was an object hidden beneath some decayed roses.

A white teddy bear, sitting about ten inches tall rested on the tomb stone with a white ribbon tied around its neck. The bear gave off a strange aura and its eyes were piercing. Noaru stared at bear, as it stared back at him. The emotionless eyes they observed each other with shimmered in a similar light. The spirit extends a tendril of soulmist and places a rose next to it—in order to prevent the bear from falling over.

“I’ll be seeing you later, little one”

Noaru turns away from the grave but just as he does so... a rustling occurs in the roses. He turns around sharply and notices that the stuffed animal was gone, it was apparent that something had moved, or it had moved on its own. The spirit ceases to materialize and hides his presence—invisibility. Noaru was sure that nothing moved around him, no he was absolutely positive that he was alone in the area. The animals were quiet—dead silent and still in the forest. There was something in the forest but he wasn't in the right state of mind to face it.

Noaru could only feel the calmness of his mind and thoughts rather than anxiety which should be present. He, for only but a moment, forgets about the strange situation and realizes that he couldn't remember his name. Those hallucinations from before were probably something more; maybe mental barriers, protecting him from the pain and shock from the Valterrian? The spirit's eyes widened, he felt complete despair overwhelm him—his name was what defined him! Noaru abandons the area and rushes through the forest, unaware at the fact that an Automoton was aware of him presence...and was following behind him.

by **Perplexity** on October 26th, 2013, 10:22 pm

Riddled with Rewards!

Noaru

Materialization	+2 XP
Soulmist Projection	+2 XP

Lores :

Notes :

Solo Calm Minds {Bronze Woods}