[Flashback] What Lurks in the Mist (Auldwin)

[Growl]

Timestamp: TBD by Player The youngest amongst the trees swayed as the wind buffeted them, a formidable element that was constantly trying to bring them down. The oldest, their trunks fat, and bases strong, could not be swayed. Although the occasional branch was ripped from its core, and swept across the jungle, until it fell to the forest floor; splintering with a loud crunch. Water dripped off bright green leaves, as the grey skies continued to pummel the jungle with the rain the clouds held. It trickled down dark brown tree trunks, and cascaded from heavy, sighing leaves as though it were a waterfall. All of the precipitation eventually met with the ground, producing varying degrees of noise; plopping that never seemed to end; a rhythmic cycle. A thick grey mist hovered an inch above the ground, rising no more than a few feet as it covered the terrain in its blanket, obscuring the bottom-dwelling vegetation from one's view. Through it all traveled a young ghost, who hovered no more than a few inches above the ground, gliding across the damp, sticky terrain. He seemed to travel with a destination in mind; no matter how fleeting or hazy his mind's image became. He seemed to the jungle animals he passed, one with a purpose. OOCSorry for the delay. Also, the ghost described is you. P.S. I am playing catch-up, and doing last minute research just to verify things and flesh the idea out. It may be a few days before I get to this again. My apologies, in advance.

[Auldwin]

66th of Summer, 509 AV To think, almost two years had passed since that day. The day Auldwin felt the pain of his muscles being torn apart. The sting of his insides coming in contact with the warm grass. At least it didn't hurt for long. The time it took those creatures to remove Auldwin from the living wasn't even a blink in the grown man's life. In such a short time all of his hard work had been undone. His wife was a widow, his job was without his hard working back, and Syliras was down a citizen. In the end though, would anyone really miss him? Would anyone remember him? Did anyone even know he was dead? The sting of the lack of impact his life had on anything important stung more than those stupid glassbeaks. Those creatures would get what they deserved one day, Auldwin decided that long ago. Whether they were hungry, territorial, bestial, or simply reacting on instinct, Auldwin felt a rage consume him whenever he thought of them. He wanted those creatures dead. He wanted them to run in fear when his ghostly remains approached. His most determined goal, he wanted them to die of fright should they be cornered, and then rip apart their insides while those that managed to survive watched. The ghost had to catch himself, his Soulmist was already becoming agitated as he thought all those malicious thoughts. That smoky aura always betrayed his feelings. Perhaps it would do just that forever until he learned to control it more thoroughly. He focused in front of him, just in time to see a limb from a tree tumbling toward him. The Ghost almost flinched, managing just at the end to remind himself of his intangible nature. The flailing piece of wood swept right through his mist, crashing into the ground behind him. He turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at the small path through the heavy foliage it had carved. A normal man would have been injured, knocked out, even killed. Auldwin wasn't normal anymore. He was in a state where his vengeance could be exacted with no resistance from his targets. Had the Gods forgotten about him? Well petch them. He was immortal now. He was indestructible, and carried before him an endless time with which to wallow in his emotions...if that was what he chose. Every day was a struggle to keep his humanity. To keep his sanity. He had to constantly remind himself that he was no monster, despite what some people whom had seen his form for the first time thought of him. Not everyone was so open minded like the people of Black Rock. His traveling was focused on this cause. "I could not effect the world in anyway in life, but I shall in death."

[Growl]

As the ghost floated along, he kept that single thought in the forefront of his mind. It came to him over and over again, an insistent whisper, in his own voice: I could not effect the world in any way in life, but I shall in death. I could not effect the world in any way in life, but I shall in death... I could not effect the world in any way in life, but I shall in death... it would not cease. They would not fade. The thought haunted him. It was a constant reminder of his shortcomings, a constant reminder of his failures. How normal he had once been, and a part of him, however small, regretted it. Hated it. He wanted it to change, he wanted to prove that he could be different. More to himself, than anyone else. But how? Where would he go, and what could he do? After all, he had been reduced to a ghost, a being between life and death. Or rather, death and... more death? Internally, Auldwin seemed to sigh as the howling of several monkeys reached his ears. What was he to do? Should he return to Black Rock and try to make a life there? Or continue onto his destination, and try to start life again from that place? How was he to make himself a little less... common? If only there were a sign, some way for him to know what he should do, and how best to change... Ahead of him, the mist began to part, rolling into itself on the right and left side, forming a path for him. Was this his sign? Or simply, the elements toying with him? OOCMy apologies, it will get better.

[Auldwin]

What could possibly haunt a Ghost? His past. Anything else would be too ironic. Auldwin's past did an excellent job at being a constant thorn in his side, although the word thorn would be ill-suited to describe the amount of anguish it brought him. He knew he could wallow in that regret and lose himself completely, although he wasn't exactly certain what would happen. Would he lose his sanity? Would he go back to the cycle? Both options were not options as they both completely negated his entire purpose. His reason for being. The Gods didn't want to recognize him? Fine, he would make them recognize him. He would make everyone recognize him. Was it fame, some sort of narcissistic desire that drove him? He always had plenty of time to think about that. Auldwin wondered if philosophy was ever Ghost's pastime. It the distance he heard the screaming of beasts, monkeys most likely. They called out into the forest, past the rage of the storm. Those winds howled back, like some sort of screaming match between the various occupants of nature. He prayed sometime that he be shown the way. He asked others for their advice, though often there wasn't much to give. Auldwin had to figure those things out for himself. Annoyed he swiped his hand across a branch, the force from his Soulmist making it whip to the side. He was still here, he could still have an impact. Just as that thought came to him he noticed the mist moving unnaturally. Sometimes things did unnatural things when Ghosts were around, was he the cause of this? Was something toying with him? Was it all his imagination? He felt himself compelled to investigate further. Answers that eluded him now drove him to discover their secrets. He wouldn't turn away any more. He wouldn't neglect those signs as he did in life. He would move forward and follow that path. If this was destiny he would meet it, Soulmist and all.

[Growl]

Auldwin followed the path the mists had formed for a long time, finding nothing along its length. Or at least, nothing out of the ordinary. There were only more trees, drenched green shurbs and other plants, the ground, the sounds of animals, and branches that flung through his ghostly form. Internally, he seemed to sigh. There seemed to be nothing special about this path through the mists. Perhaps then, the elements were merely toying with him. Or even, one of the gods. For although it seemed out of place, there was nothing to be found. Nothing to be sensed that should not have been sensed. It was then that Auldwin began to toy with the notion of straying from this mysterious path. But to what point and purpose? Here he was, wandering through a forest. A being that could not die, or be harmed in nearly, any way imaginable. Here was this mysterious path through the mists, that may or may not be worth turning away from. For he knew not where it led. Towards his destination perhaps. If only he followed it for just a bit longer, perhaps he would find out. Perhaps he would begin to understand why it seemed to call to him. Internally, the ghost seemed to sigh once more. How long would he have to wait? How long would he have to travel before he knew? There was a sudden groan that cut across the ghost's senses. It was low and guttural. It could have belonged to man or beast. The ghost could not be sure. Unless of course, it was all a figment of his imagination? Unless of course, he was simply wishing there was something out here with a pulse. Something for him to find.

[Auldwin]

If a Ghost could trudge, that would be the only way to describe Auldwin's constant desire to press on. He had desires and he had expectations, but sometimes they blurred and became difficult to focus on. Just what was it he sought as he continued to wander? Perhaps the following of the mist was simply a representation of his current state. The state of a being so lost they could not even find a desire to join the cycle to reincarnate. No, he wouldn't do that, he couldn't do that. That would be turning the other way, that would be giving up. Auldwin was no quitter, but he never had something to strive for in his life. Now, things were different and he wasn't about to submit to the whim of anything. Not a man, not the Gods, not even some element. The elements didn't scare him anymore. The pain of loneliness seemed so faint compared to the pain of failing to exist in the eyes of both man and Gods. To think the living sometimes cried when they lost those they loved. A hole was then made from that loss, creating the loneliness. In life however, no one was ever lonely as there were still those that could recognize the living. As a Ghost, Auldwin was more like a mirage. More appropriately a figment than a being. "I'm not just some image. I have the power to change things." his words pushed him forward. They retrieved the desire to continue just when he thought he would stop and turn around. Shortly thereafter, the sound of something unusual reached his senses. He whipped about, his Soulmist fluctuating with the uncertainty within him. What was it? Where did it come from? Immediately he began to search desperately. He wasn't simply moving ahead, now he had a target for his attentions, and he was determined to place them upon something real. It wasn't just in his head, was it? Was he losing his sanity? He had to find out the truth. Was he all alone out here, or where there something else? His incorporeal body faded through various trees and obstacles, moving in order to catch another instance of that sound. Finally his barrier broke down and he reacted to it completely, calling out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" Was he scared of finding something? No, that was a fear best left for the living. As a Ghost, the real fear was finding nothing. Nothing but your existence. "HELLO!?" his body flickered as it moved to blink in the directions he thought of.

[Growl]

As Auldwin continued to look around frantically, the memory of the sound, the single groan, kept on cutting across his senses. At times, his soulmist furled angrily about his feet, at times, he seemed to flinch. He was so convinced it was real, and another portion of him was just as convinced that it wasn't that he was stuck searching. Simply to prove the truth of it all to himself. And yet, as Auldwin searched, he never did hear the groan again. It was as though, whoever had produced the sound, if anyone truly had, had vanished. Until finally, Auldwin noticed something. Off in the distance, beneath a sheet of mist. He was tempted to investigate. But a part of him sensed that whatever it was could be dangerous. But then again, even if that was the case, how bad could it be really, when he was already dead? The ghost shrugged. The choice was his: investigate, or move on. OOCI will reveal what you find in the next post, promise. If you go that route, of course...

[Auldwin]

Auldwin swiveled himself around in a way quiet unnatural. Not needing to turn his head or his body to face any particular direction, instead his entire form simply spun in place when it needed to, as if coasting in a clockwise circle upon a fine sheet of ice. He moved that way, his misty form traversing forward and rearward, trying to look upon all of the places immediately about him. His fists clenched as his side, unconsciously becoming solid for a moment as he did so, his thoughts and feelings zeroing in on how it would feel to have the body he no longer possessed tense. There was something else that invaded his thoughts. A visage? A vision? Something appeared to be there, just beyond his discernible field of vision within the mist. How did any creature that wasn't a Ghost survive in such a perplexing place? In his Human days, Auldwin would have quickly realized the necessity of turning back. Refusing to do so would be the equivalent to becoming hopelessly lost at best, only to eventually fall prey to an inevitable death. He had to calm down he determined. "I'm not so fragile anymore." he repeated to himself. Not physically at least. It was his own determination that he wouldn't be afraid of anything any more. He had to conquer every aspect of fear if he ever wished to harness it for his own use. There had to be no hidden slivers lift within his Soul. Though his future was uncertain, the refute of any such cowardliness had to be eradicated. Floating toward the imagine as quickly as possible, he began to travel down that path.

[Growl]

Even before he had reached the side of what he had seen, Auldwin recognized the form for what it was. A tall woman, with deep red hair, similar to the inarta. Her eyes closed, her flesh caught somewhere between light and dark. Her hands resting atop her chest, as it rose and fell slowly, from time to time. He could tell, as her eyelids twitched, that she was barely breathing. She had been injured. Had it not been raining, perhaps he would have been able to determine that she was covered in sticky, hot, salty sweat. It appeared to him, that she had either been knocked unconscious, or had fallen ill during her slumber, from a wound acquired during her waking hours. The first thought, however, seemed the more likely of the two. OOCThe woman is approximately 6 feet tall. She isn't thin. Nor does she appear very muscular. She has broad shoulders.

[Auldwin]

Auldwin didn't know much of the different people of Mizahar. While he had met a few folks during his travels in death, as well as when the passed through Syliras for barter or trade, he never typically left the Castle city in order to experience the different cultures the world had to offer. In that way he and his father were absolutely nothing alike. In life Auldwin had been content to see the same walls, the same mountains, and the same forest he had always grown up with, and yet as his father grew older an insatiable wanderlust filled him with enough curiosity to travel between the farthest reaches of the known continent. So now as a Ghost, had the torch been passed along finally between father and son?

As little as he knew, he understood that the fire haired woman before him was quite tall. Although Auldwin was no doctor, she appeared to have been injured by something. Perhaps one of the many branches which had become dislodged during the inclement weather? A thought of what to do quickly flashed through his mind. Should he leave her there? He certainly didn't know her and all things considered she was nothing to him. He could simply move on but...if that was the case why did he try so very hard to find the source of the noise he had heard earlier? Leave her alone? Absurd. All things pointed to this woman, he wouldn't be as neglectful as he was in life.

How to help such a woman? As a Ghost his options were fairly limited. He didn't have the strength in his Soulmist to drag her to anywhere safe, and he couldn't truly render any type of aid. He didn't carry any equipment, not just because he couldn't take the weight but also because such worldly things had no value to a Ghost. He didn't even possess a shirt to place upon her to warm he body. "You there? Hello? Are you alive." he asked, utilizing his Soulmist Projection in order to shove her shoulder a handful of times, trying to get her to her senses.

Leaving her in the middle of this place meant certain death, either by natural dangerous or by mammalian predators. While he couldn't drag her away necessarily, there was one more choice. He would have to use one of his other powers in a way he never thought of. If absolutely required he could actually Possess the woman in order to get her to a shelter and depending on the severity of her wounds even dress her to some minor, completely unskilled extent.