Becoming Shadow

[Flametrooper]

Becoming Shadow

Everyone had gathered back at the original clan site, just for old time’s sake. Of course, the place where the tents had originally been set up and the dust imprinted with prints of animals long-gone was now occupied by a hotel. So, all of the darkly tanned people had gathered in one of the rooms. Silence filled the room, but it was not uncomfortable. Not at all. They all waited for their leader to speak. Finally, the old man, creases wrinkling his forehead and eyes narrowed to slits from squinting through the shadows at the horizon, spoke. When he spoke, his voice filled the whole room. It spoke quietly, but with such emotion that the room vibrated with it.

“There are many legends. They fill entire books. False truths, white lies. Blankly scrawled on paper by an automated machine. But this legend is different. It has been passed on for generations. Ever since the shadow became one with us. It hasn’t changed at all. And it is all true. My great grandfather was a part of it. It is my job to tell it to everyone in this room. So, once again, it can be passed down to the clan. I am sure many of you have heard this story. But I will begin anew.” The old man took a deep breath before beginning. As soon as he started, his face filled with a joy never seen before. His eyes started to almost glow and his old wrinkled face came alive with new energy.

John Silverfoot stood on the crest of the hill, gazing down at the campsite. They had just set it up today as their first permanent campsite. The buffalo were now only preyed on when they came nearby. The hunters found local game. The new farmers started setting up their fields. But John’s mind was elsewhere. Yesterday, the elders of the camp had told him of a story. A story of certain beings. Shadows. About the man who had embraced the white darkness. Seen the truth. And his ally. His shadow. The shadow that stopped following him and fought and walked alongside him. That rose from the ground to change shapes. To wield new weapons. And this was all on his shoulders. It had been passed to him. And tomorrow, through a massive spiritual ritual, the transformation that would take place among his friends. He would pick them at the council meeting. Pick them to join him in his quest. John sighed, and gently drifted down the hill to the camp.

Picking up a stone, he skipped it across the pond as passed it, the stone sinking with no more than a shimmer in the surface of the water. The sun burned down on him with intense ferocity. Far above, a black bird, easily mistaken for a crow, fluttered in the wind, drifting to the ground. The shadow that should have trailed John was missing.



OOC: So, I realized that I suck at RPing. And through this RP I hope to fix that. The story should wind through some twists and turns following an old Native American legend I made up. I am not big into huge character sheets.

Name:
Age:
Approximate Height:
Approximate Weight:
Short Description:
Short Description of Shadow:

My Character Sheet:

Name: John Silverfoot
Age: 19
Approximate Height: 6’2”
Approximate Weight: 190 pounds
Short Description: Black eyes, long black hair in braids, tanned skin. Proud.
Short Description of Shadow: Shimmering gray form. Switches between a bird and a wolf. Never leaves John’s side.

That’s all. You can elaborate if you want, but don’t have to. I will be switching between the storyteller and John. Don’t post your first posts yet.

[DarkMirror]

Name: Mark Dust
Age: Fifteen
Approximate Height: Six feet tall
Approximate Weight: One hundred and eighty-so pounds
Short Description: Tall, brown hair, green eyes. Somewhat pale skin, skinny.
Short Description of Shadow: A whirlwind of ragged black tatters which can surround him and lash out with shadow knives.

This ok?

[Flametrooper]

Yep. That's good.

[Mr.Bad]

Though I tend to multi-task RPs poorly, The Last City seems to be moving at a slow but steady pace. I think I can get into another one.

I just want to double check though. We are playing Native Americans? I'll make my char that way and I can redo it if I'm wrong.

Name: Kachina (It's a Hopi name meaning both Spirit and Sacred Dancer)
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Height: 5"8
Weight: 131 pounds

Description: On the tall side for a girl, Kachina has long brown hair that extends to right below her shoulder blades. Her hair is often dyed different colors according to the rituals of her different dances. She has grey eyes that seem to look into the recesses of your mind. She is tanned and rather well endowed.

Description of Shadow: It can appear as a large cat much akin to a tiger, except entirely black, and with red eyes. It also sometimes takes the form of a huge black bird of prey. (8 foot wingspan) It appears often in the form of a cloak made of strips of a shadowy material, which can seem to almost take the form of wings. This shadowcloak is used by Kachina in her dances and while fighting.

[Rifleman223]

Name: Thomas Williams
Age: 16
Approximate Height: 6' 3"
Approximate Weight: One hundred and Fifty Pounds
Short Description: Tall, black hair, brown eyes, skinny.
Short Description of Shadow: A Wolf, able to use a sword, but prefers to use his Fists, somewhat short tempered.

[oops]

[Flametrooper]

Yeah, it is about native americans. I am actually not quite knowledgable about Native Americans, but I figured I would give this a shout, regardless of the complete accuracy. So far, so good. If there are any more, that would be good. I want a total of 5 or 6 players, although more would be good too.

[Mr.Bad]

Ok then, glad I got it right.

And @ Rifleman: Natives aren't Caucasian. They have darker skin.

[Flametrooper]

True, I totally missed that. Not really dark skin, but at least tanned.

[Rifleman223]

yeah my bad.. fixed it

I'm a mix of things, atleast 15... irish, and native american
the tribe im suppose to be from is around the Florida Swamp Area

[Flametrooper]

Okay. Tomorrow I will start the RP, regardless of who is in it.

[Flametrooper]

(OCC (OOC, whatever): Okay, let's get this started. Just a note, I will be doing this story from three perspectives. There will be the storyteller and what the legend has turned into, that will be in italics. Then, there will be the third-person view that will always be included in the same post as the legend, to get the story back on track. Finally, I will be playing John Silverfoot in first-person.)

The meeting was tomorrow. And it was always in the back of my head. It had been for two days now. I couldn't stand it. I was told that I had to pick. I would have to choose who would join me. For what, I had no clue. The gathering tomorrow was extremely mysterious. Nobody knew exactly what was happening.

Of course, I knew who I would end up picking. There were really only three possible choices. And from the sound of it, I would need that many. I glanced up against the glare of the sun towards Fury. Of course, like usual, he was showing off. He spun in a spiral down till he was just a few feet in front of me, molded into the ground, formed into a wolf and came out of the ground again.

You gotta cut that out. After you do it the hundreth time, it gets annoying,I mentally said to my shadow. I could feel the grin through our mindlink.
Whatever you say. I will just find something new. More impressive. And by the way, did you catch Kachina's shadow checking me out? the ambitious wolf replied.

I rolled my eyes and picked up my pace. It was about midday now. If there weren't any emergencies, I would be able to spend some time fencing and practicing archery with Thomas, Marc, and Kachina. We would probably need it in the coming days. After that, hopefully, I would get a few hours hunting before I went to sleep.

The range was just a five minutes walk through our tents we had set up temporarily. A bit further on were the starts of what would most likely become our permanent villages.

The council was planned to start early tomorrow, right before noon. I picked up my pace. Time was of the essence. I didn't know what was next after tomorrow, so I decided to spend as much time as I could with everyone.

(OCC: So, the day will just be spent getting our characters personalities developed and practicing fighting with our shadows. Tomorrow is where the real RP will start.)

[DarkMirror]

Mark sat under a tree, a lone and dry and dead thing, which stooped over its dusty hill almost proudly, keeping its prize to itself. But Mark had invaded that, and he sat, thinking. Ribbons of darkness wrapped themselves around him like a harness, waving its jagged-edged claws like an jellyfish around him.

You enjoy being alone, don't you? I suppose we both do, since you am I and I am you. Two sides of one being, perhaps, or two beings fused imperfectly into one?

Dust smiled absentmindedly. "I suppose so. I used to have nightmares about something like you, you know."

I can imagine, I am rather... different, rather alien. But again, I am you, and you are me, so who can really say? Maybe what you dreamed, I was doing, and when I dreamed I dreamed of you?

"Wouldn't that be a laugh? The monsters have nightmares of the people, both uncomprehending of the things so different from themselves."

We think too much.

[Flametrooper]

(OCC: Come on guys! Already down at the bottom of the forum!)

I had paused near one of the houses being built right outside the archery range. Fury swooped above me. While I practiced archery, he practiced stunts and attack moves. When I practiced fencing, he swooped down on me or attacked me from the ground as wolf to see how both of us would hold up.

The soft twang of bowstrings and louder thud of arrows hitting targets was just within my hearing as I leaned against the wooden timbers. A few angry shouts came from behind me and I turned to see a rough, muscular man I didn't recognize approaching me, yelling obscenities. I put my hands up in a defensive gesture.

Want me to take him out?Fury questioned innocently, although I could feel the light humor under it.

What do you think? No. He's a tribesman. Leave him,I yelled back through the mindlink.

Disappointed, the bird swept away into the forest nearby. Less than ten seconds later, a large wolf came crashing through the forest. The workers nearby screamed and ran for cover. I just laughed. The Lost, the name we gave for people who had never had a shadow, could never get used to Fury and his ambitious ways.

I stood up and walked toward the archery range. Till everyone arrived, I would just practice. I had already picked up my bow and arrows when I realized how odd it was to have a new person in our camp. Or that many. I had seen a lot of them recently.

I noticed that too. Abnormal. Regardless, the chief and council had to have approved, otherwise they wouldn't be here,Fury chimed in as he approached.

"Still think it's odd," I muttered as I drew my first arrow. The arrow released with a twang, flying a distance before falling short and dropping into the waiting dust.

[Rifleman223]

I sat, staring into the darkness, only to be noticing that everything that enters, it takes.

Hm, you aren't up to your usual trouble. Fang, looked straight into his eyes.

Yeah, why is it so quiet around here now? Thomas replied.

He looked around only to be seeing nothingness, but nature. Quietness surrounded the boy. Thomas was the tallest kid around I believe.

What are you thinking, Thomas? Fang still trying to figure out what he is up to.

Just call me Tom, Fang.

Doesn't anyone notice ever notice that there's a wolf right next to Tom, i mean when someone does, its probably Fang and he disappears.

Right now i just hope that no-one actually gets him angry enough just to show his true form, a shadow.

[Flametrooper]

(OOC: Well, seeing as Mr. Bad hasn't posted, let's see if we can push ahead)

It took me a solid thirty minutes before I was shooting my bow in a fluid, consistent motion. Each shot arced perfectly towards the target made of hay and wood. And now, finally, each shot was hitting dead center of the target. Fury sat nearby, surveying the area from his pitch black eyes. I was still interested in why there were so many new-comers, but I didn't say anything out loud. The archery range had filled up a bit since I had come, with about four or five other people sloppily shooting at targets.

Fury was observing the newcomers and mindlinking it back to me. The moment I opened our link, even for a brief second, I saw through his eyes, the darkly veiled landscape speckled with forms of light, the humans. Some were brighter than others, because they had been exposed to Fury more than others. The flood of images always overwhelmed me and I could only bare it for a few seconds before having to shut down our mindlink.

I was moving to recover many of the arrows I had shot when a desperate pushing at my Mind Barrier caused me to quickly open my link. A flood of images came in, but what surprised me the most was a red form moving towards us. Two dull, glowing forms walked alongside it. Quickly, I shut down the link as Fury stood up and casually walked over to me, his shoulder muscles rippling with power.

A bit quicker now, I retrieved several of the arrows and replaced all but one in my quiver. The last one I held loosely knocked against my bow, ready to fire. I turned and saw one face I recognized, Sun-Beam, a member of the council, walking towards me. However, standing next to him was an unfamiliar face, scarred heavily and locked in a strict glare.

Fury and I were the only ones who knew what the space between them held. My mindlink now open, I heard Fury send a short message. I'll take out the shadow, he said even as he started to bound off in what seemed like a random path. Sun-Beam looked surprised at Fury's sudden disappearance, but the unfamiliar man scowled deeply.

Even as they came closer, I kept the arrow on the string. I might need it.

(OOC: See if you guys can make some appearance at the archery range.)

[DarkMirror]

Mark had left the tree, the ragged streamers of shadow that formed his companion clinging to him, wafting out from the ground where he stepped and wrapping around his legs and body.

Umbra flickered a vision of what was around Dust, an inverted landscape of darkness, with figures shining through it all. In the distance, several brighter shards of being stood, along with a pair of deep red maelstroms of power.

I want to see them.

"Fine, fine. Lets go."

The pair headed for the archery grounds, leaving wafts of quickly dissipating shadow-smoke behind them.

[Rifleman223]

Fang decided to think,
Hey, why don't we go to the Archery Grounds?

Thomas nodded, he stood up, and started walking, whistling the same tune, stuck in his head forever.

I never knew you accepted archery as a skill, Fang.

[Flametrooper]

"Ahhh, John! Good to see you here! I would like you to meet John Stonefoot!" Sunbeam was still smiling.

I curtly nodded in his direction. He returned it, his eyes scanning me up and down. A quick burst of pain came through my mindlink as Fury was hit by the opposing shadow. The pure rage coming from the other shadow managed to make it through also. I winced, feeling my shadow's pain in myself.

"Something wrong, John?" the newcomer asked. His voice drawled and was very deep.
"No, nothing. What brings you here?" I asked casually.

His eyebrows furrowed and he paused before he answered. Then, shaking his head, he responded. "The council, of course! Several people from neighboring tribes have come to see you! It is a great quest you must embark on, one that you should be very careful on."

Something about the way he said that made me uncomfortable. I shifted nervously. Fury's voice quickly sounded in my head. It was his shadow. It was really strong. Never seen anything like it before. It got away. Be careful around this man.

I quickly acknowledged him and then turned back to the man. I was about to break the awkward silence when I saw two of my three friends approaching. I let out a breath of relief. No more talking to this man.

[DarkMirror]

Mark raised his hand and waved, shadow ribbons wrapped around his arm fluttering in a breeze that was not all there. As he got closer, he stood a few meters away and bowed his head. "John."

You act as if you don't know him.

I don't, not anymore. It was a very long time ago that we were really friends.

Indeed. I imagine you were just as quiet then as now?

No, I was the brave one, the bold one. But...

The accident changed that, didn't it?

[Flametrooper]

Long time no see, Fury muttered in my head.
No kidding. Weird seeing him again, I managed to say back.

"Marc. Your shadow has become...interesting." All shadows evolve through their owners lifespan, till they become an actual being when they reach their teen years. 13 through 19. At 20, you lose your shadow. Unless you cross the blackness. And become one with your shadow. Which was probably going to be the case.

It was odd seeing Marc this close. Before I would have bowed to him, now I just nodded. He was always our leader, despite his incredibly young age. Now, it had changed. I had become him, and he had become me.

Marc nodded, accepting the statement of fact. An awkward silence came over us. Sunbeam and John Stonefoot had disappeared when Marc arrived. I made a mental note to change my name the moment I could. I would NOT have the same name as that demon.

Fury lifted his head to the sky and strands of black wind wrapped from Fury around Marc before quickly retracting. Strong. And smart. Nearly blew me away. He would make a good ally. Or a bad enemy, Fury commented.

I shifted a bit and decided to break the silence. "Well, since we're here, I guess we could either practice sparring or hunt. Might as well get our skills back to normal before..." My voice trailed off. There was point bringing up past horrors.

"Yeah, well what do you think?" I finished awkwardly.

Smooth. Very smooth, I could hear Fury laughing in my head, the echoes reverberating, matching my steadily beating heart.

[DarkMirror]

Marc thought for a moment, gazing off onto the horizon. Then he nodded. "Would we be sparring with or without our shadows? I haven't really had much of a chance to fight with Umbra myself." He swallowed, looking back at John. "How are you doing, by the way? Rude of me not to ask, I suppose."

[Flametrooper]

I could tell this was as awkward for Marc as it was for me. However, I tried to keep my calm composure.

"Well, I don't think I could fight without Fury if I tried. He's as much a part of me as another being. And I don't think he would appreciate being left out." I skipped right over the question posed at the end. I was in a position of leadership now. And nothing could break me like the accident had Marc.

"Yes," I said repeating myself, "we can fight with our shadows. Give me a minute to get some swords for us." Marc nodded as I ran off to the shack that had been hastily constructed around the same time as the archery range.

The shack was dark and damp. I heard bugs skitter across the floor the moment I opened the door and the bright sunlight flooded in, like a flood upon a meager settlement. Backed up against the furthest wall were a set of differently sized and shaped wooden swords.

I wasn't quite sure what Marc's tastes were, so I chose what he used to like. A shortsword. It was quite short compared to the other swords, but very broad. If it got a good hit on normal weapons, it would usually break the latter. My tastes had changed over the years. When I was young, I had liked what Marc had. Now, I preferred the light sabers that we had gotten from the white man when they passed through the plains of our country for the yellow metal. It was light and held well in my hands.

Happy with my selection, I bounded out with Fury close behind me and handed the sword to Marc. He looked it over quickly, and I couldn't tell from his expression if he was satisfied or not. Regardless, he held it at the ready. I did too. Both our swords were down at our waists, the wooden point nearly touching the ground. Nearby, our shadows tensed for combat as well. Shadow Combat was always tense and the shadows moved so fast it was nearly impossible to follow.

I bent down, picked up a stick and tossed it high up in the sky. Three seconds ticked by and it came slamming into the ground between us. The moment it touched the ground, it was whisked up by Fury, now switching fluidly between bird and wolf form. The black swirl grew bigger as Umbra joined the fray. Occasionally, a shadow would brush against you, only to be swept away by the other.

Marc and I drew our swords. Through my mindlink I could hear Fury's growls and images of the enemy shadow moving in what seemed like normal time. The blue light darted in circles that I could tell Fury was having a hard time keeping up with. Shadow knives whipped all around as Fury leaped and flew, raking at the shadow with his claws.

In the meantime, through the confusing images, I heard Fury's voice. Neither Marc nor Umbra communicate with the other well. Their mindlink is confused. I can feel it. Umbra is strong, but I can take that. A snarl interrupted his thoughts. I opened my mindlink briefly, seeing the clumsy movements of the shadow.

When he is off balance and is mindlink is confused, strike. A mental nod came back through the channels.

In the meantime, Marc's and my blades danced in the sunlight. Instead of parrying his attacks, I simply lightly tapped on them, enough to slow them down, but not enough to break my sword.

Suddenly, when I was about to go for a mortal strike to the neck, Marc's fist drilled into my stomach, knocking me two feet back and making me land on my back, my sword flying a few feet to my left. Quickly, Marc was standing over me, his sword about to plunge down. I brought my knees straight up into his crotch, but before they could make contact, a nasty stinging sensation sent them back down. I looked just in time to see a shadow dart away.

But the sword wasn't about to stop. I lay back, waiting for it to come. But instead, a black shape flew through the air and knocked Marc's sword in the opposite direction. Now, both of us were swordless. Another swat and Marc was on his back too, a few feet away. And now we were both on the ground.

(OOC: DM, is that Umbra just from the latin word shadow/ghost or have you played Oblivion?)

[DarkMirror]

I used the definition form of Umbra; The deepest part of a shadow.

Marc thought for a moment, then rolled fast to his left and managed to get into a kneeling position. He spotted his sword, not too far away, too heavy to go far. John was doing much the same, so Marc leaped and then rolled, ducking out of the way of a bolting shadow.

I think it's time for a change of tactics. Dust thought, dodging the shadow again and this time feeling a stinging sensation in his side.

What were you thinking? came Umbra's response.

They fight alone, each working togethor. We'll fight togethor, working as one.

And then he was surrounded in the ragged shadows, Umbra clinging to his form. He stood up, and as the shadow attempted to barrel into him he sidestepped and lashed out, a jagged knife of shadow cutting into the enemy.

John had recovered his sword, but Marc abandoned his, leaping backwards to put distance between himself and Marc, lashing out with the shadows of Umbra, attempting to grab the blade.

[Flametrooper]

Now this is more like it! Fury was laughing now, even through his pain. I sighed.

They're working together now, so be careful, I replied.

Marc was covered in his shadow, forming a protective cover. Can you get to work on getting that shadow off? Now? I asked impatiently.

It's harder than it looks. The shadow knives are deadly, he replied calmly.

I snorted in exasperation before turning my attention back to Marc. The air in front of him whistled constantly with the shadow, forming a nearly impassable barrier to humans. I quickly opened up the mindlink. Even nothing else, I would have to control my movements through Fury's eyes.

In what seemed liked horrifying slowness, my body approached the knives lashing out. They had a regular pattern. The problem was getting my body in there in time. Slowly, I inched forward till I was mere inches away from the barrier. I was about to take the last step through it when Fury's attention changed. A new desperation leaked in, moving him faster. Quickly, he jumped in front of me and through the barrier, pushing the shadow slightly off of Marc.

Slowly, and with my attacks renewed, the shadow slid off. But with my attention focused on it, I didn't see the shadow wisp flick out, grab the sword and toss it at me. Fury deftly caught it in his mouth and tossed it aside. Another shadow wisp took my sword and tossed it aside.

Umbra renewed his attack on Fury, but Fury was distracted. It's back, was all I got. I opened my mindlink, and there it was. The red splotch, watching from the hill leading to the forests.

[Rifleman223]

[ooc: Archery Range is the fight right, i want in

Thomas just walked up to the archery range, looking around and staring, Fang said something quick.

Yeah, someone's already here Tom.

Thomas looked around, seeing a fight going on he started walking towards the fight, hoping to get some action, well since he was bored.

Fang, get ready!

He was already ready though, he was eager for action.

Fang laughed, alright lets do it then.

[Flametrooper]

(OOC: I will be out of town for the next three days. Keep it going)

Fury dogged the next couple blows before charging off in the direction of the red shadow again.

John looked away from the fading blackness towards the approaching figure of Thomas. He parried two more blows from Marc before holding his hands up, signalling for a break.

"It's back. Fury's after it."

Marc looked a bit confused, but kept a relatively expressionless face. "What are you talking about?"

I nodded, ready to explain. "Well, you know how we have a lot of newcomers in the camp? Well,a new shadow is here too. Fury is trying to track it down. It fights him whenever he comes near it."

Marc nodded at Thomas as he approached. "What's going on?"
I responded. "We're going hunting. A new shadow's in the area. We will hunt around the woods, see if we can find the human form of it." Shadows were all different forms of their human and vice versa, so they often shared the same traits and attitudes.
"I will take a bow and stick back. Send both your shadows with Fury. He can lead you guys in the general direction. We'll find the human."

Two dark forms flew towards the forest, rapidly tracking down the foreign shadow. I picked up a bow from the ground nearby and grabbed a quiver of arrows. They were all slightly dulled, but plenty of force could be put behind them. Enough to knock someone down. But, like always, on my waste I kept five shorter, sharper arrows in a mini-quiver.

The others grabbed a weapon from nearby and followed after me towards the rolling hills and forests that surrounded our camps.

The old man took a breath before continuing his story. "So the brave, young men, their hearts and minds ready for anything, departed, chasing down the dangerous and deadly shadow. John led them, and the others followed willingly."

(OOC: Take it from here. Hunt for the next three days. And the legend isn't always correct to the real story. You can tell that from this post.)

[Flametrooper]

(OOC: Anyone gonna post?)

[Rifleman223]

Fang just stared at the shadows, he didn't bother using swords, he used his fists. Fang showed up unnoticed
You guys like to use weapons? I rather use my fists, let me rip em limb by limb. Let me at them.

Thomas just glared at them, carrying a sword on his back. The sword, he wasn't really great at sword fighting, but he knew how to use one. The iron blade wasn't great, but it would do.
Fang, is a brute, but also a tactician, its amazing how he attacks on my command.

Fang laughed, asking a simple question to the other shadow's. Where is this shadow's human form and why are we following him, John?
Fang didn't like to follow people, he liked to run off, but only with the command of Tom

[Flametrooper]

(OCC: Well, seeing as this is all but dead, unless someone posts in the next three days that isn't Rifleman, I will have to post. If that doesn't work this is over)

[DarkMirror]

Marc let Umbra dissipate and wrap itself more tightly around him, giving him a dark, ragged cloak. He picked up his sword again, and headed off without a word. He deftly climbed up the hills, quicker than might be expected, partly due to Umbra helping him by anchoring himself at the top and reeling him up.

He was the first to reach the top of the first hill, and let Umbra give him his vision.

The striking colors, or rather, lack of them, had never dazed him. He was almost as comfortable looking around like this as with his own eyes.

A path of disturbed light showed him the path the Shadow had taken, and he relayed his find to the others.

[Flametrooper]

Okay. I'm closing down this RP. There's no point continuing with two people. Thanks guys. It was fun while it lasted.