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RE: Kingdom Hearts [Prologue: Night of Fate]

Discussion in 'Canon Roleplays (IC)' started by Become, Mar 19, 2017.

  1. Become

    Become Resident Tashian Staff Member Moderator Content Writer

    Destiny Islands, Sunrise.

    The Islands awoke in the early morning hours, greeted by the first etches of the sun’s light upon the tapestry of a distant horizon. As the vibrant rays of yellows, oranges and pinks crept steadily across the calm blue sky and friendly, snow-white clouds, so too did the residents of the fair Islands make arise with the waking of a new day. As was usual on such a world, the task of starting the day was a as tranquil as a storm-free ocean. Early anglers rowed gently out onto the open waters, boats stocked with bait and tackle to take on the catches of the day, which all hoped and some simply knew would be plentiful.

    For those upon the dry land, the tasks summed to the preparing of the morning meals, and the preparations for another busy day in the town markets. As soon as the sun was well enough in air for one to consider it ‘daytime,’ the doors and covers the shops and stands would come open, and the streets soon flood with the hustle and bustle, however easy-going it might be, of the Destiny Island day.

    =--------------=​

    Stirred by the first throws of sunlight through the cracked blinds of her bedroom window, Kaia began to wake herself. Squinting, and raising her arm up to shade her face from the brightness, she silently removed her covers and sat upright at the window-facing side of her bed. Yawning with a alto-pitched ring, she stretched both arms spread-eagle, twisting her hips to either side for a light pop at the joint. Satisfied, she sprung to her feet and crossed the floor, where she drew up the blinds and threw open the casement windows that looked out towards the shoreline a mere mile away; the fishing boats could already be seen in their clusters out on the waters. “Good morning,” she said, softly, and to no one, besides, perhaps, to the coming day itself.

    Turning on the fronts of her feet, she moved back towards her bed, where her gaze fell upon a sheet of paper, folded vertically into thirds, laying partially open upon her nightstand. Dreamily, and still likely partially asleep, she snatched it up from the stand. Standing in perfect stillness and near-total silence, she read the letter repeatedly in her head. It had been addressed specifically to her, and had arrive at some point late in the afternoon prior; it was rare for her teacher, Master Esau, to correspond with his students via written letters, so it was somewhat difficult to believe that he had sent it out, leave be the matter to which the letter pertained. Perhaps he simply wished for the letters to also inform the parents of the plans as well? Although why that would matter now was beyond Kaia’s comprehension, she settled with that much as the likely explanation.

    Kaia,

    The time has come for you and your peers to complete your training under my instruction. As such, I am calling the three of you for what will be your final test. You are to report to my home promptly at 8AM tomorrow morning so that I may brief you all on the task at hand. Bring whatever items you have that you would bring on a journey, as well as your weapons.


    Sincerely,
    Master Esau​

    As she read for about the twentieth time, she finally managed to set into her head that the letter was real, and that her Master had finally deemed her and her friends worthy of concluding with their lessons. “Hopefully that’ll make Mom and Dad happy,” she said, in a whisper under her breath. The thought of her parents over the past five years pressed into her thoughts as she collected what she would need for the coming day. It had been a difficult balance to maintain, but she had stuck to her desire to learn from Esau at the expense of working on her father’s boat and in the shop that her mother ran in the marketplace. In her heart, Kaia believed that with her lessons done, everything would be more stable, back to the way they used to be. Well, she thought, maybe a little bit less.

    With a backpack shouldered, and a sword and shield both carefully slung in carrying positions, she carried herself down the hallway and into the kitchen, and readied herself a light breakfast.

    “I take it you’re not up this early to help me open the shop then.”

    Mouth full of food and a glass of water in her hand, Kaia spun about to face the woman standing in the doorway into the sitting room. Her mother, shoulder length light brown hair with the slightest hint of a orange and cool, gray eyes, was very much the image of an older Kaia, and Kaia, likewise, like a younger version of her mother. The older woman stared at her daughter with a disheartened sort of look, which Kaia, after washing down her food with a gulp of water, returned in a mirroring fashion. “Mom,” she started, only to be cut off by a sharp arm gesture.

    “No need,” her mother said. “Your father and I saw the letter last night. We read it after you went to sleep. You know how we feel about these lessons you’ve been getting from that man, but..

    “But they’ve been good lessons, Mom!” Kaia interjected. I’ve learned so much. It hasn’t all be tall-tales and theoretical science stuff. He’s taught us about survival and…”

    “And you didn’t let me finish, dear,” her mother said, cutting in once more. “We understand what these lessons mean to you. So… we have, heavily so, decided to let today play out as you wish it to. You may go see your teacher. HOWEVER… we are going to have a good, long talk, your father included, about where you’re to go with all of this. You do understand, yes?”

    “Of… of course, Mother,” Kaia said, finding it in her strength to give her mother a weak, but hopeful smile and an embrace as she stepped out the door.


    Out on the front porch, the light of the morning sun came in tow with the warmth that only the fairest of days could bring: a mild breeze tempered and otherwise hot day, and the passing of clouds mitigated to the pounding rays with occasional gift of shade. Cracking a wider smile, Kaia parted briskly towards the town center, all the while keeping a steady eye upon a house upon the hilltop at the other side, where Master Esau resided.
     
  2. Nova

    Nova A Ghost Staff Member Administrator

    The early hours of the morning cast a bright glow across the ocean, which caused Sol to have to squint as he looked out into the distance. He sat alone, on a palm tree which had grown sideways on a smaller island near the mainland. The smaller island was attached not far from Master Esau's house by a bridge. A simple white envelope, with Sol's name hand-written across the front sat next to him on the tree trunk on which he sat.
    He yawned, placing his hands behind his head and laying across the long way of the trunk. He watched the clouds far above his head, each uniquely colored by the different colors of the sunrise light. Today is the day, huh? What will I do now, once the test is over? Sol wasn't particularly concerned with weather or not he would pass. Of course, it was always nice to pass these things. But he was confident he would be able to. He was more concerned with what would take up his time after it was all over.
    Both of his friends had other things going for them. Families, goals, etc...
    But Sol, he hadn't put much thought into his future plans. Perhaps now, with lessons out of the way, it is time to use what I've learned to leave these islands and finally learn where I came from...
     
  3. Angel

    Angel Lion Heart Staff Member Administrator

    Luna wiped the sweat from her brow and then stretched her tiny physique as far it allowed her. The gross popping noises of her joints surely disturbed her but it couldn’t be helped. It had been a long morning of bow practice and the fatigue was finally settling in. The smell of Sweet Birch loomed in the air as such a tree was mere meters away. From its limbs, multiple targets hung as though they were ornaments. The area in yellow represented pin point accuracy, while other colors such as red, blue, and black were degrees of lesser accuracy in that order. As one could clearly see, there were no holes in the targets that indicated that a single arrow had hit within the yellow region. With bow in hand, she pulled the string of her instrument ready to take her last shot. Swirling light enveloped slowly releasing a gentle humming noise. She closed her eyes. A soft breeze brushed her face and hair. She inhaled deeply. Then released! The arrow cut through the air, hitting its mark. Yellow!

    “I did it!” she screamed falling backwards to the ground as the grass tickled her back. The letter address to her by Esau, plopped on her chest concluding the fall. She grabs the letter with both hands and stretches it in front of her face. “I’m finally ready!”. With that, she didn’t need to say anything else. The letter said it all. Her journey till now was all in preparation for this moment. And now, she was finally ready!
     
  4. The Heart. The elusive centerpiece to years of study. This enigmatic force resides in our deepest selves, out of view but always informing each and every one of our actions. The bastion of light and darkness, the Heart is our Truth. Does it end there, though? Is the Heart simply a construct of our being, or is it connected to something more? The Heart of a world... the Heart of all worlds. The Heart of Hearts. Does it exist?

    I must find out.

    Esau closed his journal and set the feather quill he had used to scrawl across the page down on his desk. He breathed in deeply, then held the sweet air in his chest. Unconsciously, he imagined the air as swirling energy within him, spreading out to all of his extremities, vitalizing his arms, legs, fingers, and toes. As he exhaled, all his doubts and worries streamed out from his body and evaporated in the morning sun. He smiled. His desk resided right in front of a large window in the second story of his hilltop abode. The sun crested over the calm waters, bathing his room in the light of the new day.

    Content with his journaling for the morning, Esau stood up from his desk and began some morning stretches. His body was growing old, but he still kept himself in peak condition. Wrinkling skin grew taught and old joints creaked in protest as he serenely moved from position to position. In his younger years, Esau had often been too impatient for this style of slow, gentle exercise, but as he aged he found the pace relaxing. Rhythmic breathing brought the exercise full circle. In addition to keeping his body lean and youthful, his special, meditative style of stretching also massaged and enhanced his mana reserves. After a half hour or so, Esau concluded his yoga and once again returned to his desk.

    The oaken counter was filled with loose paperwork. He furrowed his brow as he rummaged through it. Many of the papers were experiment ideas, scientific and magical notes, but the handful that he focused on seemed to depict blueprints for a key-like weapon. He agonized over the papers for several minutes before sighing and laying them back down. Esau was glad that he was able to craft decent weapons for his apprentices, but why? Why couldn't he recreate a Keyblade?

    Magical light filled the room as he summoned the mysterious weapon. It was as simple as clenching his fist, entirely natural and yet inexplicable. What muscle needed to be tensed to summon a Keyblade? What spell were cast to make it appear? Esau had been no closer to figuring out the secrets of the weapon than he was three decades ago when it was first bestowed upon him... until last night.

    I may not be able to create a Keyblade yet, Esau thought. But I may be able to do something better.

    With a confident smile, Esau descended the stairs to the lower floor of his house. He made a pot of coffee and ate a simple breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and toast. Looking to the clock, he nodded and cleaned up the area. His apprentices were due over any minute. Dressed in his martial arts style gi, Esau waited patiently in the main room of his house for his proteges to arrive.
     
  5. Become

    Become Resident Tashian Staff Member Moderator Content Writer

    From the outset at her front door, Kaia’s venture across the Island proceeded undaunted and undisturbed.

    Focused, determined, and above all else excited, she weaved her way through the amassing gathering of islanders along the main street of the village. Occasionally, she would find herself needing to dart from one side to the other, to avoid the questions that would more than likely pursue the awkward glance from an inquisitive shop keep; she, perhaps moreso than her fellow apprentices, was well-acquainted with the other peddlers in the town markets; thus, their tendency to pry into her more personal matters was near, if not on par, with that of her family. With the grace of a gentle wind, and a healthy dose of dexterity, she dodged the interviews and skirted around many of the people she’d have otherwise talked to, avoiding some completely, while frustrating others with her unwillingness to hear them.

    At first, she thought it odd that so many people were looking at her so strangely, as it had never been an issue before. Only after the relative calmness of having made it through the local rush had settled upon her did she remember that most of her previous training sessions with Esau had commenced much earlier than today’s engagement. Often, she’d have already been at the Master’s house, or out on the beach or in the woods training for at least an hour. Certainly, then, she concluded, that the sight of “young Kaia, the fisherman’s daughter,” adorned in warrior’s leather and brandishing a shield and sword must have looked very much out of the ordinary; though the apprentices of Esau were known by name, the extent of their training had remained, somehow, a well-kept secret.

    Well, I guess that cat will be out of the bag. Hopefully the others aren’t getting a bad rap for this too.

    Yet, by the time she reached her destination, her fears and worries about hers and her friends’ reputations had evaporated. The sense of purpose and the feelings of elation had all but overwhelmed any sense of doubt she may have carried. Gazing upward, towards the abode upon the hilltop before her, she found a new form of resolve flushing over her. She took one step forward, placing herself directly upon the point before the flat ground inclined. Without a tell or signal, she sprinted up the hill, and hopped over the two steps that rose up to the landing of the Master’s front porch.

    Winded a bit by her own burst of impatient energy, she slowed her pace and caught her breath as she crossed the deck towards the front door. In a more normal speed, she brought her right hand up, and began a motion to knock upon the window… only to stop just short of the destination.

    “No.” She retracted her hand, and backed away from the door. Turning back towards the direction from which she had come, she watched the road at the bottom of the hill. She had been first to arrive; but not by a wide margin; from Esau’s front porch, she could clearly see Sol and Luna making their own way towards the house. “Yes,” she said, taking a single step forward, standing still at the center of the deck, smiling. “It feels right to.”
     
  6. Nova

    Nova A Ghost Staff Member Administrator

    Sol yawned as he stepped onto Esau's front yard to see Kaia already there and waiting on the front porch. A warm smile crossed his face as his eyes met hers. Of course Kaia would wait for the others before entering the house. The girl's loyalty was one of the many beautiful traits he admired in her. He crossed the front yard and up the porch steps to meet Kaia, "Heey!" he greeted her, extending the word slightly in a playful manner. "Should have known you'd have shown up early." he leaned against the beam next to the front steps. "Let me guess, we're waiting for Luna so we can go in together?"
     
  7. Angel

    Angel Lion Heart Staff Member Administrator

    Luna quickly bathed in the ocean and changed into some fresh clothes. And like that, she was off to Esau. The route she was taking forced her to go through the main island plaza. There, the town’s people greeted Luna as they always did, especially Mrs. Cawallski who went on for minutes about her new born grandson. But it wasn’t until Luna really looked around before she saw a small construction area with a “Coming Soon” sign. “This is new!” she thought. “Paopu-bucks”, it read on a sign. According to the description, it was apparently a coffee shop that sold paopu-based smoothies. And on the cover, a large image of Mr. Moogle. Mr. Moogle was always traveling to different worlds and ripping off their ideas. “I wonder what world; he got this from?” she thought before leaving the area. Approaching Esau’s house, she ran up the hill as she saw Maia doing the same and Sol as well. “Hey guys!” she shouted at Maia and Sol.
     
  8. Become

    Become Resident Tashian Staff Member Moderator Content Writer

    “Hey Sol!” Kaia returned Sol’s greeting with a wide, pleasant grin. “And Luna! Hey there!” she said, waving at the other girl as she ran up the hill behind Sol. “Yeah. Once I woke up this morning, I couldn’t think of being anywhere other than here… I suppose it would be obvious what I was thinking though.” She started trailing off slightly, wandering towards the seaside end of the deck, looking out towards the ocean, and the smaller island in the distance.

    “Just to think. We used to play out there; sometimes, we fought out there. Once Esau came along, we started learning and training out there too.” She turned back to her friends, as though coming out of a momentary trance. “I was just thinking, how when we started under Master Esau, there were like, a dozen or more of us; all the lectures, all of the stories, huddled shoulder-to-shoulder in his sitting room. But the three of us, for better or worse, well, we saw it through, right? I just figured, the three of us have made it this far together. So we might as well stick together now.

    “Sooooo.” Grinning wider, she spun around and looked at the door. “Now that all three of us are here, it feels right to go in.” She walked to the door, staying certain that the other two would be behind her. As per usual with Esau’s house, she knocked on the door as a mere formality. After three, resonating raps upon the oak, she steadily opened the door, and entered the foyer. “Master Esau?” she spoke into the house.
     
  9. Slowly in, and then back out. The course of air flowed through Esau like peaceful rivers, steady, slow, but determined. A rumble of noise from outside momentarily drew him out of his concentration. As he let his mind drift from its inner temple back to the outer world, he began to recognize the noises as the conversations of his apprentices. He smiled and shook his head. Why would they not just come in? They were more than used to treating his house as their own; knocking and such formalities had long been forgotten between them. But then, that was a silly question, wasn't it? Esau thought. Without a doubt, it was Kaia attempting to wrangle her friends together before entering. She had such a strong inclination toward teamwork that often the others would simply get swept up in her tide... whether or not they intended to. His suspicions were all but confirmed as his old wooden door creaked open and he saw his young pupil's face.

    "Master Esau?"

    Esau let out a long sigh, then stood to his feet. With mock anger, he exclaimed:

    "Kaia! Sol! Luna! Did I say today's meeting was to be on the porch?" A sly smile tickled his cheeks. He would often poke fun at his pupils, and for now, he wanted to keep the air light. Returning to his normal disposition, he continued. "Come in, children. Today is a very important day. I would like to congratulate you from the bottom of my heart on making it this far." Esau gave a shallow, but very sincere bow. "Your final trial awaits." Esau then returned to his seated position. He beckoned toward three meditation pillows laid out before him, imploring his students to sit. For just a moment, he allowed himself to close his eyes and reflect.

    And thus, it begins...
     
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  10. Angel

    Angel Lion Heart Staff Member Administrator

    After the speech and reminiscencing that Kaia layed before them. Luna did not dare to try and follow after such a speech furthermore the events of today occurred as she had imagined them to go. Kaia having her moment, Esau and his dramatic effects, and now it would be her and Sol's turn soon. She sat down inside to continue the formalities.
     
  11. Nova

    Nova A Ghost Staff Member Administrator

    Sol smirked slightly as the three students were seated to await whatever trials their master had in store for them. He crossed his legs, placing one hand on his knee while scratching his head with the other. There were a few moments of solemn silence, each person seeming to enjoy the moment.

    Finally, Sol broke the silence "So... what now?"
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2017

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