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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 26, 2015 19:05:28 GMT -6
Made of fresh and old tree branches, fallen from a recent storm, this lean-to only seems only to shelter a sleeping roll and a few pots and pans. Who could have made this? If you happen to look around, you will notice that this seems to be a peaceful, sheltering area of the forest. If you happen to feel a bit tired, you feel as if you may rest here where no one else will notice you, and you will awaken fully rested and restored. There even seems to be a small stream nearby, for you can hear it playing over the rocks even from here. Perhaps just a short nap? If you chose to nap here, you find yourself awakening within just a few minutes, fully refreshed. [This is a spell guarded place, and anyone seeking sanctuary will never be found as long as they stay within a few meters of the lean-to.] The calming presence of a nearby fresh stream seems to put you at ease, even sounding the occasional splash of medium sized fish that may or may not be easy to catch. On one side of the lean-to, the earth has been turned, as if a small garden of some sort has been planted there. Who knows what may sprout up?
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 27, 2015 14:53:26 GMT -6
Appearing just in front of his lean-to, Theo inspects his garden, nods in approval at a couple of tiny sprouts, and ducks inside. Moving the bare dirt aside, next to the rolled up sleeping bag, he lifts a solid wood trap door in the forest floor. Lowering himself down, he enters a realm of winding tunnels amid clay, rock, and tree roots, shored up here and there with petrified wooden braces, and lit with brightly colored blue, violet and green glowing fungi. Occasionally, a cold ever-burning torch flickers blue or violet torchlight along the passageways. Although seeming a virtual labyrinth, Theo's steps never falter amid the maze of possible paths. Opening a doorway out of what seemed to be a solid stone wall a moment before, he steps into a grand library filled with connected circular rooms overflowing with shelved tomes and scrolls along every wall. Broken only by a few desks with various lamps and magnifying devices and matching chairs, the sheer volume of writings is almost overwhelming. Everything here seems to be made of wood, stone, or some combination of the two. Stepping into the center of the nine circles of the library, Theo raises one hand, pauses, and as he lowers it, dust flies from all of the tomes, scrolls and shelves in the entire library, swirls into a vortex, then flows down into a small pile on the floor at Theo's feet. Theo points a single finger at the pile once all the dust has been collected, and the pile bursts into red flames. After a minute or so, the flames subside, and Theo stoops down, collects the now palm sized pile of ash into one hand, then stuffs it into one of many pockets inside his cape. Taking one last thorough look around the library, a single tome seems to catch his eye. As Theo reaches out for it, the tome leaps off the high shelf and lands lightly in his hand. Taking it over to one of the desks, he spreads it open at the beginning, beneath one of the lanterns and mutters, "A little light reading won't hurt..."
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 27, 2015 15:39:01 GMT -6
Closing the tome, Theo floats it back up to its spot on the high shelf, and mutters, "Guess it's time for some more exploring." with a sigh. Walking back along the twisted corridors, the "doorway" to the library closes and seems to vanish into the surrounding rock. Climbing back out of the wooden trapdoor, he carefully closes it, them spreads the dirt back across it, takes one last look at his garden, then sets out to explore the surrounding terrains.
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 27, 2015 18:40:14 GMT -6
Stepping out from the shadows next to his lean-to, Theo examines his garden once again. Noticing a third sprout struggling to break free of the dirt, he coaxes it, muttering to it in some strange but fluid and almost musical language. Under his coaxing, the sprout seems to come to life, pushing past the dirt and flourishing a new pair of leaves. "Not too quickly, now, mind you..." Theo chuckles at the plant, which almost seems to diminish in height to match its brother sprouts. "They might ask too much of me if they knew all that I can do." Theo chuckles to the plant. "But I will ask this of you... Tonight, when the darkness is full, could you and your brothers bloom for me?" Almost instantly, all three of the new plants start to quiver, as if they were somehow excited. Laughing, Theo replies to the plants, "That's enough, that's enough, save your energy for tonight, and make the prettiest blooms you can." Rising to his feet, Theo mutters, "but I'm still hungry..." and disappears back into the shadows.
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 29, 2015 3:03:14 GMT -6
An image of Theo steps from the shadows and examines the garden beside the lean-to. Noticing a single and solitary bloom from the top of the third sprout, the image stoops down as if to pluck it. As it does so, the bloom vanishes, as does the image of Theo, leaving the sprout just as healthy as before, but without the burden of supporting such a large flower...
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 29, 2015 5:09:28 GMT -6
Another image of Theo appears, gazing over the garden... "You are doing well, keep up the good work..." As soon as the image finishes speaking, a fourth and fifth sprout pop up above the dirt. "Ah, I see you too, you may be dayflowers, unlike your brethren so far, but you are the first of your kind here, so be proud!" After this exclamation, the two dayflowers seem to wriggle their way back into the dirt as far as they are able to, then set forth the beginnings of the most spectacular blooms they can imagine.
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 29, 2015 5:10:52 GMT -6
Then the image of Theo quickly dissipates. But his garden continues his wishes, unhindered.
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 30, 2015 14:02:42 GMT -6
Appearing as another image of himself again, Theo surveys his garden. Blooms now full, the two dayflowers seem to be in full glory. The first three nightflowers all have closed blooms at the moment, although the one he plucked from's bloom seems slightly smaller than the other two. Assessing the two dayblooms, he chooses one, tells it, "Now add some extra zest, I'll be needing you soon." Looking around the garden, and seeing a full seven new sprouts, he says, "I am proud of you all, keep up the good work, and work as a team." Then the image of Theo fades away.
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jun 30, 2015 14:22:42 GMT -6
After the image of Theo fades away, the plants seem to send vines with a few leaves out towards their seedling mates, twisting them firmly around the bases of them, sending the vine points down around their roots, then dislodging and separating themselves from the initial vines... the two dayflowers, both having been targeted by the vines as well, immediately set to work enhancing their blooms...
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jul 2, 2015 16:42:48 GMT -6
An image of Theo appears again, examining the two enhanced blooms produced by his dayflowers, and the vine-leaves granted to them and the new sprouts. "I thank you all, you will be rewarded with the ashes of our enemies." Suddenly, many darkened Ice Elementals' heartstones appear in midair, disintegrate into many fine grains of ash and sand, and bury themselves into the earth of Theo's garden. Almost immediately, the plants rise a full inch and put out new leaves. "You two have done your jobs beautifully, and I will make sure your efforts are all rewarded." Theo says as he plucks the blooms of the two dayflowers, both imbued with much energy, and yet still leaving the plants left behind as if they were never damaged... Disappearing again, as the image of Theo fades, he cries out to his plants, "Teach my replacement well!"
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Post by Theo Darkfire on Jul 2, 2015 16:54:40 GMT -6
Acting of their own accord, the dayflowers and nightflowers grow exceedingly quickly, bringing buds to each and every plant there, and joining their roots together into one strong single matrix. Sending roots out to the remaining seeds and seedlings, they share their resources, so that the new ones to join may at least sprout. Not a single seed is left for dead. Since Theo planned for not all of his seeds to sprout, they are for a moment crowded. Then, using most of the remains of the Ice Elemental souls gifted to them, they gradually, over a few hours, spread out across the space of several meadows. None of those flowers or their descendents will ever need sunlight again. Just warm hearts to walk over them will be more than enough from now until the end of days. Inexplicable fields of flowering plants that will now bloom night and day in turn will cover the entire center of the peaceful forest.
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