Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Gabe had been headed for the Grumble Volcano. That had been his goal in coming so far, yet as he started up the mountain way… something prickled in the back of his mind. It wasn’t a voice per say but… a feeling? A sense? Of something… It was enough that he had Ruby the Arcanine change her path up the mountain and onwards… west. They ran for a while, and the closer they got, the more Gabe felt it…. Whatever it was.
As they finally came to the Moon Rise Ruins right before mid-day, however, he was left…. unsure. He’d read about this place plenty of times in school. Some ancient civilization had worshiped the moon or something here, but that didn’t… explain anything. Ruby whined. Something about this place felt wrong, and— and Gabe what were you doing, don’t get off here. Where were you going? The Arcanine whined a little more, but Gabe was walking forward now silently, his eyes flickering from one ancient sheet of rock to another. It felt weirdly familiar the more he felt of it. Is this place… filled with Psychic energy? Somehow? Or was there something here emitting it?
A soft sound had Gabe straightening and turning. Standing there with one hand clasped in another was a rather gorgeous Gardevoir. Red eyes held gold ones, and Gabe was aware that she was like Harriet— far older than she looked. Lips pressed together, and immediately Gabe reached for the power in the back of his mind. ‘Ah…. Hi.’ That could.... would... make for a good source of the Psychic energy, yeah.
Words: 270
Each post must be a minimum of 200 words to qualify. Upon arriving at the ruins, seek out the maidens, then Mod Call. The mods will then have one or both maidens telepathically ask you for help with various tasks in cleaning and maintaining the temple. From your second post onward, this acts much like a job thread, and you will simply [ proll ] (no spaces) to determine if something goes well or badly and continue to react accordingly. In order to earn their full favor and truly "succeed" at the Quest, you must do well on at least 4 of 10 rolls. If you "fail", they will still appreciate the effort, simply not as much.
Rewards (Success): +7 Psychic skill, 10 Rare Candies, one completely random item.
The Gardevoir regarded Gabe with a quiet, almost sullen look before a nod would be given in return to the greeting. Had he come to see the temple. The Arcanine was given a friendly wave before a broom was held out to Gabe without another word. If he was going to gawk, he might as well do something useful while doing so.
The quietness of the Gardevoir was almost a little unnerving. The way she met his stare with a stare of her own was something he was not unfamiliar with— but was still uncomfortable by. Gabe’s gaze flicked away, and a small smile pulled onto his features as he reached to pat Ruby again.
That was, at least, until the Arcanine gave a bark and had him looking forward again. The Gardevoir was coming at him with a broom floating at her side now. Where she had gotten it from or if she had always had it semi-concealed, he didn’t know— but as it was floated over to him to take, Gabe slowly reached out and grasped it.
The order was obvious enough, but Gabe found himself faultering. He had felt… so called here what felt like seconds ago, and now it felt like he had been called to do chores or something. Clasping the broom a little harder, though, he paused for a moment before reaching for that space in the back of his mind where all that power lay. The broom shined a bright gold for a moment before he released it— leaving it to stand upright for a moment before he made a small hand gesture at it. Immediately after, the broom started sweeping of its own accord.
This was probably a poor use of Telekinesis but…. it also forced the Gardevoir to acknowledge it, yeah? Ruby, at least, seemed to side-eye the motion and then whine softly. The last time he had used Telekinesis around her, she’d never gotten that tennis ball after all. On hearing her concern, or almost feeling it, really, Gabe snickered.
The Gardevoir did nod at Gabe's telekinesis ability, but wasn't necessarily impressed by the use of it. There was so much more that could be done. "Concentrate harder, young one. There is more to be done here than idle chores. If control is what you seek, then practice is what is required" The melodic voice would ring in Gabe's mind easily but a rag and a few other cleaning implements would be given to him. Perhaps there was more to this cleaning than meets the eye?
As the Gardevoir turned to look at him, Gabe grinned a toothy grin— as if perhaps silently asking if this was what she wanted. The response, however, had his features falling some. Young one? He wasn’t— And then it hit him that she might have been ancient, very similar to Harriet in that way. Ah…. More to do here than idle chores. Ok. So this was actually practice. In one form or another. Gabe hummed softly. Turning to Ruby, he returned her for now and set her ball in his pocket again. She wouldn’t be helpful if this was just something that needed to get done… by him.
He took the rag, the sponge, and the scrub brush that were given to him… and then focused his energy around them. Slowly even as the broom moved, the items raised up from Gabe’s hands and went over to the ruins nearest to him and began moving and cleaning. And then of course the broom fell over. “Shit—“ Gabe fidgeted looking at the Gardevoir now watching him with a small bemused look. Gabe grimaced and looked forward again reaching for that power locked in his mind. As the broom raised, the brush fell, and this time he was quick enough to catch it midair. Slowly and with great focus now, Gabe got them all moving at the same time.
Even then, though, he was starting to realize how taxing it was.
The Gardevoir noted how Gabe seemed to be struggling handling all the objects at once and hummed. "Slow down. Even the greatest of cities wasn't built in a day. It's not quantity you seek, but quality." Sure enough, there were rather obvious spots only smeared by the rag and sponge. "The shrine has fallen into disrepair and is in a rather sorry state. I trust you won't damage it further." The words were as much a threat as a statement. Given her advanced power, the Gardevoir certainly wouldn't hesitate to banish Gabe from this sacred place.
Slow… down? Had he heard that right? Gabe frowned. Yeah, he was sure he had heard that right. The fact that it was being projected directly into his brain should have been enough of a clue on its own. Still, he frowned a bit all the same. If it’s not quantity why’d you had me so much cleaning st— That was the broom falling over, and Gabe let out a groan. “Fucking—“ Refocusing on the broom, Gabe got it raised again. The sponge and rag lowered some but managed to at least stay up in the air this time.
…Everything lowered just a little as the shrine maiden went on. Gabe’s eyes (and focus) pulled away slightly, and he found himself really taking in the shrine for the first time since getting there. He’d seen it at a distance but had come there with a different intent. Now he just…. found himself ever so quietly in awe of it. He’d read about the shrine in school. He knew it was one of those general wonders. He knew this. He knew this. He did. But… something about seeing it was different now. His eyes flicked to the sponge, and slowly it raised and came over to him. Fingers clasped it, and Gabe moved his own hand to carefully rub some of the stone.
His powers still worked. The broom still swept. The rag still moved, but everything was a bit slower now, and Gabe found himself looking carefully over the ruins now… the architecture…. The… everything.
The Gardevoir seemed pleased that Gabe slowed down to actually take in the shrine's beauty. A small ghost of a smile appeared on her features and she nodded, yes, this was good. Perhaps if he continued this way, another task would be given but for now, the Gardevoir was content to watch and even dismissed the slip of the tongue. Vulgar language was not something she appreciated, but at least Gabe was beginning to learn the lesson. Sometimes slowing down allowed the mind to really appreciate the work being done.
Slow, careful, meticulous, Gabe worked. As the broom continued to sweep the dust up into a square, various carvings that lay etched in the stone below came to light. Pausing to stare down at them, Gabe hummed a little to himself. He couldn’t actually read whatever it was (and was probably too close to see anything from the sky), but they were nice patterns, he supposed.
A pause… and Gabe glanced over to the Gardevoir. He was still working, technically. The broom was still sweeping. One of the sponges was still circling. But he wasn’t moving himself. “Can you tell me a little about this place? From your experience…” He knew about it. It was an alter to the moon, worshiped by ancient peoples long gone. That was what school said, anyways, but that didn’t really get to… the heart of it.
And Gabe couldn’t really explain why he would even care to know. Perhaps it was the atmosphere here… the sense of peace but also of something more. The itch that he had been called here as much as he had been drawn in. It was a strange feeling, an itch he’d only noticed was itching after he had scratched it.
…And right after that the broom managed to get out of his psychic range and drop to the floor in a clatter. Gabe slapped a hand over his face and walked over to it, mentally reaching and grasping it up agin to go back to work.
"Perhaps the answers to what you wish to know are closer than you think." Was that a hint of sass to the Gardevoir's voice? Or was it simply projection? Whatever the case, the Gardevoir didn't seem too content to explain everything. "Each stone that built this temple contains a thousand stories. Show them the care, the dedication, and the time they deserve, and I'm sure you will come to understand them better." Was this Gardevoir seriously trying to say that the secret to this temple's stories was to clean it? Or was she just trying to get out of her cleaning duty?
Whatever, the case, some ancient texts and pictures were be close to where Gabe had let the broom slip. Maybe he could steal the time to study them while he was cleaning. At the very least, it'd be a nice break!
She was sassing him? Gabe side-eyed the Gardevoir, and she returned the gesture in kind. The small quirk of her lips gave her away, though, and he shorted back right after. Looking from her back to the walls again,
Gabe said nothing but listened to her psychic train of thought. Each stone that build the temple contained a thousand stories. Yeah well, everything did, didn’t it— Oh. Something in Gabe slumped a little as he registered to one degree or another that that was the point. Everything in this place from the stones to the dust to the Pokemon that inhabited it (including the Gardevoir herself) were filled with stories that made up this place’s history. I’m a blip in it… at least for this place, and this place in turn was a blip in his own history. Gabe could leave and never return, and this would be a forgotten moment.….
That was what he had wanted back then, wasn’t it? To disappear from Arcellian history, to be a ghost, a missing child, to be forgotten… and to become someone else. Did it really matter what ancient peoples lived here? What they worshiped why they worshiped? Did it matter what the Gardevoir had experienced in her life up to that point? What connections she made to this place? Not to me…. Not really… What had mattered, what always mattered, was the here and now.
Slowly, Gabe walked around to extend his psychic range and move the broom in the process, coming over to the newer pictures, he raised the sponge and started cleaning again. Can’t believe I’m talking to a rock… But whatever. I guess… I can just ask what you are now… Since that was all that mattered. Slow breaths, slower movements, and Gabe went back to cleaning again.
Oh, this sassy jerk. That said, maybe all of her mumbo-jumbo is starting to get to your head. Your cleaning has gone from too much at a single time, to a little bit too slow and focused. Rome wasn't built in a day, but at this point it's going to take you a week before the temple's been sufficiently scrubbed! It doesn't help that too deep of a scrub could be bad for the stone. "Careful. The stone has suffered enough, being weathered throughout the aeons. See to it that your own weathering does not add to it." What kind of overly-perfect balance did this Gardevoir expect?
Gabe almost— almost— jumped out of his skin when the psychic response hit his mind. He’d been so focused on the rock that hearing the Gardevoir elicited a disconnected response. All of the telekinetically controlled items dropped to the ground again. Looking back at her, Gabe glared. The Gardevoir smiled sweetly. Gabe scowled back.
‘Consider it part of your focus training…’ the Gardevoir answered a few stray thoughts from Gabe. “Self-control is very important when dealing with psychic powers…’
Gabe froze and looked away from her again. Looking at the stone that had been ‘through enough’, Gabe had to wonder if he hadn’t been through enough too. “It’s hard,” he admitted with a certain degree of honesty that he rarely showed anyone outside of his own Pokemon. Harriet knew. Liz knew. Some of his newer Pokemon didn’t know… how sometimes it felt like he was right on the cusp of losing control.
A weird breath drew in and out of Gabe. He wanted to ask for help, wanted to accuse her of already knowing this, wanted to ask if that was why he was called here. But some part of Gabe already knew she wasn’t going to give a straight answer. If something had called him, it could have been the ruins itself for all he knew. It could have been ancient legendary Pokemon, or Eri’s forsaken Celestials. Or it could have been his own psychic power crying out to get some measure of harmony with.
Or it could be that he was just doing cleaning duty for no reason. Gabe felt his lips quirk a little at that. Strangely, more than anything, he liked that the most. Slowly he went back to cleaning again.
With a few deep breaths, a little time to think, along with just a hint of luck, the cleaning duty began to go by a little faster. For a brief moment, Gabe would notice that cleaning was going a little better than before. One of the tablets seemed to be in very good condition and had the phrase "To focus too much leads to narrow-mindedness, to focus too little leads to emptiness. Be receptive to wisdom, but forge your own beliefs."
After some time, Gardevoir floats on by, seeming impressed with the improved cleaning routine "It seems you have relaxed some and found a gem of wisdom as a result. How do you feel?"
Working still ever carefully across the stone, Gabe would come across a phrase he could actually read. It… had a bit of the linguistic curly cues of Arroian but was still kind of overall different. He squinted at it for a while as he worked trying to read over exactly what it was before finally…
Huh…. A proverb written into stone? I guess… Or perhaps he could just be misreading it. It was… kind of interesting to think that maybe there was actually some Arroian influence here… or that maybe the language had some origins here. Mom did say we have family here… Even if he had never personally met them (or had any desire to). Gabe closed his eyes and took a slow breath in and out again. He … had no real desire to know much much about this side of the family. He had seen enough of the Alims in Arro…. But maybe it was… worth looking into at some point here. Or I could just forge my own path forward… With perhaps a little more reflection than he had had before.
Before Gabe could worry about it more, the voice in his head had him glancing sideways to the Gardevoir again. How did he feel? Gabe’s lips pressed together as did his eyebrows. “…. Feels like I’ve been lost for a long time…. And really confused…” he admitted quietly with a small sigh. “Like my head has been cloudy for a long time…” his lips pulled back in a smirk and immediately fell again. “And all the noise… out beyond here has been… distracting… It’s silent here….”
The Gardevoir floated around him and came to stand a little closer to him. Her hand reached up and hovered over the rock. ‘….These ruins resonate with those whose minds have become clouded… by offering silence and clarity…’ she spoke slowly, carefully, gauging his expression with every word. ‘Your thoughts are still very busy, though….’ she sassed him and earned a small roll of eyes in response.
Silence and clarity were very difficulty to find, especially when the thing you needed silence from was your own head. Try as you might, looking at stones and walls wasn't doing a ton to help silence your own head. You feel close, tantalizing fingertips away, to the clarity you seek, and yet . . .
Not helping the matter is the fact that, in the silence, you can hear and feel your own breathing all too acutely. Perhaps steadying that would be a good first step for steadying your mind?
The Gardevoir made a small gesture of ‘back to work’, and Gabe sighed, turned, and went back to cleaning again. Slowly going over the stone once again, he felt his thoughts start to speak up again. Too many questions, too much uncertainty, too much noise. But he wasn’t hearing it from the outside right then. Closing his eyes, Gabe took in a slow breath. It’s quiet outside me… just have to match that to the quiet in my head… Easier said than done, but he could try.
Almost a minute passed, but slowly and surely, Gabe managed to empty his thoughts. Focusing on nothing was… difficult, but the thoughts around him were his own, no one else’s. He could control their flow… if he focused enough. Slowly, his power spread outwards anew, like a ripple. The broom moved in wider circles and with a little more flexibility than before. The rag that had been wiping down one of the walls moved in more of a circular pattern. Gabe himself felt… just a bit steadier right then. Steadier than he had been in a while, unsurprisingly. He wasn’t sure how long it would last, but in those moments, Gabe felt… different.
You managed to calm yourself and your work become much more effective...This added with several successes form previous attempt seem to please the Gardevoir. She deemed that while yes, some part of your telekinesis is a bit shaky and your mind loud in some places, you're ready for another task.
<Have you found your balance, young one?> she asked <Why don't you try cleaning that place for a change?>
What she pointed at was a ruin of a fountain, but one with clean water still trickling down from its holes. The collected water was clear, and with the stillness of the air bars some whistling wind made the sound of the water all the more prominent.
<If you find yourself too hard at concentrating for too long, a permanent crease would form between your eyebrows. Why don't you take some time to quench your thirst while cleaning up too? Perhaps a little break is due, even if it's just to take a swig of water.>
A wave of soft concern and assurance washed over Gabe right after. His eyes flickered sideways to the Gardevoir who was watching him intently now. As her psychic voice reverberated in his mind, Gabe paused to listen in a bit more carefully.
He had almost expected to be relieved of the task of cleaning altogether, and a small spark of interest came to him— up until she pointed to the fountain. Yellow eyes flickered to the ruin and stayed there just long enough to reflect the dribblets of water that pourated it. Looking back to the Gardevoir, Gabe raised an eyebrow before slowly walking over to it psychically taking the tools along with him.
Looking down into what water had accumulated in the fountain’s basin, Gabe stared back at his reflection for a moment. His skin was clear. His hair was pretty. His eyes were just a tad tired. He thought he looked nice enough but guessed that wasn’t what the Gardevoir had been intending for. Looking back over to her as she went on, he realized she was perhaps more concerned than she put on. Setting down the cleaning tools for a moment, he went back to the bag he had set down, grabbed a now almost empty water container, downed it, and then walked back.
Leaning over awkwardly, he carefully dipped the canister into the water. Perhaps he leaned over a little too much.
In your tiredness and awkwardness, the canister slips from your grip, and as you strain to keep ahold of it, you overbalance and your face dunks into the water as well. You manage to pull yourself out. The reflection of your hair in the water is less pretty.
You can hear the surface thoughts of the Gardevoir... giggling to herself? Perhaps she isn't as serious as she comes across. Through her mind runs speculation about you and your possible affinity for the water... or is it hydrophobia? Whatever it is, she certainly finds it curious.
Perhaps you are done for the day. Perhaps you should come back later. She telekinetically levitates the canister out of the fountain and sets it down at her side. If asked, she will inform you of where you can dry yourself off.
Mod Call
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