Lithara

[- Kat -]

[Alright, this is the OFFICAL TOPIC for our RPTC entry So now you all know what they should look like and can get your teams together and make your own topics.]

 

Becca toyed with one of her numerous bracelets as she strode down the halls of the Canon City Recreational Center. She had spent the last three hours in one of the private rooms with her newest Kyokushinkai master, Oyama Sensei, trying to adjust to the harsh takedowns and full-contact sparring. Her normal teacher, Taeko Sensei, had reccomended the style to her to improve her over-all strength, something that most of her other styles didn't emphasize. She frowned darkly, hoping that the wretched man, wherever he was, cound sense it.

 

As Becca pushed the front doors open, the bright afternoon sun quickly dispelled her dark mood, and her scowl turned into a bright grin. She waved enthusiastically at the people walking past her to enter the building as she walked down towards the end of the parking lot to wait for her ride. This was how one would normally find the girl. Cheerful, energetic, and outgoing, this was the trademark temperment of Rebecca Volk. She shook her head to get the long, dark red hair out of her eyes as she reached her destination, noticing that somebody was already there.

 

"Is that one new, Dan?" she asked the guy before her, leaning against the corner of the building. "S'cool, I don't think I've seen it before."

[Arkcher]

With apparel slightly askew, Daniel Odem panted lightly, wavering in his kneeling position, having just successfully landed upright after performing a breakdancing move. A voice to his side caught his attention, suddenly giving him a self-conscious demeanor, as he coolly stood up straight with a light sigh.

 

"Yeah, I've been practicing this one for the past like 45 minutes."

 

Dan responded, glancing at the nearby clock, located not far from his cardboard dance floor he sets up in the gymnasium after school, to try and keep his skills sharp or even improve on them. He turned back toward his friend, who was giving him an encouraging look. He nodded once, and knelt back down, willing to demonstrate again.

 

With a grunt, Dan threw his weight to the sides, supporting himself by the wrists, swinging his legs around beneath his body, grunting loudly again as he changed direction and reversed his motion, before swinging upward to put him in a hand-stand, balanced by his weighted shoes that almost made a 180-degree rotation, before Dan kicked upward, pushing off the ground, jumping in the air, but quickly coming to a premature descent, landing harshly in an awkward position, crushing his right leg with his own weight, causing him to further topple over in to a heap, a few feet away from his homemade dance floor.

 

Quietly laughing to himself, Dan rolled back in to a kneeling position, cradling his limb, seething to suppress the pain.

 

In a short moment, he struggled to his feet, uncomfortably shifting his weight.

 

"Yeah, I usually land a little more gracefully than that."

 

Dan said with a smirk, leaning awkwardly.

 

"... So, How've you been, Becca?"

 

He tried to take his mind off of his injury by making conversation.

[- Kat -]

Becca watched Dan struggle to his feet feeling both concern for his injury and amusement at his less-than-graceful landing. "I'm alright, still think Taeko is trying to bring me to a brutal and untimely demise, but that's hardly new. How about you? That appeared rather painful..."

 

As she chatted, Becca kept an eye on the street next to them. Their friend Joey was supposed to be picking them up any minute now so they could partake in some form of shenanigans, most likely a movie or some video games, with the rest of their comrades. As the summer holidays grew nearer and nearer, Becca had grown continually anxious for the freedom they presented. School in her junior year had been more than a touch stressful, and she looked forward to a few months of relaxation (when she wasn't being hurled across the room by sparring partners) and relativly few responsibilities.

[Arkcher]

Dan crossed his arms, but still looked tense and uncomfortable, as he leaned against a wall by his left shoulder.

 

"ah, Thats not the first time something like that's happened. Won't be the last, either."

 

He looked off to the side of the room, looking back on todays events.

 

"We had a History test today. Failed miserably."

 

Dan half-smiled, still keeping his eye off to the side, trying to remember if he ever got good test results from that subject.

 

"Maybe I'm overlooking something, but I dont see how knowing what kinds of crops and agricultural goods were trades among what countries fifteen-hundred years ago, will have any impact on my everyday life."

 

Dan shook his head lightly, and looked back at the clock on the wall. Joey should be pulling up any minute, with the routine hangout after school.

 

"Oh, I should... probably put this away."

 

Dan strode over to his cardboard dance floor, with a slight limp. Kneeling down, he seperated the segmented flat boxes, and stood up with them folded into themselves under his arm. With his other hand, he opened a nearby double-door closet, storing numerous basketballs and varied sports equipment in a very unorganized fashion. His set of cardboard sections fit quite nicely behind the baskets and compartments inside the closet, being out of the way and hardly visible. As he put them in to place, two stray basketballs bounced out of their compartment, rolling out in to the open.

[- Kat -]

"You never know," Becca said, snatching the balls up before they rolled into the street and putting them back in the room. "Maybe you'll wake up one night to find a burly ax murderer looming over your bed, and he hisses in his coarse, violent voice that the only way he'll spare your life is if you can tell him the main agricultural export of Czechoslovakia in 1920."

 

When they walked back into the open, they saw a blue minivan pull up into the parking lot, Joey just visible through the tinted window. Becca trotted forward, trying to not make it too obvious that she was trying to get to the front seat before Dan. Her endeavour successful, she hopped up into the passenger's seat, and once Dan was settled, Joey pulled back into the street.

 

"What sorts of tomfoolery are we getting up to today, Joey?" Becca chirped as she rolled down her window.

 

"No idea," he replied, immitating her happy tone with a small grin. "We're all gonna meet over at Chelsea's house and go from there."

[Arkcher]

"No, no, no. That kind of thing only happens when you dont forward a threat to 64 of your friends in the next 30 seconds."

 

Dan commented, still stuffing various commodities back in to his bag. He glanced up, seeing that Becca was already at the car door some fifty yards away.

 

in a short moments time, Dan was carrying his messenger bag, rather than strapping it to his shoulder, making his way to Joey's car. He slid the door open and sat down inside,

 

"Chelsea's place?"

 

Dan grinned upon hearing the name. The past few weeks, she had rather grown on him, as more than just a friend.

 

"Yeah, yeah, Just for you."

 

Joey turned around, and smirked at Dan, as the car began rolling forward. Dan settled back in to the seat, making no further comment on the matter.

 

"Seems like last time we went to a movie... so we wont be doing that this time."

 

Joey speculated aloud, not making an active effort to remember what todays plans were, if any.

 

"Last week didnt go so well, if you ask me."

 

"Hah, just because Chelsea wasnt there for that movie doesnt mean it wasnt good."

 

"bah, You just shut your face."

 

Dan laughed back, almost shouting over the noise of the wind and passing traffic, Becca fully enjoying the opened window with her hair flying all about.

 

The vehicle made the appropriate turns to follow the streets through the city of Canon Colorado. Traffic wasnt too heavy, nothing out of the ordinary for a friday early afternoon. Not engaged in active discussion, Dan pulled out his MP3 player, isolating himself from his two friends for the time being. He watched through the window as cars passed by, while Joey and Becca carried on another conversation. The heavy bass beat in Dan's ears gradually came to a stop, the song ended.

 

"So Dan, how's your tribal interperetive dance moves going? still working on that last bit to summon rain?"

 

Joey leaned back and made eye contact with Dan before asking him this. Dan smirked,

 

"Not yet. I've managed to successfully summon bad grades though."

 

Dan looked beyond Joey, and saw a red light at an intersection.

 

"Joey! WATCH OUT!"

 

Dan shouted, pointing forward, as the minivan's brakes screeched, causing them to skid along, slowly rotating to face the oncoming traffic, all the while Joey panicking and yelling, trying to sieze control of the vehicle, but rather dissuaded by the massive semi-truck heading straight for them.

 

Dan threw his arm in front of his vision, not sure what protection that would offer him from the coming impact; A deafening crash, Joey silenced, the shatter of broken glass accompanied by an ominous sensation of being harshly yanked forward, before the physical trauma caused Dan to pass out, no longer sentient.

[- Kat -]

Becca didn't open her eyes once she regained consciousness. Instead, she laid perfectly still, sprawled out in an uncomfortable possition on... was that grass?

 

Although her body definitely ached, she didn't feel like she'd broken anything, injured anything internal, or even gotten a sprain. Really, she just felt like she always did after her martial arts classes. The only thing out of the ordinary was a wet sensation against her face. Slowly reaching up an arm, she did indeed feel some sort of liquid splashed across her cheek. So she had a head wound. Lovely. Making a small groan, she lifted herself into a sitting possition and opened her eyes, mentally preparing for the gruesome display that no doubt awaited her.

 

The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was squeeze them shut again, then raise an arm to block the blinding sunlight. Her clouded mind struggled to register what had happened. She and Joey had been talking, laughing, then Joey leaned back to say something to Dan and didn't see the oncoming truck. She'd been totally paralyzed, only able to just her eyes a second before the collision. The last thing she remembered was being yanked forward against her seatbelt before passing out.

 

The shock must have really messed up her head afterall, what she was experiencing now was definitely not what would would normally go through right after such a large crash. First of all, if she had been hurled from the car and onto the ground, she should hurt much more than she did, and she would probably be on the road instead of soft grass. Second, there should have been the sounds of a large crowd gathering, cars screeching to a halt, sirens, something. But all she could hear was the faint sound of a bird chittering away in the distance. Lastly, when she had closed her eyes just before the crash, they were at a busy highway intersection surrounded by buildings and other cars. From what she had seen in the brief moment after she woke up, she was now in some sort of wooded area. Surely, this was a mistake. She would open her eyes again, and reality would hit her, sounds, sights, and pain.

 

Slowly, she peeked a green eye open, and then the other. She still had to squint because of the sunlight, but there was no denying that she was in a forest clearing. Lush green grass surrounded her, and about twenty feet away a thick row of trees began. Once again feeling the wet spot on her face, she drew her hand away and realized that it wasn't blood, it was dew from where she had been laying in the grass. Looking down, she didn't see any damage to her physical person. Not even her clothes were torn, although her highwayman's coat was deeply wrinked from where she had been laying on it.

 

Turning around, Becca was startled to see a dark heap of cloth a few feet away from her. Closer inspection revealed this to be Dan. She spun around quickly, scanning the clearing several times, but there was no sign of Joey anywhere. Maybe he'd already woken up and left?...

 

Becca scooted over and gently pushed Dan's shoulder, making him fall over onto his back. He didn't look to have any injuries, either, but she wasn't an expert at this sort of thing. "Dan, hey, get up," she croaked, shaking him lightly. It was unlikely, but maybe he had some idea of what was going on...

[Arkcher]

The thin, durable armor plating rattled quietly, shifting with the movement of a rather slender, tall Drow man. He impatiently strode down a poorly lit corridor, with a handful of military guards on either side of him, tending to their stations. He had been summoned in to the throne room, something he was accustomed to, but still handled it formally and respectfully.

 

Two guards opened the double-doors, a greater illumination giving the gloomy scenery a more vivid appearance. The young man strode in, and respectfully knelt before the throne, seating the equally vile-looking king.

 

"Roharic, reporting in response to your summon, my Lord."

 

"Save the formalities for later, Roharic. The last of the signs have been made manifest to me."

 

Roharic looked up at the king inquiringly, not breaking his kneeling stance.

 

"A time rift has been opened, and at least two beings have been pulled in to this world from beyond the veil. I sense that our old friend Tehan is already making his way toward them. You know what you must do."

 

Roharic's heart skipped a beat. He was being sent to assassinate some people that may intercept and hinder their plans. 'Nothing too difficult', he reassured himself.

 

There was quite a reward for him in the end, and taking out a few people may be but a small cost. Roharic glanced to the side, through a barred window in to a cell, giving its inhabitant a mistrusting glare.

 

"Consider it done, my Lord."

 

The throned royalty did not dismiss.

 

"... Yes, father."

 

Roharic corrected himself, and with a silent wave of his hand, Roharic stood up tall, and strode back out through the doors, smirking at the thought of the axial happenings about to take place.

[- Kat -]

Becca started to get a little panicy as Dan remained resilliently asleep. "Dan, Dan!" she said a little louder, giving her shaked more force. "Dan, get up, I think we went somewhere!"

 

As she tried to awaken him, a pale mist was gathering in the clearing behind her. It formed into a humanoid shape and drifted over towards the teenagers while neither of them were paying attention, finally solidify just a few feet away. He was a rather short and slight man, but wore a pristine military uniform. His chest was covered in numerous medals, pins, and ribbons, and his piercing grey eyes were watching the two before him curiously. As he was still hovering a few feet over the ground, the only indication of his presence Becca felt was a slight chill climb up her back, but she was to pre-occupied to pay it much attention.

 

"Daaaan! Get! Up!" The thought occured that, unlike her, Dan may have aquired some sort of internal injury from the crash, but she didn't have any idea what to do about it if he had...

[Arkcher]

Dan slowly blinked, making a pained moan as he pushed himself off the ground, supporting his upper body by his elbows. Becca released a tremendous sigh of relief, watching him for a moment, before Dan's eyes strayed to the left, and spotted another person present, inexplicably hovering a foot or so off the ground, with a gleaming luminance about him. Dan shielded his eyes with one arm, maintaining balance with the other as he tried to adjust to see through the strong light. Becca had a similar reaction, both teenagers now well-aware of the foreign presence.

 

"Do not be alarmed. I am called Tehan, and I have summoned you in to this world."

 

He spoke. Dan was still trying to gather his thoughts.

 

"You were summoned here to carry out a mission that no one else could. You will find that a power inside of you may now be made manifest- something that was suppressed while on Earth."

 

Dan's countenance changed slightly- This wasnt earth... so where were they?

 

"Here in the land of Lithara, it has been made known to me that the dark kingdom of Chalror is planning to overthrow a peaceful civilization under the rule of King Cetelle. They will not heed my warnings, and I need you two to personally send them warning."

 

Dan glanced over at Becca, who was watching Tehan in a stunned state.

 

"You will find Cetelle in that direction."

 

Tehan pointed directly behind the two teenagers, as Dan awkwardly turned his head to look, but only saw trees.

 

"Time is of the essence. Send them warning that Chalror will strike shortly."

 

With that, Tehan slowly faded out of visibility, leaving behind a misty aura where he stood moments before. Bewildered, Dan glanced between Becca and where Tehan was.

 

"Whaaat?"

 

Dan got to his feet and stood tall, looking in every direction, unsure of what just happened.

 

"We have powers? ... Why can't he tell that kingdom himself?"

 

Dan thought aloud, not really expecting a response. He focused on finding the direction this kingdom was, finding few alternatives.

[Horatio]

[ *thinks - Kat - is taking too long to get back to this topic and post* ]

[- Kat -]

Becca just sat, still cowering slightly, staring at the space that had until just a few moments ago held...a ghost? What faded into and out of existance like that?

 

She shakily stood to her feet, speechless for once in her life. Tehan, Lithara, Cetelle...powers? It was too much at once for her post-crash mind to comprehend.

 

Wait...

 

That had to be it.

 

This was some sort of hallucination, or a very trippy coma dream. She was probably sprawled out on the highway, bleeding profusely and suffering from sever brain damage. This wasn't real.

 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Becca stretched, suddenly much more relaxed. She wondered, though, why Dan was present in her dream, but not Joey. Ah, well, who really knew why the subconcious did what it did?

 

"I wonder how long this will last..." she mused outloud. People could be in comas for months. Would it seem that long in this dream? What if she didn't wake up? Would it just suddenly stop?

 

Now that she knew what was going on, she could take the time to appreciate that they were in a truely beautiful clearing. The grass, and trees were all a bright emerald green, and the sky was a perfect, clear blue. Melodic birds songs wafted out of the woods all around them, and in the direction Tehan had pointed, there appeared to be a small dirt path leading into the thick woods. She was proud of herself for being able to create such lovely setting.

 

Maybe she should do as the dream man said. What else did she have to do until she woke up? Or...didn't wake up. Probably best not to think about that. She began walking towards the path, smiling again. "Let's go, Dan!" she said cheerfully.