(Preshow) Registration [Where you sign up IC]

[Taloc]

Registering in the Ashen Steppes

‘Well… It's definitely hot now. Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be? After all, it's not like I couldn’t see lava through the portal…’

Taloc sighs softly as he looks around the entrance to this new area, The Ashen Steppes. Mostly rock, though the black of obsidian can be clearly seen as well, interspaced through most pathways. Much of the obsidian remains solid, even tracing up into many of the surrounding cliff faces as far as the eye can see. Slowly Taloc nods, lifting his mask up and sniffing the air. Very low humidity, clear scents of ash and sulfur, the very distinct smell of hot rock, and strangely something reminiscent of chicken cooking.

Soft footsteps behind him mark Hayaidesu’s passage into this realm. Once again lowering his mask, he glances back at her. “We’re not alone here.”

Raising an eyebrow, she slowly nods and points down the path. “There’s a sign up station for Dante’s Abyss over that way.”

“And that is?” Taloc says softly.

“Yearly tournament of the best fighters.”

“Well that would’ve been good to know about… This could be useful.”

Subconsciously, Taloc checks his weapons beneath his cloak, disguising the action as if he’s adjusting his belt, before heading forward, following his nose. Sure enough, a sign comes into view pointing towards a large red tent, “Syntech presents Dante’s Abyss. Registration inside.”

“Go on. I’ll watch.” Hayaidesu chimes in. If Taloc didn’t know any better, he’d almost say she sounded excited.

With a nod, he heads in.

Surprisingly, the heat disappears the moment he enters the tent flap, though whatever is causing this latest phenomenon is beyond him. A brief look around reveals more oddities, like a paved stone floor, rich wood counters, and three people wearing crisp blue uniforms looking at him. One of them, a woman with strangely empty eyes and shoulder length silvery hair, seemingly glides forward and bows. “Good evening. My name is Hana. How may I help you today.”

Despite the kind and courteous tone, there seemed to be something slightly off about how she spoke. Almost as if this was her whole purpose for existing and she would just disappear when that role was fulfilled… Taloc was once again very gracious that they couldn’t see through his mask.

“I would like to register for Dante’s Abyss.”

“Excellent. If you would please step this way, we will run a few tests, have you sign a bit of paperwork, and get you transported there post haste.” She once again bows, smiling widely. Though he still wasn’t sure if it was genuine or because she knew of nothing else.

“Thank you Hana. This is very helpful.”

Hana leads him back to a small room with a metal tablet. “Please fill out your information onto that tablet and Zwei will guide you through the exams. Thank you for your patronage.”

Before he can think to speak, she ducks back around the corner leaving him alone. Looking down at the piece of metal, Taloc realizes it's just kinda floating there. Chalking it up to another thing that's better just to accept than think about, he looks across the words on its surface. “Place bare palm on surface.”

Strange, but fair enough. Taking his glove off he follows the instructions. The metal glows blue for a brief moment, then pings. The words “Registration complete” scrawl across its surface as a man, very similar to Hana, right down to the empty eyes, enters and bows to him. “Thank you for your registry. I am Zwei. If you will pardon me for a moment I will enable the next protocol on the tablet.”

Taloc nods and steps aside as this silvery haired… male… makes a few hand motions across the surface of the metal. A few soft pings and a gentle whirring starts up as Taloc watches, though nothing seems to be happening.

“And, all finished. Perfectly healthy and able to compete. Tribus is waiting outside the room. He will guide you to the teleporter. I hope you enjoy the competition. Have a nice day!”

Taloc looks at Zwei a moment longer. “Um, what? But nothing happened. You aren’t going to take my blood pressure or anything?”

“I hope you enjoy the competition. Have a nice day!”

“Yes, you just said that. What did you even do on…”

“I hope you enjoy the competition. Have a nice day!”

At a loss for words, Taloc tilts his head. “Are… You ok?”

“I hope you enjoy the competition. Have a nice day!”

Taloc shakes his head and leaves the room. “Well that was kinda…”

“Hello! My name is Tribus. I will be guiding you to the teleporter. Please follow me!”

Quickly catching his breath, and pulling his hands from behind his back, Taloc looks over at… A silvery haired, empty eyed male. Though this one, Tribus, was taller than the other two, the same feeling of something being slightly off was still there. Taking a quick step back, Taloc recomposes himself and nods, motioning this… person… to lead the way, which he seemed all too happy to do.

Down a hallway and around a corner, Tribus opened a door, revealing a large circular platform. “Please step onto the teleporter. I will send you directly to the Abyss waiting area. It was a pleasure having you here.”

With that, Tribus bows and motions towards the disc on the floor. Glancing back out the door, Taloc takes a deep breath and nods. “You know, it's kinda strange. I could’ve swore this tent wasn’t nearly this big. I’m also certain I could smell chicken cooking when I entered the tent… Though I suppose you aren’t exactly the most talkative one either?”

“Please step onto the teleporter. I will send you directly to the Abyss waiting area. It was a pleasure having you here.”

“I thought that was what you were going to say. Hope I’m not making some kind of mistake here…”

Taloc steps onto the platform. A few seconds go by in silence and then the world goes white.