The Temple of Artemis(Pre-Event/Intro Thread)

[Clownpiece]

“The Empire’s settlement, huh...” Somerled mumbled to himself, his heart slowly accelerating from Connor’s explanatory add-on. Over so many centuries he had tread on the soils of so many empires. The number of these that he could still look back on fondly and maybe wish to visit again, were none. Time and time again had these voyages and vacations ended in violence and bloodshed, and experience dictates that this time would be no different. Engines roared as Connor took off, into the city beyond, and with a quick snap of the reins, hooves clicking on the concrete beneath them, Somerled was heading onward as well.

“We can survive an empire,” the ever-calm voice of his other half whispered encouragement. “We’ve done so before.” The last words spoken as Somerled’s vision lurched forward, brown behemoth beneath him fading away into nothing. Before the monster could let out so much as an expletive, he fell through the ground, into a blackness beyond. All his rationality yelled that he should have hit the ground by now, while his very being screamed to him that he was still falling. His senses gave no indication either way. No wind rushed past his ears, the void around him eerily silent. The same void that encompassed his vision with nothing, no ground nor sky anywhere. Then, with all the rapidity that it had come with, it vanished.

Brilliant white jolted into Somerled’s vision, the sky above shifting from what could best be described as nothing, into a beautiful marble ceiling. Eyes wandered across the architecture above, as the spirit lay there, trying to process what had just happened. Sitting up as abruptly as he had landed, Somerled began gazing around this new landscape. It was what could only be described as a marvel of Mediterranean engineering. Magnificent white marble pillars surrounded him, holding the ceiling high above. Though whatever lay beyond those pillars was obscured, a thick layer of fog blocking it. And at the center of it all stood the statue of a hunter, bow in hand and quiver on her back. Somerled’s mouth shot open, already upturned in a wide grin, as he prepared to make an incredibly inaccurate statement.

“Greetings Champion.” A new voice beat him to the punch, and his gaze was back to the front in an instant, breath catching in his throat. Breath that was immediately released once the monster realized there wasn’t a threat. The face and form of an old apparition sort of hovered in front of him, and either not noticing or not acknowledging his little startle there, it sprung into its tale.

An old hero known as Teucer, whose name rang a bell in the spirit’s halved little mind. He thought it might have something to do with an Ajax. That thought was rather short lived however, the monster cutting off the train there. The Romans all had such fancy names, he just couldn’t be bothered to remember them all. “...but that evil warlock cursed my soul onto six relics that you must retrieve for me.”

Somerled’s half-assed listening and mental rambling was brought to a screeching halt by that sentence alone. His breath caught in his throat once again, and now his full attention was focused on the apparition as he spoke. The blue spirit then immediately jumped into an explanation of what the monster must do. To his ears, it felt as though the voice slowly got further and further away, being overshadowed by the racing of his heart.

“Please save me.” With a plea for help, his introduction was wrapped up. Somerled’s mouth hung open stupidly, his face pale, then, almost out of nowhere, his voice exploded into existence.

“A soul! Split int- in two! No, six!” he stuttered, mouth turned up in an ecstatic grin, with a voice much louder and faster than it needed to be. “Split and put into two, no, two uh, six, bodies! Wait, relics!” though the monster couldn’t feel it, his body shook. “A split done by a mage, magician, warlock, sorcerer, whatever the fuck!” He sprung to his feet, trying his best to stand still, but never ceased his wobbling. He brought his arms up slightly and cast a glance down at them, finally noticing the shaking. “Yes, I...” he trailed off, vision blurring. Arms shot up, giving a quick wipe to his eyes, and fell back to his side immediately. His head turned back up, meeting the Spirit’s gaze. “Erm, sorry,” the monster issued an apology with a small cough, shifting about uncomfortably, composure all but gone. A few moments passed, longer than he was used to taking, but Somerled’s back straightened up, and though he still shook, he stood with confidence. “I will do everything in my power to get those relics back together.” Once again, his voice was strong and level.