The Lost Clans, the remaining legacy of the Four Clans, creatures once considered so powerful and threatening in Halloween they could have crumbled empires and taken over the Human world. Could. Now they were barely just fragments of their former selves. Now, they were just shadows. Nothing of their old homes remained, the Hunters had taken care of that, blasting their islands until the only thing that lingered were broken pieces of fear that had dissolved into Insanity, the epitome of unstable Fear. The land was as good as a null zone, strange and uninhabitable, overrun by Insanity creatures that sprouted without reason, horrific creatures that had lost all semblance of what they once were and now mindlessly sought to devour.
All they had left to remember their legacy by was a temporary home, still crude, makeshift. Tents scattered all directions, small semblances of living. At least Medea had been kind in granting them a Lair, a factory to harvest Fear from captured Humans, a place where they could carry out their activities, their true purpose away from prying eyes, but even that had been recently taken from them.
To put a long story short, the Horsemen had misbehaved and were, in all terms and senses, grounded. Boogeymen patrolled their temporary home day and night, setting sentries at all corners. Extra security was placed in Amityville, where Horsemen were required to take mandatory classes (though most just skipped out on those as it was a waste of time and effort to learn things they already knew). Everything had fallen one step back, after they had been so close to finally extracting their revenge on the Hunters, the ones who had destroyed their islands, and ultimately regain the power they had lost the second their islands fell out of power. A Horsemen's power was tied to their lands, and currently, they had none. They were weaker than they had ever been before, proof of their weakness in how easily Halloween Town controlled their each and every action. At one point they had been an empire, and now they were not even a colony, a subpar subspecies of Halloween Town, neither Ghost, Demon, Undead, nor Reaper or Monster. Horsemen. A derogatory term for those fallen. A term for the trash that resided in Halloween Town without intent or purpose. Unable to catch up, modernize with the world or adapt to the Fear of Halloween Town, they simply fell out of sync, outcast and forgotten.
This was everything he knew when he stepped into the created meeting grounds. A large arena where Medea's tent had been constructed, now collapsed thanks to her quick retirement from horsemen leadership. She had made some bold moves, and unfortunately, some wrong ones. Now, someone else stood, towering over her in presence, their shadow deeper than any the Head Priestess ever cast. This wasn't any horsemen, this wasn't a figurehead from Halloween Town, or a representative the Horsemen had re-elected, if they were even that type of social structure. No, this was the Horsemen of Death, the Ancient, known to some cultures as gods, commanding all elements of their aspect of Fear in the Human and Halloween world. They controlled balances, nuances, parts of the world, they were the reason that aspect existed, and so they had no equal.
This was who was standing in the middle of the created symposium that day, just a flat field, a crater dug in the center, with the Horsemen of Death standing in the very center. He was a very thin, nondescript and pale Human-looking figure, his Fear however radiated outwards almost infinitely. It felt as if despite his non-assuming stance, he was looking all directions and more so, right at them, each and every one. Death, who had been called so many names through the reigns of Humans, from Osiris to Hades to Pluto, and now simply re-assumed his original and true name. Older than the Four Clans itself, it was rumoured that he was the one who founded the original clans and then, with three other Riders, created the five islands that had once been the Four Clans.
All ends had a beginning, and so, he was here perhaps to give them purpose again and create from bare nothingness true structure. It was what some Horsemen hoped, it was what some perhaps feared.
As most of the called horsemen began to pile in, he gestured towards a Famine sentry, saying a few choice words. They returned with a couple of simple folded chairs, most likely stolen from the Amityville gymnasium, one for Death, one for Medea, and then another for a third figure, solemn and serious, whom many were actually unfamiliar with. The three were seated at the center, Medea looking anywhere but at Death, the progenitor pulling out a paper bag to quietly drink a container that said "MACARONI GRILL" on it from a plastic straw, and then the third figure who seemed fixated on a single spot ahead of him, blank and unfeeling.
Finally, moments later, all the horsemen had arrived, taking spots around the area, seats filed upwards, so all could see clearly those in the center. Putting his drink back into the paper bag, the horsemen of Death stood up first, folding his thin hands behind him. He was dressed in his usual, a slim black suit, a cane, a pocketwatch, a handkerchief. He paced slowly, talking quietly, voice projected by his Fear alone. "So many familiar faces, it is almost nostalgic for me, wouldn't you agree, Medea?"
Medea sort of looked extremely interested in not replying and looking at him.
The horsemen of Death frowned, but didn't seem to be that particularly upset. He paused in mid-step. "Ah the Lost Clans, you have always been one of my favourite stories, from creation to finish you have followed the same purpose, even molded the Humans around you to believe, to Fear in you, admirable traits yes, but unfortunately time does change all, and even you and I are not exempt to this." He paused, and then pulled a tin of mints from his pocket, taking one for himself, offering two to the other, both who kindly refused. "Now, if you excuse me for barging in so suddenly, I'm sure some are you are thinking I'm just an old man, my time is also gone, so on so forth, and yet I am here because, well for one, I can be, and for two, you should be. Let me demonstrate."
Everything turned black, like watching an illusion, like sitting in room cast with shadows, before something flickered into view.
"Recognize this?" spoke the same dry tone, "I thought a little nostalgia might at least attract your attention. That, was once your home land. That is the source of your Fear and probably why you haven't been feeling too good recently. Now I would like to say something optimistic here, maybe like, oh with the power of friendship you can accomplish anything, but I think you are beginning to get the picture here. Insanity can be purposeful and it has potential, but unfortunately as it stands is unchartered territory, wild and quite untamed. An analogy would be like attempting to grasp raw electricity and hoping you don't get hurt, only slightly more painful. Insanity can be useful, but it has unfortunately, especially in this case, run rampant, and has been allowed to run rampant for too long. Now, instead of growing into something structurally sound, instead what you get is this, an uncontrolled force leaking everywhere and eating holes into everything, like a virus, well, pretty much a virus in its raw form."
The illusion shattered, and they were back looking at the three in the center again. Death folded his hands forwards now. "What I think I'm trying to say now, is that you really should well, consider your options. Your state of deterioration, your Fear, your existence was dependent on your original clans, the islands, and I'm afraid even I cannot move them or relocate your very existence. It means that the second the Insanity fully spreads out and consumes your Islands well, I'm afraid that's what happens when a virus runs its course. You fall in line in your place in the evolution chain and become obselete."
"I only tell you this of course, because you are all my favourites. I'm not here to chastise you, just give you a working chance. All this stuff with Distortion, this gathering of Fear, and you've been channeling it to those Hunters, which bless their short-lived souls I'm sure is entertaining but is also a tremendous waste of energy. Have any of you considered instead, how important Distortion is to salvaging and restricting Insanity? As I said, Insanity can be used, it can even be re-purposed, but only with Distortion. Distortion is sparked from concentrated Fear, or at least your crystals have that purpose. True Distortion, in its raw and untainted form, is an immeasurable resource. Just a small concentrated amount of it in its true form can counter any form of Insanity, but of course, like anything, the price toll is high. I'm old and I think I'm rather not one for high stake gambles here, so please, use your Distortion crystals, the ones Medea gave you. If you were unfortunately not here for that rendez-vous, I have many I have carried with me over time, and I am sure Medea is happy to assist you as well."
"Now Halloween Town has warned me about your recent behaviour, so if you are to collect Fear, which I highly advise you to do save yourselves, please at least be prudent. Walk carefully, try not to leave bodies, and Humans can be harvested fine without doing that killing thing, don't even pretend for a moment you can hide it because I end up with the dirty work and that's no fun. When you have finally collected enough Fear, enough to fill your Distortion crystals, there is one last, very last favour I must ask of you, if you trust me that is, and if you realize how deeply in danger you currently are."
He held out one skeletal hand. "I will ask that you return those Distortion crystals to me permanently." A pause and then he sat back in his chair, leaning backwards, just slightly. "Now, all orderly now, in an orderly fashion, are there any questions. I booked this slot for a few hours and I am happy to indulge, my team is currently doing some work for me off the side. Once the question period is time, well, you are all adults here," the corners of his tight expression twitched into a smile, "we can most likely carry the next part out in an orderly fashion."
OOC
WELCOME ALL HORSEMEN:
- RIGHT NOW THIS RP IS FOR HORSEMEN ONLY. Initiates will be invited after the restructuring!
- Welcome to part 1 of restructuring of the Horsemen clans! All players are invited, even newbies and ones that have not rped for a long time. Read the prompt above and think and respond accordingly! IF your character would like to ask any question, simply have them post below and QUOTE ZOOBEY. If it's just a comment to someone else, just quote that person, and do NOT quote me. Post QUESTIONS in EXCLAMATION POSTS
- This RP will be mostly in three parts, this part (the QNA), the second part involving distortion crystals and relinquishing them, and the third of rebuilding the Horsemen empire, or at least giving them structure and purpose. IF you are here for all three parts, even with minimal posting, you will get +6 rp points for this entire exercise!
- ALL NEWBIES ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT POSTED. Feel free to rp and post your reactions, this is what the rp is for! Right now again it is QNA (open) but later on it will taper to horsemen based activities. We want players to get a feel for what it is like to rp a horsemen and this is ideally the thread to get you started. We are essentially rebooting everything in this direction, as horsemen find a cure for the Insanity plaguing their lands, or at least try to slow it down!
- You don't NEED to ask any questions, you can simply post to rp, and interact with others, or just write a reaction post. When the next prompt is ready, I will have it in the title of the thread. The next prompt will be 48 hours from this post (PART II ), and I will be doing gm snippet replies in the meanwhile! Please don't feel shy and feel free to hop in, this is an AMAZING WAY for your character to get started and icly meet other players and understand their current situation.
gaia_crown KEY TERMS AND FIGURES:
MEDEA: Originally leading the new Four Clans under the name the Lost Clans after their original islands fell to Insanity, she sought only for revenge against the Hunters, leading the Horsemen down this singular path. Her carelessness has gotten many in trouble, and she currently has relinquished her temporarily reign back to the horsemen of Death
DEATH: (The Horsemen). An Ancient, considered gods at one point, who is the Fear of the very name he is called by. An elderly gentleman, he has a strange sense of humour and an appreciation for Humans as what they are. His motives seem to be to help the horsemen and push them in a true direction to save themselves, and perhaps save several from the Insanity they are fighting within themselves.
??? The third figure seated next to Medea and Death. Stoic and quiet, he wears a hood over his face. Strapped around his belt, over his cloak, are a pair of modern-looking oven mitts with a bright checkered pattern looking entirely out of place. He carries them with him simply because Death asked him to hold onto them for the time being.
LOST CLANS: The new name for the horsemen, after their islands were exploded by the Hunters.
BOOGEYMEN: The "police force" of Halloween Town, acting to make sure those of Halloween Town and even of the Human world (where in their jurisdiction) don't cross the line. There are several branches of Boogeymen and all of them are formidable
HALLOWEEN TOWN: Where the current Horsemen are residing. This is home to many familiar places, and the creation place of the infamous Jack Skellington, the greatest Pumpkin King. It is also home currently to Amityville, the school, that school, the one with the annoying students.
HUNTERS: Entirely Human creatures that pretty much blew up the original horsemen islands (which all horsemen know at this point). They wield sentient weapons, that were once creatures of Fear themselves. Hunters are seen as protectors of the Human world, though their views clash directly with the Horsemen who would rather just farm Humans for their Fear.
Random Artist
Aisa
danse hexe
Alke
Nyxtsuki Moon
Aeron
Nio love
Bastion Leto
LOLTERNATIVE
Eitri
Wyntre Iceblade
Erintis
Boozver
Heidla Hamhleypa
naggeela
Khetyn
LP
Mjoll
hanging gallow
Nereza Kereas
Beejoux
Nergui
Miliardo Kason
Nirva Sen
Seiana_ZI
Nkosazana
Sadi Sidhe
Pich
DarkHeartedSorrow
Siska
Ramenli
Soren
AyeAvast
Thrain
Grey dragon
Cymbeline
santime
Eisheth
ice queen
Faiyum Riaz
xoxomenai
Kiwi
Eight
Na'ima Saab
AstaraeI
Mahir
sosiqui
Manyara]
Xaki
Mirage
smerdle
Mmur
Kyrieko
Saiyuri
Enoh love
Salbei
x_nata_x
Eris
bilious
Baccabollo
fenshae
Griselda
kuumeii
Iyari
syusaki
Jaida
Adomiel
Lysippe Molpadia
JetAlmeara
Molpadia
pinchmonster
Nomiki
keiifuu
Senga
seussi
Shaheen
Ol-j-man
Shikoba Len
Ravvlet
Torgus
xdeathxbyxlovex
Xiomara
demon_pachabel
Invictus
Baneful
Alva
Saint Sergio
Bao Yu
Dragain
Fu Guowei
Nerpin
Hua Lifen
Bloodlust Dante
Jing Zheng
istoleyurvamps
Lan
Saliru
Lily
kurotomato
Mengyao
Orangeish Sherbert
Shi Kang Ming
Asahi Kumoru
Shi Liu Xiong
Blade kuroda
Tseng Lee
chimarii
Ying Zheng
Pales
Yuzhi Jiang
kaiyumi
Zhiqiang
Trira
Zhi Zang