forgeabettertomorrow: ([DIO] Thoughts of a Broken earth)
Darin Altway ([personal profile] forgeabettertomorrow) wrote in [community profile] isleofavalon2021-06-09 04:14 pm

Feel it right behind you, a grinning monster out to kill

🧙 WHO: Darin Altway and You!
⚔️️ WHAT: Caster has cursed Darin and now he's using Familiar Fusion and going berserk
🕒 WHEN: Right after Caster's declaration against Archer and the aftermath a few days later!
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot and Darin's Forge
⚠️ WARNINGS: Potential Violence/Blood/Gore/Mild Body Horror

[He doesn't know how long it's been since he passed out. He remembers Caster's message. He remembers meeting her at the edge of Broceliande Woods. He remembers...]

[Pain.]

[He comes to in a sweat. Not from pain or nightmares or anything of that nature, but because the forest around him is currently ablaze. He tries to jump to his feet but his senses are off. Skewed. Something was very wrong and he could feel it. It felt like oil seeping into him, slowly gripping the very cockles of his heart.]

[Rationale gives way to panic and he's stumbling away from the treeline. He had to get back to Camelot. He had to get back for...some reason. Something inside of him screamed that he had to.]

[But his footsteps slowly grind to a halt as he crests that final hill. As Caster's dark curses finally find their hold and grip his very being, altering every bit of his perception and reasoning.]

[The witch's curse was a powerful one. In her grief, she hexed Darin to see his greatest fear. And to act on the rage that he spent his life tamping out; the one fire in his soul he refused to stoke.]

[He falls to his knees, staring at a ruined Camelot. Everything he'd come to know, the happiness he was so desperately seeking. You see, if Darin was as much of a monster as he claimed, then his fate should match that of the monster, the witch of betrayal, that he sought to defend. It's only fair, right?]

[There would be no peace. Not while monsters walked among the people of this world.]


A - Transformation (CW: Blood/Mild Body Horror)

[Camelot was gone. Or at least, Caster's curse made Darin believe that it was. And Darin, on his knees, was slamming his fists into the earth with all of his magical given might; each blow sounding like a cannon shot as it cracked the stone beneath his fists. Inconsolable, he screams, believing no one will hear him.]

[However, anyone making their way to the woods to try and stop Caster or the fire she's set might stumble upon him. Calling out to him draws his attention to you, but there's something...off...about his eyes. They're clouded over with a dark haze. And while he might be looking at you...what he sees is something different altogether.]


You...it was you!

[Enraged, Darin pushes himself to his feet, magic coursing through his body so sharply that it crackles in the air. The air becomes stifling. Oppressive.]

You've taken everything from me, Dromas! Everything! So, you want a monster?! I'LL GIVE YOU ONE

[His giant antlion familiar bursts from the ground behind him and latches onto Darin's back. For a moment, it looks like his familiar might actually attempt to subdue him. Unfortunately, those enormous, terrifying mandibles find purchase in Darin's back and, for a horrifying moment, the familiar begins to burrow. Writhing in pain as his magical power skyrockets faster than his body can compensate, Darin lets loose a blood-freezing scream. But just as quickly as it had begun, his familiar disappears into Darin's body as the two merge.]

[Darin slams his hands into the ground as he begins to grow and change. Two horns erupt from his temples, black and glinting in the light of the burning woods behind him. His torso swells; muscles grow massive as chitinous plates form around his extremities like armor. His body contorts, his back arches, until finally he's a hulking beast, towering at over ten feet tall.]

[Green eyes glowing ominously amidst the haze, the newly transformed Darin lets loose a bellow that sounds like it's three voices screaming in cacophonous harmony.]

[And then he rushes to attack.]


B - City Escape (CW: Blood/Violence)

[Believing Camelot to be nothing but wreckage, Darin storms the city chasing...something. In his cursed state, every person he sees looks exactly like the person he believes to have brought about this disaster. Unfortunately, in this state, Darin isn't much for conversing. He's barreling through Camelot, tearing through buildings like they weren't even there. And any person, resident or not, that crosses his vision is likely in for the fight of their lives as he presses the attack. After all, in his mind, Camelot is in ruins.]

[He tears up a chunk of the street and hefts it towards a group of terrified people, all of which scatter. Or attempt to. It might be too late for some.]


C - Lockdown

[It had been several days since Caster's message. Several days since he'd lost control and was set upon the good people of Camelot. He'd been keeping to himself in the forge almost the entire time, only going out occasionally in the evening for food or groceries. When he did, he wore a cloak with the hood drawn to hide his blue hair and he barely spoke.]

[Of course he did his best to help the city recover from the damages. For the first two days, he worked tirelessly to get supplies and forge tools for whatever reconstruction needed to be done. But he would always send then out anonymously or send them to whoever needed them via a proxy. It's clear that he's doing everything he can to avoid going into town himself and he hasn't been spotted in town since the incident.]

[He threw himself into his work after that but...he still seemed off. Anyone who stops by the forge might find him struggling; hammering away at something that just isn't taking shape properly or tinkering with, and subsequently screwing up, some detailed work. Finally, in frustration, Darin pitches his hammer across the forge with more strength than intended, burying it into the wall across the work space.]

[Frustrated, he sits down and buries his face in his hands.]


Wildcard

[Got another idea that you want to thread out? Go for it!]

(OOC: Feel free to threadjack as much as you want during the events of this log! It's going to be chaotic and people should definitely help each other! Got questions! Message me on the journal, my discord, or hit me up at [plurk.com profile] bitterbearface)
enchantressofore: Thanks to Tarot for the B/W bases! (I must try harder to become more.)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-13 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps. But if the power to resist did not exist, I would be dead right now.

You are not a god here, no matter what happened before. Your brother would not be, either. We all have the power to resist, to stop the destruction, and to bring you back.

[ Because if that's not right, then... What Darin told her before is wrong, too, that what she's born as does matter more than her actions. And so, so desperately, she wants to believe that it's not like that. ]

... Is that not part of what this place is? To... To make us equal.
enchantressofore: (Perhaps I am feeling some grief now...)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-14 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This is starting to make her feel more and more helpless, seeing that he's like this. What he's saying is causing a pit to grow in her stomach, anxious and uncertain, but she can't show that now. Her insecurities aren't what matter. ]

Darin, you do not honestly wish for all of that destruction and pain, do you? I think... What matters more is what you think here and now. Far more than when you were under the influence of a curse.

[ She's trying to smile as a mask, but because she can't quite manage it convincingly she's looking away again, her hand finally falling away to grip at her own trousers tightly. ]

... Someone who wished for all of that on the world would not have taken in a girl who was lost and alone for no more reason than a shared passion for their trade. You... Y-You are more than your blood.

[ Maybe it's more selfish, but she has to believe that. And to remind him that he's far more than the 'archfiend' he believes he is. ]
enchantressofore: Thanks to Tarot for the B/W bases! (Perhaps I will show some gratitude.)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-14 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She listens quietly, and as much as she doesn't want to admit it... He's right. There's no way to just fix this. This is something he has to live with, and while she might claim demonic blood as well she knows she doesn't have to face a force to make her completely lose control.

Is there really anything more terrifying than that? ]


... All right.

[ It might be strange for him, but Adela raises her hand to gently pat Darin's head, a gesture he's done for her before (albeit without the healing magic attached this time). In this moment, she's hoping it's at least a small comfort for him, a wordless support that isn't going away anytime soon. ]

Promise me you will take the time to rest while doing all of this? You will be of no good to anyone if you become too tired or ill. And if you need anything at all, just ask -- being your apprentice aside, it's the least I can do for blinding you back then.

[ ... No one said Adela had the greatest sense of humor. ]
enchantressofore: (Is it so strange for me to smile?)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-14 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Finally she feels like she can smile more genuinely. She nods, taking in the warmth of his hand over hers and relaxing fully -- likely the first time Darin has seen her do so. ]

Of course you can. Is that not a part of why I am here?
enchantressofore: (Thank you. Truly.)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-15 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
... You do not need to thank me for that. I know you would do the same, were I to need this kind of aid.
enchantressofore: Thanks to Tarot for the B/W bases! (Perhaps I will show some gratitude.)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-18 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ She just smiles, and maybe it's because of what she knows but... It feels like she can really believe that. ]

I had best get to work then. It looks like you could use a break, and there is time for finer detailing later.

[ Granted she might be working a little slower than she would normally, if only because while she has recovered quite a bit she still isn't fully recovered. But this shouldn't be too hard on her ribs, right? ]
enchantressofore: (Well this is surprising...)

[personal profile] enchantressofore 2021-06-26 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Huh?

Adela blinks at the touch, stiff at it, but also at the warmth and... It's easier to breathe.

She looks down at her chest, confused, before she looked to Darin again. ]


... How did you know I was still hurt there?