Treasure Hunt - Serenity Newman

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

19a
You pick fire and walk down the right path. The trees start to thicken as you walk further down, and soon the leaves and branches form a canopy above you, blocking the sun. Still you press on forward, trudging through the path. It is eerily quiet, with only the rare insect chirping, but you don’t let that deter you as you keep going.

Finally, up ahead, you see a clearing; rays of light break through and light up your path, and you hurry forward to the clearing. To the left is a small hut, seemingly abandoned. It is old, windowpanes missing the glass, cobwebs covering parts of the wood. You head towards it and find the door is open. You enter and find a single chair in the middle of the room.

In it sits a house elf. He looks at you and smiles. “Some people say fire is destructive, but it isn’t always true. To the phoenix, it is life. It also represents passion, and without passion people are alive but aren’t living; there is no life.” He seems to be repeating something memoried. “Answer this question honestly to get your next clue: why do you fear?”

a) Answer the question in order to continue.

(OOC: You may use the House Elf in your post to reply to your character if you wish. They can have a deep conversation if you want them to.)

Guest

She continued to walk, noting with some concern that she was going deeper and further into the forest. For but a moment, Serenity wondered if she'd made the right choice, but processing through her reasonings once more told her that there was no other possible answer and, confident in her logic, continued onwards, letting nothing stop her.

Eventually, she saw a break in the thicket around her, and pushed herself on. She was beginning to sweat a little with the huminity of the forest, but as she stepped into the clearning, cool air -- despite the sunshine -- greeted her, and she smiled softly at the hut.

Cautiously, wand drawn, she moved towards the hut. It was where she was supposed to be, yes, but it looked so old... Noticing the door ajar, she peeked inside before entering, surprise on her face at the house elf there. Glancing over at Tammie, she saw no recognition on her house elf's face, and so turned her attention to what the one before her was saying.

His reasons made sense; it was something she hadn't even considered. After all, without a passion of her own, Serenity had never really experienced Life, and therefore it did not once cross her mind that she'd been missing anything. It still didn't strike her, his question throwing her off balance.

For a long, long while she stayed silent, processing the question. It was a good one, one she'd never really considered before. Three minutes in, she let out a sigh, and then sat down, crossing her legs beneath her; Tammie, recognising the look on her face, also took a seat, although she kept her eyes trained on the young Seer. Serenity, however, had her eyes closed, mouth moving in silent words as she argued with herself and threw out points for consideration.

In order to first answer the why, she needed the what -- and that was plenty.

She feared her abilities. She feared being used; she feared not having a use. She feared not knowing; she feared knowing too much. She feared nightmares, both in dreams and in real life. She feared evil, and hatred, and hurt. She feared being abandoned; she feared being owned. She feared the night; she also feared the day. She feared people; she feared being truly alone. She feared death; she feared life.

But why? If it had been why she feared those things, she had an answer.

She was afraid because she didn't want to be an object, but she also didn't want to not contribute to the world. She was afraid because if she didn't know, that meant there was a gap in her knowledge, but if she knew too much, she would be overwhelmed. She was afraid because they were scary, both what her mind made up and what she Saw in real life.

She was afraid because there was so much hurt in the world, and too much and she was afraid the very foundations would crack. She was afraid because the dark represented the unknown, but the day shed light on horrors she wished she'd never seen. She was afraid because she knew what people could do, but not having anyone to help her made her want to give up. She was afraid because nobody knew what happened after, but being alive meant witnessing things that should never happen.

But that wasn't the question at all; it wasn't why she feared what she feared. It was, simply, why? Why did she fear in the first place?

It wasn't a scientific question. It wasn't a how her brain worked, or what chemicals were released (a muggleborn friend had tried explaining biology to her once; it went over her head, but she was interested nevertheless). It was an honest and simply why, and for the life of her, Serenity could not figure it out.

She simply did. It was what made her real; it was what made her human. If she didn't fear, she didn't feel, and if she didn't feel... Her eyes flew open and she stood, turning to the House Elf.

"Why," she repeated, looking at him with some curiosity. "Is a hard question. Why do we do anything?"

The house elf looked at her, blinking slowly. Serenity shrugged. "We do what we do for our own reasons, but all because we are alive. We have life and we can, right?" She paused, eyes intently searching the face of the house elf for signs he understood before going on. "I fear because I am alive. Because I am human. Because I am not dead. But, more importantly, because I can. And I will, because it's better than not feeling anything at all and therefore not living."

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

22
The House Elf nods at your answer, seemingly satisfied with the explanation you’ve given him. He smiles at you. “Make your way out of the forest and over to the Care of Magical creatures paddock.” He says nothing more and you leave the shack behind. There is a path behind it with a sign indicating it is the exit and you follow it. It’s not as scary as the other one, with light from above guiding your way. However, the trees beside you are close together and thick, with hardly any gaps between them.

Suddenly, up ahead, you notice something blocking your path. A giant boulder is in the way! Upon closer inspection, it seems to be made of twine and interwound branches. It’s huge and in the middle of the path, so you can’t walk around it. The trees are too thick for you to be able to enter into the forest and find another path. It seems the only way to get rid of the giant ball is by magic.

What spell do you use?

a) Wingardium Leviosa
b) Flipendo
c) Incendio

(OOC: At the end of your post, please make your choice clear by writing it in another colour, or bolded.)

Guest

There was a long pause as the house elf digested her answer, and for a moment Serenity wondered if it was enough. She understood, yes, but would someone else? It wasn't properly delivered, and she should have elaborated further, but she wasn't sure how to explain it. But, eventually, the house elf smiled at her and nodded, giving her further instructions.

Exiting the hut, Serenity found the path she was supposed to take and followed it, noting how narrow the path was. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the boulder until she was almost right upon it and stopped short. What now?

There was no way she could go around it and there was nothing she could do but try and get rid of it. Not liking the idea of destroying it, she decided on one of the simple spells she had learnt. Slipping out her wand, she pointed it at the ball of twine and said, simply, "Wingardium leviosa."

Choice: a)

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

23a
You decide to use Wingdardium Leviosa to move the ball of twine and interwound branches from your path. You raise your wand and perform the spell. The spell hits the ball and you watch as the spell takes effect and the ball of twine is lifted high above you. There is no place for you to put it down, however, and, carefully, you step under it and move the ball behind you before carefully lower it back to the path.

With the path before you now clear, you make your way out towards the exit of the forest and find yourself at the paddock.

You find yourself faced with a Centaur.

The Centaur considers you for a moment, but they have a far off look in their eyes, as if considering some other worldly ideologies. A few more moments pass, before the Centaur’s attention finally makes it’s way to you. “The planets’ alignment is almost complete,” the Centaur says in a far off voice. “Upon such a time, it is unknown of what consequences you may face…

“Who are you really? Describe yourself without using your name, or any attributes given to you by society and really think. Deep down, who are you?” the Centaur adds, not really making any connection to their earlier words. Sense, though, was never truly something that Centaurs ever made.

a) Answer the question in order to continue.

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