051.2 Arachiel

[Corwin]

[19:46] <Kotono> Sleep does not come easily to Arachiel this night. Periodic storms blow through, crackling with lightning and roaring with thunder! Oftentimes the pounding of rain and hail stirs her, awakening her from the edge of sleep half a dozen times. Eventually Arachiel rises and sitsu p - sleep continues to elude her as the storms continue to rage.
[19:49] * Arachiel groans. "Whyyy? I only need like two hours! Storm!" she shouts, shaking her fist impotently at a window. "Hnn."
[19:50] <Kotono> Only the uncaring storm answers her. The pounding rain continues, the trumpets of thunder detonating all around. Another wave of hail comes, slamming into the ground! Yet as it does, Arachiel hears a voice. A voice calling her, as if coming from outside.
[19:52] * Arachiel blinks. "Can storms hear me? I can talk to storms now?" she strains her ears to listen.
[19:57] <Kotono> An indistinct, faraway voice can be heard. Arachiel swears it's calling out for help.
[20:03] * Arachiel grabs her clothes and throws them on, giving the living throw rug on her floor a shove. "Come on! Wake up time! Time to go save the world again! The storm needs help! Or something! I don't know! Wake up!" The bear sprawled out on the floor grunts at her and yawns hugely, slowly pushing to his feet. While Ulysses is waking up, Arachiel looks outside for the source of the calls!
[20:15] <Kotono> Ulysses stirs as Arachiel looks out! The storm still rages - she can't hear anything and visibility is poor! Yet she can hear a voice calling for her, out of her visual range and out in the storm.
[20:19] <Arachiel> She opens the door to her home, wincing at the power of the rain. Steeling herself, she heads out. Ulysses half-follows, and is half-dragged behind her.
[20:21] <Kotono> The rain howls around you! Like a hurricane's fury it whippets all about, great detonations of thunder punctuating everything! Hail begins to fall like a barrage of magic missiles, slamming into the earth with full fury!  As you struggle to withstand this, the world flashes white! A great, pure white bolt of lightning slams into the earth before you! Where it strikes turns to flowing glass,
[20:21] <Kotono> images starting to appear within it.
[20:24] <Arachiel> "Aagh!" Arachiel cries, recoiling from the bright light! As it fades, she looks down to see what happened!
[20:29] <Kotono> Within you see a shadow man - a thing. From it you know it's name, as surely as you know your own. It is known as Balphus. You feel danger as you see it walk, the people around him withering away. A majestic voice speaks in the thunder, "Arachiel...Find Balphus and stop him!"
[20:31] * Arachiel blinks and looks around. She eyes the image for a moment, then gives a big smile. "Okay! You got it! Where's he at?"
[20:36] <Kotono> "Travel to the east, but your journey shall take you far and wide across this Creation..." The voice says, "Prepare yourself in this city and make your partings." With another crash of lightning the glass is gone and then...the rain slows, the hail stops. The storm passes, leaving behind wetness and darkness.
[20:44] * Arachiel scratches her head. "Well, okay then." she says with a sigh. "Could have just said so instead of the whole big storm thing. Ah well. Come on, Ulysses! Back to bed!" She turns and heads back home to try to get some sleep, Ulysses padding along beside her.