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The stink of ash rouses you to your senses, and you open your eyes slowly, blinking away your tiredness and clearing your sight. And what a sight it is: Ruins surround you, long overgrown with flowering vines and in a state of heavy decay. As you stagger to your feet, you realize that the ash-smell had been coming from the area around you, which is scorched black. You try stand up, but a splitting headache almost puts you to your knees again. It takes you a moment to regain your senses and for the headache to subside to a dull throb. Looking around, you notice that you aren't the only one in the ruins; you can see others, some still unconscious, some awake, all wearing plain clothing: tunics and britches, mostly. You don't know who any of the others are, but then, you don't know who you are either; along with that skull-splitting headache came amnesia; complete and total amnesia.

Several of you converge on a large, intricately carved pedestal - still in remarkably good condition - that emits a dull warmth into the air. You wonder why you're there, why the others are, and more importantly, who you are. You begin to talk, and one amongst you places a hand on the pedestal to help him balance and the rest of you are blinded by a bright light as you feel an intense heat coming from the Pedestal. When the light dims enough, you look to where the person had been standing, but you instead see an extraordinarily large, grey and blue canine looking around in confusion. He looks a little frightened and backs away slowly. Then, just as suddenly as he had become a dog, he returns to being a man. He looks at his hands and his body, then he looks at the others. He laughs quietly and closes his eyes; when he opens them again, he is back to being a dog. "Incredible," he says to no one in particular, "I can still talk too."

((Feel free to talk, introduce yourselves, etc. Now Go!))

Nar'rae looks on with interest at the man touches the pedestal. After the light the large from of a wolf standing where the man had been surprises him. Trying to back away not really sure what had happened trips over a small bunch of twigs and throwing out his hand to keep himself from falling the only thing to grab is none other than the pedestal that had just caused the transformation to the other man.

In another flash of light what looks like to be a large tan cat with deep black spots and strips running along the back of his spine falls over into a pile of leaves and flails for a little trying get back on his feet, er paws, whatever. Looking around he sees everyone else's expressions and wondering what they're all starting at tries to stand an look himself. Instead finding that impossible he sees what eveyone is staring at its him. Hes changed as well, and standing up, this time on all fours looks at himself. He could see better, smell even more, his hearing was at least ten times as good, and, the best part, well at least what he thought the best part was, he had a tail. Which he wagged back and fourth behind him with glee. He really liked this form. All he did know was he was some sort of cat, and that was about it. "I like it" he said to himself.

((Yah first post WOOT))

Pain. Ash and pain brought Jon back to the world.

As he attempted to rise, it felt as though someone took a dull razor to his skull. This caused him to fall back to the dirt, though the pain did not stop. He began to writhe. Unfortunately for him, the spasmodic movements only made the pain worse.

This lasted for a few moments, before finally he could focus on something beyond the pain. Stone scrapped against his limbs, and through teary eyes he noticed black ash had stained his form.

For a few more seconds, he continued to writhe in pain as he evaluated his surroundings. Then, slowly, the ache lessened down to simply a dull throb, and then later was almost ignorable.

Almost.

Taking the lesson from before to heart, he rose at a more relaxing rate. This time, the pain barely flared back to a throb. Finally, he could begin to see beyond the ground and his temporarily pathetic form.

What he saw caused him to feel the back of his head for injury. Before him, a figure just 'changed' from a human into a weird spotted creature. The lack of red when his hand returned proved that whatever he saw was most certainly not a illusion caused by head trauma. It didn't prove that he was in any way sane.

Looking around, he saw several other forms lying on the ground. Some were men, some were women. All were roughly as well dressed as he, though not quite as covered in ash. He started to wonder who they were.

And then, with a sudden mental shock that almost brought the pain flooding full force back to his head, he realized he didn't even know who he was.

Kokoro rose from the ash covered ground, the scent of burning filled her nostrils and a dull throbbing pounded inside her head. She let out a little gasp of pain as she nursed her temple with her thumb and fore finger.

Then she noticed the others. They were dressed in similar clothes to herself and by the sound of the groans, they were suffering the same headache too. A little shaky on her feet she Kokoro took a few steps forward before having to prop herself up against part of the ruin.

What is this place? What am I doing here? Were the first things that came to mind. Then she was completely distracted by an event that both surprised and horrified her. She watched as a man turned into a massive canine, back again, and once more into a beast. She stifled a scream letting out a mere whimper.

Following suit another man changed form, this one into a feline beast. She noticed that before this change he had touched a pedestal. It emitted some kind of warm light when he touched it and when it dulled again he had changed.

Were these people...beasts...whatever they were. Were they friendly? She hoped so, either way they seemed to be in the same situation as her. Timidly she spoke up. "Uh...h-hello..." she said.

He couldn't remember who he was. Any attempt to remember beyond such, even any dreams he may have had while unconscious, drove a spike of pain into his skull. He couldn't recall anything before his painful awakening, not even the murkiest detail.

"Uh...h-hello..."

The sudden noise drew his attention behind him and towards his left. The turn also nearly floored him to the ground. A woman was propped against a bit of rubble, staring outward to the 'thing' near what could best be described a pedestal. From the look on her face, she had no more an idea what was happening than himself. Her face was completely unknown to him, and he felt that even if he could fully probe his own mind she would be a stranger.

He could understand her, though, so that was something. She might have originated from the same area as himself, or at least have some semblance of the past. Jon tried to speak, though the first thing that happened was a violent cough and exhalation of moistened ash and dust.

The second attempt was more successful.

"Hello to yourself." He quietly whispered back.

A man to her right whispered a reply to her. It made her jump, she hadn't even noticed him untill now so focused on the men changing form in front of her. After letting her heart slow back to it's normal rate she managed to get a good look at the man that had seemingly snuck up on her.

He was covered in ash, much like herself, though he looked as if he wasn't taking it quite as well. He looked awful and he had coughed up soot and ash before he had spoken. The one thing that did stand out from his blackened face however was a tatoo of a cresent moon beneath his left eye, despite being covered with dirt and ash it still drew her eye.

"Are...are you ok?" She asked, rather concerned by his condition.

Nar'rae looked around for a small while just now starting to notice where he was, and who was around him. Not a single person seemed familiar in the least, Wait a second, who am I? Seeming to perk up Nar'rae cocked his head sideways looking very confused.

Ok lets see, my name is...... Nar'rae looked at the ground and closed his eyes, ......Come on there has to be something there........anything?.........nope, nothing.... Looking back up he sees a woman standing up over by some rubble, along with some other guy that looked like he was having a bit of trouble himself.

Who are they, wait......similar clothes...in the same area....I wonder if they have the same problem. The dust now being kicked up by the various people starting ot wake and walk, well, stumble around bothered Nar'rae's nose. Wrinkling it up he shook his head and sneezed several times with a small 'Fwssh' sound each time. He started to rub his nose with his paw, after which he started to walk around the edge of the large soot covered area. Well if Im gonna talk with these people I have to call myself something............ Nar'rae thought long and hard trying to think of something to call himself, after what seemed like forever he decided to use the first thing that came to him. Nar'rae.....meh, sounds like a name, I guess. As a cheetah he started a slow stride towards the two of them.

Martin blinked.

He was lying on his back, covered in a thin layer of ash and a pain that felt like a dagger had been buried between his eyes. He moaned softly and shifted his weight slightly, his arms coming up to cradle his throbbing head.

Someone was speaking nearby, in these strange vine covered ruins. Martin tried to pay attention, but the headache reduced any intelligible words into garbled noise. Through sleep bleary eyes he saw several other figures touch a central pillar, and change into, well, animals. There seemed to have been no lasting effects, but Martin was wary, and edged away from them. He didn’t know what had happened or how. He just knew that he did not want to risk it. Thinking as hard as he could, he wracked his brains for any idea of what might have happened.

It was then that Martin realized the lack of memory. He stood on the precipice of his memory, and could only feel emptiness, like a ragged and torn wound. He was incomplete.

He squeezed his eyes shut, he needed to think.

Jareth woke and a blinding pain filled his head, something was irritating his nostrils as well, and something covered his eyes. he took a breath and whatever it was started choking him, blindly stumbling around he found something and put his hand on it, and a warm feeling suffused him. He somehow felt ...... better. Bigger, faster, stronger, and..... hairier. He wiped his face and found a muzzle. After clearing the gray stuff from his face, he realized he had paws. He was a ...... bear. The word jumped into his mind, Grizzly. He was a Grizzly bear, and let his enemies beware. He looked around and saw that there were others some like him were animals but others had no fur. He walked to one that looked like a cat and said "Greetings, who are you?"

Funirku's vision was blurry and distorted, quickly opening his eyes as he sat up in a rush, though instantly grabbing his head in intense pain, though he didn't show much emotion towards it, simply growling as he slowly stood up, stumbling as he made an attempt to catch his balance. With a slight stumble he stood up straight, looking around in concern as he smoothly bent back, cracking the joints of his spine and neck. What the hell was exactly going on!? More importantly though, who were these people and even more so...who was he? He slowly looked up into the sky and then to each of the people who he failed to recognize.

His heart sank, why were these people looking to each other, at him and at this "Pedestal". Looking to his hands he could see he was covered in some sort of ash. Getting down on all fours he shook himself clean, standing up quickly as he reached his arm out to feel the warmth.

No sooner did he slowly take in the heat did it seem it drew him to it, though he swore he didn't move. His body embraced it as the world around him grew ever brighter, blinding him and setting his mind in motion, as if running through a bank of stored memories locked away deep inside himself.

It was a empty feeling...A depressing feeling. As he back away he opened his tightly shut eyes to find himself covered in a jet black fur, emblazoned with Blood red symbols on his forhead, limbs and down his back. It was a fantastic feeling, the symbols converging on his back though it seemed to only be noticable during times of great stress. This feeling was undescribable.

Something that burned so deep in him was the passion of a Canine, a wolf if you will. Reaching up to his muzzle he now knew what he had become.What was becoming of him, looking around as his form changed back, looking to his now normal hands and pacing off from the others to stand by himself.

Concealed from the others he began talking to himself, asking himself questions and trying to uncover who he was...but to no avail.

Kat blinked and opened her eyes. Well, one eye at least. The other was clogged with sleep. She rubs at her eye and opens both. She looks up and sees a grey sky.

She sits up quickly and soon regrets it. Her head starts throbbing from what must be a massive migrane. Urgh, that was a stupid move she thinks afterwards.

She looks around and sees some blurry outlines that look like people. She slowly stands and has to brace herself against a wall.

She waits a little and her vision improves. Ha. They were people. I thought I was right.

She asks a question to whoever is listening "Where are we?"

After looking closer at everybody she realizes she doesn't recognise anybody "But more importantly, who are you guys?"

As the stench of ash enteres her nose, the first thing to go through her mind is: "There must be some lousy cook nearby."

Then she realizes the actual meaning of the scent. Evara quickly lifts her head from the ground, only to be hit with a splitting headache. Wincing with the surprising pain, she slowly opens her eyes.

Reassured that there's no immediate danger, she slowly rises with a hand on a nearby stone for balance.

As the headache subsides, Evara takes in the surrounding ruins. Just as she clears her eyes, the first flash of light from the pedestal blinds her again. Crouching to get her bearings again

I don't like this place.

She rubs a bit with her hands in her eyes to get some vision back.

It's completely different from... from...I don't know.[/i]

Distressed by the lack of memories, Evara chides herself.

Panicking will get you nowhere. I'm glad I atleast know my name.
Putting her mental worries somewhere in the back of her mind together with the headache, she stretches herself a bit to get rid of the sore muscles.
I might as well try and found out what those other people here know and join them. I just hope they're not a bunch of crybabies.
Doing so, Evara walks upright, trying to hide all the soreness and pain she's feeling.
I can survive this
Looking at the shapechanging spectacle, she quickly corrects herself.
If I don't go insane first.[/i]

The woman reacted negatively to his informal acknowledgement, flinching momentarily. Jon realized that she hadn't noticed he was even there, her eyes focused on the spectacle in front of them, and felt almost embarrassed by the shock he caused in her.

For a moment, she stared at him as she did those on the pedestal. She seemed to be studying him, before a look of concern etched across her face. Confusing it to be about her own safety, Jon was about to deny any resemblance to the 'things' on the Pedestal. Before he could, she spoke again.

"Are you okay?"

That question came as a surprise to him. Was he okay? Quite obviously not. His head was throbbing, he couldn't remember who he was, he had no idea where he was. Yet the worry on her face left him to feel that such an admittance would just bring more trouble to himself.

Struggling to come up with the right words, he finally found something that sounded appropriate to him.

"I'm... feeling better." It was only a slight lie, seeing as he was feeling less pain. That was barely in any way better, though.

Before he could bring up further conversation, ask here anything about their surroundings, Jon had his attention brought back to the sneezing feline... that was walking right towards them. He was defenseless. They were all defenseless.

Another flash brought his eyes back to the pedestal. A confused looking bear, if such a beast could be confused, had made its presence known.

A third flash shone from the pedestal, though this time he couldn't see anything new. Perhaps it could only summon so many beasts at once?

Nar'rae was interested in the woman at the moment, taking several slow steps towards her and the man she he been talking to. He was a good three of four feet from them when another voice caught his attention, and looking over his shoulder he sees what looks like a huge brown bear standing over him. At this he freaks, this thing had come out of nowhere, and in his surprise he lets out a loud hiss and jumps straight into the air landing a foot or two behind the woman his heart beating hard he seemed to stick behind her. His tail had poofed out and his fur was quite ruffled. "Im....my name is Nar...Nar'rae...I guess." Nar'rae hid behind the woman almost feeling safe from this huge beast. "Who are you?" he asked gingerly.

Jareth started "My name is ............ What is my name!?!? J..J..Jar..Jareth!
Yes, that is it! My name is Jareth, How are you Nar'rae?"