Fantasy Divinity Unbound

[ChoShadow]

((This RP is private, so please do not ask to join or post in this thread. Those who were a part of the RP on the site we migrated from will be posting here soon.

Thank you!))​

 

[ChoShadow]

Shifting his feet in the stone and gravely beach beneath him, Korose examined their new environment with incredible scrutiny.

A rocky, gray beach. Frigid waters behind them. Before them rocky and sparse vegetation like the beginnings of a frozen desert. Trees in the distance indicative of a forest, or what remained of one long since dormant. Mountains in the distance, the tallest of which they had been able to see for well over one hundred miles out to sea before their arrival. That was where the Diviner lived, and that was their ultimate destination.

But then, it occurred to him...

"Did the Goddess ever say exactly where on that mountain the Diviner lived?" He asked.

But before he could answer, a massive floof ball of some sort came careening out of nowhere and accidentally rolled over their self-proclaimed leader, the black-winged silent night. After a moment, the creature seemed to right itself.

It was some kind of giant hare. A rabbit-like being with large claws and an obviously well muscled body over 9' long from nose to tail. If it were here as a threat, those legs would be the biggest threat. One kick, and it was over. Korose was wary and began to subtly gather his Shadowfare magic, drawing it all in beneath his feet hiding within his own shadow to be used if the creature came at him.

But for now, he decided to watch and wait...

 

[Saracen_Rue]

As they continued to walk slowly up the frozen earth beneath their feet, a sound was heard as a large form came from around the corner, and slammed right into the woman with the dark wings.

Neden and Dreux had only just enough time to jump out of the way as they were shortly behind the "leader" of the group. They withdrew their weapons as they side stepped the large form, but as they studied it more closely, it became obvious for what it was. It was a large, and very dangerous hare looking creature. Dreux kept his grip on the hilt of his sword, knuckles turning white as his grip only tightened more. His ears flattened to his head under his hood, and his tail swished under his cloak as he kept his eyes on the beast, taking note if it attacked to stay away from its legs.

Meanwhile, Neden had done the same as Dreux, unsheathing her sword and held it in BladeStance, which was an offensive stance with the blade in front, while Dreux had went with the DefenseStance, which held his sword in a defensive manner in front of his body.

She eyed the beast as it seemed to sit up, realizing it was a giant hare, "It's a...Giant rabbit?" she questioned as she quirked an eyebrow as she looked at it. And then turned to the others, "Are you all right? Princess? Are you alright?" she asked the blonde woman with the crimson red eyes that she made slight eye contact with before turning her head back to the beast, making sure if it attacked, they wouldn't be taken by surprise.

 

[Firewind]

The Kestal Siblings arrived on the same port on the same boat Zaldir took. When the boat arrived, Aranaea leapt from the ship and used her fire magic to steady her descent and float down to walk towards the rest of the group. It was then she heard Korose ask his question. "I believe not, Sir Koro." She said, adopting a small nickname for him to familiaraze herself with the other elven members of their party. It was then she noticed something large and fluffy crash into their self Proclaimed Leader Az. Or A. Z. as she decided to identify her as for the time being. She raised an eyebrow.

But her thoughts were interrupted when out of the blue from the boat she left, Zaldir's cart, pulled by the large dark stallion that was Ardyn, Zaldir firmly sitting on the driver's seat as he began to manuever his means of transporting his magical hand made trinkets down the way.

"Right. Sorry I'm late everyone. Ardyn was being a pain in the neck to convince to come off the ship. So! What'd I miss?" asked the magic blacksmith.

 

[ChoShadow]

(Posting for Abraxas just this once)


Unsurprisingly, Aznyxphia was doing a poor job as a leader.

Partly, this was do to her isolated lifestyle - first a pariah, then a soldier, then a wandering knight errant who seldom ever spoke with anyone; though not literally spoke, of course. She didn't really know how to socially interact with people, and that was not even taking into account of her disability. Another factor was that her mind was shattered by learning her entire religion was false, and was too busy rebuilding her beliefs to think about anything else. Perhaps it was that she was so intent upon pleasing the Great Goddess Sil'Eph Niir that she'd forgotten about pleasing her own "subjects".

But, deep down inside of her heart, the reason that she was loathe to tell anyone was that she honestly didn't care about the others. They were like side characters in a story; adding flavor to the cast, maybe a bit of drama or comedy relief, but honestly inconsequential in the end. That's really what Aznyxphia's life was; one great, giant story in which she starred as the gallant, heartthrob knight errant, sent on a holy quest by the Great Goddess to rid the world of evil once and for all. Everything else in the world revolved around her, whether they liked it or not (*hem*hem*Vernon*hem*hem*). However, she cared enough about their feelings to not tell them this.

Sometimes, doing this was a bit hard. Nobody in their grand questing party really took her seriously. Just another uppity, flighty, mute succubus who thought she could just swoop in and take things over - this is what she assumed the others thought of her (and, applied to certain people in the party, she wasn't far off). Very few could understand sign language, and writing out everything she wanted to say on those big sheets of parchment was getting rather tedious. She wished she had the ability to reach out and speak telepathically into their minds, like Sil'Eph Niir had done to her. It would be so much more efficient.

Despite the fact that she for the entire trip, rather than interacting with her crew as a good leader should, flying above the clouds, lost in contemplation about her existential crisis, she was somewhat aware of the drama that had been going on with her crew. The young pirate had been boisterously strutting about, befriending all in their merry crew, while a romance (or two) was being kindled between members of her group. These latter few she envied; in fact, she envied them all for being to express their romantic interests for other people when she had been punished and exiled for expressing hers.

As the ship docked and the party filed out onto this new landscape, Aznyxphia flew out from the clouds, a dark shadow against the clouds. Landing in the nearby woods, she took out her pen and parchment and began to write the address to the party she gave every time she met with them.
Suddenly, a great amount of snapping and crashing reached her head, and she whipped her head around to see a dark shape heading towards her. Reacting quick, she leapt out of the way, flying above the treetops as the thing blundered by. Then, she dived towards the creature, sword out of its sheath and ready to pierce the flesh of whatever vile monstrosity this was that had attempted to kill her.

 

[Mineczka]

The adventurers did not take that well... As most bare arms against the supposedly new threat, Shyl'vahn was in quite a spot, 'They take up arms against a percieved threat. Not astounding...' With that crossing her mind, the giant hare began to stand fully, her presence would seem rather imposing, as a man came up with a cart and horse, and she was now the size of it. Looking to the seeming party, words soon came from the beast, showing it was rather sentient, "My apologies, as my actions, while unintended, have alarmed thee." A pause came over, as the winged woman had evaded the first attack. That eased Shyl'vahn there were no injuries presented to the woman, good. However, that did nothing to quell the retaliation that was coming her way, as the woman began to fly, the hare watched her with caution, "Peace, child, I mean thee no harm." Those words seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as the woman proceeded to dive down at her, sword at the ready. A fight was to come, whether Shyl'vahn wanted it or not. Through her times, many had tried for her life, mostly rival Kani, where they would battle in the form she took, fast-paced and vicious. The movements of the woman, while fast for a bipedal person such as herself was naught to what their opponent had faced. With contact close, the giant hare dashed to her left, evading the woman all together. There was no will to battle this woman, unless Shyl'vahn had to, once again she spoke with her voice, while affected by her transformation, being clear to all, "I hold no ill-will. I parley once more in hopes to understand the incident at hand." As those words echoed, all Shyl'vahn could do is hope for the best, and dodge any more attacks...

 

[ChoShadow]

The hare's arrival sparked a flurry of activity and views. Korose, having seen a few of these in his time, was far more inclined to observe than do battle in this situation. Even if it was for the sake of preventing any unwarranted combat, his involvement was now forced. The winged girl once again attacked without thinking or waiting for a response, and this Korose could not allow.

Gathering Shadowfare Magic within himself, his body began to darken and a black aura appeared around his body. He brought his fists in across his chest, and then shot them out to both sides with palms open facing outwards. A massive wall of dark magic appeared between the hare and Az. Using the darkness to grasp the hare's shadow, he dragged her towards himself while using the rest of his power to blind Az temporarily in a haze.

With the hare now beside him and a distance away, he released his magic and let it dissipate.

"That's enough!" He called.

By now, Az was free of the haze and could look to and see him with a hand up in a "STOP" gesture.

"The hare means us no harm. Stay your blade." He ordered.

 

[Firewind]

Aranaea watched the events unfold. “Uhm. Miss Az? She didn’t mean to rush towards-” she tried to say when Korose stepped up to the plate and began to intervene on both parties behalf. His display of magic was shockingly surprising to her. She had heard of Shadowfare magic but never before saw it in display, herself being a fire mage had no time to only skim on some of the other forms of magic in her study.

If she had to say it out loud she would, she was impressed by Korose’s mastery over the magic. This only made her want to learn more about the fellow elf a little more. Understand how he studied his magic, what sort of style he was more used to in using it, etc. Most importantly, she wanted to get to know Korose as a person, just as much as she wanted to get to know her brother and catch up on 50 years of separation.

Zaldir on the other hand, observed the commotion, still struggling to understand what he had missed. When he observed his sister doing the exact same thing, but focusing on one person in particular, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. ”Sister, I think you might want to try not to stare at one person too long. It’s rather rude.” He commented. ”Also, no need to try and study his magic so intently. You already are a great fire magician, if I remember right.”

“Of Course I am, little brother.” she commented with a small hint of injured pride. “Shall I demonstrate it to you again for the 16th time these past eight days of traveling together?”

”I’d rather want to know more our Family, which you avoided talking about these past few days.” he replied to her with a roll of his eyes, Ardyn shaking his maned head a bit as he pulled both cart and rider along.

Zaldir was going to have to get something else to pull the cart for Ardyn once they hit more snowy areas in the north. That much was certain. ”Let’s keep it moving Ardyn.” he instructed in Elvish. The horse, seeing that there was possibly still a situation at hand, stopped and stayed right where he was, only daring to move until after everything simmered down.

 

[Saracen_Rue]

Neden and Dreux watched as they held fast to their weapons. Neden's knuckles turned white as they wrapped around the black obsidian hilt of her sword, as she continued to keep her eyes on the beast. But she observed as the black-winged woman flew into the air, her jump causing a small cloud of dust to kick up into the air, which resulted in the two to cough slightly.

They watched with intent eyes as one watched the hare-like creature while the other watched the woman with wings seem to turn tail and be aimed for a downstrike through the air for the creature. But their attention was taken away when Korose literally stepped in and used his magic to stop a potential fight to ensue. Neden's eyes widened when she saw a shadow-like substance pour around Korose and the ground near his feet, separating them all.

Dreux nodded as Korose spoke, telling them it was enough, and sheathed his silver coated hilt back into the leather strap by his side. While Neden looked on as she slowly sheathed her blade, not due to Korose and his threat, but due to the fact that the beast...Spoke? Yes, the hare-wait, animals don't talk, do they? The young woman thought as she blinked and sheathed her purple dyed obsidian blade back into its sheath that hung loosely by her hip on the left, which also housed her obsidian and metal Kurasigama, which were housed to her belt by the metal chain that they were attached to.

"You...You're not a normal hare creature are you? I mean...The fact you speak tells as much. I am sincerely sorry for her brash behavior." she said as she looked at the woman with wings, her accent coming out rather harshly as her words were rather sharply pointed at the succubus.

"Yes, we are sorry for her dangerous actions. We wouldn't have attacked you, unless you had shown yourself as a true threat." Dreux said rather cooly as he kept his cloak wrapped around him rather firmly, looking back at the others as he spoke again, "Everyone is alright, yes?"

 

[Saivie]

Saewyn, being in the rearguard, was last to notice the large 'threat'. Taking immediate action, the half drow woman placed her hand on the hilt of Valtiir, and began contemplating the different outcomes, in case of battle or as she heard, Parley.

On one hand, she was shocked to see such a figure, and on the other -as she began to realise her hypocrisy- was interested in the appearance of this new being. "Korose, hold for a minute. If I may indulge the... Request for parlay. I'd rather not settle this dispute with any more violence or spell casting." Having spoken up, Sae took a few steps forward toward the being who so suddenly appeared.

 

[Tanman]

At the arrival of the large rabbit, and the resulting confusion as their leader demonstrated her inexperience by immediately striking at the beast, Vernon could only scoff. Hares and rabbits weren’t known for being particularly deadly, even if this one was far larger than the ordinary sort. Still, he wouldn’t have been too upset if the Succubi managed to finish off the creature. It’d been a while since he’d had any good meat due to his time sailing, and a fresh rabbit stew would do nicely. Alas, it didn’t seem it was to be, the large beast speaking with a surprisingly eloquent mannerism in spite of its apparent clumsiness. You’d think an animal would traditionally be more sure footed, but the world was made of all sorts.

The request to parlay was one even Vernon would respect, though that isn’t to say he’d planned on striking at the rabbit creature after her apology. Regardless, for a knight of honour, Aznyxphia didn’t stop for formalities in combat, which lead to Korose intervening. Watching the magic show with some degree of interest, Vernon noted it all down in his mind, as no doubt it would be handy information for future reference. Folding his arms to observe the debacle and chatter, he had no real interest in their conversation, instead making motion to stride forward and past the hare and the others. “If we’re going to talk, we should keep moving. If this mission is as imperative as that goddess made it out to be, we’d do well to keep our feet light.” Not waiting for a response from the rest of the group, Vernon took a place closer to the front of the group as he lead them, far more concerned with getting the task done than pleasantries speaking with the local fauna. That, and he needed to keep pace with his idiot navigator before she got herself lost from the rest of them.

Speaking of the idiot, Carmen hadn’t noticed the scuffle occurring behind her, nor the delay it caused the rest of the group as she reached the treeline, making her way into the forest and undergrowth with a determination born out of her own frustration and embarrassment. It wasn’t like she WANTED to make enemies, but somehow, she’d already managed to get on that woman’s bad side. What exactly had she done to annoy her? Did that elf really hate making conversation that much? Then there was Vernon, almost as if he was trying to antagonize everyone in the group. And seeing as he was her Captain, no doubt they associated his brutish attitude as standing for hers as well. Ugh! This was so annoying! Her powers gave her foresight, but for whatever reason, that never seemed to help her with relationships and things. Back home people treated her like a child or a nuisance, they laughed at her. When she joined Vernon, even then, it took the crew time to trust her. Maybe this was just another one of those times where she was going to have to work to earn the group’s confidence? Well, she was at the front now, maybe she could start by picking out the best way to the Diviner? Even if she didn’t know EXACTLY where he was, she could count on her magic and luck to see her to the right path.

Stopping in the middle of a clearing, Carmen shut her eyes, and began to twirl. Then, just when she was getting a little dizzy, she suddenly stopped, extending her arm out to point. “Bingo. That’s the best path!” Carmen declared confidently to basically herself, stumbling a bit as the inertia from her spinning threw her off balance. Moving up to the nearest tree trunk and picking up a somewhat jagged rock, the Mermaid began a crude carving of an arrow, noting the way she intended to go before making her way down. Hee, this was a perfect plan. If she got there in record time, AND helped the group get there, Miss smug ehhh ‘No Speak’ would have to see how special she was. Then she’d really regret not making friends with Carmen, especially when everyone began congratulating her and praising her for her abilities and navigation.

“I’ll show them. I’m not just some dumb fish! I’m Carmen Rufferones, expert navigator!” Laughing to herself, Carmen launched herself into the bushes to begin making her way, charging with all the fervor a delusional pirate lass could muster. It probably wasn’t the best plan to get even further from the rest of the group, but Carmen wasn’t known for sound decision making.

 

[Le Sigh]

Aznyxphia, ignoring the plea of this vile demon that stood before her, dived in for the final blow... and suddenly, the world went dark.
What sorcery is this?! Aznyxphia screamed internally. Fluttering about madly, hacking away with her sword in a manner that would have made her mentors cringe, fear clenching her heart in an icy grip. She could not speak, so her vision was the most important sense to her - take it away and she flipped her lid.
Eventually, the cloud of darkness was lifted from her vision, and sunlight shined upon her face once more. She was thrilled by this for a mere second, considering it a blessing from the Great Goddess, but then her warrior's training kicked in and her head swiveled to stare down at the one who had done this to her. Recognition and amazement dawned on her face as she saw it was none other than the mysterious elf man, holding his hand out as if he had just cast a spell. The adversary who'd ambushed her cowered behind him.
Betrayal! And a sorcerer of darkness as well! I should have known! They were never satisfied with me as a leader, she thought, and then her heart hardened into steel. Pointing at Korose in an imposing manner, she swooped towards him with her blade drawn, ready to slice into the flesh of the traitor.

 

[Saracen_Rue]

Neden watched as the events began to unfold before her eyes. The woman with the wings began to lunge towards Korose, with deep intent to kill. Neden looked at Dreux who jumped in front of the others for protection as Neden acted out of instinct.

She outstretched her hand, and with quick reflexes she unsheathed her sword and stepped out in front of the woman, blocking her attack with her own defenses. Her feet dug into the ground, uprooting the earth as she was propelled backwards by the woman's absolute strength and speed. She gripped tightly onto the woman's left wrist with immense strength and ripped the blade from her hands and tossed it to the ground.

Looking back at the woman, the color of her sclera turned black, and her irises turned a deep blue color, and her flesh was quickly forming into over lapping scales of ice blue and silver color. Neden's strength was now ten fold of what it was before as she pushed the woman back and against a wall of stones that lined the pathway they were walking.

Neden had been filled with immense rage and adranaline and kept her grip on the woman, "No one attacked you! The beast clearly didnt see you and accidentally almost hit you. Why are you so bull headed and refusing to listen to common sense?" she exclaimed as her eyes burned into the woman's very soul with the glare she gave her as she spoke.

"We are not your enemy, and neither is that creature. And nor are you are leader, especially with your reckless actions. Now...Before I do something I regret, stand down, or we will not be afraid to fight you." she said with a tone as cold as ice, as she stood with her back towards the others, her intent to protect the others was clear and Neden was not going to back down any time soon.

"None of us our your enemy! The only enemy is out there, not here. Get your head out of your ass and listen to someone, would you? The Godess called us for help, not to go at each other's throats."

 

[Le Sigh]

Aznyxphia stared at the young woman whom, seeming so inconspicuous before, had somehow managed to tear her blade from her own legendary steel grip, and who now stood before her as some sort of amalgamation of human and dragon. What is this? Some sort of... celestial? An angel? Aznyxphia's head whirled as she tried to make sense of the situation. A fallen angel, no doubt, the more zealous, paranoid part of her mind told her. An agent of the Evil King, come here to overthrow you! They're all out for you!
But for some reason, there was a smaller, saner part of her that told her that she was right, that she was being foolish, too dangerous, a good warrior but a bad leader. She should stop this charade, stop being so violent and bloodthirsty before-
No! Aznyxphia thought, pushing the voice away. The Goddess Sil'Eph Niir made me leader of these motley fools, and if they are servants of evil they must be destroyed!
But if you just go about killing everybody who slights you-
I was not slighted, I was ambushed by a hideous monster!
You mean the poor, shaking thing over there? The voice asked dryly.
Aznyxphia's zealousness threw up its hands in frustration. Bah!!! I give up! I will try to work it out with them if you just leave me alone!
The knight pariah yanked her hands from the grip of this angelic being, rubbed her bruised wrists, and began rapidly signing. She didn't bother trying to write down an explanation - it would take too long and they wouldn't take it seriously. She just hoped one of the group members who knew sign language would catch on and translate for her - they should give her that much.
For the one who would interpret for her, she would say this: I apologize for any overreaction you think I have caused, but you must admit I have reason for suspicion. For one, many of you obviously do not care for me, and would see me deposed of the duties I have righteously been granted by the Great Goddess. (At this she looked pointedly at Vernon.) Secondly, I find it a bit to convenient that this... creature (indicating Shyl'vahn) chose me, of all creatures, to be her trajectory for an "accident", as she called it, that I find too well-timed and too well-placed to be an accident. By displacing me, she would leave the group in chaos, preventing the group from going on to combat the Evil King. Even if she is "innocent", I suspect the Evil King used some kind of sorcery to somehow manipulate her mind into attempting to attack me. If so, then we must all be on our guard if he has the ability to take the very free will away from us. But that will be worried about later. Finally, do not any of you find it suspicious that this person here (indicating Korose) used the powers of darkness to defeat me? Are we not fighting a God of Darkness here? Do you not find it conspicuous that a servant of the Evil King - whether innocent or guilty of being such - is being defended by one who can bend the very shadows to his will? Does that not reek of unholiness? I am not condemning him in the case that all this was one huge misunderstanding - the issue of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time - but it is rather suspicious. That is all I have to say.
She then walked over, grabbed her sword, and stuffed it into its scabbard. Then she stood in front of her demoralized group, arms crossed, waiting for a response.

 

[ChoShadow]

Korose had been anticipating an attack coming his way, and was prepared to evade her attack before the quiet girl who had been throwing up suddenly got in the way and pinned her down, throwing her sword away as well. She barked at the woman to stop, which seemed to do... Something. She did a lot of things with her hands, and Korose was lost. He looked straight to Elena who had watched the entire exchange very carefully before turning to look around. And when she saw who she was looking for, she walked over to him.

Looking Zaldir dead in the eye, she began speaking in High Elvish translating the entire message for him.

When she finished, she turned to Az and signed: "Korose is not evil. I would sense it if he was."

 

[Firewind]

The Kestal siblings were watching in slight shock at Az’s entire reaction and the resulting conversation, the statement of which was almost lost to them until Elena spoke in high Elvish to Zaldir. It took the Elf a quick moment to transcribe everything she said on a piece of parchment, all the while with a scowl on his face as he transcribed every word.

“I’m going to give that succubus a piece of my mind.” he thought.

He stood up and hopped off his cart and gave the parchment to Aranaea, who read what it said and paled before passing it around. Then he turned to Az with a mixture of anger and cynical disappointment. He took a long deep breath, hazel eyes closed before opening them again.

“First and foremost. What, in the name of the Mother Goddess, is wrong with you?!” Zaldir asked, “Common sense dictates someone or something going at high speeds with no control towards someone who was in front of a group is most likely going to be accidentally plowed into.” He took a deep breath before preparing himself for his next piece on his mind.

“They are no more guilty of anything then Korose is of using his magic. Your suspicions of this misunderstanding are shaky at best.” He continued, “As for you being ‘Deposed’ of duties, what duties? Sure, a leader leads by example, but we didn’t vote on a leader. No one asked you to be a leader. Did Mother Sil’Eph pick you or did you pick yourself? Because your behavior is very un-leader like!”

Zaldir took a moment to take another breath and calm himself. “On the day you cease your reckless behavior and act more dignified, I‘ll probably consider you as one. Probably. Until then, stop flying too close to the sun as we all follow Sil’Eph Nir as obediently as I follow my Elven Mother Goddess.”

With that, Zaldir turned and walked towards his cart before he felt someone touch his shoulder.

“You sounded, a lot like our Father, Locien for a moment there Brother. If he was here I’ve a feeling he’d punch your shoulder for being that honest.” Aranaea said softly. “I’m not a puncher so I know I won’t do it. Maybe I’ll have the next suitor I have do it for a test of commitment.~”

“Don’t you start.” Zaldir responded in Elvish, giving a small smile.

 

[Tanman]

Vernon groaned and covered his forehead with the palm of his hand as the situation continued to devolve down further into madness. His attempt to steer the group forward was immediately derailed as Aznyxphia continued to make life complicated, attempting to lock into combat with Korose. A leader needed to be cool and rational in all situations, as well as charismatic in order to command that respect. Unfortunately for the little succubi knight, none of those seemed to be her trademark quality; with rash, impulsive and idiotic being the first things that came to mind. Kind of like a certain someone else he knew.

As Neden intervened in the battle between Korose and Az, Vernon was surprised to see the little warrior deftly disarm her. Maybe she had some potential. More so than the greenhorn knight at the least. That at least seemed to knock some sense into her, perhaps the threat of death and fighting so many superior opponents enough to make the girl start using her head rather than her blade. When the feverish signing began, Vernon could only roll his eyes, and assumed that was why she gave him a hard glare. Shrugging at her ferocity, it seemed that someone in the group understood the pointless gesturing, the other high elf, who then went to speak knife ears with the other pointy ears, seemingly translating, and then, getting that scrawled onto a parchment. Shaking his head, Vernon could only find solace in knowing this was exactly the problem with a mute person leading he’d described earlier.

The parchment started going around while merchant boy began arguing with the Succubi, assumedly about the contents. One of the last to receive the transcription, Vernon wasn’t too bothered about the contents. He did find it amusing that a Succubi was worried about a servant of darkness given her heritage, but he decided to let that slide. For now, it looked like the group was slipping into hostilities and animosity, which going to work as a team environment. Not that it should have really mattered to Vernon. Still, they were all acting like little brats. Worse than the pirates on his crew, and that was saying something. For now, he’d see how things played out, and if things got any more out of hand, he’d step in to intervene.

 

[ChoShadow]

Korose watched the exchanges and, after reading the parchment while listening to Zaldir go off on the succubus, handed the parchment off so it could continue to make the rounds. And, after doing so, he walked calmly over to Az after Elena finished her signing and glared the woman down.

"First thing: I did not choose to follow you. I chose to follow the Goddess. Second thing: I didn't choose to practice Shadowfare Magic. It's the element I was always attuned to, same as how you're attuned to your own magic, and I make no apologies for it."

He took a step back, but held his glare.

"Unless I missed or was excluded from some kind of group meeting, nobody here has acknowledged you as the leader of this company. Not even the Goddess. Because when She spoke to me at Dragon's Cove She didn't mention you at all. She told me only that I was to seek the Diviner to unlock the dormant power within my bloodline so I would stand a chance against the coming Darkness and help protect this world."

His glare softened as he took a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh.

"Look. It's great that you're so dedicated and eager to help the Gods, but you need to take some time to ask yourself if what you think you heard is actually what was said to you. Because if you comb through your memories of your conversation with Sil'Eph Niir, I doubt you'll remember Her directly stating you were to lead everyone here to the Diviner. She told you to seek the Diviner, didn't She? Seeking and leading are two different things. And unless the Goddess speaks now to us all about you being our leader, I'll be moving forward knowing you're just another member of this company."

He looked up towards the skies, waiting to see if the Goddess's voice would sound and correct him on his statement... But no voice came.

Time ticked by slowly and with an awkward silence until Korose, after about a full minute of waiting, looked to Az.

"I'll take Her silence as confirmation that you are not our leader."

He looked to the rest of the group.

"If anyone wishes to take on a leadership role we can all agree on, speak now. Otherwise, I think we should press on and worry about who's "in charge" later. We've wasted enough time here."

 

[Le Sigh]

Aznyxphia waited for the Goddess to speak. She stood there, waiting for the ever-merciful, beautiful divine voice to come cascading down from the heavens to reprimand these dullards for their heathenish thoughts. They would weep at the sheer power in her speech, and they would kneel down and kiss Az's feet, pleading forgiveness for their ignorance. The Goddess would show them for her. For her noble, obedient servant, Aznyxphia.
No voice came. The sorcerer declared the Goddess' silence as equal to taking away her leadership rights, and began to move the conversation along.
Aznyxphia stood there, dumbstruck. Surely- surely there was some sort of mistake! Maybe the Goddess spoke only to Korose, and so he lied and said she said nothing. Yes, that would make sense. Or maybe the Goddess was too busy to reply. Or maybe Korose was using his dark magic to somehow-
Or maybe they all are right? The Questioner - the name Aznyxphia had adopted for the voice that doubted her motives - said. Maybe you are being too brash, impulsive and most of all paranoid, and that you should step down as to not bring this entire mission to ruins.
No, no that is not true, impossible. Everything the elf - the elves - said was incorrect. She had explicit memories of the Great Goddess Sil'Eph Niir telling her that she had been giving command over this motley crew of heathens and dissidents. The diamond in the rough, the shining light in the darkness of void and silence. A hero among villains. Those were her exact words, she could recall them clear as day. Yes, it was coming to her now. That's what happened, and he and the others were wrong, lied to, delusional.
Another argument she had with Korose's statement was that he didn't hear any part of her being declared ruler. Of course he couldn't, the Goddess spoke to people directly. She had been the only one told of her leadership abilities, for the Goddess assumed these fools would follow her blindly with such a holy decree (which they didn't, for shame). And the whole thing about some Diviner and Korose's bloodline was obviously a simple falsity. As leader of the group, Sil'Eph Niir would have told her any important information about their quest. All the Goddess told her was that she had to lead the group to the dominion of the Evil King and his vile minions and end his blight upon the world once and for all. If she had said something about some Diviner and Az had missed it, it was probably some sort of lieutenant of the God of Darkness. Yes, that would make sense; a powerful, hideous monstrosity they had to combat to gain access to the quarters of the Evil King. And either Korose had mistaken the "bloodline" thing for the Goddess speaking of her, or the sorcerer had simply made that part yet. Korose was irrelevant; a side character who could simply be discarded without repercussion if he got too uppity. Unimportant. Irrelevant. Meaningless. Worthless. They all were, simply more opponents for her to overcome, like the days of old before she was exiled from her succubus community.
However, despite her overwhelming want to tell all of this to Korose, Zaldir and all the others (and she really did want to), Aznyxphia did not. These people strongly believed in their falsehoods, despite the contradictions to those beliefs that should have been observed, and they would not sway at all. If she pushed, they pushed back ten times harder. It was like talking to a mountain. No; like talking to an unobservant God.
And so, rather than argue or try to work it out with the group, Aznyxphia responded by flying off in a huff of anger. Fine, then, she thought as she flew farther north. If they do not want me as their leader, I shall not be their leader. They can lead themselves; see how they like it. I don't need any of them to do the Goddess' will, regardless. I can do it all by myself. As I always have.

 

[Firewind]

Zaldir blinked once. Twice. “What just happened?” He thought to himself. He could hardly believe it. She flew off again without a word. Maybe they ruffled her feathers too much...maybe? All the same, this only came out of his mouth. “She’s going to get herself killed. Overzealous nutcase.”

“Zaldir! That’s not a kind thing to say.” Aranaea stated with a small glare.

“Regardless, the disturbance is dealt with. Let’s try and cover as much ground as we can today before nightfall. Come on Ardyn! Let’s get moving!” Zaldir ordered Ardyn. The cart began to move again as Finally, things started moved forward. The journey North in Zaldir’s mind truly began. He even began to hum the song he sang as he actually began the journey to Dragon Cove.

Aranaea sighed and followed her brother’s cart in silence. She wished the situation was simmered down, not cause one member of the group to splinter off. It was then she realized something else seemed out of pocket in the group as they journeyed. “Has anyone seen the bubbly pirate that hangs around Mr. Vernon?” she asked, looking around for an answer. When one was given, she sighed in slight despondence. “I’d give anything to make this day a bit more positive and hopeful to start this journey.” she said aloud, her soft heart seemingly crushed by the negativity.

 

[Saracen_Rue]

Neden stood, towering over the winged woman with her temporary immense height due to her form change. Her heart raced in her chest like a ear drum of her clan as she stared at the woman, who finally acted. By pushing Meden back and signing with her hands, something Neden didn't understand. She watched as Zaldir and his sister interacted with the woman, as well as Korose, and by the looks of it they all agree with her that they were not having her for their leader.

But what came as a surprise was when the winged woman took off again in a very annoyed way, flying off once more. Neden sighed and shook her head, beginning to shuffle along as the group started to move again. With the feeling of shame and sadness in her heart, Neden walked ahead of the rest, not by much, but a few feet away from the others. And eventually she shifted back into her human form, her face was a light shade of pink due to the embarrassment she was feeling.

As she walked, she was alone in her mind. Thinking if what she did was over bearing and maybe it was a mistake. Maybe what she said was too harsh and it was because of her that the woman left. But she was quickly taken out of her thoughts as an all too familiar sound came from under her foot.

crunch...

Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw a pure blanket of white under her foot. It took her a moment to realize what it was, and when it clicked, a small spread across her face.

"Snjòr?" she mumbled under her breath in her native tongue, which would translate to "snow" in the common tongue. "Snjòr!" she exclaimed rather loudly as she ran ahead, and scooped up a handful of the cold white stuff and tossed it into the air with glee. This caused her to feel more at ease, being in an environment that felt like home to the young warrior.

As she continued to walk, she stopped when she saw something in the snow. Neden slowly knelt down and examined what she saw. It was deep, and rather large indentations in the snow. They were fresh and were heading up, and from the looks of it, it was a large number of them.

"Snjòlfur..." she spoke to herself as she recognized the prints. Neden's eyes widened as she quickly stood up and ran to the others, "S-snjòlfur! Snjòlfur." Neden panted heavily as she looked at the others. The others wouldn't understand what she meant right away, but when she would show them the prints, they would understand. What she was trying to warn them of was what they called "Snjòlfur" in their tongue, which meant "Ice Wolves" in the common tongue. A very large and deadly predator that were common among parts like this.

 

[Mineczka]

W-were they fighting among themselves? As the Darkness enveloped the winged one, the man seemed to wish for the combat to stop. However, the winged one seemed to keep attacking, this time, after the man. There were shouts, arguments, and even a mild physical altercation, followed by more arguing, 'Sent by a goddess...? Could something have happened while I remained here?' As that thought came the winged one began flying off in a fury, bad idea. As Shyl'vahn watched the woman fly away, she spoke with a mild sense of urgency, "We must stop her from flying too far...." As those words hung, she continued, now watching the party that had begun moving with her, "The predators here are vicious. Even the most experienced wayfarers such as myself have trouble, this island is not for faint of heart..." The Fear set in as she kept pace, keeping her distance from the party, not as an act of distrust, but due to both the space she took, and the uncertainty that she had, did they trust her? Could they? After what just happened, what was to come of this band of travelers? Those thoughts were brushed aside, as words from before had been brought back, What was she? A slight shift of her head, she looked towards the one whom asked, a tall man with raven-black hair, his scent seemed familiar, as she could catch brief moments of it, but that was moved aside as an answer was given, "To answer thine question, good fellow, I am a Kani. Other phrases for those of my flesh are, Miithi, Skinchanger, and as most recently, Monster. Hence my capability of Speech, I know quite a bit." After those words would rest, she gradually approached the party, slowly, but still approaching. After which, a bubble formed around her, seeming to be of magic, as the hare form had disappeared, in it's place, stood a woman, with violet leather clothing over her sun-kissed skin, adorning those features was hair that looked to match the fur that crossed over her hips and reached around the wrists of her arms, even forming a hare-like tail where the spine would meet her hips. Looking to her head, the same colour hair rest over her head, braided with what appeared to be ears, and meeting the gazes of the others, amber eyes, that appeared to be striking, "And as thee can simply see, I am no monster. And shall offer my apologies as to the trouble I hath started. I naught thought my speed would have bested myself.... Where are my manners? I am Shyl'Vahn Angura, 'tis a pleasure to make thine acquaintance"

As the travel went farther North, the soft crunching of the dirt path the party traveled on, turned to the louder crunching of snow, as one of the women noticed the paw-prints within the snow, most being the wolves' Shyl'vahn changed back to her larger form, almost instinctively, "Be wary, the snow wolves here are best avoided. They're vicious pack hunters. Sized more to bears too. Please, be on guard from here on." While most were of the wolves, some of the prints seemed smaller, and almost eerily fit exactly to Shyl'vahn's paw print and walking pattern...

 

[Tanman]

“Funny, that’s almost like what I suggested earlier.” Vernon stated somewhat snarkily as Korose commented about how much time they had wasted. True enough, the debacle hadn’t taken that long, but it was still pretty incredible how much time that blockhead had wasted. Whether out of shame, frustration or an intention to leave the group, the succubus took off into the sky and flew away. Typical. People who weren’t good at facing their faults or problems also tended to be the kind to run away when things got bad. She was in for a harsh wake up at some point, but it seemed today wasn’t that day. As everyone got themselves ready to depart once more (Vernon paying particular note to the transformation that Neden reverted from), the pirate began to head forward. If that Zaldir fellow was insistent on bringing his horse and cart, they’d need to find an appropriate path or waste an eternity getting stuck with that excess baggage.

“Has anyone seen the bubbly pirate that hangs around Mr. Vernon?” Vernon heard the query from nearby, and, on some level, realised that Aranaea had in her phrasing, made a point of not consulting him on the matter. Was he that intimidating? Well, regardless, it wasn’t like he was Carmen’s caretaker, even if she was part of his crew. Still, she echoed his own concerns, and as Vernon began making his way to the front once more, there was no sign of Carmen in the immediate vicinity. That idiot… How could she have missed the mess that happened just now? “That blasted troublemaker must have gone on ahead. She’s lucky, but not particularly hardy or bright, so we better make haste to catch her."

As Vernon said this, Neden seemed to find herself enthralled with the snow, spouting some nonsense in another language he didn’t understand. When she stopped again however and began shouting it with some more urgency, Vernon paid a bit more attention. Thankfully, their new guide seemed able to translate for them, clarifying that there were a number of predators in the land, particularly the snow wolves. Beasts the size of bears, huh… Without much more of a word, Vernon set forward with a more insistent pace, trying to find sign of where Carmen had got herself to. That idiot was lucky, sure, but that wouldn’t save her forever. Still, for the moment, he was counting on that luck to help them find her.

===================================================================================================================================
​

Carmen shiverred as she walked, hands wrapped around herself and rubbing her arms. J-jeez it was cold! How come they weren’t told it was going to be cold?! Stupid miserable luck, why couldn’t it have sent them somewhere tropical? With p-palm trees and sunshine… Blowing on her hands, Carmen did her best to keep warm as she made her way forward, all around her a vast white, frozen sea. Did this place ever end? What a miserable climate. Who could stand living somewhere like here? Sure it was wet with the snow, but also cold. So so cold. Cooooollllddddd….

These thoughts and more plagued the mind of the navigator, her teeth chatters and the howl of the wind the only thing she could hear. Funny though. The wind howling almost sounded like real howling. Good thing she was just imagining it. Unlike Vernon and the others with magic and swords and stuff that could fight, if she encountered a pack of wolves or whatever she’d be in big trouble. “Man, why’d the sun have to go in too? Now it’s even colder…” Carmen murmured as a shadow fell over her, blotting out the light. As she finished sighing, Carmen opened her eyes, noting the distinct shape of the shadow on the ground… Slowly, cautiously, Carmen turned and found herself staring into the eyes of a wolf. And not just any wolf, this thing was huge! Letting off a terrified wail as it lunged at her, Carmen stumbled backwards and tripped over a small rock, barely ducking under the gnashing jaws of the beast.

Really, it was kind of lucky how it played out. Sure, she encountered a wolf, which wasn’t lucky at all, but as she tripped, Carmen began sliding down the hill at high speed, getting herself some distance. At the same time, her loud wail started a small avalanche of snow, just as the fish woman slid into the mouth of a cave, the mound of white falling over to cover the entrance in a thick layer of snow. Of course, she was freezing and trembling and scared, but for the moment, she was safe from the Wolf. Huddled in the darkness and trying to get her bearings, she could faintly hear it as it made its approach, attempting to work out how to enter the cave, pawing at the snow and beginning to dig.

 

[ChoShadow]

Korose heaved a sigh and began walking down the path, no longer content to wait for everyone to make sense of what had happened. They'd wasted enough time, and it was now time to move.

"We should get moving." He said, rather half heartedly.

Elena and Pau'Ka were rather quick to follow him, both wanting to get moving. Elena, however, wanted to find the girl from earlier and try to clear things up, but she'd moved on already. She could only hope the girl was all right. Trailing Pau'Ka, Elena followed Korose as he continued on silently.

It seemed, for now at least, he was the silent, de facto leader of the bunch since nobody stepped up to claim the position. And he'd established himself in a way as the one to take such a role even if he didn't seem to want the position. She'd follow him for now. At least until someone else gave her reason to follow them instead. Pau'Ka was in the same boat, following him based on his telling the winged girl off. She was annoying.

 

[Firewind]

Zaldir kept Ardyn moving the cart along the path. The elf looked at the wheels to make sure he put in the right ones for traveling in the northern lands. Nodding to himself he kept walking, but almost looked in shock the rabbit creature turning into a humanoid woman!

“Snap Out of it Zaldir. Yes she’s a miithi, and yes, she is lacking some...decent clothing. But still! Also, why do you insist on taking that cart with you? The horse I care about, it could be my steed the further north we go.” Aranaea asked her brother with a raised brow.

”Firstly Sister, I have a business to run. I make and sell magical weapons and armor. My business’ strongbox is in this cart along with enough materials to make enough for a small army, and I have several completed works for a small band of adventurers, along with some little magical Knick Knacks.” Zaldir explained with a sigh.

”Secondly, Ardyn is a pain in the rear. You’d have to convince him to do stuff.”

“Well I bet I could-“ She was then interrupted by the one called Neden’s warnings and the rough translation by the Miithi known as Shyl’vahn. The notion of wolves, large wolves at that, made Ardyn move at a little faster pace.

”Ardyn...don’t panic.” Zaldir said in Elvish nervously. ”Thanks for the Warning Miss Angura, Miss Neden! Ardyn don’t you dare!”

The Horse, began to feel skittish regardless of his master’s warning.