Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

She didn't attempt to make eye contact with Ethraeil either. "...It will help us kill the Duke." she said, gazing into the fire. She went quiet, before eventually looking to the ground. "...I'll explain how I know after its recovered."

The tree burned, taking a few hours to burn enough to topple over. It was old enough that it wouldn't take days like other trees would to burn through. Once it fell over, a shell made of metal was revealed beneath the tree, much to everyone's surprise. "Theodore...the thermite, please. We need to melt through the metal." She said simply. The powdery thermite was prepared, being poured in several spots atop the metal shell before being ignited. It would only take a few moments for the highly flammable powder to cut trough the metal and break it apart.

Once the flames and reaction had died down, Valeria approached the now ruined shell and gave it a swift kick to knock it apart. She then reached inside, as the others looked on. A moment later, there was a flash, and a golden light began to gleam from where she had reached inside the shell. What the hell was inside? She had to stick her other hand inside after a moment, and gave whatever was inside a jerk. The object must have been stuck, but she soon pulled it free.

Out from the shell was drawn a rather large, thick sword. The blade seemed to give off a golden light, even though it seemed to be made of a standard silvery metal. There were several runes inscribed along it, as well as on the cross guard and handle. A sharp spike jutted from the hilt, where a pommel would normally be, while the cross guard jutted across above her hands in a straight line. No curvature at all. The ends were blunted, shaping the guard into sort of a rectangular shape. The blade was straight. Thick, without thinning out towards the end like most swords. The oddest thing was that the end of the blade was also blunt and flat, squared off instead of coming to a point.

She turned to the group and walked back towards them. They could then see just how large the sword was. Practically the size of a claymore or other greatsword. Valeria let the blade rest gently on her shoulder, eyeing the handle and base of the weapon. "This is the Sword of Velin. Also known as Velin's Executioner Blade, or Velin's Fury." she stated, before looking back up to the others.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil took a step back as Valeria explained what it was, a pang of fear instantly gutting him as he stared at the blade. He heard heard the stories... but he thought it was just that. Stories. But as of now, it was right in front of him... breaking that illusion of it just being mere legend. "...I thought it didn't exist." Ethraeil commented, his eyes widening at the prospect of being anywhere near that blade. "You intend to use... THAT... against the Duke?" he asked with a voice laced with fear and apprehension.

 

[K0mori]

It was a long wait, and almost nothing was explained until the artifact was finally revealed. During that time, Mariette's anticipation grew steadily, as she tried to imagine what sort of tool or weapon a man as powerful as Duke Ashwood would want, and it soon became clear that he meant to retrieve the one object which could actually stop him. The Sword of Velin was a magnificent blade, but it was no use in the hands of someone too weak to protect it. A human might simply drop it if sufficiently wounded by something as minor as a gunshot or crossbow bolt. Not to mention, a vampiric foe, especially a purebood like the Duke, woud be able to easily fight while retreating and stay out of the range of a human pursuer.

"If we're to fight the Duke with that sword... someone is going to have to carry it," Mariette stated, knowing full well that only she, Rosanna, and Ethraeil were strong enough and fast enough to make it count, but that meant the inquisitors would have to place their trust in a lich, a dullahan, or a pureblood vampire unless they were dumb enough to leave it in the hands of a lesser being. Even Aleister would be a foolish choice, given the strength of their foe.

 

[Infab]

"...there's a few problems with that..." said Valeria. She walked over, and gently set it on the ground. The golden glow of the blade began to fade as she released it. She then stepped back, and motioned towards it. "...each of you. Try and pick it up." She had a look of deep remorse adorning her face, an emotion she had never shown the group before.

 

[Breadman]

"The blade makes it's own choice on who get's to wield it, does it not?" Theodore said as he observed the blade as it was planted into the ground. The stuff of legends, right in front of him. Most of his colleagues would scoff at the notion that it would even exist in the first place, but some knew better. Why else would an archive and records of it and others exist in the first place and be guarded? And of course with the great powers these weapons would yield, there would rules set by the gods. Rather arbitrary ones.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil retained his gaze upon the blade as well as maintaining his current distance from it. He knew fully well what this blade was capable of, given if the tales accurately described its power... and it terrified him. Unless he was told to, he refused to go anywhere near the sword.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

A now much calmer and relaxed Jakob looked at everyone in the group a bit confused. He approached the sword, and poked the handle. Nothing. He then attempted to lift it up. "H-Hmhrg...w-what the hell?" He continues to try and lift it, but he can't. Even with his newfound werewolf strength. He looks at Valeria slightly puzzled. "Let me guess...everyone's least favorite God made it so that 'non-humans' can't pick it up?" He grunted. "I hate Velin."

 

[Breadman]

"Frustration is quite understandable, constable. The gods may be wise, but they also limit things in arbitrary fashions, often times to a certain detriment." Theodore commented after observing Jacob's attempt. "If it makes you feel better" He stepped forward and placed a hand on the handle, while still looking to the man he was talking to "I'm sure that I'll be excluded from those who could..." He went silent as he looked towards the sword. Stunned. For the first time in his life he had nothing to say. He managed to not only budge the sword from the ground, but also lift it. He slowly placed it back where it was.

"Mademoiselle Valeria." He clasped his hands together. "Please explain."

 

[Infab]

"No...Velin made that choice a long time ago." stated Valeria, looking to Theodore. She watched Jakob try and pick the weapon up, before giving her a puzzled look. "That's one part of it. Erwin, try and pick the weapon up." Erwin hesitated for a moment, before stepping over and attempting to lift the weapon himself. It didn't budge. Then, she looked to Theodore before stepping over and lifting the sword back off the ground. It resumed its golden glow, just as it had with Theodore lifting it, as she gripped the handle and let the blade rest on her shoulder once again.

"...only members of the Order or Velin herself can use it. That means only I and Theodore can use the weapon...and I think the research department of the Order tends not to train their members all that well in sword combat. I'm barely trained, since I know only how to use a single handed sword properly."

She then looked back towards the ground for a moment. "...Velin's sword was created with one goal in mind. The goddess Velin crafted the weapon to slay a god. Adona. The reasons as to why she wanted this are lost to time, but obviously Adona was never slain. The sword was handed over to the Order of Velin...and then came into the possession of the Vigilant Order. The details as to what happened to the sword after that point are lost to time...but here it is." She looked back to the handle. "The legend says that the sword...destroys the soul of those that it kills. They go not to Heaven or Hell...but cease to exist." She pauses for a moment, before looking back to the group. "...We're going to kill the Duke with it, as Velin's sword cancels out the ring's effects on its wearer. After all...the ring he has was made by Adona, and this was made to kill Adona."

 

[Dmaster]

The huntress was off in the back of the group as they were all im awe of the sword before them. While she had been healed from her grievous injuries she was still in a fair amount of pain, so she looked between the blade and Valeria for several moments as she listened to the story. A truly legendary weapon from the goddess Velin, while Camille was no adept subscriber to religion and worship, Velin was a goddess she had respect for. Camille could likely train with such a weapon, though since she was not a member of the Order she could not wield it. Just as well.

There still remained but one question. "If it was 'lost to time', how did you come across it, Senior Inquisitor? You know something the rest of the world does not?" she asked, her voice a bit hoarse and weak.

 

[joshuadim]

"Archived knowledge. The Church has plenty of that." Ethraeil responded quickly as he turned his gaze to Valeria. His eyes showed a look of 'I need to speak with you' as he covered for her.

 

[The_Rifleman]

Sergey worked for the next half hour or so on the rest of the people who were injured, ignoring the priest and his scornful gaze. Believe what you want you magic fairy, but science is rooted in proven results. Either way, he thought against speaking out. He wasn't "in" with the group yet to do anything, regardless of him helping them.

After everyone was patched up, he followed along the the massive tree, watching everything unfold before him. As the inquisitor pulled out the godly sword, wielding it and explaining it's origins, Sergey could feel its power even from where he was standing. To destroy a soul, now that's not nothing to snide at. He was afraid and didn't want to go anywhere near it, and he wasn't the only one it seems. How did the senior inquisitor know it was there? This is getting stranger by the minute.

"Right, wield sword, find the Duke, kill him. Sounds simple enough," he said as he quickly lit a cigarette. He rarely smoked, but he couldn't shake the need to have one right now.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister quietly moved with the group as they made it to the park, caught up in his thoughts and holding his rosary and crucifix which had thankfully emerged from the fighting unscathed. Perhaps there was some small divine intervention in those regards. Unfortunately, his robes didn't escape entirely in tact, and a wide gash cut across his right side, revealing the pale smooth skin below. He'd have to stitch this up, but eventually, he'd need an entirely new set. Absolutely dreadful.

At the park, Aleister laid down in the grass and watched as the venerable tree burned. It was sad to see a piece of nature like that be swallowed up in flame. While they waited for it to burn to ash, he had adjusted and combed his hair to the best of his ability, and he cleaned off his face and robes with his hands to remove any dirt and grit which had accumulated on him during the battle. He remained on the ground, laying on his side with his head propped up on his hand as he watched the others move about. Dark rings were still under his eyes.

When the thermite was used to open the buried canister, the sudden influx of power and light from the item within gave him great pause, his eyes widening as he watched silently from where he lay. It was a sword. But not just any sword. The sword of Velin. A weapon to slay gods.

He muttered a prayer to Undite - and Gyasis - as this divine artifact was unearthed and now in the possession of mortals and immortals. There was no doubt they needed it... but he wished something like it could remain buried and unneeded. He could see some of the eagerness in Mariette's demeanor at the idea of herself wielding it, but it was revealed the sword could only be touched by a precious few.

And when the victim of the sword was slain, their soul ceased to exist.

"What a positively dreadful device. I suppose I am not surprised Velin had seen to make such an item," he said, though it was mostly to himself as he remained laying in the grass, watching.

 

[K0mori]

As soon as the Senior Inquisitor had challenged them to lift the sword, Mariette knew that whatever qualification Velin would have put on the sword for wielding, she didn't meet it. She stepped back with a bit of annoyance and watched the others' reactions to the news as she processed it herself. It seemed that only Valeria would be allowed to carry the weapon. And what a weapon... she thought as its secrets were divulged. A means to destroy a soul. Such a thing is truly a diabolical invention. And of course, the inquisitors follow in this goddess's wake? Of course they'll see little issue with such a despicable notion as tampering with immortal souls as long as it's the right souls they're tearing asunder. Merde, that blade should be destroyed along with the ring... but given the Church has kept it locked away for just the right occasion when it never should have existed in the first place is evidence enough of what will happen when this is all over.

Mariette's expression continued to sour the more she ruminated on the idea. She imagined standing over Ashwood's corpse with the inquisitors after a hard fight, and reaching for his ring to surrender it to Valeria, only to be written off as a traitor once more, and struck down from behind by that terrible weapon. No resurrection, heaven, hell, nor necromancy could save her then. She imagined a line of vampires, her own friends from Escaria, each to be beheaded by the soul-shattering blade one by one to return the land forever to its human masters. The humans claim that vampires are too dangerous to be permitted life, as they will endlessly seek power which corrupts. But such a power could not be wielded by humans without immediate, irreversible corruption, she was sure of it.

She turned and found Aleister glancing at her. Quickly she moved over to him and took a knee, speaking quietly. "Tell me you have the sense to see that this weapon must be forgotten once more or destroyed as soon as we're done with Ashwood. Humans cannot be trusted with this, neither now, nor ever. ...No matter the Church or the inquisitors' opinions."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister looked slightly up at Mariette as she knelt beside him in the grass. He was happy to at least hear she echoed his thoughts on the matter.

"That thing is a deplorable creation that should never see the light of day, perhaps permanently. I hesitate to say any artifact should be destroyed - after all, where would we be now if it had already been so? - but this item wields too much... final power than anyone has the right to yield. There are few I would trust with that sword, and should anything happen to them, then upon whose hands does that sword then fall?"

 

[EdwardDewey98]

The tired but now at least coherent constable stumbled out of the way, so that the tiny Theodore could grab the blade. Then, he looked on at both Theodore and Valeria as they talked about the sword and its origins. He wasn't amused at all by the story, or the fact that it could destroy one' soul, but it seemed like an important item that they could use against the Duke. "So...let me get this straight..." Jakob crossed his arms, while looking between them. "And tell me if I'm wrong. I've not had theology in almost three decades...but you're telling me that the higher-than-thou lady of war was so mad at Adona that he made a sword to kill him? I'll assume that it was something petty, since Adona is a respectable god." He let out a sigh. "Man, I really hate Velin."

He shrugged, and put both hands in his stretched pockets. He was lucky that his pants stretched when he shifted, otherwise he'd have been naked. "Listen ma'am...I don't know how you know about the sword's location, nor do I care about those sort of things. But I'll ask you one thing...after we kill the man, and we're done with this inquiry...could you please throw that sword to the bottom of the sea? Let the beasts of the sea be its guardians, because a thing made by such a hateful god as Velin cannot bring any good to this world." He shrugged. "Now we should worry about finding Wesley, and killing that son-of-a-bitch Duke. That's all that matters now."

He stumbled away from Valeria and Theodore, noticing that Mariette and Aleister were talking with one another. He wondered if he should interrupt their conversation, since the two looked quite serious at the moment, but everyone was. He wanted to know the opinion of the two vampires of the group. He eventually got close enough to hear that they were talking about the sword. "Mind if I get in this conversation, my friends?" he asked, as he walked towards them. "I cannot help but see that you're talking about that...thing...and I'm sure you both, being smarter folk than me, connected the dots if the church keeps that thing."

 

[K0mori]

"It would be a terrible turn for our kind," Mariette remarked after Jakob's input, "all of us inhuman types. The only reason we would ever need such a thing is to protect us from another godly artifact. It would be best to gather them and have them all destroyed, or scattered across the ocean floor. I may owe my enhanced power to the ring possessed by Ashwood, but I also recognize what a threat it poses to the world through pure temptation. I'd be lying if I said I didn't imagine myself wearing the damned thing once we've removed it from the Duke's dead body, and that's exactly why we need to agree ahead of time that these artifacts should be done away with for the good of all."

 

[Infab]

As some of the group talked amongst themselves, Valeria walked over to where Ethraeil was standing. They had claimed the Sword of Velin, and now they just needed to leave the city. For now, they could rest and gather their strength. "We'll wait here for a few hours so that we can get some rest. Then, we head back to the boats and get back to where we left the carriage at Islesbury. We'll take turns keeping watch for zombies or other soldiers." she said aloud.

Rosanna gazed upon the sword, as it rested upon Valeria's shoulder. Such a weapon shouldn't exist, but of course it did because of Velin's apparent hatred of her comrade. Rosanna walked over quietly, deciding to take a closer look at the various runes and inscriptions upon the blade. They were ancient looking...likely from before the Age of Darkness. "Crazy writin' Velin's got..." she muttered, reaching out to touch the glowing blade.

Then something happened. As she touched the blade, she felt a surge of...well...SOMETHING flow through her from her fingertip. It rapidly surged through her arm, before gathering in the center of her chest. Then there was a blinding flash, and Rosanna was sent sailing through the air. She flipped twice in mid air, before slamming into the ground and skidding to a stop in the grass. Valeria snapped about, a look of horror on her face. "ROSE!?" she shouted, quickly turning and sprinting over towards where Rosanna had landed.

 

[The_Rifleman]

Sergey immediately dropped his cigarette, the years of medic training taking over and sprinted after Valerie to help check on Rose. His hands were already digging through his pack for burn ointment and bandages as he hit a full sprint.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille narrowed her eyes as Ethraeil answered Valeria's question on her behalf, not satisfied at all. The answer contradicting what the Senior Inquisitor had said entirely, so it only served to make her more suspicious. It didn't matter to her that much, and she rolled her injured shoulder before stepping off to a tree to rest further, sitting down with her back to its trunk.

Moments later she saw Rosanna reach for the sword, struck by a localized blast of energy before she was sent flying. Velin hated undead supposedly, so such an effect was as predictable as it was unfortunate. Perhaps if the group was lucky Mariette would want to check it next.

 

[K0mori]

Before anyone could respond to what she had said, Rosanna was somehow blasted away by the divine sword, causing Mariette to jump to her feet. "Mes dieux!" she shouted, scrambling over toward the commotion in fear that the dullahan was seriously hurt.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"I agree." Jakob looked back at the others while still talking to Mariette. "Even if...I wasn't a werewolf, I'd still agree. That thing can only bring out the worst of mankind. If Valeria won't destroy it, or is incapable of doing so, we must find a way to destroy it ourselves."

Suddenly, what seemed to beam zap of lighting came from the blade and hit Rosanna, sending her flying several meters. Jakob looked over in absolute terror, and quickly rushed towards his friend despite him being in a bad physical state. He quickly kneeled next to Rosanna. "ROSE! Rose! Please, tell me you're okay, girl! Please!"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"The bottom of the sea is the best place for it to be," Aleister said with a slight poetic lilt for the rhyme. "I doubt these things can truly be destroyed, but they can be lost quite easily. Anything dumped overboard into the ocean will almost certainly never see the day again."

He was cut off by the sudden blast of light from the sword as Rosanna was sent sailing back through the air. That got him to sit up, finally, and as others began to move over to where she lay, he scrambled up to his feet as well and hurried over. The dullahan was sturdy but there was no telling what such an awful artifact could have done.

 

[Infab]

The others crowded around Rosanna, who struggled to get up from where she lay. There was a scorch mark traveling up her arm to the center of her chest, the flesh bright red. Much like the flesh of the victim of a lightning strike. Rosanna apparently had been hit by a lightning bolt directly spawned from the sword itself. "...o-ow..." she said, forcing herself up onto her elbows. She looked down at herself, before looking up at everyone crowding around her. "I-I'm fine...Remind me...to stay really fuckin' far from that sword, Val. Velin...seems to not like me too much." she said. Her voice was hoarse, and she even coughed a few times. She looked at Sergey, and simply waved him off. "I-I'll heal up on my own...thanks though." she stated. She then held up her hand, motioning for someone to help her up.

Once she was back on her feet, she noticed her hat was gone. "...Anyone seen my hat?" she asked, giving another cough as she tried to brush the burnt clothing flakes off her chest as well as dirt.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil stayed silent as he watched the spectacle unfold before him. It only furthered to confirm his suspicions. This weapon was one filled with hate. He already hated the god for his own reasons, and that hatred of Velin only grew bigger as he remained quiet. What also was bothering him was the Senior Inquisitor... such as how she came across this knowledge in a short period o time. Something was off to him, and he wanted answers.