Fantasy The Divine Conquerors Ⅱ - Main / Ravenscourt

[Solirus]

Dirk Ault​

Dirk was traversing through the forest near the city, he was still recovering from the amount of mana he wasted but thanks to the crystal he was recovering.

The primary target is being dealt with, after my initial shot there were other following… weird I didn’t plan it along but it works out. Next thing, I should potentially reposition, find a tree high enough to look over the wall, that might be difficult but if I’m unable to, I'll resort to using unconventional strategies… Next I have to figure out whenever things are going too south, I don’t want to set them off yet and preferably never, but I place them for a reason…

Almost as if on queue he received a message from Ivan, although it seemed more like a general message to any summoned nearby.

Are they already fighting against the royalty? I don’t trust the royalt either hence why I prepared beforehand… but I want to get something out of this whole mess… I could always recall, everything seems to be going poorly and eventually someone will destroy Nortestra… I’ll hover around for longer to see if things calm down, if they don’t I’ll have to leave, hopefully find better employers… perhaps I’ll have to ask about the surrounding countries.

Dirk finally decided to just use a normal tree, it wasn’t exactly too tall but if he fired again he wouldn’t have to worry about the height. As such he scanned around the area again, it was indeed mayhem over there, if he were to go through with it, most would seemingly not notice it, especially with the primary target began doing a last ditch move, seemingly a sort of self destruct, although it did seem quite lively which was rather weir-

He finally saw it, the main target he had been waiting for, Dirk took a more serious stance, aiming his rifle directly at his first grudge: Synthia. She hadn’t shown herself for so long but now she did, Dirk had the extreme urge to simply shoot at her right then and there, but considering her speed and her… guards it would be difficult, thankfully she had already begun fighting in the open, Dirk would only need to wait, something that was natural for him, he would wait until the perfect moment, then he would make sure her head would pop like a balloon.

Mentions: Gohan510 (Synthia)

 

[Juju]

Captain GreymourneInteraction: StaidFoal Snackofthefuture Pai Chan
​

"Heh, I don't need your thanks, I need you to save the city." Greymourne said gruffly, stepping back after helping Kana to her feet. She placed the strange vial of liquid into a socket in her gauntlet then sealed it over with metal. Once it was secure, she took the time to inspect her telltale 'new allies'. One was a decent warrior, and the other was apparently a god. Seemed to be a common thing these days. At least these two didn't zap everything in sight.

"You know things have gone real sour when the Xactian Empire decides to show up." the captain scoffed then spat on the ground, knowing full well that this was anything but charity. Her arms were crossed as she begrudgingly listened to Nathaniel the Xactian. Those bronze eyes narrowed at his helpful advice regarding 'lasting the week'. "A week? Heh! Castellan has withstood this siege for months, boy. It's so nice of Xaction to show up for her final hour. I suppose we don't have the luxury of picking our allies now..."

She roughly took Nathaniel's offered hand, holding onto it a bit too long and pulling it towards her slightly. "But don't think this makes us friends. You and your empire are just as much a threat as those Mollugs."

With that, she finally let go of his hand. She didn't follow him, but instead listened to what Kana had to say. The scowl on the captain's face deepened, "Athena has her own personal guard, not to mention the castle guards, but if any of the summoned were to attack... that's another story. As for the assassins and civilians, we have a few mages to spare but not nearly enough."

For a moment Greymourne's shoulders dropped. She wanted to return to the front and regroup with that damn Ravencroft boy, but she had to trust in his prowess and complete her own duty. The princess would need to be defended, lest the fighting spirit of Castellan fall. The captain closed her eyes for a second, sighed, then nodded at Kana. "I don't trust any of you as far as I can throw you -- and I threw a knight made completely of metal into the Mollug army-- but if you give even the smallest damn about Castallan then now's your time to prove it. If you two are interested in civilians, the docks have ships being filled with civilians as we speak, and I dug a few escape tunnels throughout the city during the initial stages of the siege. The front lines might be to your taste, Sakujo, but I am going to defend the palace."

Not one for pleasantries, Greymourne simply left it at that and took off at a sprint, collecting some of the discarded weapons and armor as she ran towards the palace.

 

[Kaihaku]

Bizzlebog the Imp
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Frontlines. Interaction: Juju (Enzio) Judge_Vulxray (Midyiel)
​

Bizzlebog jabs his stinger through the jugular vein of the unconscious Nortestran soldier, then leaves the mortal to bleed out as he flies along towards the next wounded mortal. The little Imp was near the bottom of the infernal hierarchy, just above the putrid lemure, but he knew that he was fulfilling an important role and hoped for promotion one day. Currently he was assigned to a Mollug mage who had given him the name 'Bizzlebog' as a joke. It was very funny. The little Imp enjoyed the mage's sense of superiority. His job was to convince this mortal to show its sinful nature; he didn't know all the details but it was part of some kind of legal arbitration between the archfiends and some creator deity. The creator deity argued that their mortal creations were 'good' and the archfiends were demonstrating that they were actually sinful by nature.

Anyway, Bizzlebog's so called 'master' was living into his sinful nature more and more every day. Now, in this battle - despite his weakness - the little Imp had the opportunity to snuff out some mortal lives and send their souls off to eternal damnation. Again, the little imp didn't really know the details, just that sending sinful mortal souls off to eternal damnation helped the arbitration case against the creator deity. There was some undue interference, an archangel was trying to hinder their soul harvesting but whatever; the evidence of mortal sin was overwhelming. There was no covering this up!

"Oh, there's another one." Bizzlebog murmurs in infernal as he spots a young man fall from the sky near the archangel. The little imp wasn't about to let the interfering archangel stop him from carrying out his professional responsibilities.

The little imp flew over to the dying Enzio and landed beside him. Bizzlebog gave the fallen knight an appraising look, he wasn't sensing much sin... It would be better to let this one mature a bit more and more fully reveal his sinful nature. But there were so many mortals dying now that it probably didn't really matter. The little imp raised his stinger to stab Enzio through the neck!!!

 

[Solirus]

Jason​

Jason paused again entering deep thought again

I’m an idiot, he’s right, the masses always tend to be complicit, uncooperative… we really got the short end of the stick here, maybe they want us to suffer… I should think this a bit more thoroughly… maybe instead of moving their hearts we can hel-

Jason was cut off by the sound of crackling lightning, looking up he saw massive arcs originating from the front lines, almost striking them. “You’re right” Jason’s hand quickly reached into his pouch, but hesitated for a second and sighed, “oh boy it would be very convenient in this moment if something allowed us to escape this very much dangerous place.” Jason said finally opening and reaching into the pouch, it seemed like an endless void as Jason tried to look for something to grab onto inside, “Don’t fuck me now” he finally said before he grabbed onto something. It felt like paper and as he pulled it out it looked like a sort of scroll.

Wasting no further time Jason opened the scroll quickly reading over it before throwing it wide open into the ground, “Ok Lukas, Don’t move, and make sure the dog is right next to you, make sure he’s not moving.” As Jason explains he pulls out the glove from one of his hands and with the other hand pulls out his knife swiftly cutting his palm and causing it to bleed. With his hand now bleeding Jason first poured a bit of blood on top of the scroll causing it’s letters to shine, then with more of his own blood he began drawing a circle around all of them with the scroll in the center. Once the circle was complete the scroll began to levitate slowly dissolving as the circle of blood began to glow in a clear cyan color. Once the scroll had fully dissolved the blood shined even brighter until finally a pillar of light emerged engulfing everyone present inside the circle teleporting them far away. The light slowly faded away and the blood slowly began to dissolve leaving nothing behind but footprints.

Interactions: Kaihaku Juju
Mentions: StaidFoal

 

[Kaihaku]

Merchants of Castellan's Second Ward
AND
Mollug Masks
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward. Theme: Crisis, Xenoblade

​

The destruction spread from the breach in the wall deeper into the second ward of Castellan. Dust, smoke, and snow swirled through the streets while rain continued to fall from the storm above. Fools sought shelter in their basements, great fools in their homes. The wise fled with their belongings, the very wise abandoned their belongings. A few opportunistic types took advantage of the chaos to loot while a few altruistic types tried to help others escape.

His hands shaking, the fawn Cainy Capper stood on the doorstep of his home holding his shears as makeshift weapons. He knew he should flee but he couldn't abandoned his beloved plants. Not to the Mollug. He knew he should have moved to Belldan or even further away, but now he had waited too long. All that kissing up to others to sell flowers and herbs...to save his 'transplant' nest egg... He should have just gone for it with a wing and a prayer. Damnit! This was all the monarchy's fault! Those damn royals had lead this country to ruin and now...they'd flee with the wealth of the nation while Cainy and his plants were forced to fight for their lives.

"Cainy! Cainy! Come with us!" A woman called out as she ran down the street cluttered with debris. Cainy recognized her as one of his regular customers, Bethany... He hated her. She was always touching him and trying to get him to go to tea. "Madame Paquet's got a carriage waiting!" Leave his plants? To escape with her? He'd rather die.

"Belle De Thany! My precious love! Don't fear for me, dear one, I catch up with you later." The fawn called out cheerily, a flower appearing in his right hand. He takes a sniff of the flower and then holds it out, "Take this as a promise that we will meet once agai...."

The fawn goes silent, his mouth hanging open in horror, as a Mollug soldier wearing a mask charges down the street at inhuman sleep and cleaves Bethany nearly in half with a greatsword. Kicking the body aside, the masked Mollug soldier is joined by two others. The three soldiers turn their masked faces towards Cainy.

"Ah... Can I interest you handsome gentlemen...in...uh...a flower?" The fawn offers with a grin as he steps backwards into his house. So this was how he was going to die.

A short distance down the same street, the local market's matriarch Caroline Paquet ushers survivors into a waiting carriage. There's an air of authority around her as she commands people to discard their belongings and directs them onto the carriage. No words need to be spoken.

As the masked Mollug soldiers appear on the street, Caroline nods to the driver and slaps the flank of the horse. As the carriage speeds away, she turns to look at the approaching Mollug. She had lived a long life. A good life. But she regretted the future that was being left to her family and the end of the community she had invested her life in. "Damn Mollug. Fine. Cut down this old woman, you knaves. This isn't the end. Nortestra will avenge me." She stands dignified waiting for the end.

Three of the masked Mollug soldiers head in her direction, one of them pausing to spear a townsperson who had been knocked out by debris. Caroline thought he had been killed but...he was dead now.

The market nearby is empty...except for a single merchant still at her vegetable stand.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! You disgusting spawn of sin!" The goblin shrieks as as an puppet of an elf magistrate wielding a cleaver brutally chops apart a head of cabbage. It laughs hysterically as the puppet moves on to a bundle of carrots. "Judgement Elf declares you guilty! Now die! Die! Die!" The goblin is completely oblivious to the two masked Mollug soldiers who enter the market, weapons drawn.

 

[Snackofthefuture]

Forsith Ji
​

Forsith was a half giant, a tall and near immense figure, wrapped from head to toe in armor of gold and red. He was a true Nortestran warrior, having fought for Nortestra since the beginning of the war. He carried with him four blades of a golden hued metal mined by the giants long ago during their reign. The massive general had six arms, two legs and a slightly misshapen face. He’d always known due to his strange looks and size that he would be an outsider, he was refuse, an item to be used and tossed aside when convenient. But joining the military had changed that for Forsith, it had given him purpose, direction and a family.

Forsith’s strange physical bearing was not a problem in the Nortestran military. In fact it proved a boon for the half giant. Forsith had used his natural gifts of multiple limbs, superior strength and size to move his way up through the ranks of the Nortestran military. He had commanded at the border, fought the Mollugs at the very start. Those days had been bloody, but in truth nothing had changed. Years had passed, and slowly the Mollug kingdom had eaten up Nortestra, taking piece by piece of the Fading Empire into itself. In those days sometimes even the High Councilor had been seen roaming the battlefield, destroying champions and generals of the Nortestran command. Hendrick Ollo had been a sight to see on the battlefield and the first time Forsith had survived an encounter with the man, he had hidden himself in a pile of corpses.

Forsith had known how the war would go from his first sighting of The High Councilor’s work. The Mollug ruler had completely destroyed the land he had set his sights upon, and whatever beings were on that land. Thank god he wasn't at Castellan. Forsith smirked and reckoned the situation couldnt be that bad if he were still thinking of ways it could be worse. As he thought about the past and the present and the future, Forsith prepared a fire spell of some power and launched it at an overturned war cart some Mollugs were hiding behind. Forsith strode away from the view of the carnage he had caused, heading back inside the building and heading to the first floor.

Nortestran soldiers had set up a point of defence here and were holding the line inside the 2nd ward at similar points all throughout the city. Forsith exited the building followed by a group of guards, headed towards the next review point, the next defensive position of Castellan. A blast of energy had recently washed over the Nortestran line, killing Mollugs and Nortestrans alike in droves. The Coelacanth was still on a rampage, destroying everything it set its sights on. Though it appeared it was having trouble with some targets.

Forsith continued on his way, once again nearing the crumbled wall, nearing where the fighting still continued unabated. And then he came across Enzio. Well Bizzlebog and Enzio, in their current stance, Bizzlebog poised to kill Enzio. Forsith recognized the demonic heritage of the Mollugs and immediately rushed close, three of his swords cleaving down to dismember the imp.

Forsith was not much of a fan of demons, Mollug creatures were terrible to deal with and people most certainly died when they were used. Demons were little different and this one appeared poised to kill one of the subordinates of that Greymourne woman. Forsith could not allow that to happen, he would defend Nortestran blood to the end. That's just the kind of man he was.

Juju Kaihaku

 

[Kaihaku]

Bizzlebog the Imp
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Frontlines. Interaction: Snackofthefuture (Forsith) Juju (Enzio) Judge_Vulxray (Midyiel)
​

Bizzlebog was preparing to jab his stinger through the dying knight's neck when he was distracted by thundering footsteps. "What the he...." The tiny little imp doesn't get to finish its sentence as not one, not two, but three massive blades transform the foul devil's form into six mounds of putrid waste. It's stinger falls to the ground, still twitching, only to be crushed beneath a powerful boot a moment later.

Across the battlefield, one of the Mollug mages screams in pain and collapses to a knee, grasping his forehead. "Wha... Damn them... Bizzlebog are...you..." He doesn't get to finish the sentence as a Nortestran soldier takes advantage of the distraction to send a crossbow bolt through his cranium. The little imp was gone but one more sinful soul had joined the collection.

 

[Pai Chan]

Aurora frowned at Greymourne's choice of words in response to Nathan. But the priestess knew the type. Many of similar people existed within Ilaria as well. And given the situation etiquette wasn't something that was a must. The commander mentioned getting civilians to some ships at the docks.

"We already have some of our own on rescue. I would like to be where I'm best put to use." Nathanial decided that helping out at the palace was the best course of action. Especially, if there were summoned laying siege. They would need all the help they could get. If royalty fell then so would the nation's morale. And in time of war morale was just as important as any weapon. Greymourne had already started off with Nathan on her heels. Aurora quickly turned to Kana and dropped something in her hands. It was a small vial. In it held a glowing bright liquid.

"If we goddess' powers work similarly then this vial should help if you ever feel your power waning. It's like a pick-me-up but for divine creatures." Aurora smiled before hopping on her staff, like it was a steed, and floating after her allies towards the palace.

 

[Gohan510]

=Summoners vs Mollug=
Involved: Hitori, Erza,Synthia, June, & Karen
When: CT
Where: Frontlines Castellan
​

Battles went all across Castellan as the grounds shook and the sky covered in clouds not natural yet caused by the smoke erupting from the flames that burned throughout the many buildings. Blood has made trails through the stone blocks. Bodies left from each encounter of both sides, thunder roaring off in the distance, snow falling as well. Castellan looked like it was having a bipolar weather forecast unsure what season it wanted to abide by.

As the panel goes back to the two summoned that battled off three of Mollugs top fighters it was a clash of the titans as surrounding areas were leveled thanks to Synthia’s beam magic and the rampaging Ox. Rain was pouring down on the oversized crater that was created in the middle of their battlefield. The water was starting to fill the crater as they fought on. Hitori went blow for blow with Synthia as they engaged in a sword fight going from roof to roof. Erza took on the two inquisitors handling them though she was not on the winning side. Both Hitori and Erza were getting heavily wounded due to the constant teamwork of the three that didn’t show any sign of letting them breathe. Spells from both sides were being casted as it was creating destruction to anything nearby. Those who watched the fight from the distance could hardly keep up from all the debry and smoke that came from the group of fighters.

Synthia had entered her true demon form releasing many Behemoths within Castellan to run rampant. Some attacked Hitori as well, blowing away blocks of houses. Erza noticed the fight was starting to get out of hand and used her sword magic enchanting her blade in size helping Hitori take out the two behemoths while the other four went on towards the second wall. As they met themselves back at the crater they noticed it was completely filled with water and a light beamed from within it as a whirlpool formed in the middle of the water.

“These Mollugs sure are flashy.” Erza stated landing beside Hitori on a rooftop watching their surroundings. The two were starting to get tired of the intense fighting hoping they can find a way out of this situation. Hitori didn’t respond to her as he was watching Synthia fly above them in circles as she seemed to be casting a spell. June went for a swift kick at Erza but missed and got cut in the back. Erza kicked june into the next building and turned back ro Hitori who jumped towards the crater. “Wait!” Without a moment to spare Erza heard a roar and turned around to see the ox about to stomp on her so she jumped away from the attack. Jumping high enough she landed almost sliding into the now lake behind her. Looking back she noticed a shark like woman jumped out attacking hitori at fierce speeds. Erza had no time to think of her next move as the giant bird from before came crashing down attempting to swallow her whole. Erza jumped on its back running to the end of its tail and jumped off, getting hit head on by the ox’s horn though she blocked it with her sword. Getting slammed into a building she laid in pain attempting to get back up. “Dammit! They just don’t give up do they.”

Hitori was now dragged to the bottom of the crater by Karen getting pummeled by her fierce speed and strength not allowing Hitori back up for air. He attempted to get her off of him but nothing worked as his fire magic proved useless. Synthia waited for Karen to give her that opening to finally kill the annoying boy. As she flew above the fight she noticed a gigantic blue beam fire off towards her and barely missed. Turning back to the crater, Hitori had punched Karen out of the water into a building. Barely able to catch his breath the bird came back to swoop him up. Hitori cocked his fist back as it engulfed in flames. “KINGS FIST!!!!!” Punching the bird with massive flames made it crash on the ground behind him laying injured. Hitori was breathing heavily as he was starting to get exhausted. Turning back to Karen she was no longer inside the building yet behind him thanks to flash stepping she put Hitori in a headlock and dragged him back into the bottom of the crater.

Hitori fought back at Karen, but was getting knocked around in the pool of water due to her fierce speeds. Attempting to crawl out of the crater for some air he was dragged back in again being attacked at fierce speeds. Waiting for a moment Hitori dodged one of Karen’s attacks and grabbed onto her using her as a ride. Jumping off her back he was able to free himself from the water landing on a roof of a building breathing for air. Tentacles created by water emerged from the crater and slammed the building together. Hitori laid within the rubble heavily damaged and exhausted this was a fight he was not prepared for. Struggling back up he was trying to figure out a way to get rid of this girl to take on Synthia as the moment a beam struck up to the sky and a evil magic power could be felt from it.

Erza watched Hitori fight hard, but it showed that they were barely making any advances. She walked out of the building and set her eyes on June who was on a rooftop charging her mana and jumped after her. The two engaged in a small exchange with sword vs bow. Synthia fired off a beam that knocked Erza off the roof onto the streets. Struggling back up to her feet in pain Erza was kicked in the face falling on her back by June. Holding her face she noticed June went for a stab at her heart. Erza grabbed June’s wrist trying to stop the girl from piercing her chest. “Get off me dammit!”

“Never!!” June cried out.

Synthia had landed on a broken out post as Karasu flew off her shoulder and continued to fly over the battle. Synthia was in a safe spot completely out of sight allowing her to channel her mana for her next attack. June had successfully pierced Erza in the chest leaving Erza to lay there lifeless. She smiled at the fact she was able to successfully kill a summoned on her own, letting out a sigh before trying to take her dagger out of the woman’s chest. June noticed something though the dagger wasn’t coming out. “What?!” June was confused using both hands trying to pull it out, once she got it out the force she used made her fall back. Looking at the dagger made June’s eyes open as she was confused to see black blood dripping down the blade. Laughter could be heard from Erza that was supposed to be dead, the black blood started to bubble up.

“Yes… FREEDOM AT LAST I CAN RUN FREE WITH NO RESTRAINTS! I WANT YOUR BLOOD ON MY BLADE NEXT!” A red beam of light mixed with black surged to the sky clearing a giant gap in the smoke covered clouds. As the light faded Erza had a new look and clothing as her blade looked different too. “Now shall we have some fun?” Erza gave June a crazed smile.


The ox burst through buildings ramming its horns into Erza, but was flipped on its back letting out a painful cry before turning into clouds signifying it was defeated at last. Erza looked at June who attempted to shoot an arrow at her but it bounced off her skin. The black blood on her dagger stabbed her in different parts of her body as she winced in pain and confusement what type of blood it was. As June bled she noticed the blood was being drawn out and forming into a ball over Erza’s left hand. She was twirling her fingers and licking her lips while she had the ball of blood hover over her hand.

“Such beautiful blood, how does yours taste? The monsters blood doesn't have the same glow as you Valucia people. Your blood is very sexy to say. Ooooh yea.”

“You seem to be struggling boy! You still think I need to run from this fight!?” Karen spat at Hitori while swimming around the pool of water.

“Nah I’m just getting started. I got my breather. Why don’t you come out of that water and see for yourself?” Hitori responded with a smirk.

 

[Pseudo-nim]

Ashe, Auron, & Varium
Interactions: Kaihaku ​

Auron's mana sense spiked briefly as his eyes gazed at the palace grounds. It certainly presented as a decent beacon to those capable of sensing magic and the flow of mana in the air. The lich redirected his senses towards the palace itself, letting the massive teleport circle brighten to its peak. But that was simply to prepare the jump itself and lock those within the circle in place. His eyes met Varium's, giving a nod to the battle spirit. For her, as his soul bound servant, she could share her senses with her master, acting as a scout thanks to her unrivaled speed. To cross the distance between here and the beacon that both could see could be measured in seconds, and she did so as his eyes and ears.

Varium needed no words of action or orders. The intention was clear from the shift in his stance. A single hand raised itself towards her and she felt the profane, cyan glow embrace her scythe blades. She knew this tactic well, especially after an expenditure of souls from casting just two massive spells. Her blades became a conduit and funnel to him, using her killings as a way to harvest the souls of the fallen. The Divine Spirit had always remained apprehensive of such an idea, but it allowed both of them to benefit from it regardless. To sate her search for battle and his mission to gather more power and souls.

The mission itself was simple enough. Observe and clear the landing area of any waiting enemies with extreme prejudice. All of her cores sang in joyous excitement as they supplied the vessel with their power. The air cracked with a single, massive sonic boom when she took her first step towards the castle. Stone and dust plumed to a massive cloud behind her as a back blast of launching herself towards the castle grounds. Varium pierced through the atmosphere at five times the speed of sound, using rooftops as stepping stones that crumbled from the air pressure of her movement and steps. The few soldiers, regardless of Nortestran or Mollug allegiance, that stood in her way found themselves dead from where they stood, a single sweep of her scythe leaving a carnage of headless bodies frozen in action. These unfortunate victims were funneled into Auron's well of souls, added to the hundred of thousands within that were lulled into a false paradise.

It took her no more than a few seconds to cross the entirety of the ward to reach the designated spot, her scythe's spearpoint digging into the statue that served as the beacon. Lowering her speed, she caught the handle and swung up, sitting on her weapon's shaft with a critical eye of the area, her eyes focusing towards the tabby cat standing by itself. She smiled, and gave a small wave towards it before sending a mental sign that the coast was clear.

Auron gave a brief nod towards Ashe as the teleportation circle began to distort and shift. Various layers of the circle spun and the words written within glowed with unearthly blue light. With a single brief flash, both the lich and demigod vanished without a single sound.

Their teleportation was quiet and instant, as if the environment simply shifted from one scenery to the other. There was no bright light or magical residue that marked their arrival to the statue of Frostfire, but the simple appearance of their bodies. The excess power had been converted into a simple, but durable ward in case of potential ambush, but seeing as how the lich turned his eyes towards his servant, sitting on her weapon embedded into the statue's chest, it was clear that the area was clear enough. Varium was thorough and efficient, as he just felt the influx of souls enter his storage.

"Varium does fine work," Ashe complimented the girl. "A catch of the millennia, is she not? An investment with exponential dividends."

"She continues her work with unprecedented efficiency and lethality, old king," Auron replied, little emotion or care given towards the old man's words. "She is loyal of her own will and power. Do not attempt to misuse or waste an ally like her. You will not see her blade coming."

Varium chuckled in response. "My master jests, Ashe. He's unbearably patient with many things, so I don't foresee such an event happening. Though, do be aware that my dear master is heavily attached to the idea of being efficient, especially with mana usage, despite his already monstrous capacity."

"I intend to keep both of your warnings. I can assure you that I only think the best for those who work alongside me." His eye blazed briefly, before landing towards the only other company besides the trio. "A disguise, though your mind cannot truly hide the remnants of your original intentions. Be presentable draconian, for we've come to hear your words."

Waiting for a response, Ashe did think deeply of their warnings. To belittle or ignore the achievements of his subordinates or allies was simply a formula to an early grave, or a gruesome death. Lesser beings and minds find a strange euphoria and joy when they are acknowledged and rewarded, yet also strive to do more when reprimanded with reason and gentle admonishment. These beings, both the old dragon and the lich with his subordinate, are enemies. They may speak of cooperation for now, but in the end, only one can truly rule this world. So he will remain open minded for the greater goal set by Virtue, adding pawns to his hand. What allies he may receive remains to be seen, but in his eyes, they were all rivals and enemies that remain below him. His treatment of them will remain positive, as to not reveal his hand.

As they say: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

 

[Kaihaku]

???
(Mother Voorjaar)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Frostfire Monument → Royal Palace Theme: Natural - Imagine Dragons
Interactions: Pseudo-nim (Ashe, Varium, Auron) Gohan510 ( Aldreg, Toren, Gin, Alexander) StaidFoal (Royals, Palace NPCs)
​

The form that emerges from the arbor is not that of the wounded princess nor of the nondescript feline. Instead it is that of a powerful warrior of regal bearing, crowned with mighty horns and golden eyes that flash with authority. The figure strides through the garden purposefully, every step exuding power and purpose, as she makes her towards the palace entrance. The noble visage is not unknown to the three summoned waiting by the monument.

"You will refer to me as befits a personage of my stature." The figure advises in a voice that burns with frigid cold. She lifts the hammer held in one hand, actually a part of her shapeshifted body, and points it towards the palace. The sounds of battle can be clearly heard echoing faintly down the halls. "It seems that we have a rival... Whether they seek to bring peace or to further corruption, let us move quickly and crush them if they would oppose us." She didn't know who had launched an attack on the palace before them but it seemed unlikely that it was the besieging forces. More likely that it was someone else seeking to take advantage of the situation. There was a chance that they would be comrades in arms for the moment. At least until their interests competed.

The woman let a grim smile cross her lips as speaks words that seem out of character for her deep noble voice, "Rama. Mikail. Coelacanth. Frostfire. Athena. The Constant. These are the priority. There will be other signs and layers but revealing the hidden is one of your talents, is it not?"

She does not mention the girls. Instead she turns cold golden eyes to the old schemer, her smile fading, as she roars, "Let's go!"

​

At this, she broke into a mighty charge towards the royal palace barreling her way head first through a closed door and into the interior with strength far beyond a normal human. She continues running, headbutting her way through any obstacle that presents itself as she heads towards the sounds of battle.

 

[Pai Chan]

Heather Kamelotte & Bai Ling​

Heather set Bai down after coming to yet another stop on the ground. They were making very slow progress. Trying to find Aurora was proving a slow and frustrating progress. And carrying a person made the chore all the more tiring. Heather couldn't fly too high because of temperatures dropping too low and couldn't fly too fast for the same reason as well as the added weight. Then there was the fact that Heather didn't exactly know which direction they were headed in.

So the phoenix decided it was time to stop by an inn and rest.

"I can handle this." Heather said as they stepped up towards the counter with a middle aged man standing behind it. Upon, hearing the bell from the two stepping inside he came to greet them. But before he could utter a word he took in Heather's wings.

"We don't serve Summoned here. Sorry." He said quickly and nervously.

"Surely, you wouldn't turn away a person from the church." The man looked towards Bai for the first time and took in her clothing.

"Church?" He asked and Bai slowly nodded.

"We come to represent one of the Church's with urgent news to deliver to a Xactian commander and one of my own that accompanied him. I've been enlisted to help escort this young lady. I assure you I mean no harm. You have Xact's word." The man looked shocked and gave the two a back and forth before his eyes rested on Bai.

"What's that dark stain on your blouse?" He asked about where Bai was shot. She didn't, exactly, have time to change before leaving. But her clothes were dark so it just resembled a stain with a small tear.

"Oh, this? I was sho-"

"Unfortunately," Heather quickly cut in. "our landing was quite rough and one of our jars of...jam burst open and spilled all over." The innkeeper looked back to Bai as if for clarification.

"O-oh, yeah. We hit the ground like, POW!" Bai displayed with her hands by smacking her fist into her palm.

"Are you, quite, alright?"

"Oh, it's no problem. I have cybernetics." Bai said with a beaming smile.

"That's Xactian...slang for, 'she's tough.'' The innkeeper chuckled as he dug through a drawer behind the counter.

"You young folk and your slang. Well, here you go." The man handed them a set of keys. "There's only one room tonight and it's upstairs. I hope that's quite alright. There's a tub in the room and you can get warm water to wash yourselves and your clothes. All you need to do is sign your names. Your church should pay for the duration of your stay. And if I find out you both are just a couple of crooks trying to get a free night, I'll have you know, I got the memory of a steel trap. I don't think it'll be hard to report your description to the authorities. Enjoy your stay."

---

Heather was in the middle of washing Bai Ling's back in the tub. The nun said it was a common thing they did at the church. It took a bit of convincing but Heather eventually caved. The whole process went about in silence. Both girls reflect on the events both past and yet to come. The phoenix was still amazed that the vision she had a few days, prior, was true. The proof right in front of her. This girl was supposedly important, in some way. Enough that the witch Sowilo came to Heather in a dream and emphasized the importance of saving her. And the woman did just that. But Heather still couldn't shake the feeling and the flooding of memories from before she stepped foot in Valucia.

She couldn't control herself. She incinerated those men. Nothing was left but their bones. She had done that before but every time Heather tried to recall, exactly, her head ached.

Bai wincing brought Heather back to the present. At first Heather thought she was being too rough but noticed Bai’s attention was taken by something else. She was looking at her arm, intently, when she flinched again. It was then Heather noticed a drop of red in the water and quickly took Bai’s arm.

“What are you doing?” Heather shouted looking at the cut across Bai’s wrist. The wound then closed itself and, aside from the thin red trail, looked like no damage was ever there.

“I heal.” Bai said. “Just like when I was shot. I haven’t had that happen before. I just wanted to see if it would happen again.” Heather sighed in relief. She could tell Bai was going to be a handful. “Was that wrong?” Bai asked and it took Heather aback. The girl’s question was genuine and Bai held the same look in her eyes as a child being admonished.

“Uh, yeah. It's very bad to hurt yourself. Make sure you always tell someone if you’re even thinking about doing something like that. Even if it’s...testing for something.” The pain in Heather’s head spiked again. “We should get some sleep. My head is killing me and we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Heather?” Bai said. “I’m sorry.” Heather gave a smile.

“Nah, you’re a good kid.”

 

[Juju]

Baroness Ellanora Nightshade​

Ellanora stood atop a severed spire, just one of many that had been broken from the cathedral. For ages this pearly tower sat in the clouds, looking down on all and any who passed by. Now, it was nothing but broken stone, soon to be forgotten just like its mother structure. In the periodic lightning and flashes of magic, the once great temple of the gods cast broken shadows upon the dying city. The air was rich with the smell of burnt flesh and agony. It would not be long until the rest of Nortestra followed suit.

Before her was an alpha bloodbeast, one of the many she had personally crafted back in the halls of her sire. One of the oldest, though not for lack of trying. It's elongated limbs clung to the rubble, its sharp teeth in a crooked smile. It watched its master eagerly, awaiting any and all command. Ella found it equal parts disgusting and remarkable.

"So Sulric and Cardoza have finally met in singular combat. Good, it is about time. The sentiment had begun to dull our commander's wit and I feared it would have compromised the siege." A shame he never found out that Sulric had buried his daughter, or where, but doubt would have complicated things. The general turned to the hulking bloodbeast, "Go, keep watch over its progress... and bring me the body of the victor. You may feast on the other."

The beast bowed its ugly head graciously a few more times than was necessary, cackling with a guttural voice before swooping off. Mostly, Ella was glad to be rid of at least one of them. The rest of its pack were surrounding their current prize, jaws slavering as they stared motionless at the knight. The horse had been completely drained of blood, parts of it torn away for fleshcraft. It was a fate that would be shared with its rider, if not for the slivers of information that could be harvested first.

"Ser Frederick, was it? Thank you. It warms my heart to know that at least some Nortestrans may yet glimpse the futility of their defense. Such needless bloodshed and for what? The sun of Nortestra has set, but it does not have to mean the end of her people. In Mollug all may find their role. Everyone has their purpose. We can provide you and your family refuge from Nortestran's decrepit ways and feeble rulers."

"Until the summoned decide to turn on you too"

The vampire froze for a moment, then smiled. "Worry not, Mollug has survived the last summoning and it will still stand when all the newest spawn have long turned to bone and dust." Her eyes caught a flash of lightning, shining a solid white like a cat's in the dark. "Tell me, what was your Princess's plan to evacuate the city," she asked, only to shake her head at the knight's blank expression. "No, nevermind. Did Sulric or the other generals have a plan?"

"Well, the initial plan was to allow passage under the outer walls, and Greymourne had created a tunnel below the garrison. Then of course, there were... several...ships.." the knight trailed off, seeing a thick, orange glow emanating from the docks.

The flickering light gave the baroness a vague halo as she stared down serenely, "Yes, of course. The tunnels were quite the useful idea. Please, go on. Surely the noble knights had a back up plan."

"But you said-"

"-in Mollug everyone has their purpose. You think I am insincere, do you not? Castellan's own is of utmost importance. She and her Princess shall serve as an example, her people as martyrs. May all her sister cities learn from their sacrifice, and their mistake. Shall this asinine war end tonight, there will no longer be need of senseless blood." as the baroness said the word blood, her bloodbeasts began to grow restless and twitchy. A few hobbled closer to the knight, long fangs dripping saliva. "Now, tell me more about what generals and captains remain."

 

[Solirus]

Hiba​

Hiba looked at Nemu who was now running outside, Hiba then thought maybe if she went outside she could answer some question she had, thus she followed Nemu who seemed to be wanting to fight zombies, Hiba looked dumbfounded never having heard of the word before, but she was more surprised by the place she was in, the structures weren’t something she had ever seen, even if they seemed vaguely familiar to that of her dreams.

She followed along as Nemu ran screaming out that she was a knight, Hiba never saw a knight, she only had heard about them, chivalrous and covered in armor, perhaps she hadn’t learn how all knights looked, in the same moment Hiba smelt a small trace of blood in the area. Hiba only recognized blood, from the more intense sparring sessions where her brothers would battle until one coughed up blood, maybe that’s what was going one?

Hiba, still behind Nemu, spoke up, “What is… place?” she asked hoping to get a response from the valiant sir Nemu.

Interactions: Juju

 

[Snackofthefuture]

SAKUJO HONOMURA
​

Sakujo shook his blade free of the blood that coated it. He flung the blade outwards and then sheathed it in a quick fluid motion in that classic way samurais do. He then stepped outside the building they had all been standing in and began to make his way in the direction of the battlefield. He was fast walking at the moment but in several moments he began to start jogging, then sprinting, then effectively hurtling forwards at speed beyond that of humans. Soon he was at the front of the battlefield, cutting down enemy Mollug soldiers and rallying the Nortestran defence.

The samurai continued to hack and slash his way through the battlefield, cutting down scores and scores of Mollug soldiers with relative ease. As he moved he eventually came across a relatively untouched area, simply covered in arrows and scorched with fire, several bodies in pieces amongst the fire and arrows. It seemed a Nortestran general and his guards were here as well. Sakujo had run into Forsith and Enzio during his journey across the battlefield. The samurai stopped for a moment and Forsith noticed him. The Nortestran general had removed all the arrows from Enzio’s body and was in the process of cauterizing each wound to stop the bleeding.

Forsith looked up from Enzio, hand still glowing with a bright fire, blood staining the arms of the general. The guards around Forsith closed ranks upon Sakujo’s approach. Forsith looked at the samurai warrior and judging by his clothing and strange augmentations, guessed the figure was a summoned. Sakujo smirked and said “You got that right giant, I'm Summoned, just not from this city’s one. I was summoned several hundred miles to the east with several others. I'm here now to assist in this city’s defence, somehow?” Sakujo cocked his head and wondered how he had gotten into this situation, or rather, why he had gotten into the middle of a war. He figured it was a mixture of boredom and that strange desire to conquer he’d had since being brought to Valucia. But still it was rather strange he was there in general. “Perhaps I might learn your name, my multi-armed comrade?” Sakujo asked as more explosions echoed through the city. The Coelacanth continued its rampage, destroying all around it. Forsith waved his arms for the the guards to move, responding with “I am Forsith, general of Nortestra. If you are indeed summoned, and here to assist in our defence, let me give you some influence over our troops. Forsith then spoke to one of his higher ranking guards and told him to follow after Sakujo and make sure men knew his command.

The guards parted at Forsith’s request and the two spoke for a moment on the situation, Sakujo was then pointed in the direction of the collapsed wall and the merchant ward. Sakujo would bring Forsith’s man with him, a soldier by the name of Reverend. Reverend would make sure soldiers knew of Sakujo’s command so the summoned could work most effectively. They would head in the direction of the Merchant Ward next. Plenty would be needing evacuation there. Forsith was going to stay with the fallen knight he held, and make sure the lad was alright. At this statement Forsith cauterized the last wound shut, prying a gasp of pain from Enzio’s jaws. Sakujo then turned around and began to head towards the merchant ward, cutting down Mollug soldiers all the way.

As he neared the wall he came across other Nortestran soldiers, who began to follow alongside Sakujo after being told Forsith and Sulric had given him command. Reverend assisted the samurai in combat both physically and verbally, assisting in directing soldiers through the battle. They entered the Merchant ward with over a hundred battle hardened Nortestran warriors. Immediately they set about defending the Castellan locals, fighting the masked Mollug soldiers which were set on taking over the 2nd ward. They were fighting hard, and many civilians were dying in the carnage that had erupted. Guards of the 2nd wards were still fighting and defending the area, but the arrival of Sakujo and his men changed the battlefield dramatically. Sakujo himself focused mostly on the combat, fighting tooth and nail with the Mollug combatants that flooded the gap.

Sakujo slit the throat of a Mollug Paladin with one quick movement, his knife cutting the gorget easily with its energy enhanced blade. Sakujo then swiveled on his foot and decapitated a charging orc barbarian. The head flew over Sakujo and he ducked under it with a focused awareness of the battlefield that couldn't be matched. Soldiers weaved and ducked around trying to survive the battlefield. Few could be said to have mastered the art of staying alive on a battlefield, but Sakujo was most definitely counted among that small number. A near god on the field of war, Sakujo perfected his art in the heat of conflict. Severing the tendons of one soldiers legs with a quick slash, Sakujo dodged a hammer from a human soldier trying to protect this comrade, before darting back in to stab both Mollug warriors through with his katana. His balde slipped out of both bodies with a sizzling hiss. Sakujo then turned his attention to the soldiers going after the merchants in the ward.

Leaping to the defence of Cainy the Fawn, Sakujo chopped the head off of the greatsword wielding masked soldier. The other two masked warriors immediately switched their attention from the merchant to the samurai and darted in, both of their swords glinting with rainwater. Sakujo immediately batted them both aside with quick slashes from his blade. Both of them tumbled to the side, then got back to their feet and tried again and this time as they rushed at Sakujo they crossed him at the same time. Thinking they had killed him, both Mollug warriors relaxed for a moment, only to then notice the blood leaking from dual slashes to the gut each. Sakujo had sliced four times in the second that had passed when they had crossed him. Each of their bellies were open, an X across the middles that spilled their guts.

Sakujo then whipped out his pistol and with a cavalcade of energy blasts, took out the Mollug soldiers advancing on Caroline the merchant. Saving these two was all Sakujo could do in time. Thankfully however, Reverend saved the third merchant, a goblin, hacking apart the two Mollug soldiers that went after her. Reverend and the Nortestran soldiers then managed to get the Nortestran merchants to leave, some of the Nortestran soldiers picking up the more unwilling of the three. This left Sakujo and Reverend with 55 soldiers, 30 helping in the evacuation of the ward. The others had died in the opening movements within the ward. Now that the merchants had been saved, Sakujo began rounding up more and more soldiers for a counterattack on the Mollug offensive. Hopefully they could buy enough time for the civilians and royalty to escape. Perhaps Sakujo could earn some followers through this as well.

Kaihaku Juju StaidFoal

 

[Gohan510]

=The Battle of the A's. The end of an Era=
Involved: Athena, Athena's Guards StaidFoal / Aldreg, Aren, & Alexander Gohan510
Nearby Kaihaku Snackofthefuture (I think thats everyone by the palace if more let me know and I'll add u)
When: Now
Where: Castellan's Castle​

Concern bit her lip. Typical, that her headstrong father dove out in combat while healing. He yelled for her to escape, and she should have. Mikhail gave orders directly received from the Constant to converge. The ensuing battle was nothing more than an obstacle for her to walk around; so why did she hesitate to leave her father alone to deal with the traitor? She had faith in his abilities... but as it currently stood.

Athena clicked her tongue. "Guards, I order all of you to assist Lord Father and apprehend the traitorous Aldreg!" The towering robot guards shifted in place, wordlessly turning from their defensive positions to all stare at Aldreg. They pounded the butt of their spears on the ground in unison, then rushing at him.

With the majority of her guards focused on helping her father, Athena continued her escape to the Blackburn Manor, pulling the brown hood over her silver hair.

Aren ran to the scene of the fighting as he was informed of summoned entering the palace as well. He ran to Alexanders side in worry of what to come. "Sir the palace is being breached from all over. Demons are crawling from all sides of the palace summoned are breaching in and... Aldreg!?"

"The kings noble knight Aren what a surprise of you to show. I'd thought you were hiding in some closet away from the fire of combat." Aldreg responded to the knight before he turned his attention to Athena signaling her her guards to attack him. Preparing himself Aldreg smirked before turning his attention to the robots. "So these toys of her decide to all out attack me?"

"Get away from here and help any soldiers defending the palace I trust you dearly to secure the facility with all the power you can muster. Do not disappoint me during these dire times." Alexander told his knight without even looking at him, the king turned to the many demons invading the courtyard and held his hand out as lightning struck out hitting multiple of them at once taking them out. The bolts of lightning bounced from demon to demon taking them out. Aren watched in awe before nodding his head and running off back into the palace hopefully finding fellow knights to assist.

Aldreg clashed his sword in between two of the guards spears as the other two went to stab him in that back, Aldreg used his free hand to grab one of the guards spears and his foot holding the other. The guards all struggled to force Aldreg to his knees before he swiftly knocked him away, watching them slide back they continued their assault on Aldreg. One of the guards heads fell to the ground as it fell to the ground as the other three attempted to cut Aldreg. Aldreg had a smirk before flash stepping out of the way, though Alexander was behind him with a thunder punch straight to the face having Aldreg crash back down sliding across the ground. Struggling back up to his feet he spit some blood. "So this is a change of events Alexander."

Alexander didn't say much in response as he was fighting off some random flying demons allowing the guards to continue their assault on Aldreg. Aldreg casted a spell as black electricity fired off destroying nearby demons and stopping the guards in their tracks. Alexander appeared above Aldreg with fierce speed going for a punch, but missed. The demons souls were being absorbed by the orb in Aldreg's hand as the orb was then offering him more power.

Aren was running down the halls killing any demons attack soldiers and rallying the soldiers up in a unite to defend the palace. There was only so much time until the structure would come crumbling from all the heavy damage it had taken. Aren had a bad feeling about leaving the king behind and so he intrusted his gut feeling leaving the knights to work together against the many demons as he ran back towards the courtyard.

Aldreg had finally taken out the guards which left him and Alexander to duke it out on their own once again. The two circled around one another not losing sight on one another. Within a flash the two battled across the courtyard as there was explosions all over. Alexander was using his Kunai's to deflect Aldreg's sword and it was working in Alexander's favor. Though over the course of the fight Alexander noticed Aldreg was getting faster and stronger, slowly. Lightning magic was being used all over the place as Aldreg was using magic barriers and his own respective spells. The two had clashed blades which created multiple craters each time they collided. Aldreg had made Alexander's Kunai fly out of his hand and went for a cut, but missed as Alexander dissapeared towards the Kunai. Throwing the Kunai towards Aldreg, Alexander grabbed it and went for a thunder kick on Aldreg which hit head on. Alderg grabbed Alexander's leg spinning and throwing him into a wall. Aldreg held his hand out as a magic circle appeared firing off a purple beam that made a hole in the wall, thankfully Alexander had Kunai's scattered all over the courtyard. Turning around to Aldreg, Alexander ran towards them as this was going to be the end of the fight with one powerful strike.

"Thunder Magic! Crashing Fist of Sin!" Alexander's entire body was covered in electricity as his fist shined bright as himself and Aldreg dashed at each other. Alexander went for the punch, but barely missed his hit as he was met with Aldreg's blade within his stomach. Coughing up blood his body shook from the pain, Alexander looked at Aldreg weakened. "You will be dealt with for your crimes.. My daughter will seek vengeance! Dammit Aldreg.. *Cough* Why!? *Cough* Against your own country...?" Aren was rushing as fast as he could back to the courtyard as he busted through the doors of the courtyard for his eyes to be opened wide from the horrific sight.

"LORD ALEXANDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Aldreg had his blade pierced within Alexander's torso, leaving the man coughing up blood to slowly turn to Aren. He had a weakened look on his face as he held Aldreg's hand with his one hand. Looking back at Aldreg Alexander's body started to spark up with electricity, shining bright as time went on. Aldreg realised what the king was doing as he tried to get out of Alexander's grip. With much time there was a massive explosion that blinded Aren, the light of the explosion covered the entire palace and could be seen from the manor. Once the light faded Aren opened his eyes to see nothing but dust clouds and rubble around the area. Struggling to get up to hist feet he looked around confused on what was going on.

"LORD ALEXANDER! WHERE ARE YOU!? LORD!?" Aren said with a worried expression not hearing the blonde man's usual funny remarks. Aren couldn't feel the King's mana anymore it was completely gone. He opened his eyes wide once he was able to see Aldreg still standing on his feet. "HOW!!?! YOU!!!!!!!! TRAITOR!!!" Aren said running towards Aldreg with his sword unsheathed ready to slash at him. Aldreg turned to Aren after stealing Alexander's soul in the orb which made it shine like crazy, Aldreg flashed stepped past Aren and sheathed his blade as Aren fell to the floor with a giant slash across his body gushing out blood. Aren tried to stand back to his feet attempting to slash Aldreg once more. Aldreg held Shinka ōbu to the boys face as his eyes were blinded by its light and it shined bright. Once the light faded Aren dropped to his knees and then completely to the floor as he was left lifeless. A blue flame appeared by Aldreg speaking in a strange language.

"That's your host take care of it." Aldreg stated before walking back into the palace, the blue flame consumed the boys body. Aldreg was now headed to his next objective. His eyes were now Green with black pupils and his sword changed through the orbs influence. He was growing in power over the course of time, he tucked the Shinka ōbu back into his coat. "Congratualtions Athena. Queen of Nortestra." Aldreg said to himself jokingly.

 

[Kaihaku]

Merchants of Castellan's Second Ward
AND
Mollug Masks
Interacts: Snackofthefuture (Sakujo, Reverend, Soldiers)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward. Theme: Crisis, Xenoblade
​

Braced for his demise, the fawn is surprised when a mysterious warrior appeared to battle the masked Mollug soldiers. He gasps as his would be savior takes a grievous injury but, then, reveals that he had dealt lethal injuries to the foul attackers. A second later the masked soldiers explode in an inferno of destructive magic but the mysterious warrior sidesteps the blasts with ease.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Thank you a very much, mon ami!" The fawn calls out to his mysterious hero, producing several pouches of powerful healing herbs which he offers. "Please take these for your injuries!" He hesitates, then adds, "May I know your name, oh noble one?"

Despite this expressions of gratitude, the fawn resists the soldiers that try to get him to leave his beloved shop and ends up being carried away like a child. He keeps on saying something about his plants, not that the soldiers care.

By this point the mysterious warrior had drawn a strange weapon and levelled it at the masked soldiers closing on the matriarch of the local market. It unleashes destructive blasts that down more of the invading soldiers. They also erupt with destructive magic but no one is close enough to them to be harmed.

Caroline blinks as her premature demise is adverted. Then her old eyes settle on the mysterious warrior. His weapons and garb were not of Nortestra but looked like they might be from Czarsnikei. A smile spread across her face as tears ran down her worn features. She had been prepared to die but instead she had been rescued by this handsome young foreigner.

"I am in your debt, hero! I'm Caroline Paquet! Come meet me again when the Mollug have been repulsed. " Caroline calls out to the hero as he darts away to save more people. Even wounded and dirty from desperate battle, she could tell he was a noble figure. "I'd like to thank you properly!" She'd offer him gold and a letter of introduction, of course, but she was thinking of her youngest daughter, Sullivan, who had yet to wed. It would be a good match in these uncertain times and surely Sullivan wouldn't oppose marrying the man who had rescued her mother. Caroline nodded in satisfaction as she turned and quickly made her way along with the soldiers. She stops, however, to stare at the sky in horror as brilliant light explodes across the sky from the direction of the palace. Something was very, very wrong.

The goblin continues chopping vegetables apart with extreme prejudice - shouting and laughing - seemingly unaware of the danger it had been in, of it's timely rescue, or of the explosion of light from the palace. Still, the goblin obeys the soldiers when they come to collect her and follows them while playing with two puppets.

 

[StaidFoal]

=HODIR=
Nearby: Pseudo-nim (Zasha) GrieveWriter (Poma)​

The elder dragon was slow to arrive. This was thanks to the persistent mages and winged warriors that pervaded a few squads of Mollug. They vied for their army's former symbol of pride to return, only to be swatted away by Hodir's wings or roasted mid-air with his fiery breath. Hodir flew only meters above the Mollugs, and they felt the rush of wind fly their helmets away. Even from the current distance, he couldn't see the massive beast's head. Said beast was one he heard everyone call the "Coelacanth." As he glided, Hodir wondered what cyclone of a storm it was pulled out of—a species he'd never seen before, nonetheless. After centuries of his life, he thought he'd witnessed it all...

The latter half of the Coelacanth dragged across the floor, slithering through the ranks like a crushing broom. As the spots on the beast's side spewed bolts of electricity, Hodir narrowed his eyes and flew further above. This creature was clearly a threat to all. There was no reason for it to live, he decided.

Hodir rose above the clouds, eyeing the serpentine construct until its head finally came into view. The elder dragon bared his teeth, his pupils becoming horizontal slits. Then boomed a deafening roar—one he'd held since Wyman's passing. Both armies paused for a split second to witness the dragon in full glory, diving straight down. The Coelacanth twitched its head, perking up as it detected something rapidly approach. Four of its tendrils immediately shot up... only for one to be whipped away, two torn to shreds by serrated teeth and claws, and the last having it grabbed by Hodir's mouth, the claw-like end sticking out of his maw.

As if the first roar was not thunderous enough, then came the sound of a sharp crash and scuttling debris; a meteor against metal. The Coelacanth's head slammed into the ground, wrenching steel and sputtering electric sparks. Hodir clamped his mouth into the Coelacanth's nape, fluttering his wings as he twittered his head to tear the chunk apart. Instead, the Coelacanth hovered with it, just barely withstanding the quaking. However, its weak spots beneath were more exposed than ever, leaking clouds of the blue, energizing gas.

As Hodir steadily tore through the hide, more tendrils shot up and into the dragon, piercing his scaly veil and creating shallow wounds around his body. Hodir only bit down harder, rolling steam from his nostrils. Fire slowly encroached within his throat, ready to unleash his fiery hell on the construct.

 

[Snackofthefuture]

Brother Beast, Ian Hime, Toren and Gin
By Snackofthefuture and Gohan510​

The on going battle between the three knights of Nortestra went on as Ian slid back bleeding all over from the constant wounds he had received by the two former commanders. Breathing heavily he held his open hand up as a magic circle appeared and started spinning. Gin and Toren looked at one another before deciding to seperate Gin flash stepped passed Ian and ran down into the dark tunnel running towards the objective. Toren stood back watching as the magic circle faded from Ian's hand and he dropped to the floor weakened.

"I've warned you this was the outcome if you continued to fight us. There is no hope for any of you Nortestrians, this is the fall of a bright country. The time was coming soon and it couldn't be no perfect then now."

"You betrayed us in such a noble time it's sad I looked at you three as colleges. Such a shame!" Ian coughed up some blood before trying to get back up, but he was too weak and fell back down laying on the ground defenseless. His vision was starting to get blurry as he noticed Toren walking over to him. Once Toren was above him he held his sword with both hands high up before attempting to finish Ian off with a stab through the heart.

Brother Beast had slipped past the Nortestran guards with his bodyguards following after. They stealthily made their way through the palace, knocking out the few Nortestran guards they came across. Most of the Nortestran guards and soldiers were out now fighting the encroaching Mollug army. This left the artifact and the interior of the palace unguarded.

"Keep tight formation for now and prepare yourselves men." Brother Beast spoke to his bodyguards. They murmured the command through the ranks and soon each of the soldiers was in the most appropriate position they could find. The room they were in was covered. But it seemed the area they had come across now, was to say, a bit hectic. Combat of the most intense sort had filled the room and the clashing of swords echoed. Several slain Nortestrans littered the ground before the room.

Inside was the Nortestran general Ian and one of the Nortestran warriors, Toren. Brother Beast motioned for his soldiers to spread out and surround the Nortestran generals. It seemed Toren had turned on Ian. What little information Brother Beast had led him to believe that Ian was probably the still loyal one. The man was an older general of the Nortestran army. Brother BEast had heard tell of some of his exploits in his time as a Molug general.

"Greetings Nortestrans, I am Brother Beast of the Mollug army! Rejoice! For today your country will not fall! We of the Great Pack will save your nation. We and Providence of course. I come here in peace to bring you news, my troops, who number perhaps half the Mollug army knocking on your doorsteps, are prepared to turn on their brethren for you. My troops and I have planned with Princess Athena to turn the Colecanth and my troops on the Mollugs. Perhaps as you have already seen, the Colecanth has turned. My men will join it in turning on the Mollugs soon. The battle is won."

Ian was shocked to hear the voices of brother beast coming so sudden it was like Ian's hopes were blessed and someone had a arrived to aid him before he was knocking on deaths door. Laying there helpless Ian could hardly speak.

Brother Beast smiled and waved at Toren in a slightly friendly manner. He then looked at Ian, "Ian yes? That's your name right? Has this man turned his back on the Nortestran crown? My troops and I are here to assist Princess Athena and any who fight under her banner."
Brother Beast then with a casual flick of his wrist hurled several daggers at Toren.

"If you are an ally to Nortestra then you're an enemy to me." Toren stated before jumping back gaining some distance between himself and brother beast. This was strange that a Mollug general was going against his own country considering the fact Mollug takes loyalty highly seriously.

The daggers stuck to the stone spots they hit, having missed Toren when he jumped back.

"He is indeed against the Nortestran crown." Ian said before passing out laying in his own pool of blood. Toren watched Ian go black as he turned his attention to brother beast and his many troops.

"So you dare to interfere with my plans then?" Toren stated before black markings scattered all throughout his body.

The Mollug soldiers all loaded their crossbows.
Several prepared spells of dark magic, collecting energy in their palms, facing towards Toren. Brother Beast responded, "Yes I think I dare, I have plans of my own you see." Brother Beast raised a fist and all the soldiers leveled their weapons at Toren. The Mollug generals claws then hardened to a metal stronger than steel, sharpening at the same time.

Toren watched as the many soldiers had their crossbows ready to fire off at him as he smirked in response to the high confidence he had in his abilities. With the demon infused with him he was a lot more stronger and faster then he was without the markings. "Cry." Toren stated as a loud shreek came from the blade echoing through the halls. He started to use his sword to draw a circle in front of him slowly as a white outline appeared. "Sword Rain." Toren said as multiple blades shot out of his sword piercing most of the soldiers in the area and some blades even went for Brother Beast.

Brother Beast felt the urge to faint very slightly when Toren's blade activated. Several soldiers collapsed around the room at the blades activation. Then when blades began to shoot out of Toren's sword, casualties began to mount. The blades sliced through flesh and metal with apparent ease and several of Brother Beasts bodyguard soldiers came apart in bloody pieces screaming as they died.

Brother Beast snarled and threw his fist down. Crossbow bolts from every direction and magic projectiles whirled at Toren.

Toren had hardly any room to move around as he flash stepped around the room dodging most of the attacks, though the magic projectiles hit him head on. As the smoke cleared out another barrage of sword Rain came from the smoke going towards the armed soldiers again. Toren ran out of the smoke attempting to slash Brother Beast with his sword.

While the fight between brother beast and Toren went on Gin ran down the dark pathway. He was then met with giant guards with battle axes attempting to slash him, but he made quick work of them with his small sword. Killing them nearly instant he walked up to the chain door as it opened up revealing the orb that Ian had created years ago. It was covered in a powerful seal so Gin took his time preparing to unseal it.

Brother Beast dodged Torens first attack by lunging backwards, he then stepped in close to Toren and grabbed his collar with both hands, he then judo flipped Toren directly onto his back. Brother Beast immediately went in for the kill, clawing downwards at Toren's face. He was angered at the fact Toren's sword rain attack had killed so many.

As Toren was flipped by Brother Beast's insane speed he was able to use his sword to block Brother from clawing his face. Toren used his feet to kick Brother beast off of him and rolled back over to his feet readying his sword for any strange action from his opponent. "I don't believe you have a death wish today do you?" Toren stated calmly watching Brother Beasts every move. "We can go our separate ways from each other if you'd like. You're an ally of Nortestra now yes? You're best interest should be getting Ian some medical attention before he ends up dead." Toren said before a bright light flashed through the palace, thankfully Toren was blind so he wasn't affected, but he could feel it was the cause of the King's mana bursting out in a giant explosion which shook the entire palace making most of its walls shake. "Aldreg." Toren stated once the light had left he kept listening on Brother Beast's footsteps.

Gin got the Orb out of its seal and grabbed it, it wasn't radiating with power like Aldreg's. He stuffed it in his cloak before turning around running back through the hall he just left. It wasn't much longer till he exited back into the hall seeing Ian still laying there and Toren was now fighting against one of the Mollug's commanders. Gin ran past Toren leaving the palace using this as a chance to escape.

Demons started busting through the windows and coming through the halls attacking any of brother beast's troops as well as Brother Beast himself in an all out battle of beasts of all shapes and sizes. Toren used this as a way to sheathe his sword and take it as a way to escape so he ran out of the nearest window leaving the scene.

Brother Beast growls down at Toren as his claw clangs against his blade. He grunts as Toren kicks him off, rolling away slightly while more of his soldiers shoot at the traitor warrior. Brother Beast rolls into a crouched position, one hand placed on the ground. He listens as Toren speaks, then responds, "Nortestra is my ally, but you're definitely not. You tried to kill one of Nortestra's generals. That makes you my enemy."

Brother Beast then motions again and his soldiers all launch a volley at toren. The warrior dodges and deflects most of the attacks, some missing and smashing into the wall behind him. Suddenly a flash of light and a massive boom flowed all throughout the palace. Something big had happened. At this point however, demons began to pour into the room, distracting Brother Beast completely. Their entrance was sudden and unexpected and Brother Beast roars as Toren uses the newcomers to cover his escape. Brother Beast and his soldiers begin to fight the demons for their lives. Durgath grabs Ian and throws him over his shoulder. The Mollug traitors then began to fight in the direction of the outer palace.

They would be headed next to Blackburn Manor, the escape point Athena had told Brother Beast of. This would be her most likely position now that the palace was full of traitors and demons. They hadn't found Athena, but they would soon, and when they did, they'd protect the shit out of her.

@ everyone who is coming to the palace

 

[Gohan510]

=Fight for your lives!! Hitori Push!! Synthia dead?!=
Involved: Hitori, Erza, Synthia, Karen, June Gohan510 / Dirk Solirus
Mentions: Kotori Juju Csilla seasonedcat
Message from dirk: Any summoned that can hear him
Where: Frontlines of War/ Nearby Forest
When: CT​

Erza and June were battling each other as June was attempting to gain distance from Erza, but nothing was working as Erza ran towards her in a frenzy. Erza's fighting was more wild and reckless then it was before and she wasn't giving much effort deflecting June's piercing arrows rushing onward to the girl Erza cut June's head off in one swift cut. Laughing to herself the orb of blood in her head drew more of June's blood making the ball bigger. She turned to look at the lifeless June before spitting at the body kicking it to the side and laughing. Her Attention was then directed to Synthia who was gathering mana in a tower.

Hitori collided fists with Karen who had jumped out of the water they were going at fierce speeds. Hitori was getting hit mostly still blocking the rest of her attacks before punching Karen in the face sending her back. Going after her his fist engulfed in flames as he rushed in to her. "Secret arts! Crimson Lotus Fist!" Hitori shouted out as he unleashed a barrage of punches on Karen in which she couldn't block, creating a fiery explosion after each subsequent contact. After the last punch it sent Karen flying backwards, Synthia flew out of hiding as Erza attempted to cut her from jumping into the tower. Hitori noticed the tower falling over as he turned back to Karen who tackled him, Hitori kicked her off of him then firing off a massive fireball. Karen used some water from the massive pool beside her to barricade the fire ball, it created a big cloud from the evaporation, Hitori flung through the cloud punching Karen in the gut which made her cough up blood getting sent back again.

"Water magic! Twin Water Dragon!" Karen shouted out as two water dragons flung from the pool and rushed towards Hitori hitting him head on. Karen ran towards the pool of water, but was met with a crazed Erza who landed in front of her going for a slash though Karen blocked it with her claws getting sent back. Erza threw the ball of blood towards Karen as it turned into mulitple spikes that pierced Karen before turning into a pool of blood on the floor. Karen struggled back up to get kneed in the face by Erza. Falling backwards she caught herself and rushed towards Erza once again.

Synthia landed in front of Hitori her eyes glared at him while he got back to his feet. She gripped her fist with anger in her eyes as she was ready to kill him. Karasu wings shined with purple mana as she sent him after Hitori, he attempted to cut Hitori with his wings. Hitori manuevered around Karasu and Synthia who was firing beams at him until he found an opening. His feet were consumed in flames as they fired off allowing him to launch towards her giving her a clean punch to the face. The battle between the two continued similar to before as they had a fierce sword fight. Karen and Erza as well battled each other though Erza had the upper hand thanks to her barbaric manner. Synthia jumped back pointing her finger to Karen as a string of purple mana hit her. Karen felt the power rush through her body as she was growing in power. Now able to fight Erza on a equal footing the both were losing blood at a rapid rate from the intense fight.

Hitori and Synthia's fight wasn't done though as they clashed blades once again, Hitori had to maneuever around because of Karasu constantly attempting to cut him. Finding an opening on Karasu Hitori cocked his fist back before it was covered in a bright fire as he blasted off after the bird. Synthia created a string of mana that wrapped around Hitori's foot slamming him into the ground. Hitori struggled back up, he felt his body starting to feel hot. It was an unusual feeling he hasn't felt before and he was confused on what was going on. Blasting towards Synthia she noticed Hitori was starting to get faster and his attacks were starting to hit a lot harder then before.

"Why don't you let that damn demon side of you come out already!?" Synthia asked Hitori as they clashed blades.

"Because that's not the me that I want to fight you! This is going to be the last time we cross paths! My life or yours!" Hitori shouted in response. Karasu picked Hitori up from the back flying off high into the sky Hitori broke free turning around as his sword set ablaze. "Blaze!" Hitori said cutting Karasu with the flame sword which left him burning. Landing in the pool of water Hitori swam out of it coming back to the battlefield breathing heavily as his body felt like it was burning up and starting to hurt. "I need to end this now, I feel like my body is starting to reach its limits." Going for Synthia again they clashed swords not to long after Erza joined in on the fight attacking both Hitori and Synthia. The two teamed up on Erza until she dropped unconscious from the blood lose. Synthia flew up into the sky as she held both of her hands out towards Hitori and the now unconscious Erza. Hitori looked down at Erza before looking up towards Synthia feeling the air in the area rise up as there was three magic circles infront of her spinning in a circle.

"I'm going to blow you and her away with everything I have! I'm tired of this fighting with you boy!!!!" A purple ball of mana formed in the middle of the spinning magic circles as it started to grow in size by the minute. Hitori cuffed his hands over each other pulling them to his side as a blue ball of mana started to gather in between them.

"Fine then! One last move to end this once and for all Synthia!!!" Hitori shouted back as he was pouring every ounce of mana into this last spell like Synthia was doing. Pushing his arms towards Synthia he fired off the giant blue beam at the same time Synthia fired off her purple beam that had a black outlining. The two beams collided creating such a force that any debris in the area blew to dust and the wind around them shook the very ground. Hitori had a crater form under him as he was trying to hold his own. His body was starting to reach such a high climate he couldn't hold on for much longer. "COME ON HITORI!!! PUSH!!!!!!!!!" He screamed out to himself as his beam was starting to get pushed back by Synthia's. "I can't hold on any longer!!!!"

"YES THIS IS THE END OF YOU BOY! FINALLY I CAN REST IN PEACE FROM HERE ON! PERISH BENEATH ME THE GREAT SYNTHIA!!! I WILL BLOW YOU AND YOUR ALLY AWAY TOGETHER! HOW CUTE TO DIE WITH A WOMAN! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL NOW DIE!" Synthia used more mana which made her beam bigger and it was starting to push Hitori's beam all the way back down to him, though he was still holding on regardless if his body was still heating up.

"Careless bitch" a massively loud explosion was heard from the nearby forests, a bullet of sound traveled through the air at an even greater speed than it usually did, power and speed were put into this one, the moment the explosion was heard the bullet seemingly made contact with the skull of Synthia caving inside it and shredding through the brainmatter before exploding, effectivley popping her head like a balloon.

Using this opening as the perfect chance to beat Synthia Hitori pushed his hands forward once more as the beam grew in size completely consumed Synthia's body turning her to nothing. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The beam shot out towards the sky before fading into blue particles that fell slowly towards the ground. After beam was done Hitori was stuck in position as he couldn't even move a muscle in his body. His skin looked pink as steam was coming off of his shoulders. Falling to his knees to then completely on the floor Hitori laid there looking at Erza who had returned to her original form. Hitori had a soft smile as the battle agaisnt the dark mage was finally over.

Dirk breathed a sigh of relief, taking the shot and having it connect perfectly with her head followed up with her unquestionable death released a sort of weight off his back. He scoped in again seeing the one who had held her in place, it would've been better leaving them there, it was dangerous to even aproach the area, but Dirk did feel responsible for using the boy for his own personal Grudges. He Slowly climbed down the tree, leaving most of his heavy equipment behind before allingning himself with where the boy and the other girl were lying down. He took a deep breath before turning around and putting both his hands foward and entering a weird stance. In an instance Dirk released a powerful sound blast foward shaking much of the forest infront of him, but sending him flying back. Soaring through the sky Dirk's arms felt like absolute shit, the pain was great but he was used to it, pain in general at least. As he made his way through the sky like a ragdoll he slowly pulsated more and more sound waves to control his trajectory and slow himself down before landing less the gracefully next to the two who helped him out.

Still laying on the ground unable to even move his head to see who had arrived Hitori assumed it was another Mollug who came to finish them off. Hitori let off a deep sigh before closing his eyes accepting his fate. He couldn't even move, all he could do was sense a high mana was next to him. He hated the fact that he couldn't move his body so he tried to anyways. Using his arms to try and push himself up he just ended up falling back down. "Dammit! Whoever you are just get it over with.." Hitori said ready for his life to be taken. Even if he wanted to move he was all out of mana.

Dirk wasted no time and quicky swooped in to pick up Hitori while struggling a bit more to carry Erza on his shoulder, "I'm here to help you, I used you for my personal benefit and it's only right I would help out" Dirk paused as the weight of the too made it hard to walk, he wasn't the best when he had to improvise or plan in the go, he preferred to take time to plan, but he was still trained to expect these situations. "Can you move anything, breathing temperature, anything? How about this girl over here, any symptoms she might be suffering from?" Dirk asked as he began to jog still carrying both of them on his shoulders.

"Oh... so your helping us because we helped you in a way? I can't move my body at all it hurts for you to even touch me. Sorry I don't know how I ended up like this hahaha. Her I'm not to sure. She seems to be recovering from her wounds fast though she isn't bleeding anymore. Are you a summoned? You look different from everyone else. If you are you know of Kotori and Csilla? They can heal us!" Hitori stated weakly still unable to move, but his body had cooled off.

Dirk's head quickly began thinking of what he could do, going back to the forest would be too dangerous, especially with the lightning being emmited by the primary target and the potential enemy soldiers nearby. He sighed and slowly carried them to rather destroyed building with cover, carefully placing both of them down in a place hard to see and potentially safe from the lightning. "What's both your names again?"

"Hitori, and hers is Erza I believe. Thank you for getting us out of harms way. Your name?" Hitori asked laying back in utter pain. It hurt him to even lay against anything, he looked over to Erza wjo seemed to be healing fast from her wounds, she was strange for sure.

"Just Dirk..." With that Dirk used his telepathic link with the other SIN summoned, "Please be advised we have Erza and Hitori in critical state, both can be found near... A mostly destroyed tools shop, a partisian's shop, and a lot of destroyed homes. Biggest thing here is the burnt ground with plasma and magic." With that Dirk stopped broadcasting his telepathy and slowly walked out, "You should work on not killing yourself while in combat" Dirk finally said to Hitori before dissapearing without a sound.

 

[Juju]

Kotori & WakinyanInteraction: seasonedcat (Csilla) Solirus (Dirk) Gohan510 (Hitori)| Mention: @nighttimecatplayer (Cermen) StaidFoal (Tobias + Eggmom)​

Neither rain nor storm's wind bothered the young Chosen, yet when she heard Tobias' answer she felt a chill run through her bones. She fell into a grim silence, hearing only the sheer hatred in his voice. Kotori desperately searched herself for words to change his mind, something, anything that would turn him away from this grief-fueled carnage. Yet in the back of her mind something terrible prowled.

Hadn't she seen this all before? A city she could not save, a friend made enemy. Soot scattered beneath Wakinyan's hooves. Would they be chasing after Tobias once this necromancer had been dealt with? No, she could not think of that. She had to focus. If she looked back, she was lost.

"This soul-thief will be brought to justice." she said above the thunder, manifesting her bow in a burst of sparks. A singular arrow of arcing light filled its string as she pulled it back. They were almost upon them now.

Wakinyan quickened his pace, building up lightning around his hide. The heavens parted as a blinding pillar of holy light slashed down upon the necromancer, yet when the sparks cleared there was no sign of their target. Wakinyan skidded to a halt and shook his head, letting out a roar that made the skies flicker in anger.

"No.... no no no... this cannot..." Kotori stared down at the location the souls had been, the screaming helpless beings ripped from their world. A moment before they had been deafening, but now there only silence emained. She jumped down from Wakinyan's back and walked numbly towards the singed ring on the stone. It felt like the wind had been knocked from her. "We... we were too late?"

Had this all been for nothing? Those souls, forever damned... she could have saved them. What of the living? She had rushed here in the hopes of rescuing souls and yet in the end she had done nothing. That justice... it had been ripped from her. She clenched her fists and glared down angrily at the Mollug army, at the broken and dead. How could she have let this happen? How could she not? Was there really anything she could do to save this city? All her life she had lived in the ruins of civilizations, wondering how something so great could ever fall. How foolish she was to think it had taken centuries. She had seen it in one day.

The air trembled as Kotori was gifted a vantage point of the castle's demise. Her hands lowered to her sides, her glazed eyes reflecting the harsh glow of the distant explosion. As if it couldn't get worse, more of those gigantic demons were summoned upon the city. All at once the week's exhaustion pressed down on Kotori, those hopes that kept her spirit free while in prison suddenly felt hollow. Wakinyan paced behind her, sparking in silent fury, and for once she couldn't help but feel the same wrath well up in her.

Why must it be this way? The agents of chaos were so numerous, unafraid to step on the weak and innocent. She had to stop them... yet did she even have the power? She was weak, unable to save her own world and hardly worthy of being called a Chosen. Hakan, Nergal, Uktena, Hitori, Tobias, Sulric. Each of them a testament of her failure. Hot, angry tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes. A powerless sense of defiance.

She wished for a way to silence the invading voice of Dirk, longing to be alone, yet a single word made her freeze. Her eyes widened, her heart racing. Hitori? He was here? The sudden flair of relief was bit back at the mention of him being in critical condition. She walked closer to the edge of the wall, gazing into the carnage, searching for her long lost friend. For a fleeting moment she forgot about the anger.

"Dirk...? You have Hitori? Thank you for letting us know." She spoke through SIN's link. "I... I can heal him. Hold on, Hitori."

 

[Kaihaku]

Walking in the Forest Collab
Location: South of Castellan, Nortestra. Hills near Belldan border.
Participants: Juju (Goodest Boi) Solirus (Jason)
​

The acrid air thick with smoke, dust, the charge of electricity, and the stench of death suddenly clears as bright magic lifts away the two men and a dog. There's a moment of disorientation.

Then it passes. They are on a hilly slope covered with light forest. The chirping of songbirds can be heard in the distance around them. A few squirrels, taken off guard by their untimely appearance, flit away in the treetops to chatter in annoyance from places of safety. Several startled deer dart away through nearby brush.

The hilly slope descends down to neglected farmland. The once rich fields are now months fallow with the beginnings of feralness setting in. This continues on into the distance until the vague outline of a great city, a storm of clouds and smoke roiling above it, can just be seen. Flashes of lightning are the only visible sign of colossal war machine gone mad.

"Jason. That was quite the trump..." Lukas says after taking in the scene, turning to look at the other summoned. His eyes are still sad but he's smiling as he adds, "Are you sure you're not a wizard?"

Goodest Boi blinked his beady eyes, adjusting to the sudden shift from smoke clouds to sunlight. How did he get here? More importantly, what were all these fantastic new smells. There were so many trees and --

The doggo's ears perked up when he spotted several deer leaping away. Friends!? They were playing chase! It was the best game in the world! Goodest Boi gave an excited bork before bolting off, stirring up a cloud of fallen leaves, dust, and branches in his wake. He should have caught up with the animals in a split second, but he misjudged his own speed and instead shot completely past the deer by several yards.

Jason paused looking around at his surroundings, his hand kept bleeding but he was unfazed by it as he simply put his glove back un and tried brushing off the blood from his knife before putting it away. He then turned his gaze towards Lukas, thinking for a moment before answering... "Maybe not yet... but if we survive a bit longer I guess I would become a wizard... or something similar."

Not long after he saw the dog bolt off, "Should we try to keep the dog on a leash or do you think we should leave him like that?"

Lukas notes the bleeding hand and reaches out, “Let me… I can heal you.” If their hands touch, the cut on Jason’s palm is immediately healed as well as any other injuries, degenerative damage, chronic diseases, dehydration headache, or so on.

“If you have a leash on you we could try it but I don’t think a normal one would hold up.” Lukas says, his smile widening as he looks where the dog disappeared into the wilderness as the deer scattered in confusion. “And I don’t have one…” He reaches into his vest and pulls out a small pocket toolkit, “I do have this. It’s not really wilderness gear but we can still use it.” He intentionally keeps his back turned away from the sight of Castellan burning in the far distance.

Eyes wide, the little fire elemental held on for dear life as its savior bolted through the unfamiliar terrain. Aside from a few brief hours with the summoner and a few months in a storefront, the little elemental had only known the plane of fire and that kitchen in Castellan. Some of the plants looked vaguely familiar but it had only seen them cut and bundled. This was all totally new and quite overwhelming. Still, it was with the great beast who had saved it so as long as it held tight it knew it would be safe.

Jason turned around noticing the city in the distance, it only seemed to get worse, but he also realized the sheer size of the city... "Losing such a city would further cripple many aspects, no wonder they're expending so much into the siege" Jason whispered to himself before following Lukas

"Trying to catch up with the dog will be difficult, it's disappeared from sight a couple of times... do you think this world might have... magical leashes for powerful creatures?"

"It definitely seems possible…but we don’t have money to buy one." Lukas notes as he slides the toolkit back into his pocket and then pulls out a small rectangular device with a glass front. He taps the glass and lights appear. He sighs. "No signal. I think it’s technology that’s behind here, their magic seems pretty on point.”

"That’s right. What kind of world did you come from, Jason?” Lukas asks, his back still to the burning city, as he slides the smartphone back into his pocket, "I guess that’s a hard question to answer." He taps a finger on his chin thoughtfully, "This world…so far it resembles the historic past of where I come from. I mean, we have all sorts of machines to do things for us and most artifice is done in factories now. There are still some wizards but it’s more of a hobby, I guess. Society decided that it was more efficient to do magic on a production scale." Lukas preferred small scale personal magic to one size fits all industrial magic but going into that kind of debate would just confuse things. After all, he had no idea what kind of world Jason was from.

"Come on, let’s walk after the dog while we talk…" Lukas suggests as he starts after Fido, picking up a stick as he goes and waving it around in the general direction of the dog. He wanted to put more distance between him and the burning city, at least get over this hill so it was out of sight. It was a constant reminder that he was someone who ran away from people in need. "Does that make sense, Jason?"

Oblivious to the conversation, Goodest Boi happily frolicked with the deer. They seemed terrified at first, uncertain of what this stubby, fluffy wolf wanted with them. Of course, this did not last very long before they realized he was not a threat. Or perhaps it was the strange aura of happiness that told them everything was ok... or because as soon as they stopped running the doggo did too.

Goodest Boi wagged his tail at the strange animals and borked, but as they went back to grazing he realized he had won the holy game of chase! Even better, he had a bunch of new friends! While Jason and Lukas might have lost sight of the doggo behind all the vegetation, the golden glow painting each and every branch around him made it easy enough to keep track of the dog.

​

Since he was such a loyal pooch himself, Goodest Boi never lost track of Fido and Smelly Wizard Man. This became handy when Fido picked up the stick. Could it be? The heavenly game of fetch? The greatest game in the world?

"Bork!" In a streak of glittering sunshine, the doggo dashed towards the Stickbearer. Just as quickly as he accelerated, Goodest Boi came to a perfect stop a few feet in front of Fido. He looked up at the young man with a gaze of intense expectance.

Jason Followed through and also slowed down watching and slightly enjoying the environment, "I can assume my world and yours looked very different, for instance, magic was none existent... or at least the fun kind... I would read up on that when I was young before reading other more... different kinds of books." Jason paused again before hearing the happy bork of the dog as it flew out and approached Lukas, "Looks like it wants to play fetch."

Lukas is visibly surprised at the notion of a world without magic. He had read a few 'what if' books but they were in the same vein as 'what if' electric current reversed or 'what if' the deities all disappeared. His brow furrows at that thought. "Really? No magic... That's so foreign to me. Did the deities just keep it for themselves then? On my world, one of the deities rebelled and taught arcane magic to mortals." He rubs the back of his head, not mentioning that that deity was one of his uncles. Now it made sense why Jason didn't consider himself a Wizard. The technology on his homeworld must be really advanced, to the point where it resembled magic. "I thought your bag and outfit were magical. Are they...uh...nanites or something? I've read about them but they're just theoretical on my world." That scroll definitely looked magical but maybe it needed the nanites in his blood to activate or something? Lukas was sure he had seen something like that in a movie.

As he walks along talking, Lukas remains attentive to the dog and offers it a grin as he holds the stick over his shoulder, "Fetch, Fido!" He then throws the stick as far as he can. The throw would be pretty decent for a normal person but it's certainly nothing special on this world of people with fantastical abilities.

Jason paused and took a sigh, "We didn't have deities, but we did have tons of religions, you'd think one of them was correct... If my world had deities then they must've either hidden really well or just waited..." Jason then looked at his attire upon the mention of Lukas plus his further creative assumptions, "... No they aren't nanites, I think... I guess depending on what you consider magic these are the closest things to magic I have, but I don't own these... but since I'm here now and I still kept them I guess they are mine now, which is useful but... annoying... Oh, nice throw." Jason added at the end of his little tangent.

Lukas was visibly stunned at the suggestion of a world without deities. How could life come into existence without his mother? How could the sun move through the sky without his grandmother? How could the ocean ebb and flow without his uncle? How could the earth even exist...it was formed from his great grandfather's body? What kind of existence did Jason come from? Lukas is silent, thinking over these things, until the dog returns with the stick.

Jason could tell Lukas was a bit confused, "Did you world have deities?" he asked simply.

"Yes. Many. They often involved themselves in mortal affairs." Lukas answers carefully after a moment. He trusted Jason but wasn't sure that he wanted to reveal his ancestry to anyone on this new world. It was better to remain unknown and forgotten. "But - uh - like I said earlier, they didn't understand mortals or really try to understand mortals. They just blasted in with their own absolutist priorities and then disappeared when they were satisfied or bored." That was probably what was going on with the deities here. That made the most sense. They had some game, mission, or rivalry that going on that they decided to involve mortals in. They never really stopped to consider the mortal perspective on it, except maybe to laugh at the absurdity of a finite life.

"Oh... is that so? that sounds pretty bad... but I guess it can always be worse?" Jason paused almost as if remembering something Lukas had said earlier... "Are you by any chance a Deity? You seem to know a lot about them."

Lukas lowers his head, looking gloomy as he answers, "No... I'm not a deity but my mother is. My father was mortal." He didn't like to lie and would have preferred to ignore the question, but in this case that would have led to Jason thinking he was a deity.

Jason looked a Lukas for a bit longer before turning to look at the dog, "Huh, neat... were they good parents at least?" Jason asked again watching the dog radiate with happiness.

Lukas grimaces at this question, then quickly forces an awkward smile to cover up, "I...don't really know." He had never met his mortal father. He had often felt his mother's presence, even heard her voice, but that was the extent of their relationship after she dropped him off at one of her temples as an infant. He was curious about his father but only his mother knew who he was. Maybe Lukas had even met him and neither one knew. His feelings towards his mother were...more complicated.

Lukas becomes quiet and withdrawn after this, until there's the sound like a far distant thunderclap from behind them. Turning, they can see the aftermath of an explosion at the palace at the center of Castellan.

This inspired them to walk faster in silence, putting as much distance between themselves and Castellan as they could while daylight lasted.

 

[Kaihaku]

Just a few hours ago. Just a few hours ago she was giving in to little Lady Naia and letting her take some of the princess’ basin sand.

Now her arm was bleeding from a deep gash while she crouched in the back of the pantry with half a dozen other servants still lucky enough to be alive. A butcher knife was clutched in her trembling hands but what could it do against the demons who had torn apart most of the palace guard? One of the only surviving guards, a young man named Miles, lay dying nearby in a pool of his own blood. The last cook was trying to staunch the blood flow but the demons could be heard in the kitchen coming closer and closer. They would have been here now but they had stopped to torture and feast on the other kitchen staff.

Her breath coming in ragged gasps, she lowered her head and prepared herself for the end.

Then there was a great crash from the kitchen and the first demon burst through the pantry door. The demon smashed into a smoked buttocks and fell to the floor…dead?

A second later a powerful looking woman stuck her head into the pantry and looked at the cowering servants with appraising golden eyes.

“The King is Dead. Long Live the King.” The woman says gruffly, before adding, “Where is the Princess? We must get her to safety.”

The servants gasp in horror, if not surprise, and look among each other. They had feared the worst when the explosion rocked the palace and now it was confirmed. Their panicked looks at each other conveyed a clear message - they had no idea where the princess was now.

“We…we haven’t seen her since…” The last cook begins, looking up from the guard she was attending to, but doesn’t finish the sentence as she is frozen solid as powerful magic fills the pantry with a solid block of ice.

“Unfortunate.” The woman murmurs, before slipping through the ice as easily as if it were air and looking over the servants thoughtfully. She pauses beside the frozen maid, her eyes narrowing, and then nods. Her form shifts to match that of the maid, including the gash on her arm, and then she steps back to the kitchen. Behind her the pantry is left a miniature glacier.

Ms. Maid
(Mother Voorjaar)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Royal Palace Theme: Natural - Imagine Dragons
Mentions: Pseudo-nim (Ashe, Varium, Auron) Gohan510 ( Aldreg, Toren, Gin, Alexander) StaidFoal (Athena, Naia, Meira, Hodir)
​

The periphery of a palace was often labyrinthine, full of twisting passages and odd shaped rooms squeezed around the sections reserved for the royals, but the throne room and royal chambers were almost always central. That's where the maid made her way now, running through the ruins of the palace as shadow demons made swipes at the frail human only to have their claws barely leave a scratch.

She had burst into the palace just in time to see their rival fight his way out into the courtyard with a person who she assumed was the King. Rival was too generous of a term for the interloper. He was another soul harvester, not unlike the Lich or it's pet spirit, but while they had taken an eternity to solidify their power this one was still clearly an amateur. The Lich might be interested in the orb crackling with powerful souls but she had other priorities and quickly left the interloper behind to search the palace for the princess.

Most of the palace staff were dead and these demons were everywhere. She had hoped that a survivor might be able to point her towards a hidden passage or designated escape route, but the few she had found had no idea where the princess might be. She left each of them frozen solid in a block of ice. The princess was probably protected by wards but the next best option was to visit the royal chambers. She'd get a lock of the princess' hair for scrying and see if there was anything else of interest there. There might be a ledger or some notes.

She darts through a long storage room full of rare regents and makes note of it. She'd have to return here if the palace was still standing by the time this was all over. The maid grabs a demon's neck as it slashes at her and, almost casually, snapped it's head off. They were a deadly threat to the little people but... This maid wasn't what she appeared to be.

The maid hurries down another corridor and comes to the throne room. She quickly looks around it, her eyes seeing magic and through illusion, then starts towards where she suspects the royal chambers are. She does pause, for just a second, to glance back towards the battlefield when a dragon roar can be heard. She understood.

 

[Pseudo-nim]

Zasha
Interactions: GrieveWriter StaidFoal Mentions: Gohan510 ​

Feeling the Coelacanth rumble and move wasn't something Zasha had planned on happening, her assumption that whatever the other summoned did should have at least knocked out most of the operating system to let her do her work in peace. Instead, not only does she need to get little miss secretary and her drones to stop tearing apart a perfectly intact machine, she'll need to expedite the process of her hacking attempts to stop this thing from moving around too much. This was all just a massive pain in the ass for someone like her to deal with. Sitting cramped inside the brain of this machine and staring at a phone screen finish its scan to reproduce a virus that'll result in total system failure wasn't something she foresaw doing, but considering the bizarre situation of everything that's happened so far, it wasn't even worth mentioning.

The Assassin-class mech stumbled, but its gyroscopic stabilizers kept itself balanced as the whole massive war machine rumbled to life. Seeing that the subtle, single target focused mech couldn't handle so many drones, a snap of her fingers fixed that issue quickly. The Soldier walked out as the Assassin disappeared from view, flame thrower and minigun aimed directly at POMA and her slew of robots. She linked her voice through the mech's speakers, displeasure and irritation evident in her voice.

"Usually I'd shoot first, ask questions if you survive, but right now, I'm in a good mood, at least until I find some robot bitch disassembling a perfectly good mech. So I'll give you 30 seconds to hightail it out of the damn mech before I turn you and your robots into-"

She scowled when a roar above her reached her ears and a sudden warmth reached under the circuits. In that last few seconds, her phone beeped with a confirmation sound that the Coelacanth was ready to be infected. The ARMS System took milliseconds to reconstruct and create the cancer virus before uploading it into the mainframe of the robot. Zasha had a wide grin, unplugging her phone from the wires and storing it into her back pocket. Now, she had to play defense. Protect the thing till her virus completely and utterly turned the code into the equivalent of molten tar. Worst scenario, she'll have an excess of material to reconstruct the necessary parts to complete and power her Juggernaut-class and Fortress-class armors plus get started on a decent metal economy to restock her armory by a significant amount.

"-ahh fuck, where was I? Oh right. Get off my property or I'll turn you to scrap and use you as bullets." She cut the call, activating the Soldier's Ares A.I. for combat, a side screen in her periphery to keep track of them and location to send missiles should they be required. After all, given the special status the summoned had, she was confident that nothing short of nuclear extermination and missile fire would put down most of the summoned. And if they could be put down with even less force, then the overkill was worth taking out someone that Virtue considered a candidate for world domination. Not like it mattered to her. Too much work, not enough pay off. Better to sell her services to the highest bidder and work for her own side. An arms dealer through and through.

She tried to stand up, feeling only thick metal above her instead of the hatch. No problem. Not her first time digging through metal after all. She cracked her artificial knuckles, grabbed the underside of the armor and punched. 30 tons of force focused into her small fist put a sizeable dent into the armor before another full powered strike sent her arm even deeper into the armor. With her augmented arms and body, she simply began to rip and tear through the metal, her grip strength scrunching each piece before she punched a hole into the surface, where the heat came from.

Zasha poked her head out, staring at a dragon chomping its heart out on her recent prize. She didn't even think, sending a trio of Hellfire Missiles at the reptile while climbing out of the hole. This entire thing was just flaming dumpster fire of a shit show. Everything was exploding, including that castle at the center of the city. The wall was cracked open like an egg, and a fuck ton of dead bodies were lying around either on fire, mutilated, or both. Honestly, if she wasn't already aware that this was all real, she'd have chalked this entire thing up as another weird battle simulation or expired drugs. Maybe both.

"Ah for fuck's sake, that's their castle," she grumbled as the smoke and debris flew out from the structure, ignoring whether or not her missiles did any serious injury on the dragon. "Guess I'm not getting paid if their head honchos got vaporized in that explosion. Fuck, should've just went with the side with the mages and giant fuckoff lightning snake. Least they looked like they had money to burn."

The Leadwall Module had already begun, one hundred tri-barreled autocannons pointing their rapid fire maws straight at the thing causing damage to her mech. Zasha gave it a glance, eyes burning red from several targeting reticles aimed at the dragon, before turning completely, her hands in her pocket. "Well, I've always wanted to know what it's like to have a pet dragon," she said, a savage grin on her face as she lifted her right arm at Hodir, pointing a finger at the dragon. "I've never worn dragon leather after all."

Her eyes narrowed, her targeting system settling on the reptile. "Get lost," she said, and with a snap of her fingers, all spinning barrels fired in unison. A volley of high explosive, armor piercing tank rounds briefly transformed the area in front of Zasha into a veritable wall of bullets, the bunny girl grinning all the while in a wild sense of superiority.

 

[StaidFoal]

=MEIRA AARLE=​

Meira and Mikhail walked at an almost leisurely pace towards the Blackburn Manor. It was a fair distance from and largely overshadowed by the Royal Palace, and the route they took was remarkably tranquil. The beast woman presumed the princess to be making her way down the floors as the palace lingered to the two's side. Meira shifted the small body clinging on her back, letting off a soft smile as Naia's hand moved slightly. She glanced over to her Overseer, the orderly man from Czarsnikei. At the start of the operation, Meira had wondered why the Constant elected him rather than the other beastperson, Alva, to supervise the operation. At first she thought it was so Alva didn't hone in on Meira and give her highest praise of the mission, but the reason had more to do with Mikhail than any other factor. For an operation of this magnitude, it was necessary to have someone as experienced as him controlling the pieces.

The serenity of the walk was literally blasted away when the two operatives glanced at the palace. In only seconds, the once magnificent sight was eviscerated before their eyes as bricks fell and left trails of dust. "What...?" Across the distance, Meira spotted several of the summoned making their way to the Royal Palace, not just Tobias. They must be racing to stop Tobias... that's certainly it... Meira couldn't see over the buildings and into the courtyard where Athena would pop out, but she saw the injured king and Aldreg fly out the walls, engaged in battle. Another unexpected event. As if the operation could not get any worse.

With one look at Mikhail, her eye twitched at how composed he remained, staring indignantly at the Royal Palace. "Shame. I would have preferred she showed up alive."

Meira almost choked on her saliva. And just when she thought she could understand him a little better. Biting her lip, Meira gently laid her sister down against a wall. "Mikhail, will you bring her to the Manor where it's safe? I'll ensure Athena's health." In an instant, she latched her gloved hands on the brick walls and climbed.

"That was sarcasm, Meira." Mikhail kept staring blankly off at the palace, as if there would have been nothing of value lost in the ensuing incident with the princess.

Meira froze, whipping her head towards him. "You'd rather leave her for dead?!"

"There is no need to aid the princess; she—" Meira had already heard enough, and she scaled the building in moments. Really, that beast woman Mikhail sighed, trudging over to the blue-haired girl. He gently picked her up, allowing Naia to cling on his back like she did with Meira. "She's the reason your sister almost died..." With nothing more he could do about it, he continue his trek to the Blackburn Manor.

=TOBIAS NYSETH=
THE ROYAL PALACE
​

Tobias raised a brow as something boomed within the palace. Someone got to it before him. But no matter; he planned to tear through the floors until the royalty dared to show themselves. Fortunately for the Royal Palace's inhabitants, though, Tobias witnessed the Nortestran king burst out the wall—he recognized him from his research in his week in hiding. Not only did someone beat him to the palace, but they beat him to the royals! Rather, just one royal. The princess remained nowhere to be seen. Tobias drifted slowly forward, but further above in the sky.

Descending from the heavens, Tobias could finally make out the body of King Alexander. Former king. But what interested him most were the remains of the "guards" and their custom-made armor. Rather than leaving pools of blood, their cadavers were stiff and static, sparkling wherever they lost a limb. "Those are her personal guards; the very ones that helped slay Frostfire..." he muttered. They never left Athena's side, so as he eyed the courtyard scene, only one conclusion came to mind. "Athena is not in the palace!"

Tobias stopped his descent, now hovering above all. His eyes scoured the streets for anyone within the fleers that caught his eye. Any lock of silver hair that reflected the sunlight. So much had been lost: his friends' minds, enslaved by the Nortestrans in their rotting dungeons; Mii, crushed by the flying bakery; a mind free of emotion, for he hadn't the faintest idea of what was to come once he was finished. The only thing left was to interrogate the princess on her wrongdoings, then leave her at the mercy of the re-emerged Frostfire. So end this trivial game of cat and mouse, dear princess!

Then, a glint in the distance. There.

It was quickly blanketed by a dirty, brown cloth, but he kept his eye on the figure. It was dashing away from the palace, to wherever safety must have been. Tobias began his descent at a slope, drawing closer to the fleeing princess. Instant death was an easy way out for Athena; Tobias wanted her to gaze out at what she'd done to his friends and her country. It was her fault that he went on a rampage, he decided. "Oh, Your Highness!" Tobias held his arms out, slowly clenching his palms. "I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation!"

Princess Athena would quickly realize herself come to a slow, as her feet would fail to touch the ground. The brown hood fell off, and her breath picked up. The nearby buildings appeared to get smaller and smaller as she floated. No matter how much she moved, Athena was trapped in the middle of the air. She heard Tobias' snide remarks, the volume of his voice increasing with every second.

Tobias drifted nearer to the ground, inadvertently putting himself on the same level as the two-story rooftops. He wanted to see the eyes of a murderer; to berate the guilty part before bringing the convict to justice. "You have no idea how much I've been dying to meet you. Ever since the false imprisonment of my dear friends, I felt a word was in order. It only cost me everything I worked for in this world." The princess stiffened her back, refusing to meet the summoned's eyes. She grit her teeth, first focusing on her hyperventilation.

Tobias reached his arm out, drifting steadily towards the defenseless princess. He was so focused on the frail royal body that he did not hear the rapidly approaching cracks of footsteps on the tiled rooftops. Before Tobias could get any closer, something struck the man directly in the face. He tumbled backwards in zero gravity, flailing wildly in the midst of a delayed, pained groan. The whole world was spinning, and his face stung as if doused in fire. Tobias felt something warm and metal-tasting trickle from his suddenly stuffy nostrils. He gently tapped his nose, wincing when something cracked and moved inside. "Gch... God, almighty!" Tobias felt something within his arms fluctuate, as did his gravitic powers. Random objects flew up and down without his command, but he never heard the princess drop.

It would take him some time before he could stabilize himself.

=MEIRA AARLE=​

Meira spun at Tobias, landing a hit with her ankle against the man's face. A light crack echoed around the place as gravity quickly returned, and with the beast woman's reflexes, landed on her feet and into a dash. As the princess fell, she leaped forward again, arms wide open. Princess Athena felt everything happen in seconds, unable to even process what was going on. But when she opened her eyes, Meira was carrying her bridal style, winking with a soft smirk. "I ran a little late, huh?"

Athena scoffed, looking away from the bright woman's eyes. "Awfully late..." Though, she did not deny her carrying. A beastperson's legs far surpassed that of a regular human's, after all.

"DAMN IT ALL!"

Meira heard Tobias' excruciated yell as she immediate hopped into a recently abandoned building, out of his sight. "Right... we can't really make it to the meeting place at this rate, can we?" Meira nervously chuckled as she met with Athena's piercing glare.