Fantasy The Divine Conquerors Ⅱ - Main / Ravenscourt

[Pai Chan]

AURORA DEL ROSARIO
Interactions: StaidFoal & Snackofthefuture

Aurora was too dumbfounded to notice much exchange of words when the hologram person appeared. He resembled a ghost but a bit more solid. Not like any Aurora had seen. And then he was gone and left a tense stillness in the air. The two girls had a back and forth and Aurora could tell the princess's integrity was questioned. Was Aurora really doing the right thing? She was a goddess but she wasn't omnipotent. If she had gone to see the seer from back home before leaving on this journey. Right now, Aurora was being led blind with Nathanial acting as a guide. But he was military. Aurora knew that military officials only acted in what was best for their country. Moral or not.

The sudden release of gravity interrupted the priestess' thoughts. She quickly sat on her staff as if it were a bench and regained control of herself.

"So many surprises in this place." Aurora said as she saw her ally grab ahold of the other two girls. He did some improvising to get everyone out and Aurora was so impressed she forgot that she could have easily floated everyone to safety. She gave Nathan points for creativity as the woman followed closely behind and provided a protective shield around them that would bend light to make them almost appear invisible to anyone looking in their direction. Aurora easily kept up, flying on her staff, as they sped out of the combatant zone.

Soon the effect suddenly ended and Nathan came crashing down with the two girls. Aurora didn't feel a difference since she was already suspended in air but the fall of the others confirmed they were out of the affected gravity range. She landed next to Nathanial and smiled with him while checking everyone over to make sure there were no serious injuries.

"I guess the affected area is, indeed, limited. It seems we are out of the thick of it and immediate danger." Then her smile quick faded as she turned to Meira.

"If you want to part ways then this is the best time to do it. You seem to have people looking to rendezvous with you. But the princess' safety is our priority. I'd love to have you help us but I understand if you are having doubts. War has a way of making manipulation easy and doubts flourish. I wish you would remain with us and see the girl to safety."

 

[StaidFoal]

=HODIR / THE COELACANTH=

Interacting: Pseudo-nim (Zasha) GrieveWriter (Poma)​

Whatever the dragon had expected it to do, he did not foresee a trio of explosive metal rounds striking his side. He felt the sting through his natural armor, releasing the Coelacanth from his maw with a pained growl. Hodir watched as it flew away from the dragon while slaughtering those unfortunate enough to get caught in its wrath. It dipped in elevation, then rose, then fell, then rose. Blinding sparks of electricity crackled from the machine's sides and the large gashes in its body.

But as the dragon glared at where the missiles shot from, he narrowed his gaze. There was someone inside the damned thing! And by the look of it, they weren't too friendly, either. Not with the onslaught of weaponry having their sights trained on him. With a snarl, Hodir dove straight into the ground, kicking out waves of dirt and rubble as the autocannons let loose. He felt the tip of his tail pelted with what felt like a flurry of sharp gravel, spun in a violent tornado, ripping everything to shreds. Hodir's tail shrank into the hastily dug tunnel, bloodied and chipped to the bone as he took cover in the earth.

The Coelacanth, on the other hand, was not faring any better. The center of the construct erupted in a fiery blaze, clouding up the battlefield with pitch black puffs of smoke. The back half of it fell to the ground, powerless and fuming. One of its two engines had been destroyed, courtesy of Poma and her helpers. The lights on the Coelacanth flickered for a moment, as a new whirring sound could be heard from somewhere in the upper half of the machine. With one engine destroyed, the other had to work faster to keep it alive. Its tentacles now flung in no discernable direction, striking anything wherever they could reach.

Through its shattered eye, the machine found Poma. One of its still functioning tesla cannons charged and fizzed, taking aim at the construct. Moments later, a web of electricity shot forth, encroaching towards Poma.

At the same time, the rocky floor beneath smoked and sizzled. The hole which Hodir dug into now emanated an orange glow. Something was sloshing underneath the battlefield, encircling the Coelacanth and the summoned. If anyone peered between the cracks opening in the ground, they'd see the bright magma seeping its way to the surface.

 

[StaidFoal]

=MEIRA AARLE= -- PRINCESS ATHENA=

Interactions: Pai Chan (Aurora) Snackofthefuture (Nathaniel)
​

Thankfully, the next events did not leave the royals adrift for long. The recently arrived Xact official and the priestess had dragged them from the zero gravity zone, providing some much-needed protection for the pair—even if the landing was not so smooth. Gripping onto Nathaniel was like a thrill ride, except the two riders had more on their mind than the possible enjoyment of the sheer velocity. As they were let off, the two took a moment to catch their breath. Meira would have said some snide remark at this point.

Meira was first to speak. "I... thank you. For helping..." she said, both to Nathaniel and Aurora as she glanced to each, respectively. Though a look in her eye would tell anyone how exhausted she was. When Aurora made her wish for them to continue helping the princess, she cast her gaze to the floor. "I see..."

At the same time, Athena helped herself to her feet and cleared her throat. It was clear how hard she tried to mask her exhaustion, from her wobbled standing to her monotonous tone. "Truly, I am grateful for your assistance. If it weren't for any of you, I'm certain I would have been dead by now. Once I am absolutely safe, we can discuss rewards and—" A loud 'thud' emanated as she stumbled to the side. She broke the fall with her arm, scraping the skin across the road until it bled. Her vision wobbled, nauseating the princess and numbing the pain she would've felt. Athena's free hand shakily went to her cheek; it stung with the slightest of touches.

She glanced up at the attacker: one fuming Meira Aarle, wiping the side of her foot, having kicked the princess hard across the head.

The beast woman's eyes twitched repeatedly, narrowing then widening and repeat. The moment of silence that came after felt eternal to Meira, yet she couldn't figure out whether to grimace over hurting or being hurt. Despite the indecision, she thrust another kick, this time into the princess' stomach with another 'thud' bouncing to her ears. Athena curled up in response, but her face was blurry. Everyone's face was blurry. Meira didn't notice herself hyperventilate before jolting back, away from the group. Without another second to waste, Meira slammed her eyes shut and bolted further from them; from the battle; from the pain.

As she rapidly vanished through the streets, Athena stared blankly ahead. The kicks hurt like hell, but strangely enough she did not feel too... angry. There was a miniscule part of her that felt... fine with it, even... Silently, she pushed herself upright in a seated position, clicking her tongue to taste the familiar, metallic taste of blood. She glanced back to where she'd escaped from; the once grand palace was in massive disrepair. The city of Castellan she was so proud of was under a horrendous attack. The base of her pride and childhood was ravaged. If only I had learned of the summoned earlier... If only I ordered my generals to keep away from them... If only they didn't come here... If, if, if...

Gone was the fiery passion in Athena's eyes, but a sickly grey.

Meanwhile, Meira had run until she finally noticed how out of breath she was, finding herself leaning her head against a wall. She slammed a fist into the bricks, falling on her knees as warm water trickled from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mother, Father... I trusted someone so easily, again..."

 

[StaidFoal]

=TOBIAS NYSETH=

​

Tobias noticed the energy beam opening beneath him, making him grumble as he swirled his hands in a circle. The zero gravity effect lowered for a split second as he altered another area, creating a center of gravity directly above the opening. This tore rooftops and loose debris to form a ball of mass sitting on top of the opening, effectively nullifying the beam enough for Tobias to move out the way without too much damage.

Tobias then glanced to the side, where a small crystal barreled towards the gravity shifter. Another attack?! He moved a hand to force it away, only for the sound of something zipping through the air to catch his attention. The mass of rubble continued rotating in the zero gravity, bobbing up and down as Tobias' concentration fluctuated. Thankfully, before Kana's swarm of blades could reach him, a cocoon of ice spun around Tobias. He heard them bounce off the frigid shield, as a familiar face returned once more. He smiled. "Felicia! Glad to see some help in this battlefield! They're so keen on trying to kill me!"

At her initial words, Tobias curiously glanced to the side, where his countenance dropped in horror. "My God, the horse!" Some gravity returned to the area as Tobias refocused on saving the spinning animal. Unlike the defenseless citizens, he showed genuine concern over the creature, taking more care in lowering it to safety. At the same time, Ivan neared and spouted his piece. Tobias gave half a scowl, but took a breath in the end. "Forgive me, it seems I wasn't thinking straight." When the horse was finally on ground and dashing away, though, the zero gravity did not go away. "The only thing I need to focus on is the princess and the blasted beast person!"

When Ivan presented the small piece of the psicrystal, he raised a brow in skepticism. So it wasn't an attack? He peered at it from all angles curiously. He didn't know who this Caedmon was, but Ivan appeared to trust him. "If you say so, my friend..."

However, his pupils looked past Ivan and Frostfire, widening as he focused on another thing. It was the red-haired beast woman, storming into his sight. The wicked scowl returned to Tobias. The princess managed to escape... "All because I lost my concentration!"

Tobias pushed past his allies, extending his arm in their direction.

=THE WEAVERS=

THE CONSTANT'S DEATH SQUAD
MOVING TOWARDS BATTLE​

They dashed from rooftop to rooftop, making their way towards the battle. Cloaked and invisible, it would take a keen eye to see the multitude of footsteps on the paneled roofs. To the Weavers, the Constant's loyal squad serviced to protect and carry out his orders, the hostile environment was nothing out of the ordinary. The Constant gave his orders, and they were out to see them done.

"And the Drifter?" one asked, continuing the conversation from before.

"A threat due for termination, just not now, as per the Constant's request. Focus on retrieving the runner, first," his peer answered.

Their radio buzzed again, this time from a squad mate in a distant, towering statue of the king. "Speaking of the runner, she's in my sight." Through the scope, he caught her lock of red hair. She was with three others, including the princess. "Looks like those two dragged her away." The overlooker remained silent as Meira kicked Athena, only updating his peers as she darted away. "She's separating from them. That's your cue."

"Wait," his radio responded. "The Drifter!" The overlooker scoped in on Tobias. "Skip, take a shot at his arm! His sights are settled on the VIP!"

"Roger that, Cap." In an instant, he homed in on and squeezed the trigger.

=TOBIAS NYSETH=

​

Before Tobias could lift Meira and everything around them into the air, something struck his arm. He felt it tear through the armor and down his arm to his hand, as if a blade ran across the skin. Tobias looked on in horror; his arm from elbow to hand was fully exposed. The armor that once concealed it fell to the ground, shriveled and destroyed. "No... No, no, no!" he cried. He could feel it already. The swirling blood. The pulsing veins. The skin parting from each other. The purpose of the gravity suit was to restrain his ever-increasing power; to allow him control of it.

Tobias let loose a blood-curdling scream, holding his bare arm against his chest with gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, blood spurt, following by more agonized yells. His arm bloomed like a flower down the middle, tearing itself from the joint before flying in all directions. Tobias grew pale and cold, holding the stump with his one remaining hand, blanketed in blood.

=THE WEAVERS=

THE CONSTANT'S DEATH SQUAD
MOVING TOWARDS BATTLE​

"Target hit. Departing from position. I'll rendezvous back at Point B." With that, Skip cloaked and vanished.

At the same time, Cap and Rig landed behind Meira. She peered behind her cautiously, then widening her eyes as she realized who they were. Meira wiped her eyes with her sleeve, then standing to face the two. "Y-You're the Constant's guards..." she muttered.

"The few and only," Rig reaffirmed. Cap held his rifle out and scanned the surroundings for eavesdroppers or potential passersby. Rig held his hand out. "We'll take you to the Blackburn Manor as soon as possible. The rest of your peers are waiting for you there—rather, the surviving ones."

"Right... and Athena?" She took his hand. The piercing cold of the metal reached through her own white gloves.

"Irrelevant to our mission." Rig gave the signal to Cap, who rose from his kneeling position. Without another word, the Weavers cloaked; Meira vanished with them.

Kaihaku (Caedmon, Voorjaar) Snackofthefuture (Ivan) YsFanatic (Kana, Yunica)

 

[Kaihaku]

Caedmon sensed the impending harm of the magical flames and raised his psishield to protect himself. New Ivan's friend didn't take the psicrystal in time but he was guarded by a shield of ice soon after. His friend deepened. The baby's tantrum was going to get someone killed.

He noticed the powerful spiritual presence, accompanied by three lesser ones, flying through the air. They seemed to be hidden from sight by some kind of invisibility. He made certain to note that to everyone in the network in case it was important.

Caedmon was distracted bringing the new consciousness onto the network and failed to notice the incoming projectile until it was too late. The ESPer wasn't sure what to do but he could tell from the neural connection that science was the answer here. He quickly contacted the Professor. "Professor, we have a serious science issue. Can you assist?" Not waiting for a reply, he quickly flew from the battlefield back towards the ruins of the third ward.

Caedmon
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Tobias Conflict Zone → Third Ward Zone → Tobias Conflict Zone
Network: StaidFoal (Tobias) Lazaro1505 (Professor) Juju (Gloop, Kotori) Snackofthefuture (Ivan) Judge_Vulxray (Midyiel)
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Ivan) StaidFoal (Tobias)
​

Reaching the third ward, Caedmon immediately transpositioned himself with the new Astral Network participant - Tobias seemed to be his name. Caedmon appeared where this Tobias had been and Tobias found himself in the ruins of the third ward. The ESPer intuited over the network that he had contacted a man of science to come assist.

​

Caedmon spread Tobias' pain out over the network, diffusing it so that he didn't have to bear the load alone, while reinforcing his mental resilience with the entire network's collective willpower.

"Kotori, Midyiel, can you heal him? Professor, do we need to amputate the limb? Gloop, is this gravity effect something you can absorb?" Caedmon asks over the network as he turns his attention back to the two who were so focused on killing Tobias. He wanted to do more to help new Ivan root out the traitor but between the baby's tantrum and safeguarding the old man... He was swamped. "I'm sorry Ivan. Can you pursue the traitor without me?"

 

[Kaihaku]

Merchants of Castellan's Second Ward
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Palace District. Theme: Crisis, Xenoblade

​

The beastwoman scrambled in the low gravity, trying to escape the shadow demon that was advancing on her. She watched in amazement as her horse was slowly lowered to the ground, without explanation. That was the next to last sight she saw. The last was the shadow demon's claws slashing at her. Mother... I'm joining you...

Still perseverating, the small dragon continues trudging along paying far too little attention to its surroundings. It was fortunate so far that there were easier prey available to the shadow demons and that it's claws allowed it to continue on despite the changes in gravity.

Ichabod continued to direct his hired thugs to gather and guard his collective wealth. The shadow demons hadn't come too close yet. If gravity went back to normal, they could make an escape. He was beginning to rethink his escape plans. Maybe he'd relocation to Meredin or as far as Basin. He wanted nothing to do with whatever this was. He just wanted to make money off of other people's labor.

Mask Squad VI
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Starting Fires in Second Ward.​

Far away, a woman chained to a wall sits crying as she thinks about the ones who got away. The young goddess. The master of gravity. The shooty wizard. Frostfire. She would have made such magnificent masks for them. She had later sent a message to the High Councilor updating him on the situation. Of course, he already knew with that divineress of his. She had always wanted to put a mask on her too but the High Councilor forbid it. Hopefully he would be pleased by the fact that her unit had breached the second ward of Castellan and were currently lighting it on fire. Hopefully that would win her some favor in his eyes. Maybe even one of the other commanders as a specimen.

The masked swordswoman burst into a kitchen, checked the stove... Empty. Hurried to the next house, killed a man there, checked the stove... Full of hot coals. She shovelled them into a bucket and then tossed a few into the pantry on her way out. A light application of wind magic breathed fire from them. Then she hurried on to another house where she threw coals onto a bed, then another where she set the wooden floor alight, and then another where she threw them in the attic.

The masked jester tore a fire elemental out of an oven with its bare hand - the flesh burning away to reveal the construct beneath - and then held the elemental against a wooden cabinet. As it caught fire, he disappeared into a shadow and reappeared in another house where he set the rafters on fire. Then he disappeared only to reappear in another house where he set a bed on fire.

 

[Pseudo-nim]

Varium
Interactions: Juju Mentions: StaidFoal YsFanatic Kaihaku Snackofthefuture ​

The killing slice was blocked, surprisingly, by a Valucian knight. Varium was certainly perplexed by the ability to slow the high speed cutting edge before it could carve through the metal like butter. It was a strange sensation to be quite honest. The summoned themselves proved to be the adversaries she found worthy to fight in a battle to the death, but to think that this planet's natives could prove to be a slight obstacle to the spirit was... interesting. Her smile mildly warped itself to that of her former destroyer visage, but kept herself in control. Something like this would often be considered a nuisance at best, but as of recently, she's had to hold back her tendencies for combat in favor of her master's protection. Considering the entire situation right now, she could quite likely enjoy a battle, even if it could only be considered a warm up.

The shards that the knight sent to skewer would only crumple against the homonculi body's synthetic adamantium skin, her clothes the closest thing they'll pierce. It was a worthy attempt, and would most likely forced her to relinquish her weapon had she fought a foe capable of piercing her defenses. But it would be for naught. Still, the warrior spirit grinned as she locked eyes with Greymourne.

"A splendid defense," she complimented. Her eyes narrowed from the grin she sported as she kept the deadlock. "Perhaps in a century or two, you'll be capable of requesting a rematch. But for now, I will have to apply a bit of excessive force. Forgive me, and please, feel free to resist."

Varium allowed her scythe's spearpoint embed itself into the ground, spinning herself and jumping over the gauntlets in a corkscrew flip as gravity turned to zero. Twisting her body over, she smashed her foot towards Greymourne's neck, one that was blocked by another gauntlet. The knight showed surprising dexterity with the massive arms, transitioning from a block to grabbing her leg and tossing her towards a building wall. A poor decision all things considered, but it may be due to the fact that she seemed rather fragile in contrast to her actual durability. She flew back, twisting her body in the sudden zero gravity environment and landing against the wall feet first. Using what momentum she had, she bent deeply before launching herself back into the fray, flying over the knight and catching the shaft of her scythe to turn and kick Greymourne's exposed back, sending the knight careening towards the wall she launched from. Varium's smile grew as she saw the Knight Captain use one of her gauntlets to cushion her, using the metal hands to throw herself at the spirit with a fist ready to crack her skull open.

But Varium bent backwards, seeing the surprise in the captain's face as she flew over her and the pained expression afterwards as she buried a high speed fist into her stomach. She'd most likely flew up without the scythe coming up afterwards to hook both the gauntlet and her back to the earth, slamming her face first into the ground. Greymourne was surprisingly tenacious when her second gauntlet flew across the distance and managed to tag the scythe wielder's shoulder, meaning full well that having her face smashed to the ground would do little to dissuade her from protecting the princess. Admirable to say the least, but it only gave the spirit the rotational momentum to accurately bury the scythe's blade into the ground, letting Varium pull herself down and send a crushing knee into the knight's back and her fist into the base of her neck, feeling bones break. Would this kill her? Unlikely. Will the damage cripple her? Almost guaranteed.

For a tense few seconds, Varium remained on top of Greymourne's back, scythe at the ready. It seems she was knocked unconscious from the finishing blow, but remained breathing nonetheless. Using her weapon as an anchor, she stood up and dusted herself off. Quite an exercise, though considering the fluctuating gravity, she wasn't able to utilize her full speed. How regular mortals fight at such slow speeds was beyond her, but the perspective was rather interesting to experience. Perhaps something to consider the next time her master asks her to 'hold back' to collect viable corpses.

The warrior looked to the prone figure of Greymourne, alive, but unconscious, she grabbed each massive gauntlet and stacked them together. Dragging the Knight Captain's limp body to the gauntlets, she sat her up against them and smiled softly, pushing away an errant hair from the knight's face. "An attempt worthy to be considered, knight," Varium commented as she leveled her scythe over her fallen foe's heart. "Nameless to me you may be, your resistance shows that even those of lesser strength can muster the courage to go against their betters. Hopefully next time, you'll offer a harder challenge." Her scythe blade fell back and Varium walked off to greet her master, using the weapon as an impromptu walking cane to keep herself anchored. Only those she considered unworthy of her respect as a warrior will be placed under her master's services, but even the weak must be given peace when they face inevitable death with bravery as the knight did. She believed those capable of mustering the courage to face her must be respected for their efforts regardless of their strength or the outcome of the battle.

So she would grant this captain mercy, free of subservience under her master. Varium was loyal to Auron, but for centuries she remained his moral opposite, tolerating his atrocities as his right hand guard. But for those few moments, even with the strongest opponents she's fought and defeated herself, they would never become servants. She respected them far too much to allow such a fate to happen, but her soul bound contract did not consider such acts as rebellious actions against the lich. This would not be the first or last time she would deprive her master of a powerful servant, but he has yet to complain or voice any displeasure. After all, she's remained consistent in completing tasks given to her, though it seems her quarry have escaped her for the time being. Unfortunate, but hardly crippling in her eyes. This was merely an errand issued by Ashe and the shapeshifter dragon, relayed by her master without true authority. Clearly he thought this was all just a farce, and to some extent, she did as well.

Varium rolled her shoulders as she looked towards where she had last seen Greymourne's accomplices went to. They've already had a massive head start, and with the presence of other summoned, it would difficult to continue her mission without attracting even more attention. So she strolled back to the path, occasionally glancing at the gathered summoned's battle with an intrigued shine in her eyes. The gravity manipulator had been severely wounded, judging by the bullet that managed to strike and break his armor. To watch his exposed arm bloom in a shower of viscera and blood was quite a sight, if only for the knowledge that it was caused within him rather than an external force. Something to mention the next time they may come to blows as she watched him blink from existence.

 

[Snackofthefuture]

SAKUJO HONOMURA​

Sakujo rushed into battle alongside Reverend, Hitori and Erza, charging the Behemoth monsters summoned by the late Synthia. Multiples of Nortestran soldiers were alongside them, screaming a Castellan war cry. “Never Surrender!”, “For Athena!” and “For Castellan!” were common among the battle cries. Beams of energy lanced out from the Behemoths and soldiers began to come apart under the onslaught. Sakujo reached the first with Reverend and the two both dodged to opposite sides to avoid a built up energy blast the Behemoth had been storing.

Sakujo rolled out of the way whereas Reverend used a blast of fire magic to shoot himself out of the way. The energy blast incinerated 3 soldiers behind them, their screams covered by the roar of the concentrated energy. Limbs and body parts separated and turned to ash in the heat and the troops who were partly caught in the blast found themselves missing both pieces of their armor and themselves.

Sakujo shoved his blade into the side of the Behemoth as Reverend distracted the creature with cries for attention and blasts of fire magic. The creature roared and another beam lanced out of its mouth, trying to hit Reverend and failing. Several other Nortestrans were incinerated however, their screams audible this time as the energy carved through them. They fell apart into ash and bone, charred metal armor dripping from their ruined and fading bodies. Battle truly was a horrifying experience in Valucia. Reverend grimaced as he heard his fellow men die screaming, whereas Sakujo grinned, reminded of the carnage he was embroiled in once again, focusing his mind to a razor sharp point.

Sakujo was in his element.

The samurai ripped the blade out of the creature’s side and it howled in pain immediately turning to confront the former warrior of Shogun. It clawed at him twice before lunging with its full weight at him. He deflected both of the first attacks but was unable to avoid the last, getting smashed into an already crumbling house. Reverend hacked at the creature's back to try and get it off Sakujo, successfully gaining its attention after one of the soldier’s blows finally drew blood.Sakujo groaned as the weight of the Behemoth disappeared. His shields had just barely managed to take the brunt of the creature’s weight. They flickered and faded and Sakujo groaned a second, louder time. It would take some time for them to recharge from a blow like that. He got up off his back and picked up his unbroken blade, near indestructible by Valucian standards.

Reverend and the Nortestrans were dueling the Behemoth, which had been joined by a second and some Mollug soldiers from General Cardoza’s unit. The elite soldiers and the two Behemoths were tearing through the Nortestran troops, but thankfully Erza and Hitori were dealing with the other two. Sakujo shouted out a battle cry and returned, sprinting onto the field of war. He had pulled out his dueling pistol and was shooting soldiers as he cut them, tearing through the elite soldiers as he fought his way towards the Behemoth he had wounded. Reverend was fighting the creature on his own now, just barely holding out against it’s assault. The Nortestran soldiers they had brought and gathered were dueling the last Behemoth. Sakujo came charging in from behind right as the Behemoth was preparing to vaporize Reverend. He leaped onto it’s back and stabbed his blade directly into the top metal of the creature’s head, the blade hissing as molten blood spewed out of the wound.

The creature’s eyes then rolled back into its head and toppled over with a low groan, dying the moment it’s head touched the cobblestone street. Reverend chuckled and thanked Sakujo, the Nortestran warrior bleeding from a wound to the head and covered in soot from avoiding the Behemoth’s energy blasts. The other Nortestran warriors were not doing so well against the elite unit and the other Behemoth. Hitori was now fighting one of the Behemoths alone, as Erza fought the other. Reverend and Sakujo nodded at each other with understanding and the two rushed back into the fray, cutting down soldiers in their path as they made their way towards the Behemoth that was annihilating the counterattack.

Gohan510 @ everyone on the frontline battlefield.

 

[Kaihaku]

In all of the chaos, she might have missed the four people who went flying through the air. To eyes that could see magic there was no missing the power that bended light and gave flight. It reminded her of the axom that one shouldn't run from a dragon because it only attracts their attention. They may not be who she was looking for but they certainly wanted to avoid attention. If they had stayed hidden in a building, descended into the sewers, or leapt away without using magic they might have escaped her notice. Not that she would have been thwarted, she had scrying to fall back on. There was a reason she had picked up the brush from the royal palace.

"I am..." Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ begins, her good eye turned towards the neighborhood where the leap landed, but does not finish the sentence as she spots a familiar red headed figure. Meira. She was safe. That means one of the other leapers must be... Her train of thought is interrupted as Tobias speaks of crushing the beastwoman and she turns to stop him. She would not permit him, or anyone else, to harm that one. Before she can act, something small strikes Tobias with great force and his arm begins to very slowly explode grotesquely. She glances back at where the beastwoman had been, there was no sign of Meira now even to her eyes that could see magic, and then back at the arm that was slowly being torn apart. She considered freezing him now but would that stop whatever was happening? The damage to his armor seemed to be disrupting his control of gravity but... She didn't see any magic at play here.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊, Ivan, and Nathan Quick Little Collab
(Mother Voorjaar)[/font]
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Royal Palace District → Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Ivan, Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Virtue)​

This wasn't magic. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ wasn't certain that freezing the man would stop whatever was happening. Indeed there was a risk that by freezing him she might damage his armor further causing the effect to accelerate. Her brow furrowed. She could keenly remember the sight of mage made singularities ripping through worlds. That didn't seem to be the way it was going here but it could turn in an instant.

"Where can we...." Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ begins, only to stop as Tobias vanishes and is replaced with one of the summoned from the cathedral. She doesn't stop to ask questions. "I'm going after the princess."

Much was happening in the moment, explosions, soldiers fighting, demons emerging from the palace to battle both Nortestran and Mollug alike. Ivan was barely able to track any of it. He continued to fire his gun at the foes that surrounded them, but he was also trying to pay attention to Tobias and the other summoned with him. When the beastwoman was in view, Ivan didn't notice, he was simply focused on staying alive and keeping his allies the same. The demons were proving to be quite a nuisance.

Ivan turned to Tobias right as the man's hand was blown off. The wound wasn't normal however, and started to bloom like some sort of twisted flower moments after emergence. Ivan went pale for a second thinking that Tobias was about to transform or something. Then Ivan realized that it was gravity making Tobias stump act like that. It was fluctuating rapidly and shifting, the damage to the suit causing Tobias powers to act up tremendously.

Ivan immediately threw himself behind cover, some rubble in the street this time.

The ice anchoring Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊'s feet to the ground pivots and she crouches down. A second later a pillar of ice erupts from the ground and launches her through the air towards the neighborhood where she had spotted Meira. Her flight through the air is affected by the uneven gravity, the force carrying her further than she intended.

Ivan watched her depart, wishing he could follow after. Apparently she would go after the princess it seemed. Leaving Caedmon and Ivan to face off against the mecha and the goddess. Neither of them were well matched against the two. Ivan's attacks had proved near useless on the mecha, and Caedmon's attempts at diplomacy were falling on deaf ears.

The two of them needed to get out of there, preferably to Felicia or some of their other allies. In truth it was the mecha that was concerning Ivan, his attacks had been ineffective and the mech seemed intent on killing Tobias and them.

As she begins to overshoot the target, she surrounds herself with ice to weigh her down and crashes down into the neighborhood. Fortunately the pull of gravity was normal this far from Tobias. Landing with a crash in a side alley, she glides out onto a main street and then stops.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ had been prepared to give chase but there was no need. There she was. The princess of this fallen kingdom, seated in the middle of street staring towards the palace. Those eyes. Those empty eyes. The eyes of complete and utter failure.

"There you are. I am relieved that I found you first. The others would end your life." Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ says in an elegant voice marred with hoarseness, her good eye burning with frozen flames. The pieces connected. It made sense now. She remembered the deity's words to her and then held out her good hand to the princess, palm up, "Come. Together, we can..." She trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Her eyes turn to the two with the princess. A warrior and some kind of a priestess. She hadn't had time to study the heraldry of this world yet but the warrior's armor did not look Nortestran. Mollug? Mercenary? She didn't know. It didn't matter. No matter who it was she would be taking the princess. Her good eye narrowed as she stated coldly, "This one is mine. Our fates are intertwined now. I will not allow any other to take her."

Nathan turned to the newcomer and took a step in front of Athena. "If you intend to harm her, then we shall be enemies. I am Nathaniel Klaus of the Xact Empire, and Princess Athena is under my protection. Not all is lost yet. The throne may have been toppled, but with the assistance of Xact, Nortestra can rebuild."

"Is that the fate you desire, Athena?" Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ asked with quiet intensity, turning her good eye to the princess. Though she was a new to this world she doubted very much that this Xact Empire could so easily rebuild Nortestra. If it could, it would have prevented this disaster and in doing so gained just as much, if not more, influence. No, it was more likely that they were taking the princess so they could exert influence over Nortestra without committing resources. She couldn't blame these opportunists for trying to abduct the princess, but her interest was in the young woman herself not local politics. "To live the rest of your life in a cage, a political pawn. For history to remember you for this day, anything after a footnote. To never to avenge your father. To never make things right. To hide in a far away land." She turns her good eye back at the man, though her words are clearly still addressed the princess, "Do you think the Constant will..." She lets the sentence trail off, the words hanging in the air ominously.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ is silent for another moment, then adds softly, "Your life was given to me." She turns her good eye back to the princess, her hand still outstretched, "Come with me and live."

 

[Pai Chan]

Aurora Del Rosario
Interactions: StaidFoal Snackofthefuture Kaihaku

Aurora was, indeed, disappointed with the outcome of events. The beastwoman seemed to have acted rashly but with what Aurora saw earlier, Meira seemed rather conflicted. Letting emotions take over, and on the battlefield, was something that could get someone killed. Luckily, they were out of the majority of harms way. Aurora knelt down in front of Athena and put a hand to the princess' cheek.

"I can only heal the physical pain. Unfortunately, we need you alert and can't afford to dissect the emotional pain at the moment." There was a brief glowing light and Aurora took her hand away, revealing the damage to be gone. The sound of another woman seized the goddess' attention as she helped Athena back to her feet. The stranger claimed to be there for Athena and Nathan stepped in between them and the newcomer.

"If you truly are an aid to the princess then you should be helping us." Aurora spoke up, placing a gentle hand on Athena's shoulder. "You sound as if you would have her give up. We are taking her to a safe place to regroup and rebuild. We have the best interest of Nortestra in mind when coming out to rescue her. If you really want what's best for the girl then you should be helping us instead of standing in our path." Aurora was mentally preparing for any sort of retaliation, if there were to be any.

Athena didn't look like she was all there at the moment, ever since the harsh display Meira put on. So, Aurora didn't expect the princess to give proper answers to this woman, if any. But right now the greater good was getting the girl out of Nortestra. They were close to getting out and the priestess wasn't going to have an obstacle obscure their path.

 

[Juju]

Kotori & WakinyanInteraction: Kaihaku StaidFoal | Mention: seasonedcat
​

Kotori grabbed a handful of Wakinyan's mane, preparing to jump onto his back, but was stopped when a stab of pain rippled up her arm. She cried out in pain, clutching her arm against the phantom pain. Wakinyan lowered his head to gaze at her, his wrath halted for a short duration. The roar of his words rippled through her mind, but she shook her head. "No, it's not that this time... I think..."

As if to lay her suspicions to rest, she heard the voice of Caedmon. So it was Tobias who was injured? For the briefest of moments, in the span little more than a heartbeat, she wondered if she should even heal the madman after everything he had done. From where she stood on the wall she could still see the carnage that had been his, see smoke and corpses. She could only imagine how the gravity-user had come by this wound, but she had the suspicion it was not for lack of deserving. Then she remembered why he had rampaged, and couldn't help but feel the guilt rise up like magma through cracked stone.

'I will do my best, Caedmon,' she spoke through the link, as if to convince herself. The pain throbbed in her own arm, and she knelt down while leaning over it.

Taking a deep breath, Kotori focused on the wound. A pale golden glow bloomed beneath her hands, leeching through the network to manifest onto Tobias's wound. The divine mending took hold, but with every inch of torn flesh it repaired, another tore itself apart. Her arm ached from the constant tug and pull of restoration and destruction. If this kept up, it was uncertain how long she could maintain the spell. 'Tobias... what is happening? It feels like my healing is being undone!'

 

[Kaihaku]

Princess Athena
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Mikhail, Rama, Felicia, Constant)
​

The strange woman healed her, but she felt lost without the pain from Meira’s kicks. The hurt had somehow grounded her. Now her mind was consumed with a feverish swirl of thoughts as she tried to make sense of this. She had to calculate. To plan. To take control of this. She could still recover from this. She could convince the Constant. She just needed to find him. She could reach him and explain. It was Meira’s fault. Rama’s fault. Mikhail’s fault. How could she get to him? Before that damn Mikhail turned him like he turned Meira. What resources did she have? She was alone with these strangers. They could take her to Blackburn Manor. They’d want some reward. She knew it. What did she have on her? Just some jewelry. Her guards. If only she had her guards. They were never late. They would never betray her. They would follow orders perfectly. They never wanted anything. Why had she left them with that old fool. He should have been prepared for…for…

Her frantic thoughts go blank at the sight of…of… Felicia. How could Felicia be here? Felicia was dead. She left Felicia in burnt pieces on the floor of the meeting room. Her breath comes in ragged desperate gasps. Is this… Is this Merde? Had she joined Felicia in purgatory?

Together we can… Together we can what? A faint glimmer of life returned to her eyes. It was just like Felicia. Magnanimous. Compassionate. Negotiate. Compromise. Find the way everyone can win. Act as if we’re equals. The perfect prophesied princess who would save Nortestra. Together we can… Coronate you? Her fists slowly clench as she gasps for air. Her mouth was dry. This was impossible. This should not be happening. She left Felicia dead on the floor. She put an end to that prophecy herself.

No. No. Our fates are not intertwined. Just…just need to kill you again… She slowly stands to her feet, gathering her mana to attack, then stops as the stranger speaks. The Xact Empire. She thought they were just mercenaries or soldiers. Why…why had they stopped her from reaching the Constant? If…if she had reached him before Mikhail she could have explained… Now she…was here with this…perfect prophesied princess…

The steady rain from the stormclouds turns to flurries of snow around the small gathering and there is a sudden chill to the air despite the heat of the burning buildings.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊
(Mother Voorjaar)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Ivan, Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Virtue)​

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ is silent for a moment after one she thinks is a priestess speaks. She does not turn her gaze to the two from Xact but continues to stare pass them at the princess. She still did not know the local politics but, in her mind, their political maneuvering was completely transparent. They only cared for this little one as a political pawn. She had never been going to let them take her but this only strengthened her resolve.

​

"How…fortuitous that the Xact Empire should have elite agents waiting by the palace to abduct the heir to the throne immediately after regicide." She says evenly, finally breaking her silence. It’s not clear if she’s speaking to the princess, to herself, or to the two from Xact. The implication is clear enough though. She did not know, yet, who was behind the soul harvester who had assassinated the King, but she doubted that he had worked alone and the coincidence of these two absconding with the princess...without Meira...or any Nortestrans for that matter... If the situation had not warranted haste she would have gone ahead and arranged for a troop of Nortestran soldiers to meet them. Then the princess would be taken to a Nortestran citadel or fort, rather than... She called to mind the map Virtue had given her. Her good eye narrowed. The Xact Empire did not even border Nortestra. This noble talk of rebuilding Nortestra was nothing but empty promises. It confirmed her suspicions that they would just use the young woman as a bargaining chip to influence Belldan and Mollug.

She suspected that she would have to do battle with these two. They were here to abduct the princess, no doubt by any means necessarily, it was just simpler if the princess was cooperative while they were in Castellan. It was unfortunate, this day had seen enough wanton violence and needless destruction but these...agents of Xact would not surrender their prize easily. No doubt they had significant rewards waiting them. If they were even from Xact, that was only what they claimed. Perhaps they were delivering her to Mollug or some other faction. This was a dangerous waste of time. She should be taking the princess to a place of sanctuary now. Before one of the others, who wanted the princess’ head, arrived to claim it.

Still... Divine Virtue had dictated that this world need be conquered in order to bring harmony and prosperity. She would use force to carry out her mission rather than yield to these people who valued the young woman only for her political status.

"Athena. I do not wish ill on you, quite the contrary, there is a kinship between us." She continues quietly, her gaze softening, "I, too, have had my plans shattered and lost everything that I held dear. Together, we can make things right. Together, we can bring harmony and prosperity to this broken world. The tumult of SIN need not consume you."

Princess Athena
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Mikhail, Rama, Felicia, Constant)
​

She didn’t need Felicia to explain politics to her. She could see through the schemes of the Xact Empire just fine on her own. She didn’t need Felicia for anything. She didn’t need this prophecy. She could save Nortestra on her own. She could…could…recover from this on her own. By her own power. She wasn’t a…slave to destiny…or to the Xact Empire… History would remember her for… She trembles despite herself, taking in a ragged breath. Avenge Father. What had the fool done… What had the fool done… She left him her guards. How… She turns her dry eyes back to the smoke rising from the grand palace. The fool. She’d done this to… All of this… He let Aldreg… She flinches as Felicia mentions the Constant. Her eyes widening as she turns to look at the princess’ outstretched hand. It was just like Felicia to be magnanimous. The perfect prophesied princess. Felicia had to show…even now how superior she was…with this act of benevolence… She couldn’t just…take vengeance and kill her here… No. No. That was what a normal person would do. Not Felicia. This wasn’t forgiveness. This was like...it had never happened... It was…a show of…superiority… Felicia was telling her that nothing, not even murder, could shake her. This act of benevolence and grace... It was Felicia saying that not even killing her could make them rivals. Felicia thought she was that far above her.

 

[Pai Chan]

Aurora Del Rosario
Interactions: Kaihaku , StaidFoal , Snackofthefuture

After hearing the woman comment on the coincidence of there being just the two Xactian representatives when she arrive made Aurora wince. The priestess could see the misunderstanding.

"We weren't alone. When we first arrived we helped those in need. We only ended up where we stand now because we went with a commander, Greymourne, so help rescue the princess from people that wish her harm. Like you mentioned before. There was a woman with animal ears on her head that was with us just before you arrived as well. But They have abandoned the poor girl. I'm not fully sure what happened between them."

Snow started falling and Aurora briefly looked up in awe. Snow was not something she saw in Xact. The climate was much too warm for anything more than rain. The woman then mentioned SIN and immediately, Aurora's attention was back to Frostfire.

"So you, too, are against SIN and his ideals. Then it must be fate that brought us together! Look at your princess. She wears no shackles and you see no weapons pointed towards her. We are not forcing her against her will to do anything. We are merely escorts to see to her safety." Aurora stepped up to Nathan and put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to step aside.

"If the princess truly wishes to take to your side then we won't stop her. We are truly your allies. But if she does decide to go with you, I greatly suggest you keep in contact with us. We want to ally with Nortestra. And in this time of turmoil I believe it's in, both our countries' best interest. After the war Nortestra will need to rebuild. Will need extra hands to help. Will need money. This land will benefit from our alliance in the immediate future so that you may help us if and when we need help in turn." Aurora stood to the side to allow for Athena to choose. But the priestess hoped the mystery woman would see they shared much more common goals than they, at first, realized.

 

[Kaihaku]

Princess Athena
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Mikhail, Rama, Felicia, Constant)​

​

Of course she saw right through the schemes of these two from the Xact Empire. Felicia still bothered to explain it to her. As if she needed to convince her. As if they were equals. Of course it was no coincidence that foreign agents would just happen to show up and steal her away before she reached the convergence… At the word regicide she bites her lip until it bleeds, trying to stop her body from quaking. Mikhail… Mikhail must have arranged this. He must have. He turned Meira. He sent these two. He kept her from explaining to the Constant. She had given him the USB earlier. He must have used it…used it to…

The mana rose in her again as Felicia spoke of kinship, plans shattering, and losing everything. They were not the same. Athena had worked for everything while her father… He…he… The old fool... No, she was nothing like Felicia. She taught herself everything. Diplomacy, politics, the art of war, magic, and economics. She had forged all of her connections on her own. She made the plans herself. She was nothing like this perfect princess who appeared from nowhere as prophesied. The only kinship between them was…that of her split blood… Together? She didn’t need Felicia to bring harmony and prosperity. She would do it herself. Just like she always had.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊
(Mother Voorjaar)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora) StaidFoal (Athena)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Tobias, Egg Tart, Virtue) Snackofthefuture (Ivan)
​

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ turns her gaze to look at the woman she thinks is a priestess, clearly reconsidering her assumptions. There were still things about the explanation that concerned her. Time. She wished that she had more time. Time to learn the lore of this world. Time to make connections in this world. If she knew more she would be able to navigate this situation wisely. She had been summoned to repair the damage done by SIN and his summoned. It would be good to have allies in this beyond just others who had been summoned with her. Divine Virtue had said nothing about her influence here in Valucia. Had there been previous summonings? Did divine Virtue have followers among the locals? Too many unknowns. The simplest way forward was to quietly reveal herself. She had been using shapeshifting to hide her mark but, now, she allows the glowing golden rune to appear on her forehead. It is not the mark of SIN.

​

“Are you also Virtuous?” She asks with some surprise, addressing the one she thinks is a priestess in a respectful tone for the first time since approaching the group. It’s clear that she’s placing some special meaning on the word virtuous. Her next words are calm, as she waits for the two to reveal their marks if they have them, “I apologize. I assumed the worst of you. If you are truly opposed to SIN, then we should be friends and comrades but... This one needs me. She is precious to me, a kindred spirit, and her life must not be lost nor wasted.” She turns her eyes back to the princess, her hand still outstretched, but she says only her name, “Athena.”

It had been clear to Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ since she saw the princess' empty eyes. Divine Virtue had seen through Voorjaar's haughty arrogance and old world thinking to the core of her being. That was why. That was why divine Virtue had offered her vague words about a ‘quieted’ princess who wielded ‘frost’. Divine Virtue had known that Voorjaar, clinging to her old ways, would explore this mystery in an attempt to gain the power to launch a renewed campaign to preserve creation. Egg Tart. Meira. The crying baby. The slime. Tobias. The palace. The slain page. The gunslinger. Step by step, divine Virtue had guided her to acknowledge her mistakes and loss, to learn the true nature of the princess, and finally, now, to the young woman herself…

Athena was a living tragedy. The saboteur of her own ambitions. The destroyer of her own kingdom. She had driven unstable Tobias into becoming the monster who breached her capitol. She had set the groundwork for the climatic battle that had turned into a bloodbath for both sides. She had treated the summoned who allied with her as criminals and had even tried to murder the one named Felicia. Voorjaar did not know if Athena had a role in her father's assassination but, certainly, she had abandoned him to flee for safety herself. There was likely more that Voorjaar had not yet learned but she knew enough to determine that Athena's true nature was cruel, fearful, disloyal, and callous. Voorjaar was convinced that she, alone, could see in Athena's true nature a wounded child who needed her. She was also convinced that divine Virtue had guided her to this surrogate child who needed her as much as she needed to be needed. A gift to and task for her, who had lost her own children. The childless mother wanted to scoop up this pathetic orphan on the spot and begin raising her a second time, but held herself back to speak with these two from Xact. The dragon mother who believed she had been given a divine mandate to adopt Athena did particularly care if the princess protested the arrangement.

The fact that this young woman was princess of this fallen kingdom was incidental. Divine Virtue had dictated that they were to conquer the world, instill unity, and relegate conflicting factions to history books. The future had no Nortestra, Mollug, or Xact. There would be only Valucia. There was a role for this young woman in that endeavor but it was not that of monarch. She had shown how ill suited for the throne was she today. Her inner demons had made her the architect of her own, and her Kingdom's, defeat. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ had already planned to fake the young woman's death so that the ones hunting her would be appeased. The heir to the throne would die here, during the second siege of Castellan, but this young woman would have a second chance at life.

At least, that was what Voorjaar believed at that moment. Only Virtue knew if it had really been all part of her divine plan or if it was just the dragon experiencing trauma induced apophenia.

Princess Athena
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Mikhail, Rama, Felicia, Constant)
​

How you dare speak of me with pity! Athena tries to shout as the woman from the Xact Empire calls her a ‘poor girl’, but her throat is dry and the words will not come. She wanted to burn them all. Mikhail had gotten to Greymourne too. Where was Brother Beast? Where was Rama? What did Mikhail have to gain from destroying her? If only she had her guards. They never failed. They never questioned. They were never late. Except…for that fool…she left them to guard him…

She wilts visibly as Felicia describes her as precious. A kindred spirit. Someone whose life must not be lost nor wasted. The words were…like poison hidden in sweet wine… Felicia was showing her superiority with each poisonous lie. They weren’t kindred spirits. There was no love between them. There was only…only… A simple calculation. There could be only one Queen. There could be only one savior of Nortestra. Athena had worked all of her life to be this person. This…perfect prophesied princess had come to take it from her…and she had done what needed to be done. So why…why was she trembling now. Why had it been so hard to sleep since… Why had she erected that statue…she hated the sight of it… She retreats back a few steps at the outstretched hand as Felicia gently says her name. Together we can…

 

[Snackofthefuture]

NATHANIEL KLAUS​

Nathan’s hands shook for a moment. Then his whole body began shaking slightly. This stopped after several seconds and then reappeared, and then did the same thing once again. Inside his helmet, sweat dripped down his brow. The warrior pulled his axe out, placing both hands solidly on the weapon. He bared his teeth.

Nathan took several steps in front of Athena and Aurora, gently shifting its weight in his hands repeatedly. His eyes were near bulging from his skull and if his white hair could have gone lighter, it would have. He growled and lowered his center of balance as he looked at Mother Voorjhar as Frostfire. “Xact always makes things right Demon. We are all people of our word, different from you Summoned of Virtue.”

“Aurora, grab Athena and get her out of here. This is a being of Virtue, the greatest threat to Valucia this world has ever known. I will cover your retreat. There is no greater glory than to stem the tide of Virtue. If I must even give my life, then as a knight of Xact, I am Proud to do so!”

Nathan suddenly raised his axe over his head, and brought it crashing down into the stone of the street, right where Frostfire had been standing just a second beforehand. He brought the axe back up and without wasting a second, began a flurry of attacks at Voorjhar. Nathan twirled the axe around him, Frostfire dodging each swing narrowly, the axe cleaving and whistling through the air with extreme prejudice. Every stroke of the weapon would be a killing blow for a normal human. This wasnt even considering the explosive surprise the weapon packed.

The human’s mind was definitely racing. He hadn't known that these summoned were going to be beings of Virtue. This did not bode well at all for future plans. If Virtue was scheming once again, summoning in fact, then the Xact Empire needed to know. Nathan sent a telepathic message to his paladins telling them of the occurrence. The Cult of SIN needed to be warned. Several of the paladins were fellow members so they would make sure the organization knew if Nathan did not survive this battle.

Nathan twirled the axe around his body into a horizontal slash. Felicia skidded back along the cobblestone, the glowing mark having faded from her body. “You cannot have Athena demon. Now that I know your allegiance, there is no way I'm letting you gain that sort of influence over this nation. This time, we WILL stop Virtue.”

Nathan lowered his axe to the ground, a relaxed position that feigned an opening for Frostfire to take advantage of. He was goading her to come at him. “Not all know of your kind, oh Virtuous one. But I do, I know of you and your pasts, conquerors brought here from dead worlds to slip the collar of Virtue around our throats, invaders from a foreign place, to make us once again a machine for the Endless Factory. I will not be a slave demon, not to Virtue, not to the Authority.”

StaidFoal Kaihaku Pai Chan

 

[Pseudo-nim]

Zasha
Interactions: StaidFoal Mentions: GrieveWriter Snackofthefuture Gohan510 ​

Zasha's temperament wasn't like a bomb. That would imply she had the patience to even wait for the fuse to finish. No, it was more equivalent to a burning star, always flaring with such incinerating and intense anger to keep itself bright. For her, this was one of many outbursts that've happened in the past. Her features scrunched to seething rage as she witnessed the explosion that bisected the Coelacanth, and judging by how the walking scrap toy tried to calm the situation down before looking back and floating away like it was her fault was evident enough for Zasha.

A volley of rockets flew from her fortress, eyes burning hot crimson as she tagged the talking garbage receptacle floating away, letting the missiles home in on her while she turned to dragon that disappeared into the ground. It felt like she would be waging a war just to keep her claim on the devastated machine. Something she wasn't unfamiliar with. The burning magma that came below was certainly something to take note of, but right now, she needed to get started in salvaging a now broken war machine.

The Soldier mech reappeared by her side, reloaded and ready as she turned her attention to the chaos further away from where she stood. Powerful optics enhanced her vision to see in all spectrums up to 20 miles away with no drop in clarity and definition. As she cycled through her options, she knew she needed to establish a boundary that wasn't easily bypassed. The demons and summoned fighting further away would no doubt try to make their way to the massive construct sooner or later.

The ARMS system pinged as it dropped into the firing mechanism her most dangerous artillery module: The Laser Circus drone. Spewing hot, concentrated lines of superheated plasma equivalent to the searing temperatures of the surface of a sun, this was one of her most devastating stationary artillery drones before her supply was depleted. Capable of creating a cone of plasma from spinning the flame jets lining the weapon at high speeds, she used it to protect either a crucial objective or rain down indiscriminate burning death. Either way, her fortress had finally begun construction on the drones. Even with only a part of the Coelacanth available, she could at least replenish a part of her entire supply and resume construction of her Juggernaut and Fortress-class mech, which would be a considerable spike in her ability to take on the summoned and the world itself. She needed this metal badly.

But Zasha was never one to half ass things. It was clear she'll work just a bit harder to salvage this mech, but with her virus slowly lobotomizing the A.I and code, and her mech's presence, she can at least get started in the first phase of her fabricators cannibalizing the head of the Coelacanth, then work on getting the rest of the body further away. The plan to repair and repurpose it for her use was shot as soon as POMA decided to bisect the monstrosity by targeting one of its power cores. Incredibly infuriating to say the least, but she could focus on being angrier later. She had several tons of metal to transport into her fortress and not a lot of time judging by how those demons and summoned were slowly making their way to her position.

Her first drone came alive and the fortress fired it at a higher velocity than usual to both avoid the onslaught of tentacles and encompass the remaining mass of the Coelacanth's upper half. The large, cylinder drone's gravitational engines came online as it reached just before its maximum height, encircling the machine with a harsh violet shield, meant to act independently from all gravitational anomalies and repel any attempts at interrupting its cycle. The covers slid back to reveal 64 barrels of shining titanium lining the entirety of the weapon, all individually pointing down before firing a solid line of burning plasma, barely skimming the armor of the Coelacanth. As more fired, the machine began to spin, ramping up quickly until the surrounding area was engulfed in a searing blue light. Buildings were cut open trivially by the lasers, even more were the soldiers that attempted to rush the downed Mollug machine. She grinned at the sight as she watched the surrounding area was left with flaming scars from the laser. Only idiots would try to step into this field, especially now that her Lead Wall was reloaded once again, poised to fire at anything that entered their kill zone. Her Hellfire missiles sat ready and primed to assist, eyes burning with confidence and anger as they fired at irregular patterns as each entity scanned was immediately fired upon. With the constant barrage of whipping tentacles that smashed against everything entering within range, it was only another layer of defense altogether, though she was mildly worried that it might have one of its tentacles severed if it decided to extend a little too far and enter the Laser Circus field.

She moved quickly, finding the hole she emerged from and proceeded to widen the hole with her bare hands until it could fit at least a truck. On her mental command, the fortress dropped a small, volleyball size orb into the hole the bunny girl made, four spikes unfolding and burying into the metal before slowly expanding to a car sized fabricator. Not as powerful or as efficient as her stronger models within the fortress, but it was mostly to create on demand tools and transporting metal into the warehouse. What it did best was simply just chomping away at metal by deploying its termite drones to dimensionally move it and reconstruct as sheets for future use. It still took time, but at least when she gets interrupted, the metal would already be inside the fortress rather than sitting out here being a waste. The energy source would also be a nice thing to take, but until she had the necessary repairs and upgrades to the ARMS fortress, she'll have to make due with the metal. At least that was in surplus.

The fabricator hummed as its nanite machines began to eat through the carapace, while her mech flew into its insides to begin scans on the power core. She'll need to be careful around that or risk turning everything into useless, burnt scrap. Until then, she stood over the Coelacanth's head and watched for signs of danger to her fabricator. It would be more than a few minutes before her fabricator and scans on the engine would finish, so it was only a matter of running the clock.

 

[Kaihaku]

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊
(Mother Voorjaar)
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora) StaidFoal (Athena)
​

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ had been anticipating some reaction to the revelation of her mark but this... This was stronger confirmation than she had expected that these two were enemies of harmony and prosperity. They intended to use this wounded little one as a political pawn to further spread chaos and destruction across Valucia. They cared nothing for Athena as an individual, only as a tool to further SIN's tumult. That they had lied about their opposition to SIN and his ideals was to be expected.

​

“Athena, run! Hide!” Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ shouts, raising a spiky ice wall between the two SIN followers and the princess. That is all she has time to do before the axe strikes her. That first axe blow should have cleaved through the shoulder of someone her size. Instead the blade sank barely an inch into her flesh before stopping. The explosion that accompanies the blow tears away a small chunk of her flesh but, again, it should have been enough to nearly decapitate her. The follow-up axe blows are weaker than the initial overhead strike and leave long scratches in the woman's flesh...the explosions that accompany them should have disemboweled her.

The snowfall intensifies into a full blizzard as Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ stands resolute under the barrage of powerful blows. She understood now. SIN had arranged all of this. The death of the king. The princess' paranoia. The failure of her plans. The immense civilian causalities. Why Tobias had gone mad? He had been summoned by SIN. Divine Virtue had not sent her merely to save Athena from mortal peril but to save the little one from SIN and his followers.

“You serve destruction, bloodlust, and depravity.” Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ snarls, her voice twisting as her good eye burns with frozen flames. Her petite lips pressed together into a prim line. She knew this type from her own reality, just as here there two sides had been locked in vicious conflict. Then she had attempted to find a third way. To preserve rather than create or destroy. “Now I comprehend. Divine Virtue sent me to rescue this one from the very clutches of SIN. You do intend to 'rebuild' Nortestra...just enough that the wars never end and the fires are never extinguished.”

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ slowly circles the axe wielding warrior from Xact, a thick wall of ice raising around the three of them as she lifts her good hand. She does not take the bait to attack him but instead speaks gently, “There is a speck of truth in the lies you speak, Nathaniel. We were summoned to conquer this broken world in order to end the wars and bring prosperity. The rest...falsehoods spread by SIN who desires endless strife and suffering." She stops, her face softening as she looks at him with compassion,"Listen, divine Virtue's benevolence extends even to you, Nathaniel. Lay down your axe and renounce SIN. I know that you have been deceived but I am no demon. Divine Virtue sent us to save you too.”

A soft smile crosses her lips as she adds, "Divine Virtue will forgive you for striking an unarmed woman."

Nathan clenches his teeth at this poor attempt at temptation and leaps forward, bringing his axe around in a underhand swing. It digs into the side of the woman, sinking an inch into her flesh and tearing another hole in her as it explodes... But this time she's ready, grabbing him by the shoulder as he closes with strength far beyond her frail physique and pulling him forward to knee him in the gut with enough force to crack his armor.

"I am not going to kill you, little one." She says to him, as her 'bad arm' reaches up and she grabs his axe wrist,"I'm going to save you too."

Princess Athena
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: StaidFoal (Meira, Mikhail, Rama, Felicia, Constant)
​

She stumbles back as the man from the Xact Empire draws his battleaxe and leaps at Felicia with the weapon. She reaches out her hand, trying to channel her mana and strike him with a fiery blast. She doesn’t get the chance as a wall of ice erupts in front of her and Felicia shouts for her to escape. Even now! Even now Felicia…had to show her superiority! She couldn’t just defend herself! No! She had to be the perfect prophesied princess who…acted on behalf of others! Athena stumbles back in the blizzard. She couldn’t remember when the snow had started to fall. Then she runs a few steps into the snow, then stops and turns to look back. Why was she running? Because Felicia told her to? She wanted Felicia dead. It was…helpful that the Xact soldier…was… The cold air stings her lungs, clearing her head. She needed to get to Blackburn Manor. There was still time. She just needed to explain things to the Constant. She just…needed to wrest control back from Mikhail… Then her guards could be replaced and…and…

 

[YsFanatic]

Yunica had not expected the spike in energy readings that came from the man's gun, causing her to stare in surprise for a precious moment or two. Thankfully the Armor's computer systems were quick enough to dim the display before the brightness of the laser could harm her vision as the beam enveloped her. Not having time to properly adjust, the bulk of her optical and infrared sensors temporarily overloaded, but that was secondary concern as the clone quickly became aware of another problem. Typically, the soldier operating an Assault Armor would be wearing a stripped down power armor design called the Pilot Armor to provide extra protection as well as other benefits, but she didn't have hers and was only wearing her traveling clothes instead. As such, the rising temperature in the cockpit was felt far sooner than it would have been otherwise, a fact that the AA detected and reacted to. The energy shields were adjusted to block the laser instead of letting it pass though as it would normally do for attacks that couldn't harm the Armor and its operator.

Thankfully the laser didn't last long, so while some shield power was lost it wasn't enough to be a major concern, yet. More importantly as the sensors came back online and her vision cleared, Yunica noticed that the floating man had vanished, a fact that caused her to release a shout of anger and frustration. The frustration soon cleared however when the Assault Armor's sensors detected the unique gravity readings given off by the powers of Tobias. With her target acquired again, the young woman had her warmachine swiftly start moving the next time gravity restored itself, quickly clearing the affected area and making a beeline to where the injured man now was, the ability enhancing energy of the Boost Mode soon fading. As soon as Yunica was able to get a clear line of sight of Tobias she unleashed the bolts of her fire spell against him even as she continued her approach.

Spoiler: Interactions

StaidFoal Snackofthefuture Kaihaku

 

[Gohan510]

=Regrouping=
Location: Nortestra Palace
When: CT
Involved: Aldreg/Gen

Spoiler: Aldreg/Gen

​

Aldreg made his way back to the main hall killing any rank of knights that attempted to attack him and draining their souls with his orb. Finally reaching his destination Aldreg looked around to notice the massive carnage his plan had brought to the once beautiful palace. He laughed to himself before turning his attention to the now arriving Gen, who had seemed to have the usual sly smirk on his face.

“I assume you retrieved it?” Aldreg asked his subordinate who nodded his head in response. Aldreg’s smirk grew on his face, his plan was coming all in motion. This was going a lot smoother than he expected though, in a moments noticed Gen got behind Aldreg deflecting a slash from a rather tall buff man that used a battle axe as a weapon. Men with spears rushed from behind him attempting to stab Gen before dropping to the body bleeding. Gen smirked and dashed towards the big man stabbing at him with fierce speeds laughing as blood came from the man's body from the cuts Gen did successfully make. The souls of the two soldiers drew towards the orb in Aldreg’s hand.

“Toren must be preparing our getaway. All is going well considering the massive change in the course of this barbaric warfare. We should be glad things fell into our favor before going south. The king attempted to take me with him, but thanks to the shinku ōbu it allowed me to survive the attack. I nearly created a device I might even fear myself. This thing continues to surprise me each time.” Aldreg stated calmly, still standing in the same place, haven’t moved a muscle from his standing point. After the giant man fell to the ground lifeless from the quick fight against Gen, Aldreg snatched his soul as well.

“You sure don’t waste much time taking the souls of these men.”

“You know better than anyone else that this orb does it on its own will. Hungry. Keep the one you stole close and do not lose it.”

“Are we leaving Nortestra now?”

“Not yet I still have unfinished business, regroup with Toren for now. Come to me when I am ready."

“When will I know you’re ready?”

“You’ll know.” Aldreg gave Gen an evil glare which pierced Gen’s soul, this glare would scare anyone who knew Aldreg as a nice man. Yet Gen has seen this same look many times before, this was the dark side of Aldreg that he nore Toren wanted to mess with. Gen nodded running out of the palace, Aldreg slowly walked after Gen. Stepping back outside of the palace he took a deep breath before smirking and flash stepping in the distance one he saw Gen had disappeared in the shadows.

---
=Nearing the end of the plan=
Location: Aldreg's Hidden lab, Under the Research and Developing Headquarters, Nortestra
When: CT
Invovled: Toren

Finally arriving back to Aldreg’s secret office he salvaged through the many counters looking for a specific item. Finally finding what he was looking for Toren placed the small rock on the floor and took a few steps back. Toren walked over to a wall as the illusion wore off and it revealed a cow, Toren led the cow out with some wheat till it walked over the stone and killed it with a swift slash to the head. The blood that shot out poured into the stone which made it shine bright and a magic circle formed in blood under the stone. Toren watched as the blood started boiling up and the circle started to spew out sparks of blue flames.

 

[Gohan510]

=Important Mission! The Clock is Ticking!=
Involved: Obito, Ain ( Gohan510 ) & Junko ( Pai Chan )
Mentioned: Vali
Location: Headed towards Bai & Heather
When: Night

Spoiler: Chaos Brigade/Hyena Leader

Obito and the others had finally arrived to the Hyenas location and they all grouped up discussing what was going. Obito looked at the giant wall of Ilaria which made him shocked to see how much well kept it was considering Mollugs usually shitty look. Obito loaded his guns ready for anything to go off.

Ain jumped off Fenris walking over to Junko. "Yo babe." He said with a sinister laugh before looking around seeing he could see's Vali's mana. "Where's the pretty boy at? You killed him? Please tell me you killed his dumbass?"

"I doubt she killed him." Obito said calmly walking around the massive group till he got to Junko and Ain's side. "So what's the plan of action?"

"Vali's been a good boy." Junko replied, jokingly. "He went on ahead since he can fly and we are," Junko waved her hands towards the ground. "stuck on the ground."

"Good boy? You must be trying to piss me off woman. Well no shit we're on the ground the fuck you want me to do grow some damn wings?" Ain responded with irritation on his face. "So what the hell are we still sitting on the curb for!? We should be on our high horse headed after him!"

Obito nodded climbing back onto Fenris looking back to Jenny thinking of introducing her to Junko later on once they left the area.

"Growing wings would be some positive step in the right direction. At least then you'd be useful for scouting." Junko pondered for a moment and then looked at Jenny.

"Who's this?" Junko asked looking directly at Ain. "We starting a whore house while I'm gone?" Junko blew out a breath before turning towards the others. "So, for now this city is off limits to any fuckery. The leader of this city is offerring us some good cash as well as free entry as we please. And they have a ton of resources we can use since it's a traders' hub. My men and Trent will stay behind and explore more of the city and get more familiar with it while we ride out and follow Vali."

"Yeah and she pleases me with much more tricks then you ever did dammit! Honestly some of you woman are truly useless and used for nothing more, but a mans pleasure HAHAHA! Shut the hell up! Hurry your asses up, you fuck tards better enjoy the damn ride we got a long way to go." Ain said pissed off with Junko.

Obito face palmed and looked at Jenny before turning back to Junko. "Jenny this is Junko, Junko Jenny. She's apart of our group a gift from the recent alliance we made with Orphis I'll explain that on the ride. That sounds good enough the more people we bring the more we have to worry about casualties."

Junko leered at Jenny during Obito's introduction. Besides, a Hyena here and there, and the ever anti-social Sowilo, Junko was the only female member of the group and seeing someone else take attention would take some getting used to. If Obito and Vali considered Jenny an ally then Junko was fine with it. She would have to watch after Ain like a dog and if he tried anything? She was sure he could function without a hand. Or two. Junko would be willing to shoulder that burden.

The group had stopped on a hill within a steep forest they set up camp for the night to rest till the next day over. While everyone rested including Fenris, Obito stayed on watch making sure nothing was coming to attack them. These forests seem to be filled with these giant bears and insects that came from the ground looking similar to a killer centipede. Obito was crouched on the highest branch on a the tree watching m. It was only giving him view of what can come from a short distance ahead.

Once the next day rolled over the group continued on towards the three. Hopefully Vali didn't beat the girls up by time they arrived Ain wanted to have some fun too. Knowing Vali he wants to cause a fight. Ain grinded his teeth.

"Damn Vali."

Vali was jetting towards the direction Junko told him as he kept his eyes wide open and continued to sense around to see if he felt any powerful mana nearby. It was unusual as he was blasting through to sky to see the monsters under him go about their daily duties. Vali didn't waste much time as he rushed forward.

 

[Gohan510]

=Facility room training=
Involved: Hakai ( Gohan510 )/Cojy ( Solirus )
Where: Training room, Providence Hideout, Mollug
When: CT

Spoiler: Hakai/Rojy

Hakai had entered the training room walking around the room he didn’t understand any of the advanced machinery. He noticed there was a strange table with square plates all across it and a screen that spelled “g r a v i t y 0% “. Nothing made sense to him looking at the table he also noticed a hand plate on the far right. Taking his metal glove off matching the hand, placing his on top of it he noticed a light shined up scanning his hand.

“Scanning complete file 66. System error, scanning not from Valucia. Possible results, monster, deity, and summoner. Shall I release relarm?”

Hakai looked at the screen that had strange writings on it, not knowing it was a countdown. Two buttons shined up on the pallet and he pressed the green one which bypassed the alarm. It was off pure luck for him to do this. Scratching the top of his head Hakai pressed another button. He felt the room started to feel heavier.

“Gravity 5%”

Pressing it multiple times the room went higher and higher.

“20g.” Hakai could hardly move through each step away from the control panel. Trying to punch and kicking the air at a slow rate. He continued this for 20 minutes. Pulling his sword he swung it around trying to use every fiber in his body to move as fast as he could, although every swing he looked like a turtle. As another 20 minutes went on he fell to the ground since his body was starting to be held to the ground by the intense force. Using his sword attempting to stand back to his feet, trying to fight the urge of falling over.

Raising his magic power higher he was able to slowly stand to his feet. Under his armor he was sweating and breathing heavier. Using more mana in his feet and arms he was able to move faster. Dropping his sword on the ground walking over to the panel falling over as his hand slammed a random button.

“Rooms Gravity enforcement reduces to. Current room 10g.”

He let out a deep breath before flipping over on his back laying against the panel. Looking at his hands he can feel them shaking under his armor, no his entire body was shaking and aching. He could hardly move sadly to his body being torn down by the gravity.

“That magic, this machinery can cast spells that alter the rooms pull on the gravity. Possibly reality magic. No that I would’ve been able to sense if this was technology.”

“The boy grows in power by the minute. Grow your hatred. Your hatred fuels yo-“

“I do as I please, I agreed with you for the power. As an entity of evil you should be able to feel my anger growing knowing I let him live on. I have no fear in his growth in power, I am the omni demigod. Destroyer of gods. An eldian is no different.”

The era of the gods ruling over on Valgarian was a long lasting battle between mortal and deity. Constantly fighting amongst themselves while having to deal with a common enemy, the evils that wanted to take out the eternal flame and leave the world black. Growing in power and territory the forces of evil became too powerful for the two opposing sides to ignore. Agreeing to help one another to protect the flame they started an alliance. Over centuries gods and humans fought off the shadow’s spawns of evil.

During the dark ages Valgarian had seen its darkest days. The evil had succeeded in reducing the flame to ash turning the world black. The gods no longer in control are forced to live amongst the humans. Gods finally blessing humans with their offsprings started the era of a new. Though the offspring split in three races depending on their gift. Some Eldian, and Demi.

Eldians served as godly knights who fought hard against the demons of Ithreal. To regain the gods' former kingdom they won. Not everyone made it to the end alive, or so they thought. Their lost brethren were poisoned by the shadows' influence corrupting their pure mana. So came the lost souls as Scodians. Hidden amongst the Eldians and humans the scodians planned their uprising to take back and purge the world into darkness as servants of the shadow would do. During these times of peace living amongst one another there was still war going on in the background. War between man and demon.

As the war was seemingly coming to the end for the demons as they were on top there was a powerful eldian one who etched in golden flames. Said warrior was able to clear the fields of evil with a simple glare. Such power was then lost in memory as the golden eldian, said to never appear again since.

Hakai opened his eyes, the room was dark. It had seemed he fell asleep thinking too hard on an urban legend. Slowly getting back up the light turned on which made him ready himself to kill. His body was still sore, though he was ready for anything. No one was there? Walking over to his sword he sheathed it back under his shield on his back. Before kneeling on his knee and flashing through memories again. The room pull wasn’t as bad as before, but it was still tearing him apart slowly.

A young man who had lost his family to the same group of knights that took him in, had grown to become the most feared. His power fueled by rage and his skill was unmatched. Killing important figures as well as demigods was forsure a task not any one can do. That is why the shadow found this young man valuable giving him a chance at immense power in return for his soul being in eternal purgatory. Hakai could not die on Valgarian, he was faced with death multiple times. Yet every time he opened his eyes he was faced with another chance at life. Each time he noticed his skin started to pale and look wrinkled. He was withering, after too much exposure to the dark arts of rebirth Hakai would turn into the mindless demon that others who fell under the shadow’s influence shared fate. In search of power to unbind his soul from the shadows' grasp, Hakai searched out for specific demigods. Those in which power might aid him from freeing himself from the eternal hell.

There was one he heard of through rumors, but needed power to be able to combat against her. She was said to be the demigod of knowledge, with her expanding growth for knowledge he can figure out a way free of the shadows grasp. Her name was Karina, she was said to be found traveling the world in search for the second and third flames with her lover Kisuke Takeshi. A name that struck Hakai deeply.

Distant cousins tied together by fate. One of light and one of pure darkness. One could travel the world in broad daylight and enjoy what was to offer while the other lingered within the shadows isolating its prey like a beast. Only time would tell when the two cross paths and fulfill their family fate.

"Hey shitface are you dead?!" a voice rudely questioned. "Cause if you are dead I keep your organs capiche?" the voice said again. This time Hakai would feel his body be lightly pushed around and kicked.

Hakai slowly woke back up feeling his body being moved around grabbing the ankle of whatever was kicking him squeezing it tight. "You dare touch me the mighty dark knight." With blurry vision from the sudden awakening he looked up noticing it was Rojy. "Dammit all you fiend I could've killed you. Get me back to my feet."

"Fucking dammit ugh, I hope you were enjoying your beauty sleep!" Rojy exclaimed tapping Hakai with his foot before lifting him up with a gust of wind. "You're welcome" Rojy said with an annoyed tone.

"The day I die, this world will shatter with me. This building you found is quite nice, I commend you for finding such a location before me. Seems you're rather more useful then I assumed." Hakai turned to the machine that he was using to enhance the gravity in the room. "How do you say that word on this contraption?" He was talking about gravity which was still written on the small screen.

Rojy walked over to the screen lightly whispering, "fucking dammit even I know this" Rojy then turned his gaze back to Hakai, "The word is pronounced: GRAVITY, do you know what it is?" Rojy asked with an annoyed tone.

Hakai looked at the screen once again. "Gra..vity?" Hakai said confused, but to himself. Looking at Rojy under Hakai's helmet his red eyes shined and he didn't give a response to Rojy's rude tone. "No, remember who you're speaking to you lowly man. Not all of you is ready to die."

Rojy rolled his eyes leaning onto the control panel, "it's the force that pulls all our asses into the rock called Valucia and prevents us from... flying off into the sky, it's the reason why your things are in a sense heavy... dimwhit" Rojy explained quietly whispering the last part while giving off a half smirk.

"I see... So it has some type of magic enhancing the area around us. Mana flows althroughout this world I wouldn't be surprised the same would be for this strange building. What did you come to bother me about?" Hakai asked looking at Rojy still.

"I still cannot sense magic and I don't give two shits about magic or mana or whatever anyone calls it... at least not until it's convenient... Also you were still getting crushed by the gravity so I removed the gravity to check if you had died... not because the shitstain told me to... although he did suggest it... aside from that I don't have much else to tell you aside that... you smell worse than horseshit." Rojy further explained smirking a bit more.

Hakai tilted his head slightly to the side in confusement to how Rojy didn't know about mana, but knew about all these high weaponry. "Mana is the pure source of my spells, why I am able to move as fast and hit stronger then I usually would. Mana flows through my veins in balance with blood. I would have survived through this heavy rooms grasp, I need no saving from the likes of you never cross your boundaries again."

Hakai looked at his slightly damaged armor then at his hands that was under the case of metal. "This is the smell of a warrior, you would never in your years of life could relate to such achievments. Once I recover, my power will be heightened."

Rojy's face went serious before twisting into a huge grin giggling yet trying to avoid to flat out laugh, "Oh man... you're funny, this is why I followed you in the first place, man... If you're so worried about boundaries I'll be sure to keep my distance at all times, let's just hope it doesn't come to bit you in the ass... anyways I'm sure fuckface will eventually learn more indepth what mana or magic is... Although I don't believe we have any... you'd have pointed out the fact we have mana but you haven't... curoius... but seriously take a shower warrior pig."

"Bite me in the ass? What beast would go for such a foul area apart of my body? One fast enough to not fall to the ground before reaching me. He should get to learning soon if he plans on advancing in power. Before you lot end up dead, I don't know that strange ghost trick you do. It's not magic for sure. Even if you had mana I'd assume from the looks of you, it'd be hardly noticeable. What is this shower you speak of?"

Rojy paused as if to process what Hakai said before whispering under his breath, "you are as dumb as they come huh?" Rojy stopped leaning, standing upright and speaking clearly, "... I don't have anything else to say... I'll be going now" Rojy began walking to the exit before looking back at Hakai, "Oh and for next time... press the big red button on the thing... it toggles the saftey measures"

With no response Hakai watched Rojy walk to the self sliding door that was all over this strange building. Hakai looked at the device that enhances the rooms gravity once Rojy mentioned the red button. Hakai kept it notted, once Rojy left the room he smelled himself. Hakai left the room some time after Rojy.

 

[Gohan510]

=The Battle continues! Behemoths emerged!=
Involved: {Erza}
Where: Frontlines, Nortestra
When: CT
Nearby: Susan ( Juju )
Mentions: Sakujo ( Snackofthefuture ) & Hitori (Me)​

“The gigantic beast is called a behemoth and its weak point is the giant gem on top of its head. If you can somehow pierce through it should completely kill the creature.”

“Got it thank you for the information. Now let us push onward and hopefully end this chaotic battle.” In the back of Erza’s head she wanted to check on what the high magic powers in the city were, but her objective right now was to help hold the frontlines and hope for the best for those behind the other walls.

Erza watched as the two boys went their separate ways drawing the attention of their respective beast. She nodded looking dead at the Behemoth that roared in response to its brothers battle cries. Erza had a squad of Nortestra knights that aided her with any Mollug and Demon threat that came her way. Summoning her blade with flames she ran onward killing any Mollug or demon in her way.

The behemoth released flying and small crawler demons that used their arms to rush towards the Nortestra knights. Using her sword to aid the group of men she had tore through most of the weak links, but the assault kept going. Erza looked at the direction Hitori went as she felt his mana spike to higher levels realizing he must be releasing more of his power that he had hidden. Though why didn’t he use this same increase in power when they fought against Synthia and the others she had no idea. The behemoth fired off a beam towards a few knights that followed behind Erza, she held the handle of her blade with both hands swinging her blade at the beam. After the beam crashed against the blade the force made Erza slide back a bit, before she was able to deflect the beam sending it somewhere else on the battlefield. Which obviously might’ve been a wrong move considering there might’ve been people of Nortestra in the area of the explosion. Her sword glowed bright as she smirked slashing it at the beast which sent a crescent moon shaped attack that smacked the beast dead in the face giving it a decent sized cut that trailed through the side of its body making it cry in pain, at the same time it’s brother did that went after Hitori. Erza’s attention was shifted towards the direction of Hitori once she sensed him using mana and noticed the beam that shot towards the sky at an angle.

“That boy sure is powerful, that Sakujo fellow is talented too. From the looks of it summoned are all quite strong. I like this, a better challenge for me to grow stronger.”

Erza jumped back when some demons attempted to jump her and swung her blade swiftly killing them with ease. Mollug’s mages casted some fire balls, ice shards, and thunder bolts towards her and she attempted to get out of the way in time before being hit directly. When the smoke cleared she noticed a knight had risked his life for her taking all three spells head on falling over. She had anger in her eyes as she now resorted to using flash step killing the mages in nearly an instant.

The behemoth attempted to slam one of its front feet onto Erza, to those that noticed it seemed like she was smashed under the foot. A giant aura blade cut through the beast’s foot making it once again scream in pain taking a few steps backwards releasing itself from the blade. She had casted her Armageddon spell onto her blade and cut a few demons distance from her, but still in reach of the blade.

Her blade started to shine a bright flash charging up an attack, once it was ready Erza gripped the handle with both hands before doing a spin releasing a red tornado. “Sandstorm!” She shouted as the tornado ripped through the enemy forces taking some of their side out. Once the tornado hit the Behemoth’s left front leg it made it fall forward. The gigantic beast struggled back to its feet giving Erza the perfect opportunity. She saw the giant gem on the beast head remembering one of the knights mentioning that was the best way to defeat the massive creature. Taking the chance to run towards the beast at full speed she cut through any enemy still in her way as jumped on one of the Mollug soldier’s shoulder using it to launch herself towards the beast’s weak point. The force of her using the soldier made the man fall forward into a stab straight to the chest. Erza gripped her handle with both hands again raising her arms high over head before attempting to pierce it into the jewel, but was countered when the behemoth raised its head smacking Erza off backwards sending the girl flying. Bouncing across the street she finally landed on her back looking up into the clouded sky with a wince of pain spelled over her face. Getting back up she watched the behemoth trash through both demons, Mollug soldiers, and Nortestra knights rushing towards the scarlet haired girl. She smirked, gripping her blade in her right hand before her eyes shone a bright red.

“To think you beast aren’t so careless when you fight. I’m having fun with this big ass thing.”
Hitori Kage

=Let the battle continue! A new creature from bellow!?=
Hitori Kage​

Once it was clear there were three Behemoths within the area the three summoned had separated dealing with one. Hitori fought off the demons that came along with the behemoth with some Nortestra soldiers behind him aiding him. As the behemoth looked in his direction it let off an echoing battle cry before a ball of energy formed in its mouth. Hitori remembered this attack before parkouring onto a building roof and dashing towards the behemoth. Both his fists were encased in flame as he punched through any demons that attempted to attack him. Hitori noticed that Nortestra knights now had to deal with Mollug troops on top of that it was unfair, but many spells were being casted to help fend off the many forces that pushed for the crumble of their beloved country. As Hitori approached the behemoth he jumped towards it as it fired the beam towards Nortestra knights.

“Secret art!” Hitori clapped his hands together before trying to force them apart as a small ball of flames formed in between them. The ball grew once Hitori held his arms high over his head. “Kings Blazing Flame!” He launched the ball of flames that clashed against the beam and created a giant explosion which blew both sides back except for the giant monstrosity. Hitori flew backwards before sliding across the ground regaining his footing. Any demon or Mollug that was by the beast was blew to bits if caught in the explosion.

The behemoth emerged from the clouds created from the explosion and charged forward. Once the beast pushed onward Hitori got back up closing his eyes. His hair started to stand up changing yellow as a golden flame aura surrounded his body. The force of his release in power pushed some soldiers back. Opening his eyes, the color of them were now green. A demon with four arms which crawled on all of them leaped towards Hitori attempting to claw him, he countered the attack by back handing the beast into a building.

Turning towards the Nortestra knights that looked in awe Hitori had a glare in his eyes. They knew he wasn’t the same nice guy as before. “Handle these demons and Mollug troops. I'll deal with the big thing. Stay out of my way if you plan on living past today.”

“It’s called a behemoth, we’ll support you with our lives if what Reverend said was true then we owe you more than a thanks young sir!” One of the knights said raising his sword to the sky as the others followed into his lead. “FOR NORTESTRA!!!!!!!!!!!” The crowd shouted before running forward. The behemoth let out another roar while releasing flying demons from its body through small holes. Hitori watched the Behemoth stopping its feets towards him running over some of the Nortestra knights. He flashed stepped to a roof before the behemoth could slam its two front feets onto him, the slam created a massive crater and blew Nortestra knights and fellow demons away. The behemoth smashed a few of both sides under its feet, but its attention was being drawn by the massive magic power that was coming from Hitori. Ramming through the building Hitori was on the behemoth missed looking for him, turning to see he was on a building further away from the knights and other demons. It followed after him, releasing more flying demons that rushed towards Hitori.

Hitori crouched a bit cuffing his hands over each other cranking his arms to his side before a blue ball of mana started to form in his hand, glaring towards the small fry flying demons he had a smirk on his face before pushing his arms forward releasing the giant blue beam in the air towards the flying demons erasing all of them. “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!” Once the beam faded into small blue particles the Behemoth rushed onward smashing its head into the building Hitori was standing on, Hitori jumped out of the way in time slapping any debris that flew towards him. Sliding across a roof his feet consumed in flames released a small burst sending him flying towards the behemoth.

“Golden Blaze Secret Arts!!!!” His right fist was covered in the same golden flame as the aura that surrounded him. As he went for the punch in the side of the Behemoth's face the flame grew massive, burning a side of the beast's face. “Kings Fist!!!” Hitori flew backwards downward after connecting the hit which made the beast let out a cry in pain before swiping its head hitting Hitori knocking him down the block. Sliding across the ground Hitori had his arms crossed over his face blocking the attack. Hitori heard the ground rumble beneath him as it started to crack as well. It felt like something was under him planning to attack at any moment. Jumping upwards A dark behemoth emerged from the ground with its massive mouth open trying to devour Hitori. Once it closed its mouth Hitori landed on a nearby demon, but flashed stepped out of the way as the new beast attempted to claw him crushing the building under its hand.

“What the hell is that?!” Now Hitori had to deal with two threats he didn’t imagine would come against it. Was it that spell Synthia was casting when she hid in the tower from the fight earlier? No matter Hitori took the challenge head on getting into his respective fighting stance.

“I’m all fired up!”

 

[Juju]

Sir Nemu ☆ LV1 Hero || Super Gloop ☆ LV? SlimeInteraction: Solirus (Queen Hiba) seasonedcat (Grand Witch Clementine) Kaihaku (Caedmon man)​

Hiba flawlessly knocked the bloodbeast into the wall, causing it to stumble and hiss, while the other was forced momentarily to the ground.

"Go Queen Hiba!" Nemu cheered, pausing in her head-bonking to admire the woman's skills. Man, if only she had those cool kung-foo moves. Maybe she should ask her for lessons sometime? She watched the floored bloodbeast leap back onto its feet, shake itself, then lunge once more for Hiba. The other scurried to it's aid and tried to slash at her with a twisted claw. "Watch out!"

Meanwhile, Gloop continued his attempt in shaking off the bloodbeasts. The effort was consuming his energy, and since the beginning of combat he had already lost about 3 inches of height in mass. Not good. Nemu bonked the bloodbeast on the head again, but it didn't seem to be doing much. "It seems you hath forced mine hand, foul beast!" she said in the best knight accent she could muster, "Prepare thyself for mine secret technique! Glitterbomb!"

With a flourish, Nemu lobbed a vial of glittery substance at the beast's face. A burst of bright, shimmery lights erupted from it, temporarily dazing the nocturnal creature. It loosened its jaws on Gloop to bare its teeth towards something with actual blood. Thankfully, Clementine was there to throw a ball of flame at it before they ripped into Nemu's throat.

The bloodbeast hissed, undead flesh quickly catching afire. It fell backwards onto the street, howling and thrashing as its skin boiled against its bones. The other bloodbeast tried to move away, but was easily skewered by Clementine. Nemu stared at the splatter of blood and the dead monster, then to Clementine. "Holy shiitake! You actually killed them!"

Regardless of whether or not Hiba attacked them, the two remaining bloodbeasts froze in their stances. Their heads twitched, claws digging into the ground, then retreated into the shadows of the streets. The beast stuck to the wall by the shadow webs finally gnawed its way out and skittered up the side of the alley and out of sight. A blanket of quiet calm fell over the alley, broken only by the occasional rumble of thunder or crash of distant laser beams.

"Phew, that was pretty close! Good work you guys. Hiba, you good?How about you, Gloop?" The slime wiggled mysteriously, jiggling where he stood. Nemu dusted herself off, sticking out her tongue at the gross monster-blood that had fell onto her jacket. Of course, it didn't bother her after she saw Clementine's reaction. She approached the girl, hands out. "Um... Clementine, thanks for saving Gloop and um... me too. These were definitely vampire things so the blood is just stolen! It's gross, but think of it as... conjured blood! Don't worry, they are always just mindless and in all the movies killing them just releases their soul so you did the right thing. Here, let me get the... red stuff off. Minus sordes."

With a flick, Nemu did a quick cleaning spell to remove the blood from Clementine's hands and her clothing. She did the same for her own clothing. "There, just like new... I may suck at most spells, but I'm pretty good at cleaning stuff up! Auntie says it's the only thing keeping me off the streets! Hah ha..."

Nemu held the back of her neck awkwardly, not really sure how to cheer Clementine up. That's when Gloop resonated with another message from the Caedmon man.

"Kotori, Midyiel, can you heal him? Professor, do we need to amputate the limb? Gloop, is this gravity effect something you can absorb?" ​

"Yeah, Gloop can totally handle all sorts of magic! Leave it to us! Ah... does somebody need a healing cookie?" Nemu said loudly and clearly, not really sure if he could even hear her.

"I'm sorry Ivan. Can you pursue the traitor without me?" ​

Nemu turned to the others, playing with the hem of her hat. "Ohhhh! That must be the princess! I still can't believe it was her. Usually it's the butler."

​

"Indeed, what a tragedy that the city's sworn guardian has turned against it in the hour of most need... though I am sure her sins shall catch up with her in due time."

A voice sounded behind them, belonging to a pale woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Her ears were slightly pointed, like an elf, and she wore black armor engraved with a strange sigil. She stared at the three girls and the slime, dark eyes flickering between them like a hawk sizing up the distance between its claws and an awaiting rabbit. Twin blades rested at her hips, long and sharp, yet sheathed and far away from the hands she clasped loosely behind her back.

Beside her stood a knight garbed in Nortestran attire. He was silent with a glassy stare, one hidden mostly by the shadows of his helmet. The woman inclined her head in their direction, "Are these the ones you saw at the cathedral?"

The knight nodded and a practiced smile bloomed on the woman's pale face. "Salutations, summoned. My name is Lady Ellanora Nightshade, general of Mollug's liberation of Castellan. Forgive me for the dreadful circumstances of this meeting, but it seems your kind are seldom birthed in times of peace. You must have many questions about this world, perhaps you feel lost, but please allow me to assist you."

Her eyes latched onto Clementine, "Is your friend well? Clementine, was it? Do you wish for an escort to a medic? I am sure Sir Frederick would be more than happy to take you there. He knows these streets better than anyone, and is quite skilled with the sword."

 

[seasonedcat]

~Clementine~
Clementine felt her breathing spiral out of control, she felt herself losing grip on the reality around her. She could barely hear the resolution of the battle nor Nemu's voice. It all merged together as if she was far under the water. With the blood off her skin and clothing, she felt her focus sharpen as she shakily began to regain her breath. No longer was her hands soaked in the blood nor was it splattered anywhere on it.

She nodded at Nemu even though she knew she cared nothing for the beasts she killed. The only thing that got under her skin was the blood she had spilt before she had come to this world. She whipped her face as she regained her breath with each moment that passed. She placed her dagger back in its holder, feeling her chest get much lighter and easier to breathe without it in her hands.

Clementine froze up as she heard an unknown voice behind her. She quickly stood up on her shaky legs, ignoring her light stumble as she did so. She stood beside Nemu, placing herself just barely in front of her and off to the side, glancing at the woman, "N-no I am quite fine, I've succumbed to no injury." She spoke calmly as she glanced at the elvish looking lady before her. She glanced over them suspiciously, feeling nervousness grip at her heart at the unknown party before them. She knew not what they wanted but the idea of putting Nemu at any more risk caused her heart to squeeze painfully.
|interacted|@Juju |nearby|@Solirus

~Csilla~
Csilla's face turned into one of clear worry as she noticed her friend's discomfort. Ignoring the heavy pull in her muscles she approached her friend, placing her hand lightly atop the other girl's shoulder, "Kotori? Is everything well?" she spoke in a tone of worry. She glanced over the girl a few times, searching for a cause of said discomfort and finding nothing visible enough to be causing the other girl pain.

She then glanced up at her other friend, looking up at her larger friend in worry, "Wakinyan? Do you know what is wrong?" she asked the great beast and also her trusted ally before her. She felt panic grip inside her as she waited for a reply, "Is there any way I can help?" she added as well. If healing would help she would offer it immediately, though no open wound seemed to be on her which brought great concern to Csilla.
|interacted|@Juju

 

[Kaihaku]

Nathan, Aurora, Athena, and Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ collab
Location: Castellan, Nortestra. Second Ward Neighborhood
Interactions: Snackofthefuture (Nathan) Pai Chan (Aurora)
Mentions: Solirus (Sulric) StaidFoal (Constant, Bunch of People) Juju (Greymourne)​

​

Nathan grunted in pain as Frostfire’s knee smashed into his armor. Nathan dropped his axe to the floor with pain. Somehow she had dented the armor and even caused some damage to Nathan on the inside. She then grabbed his wrist, preparing for another attack. Nathan almost threw up from the knee to his stomach, but instead, he used Frostfire’s own grip to pull her face directly into his punching right fist. The blow knocked back Frostfire’s face, not even bruising her despite the armored metal adorning Nathan’s knuckles. Nathan then pulled her in for two more punches directly to the face.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ arched backwards at the repeated blows to her face and, for a second, it appeared that it was Nathan’s pummeling had her on the defensive. But then she brings her forehead forward into Nathan’s forehead with immense force. The crack is heard over the blizzard.

“Nathaniel… Such a noble name for a thug.” Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ breathes as she takes advantage of the headbutt to pull him close. Releasing her grip on his wrist, she wraps her arms around his torso entwining her hands together behind his back. If the scene were different, a passerby might think they were young lovers embracing but there’s no mistaking the crushing force of her grasp. Nathan’s hands are free but he can feel the pressure building slowly as the embrace squeezes tighter and tighter around his waist. His armor holds firm for now but it creaks under the strain.

The Xactian warrior was not expecting the headbutt much, so when Frostfire’s forehead connected with his metal helmet, Nathan was knocked back by its sheer force. Then as she went for a bearhug, Nathan, near panicking unsheathed his shortsword and shanked Frostfire in the side. The blade didn't enter very far at first, but Frostfire was forced to release the hug after Nathan cranked it and twisted the blade deeper in. Frostfire stumbled back and Nathan did the same, his body armor crumpled in multiple places now. The ice wall loomed over them, pressing up against their backs. Nathan growled, held up his hands in front of him and spoke again, “Perhaps I let my personal views get away with me. You are Summoned, my goal here is to find summoned. Xact will not care who brought you here.” Nathan and Frostfire were circling each other now.

Nathan was painfully aware of the ice wall surrounding them. He was even more painfully aware now of how strong Frostfire was. His armor was tough, but she had caused it to groan under her strength. He stayed low to the ground and edged, “Heheh, thug is rather harsh… but I guess I appreciate the compliment heheheh.”

Nathan looked at his axe, laying in the center of the ice circle. He held out his right hand and the axe flew right into his open palm. He grasped the explosive weapon for a moment and then smashed it into the ice wall, crushing it with an explosive finish.

The wall crumbled behind Nathan, and he then proceeded to shove the axe into a collecting pile of snow. The voice in Nathan’s head spoke up now for the first time in several hours saying, “Ask more questions Nathan, what the cult has taught you is not everything.” He then proceeded to crack his knuckles somehow despite the armor adorning his fists. Why was the voice of SIN telling him to question his beliefs? It didn't make much sense. The Xactian general then rolled his neck and heard a small pop. He then lowered himself into a fighting stance, both fists in front. “Tell me, why should I trust the word of a being of Virtue? Before we continue this fight, I must know, what is it that Virtue asked of you? Why are you here?”

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ touched the stab wound in her side, sealing it over with ice, as the SIN cultist suddenly decides to talk. She was disappointed that her grip holding him close had slipped, she had begun to enjoy the fun with the fight despite herself. It had been a long time, long years of imprisonment in the void between realities… She couldn't think about that now. She had to focus on getting the little one away from these two.

“Why should I say anything to a thuggish brute who triedz to chop me, an unarmed woman, in half with a battleaxe.” Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ notes coldly, crossing her arms as her eyes look pass him and through the blizzard beyond. Her species of dragon could see perfectly through ice and snow, it was why she had summoned the whiteout. This was a feat few other beings in her reality could match. She didn’t know if that was true here as well. She relaxes slightly as she spots Athena. She thought maybe he was trying to buy time for the other SIN follower to carry off the princess. She would have taken him then and gone after her later. “You would have killed Athena.” The barest of smirks twists her lips, as she adds sarcastically, “I barely survived...your brutal assault...”

“You twist this situation to suit you deceiver, I wish only for Athena to survive this, there is nothing to gain from her death. And as for you, The Summoned of Virtue are not to be trusted. Your appearance and flaunting of her symbol, well, it triggered my fighting instincts. You are not what you seem, I know that even more so now, given how little damage I have been able to inflict. If I cannot trust you, then there is no use in having you here.” Nathan glanced behind him, noting that the blizzard had covered up Aurora and Athena for the time.

Of course dear, you're not to blame. It was my fault for wearing that symbol. I apologize for making you try to kill me with a battleaxe. I realize now just how untrustworthy that not dying must have made me look. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ wondered darkly how the man expected her to respond, a dangerous light glimmering in her good eye.

As Aurora begins to return, Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ repeats the words of Virtue as well as she can remember them, “We were summoned for one purpose, to bring peace and prosperity to Valucia. To repair the damage done by SIN and his summoned.” She leaves out the rest intentionally, instead saying loud enough for Aurora and Athena to hear, “You madman! I thought you were going to cut her down! There is no time for this. I need to help Athena fake her death before... Don’t you understand? She isn’t facing normal threats!”

Nathan growled and responded in a voice loud enough to carry over the snow. “Stow your lies summoned, I would not harm a hair on her head. And faking her death? She carries no influence as a dead princess. This city needs to know its rulers have survived. Hope is a precious commodity, to announce her death would be foolishness. Perhaps it would throw off pursuers, but will the people continue to fight knowing those guiding them have perished? I do not see merit in that plan.”

The confirmation that the man cared nothing for Athena's life but only her influence was little comfort to Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊. It would be a waste of breath to point out the fallacy. That disappearing the heir to the throne just to have her suddenly appear in Xact would be just as bad for morale. It was a clear demonstration to the people fighting that their leader had no faith in them and, worse, that the leader was a coward who abandoned their country for their own personal safety. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ didn't care about Nortestra as a nation or the morale of it's defenders, so she had no qualms in faking Athena's death and having her disappear forever. But for this one it had never been about restoring hope or maintaining fighting morale. Xact wanted influence over Nortestra and it was as simple as that. SIN was involved too. Probably some depraved scheme to keep the wars going forever. She needed to connect with the other Virtuous ones. She needed to take Virtue's mandate more seriously.

"That's enough!" Aurora spoke in a slightly raised voice but was somehow clearly heard above the fighting and the howling winds. The priestess was guiding Athena back towards the others by hand and had heard all she needed to hear.

"We don't have the time to fight amongst ourselves. Not here and not now. Right now we have a similar goal. That is to get the princess to safety. I do believe that the window grows, only, smaller as time progresses." Aurora turned to Nathanial.

"We don't have the luxury in being nitpicky in our allies right now. For now the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Religious beliefs should not be of importance right now." The priestess then turned to Frostfire. "And shame on you. You claim you are here to protect the princess and yet you thrust her out alone and blind, in this blizzard, with people coming for her in the middle of a war torn land? We will have a civil discussion after we get the princess to safety."

“I was protecting her from the madman who tried to chop my head off with an axe just for talking and from you because you’re with the axe murderer.” Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ snaps back at the placid priestess. It was obvious that the priestess was not overly bothered by her partner’s attempt at casual murder. This was probably a common occurrence to them. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ wasn’t particularly outraged by their attitude, she had casually eaten people when she was a few millennium younger, but it was a sign that they wouldn’t hesitate to harm Athena or anyone else. The priestess’ priority was keeping the princess close at hand; clearly part of their scheme to carry her off to this Xact Empire in order to completely corrupt Athena and turn her into a tool of SIN. The piety act was wearing thin but cultists weren’t known for their rationality. “Don’t think you can feed me more lies about ‘opposition to SIN and his ideals’... I see exactly who you are.”

“Heheh, you know nothing of me O’ Virtuous one. But I know something of you; No Summoned is ever truly unarmed. You know nothing of the situation you have been thrust into. Scripture states that SIN is the only thing standing between Valucia and The Authority. Virtue is a pawn of greater forces whereas SIN is not.” Nathan grabbed his axe and tightened his grip on the haft, the head of it buried in the snow. The shortsword still gripped in the other hand. This summoned was cunning, that much was apparent, but she still did not understand the danger her presence signified. Summoned were destroyers and conquerors of worlds. Nathan had seen a threat opposite to his beliefs and had decided ridding the world of the threat quickly was the best option. However, his speed in attacking her may have shown him as reckless and violent and this he regretted as Aurora had been watching. She was most definitely more the type to solve things with words rather than violence. Violence was a last resort to the goddess, and Nathan had opened with it. But Nathan was a general of Xact, and it was his job to make important decisions quickly for the benefit of his home.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ was not a religious being. Her home reality had not had deities, at least not personified ones, but she was grateful to Virtue for rescuing her and felt that Virtue had sent her here to save the princess. The fact that these two SIN worshippers were here only confirmed the validity of Virtue’s warnings. She had always intended to study the lore around SIN and Virtue, when there was time, but she was now more inclined to believe Virtue after how these two reacted to the mere sight of her mark. One had tried to lob off her head and the other had prioritized grabbing Athena, not stopping the murder attempt. If she had been Felicia she would have been killed and, no doubt, the two would be happily on their way to the Xact Empire right now.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ sighs. “I’m not letting you take her to Xact. We find Nortestran troops loyal to the princess. There should be many stationed on the walls except for in the area that was breached.” The section of the wall where she had turned Rook away from demolishing the city had had a barracks. There should still be Nortestran troops there. She knew, of course, that these two would try to take the princess to Xact anyway. They were here to accomplish some political objective, they didn’t care for this young woman’s life any more than they cared for her’s. She turns to look at the princess and adds, “First, she needs to change into civilian clothing. We should put her royal garb on a corpse to throw off the…” She trails off, not finishing the sentence to identify who she is talking about.

“You… You don’t give the orders here. This is my kingdom.” Athena states abruptly, raising a hand to point commandingly at the frostfire princess. Her words may be strong but her voice is hoarse and shaken. Who could she still trust? Not Greymourne. It had to be Sulric. He was the only one who would never betray her. She turns to point her finger at Nathaniel, “And you, put away that axe.”

She swallows dryly, then turns to the priestess, making an attempt at speaking with authority, “I shall change into less conspicuous garments. Lead the way to a house where we might obtain some.” She hesitates, then glances back at the frostfire princess, her words thick with scorn, “Felicia. You may find a corpse to dress in my royal attire. Do try to find one with hair that matches mine.”

Nathan made one last remark to Frostfire before turning to Athena. “Hopefully news of her death will spread slowly, a triumphant reveal of her alive so soon after might be taken as false or reinvigorate the defenders. It could fall either way. And you underestimate how important Athena is to Xact. And how important Xact is to Athena. You don't understand our world’s politics and I don't expect you to, but put simply, Xact is on the brink of war with Mollug whereas Nortestra is near the end. To say they are tapping out in exchange for us, would be accurate. We need Athena so that Nortestra might recover, with our aid. And should this war go badly, we will need whatever Nortestra can bring to bear.”

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ listened to the General's words stoically. He did like to pontificate but at least the mask was off and he was showing his true agenda. This was extremely valuable information. His political calculation was wrong, of course, because soon there wouldn't be a Nortestra, Xact, or Mollug. There would be only Valucia. The Virtuous would put a stop to these endless wars. It was important to know that Xact was a stronghold of SIN.

Nathan then turned to Athena and said, “This kingdom will not be yours for long should you continue to refuse Xact’s aid. If Xact does not enter the war with Mollug, Nortestra will fall, even with the Summoned. You defeat this army, The High Councilor will simply send another, and then another after that. Xact can and will save your nation, you need only cooperate for the time being.” Nathan loosened his grip on the two handed axe and then swung it around in a circle over his head to sheath it on his back. “We will settle this another time, Summoned.”

“Watch your tongue.” Athena snaps back at the soldier from Xact. Who did this man think he was? She didn’t need him to explain the situation. She certainly wouldn’t accept his unveiled threats. She had set these pieces in motion herself. Xact was not going to save her nation. Felicia was not going to save her nation. Providence was not going to save her nation. She was going to save her nation. Xact would be a strong partner to replace Providence but only on her terms. She would have no negotiating power if they just carried off to Xact now. Someone else might take advantage of her absence to usurp the throne. Then she’d have a coup and civil war to deal with. No. No. Xact’s backing was a welcome development but she needed to stay here. This battle would be won soon. Brother Beast would...would… Why hadn’t he turned already? Had Mikhail somehow convinced him to betray her too? “Nortestra has long enjoyed good relations with the Xact Empire. You risk them now with words far above your station.” She needed to reassert control, show her dominance, but her voice cracks as she speaks, “I know the Emperor well and I will speak with him about your conduct.” It was a bluff, Athena had only met the man a handful of times and exchanged some formal correspondence.

Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ observed the exchange with her good eye narrowed, thinking through the options to take Athena away from these SIN worshippers. She had tested the strength of the warrior and was satisfied that she could best him. The priestess was still an unknown but to her eyes that could see magic it was clear the priestess was the more dangerous threat. The magic coming off of her was very powerful and Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ had a weakness to holy magic. She couldn't risk being defeated here. She had planned to send one of them to find a corpse but the princess had elected to send her instead. She was a troublesome little one. She knew the two SIN worshippers would take advantage of her absence. They cared nothing for the young woman herself, only for exploiting Nortestra’s vulnerability. Frostf̷̥̥̖̤̮̝̯̥͉̼́͊̃͌̒͆͗͘͠ḯ̷̧͂̐̔͌̈́͠ŗ̴̰̬̟̬̯̰͚͉͗̊͝é̵̙̖̾̊̊ quietly turned and walked away down a side street. She had something else in mind than finding a corpse.

Nathan raised an eyebrow and said nothing, simply walking over to Athena and staring down at her. He patted her shoulder twice and said, “Lashing out at me will achieve nothing. I have been granted full permissions to act for the Xact Empire. I am here to judge the situation and help as many to survive as possible. If you truly think staying here will save more lives, then I will assist you. But if you want Xact’s assistance then you must consider coming with me once this situation is stable.” Nathan kept his hand on her shoulder for a second and looked into Athena’s eyes. “This war has done a number on you huh? I know that empty stare.”

“Don’t you dare touch me!" Athena snaps at the man as she slaps away his hand. She tried to sound indignant but her voice wavered. She was terrified. She had seen what this man could do. She glances around in a panic for Felicia. Her panic grows as she realizes that...that Felicia was gone… When had she? Of course, it was Athena herself who had sent her away. Dismissed her to find a corpse. Why… Why was she looking for Felicia… She didn't need Felicia. She didn't need that...perfect... Athena swallowed dryly, trying to regain her composure. No. No. She would never rely on Felicia. She didn’t need Felicia. When she had the opportunity she’d...she’d take care of Felicia...again...and ensure an end to that prophesy...

As the conversation between everyone carried on Aurora thought to herself. The blizzard seemed to be lessening up. Maybe it wasn’t natural after all. Aurora had a suspicion but her focus was elsewhere.

She wanted to apologize for everything that had progressed in the past several minutes. She wanted to get the princess to safety and complete their mission so the priestess could save the lives of the people in trouble, within the city. Everytime Aurora felt like straying a little bit to check on a burning house or a collapsed building for survival a single phrase echoed in her mind.

“For the greater good…”

It was something that was drilled into her consciousness constantly. Ever since that day…

The princess’ sudden, energetic words, made Aurora snap back to the present. She merely smiled at the girl’s attitude. It was certainly an improvement from earlier. While the light hadn’t completely returned to Athena’s eyes there was a spark, now, at least. The princess reminded the priestess of the royalty of her home world. They wanted to keep a sense of authority. How else would you lead the people? So, even though Athena was lashing out, it was progress. Something Aurora can’t heal through her magic.

When the woman saw Nathan approaching the princess she tensed up for a moment but breathed a sigh of relief when he put his hand on her shoulder.

“We understand you are a princess but this isn’t a regular task. Your land is under siege and you are being hunted. To stay in the place where a price is, likely, on your head is an unnecessary risk. We aren’t saying you permanently stay in Xact. But we are saying it is a place where you can stay without having to constantly look over your shoulder. While I admit that having a decoy would diminish the hopes of the people and potentially crush morale it would have to suffice if we cannot persuade you to come with us. We would just have to have faith in this woman’s plan. For the greater good.” Aurora already began walking forward. “Now, about changing out of those clothes, princess.”

Athena follows in silence, noticing as the blizzard fades to flurries with a sinking feeling in her gut. If...if only she had her guards... If only the old fool hadn't wasted them... If...if only...