Fantasy The Kingdom of Xorn IC.

[LadyOfStars]

Maat - High Sorcerer, The Necromancer
Location: Aegrizora
​

As he moved through the corridors of the massive tree and passed by every beautiful window, Maat noticed more and more that there were soldiers moving about in a manner that was different from their usual day to day. As he entered the Great Hall with a cautious pace, his mind ran over all the possible causes for the change in routine and each reason was more exciting than the last. What woke the necromancer fro: his daydreaming was the sound of his mentor’s voice addressing him by rank. His silver gaze focused on her form and the grace of her appearance. She and Azura were without a doubt the most fashionable of their family, but they also seemed the most graceful and the most proper. Those traits made it much easier for the mortal sorcerer to get along with the two divine beings.

“Good morning, Marshal. You needn’t worry about the tremors, they’ve become second nature to me now.” As he expected, something had occurred that required them to mobilize the troops based here in Aegrizora. Whatever the reason, Maat was ecstatic to be doing something that would give him the chance to utilize his magic. “Whatever the news, I feel nothing but despair for the enemy that faces this army.” Maat turned away from Altera and directed his attention to the soldiers that moved about with perfect form. It was evident that Altera’s hard work had paid off in overseeing these soldiers.

“Since I have a bit of free time I guess I’ll make the most of it by preparing, like the rest of them.” Maat lazily gestured to the masses of soldiers, his fingers dancing in the air momentarily. “Should you have need of me, I’ll be in the stables, preparing Apophis for travel.” As he bowed his head, Maat swept his cape behind himself and then turned away from Altera. While missing even a single moment of training was disappointing, it was more beneficial to use his skills in the field, so he couldn’t complain. On top of that he understood that Altera had a a lot of responsibility, with her brother being the way he is. Sighing softly he started headed back into the tree to prepare his things.

 

[Shadowfall]

The princess of Crastor, the sole inheritor of the crown had spent the last few hours just outside the battlefield, inside the tents where the kingdom's tacticians resided, nudging figures representative of groups of men around a model of their city. Reports were fed into the tent from a stream of couriers, and the men who commanded the flow of combat shifted the figures as the needs of the battlefield beckoned to be answered. Black obelisks representative of monsters besieged crept to the walls. The field between the city and the wall of monster figures was growing smaller and smaller as generals inched the monsters closer and closer.

At the head of the table stood Myra, her eyes closed as if in meditation, a multitude of hands that sprouted from her back, plucking and picking at invisible strings in the air. Her head jerked left and right, conflicting expressions flashing across her face. Pain, rage, then ease, over and over again.

"Send Captain Wasnick and his men to the eastern turret, and rein in the sky cav from the northern front to the west-facing gatehouse. A large force of-"

She cut herself off, screaming in pain as she clutched at her leg. The tacticians and couriers paused and stared at the princess. Blood trickled down her leg, a small hole had appeared on her upper thigh.

"Princess Myra, you shouldn't-" She held a finger to the concerned courier, her expression grim as she reached for a roll of gauze that had sat expectantly at the end of the table amongst a small pile of others just like it.

"Send Lieutenant Tarq to the west gatehouse this instant!" She said through gritted teeth, wrapping up her fresh wound as she did. The room was still, until she snapped her head up to the battle-hardened generals and veterans of war that had surrounded her. "I SAID NOW! YOUR QUEEN'S LIFE IS IN DANGER!" She commanded, and the room sprung to life once more. An armored man rushed past the tent on horseback, leading a cadre of riders out the gates as soon as she spoke.

She returned to her meditation, seeing through her sister's eyes once more. More blood throbbed out of her leg as she did, her thigh slowly replicating the wound that plagued her sister. A creature was somewhere in the mist, and from what thoughts she had skimmed, her sister knew exactly what it was.

Myra leveled a finger at a courier that waited her very order, who immediately perked up at the mere suggestion of her command. "Prepare a medical tent for Queen Aria. She has a wound much like my own. Go." She said, shooing him off to ensure her sister's life was in the best hands they could possibly be in.

Her consciousness drifted away from her wounded sibling back to the battlefield. Archers fired volley after volley into the monsters through magical membranes. Her muscles tensed with each draw, and relaxed as the archer she was watching let go of the arrow. She spectated a soldier slaying a monster, driving his blade through the beast's skull, and felt the visceral satisfaction of bloodying his weapon with the innards of an enemy. The ends of her lips twitched in sanguine sympathy. She knew was it was like to get her hands dirty.

She surveyed the battle further, standing on shaky legs, issuing commands to the soldiers of Crastor. Her kingdom would not fall. Not today, not tomorrow, not while she was alive.

FearItself

 

[AnonyMouse]

Quorra
Location: Xaxxis, ramparts
Mentions: FearItself ​

"I fear we may have a more dangerous threat coming soon,” The Porecelain King said. “I am sure you have noticed by now...all of our scouts are dead, they perished as I walked. They are well trained to escape and avoid conflict leading me to believe that whatever killed them is either very fast or very intelligent. Possibly both, they all perished within a minute of one another."

As Quorra listened to his words, a tremor shook the ground and they both knew it was no mere earthquake. This wave wasn’t going to be like the others. This wave might be Xaxxis’s last…

Abraxis seemed to know it, too. The time for talk was done. "I require an escort," he said before turning and stepping off the edge of the wall.

“Escort? Heh, I’ve been called worse,” Quorra said with a shrug and a small laugh. Guess I won’t be making it to the blacksmith after all, she thought as she headed back up the stairs to the ramparts. Once there, she stopped and looked to her left: thousands of archers lined the walls. She looked to her right, thousands of mages. Beside her was a young mage, his hands trembling as he gripped his staff.

“You there,” she said, getting the young boy’s attention. He looked to her with fear in his eyes. The fear that everyone and everything he knew and loved was about to be wiped off the face of Parrune and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Quorra couldn’t have that; she would give him something to do. “Do you remember what I said earlier? This city won’t fall, as long as….”

He swallowed the lump in his throat and croaked out a response: “as long as you have breath in your lungs and Xaxxian steel in your hands.”

“Atta boy.” She clapped him on the shoulder and smiled as she knelt before him and pressed a gold coin into his hands. “I’ve a job for you, young man. I need you to keep me armed, okay? I don’t care how you do it, but your king and I are counting on you. I could kill a thousand of these things with my bare hands, but this is the Iron City. They ought to die with cold steel in their hearts, don’t you think? It’s only fair, right, for all they’ve put us through.”

The young mage nodded. She could tell he didn’t have a clue how he would fulfill her request, but that was beside the point. He had a purpose now.

She gave him one last smile before taking to the skies. The gust of wind from her powerful wings nearly blew him off of his feet. Seconds later, Quorra landed at Abraxis’s side and matched his pace. She drew her broken longsword as they walked together toward the horde. “I gotta hand it to you. For a china doll, you got some serious brass balls, but I don’t think we’re gonna punch our way outta this one. I hope you have a plan, because I’m all out.”

At that very moment, something came whistling through the air from behind her. A longsword landed on the ground at her feet, like an arrow loosed from the city walls. Quorra grinned as she tossed aside her broken one and picked it up.

“Not gonna lie, this place is growing on me.”

 

[TheresaMelania]

Nyx
Location: Emerald Palace
Interaction: Huntertabbysandshark3 FearItself​

Nyx sat in one of the meeting rooms of the palace, sitting in a dark blue formal dress she wore for special occasions and meetings with important diplomats. In the middle of the soft couches sat a dark wooden table with various appetizers and desserts resting in the middle. Her gaze flicked between the plate of triple-chocolate brownies in front of her and the door that she expected Ambassador Gorb to come through. Can I make it look like none of it was touched if someone comes in. She considered it but clearly decided no since she visibly deflated and sighed. Instead she sat back in the couch and picked up the book that rested next to her and opened to one of the many dog-eared pages and a soft smile curved her lips at the familiar story. Once this meeting is over I should go talk to Sol. If there are any brownies with me they're coming with. I wonder how the meeting with the generals went. There she waited until Gorb and his lizard folk guard arrived for their meeting. When they entered, ushered in by one of her royal guard, she rose effortlessly and smiled brightly. “Welcome, Ambassador. It’s a pleasure to see you again. Please take a seat and help yourself to some of our refreshments, then we shall get started.”

~~

Inya
Location: Outside Emerald Palace
Interaction: Absurdisan​

Seijet’s gentle teasing in her triple-voice made Inya chuckle even as she felt her brother move through the air toward the city gate. She assumed he was going to make some announcements and likely to meet with the gate marshal. “Ah well, it’s good to know that even your sight is not infallible in the face of mortal whimsy. But truly I was caught in an impromptu meeting with one of the captains who has been feeling some stress about the upcoming battles.” As she spoke, she shrank from her giantess form into a human form which looked near-identical other than the size difference. Conversations were simply slightly easier when one did not have to speak down to one’s friends. “But enough about that, what happened with the meeting with father? What news is there?”

~~

Aakila
Location: Inside Xorn
Interaction: Absurdisan​

The process to get into the city had been an interesting ordeal but not too difficult for certain. One man, a lizard folk, had seemed in charge of the entire operation. She was quite certain that he knew there was more to her story than simply being a demigoddess who had chosen to live elsewhere and was now returning to Xorn as a refugee. But it didn’t matter much since he had allowed her into the city. She had also gotten through all their necessary lessons on government and such, though they had not been difficult for her by any means. Now it was time to find herself a position and a goal and she had one in mind. Now to find the right person to talk to and make it happen.

~~

Kaiden
Location: Xorn City Gate
Interaction: FearItself Amyleii​

Kaiden noticed Ghett hurtling through the air toward the wall before landing on the steel reinforced area nearby. The metal against emerald sound made him grit his teeth but he didn’t show it. He stood to attention in recognition of his general’s presence and looked the large giant in the eyes as he delivered his report. “So far, the screening is going well, sir. The worst complication was when Erra showed up to argue about the procedures for illness and quarantine. I allowed her to set up a station outside the gate,” he gestured to the tented area where a few healers including Erra looked over the incoming refugees before either allowing them to continue on or held them for quarantine and healing. “It’s a security concern for the healers if something or someone attacks but its safer for the city if a plague doesn’t get through the gate.” Upon completing his update, Kaiden’s eyes moved to the area beyond the gate and on the horizon, checking for any threats at distance before looking closer and then back at Ghett. “There was also an interesting woman, a demigoddess lizard folk, that I did not recognize who made her way into the city about a week ago. Claimed she was a refugee and wanted to make a living in the city. She made it through all the checks, but I would suggest keeping an eye on her. So far she has not caused any trouble.”

~~

Minnel
Location: Sky Paladin War Room
Interaction: ArchAngelLexi FearItself PhantomSamurai​

Minnel stood at the head of the giant round table across which was spread a map with the area between Xorn and Hightower, including the Mountains of Symbol, centered on the table. Her headdress held down one corner of the map leaving her hair to flow freely in the light breeze that came in through the windows. A deep frown furrowed her brow as she considered the best path for them including potential landing points for rest, especially right before they entered the area of concern around Hightower. While it was important to arrive as soon as possible to aid the giants, it was equally as important to make sure they weren’t exhausted when entering the fray. “It should take about six hours to fly the entire way, but we need to make certain we are fully rested before arrival. Perhaps the edge of the mountain range here, though we would need to still be watchful for any threats over the night while resting,” she gestured to the locations on the map and looked up to her marshals.

 

[Gravitys Momentum]

Silene

Location: Ports of Xorn
Interactions: Gravitys Momentum FearItself​

Silene stood next to where her ship was docked, its sails furled as the crew clambered all over the hull and the masts, checking that everything was ship-shape and ready to go. As usual, she sang as she worked and supervised, buoying the morale of those under her command. Her words lilted and flowed like the water they all called home and mixed with the voices of her crews as they worked. As their General approached the docks, however, she fell silent and listened to his command. It seemed something big had happened indeed and she was curious what they’d find in the Isles. “Finish the preparations,” she ordered the nearest commander before sweeping away toward where her General was waiting and the other marshals were heading.

Uku

Location: Ports of Xorn
Interaction: TheresaMelania
​

Uku watched the waves crash against the shores and sighed. He heard the admiral had arrived from his sailors as well as the latest orders, while he was patching up some injuries a couple of his men sustained during a brawl. These idiots always fooling around, but they're my idiots. Uku stretched having spent most of the day in the medical bay and got up. Time to greet Karg.

"Men, prepare the supplies, we leave port by 'morrow morn!" Uku walked to the admiral's quarters.

Coralius
Location: Ports of Xorn​

There was a cave filled with bubbling water surrounded by cragged rocks. Coralius bristled as he awoke from his slumber. His spine jutting out and he shivered, the rocks crumbling away as he stood. He had stayed in there for some months but now he felt war in the water. With every vibration in the water he saw fearsome beasts, this war will not be like the others. The water rose and dropped as he left, the fans on the sides of his head flared and opened. And the cave he left bloomed as corals grew rapidly from little frags. Every step he took was a bit of coral, without water a white spot on the ground, but with a vast forest flourished. Coralius went to Karg's office.

Karg
Location: Ports of Xorn
Interaction: FearItself​

He entered his office, a cluttered room filled with plethora of nautical equipment. Stacks of maps cluttered a corner and one wall was covered in blueprints of various ship designs. A large cabinet was full of all sorts of seashells, dazzling with various colors. A desk near the back of the room with bottles of his own ink and a large globe were the centerpiece of his office. In front of them though was a long table with seats for personnel and on it was a battle map with tiny ship figurines. At the back of the room were wide windows that opened onto a balcony.

Karg pulled out maps of the Isles as the navy prepared for leave. They should be coming around this time.

 

[Shadowfall]

Nimah and Atheia
Fields of Battle, Xaxxis
By TheresaMelania and Shadowfall ​

The two women made their way to the nearest barracks, just on the wall. A vast training ground sat barren of soldiers; they were busy sharpening their blades against monster hide. This left Atheia and Nimah alone to spar. The openness of the barracks was jarring for Atheia at first, but she had ample experience with conventional training grounds, and easily navigated to the sparring circles, and had armed herself with a single wooden sparring sword, and tossed another into Nimah’s hands.

“Swordplay with people is different than fighting a monster. All the familiar tells a person has are just amplified with a monster, so once you get good at finding tells, you’ll get good at killing monsters.” She stood only a few feet from the center of the circle, waiting expectantly for her opponent to approach. Her stance changed completely, her non-dominant foot forwards, led by her dominant sword wielding hand. It’s as if she challenged Nimah to a duel just by standing there.

Nimah caught what was essentially a wooden stick imitating a sword and gave it a glance before scrunching up her face in an expression of distaste. But she valiantly grasped it in her hand, taking up the standard sword fighting stance which she had been taught in her childhood with her sisters. “Tells, huh? So what sort of things do you mean?” she asked casually before making the first testing strike at Atheia, slashing up and to the right for her first strike. Her eyes narrowed slightly but didn’t seem to rest on any one place as if she was anticipating a certain attack but instead looking for any movements like a twitch of a leg or an arm.

Atheia casually deflected the strike, swiping her blade downwards, chambering her strike by turning it aside. “See?” She stepped into Nimah’s guard and gently tapped at her ribs with a fist in a singular, swift motion. “Monsters just do the same thing, but longer, and with more openings.” The huntress stepped outside such close proximity to her friend, and back to a fighting stance. “Try again. Focus on openings, watch my chest. Every move I make is telegraphed right here.” She tapped her sternum to indicate where Nimah's eyes should follow before readying herself again. Instinctively, Atheia hopped forwards into a stab, thrusting her wooden blade at Nimah.

Nimah watched Atheia’s movements as she demonstrated the deflection and then tapped her ribs with her fist. Her keen eyes were focused and you could almost see the thoughts going on inside her head, though they were just as likely on how to properly describe this during story-telling as they were on the fight itself. She nodded slowly when Atheia gestured at her chest and waited for her to move. Just as Atheia had suggested, Nimah focused on the other woman’s sternum to watch for any tells and just barely saw the chest rotation which gave away the stab. In a fluid motion she side-stepped closer to Atheia and deflected the blade away just a moment before making an open palmed strike to the solar plexus, though she certainly wasn’t hitting hard enough to knock the wind out of or injure her friend. Her eyes flicked up to Atheia’s, “How was that?” she asked.

The huntress grinned at her friend’s retaliation. “You could work on the-” She was cut off by the sound of the ground rumbling, and her entire body trembling in place. Her grin washed off her face, replaced by solemn knowingness of what that tremor meant. “We’ve got monsters.” She briefly considered her options: She could bring Nimah somewhere safe and join the rest of the soldiers and heroes outside the walls, or she could bring Nimah along and show her the best way to learn is through real experience.

She stabbed her sword into the dirt, and unsheathed her twin blades, tossing Nyx, a shortsword as dark as night, to Nimah. “Let’s go! The best way to learn is by fighting real monsters!” She shouted as she rushed off to the gates.

Nimah threw her wooden “sword” to the ground and snatched the shortsword’s hilt, a small squeak of surprise from the weight of the sword versus what she had been expecting. She lifted the blade in her right hand, feeling the heft and the change in the center of gravity of her movements with that arm. After that brief moment to become accustomed to the weight, as much as she could, she ran after and toward the battlefield. A small but fierce grin in anticipation of new experiences and stories to tell. “What sort of monsters are attacking?” she yelled and hoped her voice would carry over the din of others heading to and from the field.

The surge of other noises and voices grew as they neared the gate. A mass of people had conglomerated around the gate, flooding behind what she supposed was the king of Xaxxis. She had never met the man, but she assumed he was brash, foolish, or making a show of power to be marching head on into danger. She waved the bard to follow her as she jumped up a series of steps that led up the battlements, two at a time. Peering over the crenellated wall, she saw the mass of creatures that had marched on the steel city. Milky white eyes, large snouts, stony skin, and massive claws that dug into the earth as they pawed the ground. Two figures stood against them, ahead of the city’s defenders. Some sort of oversized doll, and somebody she would have trouble trying to forget; Quorra and her merry band of death cultists. From the way the two had been walking, she couldn’t help but feel a welling sense of anger in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t going to be outdone by her demigod rival and some rich princess’s third birthday gift. “Give me a minute Nimah, I have to do something.”

An archer stood among his peers, eyes dead set on the encroaching horde. “Hey, do you have more of those-” Atheia began as she put the man to sleep before he could even turn his head to formulate an answer. The soldier slumped to the ground, dropping his bow and lightly loosing an arrow that clumsily tumbled down the wall. Atheia snatched the bow from the man’s hands and borrowed an arrow from his hip-bound quiver. The arrow took a dip into a nearby brazier and was angrily drawn and fired, the orange comet soaring over the battlefield, over the heads of the two leaders, and into the forehead of one of the baying creatures. It screamed in agony, before falling over, dead.

Wordlessly, she tossed the soldier’s bow onto his body, leaned over the wall, and propped her leg over one of the crenellations.

The sounds of the battle and the sights down below the walls sank into Nimah and she took them in, both horrified and strangely giddy at being so close to the action. Surely this would be a battle spoken and sung about for ages and she would be the first to do so after experiencing it first hand. She dogged Atheia’s steps, watching the winged woman on the battlefield with the King of Xaxxis, until she noticed out of the corner of her eye Atheia with the archer who slumped into peaceful sleep during a battle to defend his city. Truly, this didn’t bother Nimah much. When the flaming arrow arched toward its mark and landed square in a beast’s forehead, she let out a small cry of excitement and gripped the shortsword in her hand so tightly it hurt. Turning to express her amazement to Atheia, she noticed the other woman preparing to go over the wall and directly down to the battlefield. “Atheia, wait! Is that the best idea?” she reached out for her friend’s arm, wanting to yank her back but knowing that might not be the safest plan for her.

The huntress looked back to Nimah, her eyes wild. “I’m not going to just let them take all the credit! These fucking demis think they can just show us up with their big powers, walking out there by themselves because they think they’ve got the BALLS? I’ve been killing monsters for months, defending this city from the forests, and suddenly that porcelain asshole thinks it’s time that enough of his people died screaming his name for help?” Her brow narrowed, and her breathing intensified. “I’m not going to let Abraxis absolve himself because he wanted to fight this once. I’m going out there too, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” She shouted, shrugging Nimah’s hand off.

“Hey, hey. Let’s at least approach this in a way less likely to get us both killed. You said you’d teach me how to handle this and I’m telling you now that where you go, I’m following.” Nimah moved to place herself more in Atheia’s field of view, holding the shortsword given to her just slightly in front and ready to go. “So if you jump over that wall right now, I’m going with you and I’m not sure how that’s going to go. And if I get killed or hurt or you get hurt, it’ll be difficult to show them, right?” She wasn’t certain if this was the best avenue but hoped that concern for her would at least give her pause. “Instead we can make our way down there the normal way and figure out the best positioning on the battlefield. I’ve got a few tricks that might help. How does that sound? We’ll still be going out there.”

Atheia’s breathing began to slow as she regained some amount of control over herself. “Fine.” She said to herself, slowly processing what Nimah had just said. “Fine.” Her breath calmed, and her eyes stuck to the floor. “Thanks.” She muttered, before pulling up her face mask once more, slipping back into her battle mentality. “We’ll go through the gate towers and leave that way, since the gates themselves haven’t opened yet.” She gestured at a door just a few feet away from them, which lead down the tower and outside the walls of Xaxxis. “Then we take the fight to the monsters. Not like he would ever know what that’s like.” She verbalised loudly, before bursting through the door and stomping down the stairs of the gate tower.

A sigh of relief escaped Nimah only after her friend started heading down the gate tower steps but she only allowed herself a moment of relief before following briskly. She kept the sword at the ready but a part of her began focusing inward, preparing to use the abilities the Crone had trained her in for a fight she was certain was like nothing she’d experienced before. “So what’s the plan,” she called down the steps, “Is there a plan? Do we try to ambush the monsters somewhere or something? I’ll follow your lead, whatever it is.”

Atheia was silent as Nimah prodded her for a plan, stopping in the middle of the stairway just as the exit came in sight. “I’m going to be honest Nimah. I don’t have a plan. I just want to prove I’m just as good, if not better than that self-absorbed prick and his death-god courtesan outside.” She inhaled briefly, then exhaled. “We’re going to stay here for a little bit.” She turned her head slightly to the right. “You’re going to stay here for a little bit. I’m going to try and score a few more kills, then I’ll come back for you when the fighting really starts.” She turned back to the door and started to slowly step down the stairs. “I promise I’ll come back. Just sit tight for a little, okay?”

She didn’t wait for a response as she rushed out the door to meet the king of Xaxxis and the leader of her own cult. Her blade was at the ready, and a handful of throwing knives glinted in the sunlight. The huntress stopped next to Abraxis, panting. “Already out here to show off? Why don’t you actually bring your armies to fight for once? Or did they all die screaming in your name?” She said spitefully. Atheia didn’t even make eye contact with the winged warrior. “Quorra.” She greeted/spat. “Going to hog all the glory for yourself, or did you decide to pose heroically just so you could wait for me?" She spouted, her tone defiant. She then made eye contact with the avian without turning her head to wink at her playfully before returning her attention to the monsters ahead.

"Let's get this over with."

FearItself AnonyMouse

 

[Absurdisan]

Seijet - The Emerald Palace​

It didn’t surprise her that Inya had been tending to the emotional wellbeing of others around the city - as the demigoddess of love, it was almost impossible for the poor woman to ignore the plights of those around her. Seijet nodded sagely and watched her friend shrink to a more manageable size with a degree of appreciation, as talking up to a giant’s height was sometimes irksome.

Then came the inevitable question, which she didn’t have to know fate to know was coming. “Nothing good,” she sighed, resorting to just one voice for now. “War. We’re going on the offensive. Something has father riled up enough to send the armies out into the world to do something about it, and he’s ordered a strengthening of the city guard.” She motioned in the direction of where Ghett was last seen careening through the sir. “Your brother and I are working to secure the borders, we’re expecting refugees from… well, everywhere.”

She tapped the shaft of her spear on the ground, concerned. Such a move was unprecedented in the history of the Xorn, so whatever it was that concerned Sol so much was worth paying attention to. Coupled with the myriad futures she saw, it was enough to send a shiver up her spine. Her brow furrowed and she looked off into the horizon. “Inya, I won’t lie. Whatever it is that’s happening, it’s bad. The majority of eventualities I see do not bode well. Something big is coming. And that something can block both my vision and father’s.”

Her large eyes reconnected with Inya’s own, her expression dour. “The world will need us. Not just the city, not any more. You’ll have your work cut out for you, love is going to be in short supply, and we’ll need all the help we can get.” At that, something caught her extra-sensory eye, a particular lizardfolk who had just stepped into the city. “Speaking of such, would you walk with me? There’s someone I should meet, and they’ve just arrived.”

Interactions & Mentions TheresaMelania

 

[FearItself]

Xaxxis

As the king progressed forward towards the horde he turned his gaze towards Quorra "I do not believe there is any brass in my body." he said in his monotoned voice. As he contined he breifly noticed a flaming arrow strike the forehead of a monster and it fell. A good shot, there was no doubt. "My plan is to carve my way to the Chasm. I beleive the monsters leader has made its appearace. With any luck i will be able to slay it, and the monsters will be disorganized and easily routed." he spoke without a hint of emotion continuing without breath. "If i fail to slay the creature i will be able to record data on it at the very least. I need to get to the chasm first...that is why i required an escort." shortly after he finished his sentence the monsters had closed the distance.

"I am open to any suggestions on how to expedite the rou-." he started only to be cut short by the arrival of one more Warrior. The words she said seemed to have spite to them, but it was not rare for him to hear such things. "Those who have perished did so protecting their loved ones, do not make jest at their sacrifice for a fruitless endeavour of insulting one who cannot be offended." the tremling of the ground grew in magnitude as the horde neared, only a hundred or so meters away at this point. "We are going to the chasm to kill their leader, you may help if you wish, it would be greatly rewarded." he said as both an invitation and an explaination for the lack of many men. It was tantamount to suicide. Unfortunately the time for decisions was cut short by the horde.
~~~
As the mass of creatures fell into range the Catapults were lit and moments later launched. Flaming tar soaked stones smashed into the enemies forces like meteors. Scattering smaller monsters as they struck their targets, those being the larger monsters who could pose threats to walls. Yet the wall of monstrosities charged forward. Arrows began to rain down as they neared the wall, followed by volleys of fire and lightining from mages. Yet even with thousands of beasts dying before they even reached the wall their numbers were so high that they managed to smash into the wall like a wave.

Inside the structure wall, soldiers thrust spears through the narrow slits in the foot thick steel perforating the beasts on the outside. Meanwhile heavy stones and burning oil was poured out, all accompanied by an endless stream of arrows from the machiculations and magical bombs from the mages being cast over the wall. Once Again Xaxxis was Alight with war, Surrounded on all sides and pouring out all that it could to drown the enemies. Yet about a kilometer out An autonomaton and two demigods were experiencing a far different battle.
~~~
Steam hissed from abraxis's shoulders moments before the monster horde barreled into him. His blade became a blur as he struck with consecutive blows striking down one beast after another in wide arcs that accomodated even the bigger creatures. Giant insects, earth elementals, trolls, goblins, almost everything that dwelled underground seemed to be pouring out into this incoming wall of horrors. However he continued undaunted, stopping the Charge of a Bullette by driving his blade into its skull and shoving the creature multi tonned back into the beasts behind it. With each swing of his blade he took a step forward already treading over bits of beasts and blood.
TheresaMelania AnonyMouse Shadowfall
~~~
​

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Gorb
interaction: TheresaMelania​

Gorb and his guard where ushered into the meeting room gorb walked in his previous clumsy walk melted away replaced with a more confident movement his arms kept close to his body not flailing about as he moved, brushing some dust off his green-gold cape that was a signature of his giving a slight bow to nyx as she greeted him "yesh yes, nicing to be seeing yous again you is having good day? yesh?" he spoke with his usual happy expression across his face as he walked towards the queen one of his small graspers lightly shaking the queen's hand then sitting down not before grabbing a brownie and nibbling on it "very very importants meeting this day yes? wez all in very bad danger much monster unity everyone together yes? ciz without that we won't be living very long and that would make everything very bad cuz everyone won't be alive including gorb" a slight frown spread across his face "so's getting down to business now yes yes?"

(sorry if this is a little silly)

 

[AnonyMouse]

Quorra
Location: Xaxxis, outside the city walls
Mentions: FearItself Shadowfall ​

“So, we’re doing this? Going right for the heart? Okay,” Quorra said with a shrug when Abraxis informed her his ‘plan’ was to carve a path into the writhing mass of demons.

She had been helping the city fend off the waves for nearly four months now, but even she had never tried to go into the horde. She usually let the monsters come to her, cutting them down as the waves crashed against Xaxxis’s steel walls. Actually trying to ‘swim out to sea,’ to borrow that metaphor, was… suicidal.

Then again, she had mostly been alone then and this wave was different. They couldn’t afford to just defend. They needed to go on the attack, or there might be nothing left to defend. But, despite the dire situation, it still put a sly smile on her face when he rebuked Atheia.

“Please forgive my little sister,” Quorra said, without turning to face the other woman. Her steely gaze remained firmly locked on the approaching beasts. “She is a huntress, not a warrior. The thought of taking on more than one creature has clearly caused her to lose all reason.” She spared Atheia a slight glance from the corner of her eye, before concluding. “Not that she had much to lose, anyway.”

She barely finished before the monsters were upon them. Abraxis took the brunt of the attack. As his ‘escort,’ Quorra couldn’t have that. “See you on the other side,” she said to Atheia, with a savage smile.

With a single flap of her wings, she propelled herself up and over the mechanical king. A burst of wind magic blasted the monsters away from her as she took flight and a second burst cleared a space around her as she landed, like a shockwave. With her sword in hand, Quorra began to carve her way through the monsters. Each wild swing cleaved heads and limbs. The brilliant white of her hair and feathers began to turn dark black and her eyes blazed a deep blue.

 

[TheresaMelania]

Nyx
Location: Palace —> Sol’s Throne Room
Interactions: Huntertabbysandshark3 FearItself ​

Nyx smiled at Gorb’s mannerisms while shaking his grasper in greeting. “I am indeed having as good a day as can be with what has been happening outside Xorn’s walls, Ambassador. I hope you have been as well.” Once that was finished she gracefully took a seat and leaned forward to grab one of the many triple chocolate brownies and took a bite. Her eyes slid closed in enjoyment for a brief moment before she put it down on a small plate. “You are also correct on all accounts regarding the coming danger. As you say, our unity is important now to help defend all of Parrune. Regarding that, the decision has been made for Xorn to send military aid,” Nyx announced calmly and clearly, realizing the importance of the statement as Xorn’s military had never done such a thing. “As we speak, the forces of the city are being gathered by the Generals to travel and render aid to many cities, including your home of Sidon. Once Sidon has been defended, I hope for your aid in making certain that Sidon recovers well and is prepared for what these conflicts will bring.” After finishing her speech, she and Gorb spoke briefly, discussing the details primarily. Once the conversation was satisfactorily finished for both parties, Nyx smiled once again. “Thank you for your time and aid. Now I must go and speak to my husband. I’ve had an idea during our discussion. It has been a pleasure, as always, Ambassador Gorb.”

Nyx rose gracefully, giving a small curtsy, before grabbing a plate of triple chocolate brownies, cookies, and a slice of lemon tart to take with her. Once she left the room the royal guards followed her until she reached Sol’s throne room where he sat powering the barrier. They did not follow her into the room , firstly as there was no point and secondly to allow them privacy. “Good day, my love,” Nyx greeted with a large smile and an offering of a plate of sweets to share. “I just finished my meeting with Ambassador Gorb and there were some delights leftover. I thought you might want to enjoy some with me. I’ve been craving them for hours.” She grabbed a brownie and took a large bite, clearly enjoying every moment of eating the confection. “I also had an idea. The threat is clearly great if you are sending the Generals out with their forces. If it is as pressing as it seems, would it not be better to get them there more quickly? What if we opened and sustained portals large enough to allow our forces through to each of their destinations?” She voiced her idea and watched him, awaiting her husband’s answer, while munching on more sweets.

 

[Shadowfall]

The hooded figure rolled her eyes as her older sister flashed a wicked smile at her, charging into the fray. It seemed the porcelain figure had himself, and she wasn't about to be outdone in kills by the other demigod. She wasn't going to let her sister's words ring true; Atheia was just above butchering hordes of monsters is all.

Her eyes grew a dark purple, black veins reaching out at the edge of her vision as the wave crashed into her. But unlike Abraxis or Quorra who fought with flashy techniques and large swings of their swords, Atheia simply vanished. Where she once was, monsters washed over her, clambering towards the walls to the waiting defenders. But if one were to look up, you might spot a figure dancing atop the backs and heads of great beasts, slicing and stabbing at the siege monsters, whose movements became sluggish until the crashed into the ground, killing any unfortunate enough to think that taking shelter beneath one of the gargantuan creatures was a safe bet.

Around this time, she started counting as she killed. "Twenty three, twenty four-" An ogre fell backwards as she made brief contact with the ground to slice at it's heels, the massive figure crushing any unfortunate to be under it as it fell timber. "-twenty nine."

She continued her count as she clambered from creature to creature, scrambling across the shoulders of lumbering ogres and the backs of horrid mole-creatures, whose brackish backs were covered in stony skin and mud. Each dropped, either from precise stabs to the necks, or from Atheia's abilities. Either way, monsters fell, and she drove herself on, forgetting about her promise and responsibility to Nimah for personal glory.

FearItself AnonyMouse

 

[AnonyMouse]

Vaeryn
Location: Somewhere in The Forest of Tyre
Mentions: FearItself ​

All was quiet in the forest. Too quiet. A gentle eastbound wind carried the mossy scent of damp leaves, warm summer rain, and the metallic aroma of freshly-spilled blood. Through the dense canopy of green, a few stray shafts of sunlight glinted off the corpse of a baloth slumped against the trunk of a tree, its armored hide streaked with scorch marks. Its soft underbelly was neatly perforated, its life blood still leaking on the forest floor as the slivers went about their work, scratching at the bark of the forest’s trees with bloodied mandibles.

All was quiet, except for the soft sounds of slivers slurping sap. Hmm, Vaeryn thought as she watched all of this from her perch atop a low-lying branch. Slivers slurping sap. She would have to write that one down for later. “Slivers slurping sap,” she whispered to herself. “Sneaky, slimy, skanky, slivers, slowly, silently slurping sumptuous sap from-“

A snapped twig. A few dozen insectoid eyes instantly turned toward her, but their gaze found only an empty branch where the kitsune had been.

Hmmm, Vaeryn thought as she observed their behavior from behind a fallen log. Heightened sense of hearing. Possible pyrokinetic abilities, as well, she thought, noting the burns on the baloth’s body. It looked as if multiple slivers had viciously attacked it. Interesting. Must have strayed too close to their hive, she concluded. Her ears twitched. Her three tails undulated.

Vaeryn waited for the slivers to move away, so she could get a closer look at the body. She needed to find the hive, which meant she had to trace the baloth's steps. She waited for what felt like hours, but was only three minutes and 42.54 seconds. That was how long it took to consult her advisors -- a squirrel, two stones, and a pine cone. The stones said she should create a diversion. The squirrel agreed, but he's nutty, so his vote doesn't count. And the pine cone wasn’t even an advisor. He was just passing through and wanted nothing to do with any of this.

So, the pine cone vanished. It reappeared two inches in front of one of the slivers. This particular one appeared to have been an ant in a past life. Its antennae raked back, as if the appearance of the gravity-defying pine cone offended it greatly. The two other slivers --a beetle and some kind of spider-- also looked to see what the commotion was. This pine cone was in their space and they weren’t having it. The spider and beetle took a step back, while the ant spread its mandibles and spewed a gout of flame from its jaws.

“Interesting,” Vaeryn said as she watched this from half a mile away now, peering through a spherical portal suspended in the palm of her hand, like an ethereal crystal ball. The insects were intelligent enough to coordinate their attacks. Her other portal circled around them, acting as a scout. Based on their aggressive response, she could safely conclude that these three were likely guarding the entrance to the hive. From her comfortable location, high atop the trees, she remotely guided her looking-glass portal as it surveyed the area, searching for a cave or tunnel.

 

[FearItself]

The Emerald Palace, Deep Throne Room.
Sol
As the doors to the inner throne room entered magical energy poured out so dense that it was visible, like mukticolored flames from a furnace. On the throne within sat the real Sol not one of his projections. The doors were closed behind queen nyx as she approached with her plate. He smiled at her arrival and reached out to grab one of the brownies for himself. Raw magic rippling off of him like the fires of a sun as he grabbed a brownie off of the tray and took a bite out of one of the corners. As he chewed he spoke "I was wondering when you'd come back, it is not as bright as it seems while your away...oh? And how is Gorb doing...would it be wrong to feel excited about this My love? Not the suffering of course, but for the first time in almost four millenia i dont know what is going to happen." he stopped himself as she spoke to him aabout building portals. When she finished her plan he pondered it for a moment. Yet before he could even answer a projection of him pulled itself away and began flying and phasing through the emerald ceiling above him, giving away the fact that he was already at work in enacting her plans. "To make portals big enough to march armies through we would need to breech into The Flow, if you beleive yourself capable of this then Aegrizora and i will build a containment structure for them. I Will maintain the portals for as long as you would have me do so." he seemed about to continue when his head quickly snapped upwards then slowly back to her with the pained look that said their time together must be cut short. "In form the generals of the change of plans, we will begin at dawn. But you must leave me for now, father wishes to speak to me." a projection of his leapt from him planting a breif but passionate kiss on nyx's brownie crumb coated lips before fizzling out of existence having acconplished its task. "I will call for you when he leaves." he said slightly annoyed as the floor beneath nyx shifted and the doors opened again sliding her out of the room and they closed behind her, the last thing visible through the crack being a flash of multicolored light.
~~~
Aegrizora Inner chambers

The Projection of Sol drifted through the matter of the palace before coming to the massive structure of Aegrizora. It furrowed its brow in effort as he phased into the tree's bark. Its constant absorption causing him to expend quite alot of magic to pass through it. However he made it to the inner chambers where he drifted towards the tree's central cluster. As it entered the chamber Aegrizora let its low hum emanate to greet his father. "Hello my son, you grow bigger everytime i see you. But we need you grow a bit more, so i will help you." as he said this he reached his hand out letting out massive oceans of magic causing Aegrizora to quiver as it directed the magic towards the purpose it was being giving by its fathers mind.
~~~

Fields of Xorn
Makoda

Makoda sat a few meters away from bruce as both noisily ate from the unlucky Dire Bison. Blood dribbled from her chin as she clutched a few ribs in one hand. Yet as the ground rumbled both her and bruce looked up from their meal. Almost three hundred meters away massive roots began bursting from the ground, almost a kilometer in either directions she saw massive roots of similar proportion breaking out of the ground. They had to be at least 4 meters thick, and she knew of only one tree big enough to accomplish such a feat, Aegrizora, But why cause such a big ruckus.

She was scratching her head when the six roots finished extending up into the heavens. Each one standing straight up for at least 700 meters. Even bruce's neck craned to see the top. When the six thick roots finally bend inward towards the nearest one. They tilted slowly at first until gravity did its work and they began falling towards one another colliding with a sound like thunder before twisting around each other to form three massive Arches with twisted pointed tops. She didnt have to be a genius to see what would be coming. They were gonna portal the armies to the cities, still portals that size would be insane, probably the biggest in history. She smiled a toothy grin blood and gristle lining her sharp teeth. "Hurry up bruce, lets go get another kill before the others get out here and chase the prey away." the massive saurian responded with a snort as it turned its gaze from the now immobile roots and dug back into its fresh kill.
~~~
The Kings Sea
Terrance.
The waves began to churn about five kilometers from the emerald walls of the city. Terrance wobbled slightly as the waves rocked his massive armored ship gently. This caused him to move towards the starboard side of his ship just in time to see massive roots burst from the waters surface. They were at least 4 meters thick and about a kilometer across and jutted nearly 700 kilometers into the air. He wouldve thought them to be Kracken tentacles if not for the bark and the groan of wood. A groan which grew louder as the massive roots fell into one another twisting together into a massive pointed archway.

He stood awestruck for a while trying to wrap his mind around the scale of the thing before he stepped off his vessel. Moments earlier one of his sailors had told him to go and see the General. He wouldve moved a bit quicker were he not so close to the general, he had known the merman centuries before he decided to join his forces and he knew he would get a bit of slack. Still he would need to get there soon or risk actually getting chewed out. So he decided to skip the walking and lept off tje docks into the kings sea. He pulled his legs into his shell and let the jets of compressed air fire off propelling him forward. He left his mouth open to allow water to flood in where his durable gills would split it into fuel for his jets this method of travel allowed him to not only circumvent the narrow docks full of moving supplies, but also to launch himself from the water and onto the generals ship deck with an ungraceful thud.

Afterwards he let his legs back out and climbed to his feet lumbering towards the door for below deck. As per usual he had to turn his body sideways to fith through the doorway but such was the life of the wide framed. It was relatively easy to navigate the ships underside as he had grown accustomed to living in the hulls of ships. Finding the door he knew the captain would be in he knocked lightly before entering. "You rang general?" he said calmly stepping in to see the other marshals already gathered.
~~~
Xaxxis

Even after several hours the cities continuous stream of arrows, magic, boulders, and spears never ended. The monsters bodies were already begining to form a crude corpse ramp which had need of being removed but without a break in their assault there wasnt much to be done. The people were already working in shifts and many were beginning to suffer from the effects of fatigue. Luckily the royal guard had decided that the royal storehouses emergency supplies were definitly merited and whet little was lft there began to be distributed. Medics were working aroud the clock, yet morale was still beginning to plummet. There was a breif boost a few hours ago when the king and the two demigods began cleaving into the horde. But they had long since lost sight of them and rumors had begun to circulate that they were as good as dead.
~~~
The king stood on a low branch in the forest clearing, his cape had been ripped off long ago and several scratches and dents in his armor could be seen with a few cracks spiderwebbing around the left side of his face. However he stood unblinking while staring at the horde. Above him on the higher branches the demigods healed and rested from their long trek and preparred for the remaining distance. "You both fight well, Xaxxis is in your debt for helping us. However something is not right. The scouts, i detected their magical energies vanish, yet their badges have not recorded their death...each soldier of Xaxxis wears one to inform me of their demise, yet i have only detected deaths on the walls." he said seeming to actually look toward xaxxis with worry. "One hundred and seven have perished since we left." he said looking back to the horde still devoid of any emotion in his tone. "I wonder if we will make it before the walls fall." his tone seemed to show nothing as his eyes scanned the area for any monsters who may have locayed them through is sensory disruption sphere. He hoped the rest would proove useful as he no longer had the spell stored after this use.
~~~
​

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Gorb
interaction: TheresaMelania (no need to respond you know)​

“Yes yes good, bad day always causing problems no thinking straight” gorb said in response remaining quite nibbling on another brownie, taking in the gravity of the situation at hand.. or just enjoying the sweets it was hard to tell with the ambassador, it was good to see the queen shared his view on the subject at hand, there discussion dragged on for a while important matters to be Sure boring to some but gorb never tired of it speak with his odd speech and excited tone as always. Eventually it reached its inevitable conclusion each party would soon part ways “always goods to be seeing you too yes yes” he said as he took his leave of the meeting room grabbing a few extra sweets to go as well the merfolk seemed to be contemplating something as he left harlotek following close behind gorb turning to his guard offering him a few of the sugary treats the lizardfolk gave a smile and too up the offer it would be rude after all... and well they did smell really good, they continued to walk gorb still thinking about something then as if struck by sudden inspiration he perked up again “ ok ok gorb should go helps save Sidon yes yes? I is wizard and ambassador person, no wanting friends to be getting hurt very very bad yesh” he said before running off towards the docks while gorb was massive he was also surprisingly fast nothing superhuman as it was more of a speedy stumbling run as when he did run it almost always looked like he was falling over the emerald cap flowing behind him as he moved, leaving his guard annoyed and left behind, not that it mattered harlotek would find and catch up to the crab eventually. As gorb made a b line towards the docks knocking some people over in the process determined to get there as quick as possible.

Zeran​

While zeran had heard that the world was in danger unlike many of his brothers and sisters how where in all likelihood trying to save the world zeran had different priorities avoiding any battles all together not for lack and f bravery but out of the knowledge of what damages his presence could cause, one could never know the outcome even with the greater skill zeran being around would invariably cause things to start acting strangely. And as such he decided to simply not get involved with such “important things“ and go about his own business said business was at the moment enquiring another piece for his various collections, while he preferred to find thing of historical importance the demigod Did like to collect other thing like bits form various rare and unusual creatures, and in this case he was looking for a claw form a manticore that should have been around here then again it might have been something entirely different, these days it was hard to tell but the excitement of a new item didn’t let that fact dampen his spirits this was an opportunity he probably wouldn't get for another good long while

(sorry if this post is poor just wanted to post something ya know?)

 

[Shadowfall]

Quorra and Atheia
Xaxxis, Fields of Battle
By AnonyMouse and Shadowfall
Featuring FearItself ​

How many hours had they been fighting? Quorra had no idea anymore. She wasn’t even sure how many monsters she had killed today. She stopped counting around six hundred. Or was it seven? Either way, it felt like an eternity ago.

Carving through the horde had been a brutal slog, at first, but quickly became tedious. As the battle wore on and the bodies piled up, Quorra felt as if she was in her element, climbing a mountain of power with no summit. Death. So much death. And they hadn’t even reached the epicenter yet. There was more power to be had and something deep inside of her yearned for it.

And that is why, when the porcelain man suggested they stop for a rest, she felt relieved. She wasn’t tired. She had been bitten, slashed, stabbed, bludgeoned, clawed, and mauled by all manner of foul creatures, but each time the wounds healed nearly as quickly as they came and she paid her enemies back tenfold. Death was in the air. She breathed it in, basked in it, was empowered by it. But not a slave to it.

And she hated that.

While Abraxis kept watch, Quorra perched on a high branch, with her black wings swept low, like a vigilant gargoyle. She was covered in blood, very little of it her own. Her wounds had vanished, but her armor and weapons weren’t so fortunate. She was on her fifth sword. Close inspection revealed a hairline fracture halfway down the blade. She grimaced, knowing she would probably not find another; they were too far from the city for that.

She tucked the sword in her belt and set about using a knot in the tree’s trunk to work out a rather annoying dent in her armor when she spotted Atheia on a lower branch, attempting to dress her wounds.

The huntress slowly wrapped some torn fabric of questionable origin around her forearm, quivering as lightning bolts of pain shot through her whole body. The tattered brown cloth quickly bloodied as she tightened and tied the sturdy material, turning the matte texture into a sticky reddish-brown as the scarlet fluid inside her soaked into her dressing.

Atheia didn’t really care about the possibility of an infection at this point. Her whole body was wracked with more than a few scrapes, and each took a little bit of time to properly address before she could move on. She was grateful that Abraxis didn’t require sleep or ever get exhausted from his injuries like her. Despite her count of 1,037 kills (A new record for her.), she felt like she was becoming a liability to the two unstoppable forces perched around her. She sucked in air through her teeth as she tried to wrap her bare foot, a large part of her heel missing, alongside all of her boot.

“Quorra…” She whined. “I-” She stopped herself, wondering if she should really admit to needing help, being too weak to handle herself. She glanced at her foot, and wiggled her toes. A clear glistening red wound was in place of where her heel would’ve been, if it were there anymore. Running, nonetheless walking, wasn’t an option anymore. If she tried to limp around any longer, she knew she would just slow down the two doing all the actual work.

She needed help.

“-I don’t think I can walk. Can you look at this?”

Quorra had been wondering how long it would take. The Atheia she knew would never ask for help. Which either meant she was more injured than she appeared or maaaaybe she’d matured a little during this brutal journey. It’s not that Quorra didn’t want to help. Watching her younger sister dress her wounds was painful in its own way, but she knew going down there would only anger the woman.

But, still when the plea for aid went up, Quorra didn’t hesitate. She dropped down, through the branches, landing softly at Atheia’s side. Well, as softly as one can land on a branch while wearing full plate armor.

“Took you long enough,” she said with a grin as she placed her hands near Atheia’s feet. She was covered in cuts and scrapes, but the injuries there seemed to be the worst. Quorra’s face became much more serious as she focused. “For a minute, I thought you were gonna keep quiet and bleed out,” she said, her voice low. “You know, take this little rivalry to the grave. Which, I gotta admit, would be pretty badass.” She managed a small laugh. “But… don’t, okay. Somebody would miss you, Ath.”

The healing magic began to take effect. At first, it appeared nothing was happening, just the numbing of pain, the slowing of bleeding, and a warm feeling of contentment. It took nearly a minute before the first signs of healing began to show.

“I mean… somebody would,” Quorra said. “Not me, of course. I actually forgot you were even with us.”She smirked, to show she was clearly joking.

The huntress’s breathing began to slow as Quorra began mending her wounds. “I can keep quiet next time if you want.” Atheia added, deadpan. “If we get a next time.” Despite Quorra’s attempt to keep her younger sister’s morale up, it didn’t do much for her, considering where the gesture came from. Atheia just wanted her old rivalry back, when it was simple to count kills, and have a place to go back to for a nice drink and a warm bed. Not out here, where any mistake could mean death.

Atheia felt a sense of warmth wash over her as Quorra worked her magic. “I think the only person that’d miss me would be that barkeep I gave that trophy to.” She remarked with a stunning amount of nonchalance despite the clear pain she was in. Her eyes only gazed down at the healing being done to her foot, the mask covering most of the rest of her face did nothing to betray her emotion. “I mean, what’s she going to do with the money if I don’t come back to get it?”

As the skin began to mend, she yanked her foot away, scurrying farther up the tree. The healing was fine enough for the time being. If she could walk, then that’s all the help she would need. She never needed help, this was just the first time she asked, and also the last. Never, ever would she ever ask again, because that’s not who she was, especially not from pompous Quorra who jabbed and poked fun at her at every corner. She definitely wasn’t going to accept help from her. But, despite all her self-affirmations, she still felt like she was doing something wrong for deciding that she didn’t need anymore help. It’s been some time since she’s had any meaningful interactions with her, and now she pulls herself away?

It just felt wrong to her. She couldn’t place why, but Atheia felt that she needed to rectify it somehow. Somehow. There was something fierce, tense in her eyes as she clung to her side of the tree, feet all drawn back into herself as if saying ‘Don’t touch me!’. She didn’t owe her sister anything. Right?

She probably owed her an apology, if anything. Most of Sol’s children at least kept somewhat in touch with each other, but she had made it a point to publicly denounce them at every turn, and yet, Quorra still bothered, even if mockingly, to call her a sister. A wave of shame washed over her. Slowly, she unsheathed her sword, a pitch black shortsword, Erebus. It was goreslicked, and had begun to chip in certain places from the hours of battle. It was her favorite sword she had taken from the body of another demigod, and was one of her most treasured pieces of belongings she kept.

She examined it, gripping it with a familiar tightness, before presenting the hilt to Quorra. “Here.” She said. “I need you to hold onto this for me, since you already broke yours.”

Quorra simply stared for a long moment, an odd silence falling between them. Well, it would have been silent, if not for the distant rumbling of thousands of monsters throwing themselves at Xaxxis’s walls. The footfalls of the beasts were like a blaring trumpet declaring, ‘it’s the end of the world! Get your shit together!’

Another of those sly grins turned up the corners of Quorra’s lips as she slowly shook her head. “Thanks, but nah,” she said with a nod to the offered weapon. “I’m more of a longsword kind of girl. Besides, you’ve seen what I do to swords. I’ve broken, what, six… seven… I don’t know.”

She cautiously moved closer to Atheia and hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to make it, Ath. You and your swords. Wait… where’s the other one?” She thought back and couldn’t recall seeing it in Atheia’s hands at all during the fighting. “And what’s this about a barkeep?”

Quorra couldn’t tell, but the huntress was smiling underneath her mask, for once. “I appreciate it Quorra.” She mustered. The question about her swords, and the Soldier’s Rest barkeep threw her off, forcing her to recount the events of a few hours ago.

“The other sword?” She racked her brains, looking into the sky for answers until it crashed down onto her forehead. “Oh! I left it back at Xaxxis with one of my friends, Nimah. Met up with her at this bar, the Soldier’s Rest. Turned in a bounty there for a chimera to the barkeep there. More hospitable than most, I suppose..”

“Oh… I see...” Quorra said, looking slightly disappointed. “So, today is ‘give a sword away’ day? Okay.” She shrugged and hung her head, pretending to be sad. “I thought it was ‘kill thousands of monsters day.’ That explains a lot. You’ve been celebrating the wrong holiday. Poor Atheia, so afraid she forgot what day it is...”

The mirth left Atheia as quickly as it came. “I’m going to go check on the king.” She stated with her usual near-emotionless tone, clambering down the tree so she would be hanging just above the porcelain man.

After a stifling a small laugh, Quorra followed her down.

“What’s next tin man?” Atheia nearly shouted to keep her voice above the rumbling monsters. “Going towards the breach?”

 

[AnonyMouse]

Vaeryn & Delilah
Location: Somewhere in the Forest of Tyre
Written in collaboration w/ FearItself ​

The cave network was a maze of slick stone walls, cool, damp air, and a permeating darkness that seemed to creep into one’s soul. Vaeryn surveyed the tunnels through a tiny portal, small enough to fit into the palm of her hand. Even when viewed remotely from half a mile away, this subterranean den unnerved her.

I was told you feared the dark? she thought as she continued to probe deeper. Why would you embrace it as your home?

The Crone had told her very little about Delilah, only that she and the kitsune may share an old enemy and where she might find her. That is what brought Vaeryn to this place. But, even if the girl couldn’t help shed light on the shadows that lurked in Vaeryn’s past, she could prove useful in the present or the future. The astral flow was brimming with fear, pain, and loss. Cities were falling. Hordes were rising. If ever there was a time for the Crone’s children --nay, all the people of the world-- to come together, it was now.

Vaeryn knew she was getting close. The strong astral pressure she felt was growing more intense as she tried to follow it to the source. But the twisting corridors of the cave system kept leading her off course. One moment, she would feel she was getting closer, then the tunnel would take a sharp left or right or dive down. And Delilah’s insects were everywhere. Vaeryn’s spy portal was small and hard to see, but there were so many insects, she knew it was only a matter of time before one spotted her. And Delilah’s astral fingerprints were on each and every one of them.

What, exactly, have you been doing here? the kitsune thought. Was she breeding them? Mind-controlling them? Building a monster army? To what end…

When Vae’s little spy drone reached a dead end for what felt like the millionth time, she gave up. A different approach might yield better results. Or, at least faster results. She dispelled her spy portal, focused her consciousness inward, to her astral self, and projected a message to the epicenter of Delilah’s presence:

“Sister……… Child of the Crone……... Delilah………?” She sent the words as a slow, melodic string of questions, like a lullaby for the mind, both soothing and haunting. Vaeryn’s astral presence pulsed, showing brief flares of her true power, yet carefully controlled and highly focused. The pulses served as both a beacon to indicate her location in the real world… and a warning, in case this ‘Delilah’ meant harm. “Why do you lurk in the dark? Or does the dark lurk within you? Step into the light, that we might speak.”

As the words flowed through the astral realm every insectoid head in the hive turned their gaze to meet the origin of them. They seemed to pause for a few moments of eerie silence before they simultaneously began to move in her direction. However just then the words had reached the center of the den, and the reply rippled through the Astral world like some kind if seismic event

"DONT STOP!" The words command echoed in a strangely distorted voice. The insects seemed to obey this astral shout turning back to the work they had been doing as if nothing had interrupted them. In the astral realm it became apparent that these insects were once normal insects, their primal instinctual minds sat in the center of a mind forged from various thoughts, though the thoughts were different color their textures suggested they all originated from the same source. The voice from the hive spoke yet again a few moments after the shouted command was uttered.

"Darkness lurks within us all...sister...Come to me, i am sure you will find my chambers sufficiently lit for what you have come to discuss." Her voice simultaneously gave off the tone of coyness, and a knowing undertone. An infuriating combo when paired with the childlike personality that it rolled out of. Not very much of her astral presence leaked out of the core of the hive, other than her words that is. However for one as skilled as a crone child it would be easy to see through this ruse of weakness. She was folding her presence in on itself making herself seem smaller than she really was...like a viper coiled at the bottom of a pit.

As she finished her invitation a rather large horn protruded from the ground followed by the massive beetle man it was attached to. It had dug itself out from the center of the hive then stood there mindlessly beside the tunnel it had made. Its cold eyes staring without thought at the child of the crone despite her not actually being there in the physical space he stared at.

The kitsune materialized before the large beetle. She sparkled into existence, like cosmic dust congealing into a newborn star. This was nothing like her usual teleportation, which was instantaneous. Within a few seconds, she was fully formed and real, right down to her astral presence, which flickered with fear and trepidation. She timidly surveyed her surroundings, coiling a few strands of her long white hair between her fingertips as she shyly approached the armored insect. Her ears twitched, as if listening for any signs of danger or deception.

She crept within a few feet of the beetle, moving on the tips of her toes as if sneaking, even though she was right in front of the creature, in plain sight. Vaeryn paused and extended a trembling hand toward the beetle. After many tense seconds of hesitation, she finally touched its carapace. It was cool and slightly damp, not unlike the forest itself.

For some reason, this put a smile on her face and all of her fear immediately washed away. She wiped away the globs of mud on the beetle's face and stared into its eyes as she patted its horned head. "Good doggy," she said. "Goooood doggy."

Meanwhile, the real Vaeryn was patiently standing behind Delilah, with her hands clasped behind her back. Her astral presence was completely masked. Her arrival had been utterly silent. She revealed her presence by lightly clearing her throat and the moment she did so, reality collapsed. The other Vaeryn disappeared, back to the dust from whence she had come.

"Our crone-mother speaks highly of you. I thought you would be... bigger," the wily fox said to the girl as she slowly circled around until she was standing before her. Her voice was deadpan, completely the opposite of the timid, yet oddly cheerful, alternate self that had appeared before the beetle. She bowed at the waist and dipped her head low. "Vaeryn Akshalla," she said as she lifted her chilly blue gaze to meet Delilah's color-changing eyes. "We have much to discuss."

 

[TheresaMelania]

Azeroth & Nyx
by PhantomSamurai and TheresaMelania
Location: Xorn Marketplace​

After her wonderful, although brief, interaction with Sol, Nyx looked at the door which had just flashed the multicolored light indicating Xemnu was speaking with her husband. With a small huff of (understanding) annoyance, she spun on her heal and headed back out of the palace, still slightly flushed from the kiss. Once out of the palace, she headed for the market, knowing that Azeroth was likely to be quietly shopping for cooking ingredients, given the upcoming battles. The people of the city greeted her as she passed in her ornate blue dress and she greeted them back, taking a few brief moments to talk to a few of the shopkeepers and assuage their worries. When she caught sight of the fiery general, she smiled to be proven correct and headed for him only saying “Good day, Azeroth,” once she had gotten closer.

Azeroth who was busy looking at various spices turned once he hears the unmistakable voice of the queen. "Oh your highness, hello" he says, he never knew how to address the queen he always felt it should be very formal and professional while she insisted he could be more comfortable with her. He scratched his mask for moment thinking of what to say next "I know I'm supposed to be getting ready for the battle but I just wanted to clear my head first and spice shopping helps me think better" he says. He knew he wouldn't be in trouble as the queen was a very nice and caring individual to all of sols children.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve asked you to call me Nyx,” she responded with a chiding but gentle smile full of contained mirth. “Everyone prepares for battle in their own way, of course. I understand completely.” While speaking, she looked at a small cluster of nutmeg, inspecting them and seeming thoughtful. “These would work well in something sweet I think…” She then turned her gaze to him. “Though you may want to hurry with your preparations. I was searching you out to inform you that your father and I will be opening portals directly to each of your destinations. I am certain things are quite dire.”

Azeroth looked at the sweet spices scratching the top of his mask again, which was a thing he did when he was thinking. He then heard her comment about the portals "portals huh? Are things really that dire? It concerns me that theres enemies even father is wary of" he says eyeing the spices still selecting a few and putting them in his pocket. He turns back to Nyx staring for a moment thinking of something he wanted to say, he reaches up to his mask as if to lift it off but pulls his hand away at the last moment "I appreciate the heads up your highness I just go prepare when I get back we can do some baking maybe?" He says grabbing his staff and taking off towards the barracks.

“Sounds wonderful,” Nyx responds as he turns away to go and prepare for the upcoming battle. She hoped they all came out of it safely. He was right to be worried about what was coming. One General informed. Several more to go.

~~~
Seijet & Nyx
by Absurdisan and TheresaMelania
Location: Between Emerald Palace and Xorn Marketplace​

(Empty for now, will be filled in)

~~~
Minnel & Nyx
by TheresaMelania and TheresaMelania
Additional Interactions: FearItself ArchAngelLexi
Location: Sky Paladins War Room​

“It should take about six hours to fly the entire way, but we need to make certain we are fully rested before arrival. Perhaps the edge of the mountain range here, though we would need to still be watchful for any threats over the night while resting,” she gestured to the locations on the map and looked up to her marshals. Almost immediately after her head turned toward the entrance to the war room and she stood up straight and at attention just in time for the queen to walk through the entrance, still in her stately blue dress. "Greetings, General Minnel," Nyx smiled, giving nods to each of the marshals in turn after her greeting to Minnel. "My Queen, it is a pleasure to be in your presence in such trying times," Minnel murmured formally. A slightly sadness crept into Nyx's eyes but she didn't comment on the formality, knowing the girl she had raised practically as her own wanted to stand on her own two feet and not be shown any special treatment.

"I am here to inform you all," she addressed the room, "That at dawn, through the combined efforts of Aegrizora, Sol, and I there will be portals opened directly to your destination. We believe the situation may be quite pressing and that our allies would certainly appreciate speedy aid. Please plan accordingly. Now I must inform the others as well." With another nod in parting to each of the marshals and Minnel, she exited the room and headed toward the docks.

~~~
Karg & Nyx
by Gravitys Momentum and TheresaMelania
Location: Between Emerald Palace and Xorn Marketplace​

Karg was in his office, analyzing the routes to the Isles of Sidon. He played with the figurines of ships on the war table, as he waited for his marshals to enter. As his limbs lay on the floor he felt small vibrations on the floor coming closer towards him. It neared the door and it opened. ‘Oh, it’s only her.’

Nyx stepped through the doorway into Karg’s office, a smile on her face and the billowing skirt of her blue dress trailing behind her. Overall she seems calm and collected as usual, but her words and manner are brisk when she speaks, “General Karg. I hope I am not interrupting anything important. I have news for you from Sol and I concerning the journey to the Isles of Sidon. You may have already noticed the roots of Aegrizora forming the first step of our plan to make your journey much quicker.”

“What, Aegrizora is doing something?”, Karg gets up and looks out onto the balcony and sees the roots of the great tree creating a circle. “Well, I’ll be damned. You haven’t bothered me, your Grace, just planning the routes. So how are we getting there fast?” His tentacles stretch out to a bottle of rum and some glasses. He pours for two glasses, the light shimmering on the surface. Sipping his he offers the glass to Nyx. “Want some?”

“I would love some,” Nyx responds, taking the glass of deeply colored liquid from his tentacles and sipping lightly at it. As usual when it comes to food and drink, her expression displays clear enjoyment for the pleasures of life. “I should not be surprised that the General of the Kings of Sea would have such good rum. But returning to the issue at hand. Aegrizora is growing to create a space for portals to each of the cities Sol has tasked you all to go to, in your case being Sidon. At dawn I will make the portals and Sol will maintain them for your ships to travel through and to travel back, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. This should allow you to strike while the iron is hot, as it were.” She finished delivering her news and continued to sip at her drink while waiting for Karg’s response and any questions he might have.

Karg swirls the rum around in his glass before chugging down the sweet drink to emptiness. He puts it down and wipes his mouth with a quick swipe of his tentacle. Bringing his fingers to his chin he thought about the plan. “When do we start?” More rum is poured into his own glass. This time he adds a bit of a powder.

“Once the portals are created at dawn, it is up to you how quickly you travel through. But keep in mind that the portals may put you very close to enemy forces and although we will keep them open, we cannot risk Xorn by allowing monsters back through.” Nyx finishes her glass shortly after Karg, taking the last sip and savoring it before setting the glass down. “I will leave you to your planning now. Thank you for the drink and I wish you Xemnu’s good fortune in the coming battle.” With a small nod of acknowledgment, she headed for the door once more and it opened just before she reached it. “Silene,” Nyx murmurs in greeting before continuing on as the marshal made her way into Karg’s office.

“General,” Silene murmurs in greeting before falling silent to await her fellow marshals.

Karg just said, “We’ll win, your Grace.” He acknowledges Silene with a nod.

~~~
Ghett & Nyx
(& Amy & Kaiden)
by FearItself and TheresaMelania
Interactions: Amyleii
Location: Emerald City Gate​

The titan lord listened to his marshal deliver his report with another of his officers of the same rank climbing down from his shoulders. He smiled at the report feeling the pride that came with picking the right reptile for the job. He was just about to speak up on the mysterious demi before he noticed the massive wooden structures rising out of the ground on the horizon. "Well thats certainly new...Marshalls, spread the word to all officers, all guards including reserve units and off duty men are to report to their scheduled posts immediately i want three men per established spot and tell them to bring flares. I want a network of eyes throughout this entire city, and every other eye on the walls watching those structures. I get the feeling they are important to my fathers plan." he turned to eye the refugees pouring into the gate. The back end of the crowd had become visible for the first time in several days. But if his fathers feelings were anything to go off of there would soon be many, many more coming.

Nyx made her way across the city toward the city gate after changing into less ostentatious clothing. Instead of her blue dress she now wore a more sedate set of black form-fitting cloth and leather with a hood, made for the outdoors and taking a tumble in the dirt. The only gesture toward fashion it made was some slight ark purple markings. Once she reached the wall, she could hear Kaiden deliver the end of his report and then Ghett’s orders. Carefully neutralizing the effect of the gravity underneath her feet, she rose up to the wall and landed gently, conserving her energy for the task of opening the portals. “Good day, General,” she murmured with a head nod to Ghett and then acknowledged the marshals Kaiden, who stood firmly at attention, and Amy, who was climbing off the general. “I see you have noticed the work of Aegrizora,” she murmured, gesturing at the wooden structures. “I am here to inform you that Sol and I will be expediting the travel of the armies by opening portals, which will be within the structures you see.”

The giant clasped his right fist over his chest and bowed in salute to the queen. "Yes your majesty, ive never seen anything like it..." he said still impressed with the growing roots as he turned to the queen. "You dont say. Hmm that is a rather big event." he turned his attention to his two marshals "Kaiden once this surge at the gate is finished send half your men into the field, we should secure the area around the gates and make sure our Forces neednt worry about the return trip. Amy, the palace guard will need to form a defensive line around the palace, with all these new people i dont want anyone to even have the opportunity to make a fatal mistake." he looked towards the Queen hoping she would be pleased with his response.

Kaiden gave a quick bow to acknowledge Ghett’s order, turning his gaze out toward the surge of refugees and to one of his captains, who he gestured to come to him for an update. Nyx gave Ghett a wide and beaming smile. “Thank you, General. We will certainly need you and your peoples’ aid to guard these portals and make certain that Xorn remains safe for our people to return to.” Her gaze shifted slightly to Makoda’s form in the distance. “Unless you have any questions or concerns, I should notify General Makoda of the change of plans.”

The giant shook his head "No your majesty, i have the utmost faith in you and my father, whatever you decide shall be done and i will not fail in whatever task you give me." he bowed yet again as she left as her form vanished he shifted his attentuon back to Kaiden and Amy "Be careful you two, it may be nothing, but i have a bad feeling about the days to come." he smiled warmly at his allies before leaping once more. This time landing hard on the plains of Xorn, in the middle of the line of wooden archways. He took a deep breath, the world seemed to be falling into chaos and he couldnt help be feel a bit excited at the prospect of a change from the norm. He hated that part of him, the starving warrior within who hungered for the opportunity to spill the blood of his enemies. He wanted to blame his heritage, the giant blood pumping in his veins, a warrior race to whome battle came as naturally as the orcs. Yet he was afraid that wasnt what it was, he hadnt always been this way, only in the past two centuries had the smouldering rage begun to set itself in the back of his mind growing more intense with each passing year. He could feel himself pulling away from others and was actually less worried about it than he felt he should be. He shook the thoughts from his head spying Makoda and bruce in the distance as the queen appeared before them he smiled thinking about how Makoda would take the news.

~~~
Makoda & Nyx
by FearItself and TheresaMelania
Location: Outside Xorn in the Fields​

The orcish general wouldve been relatively easy to find. Not only was bruce the biggest thing in this field other than the new massive wooden archways, but she had also just chased a herd of Dire bison into the woods. The massive heard charged into the treeline leaving behind a few younglings and two elderly bison. Bruce seemed interested in the younglings but as if seeing this coming tragedy one of the elders seemed to fall behind turning to face certain doom. Makoda acknowledged the elder beasts sacrifice by digging her heels into bruces neck and turning his reigns to adjust his jaws aim towards the older bison. The look on the creatures face was one of utter acceptance even as the Saurians jaws closed over the back of its neck.

Bruce reared back lifting the large bison up before throwing the now badly injured animal to the ground. Swiftly makoda dismounted materializing a long thin spear which she drove into the beasts heart between its third and fourth rib gifting it a mercifully quick finish to its suffering. She quickly cut herself a slab of meat out as bruce shifted from foot to foot impatiently waiting for his alpha to get her first pick of the meat before he dug in noisily....

Following her conversation with Ghett and the marshals, Nyx lifted her hood and made her way down to the ground and out of the city gate without any fanfare. She would be making a visit to the refugees coming into the city and the temporary healing tents but the portals took priority. Once she was away from the crowds and closer to Makoda, she stopped a reasonable distance away both to observe the hunting of the large saurian Bruce and to wait for Makoda to have finished her kill and have a moment for discussion. She hated to interrupt.

The orcess noticed the queens approach just as she had finished killing the beast. "Hey momma." she said over the squelch of her pulling a good chunck of meat off of the Bison before bruce dug in like a happy dog. "Whats with all the tree Arches...Aegri is a bit old to be randomly popping wood." she said with a blood tinted grin spreading across her face. She tilted her head slightly indicating a bow but not going very low, this was makoda after all. "Im guessing its something im gonna be happy to hear..." she said taking a bite of the bisons still dripping steak and sending rivers of red dribbling down her chin. She chewed twice before gesturing towards the kill offering the queen her fair share. Bruce raised his head at her gesture pausing to wait for the queens response before he would dig back in.

“Makoda,” Nyx greeted back, her heart warming at Makoda’s ‘momma.’ “I hope your hunt has been satisfying and I imagine you have no little excitement for the battle.” Nyx tore a manageable piece off the bison, finishing it in two bites before gesturing that she was satisfied with her share. “Indeed, I think you will be happy to hear that Aegrizora’s ‘random wood’,” she quirked a crooked grin, “is the support necessary for portals directly to the battlefield. You will not need to wait days of travel, instead you will arrive on the battlefield fresh and ready to aid our allies and slaughter our enemies.” A rarer side of the queen’s personality shone in her eyes, a fierce and battle-ready warrior mixed in with the kind, motherly, diplomatic side making her core personality.

Makoda eyed her mother as she ate her kill and once she gentured she was satisfied the orc continued to eat her rather large slab of Bison. Yet she paused mid chew when the queen explained that makoda's suspicion was correct. Her eyed widened with gleam like a kid on their birthday about to open a present. She leaped upwards thrusting her arm into the air victoriously and letting out a almost animalistic howl of approval. Bruce cocked its head up and seeing his masters excitement responded in turn cocking its head back and letting out an earsplitting roar while swishing his massive tail back and forth while ruffling its feathers and expanding its chest slightly as if peacocking. Makoda would've taken advantage of the momentary distraction and ebraced her mother in an excited hug lifting her off the ground and squeezing tightly. "This is great, when do we leave? The army will want to feast. They will sing songs of your greatness tonight mother." she said as she put the queen back down and continued chomping down the last of her meat promoting bruce to do the same.

Nyx grunted slightly with more surprise than actual discomfort or pain as the orcish woman embraced her in excitement. When Makoda put her back down she took a deep breath and chuckled, watching her and Bruce working on finishing their meal. "I am so happy you are pleased and excited. You will leave at dawn. Enjoy the night with your people and celebrate. Tomorrow will come quickly. Now that I have informed you and the rest of the generals, I must go prepare for the task of opening the portals." She nodded slightly at both Makoda and Bruce in farewell before making her way back to the city.

~~~
Nimah
Interactions: FearItself Shadowfall AnonyMouse
Location: Battlefield of Xaxxis​

It felt like it had been forever since Nimah watched Atheia head out into the throng to join the King of Xaxxis and the winged demigoddess in battle. At first, Nimah had simply waited where she had been left, content to hold Atheia's blade and practice some movements with it. What she hadn't realized though was how quickly there would soon be monsters upon them. Even the wall was not safe. Fortunately there were many others there to help her survive and it seemed most of them were weakened by the time they got so far. The trio of fighters out beyond the wall must really be making a difference. But despite the people around her, Nimah felt an overwhelming desire to be in the thick of it. There was something to be said for the tale of the people on the wall fighting to defend their city, but she had seen it. Been a part of it already. Now it was time to find out what it was like to be out there. In a moment she went invisible, not bothering to cover her scent but masking her footsteps and sounds. It was enough to confuse the monsters around her with all the scents of death and battle. Eventually she made her way through and around the combatants and monsters to be in the wake of the battling trio. There she maintained her invisibility but stopped masking her sounds or footsteps. It still allowed her to get the jump on some monsters and dart away, at least weakening them while keeping an eye on Atheia, Quorra, and Abraxis to see if they did anything spectacular. But after about 15 minutes of holding the invisibility near constantly, she dropped it, wanting to save her remaining power for when it was more desperately needed. She 'popped' into sight, panting and with a bloodied sword, near the three as Atheia asked "What's next tin man?"

 

[Zariel]

Indra - Grand Sword Mage​

Location: The mystical tree Aegrizora
Interaction: N/A
The air Indra was slicing was thick. He was training himself alone in one of the arenas located proximally to Aegrizora. His breathing was controlled; he inhaled calmly through his nose before exhaling through his mouth. With the intent to challenge himself, Indra added heavy weights to all four of his limbs, limiting his mobility and attack speed while also stressing his muscles with each swing of his sword. The captain hoped that through this training he'd be able to wield larger weapons with ease, swinging sharply but also remaining agile in combat.

Indra closed his eyes, imagining an opponent stood several feet away from him. He planned his attack carefully, bursting into a sprint but quickly leapt forwards when in-range to catch the imaginary target by surprise. He slashed several times, using his own body as a guide to strike at vitals. Each thrust was precise. His swift movements made it impossible to believe that he was restraining himself with thick, dense, metal weights. Even with them, he was moving and attacking with superhuman speed and power. After the opening attack had been made, Indra pushed himself away after a backwards roll and slashed at the air several times releasing blades of mana in front of him. He then leapt into the air, granting him an advantageous position against melee opponents but would make him an easy target for marksmen and spellcasters. Thus, in anticipation of such attacks, Indra first used his sword to mimic blocking multiple incoming attacks before attacking downwards at his target with an aerial combo.

Once satisfied with his training, Indra held his blade directly along the centre of his body and let it dissipate into yellow sparkles. Removing the weights, he started walking towards the stables to tend to his loyal, black horse, Jupiter. He'd seen Aegrizora's roots spreading into arches. Without having even been told any sort of information, his warrior instinct warned him of an upcoming battle, and he needed to be ready...

 

[Gravitys Momentum]

Uku and Coralius
Karg’s Office

The two watched each other as they had arrived on Karg's ship at the same time. “Hello Uku.” “Hello, Cora, let’s go in shall we?” “Let’s.” The two didn’t speak further and entered the office. They saw Silene and Terrance surprisingly had already arrived. “We have arrived Admiral.” They awaited his response.

The Kings Sea
Terrance.
The waves began to churn about five kilometers from the emerald walls of the city. Terrance wobbled slightly as the waves rocked his massive armored ship gently. This caused him to move towards the starboard side of his ship just in time to see massive roots burst from the waters surface. They were at least 4 meters thick and about a kilometer across and jutted nearly 700 kilometers into the air. He wouldve thought them to be Kracken tentacles if not for the bark and the groan of wood. A groan which grew louder as the massive roots fell into one another twisting together into a massive pointed archway.

He stood awestruck for a while trying to wrap his mind around the scale of the thing before he stepped off his vessel. Moments earlier one of his sailors had told him to go and see the General. He wouldve moved a bit quicker were he not so close to the general, he had known the merman centuries before he decided to join his forces and he knew he would get a bit of slack. Still he would need to get there soon or risk actually getting chewed out. So he decided to skip the walking and lept off tje docks into the kings sea. He pulled his legs into his shell and let the jets of compressed air fire off propelling him forward. He left his mouth open to allow water to flood in where his durable gills would split it into fuel for his jets this method of travel allowed him to not only circumvent the narrow docks full of moving supplies, but also to launch himself from the water and onto the generals ship deck with an ungraceful thud.

Afterwards he let his legs back out and climbed to his feet lumbering towards the door for below deck. As per usual he had to turn his body sideways to fith through the doorway but such was the life of the wide framed. It was relatively easy to navigate the ships underside as he had grown accustomed to living in the hulls of ships. Finding the door he knew the captain would be in he knocked lightly before entering. "You rang general?" he said calmly stepping in to see the other marshals already gathered. ​

Karg
Karg’s Office

Karg watched Nyx leave and saw Silene and Terrance enter. A few minutes later the other half of his marshals arrived. “Alright crew, I have received an update on the situation. Aegrizora, Sol, and Nyx will create portals to transport us onto the battlefield. We strike hard and fast. Coralius, you will be staying here to defend Xorn. Everybody else is with me."
FearItself TheresaMelania

 

[Shadowfall]

The soldier stood steady outside the walls of Xorn for the sake of the sick and the wounded, one of the few volunteers who felt capable enough to aid in the medical operation outside of the Emerald City's gates. Many of the other volunteers were first in class, top of the line. Tall as oak, and built like fortresses. Guards, soldiers, heroes, mercenaries. They were just exactly what the city needed, but the soldier in question was none of that. No, she wasn't particularly tall, nor bound in muscle and clad in sheet upon sheet of armor. In fact, the most armor she wore was a simple leather tunic, strapped and beaded with little metal studs to help dispel magic, or so the salesman told her. Truly, she didn't need it. She said that her faith was well enough, but she would buy it if the regimen insisted. Nonetheless, this soldier stood outside one of the few tents pitched outside the walls, standing guard with her elaborate sword planted firmly in the ground. Her posture was at attention, but a black sash covered her eyes.

"Zath!" A deep voice grumbled behind her. A meaty paw of a hand roughly patted her shoulder, considerate of her non-seeing condition. A smile curled across the soldier's lips as she slightly turned her head to face her friend. "Esskel!" She exclaimed excitedly. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with one of the CO's at the walls." The large man laughed a deep laugh, his entire body engulfed with emotion, his armor jingling and creaking as he tried half-heartedly to stifle his humor. "No no no, you know I couldn't do something like that for that long Zathriel my dear. I heard volunteers were needed outside the wall for Erra's little operation, and I couldn't help myself." He beamed. "How have you been? I've missed your antics as of late, with the-" "Promotion, yes I know." A bleak silence passed between them.

The mountain of a man cleared his throat. "I'm surprised you yourself haven't been promoted yet, you're a better fighter than I after all." The woman shrugged. "I think it's tactics that I'm lacking Esske, not power. Plus-" She pointed at her eyes, or rather, the black stripe that covered them. "-I can't quite strategize as well as anyone else here without these." He nodded knowingly, unaware of his nonverbal speech. "You still there big guy?" "Right!" Esskel sputtered. "Sorry! It's been a while." "Uh-huh." A slight smile began to spread across her face at Esskel's behest, before she felt herself getting snatched up by the big man and shaken about, both of them lost in a fit of giggling.

"It's been far too long." Zathriel sighed. The brute let her back to her feet, and patted her head. "Has it?" He snorted, unsheathed his sword, and stabbed it into the grass, just besides hers. "We've got plenty of time to catch up it seems." Zathriel said, the sound of throngs of people marching by still loud as ever.

"So it does."

@openforinteraction