A Forgotten History [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

Many creatures, strange, beautiful, and horrible, occupied the world of Thirn. Kachee had to remind herself of that when she found herself in the presence of one such creature that she couldn’t identify on sight. The turquoise wings were just so bizarre, and made her seem almost more like a creature of the sea than one of the sky, “Please,” Kachee spoke without dismounting, looking down at the winged woman who had been identified as a healer. “My brother was poisoned.”


The man was slumped over his own horse, tied to it so he wouldn’t fall out of the saddle. He was bleeding, legs and arms, where the chainmail didn’t reach. The leather had been ripped to shreds. His hair was tarnished with the red liquid, though at least his head wasn’t actually bleeding. Despite all the blood, it was evident that the man didn’t have the same red hair color as his sister.


Strange and horrible creatures indeed.


Neither Kachee nor Angelo had expected to encounter a Cerberus, but they had, and the three-headed beast had been almost too much. The poison of its bites had taken Angelo out of the battle quickly, and it was all Kachee could do to keep him protected from more harm while fending off the beast. She was pretty sure it was dead, anyway.


The woman pointed towards the inn, “Take him there, take him inside, and lay him down,” she said, and then left the woman on the horse.


Ava was staying at that inn while in this town. There had been an outbreak of illnesses, which she had managed during her stay. She was just about to leave the town to head to another when these two arrived, so she darted into her room and quickly unpacked her medical bag, seeking out salves to help her in the process, as well as a few teas for when the man regained consciousness. That could better fight any infection sealed in from closing the wound.


When at last she had found all the things she was looking for, the strawberry blonde woman hastened down into the tavern portion of the inn to see the armored woman was laying her brother down over two tables put together. She had some help from a local, fortunately. “What was it that poisoned him?” Ava asked as she drew closer.


“Cerberus,” the paladin answered immediately.


“Aah,” she knew of those, yes. Ava hadn’t been poisoned by one herself, but she knew that poison burned. “Please, step back from him.” The paladin looked concerned. Ava explained, “My healing works in a range. It will harm you if you are in this range.” All medicine was a poison. Trying to heal someone who wasn’t hurt, would hurt them. It was the rule.


Hesitantly, the paladin woman stepped back, but her blue eyes remained on her brother all the while. Both fists clenched.


Ava didn’t begin with the song, but began to remove the armor from the paladin and let it fall to the floor so she could see the wounds. She showed no awkwardness in stripping the man, though his sister did turn away then. Ava let a wry smile come to her lips at that action, but offered no comment. Her own turquoise eyes didn’t linger on anything impolite, just sought the wounds she needed to deal with.


The local leaned against one of the stools to watch. He had been fascinated since Ava arrived in town, with her, or with her healing methods, Ava didn’t know.


With the wounds revealed, Ava opened the orange balm. It didn’t smell of citrus, though, but had a woody smell to it. Ava spread it over the wounds, and as she did so, began to sing a soft melody. The poison would be pulled up and into the balm, which would hold it there. Indeed, the orange began to turn red as it was filled more and more with that poison that was running through the body of the paladin.


When it didn’t seem to be shifting any darker, quickly cleaned the wounds of their blood and of the balm, and then applied another one. This one, a light green, would lessen the pain of quick healing and prevent scarring, but there would still be pain. There was always pain. When it was applied, Ava sung again, and that was when Kachee looked over and squinted.


‘It isn’t the balms….’ Her gaze lifted from the covered wounds, which she could see were closing, to the singer. She had heard of soundweaving as an art of magic, but usually as a way to control the elements and fight—not heal. Healing was still considered a holy art taught to clerics.


Kachee bit the inside of her cheek as again, the balm was cleared away, and Angelo looked as if he hadn’t been in a fight at all—well, save his bloody hair. The winged-woman stepped back and inclined her head to Kachee, “He should wake soon. Do get him dressed, and there will be a tea made that he needs to drink to ensure no infection arises.”


“Ah…yes, but—how did you do that?”


Ava understood some of the science to what she did, but didn’t fully explain. She just said, “Vibrations,” before moving behind the counter of the bar and seeking out clean milk, of all things, to make the tea in.


Angelo groaned, and rolled—right off the tables. “Ow.” The tall man collapsed there, fully awake, but definitely in pain. “Am I naked?” He hadn’t opened his eyes, but he felt air where he shouldn’t feel air.


“Yes. You’re all better now.”


No, he really wasn’t, he hurt in a lot of places. He sat up, hands moving to cover himself as he looked down to see that he wasn’t bleeding anymore, and he did look just fine. “Well.” One hand lifted, distracted, to move through his hair. There was the proof he hadn’t been all right—his hair was clumped still by blood, and some of the blood stained his fingers when he pulled them back.


So he was. His surprise was clear, before he felt the drape of a cloak over his shoulders. Kachee’s, of course. He wrapped it around himself as she dismissed herself with the words, “I’ll go get you a change of clothes.”

 

[Laura]

Ai breezily wondered through the town she had just arrived at, the wind eddying around her, causing her silvery hair to dance. Casing her silver gaze around the town, she wondered what adventures she would find here. Ai hadn't planned on coming to this town. While she had been traveling a strange wind changed her course, bringing her here. In fact she never planned anything, she just went wherever the wind took her, but in this case something had been off, not quite right.


Being an Air Elemental she could literally become one with the wind, her body losing it's human form and intermingling with the air.


Heading towards the market place she wondered towards the stalls, looking over the various items the merchants were trying to sell. She picked up an amethyst bracelet, turning to over in her hands, not really paying attention to the jewellery, her mind on the strange circumstances that brought her here. There was defiantly something wrong with the wind that interrupted her path, and never one to turn away from a mystery she followed it, hoping for an adventure at the end of the journey.


Not finding anything of interest, Ai put the jewellery back and walked away with a sigh. At a rude comment from the disgruntled merchant, Ai called the power of the wind, sending it towards the merchants stall. Hearing him shout out in annoyance a grin came to her lips. Spinning around she painted a look of innocence on her face. "Oh my, that pesky wind!"


Laughing she walked away, wondering where she should go to next when she overheard a conversation. Stopping in her tracks she went closer to the building, listening closly. “A Cerberus? What on earth is a Cerberus doing out here?" She pondered out loud. She hadn't come across one of those in decades. Maybe there would be adventure in this small town after all.


~


Sorin drained the rest of the bitter beer from his tankard, slamming it back on the bar once it was empty. Sighing, he brushed his messy hair from his eyes, pushing his hair back and getting to his feet. All eyes in the tavern turned to him.


Blending in always had been a problem for Sorin, he was very tall and board, even for a Dragon shifter, and his piercing eyes, strong jaw and 'Leave me alone or die' aura didn't help. Dragon shifters were notoriously secretive beings and rarely left their clans in the woods.


Pulling his dark cloak around his shoulders he exited the tavern, shielding his eyes against the glare of the sun, heading towards the town market place. Looking at the various stalls he picked up the items he was going to need for his travels, there was no point in staying in this little town any more, having already angered some of the local farmers after a rogue landing the last time he shifted. Handing over the appropriate money for his items, he put them away in his ever present backpack.


Hearing someone shout out, he turned around, nearly colliding with a young woman with odd silvery hair and a smirk on her face. Looking back at the scene in front of him he shook his head. "Typical Elementals." He said with annoyance, before going over to help the merchant who was scrabbling around on the floor.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kachee rushed out of the inn and noticed a ridiculously tall man standing before what was clearly an elemental from the shimmer. Kachee paid them little mind, since she needed to fetch clothing for Angelo. Those things had been left on the horses, within their saddlebags, and so they were still there when she turned the corner and went into the stalls where the horses were. She gave a sigh of relief as she took both her and her brother’s saddle bags off the horses, “I’ll be back to tend to you properly soon,” she promised, touching the nose of her own ruddy horse.


It snorted, but seemed to accept its lot before Kachee exited from the stalls to return with Angelo’s things.


Angelo, meanwhile, brought the cloak fully around himself before he stood up, “Uh, thank you,” he assumed correctly the woman behind the counter of the bar was responsible for his injuries being healed. He took a glance at the balms left open on the table in their metallic containers, “How much do we owe you?”


“I didn’t ask for pay,” Ava usually didn’t. She found people were often generous in other ways—free food, free rooms, and some did give her money. She always had enough, though. She didn’t make a habit of needing money, and whenever she did, she just signed on as a singer in some tavern. She could always bring a crowd, but then, that was her art.


“But it’s expected,” Angelo said. He looked to his fallen clothing and dug out a bag of coins, “Supplies cost,” if nothing else. He approached her and laid a few silver pieces on the counter as she set a cup of flavored milk before him. It smelled of mint and chocolate.


“Thank you, then,” she slid the coins into her palm, and he took the milk, “Do drink that, to prevent internal issues.”


He wasn’t going to argue, it smelled divine. He drank too fast, started to cough, and then started to laugh at his own foolishness. Ava rolled her eyes, and went back to start sealing up her balms and putting her things away.


Before Kachee returned with Angelo’s things, a roar and a howl startled her. There was a shout of 'Cerberus', and Kachee had to groan. Apparently the theory was right: cutting off all the heads was not enough. Cerberuses were like hydras.


At least, that was what she thought since she couldn't see the creature from where she was. The cerberus had, indeed, been dead. Some force had decided to animate it once again. It's body still showed all the wounds that the paladins had inflicted on it, and its heads were crudely put back in place.

 

[Laura]

Hearing the roar of the Cerberus, an excited grin spread across Ai's face. With a whoop she called the air to her, using it to propel her towards the animated monstrosity, her body shimmering as she did so.


It was very difficult to harm an Elemental, because of this many Elementals were thrill seekers of sorts, Ai was no exception.


Ai wrinkled her nose as the stench of dark magic hit her, this was no ordinary Cerberus. Calling the air to her, she used it to create a wall of wind, stopping the creature in its tracks. Flying around the creature she used sharp blasts of wind, trying to penetrate the creatures skin, but this seemed to have no effect on the Cerberus. Getting in too close the creature, it lashed out, catching Ai and flinging her into a tree.


~


Sorin spun around as he heard the creature roar. Rooted to the spot he watched as the Elemental flew to meet the creature, she obviously had it under control, there was no need for him to get involved.


Sorin tried not to get involved in conflict as it tended to bring on his Change, and once he had shifted, he struggled to control his Dragon. After years of sword training he was better at keeping a clear head, but he preferred just to try avoid conflict in the first place. Shifting into a Dragon during a bar fight was something he liked to try and avoid.


Seeing the Elemental get thrown into a tree Sorin cursed. He couldn't just stand there, if the Elemental couldn't keep it at bay, then people were going to get hurt. He may try to avoid conflict but it didn't mean he was heartless. "Everyone, get to safety!" He shouted, running back into the market place, shepherding people into buildings. Seeing an elderly lady fall to the ground in the scuffle, he ran over, offering his arm to help her back to her feet.


He glanced back up to see how the Elemental was faring, ready to help, but only as a last resort.

 

[Lucyfer]

The roar of the cerberus startled both Ava and Angelo. Angelo glared towards the window, looked down at himself, and groaned at the fact there was no way he could go out there like this. “You could not fight as you anyway. You must heal.” Ava told him. She was walking around the counter now.


He looked puzzled, “You can’t be planning to go out there.”


The look she gave him was one of amusement, “Oh? And why is that?” As she inquired that, Kachee came in and threw the bags towards Angelo.


“Stay here!” She ordered Angelo, before dashing outside on her own.


Angelo looked down at the bags, then to the woman, “You know what you’re doing?” He inquired, to which she smiled.


“I do,” and then out the door she went.


She couldn’t have beat Kachee in running, but she had wings. She soon flew ahead of Kachee, who didn’t pause, although she heard a whisper in the wind say, “I’ll distract it.” A look up and she saw the winged woman flying ahead to where the cerberus was.


Fortunately, an air elemental had gotten there first and managed to keep the cerberus out of the town. She paid for it, but that was to be expected since she flew low enough that the cerberus could reach her with its fangs. Ava quietly hoped the woman had been poisoned, since that poison was dripping from its fangs and burning the ground beneath it with each step. Its snake-tail whipped behind it, adding to the danger. “It’ll have to burn.” Ava threw her voice down to the paladin, not certain if the paladin was capable of that, but hoping.


Then, she threw her voice as a shriek no human could have heard, but the dog-creature clearly did. Like any dog faced with that terrible whistle, it whimpered first, then growled and turned all three heads up towards the offender, thus looking away from the air elemental and the paladin who had stepped on the scene.


The other paladin, Angelo, had managed to throw on pants as he heard the chaos outside. Figuring pants was enough to help in the town, he hurried outside and saw an old woman being aided by a man, “In here,” Angelo suggested, making a motion towards the tavern and holding the door open to make the trip easier.

 

[Laura]

Groaning from the impact of the tree, Ai used the wind to pick her up. It responded to her anger, causing little eddies to spin around her, making dirt, twigs and leaves to dance around her.


Hearing an ear piercing shriek Ai spun around to see a Paladin and Siren had joined the fight. Now it was a party!


Letting out another whoop, she called the wind to her again, using it to fly around the creature, sending continual bursts of air to try and distract the creature. It was clearly an abomination brought back from the dead, so she couldn't use her usual trick of creating a void and removing the air, suffocation wouldn't affect this beast.


Looking towards the Siren, she used the wind to carry her voice across the distance. "Fire?" She questioned. From previous experience with re-animated creatures, fire was the only thing that would stop them.


~


Seeing a half naked man gesture towards the building he was just leaving, Sorin assisted the lady inside with the help of the stranger. "Thanks" He said to the man, nodding his head in appreciation.


Looking towards the monstrosity, Sorin could see they were going to need more help, he started jogging towards them, coming to a stop by the Paladin. Over hearing the Elemental's cry for fire he cursed, knowing he wasn't any use in his human form.


Sighing, he started to remove items of his clothing. Once he was down to his under clothes he knelt to the ground, crying out as the change over took him. "I'll supply the fire!" He shouted out, before shifting into a large golden dragon. Stretching out his wings he let out a powerful roar before charging towards the Cerberus.

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava heard the query from the elemental and threw her voice to her, “Yes.” She agreed. Fire, or something else that would destroy the body entirely. She supposed a strong acid might work, but finding an acid that would actually harm a cerberus would be a challenge, and they didn’t have that kind of time.


The cerberus let out a roar of frustration as the wind began to beat at it, and seemed torn between the siren and elemental. Since it couldn’t reach the siren, it opted to try for the elemental again, swiping a giant paw at her.


It never did connect. As Sorin came onto the field, Kachee started to glow with light. She couldn’t do ‘fire’, but she could certainly burn creatures. The time the air elemental and the siren had bought her was useful, and she managed to bring forth the light. As her eyes took on that inhuman glow of holy power, she drew the sword from her sheathe and directed the magic, cutting up, even though she was nowhere near the cerberus.


As it had lifted that paw to strike the elemental, the ground beneath it broke apart and the holy energy shot up into its belly. One head let out an agonized howl, and it was clear that the holy energy was quite effective against the undead, for that white light seemed to spread across the black flesh and eat at it, effectively ripping it apart.


There was no way it was moving out of Sorin’s way when he transformed into a dragon and charged at it.


Angelo, meanwhile, just ensured people got inside the inn and had a place to sit and wait out the storm, all the while hoping the cerberus would be dealt with quickly.

 

[Laura]

Slashing down with his razor sharp claws Sorin aimed at one of the creatures heads, making contact causing the Cerberus cry out. Drawing back he roared at the creature, shooting fire from his jaw, and whipping his sharp spike encrusted tail forward to try cause as much damage as possible.


One of the creatures heads shot forward and bit down onto Sorins neck, causing him to roar in anger and thrash around in attempt to throw the creature off.


~


Ai turned her body into air as a giant paw came towards her, causing it to miss and go straight through where her body had been. Laughing gleefully she rematerialized, spinning out of the creatures reach.


Seeing a golden dragon fighting against the Cerberus nearly caused her to loose concentration and fall out of the air. "Where did the dragon come from?!" She called out before shrugging and sending more air towards the burning head, not enough to put it out, but to fuel to, causing the fire to grow and spread down the creatures neck.


Seeing the dragon thrash around she noticed his giant foot about to land very close to the Paladin who was helping them fight. Calling the wind she sent a sharp bust towards the paladin, causing her to be pushed back out of the way from the stamping dragons foot.


~


Sorin managed to get free from the jaws of the Cerberus and staggered back, sending more fire towards the beast. His scales were pretty strong, and his fire protected him from poison, but he wasn't immune to injury and the bite from the Cerberus had hurt him.

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava had seen the transformation from her vantage point, and whispered down to the elemental. “It was a shifter.” She hadn’t seen the likes of it before, but she had no intention of questioning it. There were many strange creatures in this world, and she was among them, a rarity as a blend of human and siren.


The cerberus bit the dragon, and the Siren channeled another shriek down to the cerberus, causing it to wince and weaken its grip on the dragon.


Kachee had rushed forward with the intent to help the dragon as well, but she was startled to be pushed back by a gust of wind. The light around her faded as she struck the ground, hard. She rolled quickly to get up onto her knees and shot a glare at the elemental, assuming it was her because of her affinity for the air. The reason for the act was unknown, but wouldn’t be forgotten.


Thankfully, it seemed that the dragon was able to get free on its own, and the blast of fire was the final event that was necessary. The cerberus was wholly engulfed in the flames, and its body began to disintegrate in them, killing it.

 

[Laura]

Seeing that his final blast of fire had killed the creature, Sorin stumbled back, falling to the ground. It was time to change back. Letting the dragon out was never a problem, but calling his dragon back into his human form was always more difficult.


Bowing his large scaled head and closing his eyes he started the shift, the injury prolonging the process. A golden glow covered his body as he shifted, and as it faded it revealed his human form crouched on all fours. Letting out a deep breath he tried to stand up, crying out in pain he fell ungracefully to the ground.


The shift back from dragon to human always left he feeling weak but his injury on his neck and shoulder should have healed in the shift. Something about the creature was stopping it from healing, in fact, it looked a little like it was rotting. He needed to get to a healer.


~


Ai noticed the look the Paladin had sent her after she had tried to help, this just caused her to roll her eyes. "And here's what I get for trying to help." She said to herself, using the wind to propel herself around the body of the dead creature, checking it truly was dead.


Seeing a golden glow she glanced towards it. "Ooh the dragon shifter! I've not seen one of those before!" She commented out loud before zipping over and sitting cross-legged on the ground watching the shift. Ai never had been very subtle and she knew it probably wasn't very polite, but she wasn't going to miss this for the world!

 

[Lucyfer]

The flesh had been burned clear off, leaving nothing but bones. Ava descended near the paladin first, turning her back as the dragon started to shift. She was not bothered by nudity when it was necessary, but she did not want to unnecessarily upset someone when it wasn’t necessary to do so. She looked to Kachee, eyes asking the only important question.


Kachee shook her head. Despite the gust of wind, she was fine. Perhaps bruised, but overall, she didn’t think she was seriously injured. “Check the others,” Kachee insisted, seeing that the dragon had taken to human form again. “I’ll return to the tavern.”


“All right,” Ava said. With some hesitance, she turned around so that she was facing the elemental and the dragon-shifter. The elemental was oogling the dragon rather impolitely. The wound on the dragon-shifter was obvious even before Ava got close, a rotted look to it not unlike the wounds on Angelo.


She shifted her attention up from the dragon to ask the elementalist, “Are you all right?” There was haste in her voice, since she could clearly see that the dragon was not all right. She did hope he would at least be able to get up. Carrying him would be difficult since she sent the paladin away. ‘Well, I could bring my balms out here, too….’ That would probably be the best route to go.

 

[Laura]

Ai looked up from the shifter as the Siren addressed her. "Yes, I am fine, I'm not so sure about him though." She replied, nodding as she stood up and headed towards the injured shifter.


Peering down at the wound on his shoulder and neck, she pulled a face before looking towards the Siren. "The wound looks corrupted, are you able to heal?" She asked. Ai was able to heal herself, and others with an affinity to air, but her healing abilities didn't seem to work on anyone else.


Glancing at the shifter again she shrugged off her cloak and draped it round his shoulders before winking at him. "Right Dragon man, think you can stand?"


~


Sorin looked up as a cloak was draped around his shoulders, wincing slightly as it got close to his wound. He rolled his eyes at the comment and wink from the Elemental before staggering to his feet with a grunt. "I'm fine, I just need to rest." He said out loud, trying to convince himself more than the others.


He was concerned that the wound had yet to heal, that combined with the impromptu shift had left him exhausted. He staggered towards the town, looking for somewhere he could lie down. Misplacing a foot he started to fall, before feeling a gentle push of air steady him. Looking back at the Elemental he saw she was smiling at him. Nodding in gratitude he turned to the Siren. "Is there anywhere nearby I can rest?"

 

[Lucyfer]

Ava was relieved that the elemental was fine, even though she had suffered from the cerberus in the fight. It seemed her resistance was much higher than this dragon’s. She gave a nod at the question, “I am a healer, yes.”


The dragon was given clothes of a sort, and he was able to get to his feet, for which Ava was pleased. Carrying him was out of the question. Helping him to walk might be easier if he required the assistance. She answered the question, “There is a tavern that doubles as an inn. I have been staying there,” she took a step ahead, to lead the way, “All of my supplies are there,” her voice took on a persuasive note, the magic of the siren entering it.


True, she liked to have people agree with her on their own, but sometimes they needed a little push. Her words never forced anyone to do as she wanted, but they made a person feel more inclined to agree. It made the siren appear safe. “It would be no trouble at all if you wanted assistance with healing faster. I am not short on supplies.” She would lead him to the tavern either way, since it would be a place for him to rest.


~***~


In the tavern, Kachee arrived, quite fine from the fight much as she had been last time. Angelo was relieved to see that. “What happened?” He inquired, rising from where he stood, now fully clothed. Other people also looked to Kachee for information.


“Well, it was undead,” Kachee informed Angelo, and the people of the tavern at large. “It was a cerberus originally,” for those who hadn’t gotten to see it, “Angelo and I encountered it on our way out here, and killed it. Something brought it back to life,” she looked to Angelo, “We’re gonna have to go find that something.”


He groaned. The undead was his least favorite thing in this world. No good ever came out of it, though plenty of necromancers started down that path with good intentions.


Or, well, selfish ones. Usually they wanted to bring a loved one back to life. They never realized that it would never be the same. “I know,” Angelo said and shook his head. “I know….”

 

[Laura]

Ai strolled along beside the Siren and Shifter, feeling the gentle warm breeze on her skin as her body healed and regenerated her from the fight. Luckily she hadn't sustained much damage, but she had used quite a lot of energy. If someone was to look at her while this was happening, they would see a gentle glow surrounding her.


As she was focusing on the breeze, she zoned out, not really paying attention to the conversation. When Ava used her persuasive powers on the Shifter, Ai tuned back in to the conversation, raising her eyebrow at the Siren. Not that she didn't agree that the Dragon should be healed, and Shifters were notoriously stubborn.


She was just about to comment when a strong gust of wind hit her. Frowning, she turned to look in the direction the wind was going, something wasn't right. "The air feels strange... I'll be back." She said before becoming one with the wind and shooting off in the direction the wind was heading.


~


Sorin was just about to get agitated at the two female that would not leave him be, until the Siren suggested that she help him. He felt like he could trust this female, that she was safe. Feeling his guard start to drop he looked over at the woman in suspicion, before nodding in agreement, after all, she had said it would be no trouble...


"Well, in that case, I will accept your offer." He grudgingly accepted, stumbling towards the tavern that had be mentioned.


Sorin was not the type to accept help easily, he had learnt the hard way that nothing came without a cost, so he pondered over why he had decided to trust this woman so quickly. Putting his acceptance down to the amount of pain he was in he roughly pushed opened the tavern door, causing it to bang loudly against the wall. Walking to the closest chair he half sat, half fell into it, wincing as he jarred his shoulder.