Fantasy Burning Skies (OPEN)

[Kira031110]

It started raining and Diwata is still shaking because she kicked the old man's ******, "Where did you go hiding, old man?"she asked as she knocked some arrows, killing thralls and shaking at the same time, then a drafon came, "Seriously?!"she cursed as she saw the beast flew to the sky, Diwata shook Hydreus, "Kill that freaky beast!"she ordered,


"Damn, first my cooking is disturbed, then a horde of thralls, now a flying beast?!"she wanted to curse horrible things, but since Diwata is with a kid she cannot do it, kicking the old man is enough.

 

[Enkerzed]

Ains slashed at the thrall's claws with sword and dagger as it lunged to attack, deflecting and wounding it at the same time. How many have I killed? he wondered as he thrust his sword into the thrall's belly whilst fending off another with his dagger.


Three at the start of the battle with my bow and arrows.


He booted his attacker full in the chest, knocking it off its feet, and then stepped back to pull his sword free from the other, spilling its guts onto the forest floor.


Two, maybe three more when we rallied together.


The thrall sprawled over the ground was trying to stand up again, but Ains fell upon it before it could regain its feet and plunged his dagger into its heart.


Wounded some others after rushing out to save the archers.


Two more thralls rushed together at once from both sides. Ains threw his dagger into the one on the right and then parried the other as it swung with a long sword.


One more with the bow after luring the thralls away and three more with sword and dagger just now.


Ains finished with a counter, sweeping his sword through the thrall's neck and then punching it in the face with his free hand in a single motion, knocking it back as it bled its life away.


Not bad for my last battle, Ains thought as he faced down the rest of the thralls, fully prepared to die as his enemies rushed to mob him. Surely worthy of a knighthood.


Gripping his short sword in both hands, Ains charged forward to meet them as he roared his defiance, putting his very soul into the shout.


I never did get knighted.


That was his last thought before explosions started to rock the forest and the thralls froze where they stood, confused by the mayhem. Ains also stopped when he saw Viera amidst the throng, struggling to break through. That foolish girl, he thought as he continued on, taking the opportunity to pick up his bow and send an arrow into the nearest thrall's chest before it could react.


Noticing the attack, the other thralls hissed with fury as they readied to resume their onslaught, but then the dragon's shrieks could be heard in the distance and all the thralls attacking the dragon slayers suddenly ran off, hurrying to obey their master's call. Ains had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't going to waste this opportunity. "Now's our chance," he said when he rushed to meet with Vera, sheathing his sword and pulling his dagger out of the thrall he had killed earlier as he passed by. "Let's get out of-"


That was when he noticed the scales beneath Vera's torn clothing. Ains's first immediate reaction was his grip tightening on the handle of his dagger. Vera was a thrall now. The truth of the matter was instantly apparent and took only a heartbeat to process. However, Ains's second reaction came just as swiftly and instinctively. Dropping his weapons onto the ground, he seized Vera by the shoulders and looked directly into her eyes as he said, "Fight it, Vera, fight it! Listen to my voice. You are Vera Rahgot, do you hear me? You are Vera Rahgot!"


The dragon let out another long shriek as it flew overhead.

 

[StoneWolf18]

How many of these bastards where there?! Every time she slew one, it was just replaced with 3 more. Vera was beginning to loose hope, her attacks lacking in strength both mentally and physically.


That was until the dragon cried.


At first, when the thralls ran off, relief swamped her. Though it was soon followed by recognition that this she was one as well. With her current state, it burrowed within her mind, drowning out Ains order. When he grabbed her and began screaming, she attempted to focus on it. Hell anything that wasn't related to the giant scale clad beast. As the leader grabbed her shoulders, Vera fell on him, not really responding to anything outside her own mind. Well, there was the dragon.


It had then done what the other had, it's fierce pulling turning soft and comforting, like a mother calling a child to bed. Telling her to forget and drift away.


Though her eyes became quite dull and face ashen, she was trying. But it was as if trying to stop a horse drawn cart when they were running downhill, full of supplies, and you had already ran around the world. Every time she thought she found a crack to slip through, the dragon's cry found it too. Whenever she thought he was backing off, he came at her with full strength.


So...how do we are smart the "out-smarter"?


Make him think he won.


This was dangerous considering Vera was going to have to let herself be consumed but then brake free as the dragon weakened its cries. So, she gave one last push, able to catch Ains voice. A string to mark the entrance of the labyrinth? Gaining control of herself for mere moments, she mumbled "Ke...ep....spea...kin..g..." Before drifting off once more.

 

[MorpheusDavol]

Well ain't that cute.
​

Now when one entered into a situation this dire most people first thoughts may be to turn around or perhaps run from this awful experience. Who could blame a human from wanting to runaway from a literal beast that spewed flames hotter than hell and came from beyond the stars? When one spoke of it like that it all seemed like some type of opium addict dream. But sadly it was the world they now lived in, one shaped by twenty years of hell forcing the line between man and demon to be blurred at times; but if there was one Thrall who understood his humanity among all the masses it would be out massive sword wielder hiding on top of the once cave which housed the dead Dragon. He had spent a large portion of time flanking around to the top of the mountain to get a literal drop on the dragon but sadly.. it had already taken flight.


Now Hayden was a pretty smart man at times but his intelligence was often counteracted by his bravado or risky techniques which have literally lost him a arm or leg at a time. He was a human with a Thrall body, one he could utilize to it's best abilities even if it brought pain that these folks could never imagine. Nevermore, Hayden had gradually watched the scene unfold becoming increasingly worse- it turned out the dragon in the sky was the one he was tracked on top of the fact there was another dragon in the area... dead. So either these people who competent or lucky enough to survive a sleeping dragon but the true question was did they have the resources and skills to bring down and take a live on? Time to find out.


'Think, think... Could work. Well fuck I've done worse.' The internal conversation went something along the lines of that but when dealing with monsters of this caliber one didn't have much time to think.


As for Hayden he held a few items that would prove vital and dealing with the behemoth before them, that included his very large and very heavy sword named 'Guardian' and his assortment of quick items in his satchel which would prove invaluable. Hayden didn't exactly believe he would be taking the dragon out today so his main stash was located within the forest hidden in a dug out tree- should they find it they would see a assortment of speaks, traps, oils, and hand crafted sulfur bombs. If used correctly they could easily in their large group turn the tide of war but only if they could find it and use it correctly- but Hayden might need those if he planned to take this dragon on- things where not looking good.


As for Hayden in his mystery satchel it contain four bombs roughly the size of actual cannon balls- normally a human wouldn't be able to carry this but thanks to both his thrall arm and his increased strength in general this was not a big deal for him. It also contain some rope along with some chains followed by some throwing rocks something which proved useful when splitting thrall hordes. To light said bombs from earlier he held some Fire steel essentially flint and steel which was used to make quick fires.


By this time the dragon was circling over head of where Hayden last knew where the group was, it was do or die for that group so he knew it was time to act and throw caution to the wind. As he removed one of the four bombs, two of them being what was dubbed 'fragmentation' bombs which when exploded would send large amounts of hot metal into the world and the last being a bomb that all when exploded sent fragmentation out but by mixing in some rather unpleasant plants and other things he rather not recall would cause the enemy to gag and cough violently practically debilitating them if they breathed in the substance.


However, the bomb Hayden pick was one of the fragmentation ones- something that they would see why was so vital to dragon hunting in a second. As Hayden steeled himself beginning to step forward holding the bomb in his dragon arm he would rotate his whole body twice gaining momentum before... he launched it faster than any arrow, spear, or cannon could ever produced by mortal men. To put into view how fast this ball was traveling if a human was struck or thrall chances are they would just be a blotch of gore and blood as the ball kept moving. However, this thing sailed through the air and just as the sizzling sound or pungent smell of sulfur reached the dragon it would smash into the face of it. This for this massive creature would not be all that bad but it would shock the creature that something would randomly hit it that hard- enough to break multiple scales and cause a little hurt. However... we weren't done.


Everyone on the ground may not have saw the steel cased bomb fly through the air but they would see and hear the sound of a explosion and the cry of pain which would escape the dragon most likely. While the ball had cracked a few scales it then ignited sending moderate shock waves past the scales and searing the scales and the small amount of exposed skin... but the damage came from the metal pieces now embedded in it's skin and eyes. The thing if it wasn't blind wouldn't be seeing much and without it's sight it couldn't find the group but something about pain- it made things go crazy. Be it the explosion or the shrapnel the beast wouldn't be able to keep it's self steady or airborne meaning soon it would be crashing to the earth and hard- they might wanna move.


As for Desmond? Oh he was booking it down the mountain having jumped down and digging his claws into the cliff to allow him to slide downward safely- perks of his dragon arm eh? At any rate he was still a distance from them but it was clear when he got there he would be handling business. Swiftly.

 

[Hydreus]

I was in pain after I was hit in my critical point by Diwata. I was still lying on the floor when I heard a very large explosion near my location. The sound was so deafening that I thought that the last canon hit something in he mid air since I was firing my canon on top of the hill. The only thing that is flying on this time would be a dragon but I was lying on the floor all the time. I stand up to see if it really is a dragon.


It is really the flying beast; now crippled and resting on the center of the valley. My canons are not this accurate in firing so who fired another canon? Is there someone beside me who also fires a canon nearby? But the chances of hitting a dragon would be impossible for dragons have great ability to maneuver and to avoid incoming projectiles so what kind of advance weapon could fire such a thing. I just used my canons to kill thralls not dragons so I jealous of another crafter smarter than me.


I punch wall for such embarrassment for having another brilliant crafter; Much brilliant than me. in the field before I prepared my bow and arrow to leave at once and to go to the group.


The dragon is down. The thralls will now become more berserk than before. The Dragon give a loud shriek that I always hear in our raids as a signal for the thralls to defend their master dragon. I don't know what is the condition of the dragon but I have to tell the group that they can take refuge in the tunnels but those who insist to fight the dragon while it is in the ground then I have no way of stopping their choice.

 

[Enkerzed]

"Ke...ep....spea...kin..g..." Vera said as Ains held her by the arms, watching helplessly as she slipped further away from herself. All Ains could do was shout her name over and over again, and pray that she was strong enough to fight the dragon's call.


Everywhere around them, thralls were passing by to follow their master, ignoring the two dragon slayers that they had been so fervently trying to kill only a moment ago. It was like a scene from hell itself; surrounded by demons with the devil flying overhead, unceasingly sounding its shrill bugle cry. All that was missing now were the flames and in these woods, it wouldn't take very long to transform the forest floor into a bed of hellfire and the trees into so much kindling.


This perhaps was the reason why all the thralls were fleeing to exit the forest, but Ains paid no heed to them. He did not even know how the rest of his group were faring, nor did he care to find out. At that moment, his entire world had narrowed into the space between him and Vera, and trying to bring her back from the brink of thralldom.


After shouting her name for what felt like the hundredth time, Ains became increasingly more desperate as a tide of futility began to wash in. He tried shaking Vera back to her senses, he tried slapping her, beating her, yelling directly into her ears, but all to seemingly no avail. Still she remained near gone from the world. Still she remained out of reach. Her mind was slipping, Ains could see it in her eyes, and when he began to accept it, he was finally prepared to give up.


Picking his dagger off from the ground, Ains pointed the blade at Vera's heart and said in a defeated but still dire tone, "Last chance, Vera. If you are still there, you answer me right now."


Silence.


Ains drew in a deep breath as he gripped Vera's shoulder, pulled his dagger backwards and whispered, "Forgive me."


But just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, an explosion punctured the air and the dragon roared in pain. Ains flinched as he looked up to see the winged leviathan plummet from the sky, spewing flames as it went and eventually crashing inexorably into the forest.


"The dragon is down," he murmured as slowly at first and then with haste, he picked up his bow and one of his dragon killing arrows. Then with more conviction, more strength of purpose, he shouted, "The dragon is down!"


Ever since the first time he had seen one of his companions become a thrall, Ains had vowed to never see such a thing happen ever again and though it was difficult keeping such an impossible vow, he had never failed to uphold it, one way or another. Before this day was over, he would see it remain intact and ensure that none of his people would be lost to dragon fire, even if it cost him his own life.


Vera, you will be free from this devil, he thought as he rushed headlong to meet his enemy, chasing after the thralls that hurried to protect their master.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor, for his part, kept his wits relatively about him for all the chaos that was going on around him. Cannons, a dragon, thralls, none of which he wanted to be in front of at any given time let alone all at once. "We gotta move!" he shouts to whoever could hear him. And he follows his own instructions and starts heading towards the cannons. At least then only two things will be wanting to put holes in him. As he stumbled his way to the cannon's position, he picked up whoever appeared to be struggling as much as he was, and even had them carry some people that were barely holding onto life their wounds were so severe. At least the thralls were moving towards their draconic master, that took worrying about them out of the equation. He was even tempted to knock Ains out when he saw him cradling Vera. Oh boohoo, she was dead. It wasn't the first time someone of their band had died. Wait a second, she wasn't dead, then why weren't they moving? Guess he had two people to knock out and carry then.


(I needed to post, so I have posted.)

 

[MorpheusDavol]

And Here Comes The Pain.
​

Claws on rocks was not a pleasant sound to hear nor experience but when the time called for it sometimes you had to make choices that may seem rather crazy later. So when it came to Hayden using his draconian arm as a makeshift lift to lower himself down at slightly elevated speeds one could assume from him not freaking out he had done this before for a quick escape. Tis simply another solution to the many problems that he was going to be dealing with along with the rather crazy group of dragon hunters- couldn't blame them though how could one expect for two dragons to show up.


As Hayden feet touched onto the soft soiled ground his head looked throughout the thick forest as if trying to pinpoint where he would be needed most before the piercing cry of a endangered dragon penetrated into his mind. Oh no. You see after dealing with this dreaded beasts trying to take his humanity away from twenty years and failing every damn time had condition the man to have a sort of ungodly amount of resistance- chalk it up to the stubborness of humanity along with a demigod amount of willpower. But there was always something that tested him and that was the cry of a dying dragon trying to rally any thralls in the area to protect it but thankfully should he be able to dispatch the beast quickly the noise would subside.


When the call of a dragon is heard, atleast for Hayden, it was akin to a siren's call something which deep down he knew was nothing but the promise of death and false pleasure. The deal with the devil, the kiss of death, or perhaps even the drug filled haze of oppium are all things people could relate to how Hayden felt about the call. It wasn't something that he wanted but just like a recovering drug addict he found himself drawn to it but unlike the many that fell to it he refused to allow himself to bask in the pleasure similar to a monk practicing abstinence be it by physical pain or mental endurance for Hayden had used both to refuse a call something that was often needed for the more experience resisters.


But at any rate as the call wrecked havoc in his mind he grunted briefly letting a hot breath escape his lips as he focused past all of this- as of now he would need to find his stash. So with purpose and vigor of a man with a calling he would burst into a sprint down the woods- heading directly into the conflict it's self.


The location of Hayden stash was actually relatively close to the group right on the edge of the clearing forcing Hayden to expose himself to the group, now they may not notice him right away but sooner or later they would see a armored male.. or his sword rather. As Hayden dropped to a knee in front of a hollowed out tree he would find an assortment of spears, javelins, and another satchel similar to the one on his shoulder. As for now he would simply grab one of the javelins and the second satchel- this was one of the hidey holes he had placed to use when he was ready to face the dragon but considering the fact that he was forced to either fight the dragon or have this group perish he really held no choice.


None the less, Hayden rounded the tree corner to see a fair distance away a man with a bow looking rather prepared to face the dragon, another man seeming to retreat, a woman next to the man with the- oh no. Now Hayden had seen his fair share of infections and what not but uh she looked to be having a very hard time- something which Hayden would recognize. Well fuck. If they didn't dispatch the dragon or Hayden help her chances are she would lose her mind soon. At least that's what Hayden thought. So it was time to move.


But before Hayden could even begin to the shriek of the dragon was beginning to wear down his mental strength something which was forcing him to tighten his grip on the tree- inadvertently ripping some of the bark off with his draconian claws. 'Move boy, don't forget who did this to you.' He thought as his legs forced themselves to move away from the dragon in a small sprint towards the man and woman.


"Aoy! What the hell are you doing out here- she's not going to last long!"


The deep voice of Desmond escaped his lips quickly with urgency but firmness- something that was hard to muster when fighting a dragon influence. But none the less he held little time as he dropped both his satchels on the ground including the javelin, if they hadn't noticed by now once he dropped the satchels forcing his cloak to move they would see two things that may make them worried:


The Massive Sword on his back which was taller than him. Along with the draconian arm.


For those who may see it, the draconian arm was heavily scaled over with claws lacing his finger tips, the mere thickness of the claws made them look like meat hooks rather than something humans should ever have- let's not forget the sporadic spikes tracing the side of his forearm and elbow. It was rather ghastly to see such a advanced transformation but when looking over Hayden they would see everything else checked out human and even as he spoke it seemed eerily human when taking into account he was a thrall near a dragon call. But at the moment it seemed they had little options when it came to help.


"It was my bomb that brought the beast down- had I known she was infected.. Well I might have threw it anyway. At any rate she will lose this battle unless we do two things. We either kill the dragon which we can accomplish or ... we take desperate measures to ensure she doesn't focus on the call. I'm here to help, friend."

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Isabella had stayed at the archer that had saved her's side the hole time as the woman fought and Isabella yelled the direction of enemy's when she saw one then had gone silent whenever there wasn't an enemy and the lady was talking with another person. Isabella settled many times to clinging to the archers leg in fear when she wasn't moving or killing thralls

 

[Enkerzed]

You're an idiot, you're an idiot, you're a goddamn, godforsaken idiot.


The words echoed through his mind as he dashed through the forest. Every rational thought was screaming at Ains to do the pragmatic thing and leave Vera behind, to gather the others and beat a hasty retreat, but every rational thought was subsumed by the roar of something primitive, something implacable. It was the desire to kill.


Doubts began to creep into his mind the closer he got to the dragon, but they were easy to ignore. Ains could hear the pained cries of his enemy and they only served to invigorate him. He didn't know how the dragon was grounded, nor who or what by, but none of that was important right now. All that mattered was that the dragon was no longer in the air and had thus become vulnerable to death.


You may rule the sky, Ains thought with vicious satisfaction as he saw a trail of trees snapped in half, leading towards where the dragon had fallen. But this is our domain and you'll pay with your life for trespassing.


Just after passing the first broken tree, Ains was ambushed by a swinging branch and he ducked to avoid it as the thrall holding the club spun around for another swing. It never got the chance as Ains stabbed his arrow through its eye.


That's not good, he thought as he pulled the arrow free and checked its point. Still sharp, but not for long if I keep this up. I'll need it for the dragon.


Holding his arrow and bow in the same hand, Ains drew his dagger with the other and continued running, ignoring the sounds of footsteps all around him. As he moved closer towards the dragon however, so close that its shrieks began to hurt his ears, Ains slowed his pace as his hunter's instincts took over.


The trail had ended and just ahead was the dragon, lying in a heap of splinters with thralls forming a tight guard around it. An impassable barrier with no opening for Ains to slip through... but not for his arrow.


Crawling on his belly, Ains moved to a position where he could get a clear shot at the dragon's eyes. He could only guess as he slithered along the forest floor, unable to see above the roots and shrubs, and he'd have to guess correctly as not only would he have just once chance, but the dragon was also sure to react as soon as it saw him.


It has to be a snap shot.


Ains turned onto his side as he strained his ears, trying to figure out which way the dragon was facing from the sound of its cries.


No time to aim.


He continued crawling as he followed the mental map in his mind, imagining where the side of the dragon's head was.


A miracle shot.


It was perhaps seventy, maybe eighty yards away. The only reason it didn't see Ains earlier was because it wasn't looking at him. Where was it looking now?


Right towards me. Left side.


Nocking the arrow to his bow, Ains picked himself up into a crouch and waited for one more shout from the dragon to confirm which way it was facing.


Now!


Springing up from hiding, Ains pulled the arrow as he stood up from behind the bush that concealed him and for an instantaneous flicker of a moment, his eyes met the dragon's. Its baleful glare could be felt from across the distance, glowing like burning coals as it recognized the eyes of a human, a threat, an enemy, but all Ains could see in the dragon's own eye was a target.


This exchange lasted less than a single heartbeat, but it was long enough for Ains to know where to point his bow. As soon as the tip of his arrow cleared the top of the bush, he released it and immediately ducked down behind cover again, not bothering to check the result of his shot. He simply turned around and went back the way he came, moving in a crouching run until there were enough trees between him and the dragon that he felt confident enough to stand. Then he broke into a full dash, rushing to flee from the thralls that were now surely looking for him.


It was only after Ains had reached the end of the trail of broken trees that he realized the dragon was no longer shouting, and he knew then that his arrow had flown true. The dragon was dead. Using his dagger, Ains cut a small line into the back of his bow and added another notch to the tally of dragons he had killed over the years. There were thirty notches now.