Fantasy Four Suits Volume 1.5

[Goonfire]

Leolin Hravart III

Leo was ensuring the civilians were safe behind the barrier when a familiar voice began grating on his nerves again. “For a second, I thought I had scared you off... No such luck,” the ace sighed before another Flushe member and her overgrown minion joined the fray. In response, he darted in a quarter-circle so he could keep all three of them in his line of sight. “Food, huh? Well I hope you’re ready for the main course, because I don’t think you can handle it, love.”

A tall and intense ring of fire bellowed out from around Leolin, expanding to meet the waves of bug-men. His three adversaries would be caught in the blast radius, as well. The portions that would have clashed with Alaric’s group and Guin’s barrier were promptly extinguished, only for the ends of this growing crescent shape to meet again after passing the opposite end of the dome. In anticipation of at least two melee combatants, he once again drew his scimitar, assuming a reverse-grip stance with it while he held the magic rapier normally. His eyes darted among his foes and over to One, who was standing next to Guin. With the Queen having borrowed some of his power, Leo had faith she could hold hold her own until these clowns were reduced to ash.

Kloudy . D O V E BreezeCatcher

 

[TPBx]

Ethan Kaloronos

Ethan prepared for another attack, but then in a surprising turn of events, Travis forfeited the match. For a moment in that fight, Ethan felt like he was backed into a corner since his power waned as the day progressed and that his powers were being pushed far more than he thought he had to use. He released his shadow armor revealing the wound he had received earlier in the fight. Then Ethan let go of control of his shadow soldiers, causing all of his different perspectives to merge back into one entity. He heaved and gasped as the experience was always incredibly disorienting, but doing this repeatedly trained his mind to be more resilient than the average mage. The King then stood back up as his various shadowy apparitions faded from existence. He looked at Travis briefly, giving him the look of mutual respect between two warriors, as he went back through the portal to the Diamond Castle.

Balfnaught1 ( also @ anyone who is still around Ethan's free )

 

[. D O V E]

[class name=Guin] width:250px; height:250px; background:url('https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/012/898/470/large/svetlana-tigai-prophet-advanced-layers.jpg'); border:1px solid #ffcc00; background-size:240%; background-position: 80% 20%; display:block; margin:auto; center; [/class] [class name=bg] background:#660000; border:1px solid #ffcc00 ; [/class] [class name=font] font-size:15px; line-height:20px; text-align:justify; padding:10px; [/class] [class name=gname] font-size:30px; color: #ffcc00; font-weight: bold; [/class] [class name=img] width:600px; height:300px; background:url('https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/7/77/Paling-ffxii.png/revision/latest?cb=20170905202901'); background-size:130%; background-position:center; margin:auto; center; [/class]

[div class=bg] [div class=Guin][/div]

[div class=gname] Queen of Hearts [/div]​

Location: Atria, Kingdom of Hearts
Interaction: BreezeCatcher Goonfire Kloudy
Mentions: @N/A

Spell(s) Used:
Area Drain
Psychic Projection - Sword
Partial Synchronization - Leolin
Reflect - Huge-ass barrier
Blink (Ready)


[/div]

[div class=font] More and more survivors flooded into the Queen's barrier as Atria's guards moved to assist them to safety. In the corner of her vision, Guinverre noticed a group of survivors streaming into their way from the East. She thought all of them in that part of the city was already dead but she was proven otherwise when they finally made it into the barrier. They were led by a man with wounds and bruises dotting his body. From the looks of it he probably protected them all the way through which she found impressive. 'Finally, someone useful.' she thought to herself while she gestured for them to head towards the tunnel.

Guineverre neared the survivor's leader, eyes scanning him from head to toe. It wasn't hard to tell that the man was exhausted but it would be such a waste if she simply let him off when he could still be of use. With that, the Queen of Hearts extended an arm and pressed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You've done well, brave one." she said. A glow of light blue surrounded her hand as she transferred an ample amount of the mana and stamina she has absorbed into the stranger. Doing such a thing wasn't a problem to her considering that she has an abundant sources of it thanks to her Drain. "But this fight isn't over yet and the Kingdom could use your assistance. I don't know what these villains' powers are but I wouldn't be surprised if they find a way into the tunnels. I need you to escort the survivors into safety. Make sure that they will successfully flee into the capital." she looked at him with strength, adamant on convincing him to agree to her plans as she retracted her hand.

The chain of things which happened afterwards, on the other hand, caught the Queen off guard. A guard cried for her and informed them about the situation inside the tunnels. Apparently something was blocking the way and, to make the matter worse, more of Three's oversize bugs were charging from the East towards her barrier. Guin clenched her fists as the realization that they were trapped dawned upon her. "Guards! Proceed to the blockage and clear the way immediately!" came Guin's command to which the guards responded with gasps and wide eyes. Confused, the Queen furrowed her brows. That was when she felt something eerie.

There was someone behind her.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she swiftly turned around to face the sudden presence. She was just in time to see the figure on top of the administrative building, now in front of her, discard his cloak to reveal his face. He was devoid of any emotion as he told her the story of someone called Farlene Charlemagne. The Queen wondered just who the heck he was talking about until her eyes landed on an insect-winged girl outside of the barrier. She returned her eyes at the man, now attentive to the dagger he was playing with. She felt like she was staring into a mirror when his cold, dead, eyes bore into hers as he asked her what she think happened next. The guards moved towards their queen raised their weapons at One before asking for her order.

The Queen of Hearts remained on her position, back straightened and chin up.

"Guards, I believe I gave you an order."

"Y-Your majesty we can't just leave you-"

"OBEY ME!"

She raised her voice on cue with Leolin's flames sprouting up and swallowing the area outside of the barrier. Her gaze remained fixed at One even when the reluctant soldiers saluted and moved past her into the tunnels. To their eyes, it seemed as if their queen was willing to sacrifice herself for their well-being. To Guin, she simply doesn't want witnesses if ever she'll be forced to resort to Dark Arts. Now it was just her, One and some fallen survivors and guards inside the barrier with fires of hell in the background. The Queen matched One's cold look, equally unreadable, while she raised her psychic sword, put a foot backward and steadied her stance. Why did he tell her Three's story? Did he want her sympathy? Yes, she knew how powerful thirst for vengeance could be but these lots were on her nerves.

"I do not. However, I know how her story will end. Do you want to know how?"

Guineverre squinted at One. She needed to keep her attention to him. He seemed to have the ability to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Nonetheless she also had the same ability. If ever he decides to attack her then she could Blink to dodge it. [/div]

 

[Coyote Hart]

Lloyd Einstadt
ft. Phatomsong and Mia

Calum's stand was honestly no less impressive than the other stands. The amount of cabbage present was simply astonishing. It lined the table, the barrels behind him, and even the table to the side of him. Cabbage, cabbage, and more cabbage.

"I'm overpaying?" Lloyd looked up surprised, "Oh, I didn't realize that. Yeah, I'll take another head of cabbage. More cabbage soup never hurt anyone."

Cabbage soup was going to be vital for his plan in order to figure out more about Phantomsong and Mia. There was no doubt in his mind that the power that radiated from the two was more than unusual. If he could go around the Diamond Kingdom asking about the two swords, he would probably get some answers. That was unless the swords were made by someone that wasn't a part of the Diamond Kingdom. There wasn't any way to tell.

What Lloyd knew was that Phantomsong's accent sounded almost refined despite his annoyingly cringey voice. And Mia, well her pessimism just made it impossible to discern any accent.

Now that he thought about it, Lloyd didn't know much about the geography of the Diamond Kingdom, nor did he know anything about the customs of cities. But Calum however... As a market seller, he would have knowledge of the geography of the area, as well as the customs of the areas. The problem there was that Lloyd knew that he probably couldn't outright ask Calum to give up his cabbage growing business to go on a desperate and aimless pilgrimage.

So instead of asking about it, Lloyd decided to strike up some conversation, "So how's business going right now? It looks like you have less cabbage here than the other times I've been here."

(( SentinelSevn Sorry for short post after a long period of no posting))

 

[BreezeCatcher]

Alaric - 9 - Hearts
Location : Atria - Queens Barrier - Exit Blockage
​

As Alaric led his small band of survivors through the barrier, he finally allowed his weapons to drop. The clang of metal on stone rang out across the streets as weapons that had been busy flying across the battlefield protecting the Heart kingdom civilians fell. He had cut his supply of mana off to them, and within minutes they would lose there corporeal form and vanish. The longsword in his hands hung low, the tip hovering just inches off the ground. Fiery runes danced across the blade as the history of his part in the battle etched themselves into the blade, another chapter of his life added to the blade. But they had survived the onslaught, they had made it through the barrier, and he was exhausted. His mana was just about spent, and if he had to deal with anything overly threatening, he wasn’t certain he would beat it. But they had made it through the barrier, he could rest now.

Or so he thought, for as he walked with the survivors, the elegant figure of a powerful woman approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder. With just a touch he felt revitalized. The strength returned to his limbs and he could feel as his pools of mana deepen, it was as if he had just woken from a peaceful dream, fresh and ready for the day ahead of him. And with his renewed strength he realized with a start that the one who had bestowed this second wind was none other than the Queen of Hearts. It seemed she had need of his services, for the status of the emergency exits was unknown and there was a blockage of some kind that would need to be removed so that the citizens could be escorted to the capital. With a swift bow, Alaric spoke with confidence “It will be done, my Queen.” and with that he stood and headed down the tunnel, guards flanking him on both sides. With them, he would remove the blockage and lead the citizen to the capital. All that was left to do was execute.

. D O V E
Kloudy

 

[TPBx]

Vice Admiral Ketirro Crausett

"Admiral! We're coming into firing range, the initial attack force has managed to cripple the forces on the island, but were eradicated by the local defense, second phase is set to begin. Fleet comms are waiting for permission to fire," the Ensign stated as the lead battleship floated through the water towards the Kingdom. The Admiral crossed his arms and sunk comfortably into his Captain's Chair. Everyone on the bridge busily went about their business gathering the data from the rest of the ships and worked on the final fleet preparations. Crausett smirked as he saw their target in front of them in smoke, the small coastal town had some history being the first coastal town that the Empire captured during the Crusades, now history repeats itself as a new emboldened Argossian Empire takes its first steps into reclaiming the land that had been taken from them.

"I believe we've done enough waiting around, Comms Officer Jerrel, alert the fleet and all battle stations to fire at will. Lets make sure to level the rest of the city so no mongrels are left hiding in any dark corners." One of the officers sitting to the Vice Admirals right hand side, flipped some switches and turned some dials to change the broadcast settings. He relayed the Admiral's message to the rest of the ships in the fleet, and outside there was a plenty visible response as the guns of hundreds of ships turned to face toward the island, soon over a thousand barrels were ready to deliver their payload onto the island.

Then came the inevitable boom of the cannons. An ungodly sound roared throughout the line of battleships as each gun fired off. Shells soared through the sky as they soared across several kilometers of ocean towards their target. As the remaining forces in Parma began to regain their senses after the all-out attack from the Ace of Spades, they were bombarded by the cannon volley from the Argossian Battleships. Each shell impacted the ruins of the coastal town with incredible force and exploded into gigantic plumes of gray dirt and debris. The bodies of the dead and now recently dead began to litter the streets as the shelling did its work in destroying whatever was left of the city.



Ethan Kaloronos

Ethan used his Shadow Portals from the Diamond Capitol to get to the battlefield at Parma. Though he didn't find much of a battlefield but more of a graveyard. Shells exploded around him, but since the area was surrounded with dust, smoke, and the dead, Ethan's powers exploded exponentially as he had more access to Dysidia than he ever did before. He raised his hand and created a black shield that encased him as he ran around looking for survivors. In the town square, or what was left of it, he saw an unconscious Quillon being treated by Twig. Meanwhile. Idun had her arms outstretched as she used her magic to create a large dark gray shield out of the debris and steel from the tanks around a group of the remaining mages huddled around them. A shell landed next to them, but the shield was strong enough to protect them from harm.

"Idun, I'll take things from here, gather the survivors and get to the portal," Ethan yelled at the top of his lungs. He opened up a portal closer to his location and motioned for the remaining mages to enter. As he called out to them, several rounds impacted the Shadow Shield, deafening his words and managing to crack through the dome, but Ethan, straining himself a bit more, called upon more of the dark energy surrounding him, channeling several dark violet bolts of light toward the hand he was using to support the shield. Feeling the strain of using only one hand to act as a conduit of Dysidia, he raised his other hand and lifted it up to the sky, groaning and struggling as if he was lifting the weight of the world. The shield soon expanded to cover the entire courtyard. "GOOO!!!," he yelled at the group as more shells struck the Shadow Shield.

Idun looked up at Ethan and nodded in agreement and told the remaining mages huddled around her, "come on! We have to get out of here." Twig and the rest nodded and a couple of the surviving mages picked up the unconscious Ace, carrying him over toward the portal. Ethan watched as all of them headed over one by one, disappearing into the portal and into the safety of the Capitol. Idun waited at the portal and called out to Ethan to come, motioning to him to trust her. Ethan then dropped the shield, exasperated by the stress of channeling so much Dysidia, a feat he hadn't managed to do since his sparring match with William. He mustered up his remaining strength to run toward the portal. As he made his mad dash toward safety, he could see Idun trying to tell him to look out as a shell impacted the ground behind him, launching the King forward toward the portal.

Ethan turned over in a daze as his he could barely hear anything. His head hurt as his vision felt blurred and he could hear was a high pitched whine as he was recovering from the explosion. Around him the shells ceased to drop, but he could hear the muffled voices of Argossian soldiers moving into the ruins, and gunshots as they executed the remaining wounded. As Ethan's vision cleared and he wiped his eyes, he saw Idun rushing towards him, picking him up, and dragging him to the portal. "Ethan, get up," Ethan could barely hear her say, as she took him closer to the portal. Gunfire began to rain down upon them as the soldiers saw what was going on. Idun stepped in front of Ethan and used her hardened body to catch the bullets coming towards them, looking back to see if the King was alright.

Ethan groaned as he felt his senses return to him and he made his way up on his feet. He saw several soldiers gather around him and Idun just as they were about to make their way through the portal, but Ethan now fully aware of his surroundings the soldiers soon realized they made a big mistake. He simply snapped his fingers and several Shadow Swords surrounded him, and when the soldiers fired upon him the swords danced wildly through the air as they deflected bullet after bullet. Once the soldiers had emptied their magazines, Ethan clenched his fist and then forcefully opened his palms, causing the swords to point towards their respective targets and launch themselves into the hearts of the Argossian soldiers. Idun noticed that Ethan managed to recover from the hit, and the two of them made their way through the portal before reinforcements came.



[ R E D A C T E D ], Argossian Empire

In a lab somewhere in the heart of the Empire lies the next generation of Homunculi, beings whose only purpose is to server the Empire. Within the calming blue light of the lab chamber, Doctor Sleine Troyar, the head of the Super Soldier Program, sits and waits, gazing upon the beauty of his latest creation.

"Papa, when will mommy wake up."

"Soon, my sweet princess... Soon..."

========================================================================================

SentinelSevn Diphylleia grayi Kloudy SidTheSkid Coyote Hart

 

[Kloudy]

The Old Great One

(1500/1000)​

The battle raged on...

Fighting a giant of equal size, the great dryad was not a trained melee fighter against opponents it's own size and thus had no choice but to be struck upside the jaw by the savage blow delivered by Maxwell. A flurry of magical swords also disappeared into the foliage, but otherwise left no lasting mark. The rough oaken shape of its jaw had crumbled into a mangled mess, but still the roots and vines within shot out from the open natural wound to patch up the damage with frighteningly speed. Of course, The Old Great One had a few more tricks up its sleeve.

Roots began spewing up from the ground by the giant orc's feet. Small at first, massive tendrils lashed Maxwell's ankles and swiftly made their way up his legs in an attempt to ensnare him. Having recovered from the first hit, the giant tree was able to lift a hand to roughly block the next blow. Apparently intent on going on the offensive now its target was rooted, the creature's left arm started to regenerate faster and managed to 'pop' out the oversized blade, casting the massive construct to the side. Having been done with that annoyance, the great dryad charged the orc and attempted to tackle Maxwell to the ground. With no fear of injury or pain, The Old Great One was able to launch itself with such speed and ferocity that even Maxwell would be pressed to defend himself properly.

@YungJazz ChazGhost Goonfire
​

 

[Goonfire]

Vivianne Frisk

The peppy lass was a tad miffed that her swords weren’t making a dent in this monstrosity’s overgrowth, and even less so that its face was regenerating. “This thing must have a core somewhere! Maybe in its chest!?” she figured aloud.

From her perch, Vivianne glanced down to notice roots ensnaring her ally. Given she was no use in a frontal assault, she dove off the orc’s shoulder, swinging down with a tether to the top of his boot. She landed gracefully, using the texture of the enlarged leather for a decent foothold. Luckily, she didn’t overshoot her jump and fall inside; it wasn’t within the realm of her curiosity to confirm or deny rumors that orcs had terrible foot odor. Brushing aside that quick thought, Vivianne shimmied around Maxwell’s calves, bombarding the encroaching roots to thin them for an easy escape.

Kloudy ChazGhost

 

[SentinelSevn]

Abilities

Location:
- Infirmary, Ariandel

Interactions:
- None

Quillon Downs
38 || Ace || Spades
♠

Quillon awoke to a brightened room, illuminated by orbs of light that reflected upon the intricate marble and granite walls of Ariandel's infirmary. He had returned, somehow, to the Diamond capital. On either side of him were two mages, hands engulfed in a green aura that hovered over him and released a soothing sensation onto him.

The first mage had her hands hovering over either sides of his temple. In his thoughts, he felt a probing sensation, as if she was trying to navigate his thoughts to discover and relieve him of whatever stress had caused his meltdown in the first place. The second had her hands navigating his torso, perhaps searching for any internal damage to his organs or ribs.

But he was awake, and wanted no part of their care. He rose both of his palms, and sent a small wave of telekinesis in their direction, pushing both of them a few feet away from him. He rose to a seated position, and with a hand over his head muttered, "Leave me.." in a tone so somber and quiet, it could have been mistaken as a mere whisper.

The first mage, who had been tending to any mental issues Quillon might have suffered, approached him again. Her hands glowed green yet again, and she spoke, "Ser Downs.. You need to rest, your condition isn't sta-"

She was cut off, crumpled to the floor as Quillon completely stole her consciousness away from her. His ears were filled with a deafening ringing, and the back of his head throbbed as if he had just been struck across the head by some child with a metal bat. He looked over his shoulder towards the other mage, who now had her hands out in front of her in defense. He tilted his head towards the mage on the floor, and let out a deep sigh. "Get her out of here, and leave me be. I will be fine. Send in the Ace of Diamonds.."

The mage did as she was told, scurrying around the table in which Quillon sat, and picking up her comrade beneath her arms and dragging her unconscious body out the only exit. To Quillon's amusement, the thoughts currently on her mind were trying to find another room in the infirmary to place her friend.

Quillon made an attempt to dull his own senses, to relieve himself of the pain. However he felt a twinge run down his neck, and let out a surprised yelp in pain. He was unsuccessful, and if anything, in even more pain than he had been.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out an absolutely flattened box of what was cigarettes. He retrieved one from its contents, and let the sad roll of tobacco hang from the corner of his lips, barely held between his teeth. The matchbox that he often carried along with it equally destroyed, he struggled to pull out a single matchhead that had yet to ignite itself. What he found was the very tip of the match, barely able to be held between his two fingers. Bringing it up to his lips, it was almost pitiful how far the Ace had fallen from his glory days.

As the end of the cigarette lit up in smoke, he took a long draw from the straw and allowed the smoke to linger in his lungs before releasing it up into the air above. What had happened in Parma... Of course, he knew. But anyone would have wished that it wasn't true. The Ace was in denial over what he had done. And for once, he felt truly afraid over what he was capable of.

 

[Kloudy]

The Royal Flushe - One

(300/1200)​

One's expression didn't exactly change upon hearing Guineverre's response, but he did pause a moment to stare at her a moment longer. His theatrics were not for show, of course, he was simply waiting. And by not immediately attacking him, this particular queen had made an unfortunate mistake. Naturally, it was a mistake everyone that encountered One made and they would only ever make it once. Ignoring her words entirely, One looked over to the guards running back to the tunnel expressionlessly. He knew they would not find salvation down there, Three had already seen to that. It wasn't like his troupe hadn't done extensive espionage on this city before assaulting it. He turned to glance back at Three, otherwise known as Farlene Charlemagne.

“She ate them. Gruesomely, painfully, swiftly, slowly, whole or only pieces at a time. Her body had changed, and with that her psyche-"

A hand suddenly grabbed Guineverre's shoulder from behind and One stepped forth, walking past her. The original One hadn't moved from his position, but he had still appeared from behind her again. A third version of himself appeared outside the barrier, looking in on the conversation at hand. His face was half missing, seemingly mauled by some terrible creature. The third One placed a hand on the barrier, then the second One spoke up.

"That was not the end though. She continued, ravaging the village she had grown up in, killing settlers and reclaimers as they came. She had built up an underground hive in the catacombs, where she grew her children. Asexually-produced mutant insectoid soldiers. They were fearsome."

The original One spoke up again.

"Sadly, her glory days ended there at the cusp of a grand army. A monster-purifier squad came and burnt down her hive, slaughtered many of her children and left her injured without help. It was then that I found her..."

A fourth One was lying dead at Guineverre's feet, body wreathed in scorch marks, burnt flesh and charred bones exposed. The blade twirling began once again from the two living One's nearby to the queen, the third One with the mangled face simply content with just watching. A thick mist had built up, greyish in nature. The original one stopped twirling his blade once more and turned to face Guineverre directly, direct eye contact evident from his dead-eyed stare. He began walking forward menacingly.

"It seems you've succumbed to my magic already. It is time for The Royal Flushe to finally deliver retribution to the unjust. Death to the royalty."

This was clearly the real climax of the story.

The Royal Flushe - Two

(250/2000)​

A resounding rumble was heard from Two's direction as he dug his hand into the ground and heaved up a giant slab of the road up vertically into the air before pushing it with great force in Leolin's direction. Successfully blocking that side of the flame ring, Two then dashed forward with incredible superhuman speed and landed on the side of the flying 20ft tall road slab, destroying it into smaller chunks as it flew. Now hidden within the flying rubble, Two leaped between pieces of airborne debris amongst the dust cloud to get closer to Leolin. Just before the slab debris would reach the ace, Two burst out from the cloud with a mad grin on his face and fist cocked back with obvious intent to sock the fire-user directly in the side of the jaw at the speed of sound.

“We're not done until you're dead, or I am - and I don't mind either way!"

The Royal Flushe - Three

(500/500)
​

“Tch. How annoying. Karnus will sort that one out."

Raising her arms to shield herself from the ring of fire that had attempted to blast into her, a wall of oversized cockroaches quickly scrambled up the side of the building and from behind her to form a giant living makeshift wall of creatures. While the impact of the spell killed several of the cockroaches immediately, setting many more on fire, a further slew of insects simply can skittering from behind the building, out of doorways, from the ground; all pouring into the street with renewed fervour. Smiling smugly, Three clicked her fingers and the large brutish cockroach man sharply glanced up in her direction before returning its attention to Leolin.

Apparently unfazed by the fire, the giant bug began jogging forward, tanking through the spell Leolin had sent its way and shrugging off the fire from its hard carapace armour like it was nothing. Continuing its charge, the creature got low, still towering taller than Leolin at 7ft despite being bent over, and attempted to tackle the ace. Due its heavier and slower disposition of course, 'Karnus' would arrive later than Two and thus its charge would occur after the initial punch was delivered.

Meanwhile...

"I can't seem to cut through the blockage! It's just too thick! Quickly, someone help me here!"

A guard was attempting to hack through the blockage in the tunnel when Alaric arrived with his entourage. His weapon was making no dent in the smooth green surface. At a touch, the material was like a tough leather, but no amount of piercing, slashing or hacking was seeming to leave a mark. The citizen further back into the tunnel were beginning to get distressed, worried that this delay would soon see them chopped up and consumed by cockroach mandibles.

Goonfire . D O V E BreezeCatcher​

 

[Athanas]

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of cards hitting the targets was not really that loud, but on the empty training arena, the sound echoed off the walls in an almost deafening way. Of course, the targets could be made to move with varying degrees of speed, so as to make training more meaningful for those beyond beginner level, and the man to whom the cards belonged to most certainly was way past Beginner level. He could've called in a few other soldiers to act as his sparring partners-but he hadn't. Cassius Bellarmont was pacing the empty, dimly lit arena, occasionally tossing a card at the targets. He'd been doing this for almost an hour, sighing grumpily every now and then. Admittedly, the day had not been off to a great start. He'd tried to experiment with making a version of Guin's Blink into a card. After almost four hours of experimentation and drawing the rune, all he'd managed to make was a Wildcard that nearly took his own arm when he tried to use it. He'd been dismissed from a healing mage only hours ago, and by then he had no desire to go back to his room to try again.

Truth be told, there was another reason his mood had taken such a hit. The Queen's absence had been a great occasion for most Queensguard, as they practically had free days off. But Cass really loved his job. He really liked the Queen, and their interactions, and their training, and... Yeah, he missed her. She was off talking with all the other Scum of the royalty, and he hadn't even spoken to her in three days. And not to mention how worried he was! What if she fell Victim to a vile plot? He was being paranoid, of course. She had the Ace of Hearts himself to keep her safe. He was just driven mad with worry because of their bond.

He decided that beating himself up was going to be of no use. He was going to get something to eat and then go seek some of his acquaintances for some board games or something along these lines. He was on his way to do just that when he felt it.
He happened to know exactly what It was. A sense of anger, of dread, and of fear. Yet, it wasn't his... Starting to panic, he drew his tracking card from his deck. Only the Queen had a matching one, one he had given to her. The sight made his blood run cold. The letters on top had rearranged themselves to spell Atria. And the card itself was glowing a devilish blood-Red. His queen was in mortal danger!

He ran to the garrison quarters. "Queensguard! Queensguard! Ready the ships! The Queen is in mortal danger! I know this, for I have a tracking spell. She is in Atria. We must go to help her. Now!"

The Queensguard responded with haste. Cass was well-known to be neither a prankster nor a Lunatic. Before long, the ships had taken off. Cass was mortified of the possibilities. He held onto the tracking card like his life depended on it. At least it was still glowing: As long as it was, that meant his Queen was alive. As they reached Atria, he was starting to get hopeful: He could make it to his Queen. He could save her!

Then the Bugs came. Hundreds of the things, larger as carriages, attacking the ships. The formation of the ships began suffering casualties as the winged critters began divebombing them en masse. Of course, the ships fired back, with dozen of the critters falling straight out of the Sky. Cass himself began firing volley after volley of cards, trying to help the ships clear a path through this swarm. He took a moment to survey the area below: His Queen appeared to have created a barrier in an attempt to save as many people as she could, and she was currently fighting two enemies that looked identical- An Illusionist. Outside the barrier, the Ace appeared to be stuck fighting two opponents.. Though these ones were quite real, in addition to getting warmed by even more bugs and.. a Huge bug. As much as he wanted to throw everything to the Queen's aid, he understood that the Ace was in much more serious need of assistance. He truned to the Helmsman.

"Captain! Inform the other ships that they are to drop in support of the Ace! This ship, clear me a path to the Queen. Once I have dropped, wait 15 seconds and then drop as well. Got it?"

He didn't stick for an answer. His mind had one goal, and one goal only: To destroy any threats to his Beloved. He soared through the sky, targeting the center of the Dome. The fire support from his ship cleared him a path through the Onslaught of Bugs. Truth is, he was somewhat worried: The power of this enemy was probably well above anything he had faced before. However, he was not entirely hopeless. He had a trick up his sleeve.

He entered the Dome and saw the two opponents. The one seemed to be already attacking Guin, but from his experience he knew she would easily dodge. However, the other appeared to be readying a sword-probably some form of bait. He was preparing for something.

About a dozen metres away from the Ground, Cass activated his feather fall card, slowing his descent enough to enable him to land without breaking all of his bones...But still maintaining enough momentum to continue his assault. He landed on One, trying to plunge both daggers into his body repeatedly. If contact was made, he would Brutalise One with repeated stabs and slashes.

"NO ONE THREATENS MY QUEEN! NO ONE!"

It was quite possibly the angriest he had ever been in his lifetime. No one would've ever seen Cass in such a rage.

. D O V E Kloudy

 

[Goonfire]

Leolin Hravart III

“Tch, how basic. I won’t need a sword to sort out Karnus.”

Leo stood eerily still, mocking Three before sheathing his blades once more. Sure, the Flushe had more forces, but were they smarter forces? They desperately needed to prove it. Having survived the initial onslaught, the adversaries swooped in for what they assumed would be an easy kill—keyword: assumed.

Two was the first to close the distance, just as expected. Aiming for the jaw? Basic at best. Leolin hopped up to receive the full force of the punch with his elbow, arm flexed so the blow ran in-line to his healed forearm. This sent the ace spiraling with extreme momentum around poor Nasham, leaving the nine-lived cat in between Leo and the Karnus.

But what of all that momentum transferred? Simple: with both pawns in the right position, Leolin finished his twirl with a charged-up punch. Upon contact with Two’s back, a cannon-like, shaped explosion hit him at max strength. Even with firearms in their infancy, he knew the effects of a solid cannon shot on a humanoid rib cage and spine: it splintered the bone and cartilage, annihilating vital organs and creating vast amounts of high-velocity shrapnel.

Of course, that wasn’t the only gift to give. A piece of debris had landed behind the ace, and so he ripped the stone from the ground in a second twirl away from the two goons, threw it into the air in front of him and fired off another blast from his hand, aimed for the insect-man’s gut. If Karnus was just like other bugs, his exoskeleton wouldn’t need to be penetrated in order to scramble his greasy insides. Adding insult to injury, he punctuated his double-move with a crater-laying blast, to fling what he was hoping would be two ragdolls by now.

Still, every now and then, Leo glanced back to see how his childhood friend was faring. He had uttered a silent wish for Guin’s safety in-between his swings, and sure enough, his prayers were answered as her cavalry arrived.

Kloudy . D O V E Athanas BreezeCatcher

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Angelica, Remi's Apprentice

Husk

Location: Remi's underground lab

Angelica stared at her creation that lies on a table, a perfect human-looking body that very much resembles Remi's young figure. This had been one of her project for months.

That substance Remi used to keep her youthful appearance all this time, it's actually hasten her aging process. These past few weeks she started to complaints about her backache more than usual, something that worries the girl a lot. Angelica was afraid if her mentor keep using that substance she would be gone much sooner than she thought it would be.

That's why she's making this... thing, as an alternative. If its only for public appearance then this thing would suffice, yes. Angelica decided to call it husk.

The husk was made by covering a human-sized earth golem with the flesh-like substance she made. The substance itself was made by dissolving meat, egg and fish into their very essence called protea. She then restructure these protea into the flesh-like substance she's using now. Yes it's only flesh-like, because it feels like rubber when touched. Cold and strangely flexible.

After she finished planting the fake eyebrows, Angelica stepped back to see anything that might be missing. She felt the overall skin tone was still a bit too pale, like the body lacks any blood inside, she might need to add more red coloring to the mixture. She also noticed the weird bulges here and there from her imperfect molding process, she must fix those so the body didn't looks like it was stung by a dozen bees. The eyes also looks dry, she must make sure the eyes looks believable since it would be the part that people see when talking to her mentor. These problems would take a while to solve.

Next would be movement test. Golem magic was one of the things that the girl trying to learn from Remi other than alchemy. Unfortunately, her aptitude was rather low for any kind of magic so she couldn't control any golem she made without the aid of this magical gauntlet that Remi made for her. The gauntlet was basically a connector that links her mana into one nearby golem's core. She braced herself.

"Awaken."

The simple command triggered the circuit in the golem's core. For Angelica, it was always a thrilling experience when a golem obeyed her command. It gaves her a strange sense of empowerment knowing that somebody, something, was under your control completely.

The golem that looks like Remi sat down on the table, then walked around the room, then smiled, then punches the wall, then doing a barel roll kick and another actions as Angelica observed how the disguise worked under various activities. So far it looks wonderful. Except the still stiff facial expression, the disguise holds very well. The voice also needs a lot of work since it sounded very distant now, she should hire better rune magus to make it.

Closing her observational book, Angelica decided to wraps up this session with something more personal to her. She held out her hand to the husk.

"Dance with me."

Of course the husk didn't know how to dance, Angelica was guiding the husk's movement with both the gauntlet and her own body. It went surprisingly well. She never know dancing would be this easy, she was always too shy to try it. Even when Remi invited her to some of the noble's ball and encourage her to dance with some of the gentlemens there. Maybe she should try dancing more often.

She and the husk, they moved as one with such an unexpected finesse. Left foot forward, left foot backward, right foot sidestep. Their harmonious movement was disturbed when Angelica heard the door to the room was opened. There's only one possibility: her mentor was already here!

Angelica immediately changed her grip on the husk. One moment she was holding the husk's hands gently, the next moment she launched a suplex and smack the husk back into the table it was on before. The girl was panting heavily when she shifted her attention at the woman that was standing by the door with very confused expression.

"W-welcome back, madame. J-just testing whether the husk can endure a back throw or not."

 

[TPBx]

Ethan Kaloronos

Ethan sat on a bench by the door outside of the infirmary. His forehead was wrapped with a bloodied bandage and one of his arms was kept in a sling. It was evening now and he felt his power grow by the minute, but it paled in comparison to the surreal nature of an actual battlefield. He swirled around his now charred hand, bolts of purple light were still charged within them showing he had retained some amount of the Dysidia he had used on the battlefield in Parma, but when he raised his hand to try and summon the shadows in the room towards him, his magic faltered as if something had broke and fizzled out. Ethan then felt a surge of power fill the infirmary, it seemed that the Ace had awakened, and he could hear the commotion inside as Quill struggled with the nurses.

Ethan walked in and noticed the Ace emerged from his bed in the infirmary, lit cigarette in hand, casually strolling about. Ethan called out to him, "yo, you look like shit, but somehow still better than me." The king smirked as waved his hands to show off how truly mangled they were by the spell he used to defend the surviving mages. "So you need to see William," he guessed, "the man should be down any minute, he's absolutely furious. According to Idun, you seriously screwed up."

Kloudy SentinelSevn

 

[BreezeCatcher]

Alaric - 9 - Hearts
Location: Atria - Escape Tunnel - City surface
​

As Alaric made his way to the blockage, he realized with a start that something was blocking their escape route. If it had been rubble he wouldn't have been all that worried about it, but the blockage was a solid green wall. The guards that had arrived before him seemed to be completely useless when it came to removing it too as their sword slashes pinging off the surface, completely ineffective. The people around him were growing agitated. Their homes had been destroyed and they were underground in a dark tunnel, with there supposed escape to safety completely blocked off. The people began to talk in panicked whispers, and kids began to cry out in the darkness. This blockage would need to be removed quickly or else these people would turn themselves into a thoughtless mob, and that would do nobody any good. So he approached the green wall, and ran is hand down it. It was surprisingly soft to the touch, solid but soft, and reminded him of the leathers that armor were made out of. He would be able to cut through it, he was sure. So, with his course of action decided, he motioned for the guards to stand down, for he was unsure of what would happen once he cut through the wall. In one fluid motion, he hefted his longsword above his head and brought it down swiftly. It cut through the wall with ease, but didn't destroy it. There was virtually no change other than the long gash that now spanned the walls surface. At first. Then it began to move, or more accurately, it slither past the opening in the wall. Panic flew through the crowd as the green wall continued to slither past. A multitude of swords and other weapons appeared around Alaric as he readied himself for what was to come next. "Guards, form a protective ring around the citizens." he shouted with an inspiring air of confidence. He needed to show the people that there was nothing to fear from this unknown, that the situation was under control. But it would all be for naught, for as the guards formed their protective wall around the citizens, the wall passed and was gone. Alaric took a few tentative steps into the breach, but the green wall truly seemed to have disappeared, it was gone. The citizens would be safe from here on out, and there was still work to be done, so Alaric turned away from the breach and motioned for the guard captain to come to his side. "Take the citizens here to the capital, I will return to the city for there are still people that need to be saved." With his piece said Alaric watched as the guard captain began to organize his troops to lead the citizens through the breach, before turning back up the tunnel to the city at war above.

When Alaric reached the surface he was greeted by the grim reality of their current circumstances. There were enemies everywhere, and while the barrier was keeping the bugs out, he very much doubted that the ones leading this attack would be stopped by such a barrier. From what he gathered there were three prominent figures in this fight and while the Ace managed to be holding his own against a multitude of adversaries, the queen was surrounded by copies of the same adversary with things looking like they might be taking a turn for the worst. So Alaric watched as the copies began to move on the queen and he did the one thing he could do, he reached out with his life-link. She was the Queen so she would have to accept the link, as she far overpowered his own magics. It was around the same time as he sent the link that a man fell out of the sky towards one of the clones. 'I sure hope he's on our side.' he thought to himself as he readied multiple weapons for the fight to come.

. D O V E
Kloudy
Athanas
Goonfire (mentioned)

 

[. D O V E]

[class name=Guin] width:250px; height:250px; background:url('https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/012/898/470/large/svetlana-tigai-prophet-advanced-layers.jpg'); border:1px solid #ffcc00; background-size:240%; background-position: 80% 20%; display:block; margin:auto; center; [/class] [class name=bg] background:#660000; border:1px solid #ffcc00 ; padding:10px; color:#fff; [/class] [class name=font] font-size:15px; line-height:20px; text-align:justify; padding:10px; [/class] [class name=gname] font-size:30px; color: #ffcc00; font-weight: bold; [/class] [class name=img] width:600px; height:300px; background:url('https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/7/77/Paling-ffxii.png/revision/latest?cb=20170905202901'); background-size:130%; background-position:center; margin:auto; center; [/class]

[div class=bg] [div class=Guin][/div]

[div class=gname] Queen of Hearts [/div]​

Location: Atria, Kingdom of Hearts
Interaction: Athanas BreezeCatcher Kloudy
Mentions: Goonfire

Spell(s) Used:
Area Drain
Psychic Projection
Blink
Reflect - Huge-ass Barrier
Partial Synchronization - Leolin, Cass, Alaric

Others:
Life-Link - Alaric

[/div]

[div class=font] The cold sensation of One's hand, pressed on her shoulder, drew a short breath from the Queen of Hearts. It occurred to her that he wasn't just spouting nonsense when she found herself facing two of him. From afar, she could see a third ghastly and deformed version of him, watching eerily outside of the barrier. As if it wasn't alarming enough, another One appeared at her feet, disgustingly seared and fried. Guineverre's eyes darted across the four, taking note of the fact that they seem to be in a state with relevance to his story. Despite the blood-curdling scene, the Queen remained with her concerted composure. She has seen equally, or maybe more disturbing things plenty of times before. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean that she was going to be unmindful of them.

"You've talked enough."

Guineverre titled her chin upwards just as One wrapped his story with a threat against the royalties. Seemingly out of her kind character; the Queen raised a foot, stepped on the dead clone, and proceeded to dig her boot's heel into his seared head, until it gruesomely burst open with a splattering sound which she simply found satisfying. Guineverre collected her realizations as her opponent approached. First of all, One wasn't as quiet as he looked. Second, his clones are tangible. Third, a mist was growing inside the barrier. Fourth, her drain wasn't effective against him and she was only leeching a little to nothing off one of him. Lastly but not the least, she was outnumbered.

Or so she thought.

It was then that she felt Alaric's Life-Link seeking to connect with her. The brave warrior's presence, and the absence of his cries for mercy, only meant that the survivors successfully fled into the capital. The Queen of Hearts silently accepted the offer. She supposed she could humor him if he wanted to die for her so much. Guineverre was more than ready to launch an attack when she took notice of another man jumping into the fray to aid her. Literally. It was none other than Cassius- the lieutenant of her very own set of guards and a good friend. The royalty wasted no time and immediately synchronized with the two men, sharing Leolin's buffs with them and vice-versa.

However, her participation didn't end there. When the wrathful Queensguard collided with the original One; the Queen used the opportunity to swiftly blink behind the clone, hoping to catch him by surprise, before delivering a powerful slash to his back. She would then quickly disappear from her position only to reappear a few meters above the clone, a psychic bolt forming on her left palm as the sword in her right hand widened into a shield, ready to deflect possible counters. The bolt then sprung from her hand, flying straight to the clone's head in an attempt to end him.

It was then that the rest of the Queensguards, who were in the same vessel as Cass, descended into the battlefield with echoing war cries. The same could be said outside of the barrier as reinforcements rained to help Leolin with his fight and provide fire support from above. [/div]

 

[Kloudy]

The Royal Flushe - One

(300/1200)​

One didn't waste any more time talking. His magic had taken effect already, it was obvious from the way he had told that story and the queen had glanced about, eyes unfocused like she was seeing unseen apparitions. He walked forward leisurely to her and she seemed to fixate back on him, apparently still aware of his location. One flexed his free hand curiously, feeling the light effects of the drain on him. It was highly likely that this particular spell would be quite debilitating for someone like him, but of course he was prepared. The ex-assassin thumbed the pendant within his game-furred coat, assured in the mitigation it afforded him. He began twirling his blade once more, feeling the artefact's power thrumming dully in his hand.

There were several things Queen Guineverre was not aware of. The first was that his 'clones' were not real, as animate as they looked and felt. Guin's sequence of attacks of stepping on the burnt clone and slashing the other One proved to be entirely successful, the perfectly healthy clone falling forward with a spray of blood. The stench of his redness began to stain the air with its crimson smell. The third half-eaten One simply watched on as the battle ensued, the equally expressionless and partially destroyed face staring like a ghoul from the underworld. At that moment, One looked up in mild surprise to see more opponents arriving. The Royal Flushe leader had hoped to finish things here before reinforcements could arrive, but it seemed that would not be possible.

"I am Yaanagi the Poisoner. Fear me."

One appeared directly behind Guineverre, so close he was practically breathing down her neck. A blade plunged into her back so hot and real it would feel like she had actually been maimed. Alaric, despite the lifelink, would feel nothing as there was no actual stab wound. The injured One got up, blood soaked but apparently still very much alive. It moved towards Alaric, who by now had been above ground long enough to feel the effects of One's magic. The mist had thickened to the point where it was hard to see more than 5ft in any one direction. One's voice echoed around, biting whispers inciting fear and despair. As Cass dived down to attack the original One, the man raised his long dagger up to block the incoming strike from above.

Goonfire . D O V E BreezeCatcher Athanas​

 

[LazyDaze]

Xixix Valentine stared at the monstrosity before him as he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "How did this happen," he asked himself as he sighed. The question wasn't an inquiry on how such a monster existed, but rather, how he ended up in this particular situation.

(Flashback)​

"There's a giant monster approaching the city!"

"I heard some mages went to go fight it..strong ones too, but we're still not out of the clear."

X listned to the murmurings of the citizens while he was out on a normal stroll. Well it was a normal stroll before he hid behind a fruit stand. A giant? This wouldn't be quick at all. Actually he could count on it not being quick. He convinced himself that he remained in the city to stop civil unrest, but the truth was that he was still sleepy. He had heard some of the rumors himself by the time he woke up from his nap and people were more or less in a panic. The knights haave come through time and time again; however, the reality was that it only took one loss to result in catastrophe.


"...Hey...aren't you like...the 10 of clubs. I think I've seen you before."

"...…..No."

"Yeah, that is you! I remember because you got my cat out the tree and I was like, what's with the mask?"

"...…..No."

"Shouldn't you be taking out that giant. I'm sure with your help it will be over in a second."

"(You do realize all I have is a few weapons right?)…….No."

He had been had; the one sided conversation gave away his position and others started to chime in without hearing the full story.

"Hey guys its a 10! He's going to help those facing off with the giant!"

(I have a name you know...)

"We're saved!"

"Thank you so much!"

X rose up without making eye contact with any of them. Did they realize what they were asking him to do? They made it sound so easy, but things rarily went smoothly. If it were, the giant would have already been taken care of. He eventually shrugged, realizing it couldn't be helped. After all he had to make sure his comrades weren't getting stepped on or something. He wasn't sure what he could do to help, but he wouldn't know unless he saw it for himself.

"...*sigh* Okay guys, just sit tight, don't panic, I'll be right back...," The small crowd cheered, probably because that came out a lot cooler than he intended. He wouldn't be too far behind those who had left before him, but with any luck they would have finished the beast off before he got there.

Present​

.....They didn't finish him off. X was actually in awe of the creature. He almost didn't want to kill it. He most definitely didn't want to fight it. He couldn't just go rushing in without a plan. Especially since it was not an ideal matchup. Sure some of his weapons could be extremely useful in dealing with it; however, some would just help to stall, or aggravate it at best and would require more work on his end to make them effective....that was not ideal. He could already surmise that the monster was more than brute strength and a large body. If it were only that, it would have been defeated by now. He was close, but was still a safe distance away from the monster as he tried to formulate some kind of plan besides hitting it really hard. He could make out vines around BLANKS feet, as well as several vines around obviously damaged areas. X snickered when he realized this fight just got harder. Other beings with regenerative functions usually had some sort of weak point, or you simply had to hack it down to the point it suffered so much damage regeneration was impossible. X hoped it was the former.

He siged again just before slowly moving his right hand. A single 10 faced die that seemed to be made of glass formed in his hand. It spun and twisted in the air before settling on a specific number that signified which weapon from his magical armory would be called upon for this battle. "Please be kind...I'm already having a rough day."

After a bright flash he was holding an arrow gun in each hand. He shrugged his shoulders as he shifted his gaze back to the confrontation before him. ​

"...This will work."​

"Yo, Max! I got some complaints that you guys were taking too long, what's the plan," X yelled. He knew he was a bit busy, but he was the easiest to spot and he didn't want to risk making the situation worse by acting uninformed. He was certain Max could multitask....or maybe he was just being selfish.
-------
WEAPON: Number 7-Virtue and Verdict

Kloudy ChazGhost (Open to other interactions but he can't see you lol)

 

[ChazGhost]

10 of Clubs, Maxwell

Maxwell glanced at his shoulder after Vivianne Yelled into his ear. "I see, good to know. Hold on tight and be careful" Maxwell said to his new companion. "I think your right, it has to a core somewhere and my best is the stomach" Maxwell called to his companion as the Dryad began trying to entangle Maxwell feet and legs in vines before charging at him. Maxwell thinking quickly, look to his blade on the ground and then to the Dryad himself. Maxwell knew he had to make sure to get to fight near his blade so he could once more use it. With the vine that was trying to entangle his legs being pushed back by Vivianne, Maxwell was able to get out of the way of Dryad by jumping high in the air with the aid of his winged boots and then came back down behind him.

After landing down Maxwell heard the distant yelling of another fellow Club. "If you want to help find this thing core and/or keep his vines off me" Maxwell yelled downwards before looking around for his blade that fell out of the Dryad. Maxwell rushed forward and picked up before resizing it and preparing himself for the Dryad next strike.

LazyDaze Kloudy Goonfire

 

[SidTheSkid]

.

​

Lazare M. Viticus
(Location: Outside of Infirmary, Ariandel. )
(Mood: Upset)
(Interactions: Quillon - Ace of Spades, Ethan - King of Diamonds. )
(Mentions: )


Faraway recollections of the preceding incident terrorized Lazarus as his body lurched around his sheets, entirely unaware of the world passing around him as he remained unconscious in the infirmary bed. Throughout his treatment at Ariandel, there'd already been a few moments where he'd worried the doctors and nurses, his concerning yet infrequent bursts of hysteria had resulted in instances of the Jack being adhered to the bed, as to prevent him from lashing out in confusion against the caretakers. Although he was relatively safe from the Argossians and far away from Parma, Lazarus still imagined himself being there, consistently relieving these past events in an everlasting nightmare. Visions of these traumatic hallucinations were always sporadic, a skipping record of episodes that were all different from the last, nonetheless, these haunting dreams always involved a crumbling city, turbulent fires, and a numbing explosion that would sooner or later make his delusions fade to black before eventually starting all over again.

This ordeal lasted for countless hours up till the point his suffering was ended by an alarming noise, a noisy 'thump' of someone's flesh striking against a hard object that had woke him up. Jolting upward into a sitting position, Lazare's heart monitor had erratically spiked upward as he skimmed around the room, just barely making out the outlines after being 'blinded' by the infirmary's bright lighting. "Where am I?" Not knowing if this was just another fictitious illusion, Lazarus patted his hands around his physique to debunk his suspicions. Each of his fingers glided against his skin until they had reached the adhesive wraps that were looped around his arms, head, and mainly his chest. His ribs still twinged from them being numb but luckily they were no longer broken thanks to the medical attention he received, it might've not been life-threatening but it sure was nice not to feel the sharp aches of shattered bones jabbing into him! Grateful as it was to be saved, Lazarus was still concerned about the well being of his newly met acquaintances.

He'd mumbled off their names as his gaze lurked around the room, mentally checking off all of those he made sure were safe before stopping his count at Quillon. The Jack of Clubs wasn't sure why but whenever he looked at the Ace, it was as if his own emotions begun to flare, a strong sensation of animosity that was making his heart monitor sound off wildly until the prods were yanked off from his chest. At first, the Jack was under the idea that his throbbing headaches were the culprit behind his anger, however, his displeasure was with none other than the person he was looking at. Those confusing dreams of his were all beginning to make sense once they'd started coming back to him, the onset of the bombardment that had lit the island ablaze in a whirlwind of fire, the concussive blast from a shell nearby, but beyond all that was the image of the ruined courtyard and all of those people that were buried beneath the heavy rubble. "All those people." Lazarus was now reminded of those people that Twig had rescued, instead of being brought to safety they were all killed by the destruction that had followed.

He remembered evacuating both himself and that one Joker he had apprehended earlier, his observation of the city's destruction was soon after but prior to Parma's bombing. "How did this even happen?" Lazarus asked himself, a mind-boggling question that led him to confront Quillon after observing the comatose mage across from him, in addition to the Ace's lack of 'compassion' as they lit up a cigarette and stuffed the butt in their mouth. "You unforgivable bastard!" Wrenching the IV drip from his own wrist, Lazarus had stumbled across the sanitized floor in a dazed frenzy. Ethan's presence might've served as a deterrent for him doing anything rash but it did little to stop the Jack from bumbling over to Quillon's bedside, weaponizing himself with a sharpened spike that protruded out of the gash in his wrist, and pointing it in the direction of the Ace of Spade's throat. "You're no better than those damn Argossians!" All this faith he had put into him had diminished, to him, the Ace of Spades was nothing but a cold-blooded murderer in his eyes.

Even if Quillon was to be reprimanded by William, it was doubtful that his 'punishment' wouldn't ever be sufficient enough for the families that were killed by his reckless actions. Hurting him was the first thought that came to mind, still, the Jack of Clubs was restraining his hand from going forward. "Were those lives all meaningless to you? You'd sacrifice innocents and your own allies, just so you could kill one person?!" He tried to comprehend what thoughts would've been going through the Ace's mind, what could've made him do something like that? Executing him would probably be seen as justifiable considering the circumstances, nonetheless, Lazare's arm couldn't help but tremble as he tried to reach a decision. "I hope it was worth it." He depressingly stated. Unable to bring himself to attacking Quillon, his blood-constructed blade had immediately retracted back inside of him once he brought his hand to his side. "I'm going to go get some fresh air, forgive me for acting so childish, King of Diamonds." Unwilling to stay in the same room as the Ace out of fear of another outburst, Lazarus turned away and promptly stormed out of the infirmary, doing his best to ignore the worried faculty members that were soon following behind him.

( SentinelSevn , TPBx )

 

[SentinelSevn]

Abilities

Location:
- Infirmary, Ariandel

Interactions:
- Ethan, TPBx
- Lazarus, SidTheSkid

Quillon Downs
38 || Ace || Spades
♠

Quillon shook from his position at the edge of the bed with the entry of the King of Diamonds. Who much to his surprise, looked just as mangled as the rest of what was his team. While he immediately assumed that his injuries were sustained during his duel with his fellow King of Spades, his hopes were for naught, as a quick glimpse of his thoughts as he referred to his own injuries revealed that they had been earned protecting the few surviving onslaught of the Argossian artillery, as well as his own final strike.

"If I had wanted a reminder, you forget I have the knowledge of never forgetting a memory, King." He spoke through clenched teeth to retain the cigarette at his lips, but rose his hand up to his temple and tapped his own head thrice as if in indication of his abilities. After removing the tobacco from his lips, he let a moment slip between the two before opening his mouth again. "My honor as an Ace has long since been broken. But for what it's worth.. I had no intention in -.."

Quillon was cut off by some hostile thought, a warning from his Precognition, relatively close. The Jack of Clubs had risen, and as expected was just as hot-headed towards him as he had expected once he had awoken. But, what should be much to Ethan's surprise, he sat unflinching as he allowed Lazarus to spew his curses and his meaningless questions. When the dagger rose to his throat, he craned his neck to expose even more of his flesh, so much so that he even allowed the blood-form dagger to prick at his neck and ignite a trickle of a blood that would flow down to his breast. It was as if he was accepting of an execution, a death sentence, aware of his own guilt.

"If it wasn't mine, it was the tornado. If not the tornado, the Argossians. You witnessed their barrage first hand, none of us would have survived had we still been picking off the small fry. Words wonderfully spoken by the one who left us to go on his own to get revenge on the one who managed to land a shot on him. " Quillon thought to himself, resorting to withholding his own words in his throat as if he was avoiding any more conflict among the royals. No matter how he worded it, he had been the executioner; for the Argossians, and for the Diamonds. But as if he had wanted the Club to hear it, as much as he attempted to retain the thoughts to himself, it was as if those thoughts would still resound in Lazarus's head like a faint whisper.

When the Jack of Clubs finally resorted to storming off, he wiped away the small river of blood pooling down his collarbone with his thumb, allowing the collected crimson fluid smear across his finger before reaching over to wipe it along one of the few spare sheets the attending staff kept at the bedside. His attention fell back towards the King of Diamonds, who was still positioned near the bedside throughout the entire ordeal.

"You're entitled to be angry as well, you know? Those were in fact, your people I mercilessly skewered." Quillon spoke as if he had done it of his own accord, almost as if he was still in denial over the fact that near a lifetime with his powers and he still was unable to manage controlling it to its full extent. Albeit, he was quite clearly one of the strongest mental magic users throughout history, but he saw no pride in relying on excuses to cover up his mistakes. "I'm quite surprised you came to visit me here in the infirmary rather than when I was locked up in your prison cells, or even with a chain around my neck being prepared for a guillotine."

He let a soft chuckle escape his lips at the thought. Being restrained and made an example of in front of a crowd. Would have been a prime punishment for someone of his caliber. To be put to an end at the end of a blade fully in his power to destroy, and in the middle of a crowd of people that had never once not viewed him as a monster or a beast. His only legacy being a family the world was not even aware of. Quite the journey he had..

 

[TPBx]

Ethan Kaloronos

"It was just better I see you here than anywhere else, because this is personal. I should be angry, but I'm not..." Ethan paused, collecting his thoughts. "I should be angry... But i'm disappointed. I expected better from you, the legendary Master of the Mind, especially after my duel with your King. Gave me a bit of a better impression of the Kingdom of Spades is all." He stepped around the infirmary toward a window pointed to the east where he could still see the smoke gathering above the remains of Parma. In reality he felt nothing, he just saw one burned city, the first casualty of a much longer war to come, but Ethan decided he had to do something about Quillon. Regardless of the difference in Rank within their own kingdoms, Ethan knew that having won the duel today, meant that he was technically Quillon's superior as Head of the Coalition of Suits. He looked back at the Ace of Spades, assuming he was probably at least reading his mind passively, and thought about what to do with him.

"There aren't many things I can do, Quillon, looking at the current state of things, you have two options..." Ethan then materialized a blade out of the shadows around the room and placed it on the bedside next to Quillon. "You can either die honorably taking your own life here rather than face the humiliation of being executed in public or you can rebel and fight against the combined might of the three other kingdoms. In neither case does this end well for you or the country." Ethan paused for a second, thinking about other options, and then he came to the realization. "Or be stripped of your title and go into exile. The choice is yours...."

SentinelSevn

 

[SentinelSevn]

Abilities

Location:
- Infirmary, Ariandel

Interactions:
- Ethan, TPBx

Quillon Downs
38 || Ace || Spades
♠

”For a personal visit, you sure make one hell of an executive decision..” Quillon replied, raising a brow at the King’s choice of words. He took another breath through his long drawn cigarette, before snuffing the embers between his fingers, a muffled sizzle filling the silence between them. The cigarette, now nothing but the remains of what was the fibers in its filter, cast to the side like rubbish.

”The way I see it. Taking my own life would be cowardly. And I would be rebelling against FOUR kingdoms. You disgrace the King of Spades you speak so highly of if you think they would support me in the predicament I got myself in.” Quillon eyed the blade of shadows placed beside him, reaching over to raise it by its handle. He twirled the dagger between his fingers, as if testing its weight with his own strength. Light as a feather, like the shadows it had originated from.

Quillon’s abilities were from being at their prime, however he still had enough energy for minor spells. Tricks of the light, toying with vision, was one of them. In that moment, Quillon was simply spinning the dagger between his fingers, and the next Ethan would be surprised to see the sharpened edge of the blade pressed against his neck.

”Riddle me this, King of Diamonds. In what right mind would you allow someone of my caliber to remain alive? Remain in exile, with my powers nothing can keep me exiled. My title means nothing, while my strength still lives.” Quillon whipped the blade between his fingers, flipping its orientation until it was the hilt of the dagger now facing Ethan, but not before leaving a thin red gash across his neck. ”You are better off running this through me right now and establishing yourself as the true leader of the coalition, by taking the title as the Slayer of the Ace of Spades.” He sat in his bed as still as he had been once upon a time, on the island of Parma. He looked up towards the King with eyes expressing a hardened glare in retaliation, however they also betrayed a deep regret and sorrow that he had yet to state.

”You belittle me by offering me a choice when I have none. Make your decision now, whilst I’m in a weakened state. And while the Ace of Diamonds isn’t here to make the decision for you.”

Short post. I’m at work, so don’t really expect too much.

 

[Balfnaught1]

Travis was having a generally bad day. After forfeiting the duel against Ethan to spare either of them a crippling injury, he had decided to head to Parma to help stabilise the situation, so he called for a portal... and none appeared. Apparently William would only give the winner a free ride, or maybe it had something to do with being from the same Kingdom. Whatever. Such as it was, Travis had to fly back, missing most of the freak occurrences and his Ace's loss of control, but in a perfect little microcosm of all the problems they had been facing there was now an entire fleet facing him when he arrived, narrowly dodging a shell as he did so. After finally tracking down someone who knew where Quillon was, he made his way to the infirmary, only to find out he had just left. After practically running around the surrounding area trying to find him only to encounter him talking to Ethan. Taking a calming breath to quell the pure frustration building inside him, and taking a minute to savour the much-weakened condition of his Ace, he approached the pair, picking up their conversation as he did.
"It seems to me that there are more than two choices before you, my Ace of Spades. Realistically, it would not be difficult to fake your death, what with your much-vaunted powers of illusion. If that does not appeal to you then the possibility remains of just keeping your position. The autonomy of an Ace is one of the key principles of our nation, and war crimes are often best discussed after the war is won. Ethan, I was considering a... diplomatic mission for the two of us. A way to possibly stop this conflict before it balloons into a war of annihilation. One that would require us to enter the belly of the beast, as it were. To go to Argossia and meet the Emperor himself. In fact, Quillon, this could be your chance to redeem yourself. I'm sure one of our aces would be a very appealing gift for their Court."
TPBx SentinelSevn Kloudy

 

[vielpotato]

Last thing Jake remembered at Parma was him putting on that collar, for lack of better words, from the man who controlled his own blood. After that, Jake drew a blank before awakening in some sort of hospital. Not an allied one, as Jake would recognize those pungent colorless walls. No... This is one was a cream colored hospital of sorts. Something about that color must have knocked Jake out, or he was just weak after all and came away from some kind of outside force. Never the less, Jake realized 2 major things right away. First off was that he was bound by both wrists and ankles with some kind of leather to the bed. Not normal leather, or else Jake could possibly escape from it. No, these restraints feel like they were made to restrain somewhat powerful individuals. The second, and most likely the most problematic of the two situations Jake found himself in, was that his mask was gone. Somehow, either from the enemies taking it off to it somehow falling off his only cover from being found out.
Shit...
Without scrambling around too much, Jake took note of his surroundings as best as he could with the minimal movement he could muster. He wasn't alone.. Jake recognized two of the people in the room, the blood man and the one who just seemed like bad news, with two people around them. Jake's gut told him that they were bad news, which was obvious with them yelling and arguing with the powerful man who also looked as if he was injured either physically or mentally. Also taking account for what is being said, Jake got the general idea of what went down before sighing. He was truly in trouble now, and this time Jake didn't know if he could get out of this one.
SentinelSevn TPBx SidTheSkid Kloudy