The trees in the forest were malady-brown and worn down from years of age. Grains of poison begrimed the bark and gleamed like witch dust in the night. Trolls and demons haunted the sooty floors, salivating over their prey and smearing the blood over their heavy faces. The decaying air and stifling atmosphere provided the perfect abode for those who worshiped the darkness rather than the light. In the dense shadows, spiders clutched their snare-strings. Their webs shimmered like meshed steel dipped in silver. Eyes a-flame with hunger, they were hoping to dine on bloated bodies and slurp on hot blood.
Centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs guarded the darkness, blotting out any moonlight that dared to illuminate the deadly creatures below. Their bark was mottled and splotched, as if bubbled soup had been frozen in time on its surface. Clumpy combs of wet moss dangled from their rotten boughs. Underneath the moss, lethal larkspur peppered the mulched floor. A pungent tang oozed from every sentient being in the forest. Bewailing sounds ghosted through the trees. Whether it was from victim or victor, only the forest could tell.
"No... NO! Have mer-"
A swift crack rang out through the once silent village, blood pouring down onto the already stained dirt in a thick, red waterfall. A body dropped to the ground among what seemed like hundreds of others, a look of frozen horror on his torn face. Each innocent being sprawled out among the empty village had chunks of flesh missing from their chests in an endless gaping hole. They littered the ground like fallen leaves in autumn, painting the ground with crimson.
"You should not murder such innocent people, Vysesa."
A voice spoke; one that was wise and filled with old age. His calm eyes watched the woman before him, hearing a crunch and seeing another waterfall of blood spill to the tormented dirt floor. The demoness seemed to be staring off into the distance, not responding until she had swallowed.
"A demon feeds off the blood of the innocent, my dear Calixto." Vysesa murmured quietly, her sharp teeth stained with a red coating. The old kitsune chuckled quietly to himself. He began to walk towards her, his posture slouched from old age and a black cane held firmly in his furry paw. He felt the feeling of hot, fresh blood gush underneath his feet as he neared the demoness. By the time he had reached her side, Vysesa had finished the bloody heart, and now had her glowing gaze locked with his.
"A demon can also feed from a corrupted heart, not only the innocent... my dear Vysesa."
The look the demoness gave him caused Calixto to burst into a fit of quiet laughter, which soon turned into coughing. Vysesa was silent as the old kitsune cleared his throat and stared forward.
"Killing the innocent is more fun." Vysesa arched an eyebrow and glanced over to him. Calixto shook his head, and began to follow after her as she walked forward through the dead wasteland.
Laughter and songs came out of the towns saloon late at night as Rayon came into the bar. The music stopped and, immediately all eyes were on him. Rayon was wearing a long, tan, tattered cloak and a large hat over his head. He strolled to the bar without slowing down, ignoring the daggers being stared at him. Rayon sat at the bar and hunched over "Man talk about a hot season right? I mean, c'mon, what is it? The tenth? No Thirteenth day it has been over 200!" Rayon Chuckled a little, but the room stayed silent. Even though night has fell quite some time ago the air was still hot and dusty. "Bartender, can i get a glass of water? Please?"
A rather large Bald man in a green shirt and tan shorts sitting by the piano piped up "Why should you get anything from us Dog?" Saying dog with a particular distaste to it. "You and your boss have already bled us dry! We cant afford to give you more."
"Look this is all fine and well" Rayon replied " and honestly if it were up to me, you wouldn't own anything." He walked over to the speaker and put his arm around the mans shoulder. "However, My boss isn't so kind as what i would prefer." Rayon looked around the room. 15 Others were starting to stand up. " Look, Just give me what i need and ill be on my way."
Others gathered around and formed a circle around Rayon. "No see that's where you are mistaken 'friend'." The bald man replied "The only thing you are leaving here with are some broken bones!"
"I tried to warn ya." Rayon replied. He took a drink off the table and drank down in a huge gulp. After letting out a gasp for are there was a thud on the ground. It was the bald mans head. Everyone in the room stood frozen in fear. They looked towards rayon, his hand covered in blood.
A low growling voice entered the room. "THE DEPT... MUST BE PAID!" tearing off his cloak black bat wings sprouted from a dark shape covered in a dark mist. "DEMON" shouted one of the crowds-men. The bar was soon thrown into chaos as Rayon proceeded to kill every last one who opposed him in the room.
Nonce of the men stood a chance against him. The room was now littered with intestines and covered in blood. He Turned to the bartender, who was cowering in the corner in fear, and said "look at me old man" still in the same low voice as before. Afraid to disobey the demon he turned. The bartender saw a wolfs face infront of him with red eyes and black fur slowly turn to a humans face with green hair. His eyes went from Red to a deep purple. In a normal voice again as before Rayon said "sorry about the mess. It was really there fault for trying to fight instead of pay. Im just trying to do my job, you understand?" The bartender simply nodded, eyes fixated on the man in front of him. "can i still have that glass of water?" he asked with a devilish smile. Again the bartender did what was asked of him, almost like a puppet unable to do anything but what the master says. With the water drank, the last thing he did before he left was leave a huge bag of money on the table. "Its the money for repairs on the shop" Rayon stated as he walked out the door into the night.
It really is a nice night though. Rayon thought to himself as he stretched his blood soaked arms and wings behind him. (three weeks before current events)
Several days later Rayon found himself back in town of Ragna. The cities structure was a circular pattern with the government buildings inside market in the middle and houses on the outside. Ragna was a cesspool of criminals and scum. Rayon didn't quite know why he had been in this town on the day he lost his memories. He defiantly wasn't like anyone in this town in the fact that he was a genuinely nice person. Well of course unless the person has it coming to them. The only other person who came close to being like Rayon in that town was boss Trevor, and even he was a ruthless criminal who only cared for his gang. Rayon always thought about this on his way back from jobs. When Rayon was ten he lost his memory's of who he was and where he came from. It was Trevor who brought him in, And he has been there ever sense. He walked into an old antique shop to see what the owner had. Rummaging around a few necklaces and talismans in a box in the corner. There was a box that had caught his eyes at the bottom. It was a brief case that was locked. He shook it around a little bit to hear if anything was inside. A confirming rustle answered his question. He had money to spend so he figured why not. "Sir" Rayon called out. He waited a few seconds until calling out again "SIR" Louder this time. Tauntingly Rayon said "I'll just be taking this then!". Still no response. Knowing that the answer might be bad he went to go look around the store for a manager. The store was rather small. Three isles, two jewelry display cases and a back door that led to The managers room. Not seeing him in the store Rayon knocked on the back door. "sir are you in there?" still no response. Rayon, thanks to his wolf heritage, could both hear and smell better then the average human, and he could hear something. Reaching for the handle slowly Rayons heart was racing. His mind was telling him just to walk out the door... But if he could help... He turned the door nob and pushed slowly. His lunch was almost gone instantly. Behind the door was a revolting smell of decaying flesh and mushrooms. Weird worms were crawling all over the body, and an eyeball was hanging out. The body moved. "Chilled" an old mans raspy voice came from the corpse. "Chilled help me!" The body collapsed on the floor and began to crawl towards Rayon. "GIVE ME YOUR FLESH!" The skeletons Head elongated to an extreme extent, almost like a snake. Flinging the worms that were devouring its body everywhere, it moved lightning fast screaming with blood lust. "FIIIIRE" Rayon paused for a second "PILLAR". Screams of agony erupted from the possessed body as it burst into flames. Rayon sat there for a second, his heart beating fast and hyperventilating. He got up, Took his mystery case, and ran straight to the hideout of Trevor's gang.
A lone figure stood in the shadows as the subject of interest left in a sprint. In the soft, orange glow of a match, a thin pair of lips stretched into a smirk, the slightest glimmer of deadly teeth crushed into one end of a cigar. In a cloud of smoke, the figure emerged onto the main street, boots tapping on the cobblestone road. It looked as if his information was correct.
The figure took another slow, lazy drag from the potent herbs, keeping his mind calm as he rubbed out the end and fitted a mask to his face, hiding everything below his reptilian eyes. Broken glass crunched below his feet, reflecting the ebbing flames that engulfed the creature that slithered across the floor on what remained of it's limbs.
The creature...bloodied and charred somehow mustered up the strength to lift it's head and snarl, gnashing it's teeth as he held it back with the sole of his boot.
"Does it hurt, Faorbek?" The gravelly, low hiss of a voice sounded even more reptilian when muffled by the metal and leather mask. As chilling as it was gentle. "I do hope so. You deserve this more than anyone..."
There was a metallic clatter, and the creature could feel the cold barrel of a shotgun against the cooked flesh of it's forehead....
The cobblestone crunched under heavy weight as a behemoth of a creature shuffled its way slowly through the alley. Garbage was crushed, and clutter was kicked out of the way, making a path it could follow. Pained and shallow breathing echoed in the night, giving the normally quiet town a chilling ambiance. The creature hid in shadows, clutching its stomach tight. Its stomach rumbled deeply, an erie and monstrous hunger was consuming the beast. It let out a long monotone wail, fixated on finding food. As it slowly came out of the shadows, light peered onto its face, the features of a Minotaur became present. His vermillion fur bristled and dirty from long periods without cleaning. Blue tribal markings were painted on his face, signs of his birth. The Minotaur bore scars and bruises on parts of his body from rough treatment, and one horn was scratched. As it exited the Alleyway, it let out another pained wail, this time more desprate than the last.
"Oh my god...issat a beast? In da city?" A voice gasped near the Minotaur, instanly grabbing the Half-lings attention. It turned its head slowly, eyeing the man holding some recently bought merchandise. The Minotaur noticed two loafs of bread inside the bag, realization dawning on him. The man clenched his bag tighter, beginning to back away slowly. "H...help..someone please." The townsman pleads, looking around himself for aid. The Minotaur's hunger reaches impossible heights as his stomach rumbles yet again, actually scarring the townsman further. Mistaking it for a roar, the man tries to backpedal, only to trip and fall on his ass. "N-no! No please! Help!" He screamed, using the bag to sheild himself. The Minotaur didn't want to hurt the man...but he was so hungry. His mind began to cloud, as judgement and thought were misguided. The Half-ling removed his hand from his stomach, clentching it in front of him. Food...now.
The Minotaur glared at the fallen man and beared his teeth slightly. "I thought I heard something? Over here!" Several metallic footprints began to echo in unison, like a river, a patrol unit of armed gaurds arrived from around the corner. The one in front holding a gleaming lanturn, pointed it toward the Half-Ling, shock on his face. "Monster...." He whispered, dropping his lanturn onto the ground. The glass case exploded with a loud crash, a powerful fire erupting forth. The guard backed up a few, drawing his shortblade from his hilt. "MONSTERR!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. The various guards began to chant the same word, drawing their own weapons. The fire blinded the Minotaur, fierce bright light invaded his eyes. The fire spread slowly, catching onto another barrel filled with black powder, exploding. Fear, and confusion swept over the Minotaur, he knew not what to do. Slowly, as he listened to the continous monster chanting, anger also swelled. Mon...ster..? No..you...are...monsters...
The Minotaur raised his arms above his head and in garned the last of the strenght within his large body. The Half-Ling let out a powerful beastial roar, freezing the soldiers in their place. The chanting stopped, but it was too late. I...show...mon...monster...
"Fuwaa~!" Verrona sighed as she downed another mug of beer. "Pops! Give me one more!" Although the green haired girl was still sober, her cheeks were already beginning to flush a little red. The old bartender chuckled heartily, shaking his head. "It's not good to drink too much. You've already had two full mugs..Isn't today your work day, Ver? Though to be honest, I'm still a bit uneasy giving liquor to you at your age," the elder said as he was drying another cup. The elf just rolled her eyes as she sat at the counter, leaning on the table with her elbow. "Bah! Don't worry about it! Two mugs is nothing Gramps. I'm a big girl now, I can basically go on jobs all by myself!...Although boss won't allow me to, spoil sport." She turned around with a sigh, and looked back at the guild. Everything was just as it always was. Loud, boisterous, full of people of all different backgrounds...in other words, the perfect guild that she was looking for. She loved listening to the older adventurers' stories of their latest expeditions, especially the ones that had to do with slaying demons. All of them were just another tale for her to keep track of. She kept a large map back at home where the marks represented where a demon had been killed.
"By the way, how's the old Goblin doing?" the bartender asked as he filled another mug with beer and handed it to a fellow guild member. The question caused Verrona to turn back around, and she looked at the man. "Hm? Oh! Kpunkles is doing pretty well. I've heard he's found a place in a small village that's near the outskirts of Forst. He's no longer ill, ah, that also reminds me that he wanted to thank you for the herbs you gave him. They helped a lot." The bartender, Hages, smiled at the response and scratched the back of his graying head. "Ah, that's good. I'm glad that I could return the favor. I wouldn't be satisfied if I didn't repay him somehow, especially since he saved my life." Verrona chuckled, and nodded. "He was really reluctant to take it at first. In fact, he wouldn't take it at all. So I had to give it to him by force by threatening to send him to a demon's lair. Kpunkles was more cooperating after that, though I hope that he knew I was bluffing..." The small excerpt made Hages do a bellowing laugh, and Verrona couldn't help but laugh along with him. To Verrona, Hages was like a fatherly figure to her, a grandfather actually. He was getting old, and eventually he would have go retire, but he was the wisest and most reasonable in the guild.
An employee came in from the back, and handed Hages a stack of papers before she left. Hages took the papers and quickly thanked the waitress before setting them down in front of him and Verrona, and skimmed through. "Hmm..." "More job flyers?" "You bet." The elder looked at the younger girl, and frowned. "Although these are quite gruesome. Many of them have to do with executing monsters. Ah, I've heard that there has been a recent village attack by a demon..." Ver's eyes immediately widened, and she stood up, slamming her palms on the table. "Demon? Why didn't you tell me something like this sooner? Which village? Has anyone said anything about the demon's appearance?" Hages shook his head. "No details have been released, that's all I've been told..but don't you worry about things like that, leave those kinds of jobs to the veterans here. Now how about you look over these with partner...the...oh, I forgot his name..." Verrona rolled her eyes. "Myr?" "Aha! Yes, that he is." "Mhm.."
Upon hearing his name, a robed kitsune falls out of a nearby wardrobe and lands flat on his face. He lays there for a bit, then looks up; his face is flushed about as much as it could be. "Whothefuckishshayinmahnaem," he slurs. After yet another depressing night of being put down and made fun of by his guildmates, he had drunken himself stupid with the strongest liqueur the guild had, and was stuffed into the wardrobe by the aforementioned guildmates. So much in fact, that he was still drunk. "Fuckalluhyallpepulferputtinmeintherthing..." was all he could muster before slapping his face back onto the ground. To everyone else, standing was obviously not an option. The barkeep helped him up and sat him into a nearby chair. "You know, you really shouldn't drink so much. If both you and your partner get hammered, you're not really going to be able to-" "MY GREATSWORD," Myr shouted. It was as if he was no longer drunk. "WHICH OF YOU TOOK MY GREATSWORD?! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL RIP-" Myr looks over at the wardrobe and notices his greatsword leaning up against it. "Oh, there it is. He attempts to get out of the chair, but immediately falls flat on his face. No longer even attempting to stand, he begins to speak into the floor. "Sho I heard there were jobsh er sumthin. Gimmesum sho I can look overrum. And wuzzat job aboutta demon village er a demon attacking a village er sumthin..." The barkeeper sighs and walks over to the elf girl, takes a few papers, and walks back over to Myr. Upon hearing a soft snore, he sighs and looks over at the almost drunk elf girl. "Please do something."
The sun was setting by the time Rayon got to the Hideout. He was still shaken up about what had happened at the shop. He knew that Ragna was a cesspool filled with the worst of them, but a demon? Inside of the town? That was just a little to much to take in. Of course demons and monsters have been popping up all around the world, its a different story however meeting one face to face. "Yo Trevor, everyone, I'm back from my job!" A young man with short, sandy hair, deep blue eyes, and wearing a light baggy tan shirt along with light green shorts.
"Hey welcome back man. What took you so long?" Trevor asked questioningly. "You ask that as if you didn't know you were sending me clear across the country to collect on those dept's. Jeez you can be a real pain sometimes you know." "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you know you still love the work though." "Well... I wouldn't say I love doing your dirty work when it only helps us out." Trevor's face went from a warm loving one to one of disgust after that comment "Keep on talking like that, you wont like what happens." Rayons eyes turned from their usual Purple to scarlet red "You're talking as if you could do something about it." Both of the men's eyes were sharp and looking at each other, seizing one another up. With Trevor calming down he asked "Whats in the suitcase Rayon?" Rayon had completely forgot he had taken the case from the shop when he ran out. "Oh shit, that's right. Trevor you wont believe what happened. I was attacked..." "Aren't you attacked on a daily basis?" Trevor interrupted. Rayon rolling his eyes continued "You didn't let me finish. Here in town i was attacked in an antique shop by a demon of sorts." Trevor stood there still for a moment, but then started busting out laughing. "HA HA HA. Oh man nice one, you almost had me convinced there." "No really, there was a dead man and its head..." "Look Rayon, I think the heat was just getting to your head a little bit. There is no way that Ragna would allow any kind of demon inside of it. The city may be dead, but the guards on the tower are at least decent." Trevor walked over to Rayon and put his arm around him. "Look man you worry me sometimes. Its bad enough that you aren't cold blooded yet in a town like this, but now you're starting to let the heat get to you? Here go to the bathroom, get a bath in, and go lay down for the night. We"ll talk more about this tomorrow alright?" "Yeah, sure, ok..." A bath did sound good to him. His body ached, and he hasn't bathed for over a week. In the bath and his bedroom was the only places he could let his wings out without any worries. Loinmo wasn't near as bad as the Yomir kingdom, but the racism for animal species still ran deep. Even though he is part Dracon, he was also part wolf and who knew what else. He walked into the bathroom, drew himself a tub of water and sat in it. His life had been pretty busy for a guy who couldn't remember a thing about his past no farther then two years ago. Was he really already 16 now? No, His birthday was in a few days, so soon he would be. His thoughts drifted to the demon from earlier today. Was it really just his imagination. Surely he couldn't have just imagined all of that. It felt to real... Done with his bath he headed towards his room. He put on some light clothes and opened his balcony door. His room was modest. One bed one dresser with a mirror and a small balcony that over looked part of the city. It wasn't much, but He liked it anyways. Looking over the city Rayon started to think some more. One of the men in his last job had called him a demon. Was he really anything like that monster. Images of the carnage he had left behind on that job rushed into his mind. This made him uneasy. The men he had killed really had nothing to give him. And yet, Rayon showed no mercy and killed them all. Rayon liked to think of himself as a step above most of the people in this town, but he might just be one of the worst. The black dog, working for a crime syndicate as a killer. Rayon shut the door on the way inside and locked it. He thought to himself as he curled up in his silk blankets that this kind of life wasn't for him. He didn't enjoy killing for no reason, Only helping himself and no one else. Not having real people you can rely on without having to worry about a knife in the back, or having the guards recognize you as your walking down the street. His last thought before letting the abyss of darkness swallow him was that, he needed a change. A way out of this place. Somewhere he could make a difference. Somewhere he was needed and wanted...
"Ah, Myr! Nice timing." Verrona turned around to see the kitsune, but frowned when he appeared to have fallen asleep. "Oi, Myr. Myr? Myr!" Seeing no response, she huffed, and crossed her arms as she walked towards him, and then stood over him. She squat down, and gently pulled his ear towards her, and she took a deep breath. "....WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!" Despite her attempts, she knew it would most likely be useless. Many times had this happened before, and although she taught the perpetrators a lesson multiple times, they seem to be always picking on him. Verrona of course couldn't stand everyone's treatment, but she knew that there were a few people in the guild who acknowledged Myr, but she wasn't sure if he saw those people like she did. With a small sigh, she picked up the papers he was holding, and skimmed through. "Ah...Most of these are boring. Just searches for Avians, hmm...a requested execution for a demon, although there's no way boss would allow me to go..ahh.."
Suddenly the doors blasted open out of no where, causing everyone to jump and look to see who was at the entrance. A familiar, round man with a belly who was also a worker at the guild who was originally sent for some errands. But there was cold sweat on his face, and his skin was oddly pale. His eyes seemed to be drunk of fear, and his whole body was shaking. "I....I-I....I s-saw it..." he began to utter, stammering nonstop. "I-I saw i-it!" "Well what did ye see then ol' bucka?" said another guild member. Verrona turned to see who it was. Ah, yes Gilda. She was always quite impatient, but she was one of the older adventurers as well. The round man froze, and his fingers twitched. "I-It was big!....It had fur, y-yes l-lots of fur! He had the head of a bull! I-It...It was a M-Minotaur!" As soon as the statement was said, Verrona's face lit up in piqued interest. "Minotaur..?" the elf repeated quietly to herself, a small grin appearing on her face. "Y-Yes! A m-m-minotaur! It attacked a-a fellow towns man who was coming back h-here, a-and it seems to have g-gotten angry, and is now on a r-rampage! We m-must leave now o-or else....or else!...." "Or else nothing!" Everyone turned around to see that it was Verrona who had spoken up. Her face was bright, and her tone was brimmed with determination. "Us? Run? Ha! Don't make us laugh. We're a guild of adventurers, we strive to continue our expeditions until we meet the very end of our life! Not even monsters, no, not even demons could scare us away!" The elf turned over to the drunken kitsune, and shook him in an attempt to wake him up. "Myr! Myr! We must go check it out! This is our chance!"
At the prospect of a job, Myr stirs slightly. He drunkenly reaches a single hand up...and grabs Verona's boob. "Now we're back in business!" he shouts, as he rockets up and shoots a quick thumbs up, while the most cliche nosebleed begins to run down his face. "Now lets go catch us a Minotaur!" Ignoring the stares of the guildies around him, Myr dashes over to his greatsword, then grabs Verona by the wrist and sprints out of the guild hall. It was nippy outside. The last of the winter season's snow was melting, making most of the cobblestone roads slick and wet. Myr paused for a moment as he glanced around him, it was still late a night. The chill made him shiver a bit, but he quickly adapted while in his drunken stupor. He turned toward his partner, giving her little chance to so much as make a statement and grinned. Myr sheathed his greatsword onto his back and began running through the courtyard of the Wayferer's guild. Many adventures were coming and going, even during the dead of night. They all watched as Myr passed, some with shock on their face, others with total disdain. Myr and his partner, whom was currently trying to wrestle out of his grip and mentioning something about breaking balls, exited the outer gates, walking into the city streets.
There, he was greeted by the bright night lights of the large city. It was a beautiful sight to behold, thousands of different colored fire illuminated the night. It was so magnificent the drunken warrior had to stare at it in awe for just a moment. It didn't take long to find the Minotaur and the massive fight he had caused. Guards were strewn about the large road in front of the famous diner Maron's. Myr and Verona ran up to one of the guards and asked about the situation. "There's nothing we can do. He's just so damn strong, and he merely knocks aside our guards every time we get close. You're from the Wayfarer's Guild right? Please do something!" Myr, smirks slightly and heads directly toward the sounds of struggle. Loud roar are heard echoing loudly in the streets. As he turned the corner, he watched as three guards were swept away easily into a nearby wall. The beast clenched its fist and let out another pained roar.
"You.... will never get... away with this... demon..."
The guardsman spat, blood spurting from his mouth as Vysesa tightened her hand around his neck. She tilted her head, staring deep into his eyes with her glowing ones. The guardsman froze, his eyes growing wide and his body falling still. His skin turned gray and began to crack, revealing a vibrant orange glow underneath. In seconds, his body crumbled into a heavy ash pile, bones and all. Calixto watched from the shadows, both of his hands on top of his cane. When the deed had been done, the old white Kitsune began to waddle towards the deadly fire demoness slowly. He stared down at the ash pile, and with a gentle sweep of his hand, the wind began to pick up and quickly carried the evidence away into Oblivion.
"Be wise, Vysesa. You are in the city now. If the guild's heed word a demon is wandering the city of Aingard, they will go searching for you." He spoke quietly and carefully, his eyes still staring at the place where the guardsman's ashes had been. Vysesa was silent, simply staring into the capital and listening to the sounds of humans communicating with each other. It disgusted her.
"No guild will come searching for me," she flicked a black hood over her head, concealing the demon underneath that watched with silent eyes.
"... because they will not find me." She murmured quietly while beginning to walk further into the city. Calixto did not argue, and walked past the gates usually guarded by guardsman.
By the time they were halfway inside the city, the streets were eerily silent and deserted. Vysesa glanced around, continuing to walk forward but becoming more alert. Calixto suddenly stopped in his tracks, ears twitching back and forth rapidly. He paused, eyes filled with confusion.
"A Minotaur is nearby. What is it doing in the city I wonder?"
Vysesa heard the faint roar of a beast in the distance, followed by battle cries and screams of terror. It didn't seem to bother her in the least, and the cloaked demoness continued walking as if nothing was going on. Calixto followed at her side, his cane making a slight smack sound each time it touched the cobblestone road. He followed her until they reached an inn, in which they both entered quietly.
"One room. Only for a nights stay." Vysesa said quietly to the innkeeper, dropping a bag of coin onto the bar and immediately heading up the stairs. Calixto smiled warmly at the innkeeper, who simply looked confused and shocked all at the same time at the strange newcomers. When they reached their room, Calixto slowly sat onto the bed, groaning as his back cracked slightly. Vysesa stared out the window, watching silently as havoc wreaked across the capital.
It hurts...The Minotaur continued to charge toward the men in armor, roaring for intimidation. His body burned hotly, his breath showing up in the wintry air. Steam poured out from his nostrils in streams, like smog from an angered Wyvern. Make...the pain...go away. Several men raised their blades toward him, preparing the attempt to strike him down. He simply raised his arm in defense as their swords stabbed into his bristled fur. However, no matter how hard they tried to pierce his skin the blades could not cut through. With a heavy grunt, the Minotaur used his arm to sweep several men into a nearby wall, knocking a few unconscious. He glanced at his arm, a few blades sticking out of his fur. As the half-ling clentched his fist, the blades retracted and fell to the ground with a metallic clang. To his surprise another person stood in front of him, though he couldn't make out their appearance. His view was foggy, and the pain in his stomach was intense. Shaking his head, he looked up at the stars and roared as fiercly as he could, hoping to intimidate his foes as before.
Contrary to what he thought possible, the person continued to stand calmy. They didn't flinch in the slightest. The Minotaur stood their a bit dumbfounded, and grew angrier. He stomped his foot onto the ground, cratering it slightly, stone cracking beneath him. With his head down, he charged forward in full sprint, his horns directed at the newcomer. Hitting the man with all the force he held in his body, the Minotaur struck at the man successfully. the man grabbed his horns in each hand, at least avoiding being speared in the chest. The beast continued to charge and pushed the man back several yards, watching as his feet dug into the ground. In seconds his momentum slowed down to a halt, a few yards down the street. Try as he might, the Minotaur could simply not move him any longer. His strength was wanning. "S'at all?" A voice whispered, a bit mockingly. The beast shifted his eyes upward to catch a glance as his new enemy, only to realize the man was a Kitsune. A morph, a half-ling like Him.
Before anything could be done, the Kistune used Haedriks loss of balance against him and tossed the Minotaur towards a nearby wall. As he crashed into it head first, a slight pain spiked in his head. Annoying... The Minotaur stood up, huffing angrily. Flexing his chest, he roared toward the Kistune, preparring yet another Charge.
The Minotaur's roar was loud and wet, even from such a distance. Myr paused to wipe the Minotaur's saliva from his face, and shouted, "Say it, don't spray it, bruh! Verona, keep your bow down. This fight is ALL mine." The Minotaur charged at him again, and once more, Myr grabbed his horns mid charge, and threw him into a nearby wall. "Same charge, different direction. Come on. Charge again. I'll put a hand behind my back this time to make it fairer." The Minotaur looked straight into Myr's eyes, enraged. "You...damn...fox..!" He charged once more with everything he had. Myr braced himself for the impact, winded up a punch, and slammed it right between the Minotaur's horns and onto his forehead mid-charge. This time however, it wasn't enough to stop the Minotaur. "God. You. Weigh. A. Fucking. Ton...!" Myr quickly sidestepped and sent the Minotaur smashing into the wall behind him. This time however, the Minotaur didn't turn from the wall. In fact, he didn't even come up from his head-lowered charge position. Myr walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. The Minotaur merely looked straight ahead with a dazed expression, and his stomach growled even louder than it had before. "What's this? He's just hungry! Stand down everyone I can take care of this." Myr reached into the satchel on his side and pulled out a hand sized steak-flavored cube. "A good hunter always carried around a few extra Rations in his Item Pouch. Here, eat this. It'll give you enough energy." Myr plopped the cube into the Minotaur's mouth, and the Minotaur swallowed without even chewing. "I feel...energy..." the Minotaur mumbled, as he slowly stood up. "Follow me mate. I'll take you to this awesome diner that caters to halflings like us. They have the best damn steak you'll ever have in your life. Already had the best steak in your life? Shut up no you haven't." Myr walked back to the guard captain and told him the situation. "I'll be taking the large fellow for a bite to eat, and maybe take him back to the Wayfarer's," he said, to the guard captain's surprise. Myr motioned for the Minotaur to follow, and began leading him through the streets.
(The night previous) Two aerulean orbs stared out over the horizon from above the canopy of trees, idly observing the gentle glow of civilization in the distance. Katos raised a hand, pulling the band free of his hair and letting it fall loosely against his bare shoulders. There was no moon tonight, perfect for hunting.
He would need an excuse to enter the gates, and trade was easy enough to feign. The small change he would make off of game meat would barely make a ripple in his fortune, but it was welcome just the same. Nobody trusted a man in a mask...And a serpent morph was no different. His people had a bad reputation. But in one of his own cities, this would be entirely unnecessary.
With a low hiss he turned to the ground and crawled down the trunk, eyes taking in the heat of the world around him, and spotted his first kill.
Immediately when Myr reached up for one of her breasts, her eyes narrowed and she raised one arm up, ready to hit him. But suddenly she saw herself being whisked away from the guild, and her eyes widened in horror as well as surprise. "Gah! Myr if you don't fucking let go this instant I'm going to be breaking your balls until they turn blue and can never make babies with anyone anymore!!" she shouted angrily while being dragged, nearly having the thought of grabbing her bow and jabbing his side with it herself in an attempt to break her wrist free from his death grip. She looked around among the midst of night surrounding them, and the elf raised an eyebrow when the number of defeated soldiers began to increase. "We must be getting near," she thought out loud and suddenly Myr stopped, causing her to stumble a bit. It took a while for her to regain her composure but she looked up at the beast in front of her and tilted her head. "Oh, so he's gone mad," Verrona said while grabbing her bow and aiming it at the minotaur, who seemed ready to run her down. But she realized that it couldn't see her, instead, the Minotaur's eyes were concentrating on her kitsune partner.
Suddenly the Minotaur began to charge at Myr, causing her to gasp and dodge out of the way. "Myr! Watch ou-!......" But in midsentence, Verrona saw that the kitsune was holding on pretty well to the beast. She gave a small sigh of relief, and then aimed her bow again, but suddenly she heard Myr's voice, "Say it don't spray it bruh! Verrona, keep your bow down. This fight is ALL mine!" At the small hint of haughtiness in his voice, the elf rolled her eyes and sneered. "Just who do you think you are, grabbing my boob, dragging me down town, and now this?! Ugh, you have no shame you perverted, drunk fox!" Nonetheless, she heeded to his words and just sat down under a tree among the rest of the guards, some of them snickering at her. But they were quickly hushed up when the elf sent them a dark death glare, and turned back to continue watching the fight between the halflings. Once Myr figured out what the matter was with the Minotaur, her eyebrows raised and she stood up, catching up to them as they were about to leave. "Hey! You seem to forgetting someone you damn kitsune!" she huffed, slowing to a walk once she was walking alongside them, giving curious glances to the minotaur occasionally.
The Minotaur slowly trotted from behind the two, eyeing them with a guarded expression. Even though he was given food, he could not trust the people of this town. No one could be trusted. The girl next to Myr walked silently, glancing back at Haedrik every now and then. Undeniably he was still hungry, and his stomach growled loudly. Though guarded, he still felt self-conscious and idly grabbed at his stomach. "Hun..gry." He muttered hoarsely, closing his eyes. He continued to follow the Morph and his elven friend, hoping to be led to food. The Minotaur had little strength left, he couldn't survive much longer.
(Sorry for the incredibly short post. Not much to be done when being led. xD )
With unknown eyes, she watched. The Minotaur stood so tall in the distance his horns peaked slightly above some of the rooftops. In all of her silence, Vysesa watched with a boiling hatred as guild members persuaded the beast to follow them through the streets. Her fists began to clench, and the vase of beautiful flowers sitting beside her on the wooden drawer burst into flames and withered. As always, Calixto was silent and simply observed the fire demoness.
"If only a Minotaur had a brain to use." Vysesa murmured, her anger suddenly subsiding and replaced by a cold layer of harshness. She swiveled around and paced to the other window, watching as the Minotaur walked past the inn and further down the deserted cobblestone street.
"It could crush this city... with the right persuasion."
At those words, the old kitsune's ears perked up. His face became grave.
"Vysesa. You cannot." Calixto began to stand up, but when he saw the burning fire in those orange eyes of hers, he sat back down in defeat. Standing by the window, Vysesa locked her gaze onto the minotaur's head, slowly entering his mind with every passing moment.
They have deceived you.
Her voice appeared in his mind, acting as his conscious. She continued to stare intensely.
They will kill you, and put your head on a spike for all to see.
Vysesa continued to push him until he had fallen over the edge.
They are traitors, thieves... They will stop at nothing to betray our kind and send us to the realm of the dead. You are smarter than them... Kill them where they stand, before they, kill you.
Vysesa's eyes dimmed as she pulled herself back out of the minotaur's mind. She watched with curiosity.
"Now, let's see what this Minotaur can do." She whispered. Calixto had his eyes to the floor, staring towards the floor and listening for a sign that Vysesa's mind manipulation had worked.
A dark cloud shrouded the Minotaurs' mind, it was hard to think. A voice whispered in his head, at first unfamiliar, now it sounded as his own. The word traitor caught his attention, it echoed in his thoughts. His voice continued, trying to persuade him to reconsider his action. His fur stood on end, he felt a deep rage inside. Traitors. He fist clentched once again, his stregnth somehow returning to him. His muscles tightened and his teeth grinded against each other. Kill them. Kill all of them. The Minotaur slowed his walk until finally reaching a halt. Starring at the ground, he let out a low growl, the pain in his stomach had subsided. Replaced by a stronger rage than before, he blew steam from his nostrils yet again. "You...won't help Haedrik. No one...helps Haedrik. You...like other celestrials. You...betray Minotaur. You kill us."
Slowly he reached for his Axe, placing a palm on the hilt. He turned his attention to Myr, starring into his eyes with hate. "No. No I won't....let you to hurt Haedrik. Haedrik hurt you." He withdrew his large battleaxe, raising it above his head and letting out another long pained roar. This time nothing will hurt him. "Die!" Quickly he swung the large blade with ease toward the elf aiming to slice her in two. Somehow, hit axe missed the woman, striking a nearby wall. It collapsed into rubble and he drew his axe for another swing.
Hearing a loud crash behind him, Myr turned to see a wall crumbling, and the Minotaur readying his axe for another strike. Oh shit, he thought. "GET DOWN!" Myr turned and shoved Verona to the ground, and turned to the minotaur just in time to catch the axe with his gauntlets. The force of the blow easily picked Myr off of his feet and slammed him into the wall hard enough to leave an impact crater, but not to crumble the wall. The blow was too intense. Myr crumpled to his knees and heaved up blood. It was getting extremely difficult to stay conscious. "Ver...It's up...to you..now....." He could no longer stay awake. His head went blank as he sank into the murky black sea of unconsciousness.
"Woah nelly!" Verrona barely made it in the nick of time if it weren't for Myr's warning, as well as his shove. It took a while for her to see what's going on, but then her eyes widened when she saw the Minotaur going berserk once more, except...she couldn't understand why. "Haedrik...so that's your name," she mumbled as she quickly drew out her bow and arrow. How did he regenerate his power so fast? She could've sworn he was weak before. No, he must still be weak now. Something must have drove him to this state..he may gotten more power but that doesn't change the fact that he's still hungry. "Look if you stop right now, we can easily overlook this alright? No hard feelings," she said, trying to reach a consent. Her eyes widened as the Minotaur continued to swing his axe again, forcing her to take leverage in a tree. "Haedrik! Knock it off! Seriously, I don't want to hurt you!"
Die....die...that seemed to be the only thing that the beast was obsessed about.
(Sorry it's a bit short, kind of in a writer's block >~< )
Light streamed through the windows revealing the mass quantity's of dust in the air and pile of green hair. As the light streamed on Rayons face, he came back from the deep sleep he had been in. Pulling his body out from under the covers Rayon yawned and stretched his arms. Throwing his legs out of the bed he proceeded up. Shivers went up his spine as his feet touched the floor. He felt uneasy for some reason. Shaking it off he proceeded to a table in the corner of his room where his new mystery case layed. "Now what could be inside of you i wonder?" There didn't seem to be any sort of lock on the case. Just some latches on the opposite side of hinges. The sound of unlatching the latches echoed early throughout the room. Rayon looked around the room nervously. Maybe he was still shaken from the demon from yesterday... That didn't matter right now. Rayon cleared his mind and turned his attention to the box. He opened it and found a set of white ivory talismans. There was six talismans total inside of the box a stag, dragon, nymph, hawk, dryid, and a wolf. Rayon slumped back into his chair. Talismans... talismans is what he risked his life for. He shook his head in disappointment. "If what happened yesterday was real, I must be the worlds biggest idiot for risking my life over a some stupid ivory. Rayon reached down for one of the talismans. When he touched it there was a big flash of light that blinded rayon. When his sight had come back to him after the flash he first noticed that all of the talismans were gone. Reaching down he asked himself (but where did they go)... that's when Rayon saw what had really happened. There was a light metal gauntlet the covered his hand and went up to his elbow. He stared at the piece of metal in awe. The hand part was scale plated in such a manner it did not interrupt the movements of the user. After his wrist there was three long pieces of metal on the outside arm with a long grapevine like grove in it. On the inside of the gauntlet it was quite simple chain-male. There was one on each hand. Standing up he saw leg armor shaped in the same way as the gauntlets only the back of the calf's were reinforced and not chain-male. There was also a sort of spike the came off the top of the knee. "Where the fuck did this come from..." "from within you." Rayon heard a voice respond. "Who's there!" Rayon yelled out spinning around the room, his hands ready to strike. "Calm down child, you're embarrassing yourself." It sounded as if the sound was coming from within his head. "If you really must know" the voice continued "My name is Youiji, god of magic, wisdom and balance" "I've never heard of ya" Rayon replied blankly. A bellowing laughter went off insanely loud inside of Rayons head. Rayon covered his ears and dropped his knees to the floor in agony. "You interest me child, to say the least. Those talismans you so "valiantly" rescued from the lair of the newborn demon was a relic from long ago i created. When you touched them it morphed with your soul to create the ideal weapon for you." "Well what can i do with these?" "That is something for you to find out. "So helpful." " an old friend lives in aingard. She should be able to help you. You'll know where to go when you get there. Anyways must get going now. Have fun, and try not to die." "Don't i always" Rayon smiled and relaxed a little. At least he would be safer with these on his side. This was his way out of this life, and he would gladly take it.
Every movement felt slow, his muscles rippling from exerted strength he didn't have. The beast was going mad, he knew it, he could feel it, but Haedrik let it consume him. Regret, sadness, embarrassment filled his gentle heart. Embarrassed he is enacting the very stereotype of his people the Celestians imagined. The Minotaur had always prided himself on control and self restraint, all to go down the drain in one fell swoop. Fear. Fear was stronger than any emotion he had felt before, strong enough to turn him into a monster. Betrayal and banishment have scarred him for life, leaving a deep wound. He all thought this as he continued to swing his axe at the young woman before him, a prisoner in his own mind. This phantom power grew, granting him the energy to topple buildings. Even as severely drained as he is, Haedrik feared what he might do next. Off to the side, he could spot the half-ling's unconscious body. The man who said he'd help Haedrik, he had thought his words to be true. What was it that made him so suspicious? Why is he afraid? "Haedrik. So that's your name." The young elf whispered, unconcerned with the beast man's axe. He stopped for a moment, a bit amazed. She actually took the moment to remember his name. No one ever payed attention...Quickly the Minotaur shook his head and let out another powerful roar. He swung his axe again, just barely missing her as she rolled in another direction. He flared his nose annoyed, hitting a small target was hard.
"Look if you stop right now, we can easily overlook this alright? No hard feelings," She plead, trying to be a voice of reason. This time, he didn't stop and only swung his axe harder into the cobble road. The elf dodged again, and ended up backing into a tree."Haedrik! Knock it off! Seriously, I don't want to hurt you!" He could see the earnesty in her eyes, but it was too late. Haedrik had little to no control over his body. He didn't want to hurt anyone either. But...he wouldn't let anyone hurt him either. "Please...make the pain go...away." He murmured as he raised his axe overhead again.
Katos mushed his face deeper into his pillow, digging his talons into the less than comfortable tavern matress. Some brouhaha seemed to have broken out in the commons outside and had not ceased for sometime now, keeping him awake at this ungodly hour of...well It didn't really matter what time it was. He was exhausted and irritable and entirely unable to sleep.
Another beastly roar shook the very dust from the rafters, prompting two blazing eyes to snap open as Katos huffed out a rather harsh growl before he climbed out of bed and stormed downstairs, tying his trousers shut on the way. Prejudice be dammed he cared little about masking his reptillian features when his well earned rest was interrupted.
The pub was nearly void of business save the crowd massing around the window and doorway, which he quickly shoved through.
A woman and a Minotaur, of all things, seems to be having something of a row. That explained the noise.
The girl appeared to be trying to reason with the beast. Foolish little thing would only serve to get herself killed. You can't reason with a rampaging bull, and a morph of his type was no different.
Katos scurried up onto the roof of the tavern and creeped to the side, waiting for the right opening.
"Please..." Katos married his eyes as the Minotaur lifted his axe again over the girl. "Make the pain go...away."
'incapacitate' was his only thought as he leaped towards the giant morph and curled his claws around the two massive horns atop the Minotaurs head. 'forty seconds should knock him unconscious...'
With a snarl, Katos pulled the beasts head back and wrapped his legs around the massive furry throat, cutting off it's air and bracing himself for the backlash. Hopefully this poor giant would be free of whatever rage had consumed him when he awoke.
Wildfire spread through her eyes in burning colors of red and orange as hell broke out outside of her window, flickering ever so slightly in the shadows. Her face showed no emotion, despite the spiteful feeling she felt deep inside her empty core. The elderly Kitsune stood beside the demoness, his eyebrows furrowed with worry and old eyes troubled. Calixto stared down at his hands resting atop of his cane in deep thought. His conscious spoke to him, trying to convince him to intervene in this affair and stop all of this nonsense. The only deep, unsettling thought that stopped him was the wrath Vysesa would reign down on him if he entered her game of blood and war.
Calixto raised his eyes to the side of her face. Vysesa seemed to be watching the Minotaur intensely. He frowned, finally agreeing to his conciousness' words and following what he felt was the right decision. Calixto began waddling out of the room with his cane stomping against the wooden floorboards with every step. The fire demoness swiveled around and watched the hunched Kitsune disappear down the flight of stairs. She did not budge or was even bothered by it, and simply returned her gaze back to the fight outside in curiosity of what her Kitsune friend would do.
Waves of suffering hit the Kitsune as soon as he stepped outside. The winds whispered words laced with fear into his ears, prodding him forward with a gentle gust that sent his white fur blowing in different directions. With slow steps and a slouched posture, the Kitsune came into view of the two guild members and whoever else was attacking the enraged beast. He watched with red eyes as the Minotaur raised his axe overhead, preparing to strike it down onto anyone in its way.
Calixto gently slipped his black cane onto a slot on his side, and rose both paws towards the axe. He closed his eyes and began to move his paws in fluid, river-like motions. Small cyclones of wind began to pick up the harder he concentrated. His once calm movements became faster and were filled with strength. The wind began to howl and rattled the windows loudly. An unstoppable gust of wind slithered straight past the guild members, and swooped right up under the mighty beast's axe. It tore the weapon right from his hand and sent it spiraling at least a hundred feet into the air. It came crashing down right beside the Kitsune, piercing the cobblestone road with a loud CLANG. His movements stopped right before the weapon had even landed, and Calixto's eyes now watched the others calmly.
A man had recently attacked the Minotaur, and was now wrapping his legs around its neck. Calixto hoped the man would give up the fight soon. He could feel Vysesa's eyes burning into the back of his skull, but he didn't turn around to meet her gaze. After all, it would give away her position.
A en-strangling pain gripped at Haedrik's throat, forcing him to heave himself backward. With his axe still hoisted above him, he took a few misguided steps back, trying to keep himself upward. With a gurgled roar, he began viciously shaking his head in an attempt to free himself. Haedrik would not give in, though try as he might the Minotaur could not break through. His fur bristled more as his rage grew, his breaths stifled and short. Whatever that was atop him did not like him moving, it only tightened its vice like grip. Every misguided step shook the cobblestone ground, like that of a heard of beast during a stampede. What men were still conscious watched as Haedrik's erratic movements lessened dramatically, though still very powerful. Like before, he raised his axe overhead in an attempt to strike down on anything that was near him. But, like the whole world was against his actions, a large gust of wind suddenly blew before his hand. With his grip weakened, the large axe was thrown away out of his reach. With a loud clang it fell to the ground next to a particularly old man, watching him with a strange serenity. Haedrik's eyes focused on the elder, never avoiding contact. Slowly, his mind fell dull and the darkness receded. A warmth filled the void, and he could think clearly. He felt a calm like never before wash over him, along with intense drowsieness. The Minotaur reached a hand out toward the old man, but he felt his eyes slowly shutting. C-can't...breath. Asleep on his feet, the beast began falling backwards. His body hit the ground, slightly destroying the road below him.