Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[Saturn_moon]

"Eh? Not that I know of!" Marylka shouted back to Ord in response to his question.

She heard Matthias grunt and felt the adrenaline (and some guilt) build in her body from managing to actually land a hit on the Northarian. He righted himself and pivoted his body back the other way round, fighting against the inertia of his last attack.

Marylka was on the move before she even knew it, gracefully leaping forward with the aim of catching him mid-attack. That was, until she saw him slip and fall down on his knee.

The hesitation was brief but it was all it took for her to unconsciously shift her weight back and miss him... landing in the exact same patch of mud he had stepped in. She felt her world tilt and her back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

Elenion Aura

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias, for the moment forgetting that the two of them were in a heated battle, reached down to try and help Marylka back to her feet... Only to be caught in the temple by one of the floating stones that seemed to pepper the island. He reared back, reaching with one hand to clutch his head, and swatting at the floating rock with the other. Momentarily distracted, Matthias forgot where he was standing and when he stepped back on reflex, his feet went out from under him and he landed in the mud as well.

Tags: Saturn_moon
​

 

[Saturn_moon]

When Matthias fell, Marylka could only stare with utter disbelief at the Northarian next to her. She took a full minute process the entire situation and upon realising the absurdity of it, burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. She laughed until her stomach hurt and tears were streaming out of her eyes.

Regaining most of her senses and composure she extended a hand to Matthias. "I think we can call it a draw... before either of us hurt ourselves even more." She said with a grin while gesturing to their current plight. "We should do this again. I expect you to not hold back next time though."

Elenion Aura

 

[AncientBird]

After sparring with Leandra and Marylka, Serik decided it’s time to withdraw and rest. He took another cup of tea and saw Ord recruiting some of the teammates to scout the island. Serik felt too tired to so, not that if he didn’t, Valkyrie wouldn’t be any helpful anyway. The stork drake became even lazier at night and without any real necessary, she wouldn’t even try to spread her wings.

Marylka on the other hand, headed straight for the job. This girl never failed to amaze Serik how eager she could be to do stuffs. The picture of a shy and quiet girl sitting in the tent was nothing but a thing in the past.

The sweat from the spar made his skin itched, so Serik decided to take a bath. Unlike at Mt. Arebos, this time he longed for it as the weather didn’t try freezing him solid like up on the snowy mountain.

He separated himself and headed to a stream nearby. Taking off if his shirt, he waded into the water until it’s his chest deep. The water was appropriately cool and refreshing it cured the sore and numb from all the fight. He closed his eyes and let his wit floated away with the water...

The sound of splash pulled Serik back. He looked to the shore. Valkyrie who at some point had woken up came to the stream. In her beak held something, an animal the size of a large house cat. It looked somewhat like a squirrel but had much bigger eyes, large rat-like ears and long tail that could curl at the tip. The poor critter was barely alive but not yet dead. He disn’t hear the critter’s scream so it seemed that the stork drake had been holding it like that for sometimes.

“Oh come on, if you are going to eat it, at least put it out of misery first.” Serik spoke to Valkyrie in disapproval. Valkyrie looked at Serik, cocked her head a bit. In the split second, she slammed the critter against the ground. The weird animal squeaked in pain and then hung limply from Valkyrie’s beak.

“Sadist...” Serik mumbled at the gruesome sight and looked away. He swam to the other side of the stream and climbed up on a rock. Looking at the moon, peace returned to his mind once again...

Featuring: Saturn_moon Lioness075

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias, nodding, looked around to see who’d witnessed their farcical spar. His pride was only slightly worse off than his clothes, which were caked with drying mud. He big Marylka farewell and set off to see about cleaning off. On the way Volos lumbered into step beside him, clicking contentedly. From his thoughts, Matthias knew the great bear has been watching the fight, and had enjoyed it a little too much for his liking. He grumbled.

The pair came upon the stream, and Matthias knelt by the water’s edge. He cupped the smooth water in his hands, splashing his face to clear it. He heard more splashing, and Matthias and Volos both looked up to see Serik on the opposite shore clambering up on top of a rock. Matthias remembered the time in the tent, and tried to think of something to say. Unfortunately Matthias’ thinking face looked very much like a scowl, which he was leveling right at Serik.

Tags: Saturn_moon
AncientBird
​

 

[AncientBird]

The wailing of Valkyrie, called Serik back again. "What is it this time?" He said and pulled himself up on the rock. He then realized he had company...

"Oh, Matthias?" He said, surprised to see the Northarian and his winged ursine by the bank. Valkyrie was keeping distance from them not so far away, probably intimidated by the the lumbering Volos. Matthias looked as icy cold as always, with his stoic eyes and unmovable lips. He always struck to Serik as mysterious and intimidating. While most of his teammates had already shown their friendly side to Serik, even Ezekiel, Matthias hadn't and there was still no sight of him, not even the slightest glimpse that he had warmed up to someone... Perhaps Marylka? Since she was sparring with him a earlier.

Serik decided that he had to be the one who made the move. Slid into the water, Serik swam back to the shore where the large man and his beast stood. Valkyrie, upon seeing Serik approaching Matthias, gained more confident and moved after her rider.

"You... Err... Come to take a bath too?" Serik asked.

Featuring: Elenion Aura Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias ​

Matthias silently showed Serik the mud on his clothes. He took another handful of water, cupped in his large hand, and splashed it against the muddy stains on the back of his legs. When he’d done the best he could - his traveling clothes had taken quite a beating since that first day - Matthias stood up by the riverbank and looked down at Serik. He couldn’t help it. The younger boy was taller than Marylka, but not by much. Matthias thought he was about Serik’s size before he’d turned nine. What were they feeding their young in the South?

”Serik.” Matthias rumbled the boy’s name, and Volos looked up at Valkyrie, a curious glint in the brown bear’s eyes. Matthias searched for what he wanted to say to the boy. He wanted to a apologize for telling him not to hope. He wanted to tell Serik that he’d been wrong to try and take his hope away, because the truth was, Matthias had precious little hope of his own, even before their lost year. He wanted to encourage Serik to hold onto hope, fiercely, jealously. To never let it go. Instead he said. ”It’s dangerous to wander off alone.”

Tags:
AncientBird
​

 

[AncientBird]

As Matthias finished splashing water on his dirty attire and rose up, he glared down at Serik. A cold feeling snapped in the Estendorian boy's spine as he exchanged the glance. ”Serik, it’s dangerous to wander off alone.” was his only sentence the entire time, yet it shook Serik to the core. However, Serik was determined to stand up to this man and actually had some conversation for once.

"Ah...Sorry about that. I just thought I would take only briefly to finish. Beside, Valkyrie is here with me." He said and nodded toward the stork drake behind him. Valkyrie still seemed unsure of the situation, but as long as Serik remained calm, she had no reason to act out.

Serik reached to his shirt on the ground and hung it over his shoulder. "So... How are you doing?" He asked Matthias. "You seemed... Stressed earlier back at the central island. I mean we all were... Back there, but you have been really silent..." Serik said, not knowing what he's supposed to speak anymore. He never know that there would be a person that is so difficult to speak with like this man on earth. "...Or maybe I was just overthinking? You even sparred with Marylka, I mean... That was fun and should rid of whatever troubled you, right?"

He kept speaking, it's going to turn out nonsense at this point. Serik wanted to just shut up and got himself out of there, but another side of him saw that Matthias was listening and it would be really uncalled for him to suddenly left their conversation like that.

Featuring: Elenion Aura

 

[SilverFlight]

The sound of wings brought Kari's attention to the sky. Ord swooped down on Pasha, landing in the grass with urgency painted on his face.
"Get to Keshka, now, we have deathborn incoming."
"What?!" Kesh was just coming out into the field to meet them. "The preparations are finished. We can begin...did you say deathborn Ord?"
The instructor nodded. "About a mile out...how fast can you work your spell?"
Kesh threw up her arms and swore colourfully.
"Fast enough I think, though it will cost me...how many?"
Ord looked uncomfortable. "Too many for a straight fight. We need to be clever about this."
Kesh snarled, "Those damn creatures just like to ruin my day...all right, get everyone to the cliff wall fast as you can."
With that she turned on her heel and jogged back to where she had set her magic.
Kari exchanged a troubled look with Gerel. She didn't like how even Keshka had been rattled. They had better do as she said.
"Help me get the others." Ord told them quickly.

Kari stopped by the river, where Serik and Matthias were washing out their clothes and speaking.
"Hey, we got trouble, Keshka needs us by the cliffs right now. Deathborn are coming."

~*~*~

Keshka was waiting for them on the flat rocks that lined the base of the cliffs. The purple dust had been carefully poured out into a complex pattern, and Keshka was very careful, when stepping into it, not to disturb even a single grain.
"Break this circle, and I will end you before the deathborn get here." She threatened them with a smile. "Now place your amulets in the central circle and each of you stand in one of the smaller circles about the edge. You must call your beasts into the amulets before we begin."
Kari didn't like the sound of that. "You're asking for a lot of trust here." She remarked, making no move to hand over her amulet. Zephyr came up behind her, putting his beak under the crook of her arm. She stroked his head carefully. Even though they'd only been together a few days, Kari could feel the strength of their bond. She would do anything to keep her skybeast safe. Letting go of her amulet for even a moment made her feel uneasy.
Keshka gritted her teeth. "I know...but with respect, we are running out of time...Now do as I ask."

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Saturn_moon

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf stashed his bow and held onto Spica.
"Back to Keshka then? I'd rather not be caught out here in that shitstorm!"

Spica followed the rest of the group back to where everyone was waiting, landing and letting Aldaf dismount.
"I'm sorry, Spica!"
Spica was withdrawn into the amulet. Aldaf jumped over the circle and landed in the circle, leaving the circle undisturbed.

Aldaf placed his amulet, Spica inside, in the center of the circle.
"I reeeeeally hope this works, whatever you have planned!" Aldaf spoke to Keshka.

Aldaf looked worried, scared even. If this plan failed...
Aldaf pushed the thoughts from his head and sat down, looking for Zeke.

SleepyCreamy SilverFlight Saturn_moon Naberius Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten AncientBird Lioness075

 

[AncientBird]

Just as Serik was struggling to talk with Matthias, Kari arrived at the scene. Her face showed fright...

“Hey, we got trouble, Keshka needs us by the cliffs right now. Deathborn are coming.”

Serik’s eyes widened at her word. He met eyes with Matthias one time.

“My goodness, we must get going!” He said and hurriedly put on his shirt. He turned toward Valkyriez “Let’s go to the others! The monsters has returned!”

The stork drake came to Serik and both ran off, heading back to where the team was assembled. They arrived to the scene of Keshka telling each team members to withdraw their skybeasts and stepped into circles of sand that she created.

Some of the members seemed reluctant to follow the order. But Serik quickly took out his amulet. If fighting wasn’t possible, then it’s either believe in Keshka or stand there, waiting to become the deathborns’ preys... The problem was... Serik had never withdraw Valkyrie into his amulet before. He didn’t know if the beast would comply or not.

“Come Valkyrie, I need to contain you in the amulet.” Serik turned toward the stork drake. Valkyrie didn’t seem to understand what Serik said since she also had never been put into the amulet as well.

In the split seconds, Valkyrie’s body disintegrated and absorbed into the artifact. Serik then placed his amulet in the center circle with that of Aldaf and he himself careful stepped into one of the circle.

“Alright, let’s hope this work, whatever she is doing...” Serik mumbled.

Featuring: Lioness075 SleepyCreamy SilverFlight kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Saturn_moon

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke sat idly right next to a tree as he leaned his head back. His mind and heart were in turmoil as it has always been. Zeke refused to acknowledge the lone fact that his temper got the best of him during his ‘sparring match’ with Aldaf. Zeke also refused to elaborate more on what had happened as he really loathed the way he aggressively behaved. But then, a hidden part of him, a secret part of him told him that what he did was justified. His weapon holds too many precious memories and symbolism just to be toyed with. From that moment on, he promised that he will take care of the weapon with the utmost care and he will be extra protective of it.

Speaking of promises, he remembered the silent promise he made to Aldaf earlier. He promised him that Zeke would be his friend. To which he wondered, would a friend shove another friend away? Zeke didn’t think so. However, he reckons that a silent promise is as good as a real, spoken one.

By the moment Ord came back from their scouting trip, he could sense the dread on his face as he passed Zeke, who was standing nearby Keshka. From that mere distance, he could easily hear about their conversation about the approaching deathborns. Zeke only looked at Azurine with worry evident in his eyes. Zeke jumped on Azurine’s back and quickly followed Keshka towards the cliffs and watched her as she delicately worked on the purple dust, creating some kind of pattern. During this time, Zeke tried to focus his attention on the mysterious purple dust as he sees Aldaf in the corner of his eyes. He had followed Keshka along with a few of his group. Zeke fiddled with Azurine’s feathers as his mind wandered off into oblivion as Stitt only sat idly on the crook of his neck, she clearly sees his troubled look and her gaze switched to Aldaf and then back at Zeke. Stitt only pawed his neck and Zeke appreciated her comfort and smiled at that.

Keshka spoke to the group once more with a hint of threat in her voice. Has Westerosians always been this… ‘friendly?’ Zeke shrugged at the thought as he listened more to her speech, once she got to the part of calling their Skybeast back to their amulet, Zeke hesitated for a moment. He pulled out his amulet and uttered the words, ‘Koray’, he watched as his Skybeast politely nodded his head, wishing Zeke all the best of luck. To which Zeke responded with a mere neutral stare. Zeke then stepped into the circle, his boots making a clicking sound as he strode his way over the circle.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Zeke told the Westerosian lady with a hint of edge in his voice.

Yup, Westerosians are the friendliest people ever.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf watched Zeke enter the circle and got up and walked over to him, slowly wrapping Seke in his arms.

"Oh my god you're safe. I'm sorry, our match made you rush off and I didn't know if you were in the area or if you cared enough to come back and I'm just so sorry." Aldaf was shaking a bit out of fear.

"I..." Aldaf let him go. "I understand if you hate me now. What I did was wrong and awful, and I hope..." Aldaf held his hand out. "That this doesn't change our bond."

SleepyCreamy Naberius Saturn_moon Lioness075 YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird explosiveKitten SilverFlight Elenion Aura

 

[explosiveKitten]

Oh thank the gods! Katja thought when Ord suddenly appeared and rounded up her and Caliban. If we sat there in awkward silence any longer I think I was going to melt in embarrassment.

She managed to stumble to her feet, rushing over to where Keshka was and stopped just short of disturbing the circle in her rushing. She looked at Keshka with wide eyes at the thought of being without her skybeast. What if she needed Barran? The owl didn’t like it in there, either. What was this going to do, exactly? Why did it need the skybeasts?

Katja was hesitant, but eventually she brought Barran into the little crystal and took it off, casting it into the growing pile of the others. She looked at Keshka nervously, then found a circle to sit in, hugging her knees to her chest and trying to keep her breathing calm. “W-What is this supposed to d-do, anyway?”

SleepyCreamy Naberius Saturn_moon Lioness075 YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird kase9187 SilverFlight Elenion Aura

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

Caliban stopped short of thanking the gods when Ord arrived, though he took back that enthusiasm when he found out why. He ran with Katja, giving her a hand when she needed it, and hesitantly placed Nerene where they were told to do so before taking up a circle nearest Katja.

"Are we going to have to fight? This place at least seems more easily defensible than where we were the last time we fought them off."

This was going to be a very intense few minutes, and he silently wondered if they were even going to make it out of there in once piece. He didn't let the fear or panic show on his face, his usual smile still bright for all to see. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he did it for them, or if he did it for himself.

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka had seen the deathborns emerging from the clouds with her own eyes and Ord spoke the truth when he told Keshka that a fight would not end favorably for them. There were simply too many. She had always been quite guarded when it came to trusting strangers but in this situation she found that she couldn't do anything but trust. Trust that whatever Keshka was doing, it would keep Archie safe. That it would keep them all safe.

Archie's emotions revealed no signs of nervousness or worry while hers likely resembled a hurricane - chaotic and intense. She gave the hippogriff one last look and withdrew him into her amulet. Having placed the crystal along with the others, she stepped into one of the sand circles Keshka had drawn. Ten in total, one for each of them.

Looking over at Katja she found the girl curled up into a ball, on the verge of hyperventilating. Marylka wanted to go up and comfort her and tell her that it would all be okay, but found she couldn't... because she had absolutely no idea what was about to happen. She had no control in this situation and if she was being honest, she was terrified to her core. So maybe Katja had the right idea after all.

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten SilverFlight

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Deathborn. They were coming. Gerel exchanged a look with Kari. Hearing Keshka’s troubled words didn’t help matters. He was up and following after Keshka the moment she started barking orders. He ran towards the base of the cliffs, where a complex pattern made of purple dust was drawn on the ground. Out of sheer curiosity, Gerel almost reached out and touched it, but quickly withdrew his hand once he heard Keshka’s menacing threat.

Keshka then asked them to call their skybeasts back into their pendants and place them in the central circle of the pattern. Gerel was hesitant, recalling Kari’s doubts about both Ord and Keshka. Jeff, prideful, pompous, and precocious, already felt like a brother to Gerel despite the short time they’ve been together. On cue, and called by his feelings of conflict, Jeff clopped close to Gerel, nuzzling his nose against the boy’s head. The Kirin could be affectionate if he wanted to.

“Jeff, I’d like to ask you to come back into the pendant. Keshka needs it for a spell to stop the deathborn from coming for us. Will that be alright with you?”

The Kirin glanced at the pattern on the ground, then huffed. Nodding, Gerel pressed his skybeast pendant against Jeff’s forehead. “Koray,” he said, and in a flash of light Jeff vanished. The gem in the pendant glowed briefly, before returning to normal. As Keshka instructed, he placed the pendant in the central circle and took his place inside one of the outer circles. He looked around and saw that the others were already in their place. He took a deep breath, and muttered a silent prayer to the gods. Whatever Keshka planned to do, he prayed for their guidance. And protection, should anything go wrong.

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten SilverFlight

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias was looking like he was about to say something, but Ord spoke first. The urgency in his voice startled Matthias. He didn't protest as he followed Serik and Ord to where the others were. Keshka was there, too. Around her Matthias narrowed his eyes at the arrayed dust. One for each of them. Unnatural witchcraft... He thought about what Ord had showed him during their spar. Perhaps those unnatural things were simply misunderstood. His mind didn't spare Keshka as much sympathy, however. He tightened his jaw when she ordered them to recall their Skybeasts. From their bond, Matthias could feel no resistance on Volos' end. He wondered what it was like for them within that amulet... He was about to protest. To question Keshka. Had she thought of every possible alternative. Matthias was going to express his misgivings about her plan, about how she expected them to trust her blindly. Then he simply did not. Volos went easily into the amulet, and Matthias held the gem close to his chest as he stepped into one of the circles, careful not to disturb the fragile threshold of dust. He looked at the others, those who had yet to step into their respective circles, expectantly.

Tags: Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight
​

 

[SilverFlight]

To her surprise, even Matthias obliged without protest. Seeing the others cast their lot, seeing Gerel cast his, Kari followed suit. There was comfort in doing this with others, she couldn't explain it. She called Zephyr into the amulet and copied the others.

Once everyone was in place Keshka nodded.
"Ord, if I can't finish in time, you need to get me more, understand?"
Something passed between the two. Keshka knew what she was asking, and so did Ord, and the chances of one flyer against a pack of deathborn...were slim to none.
"You'll get your time." Ord promised, "but it won't come to that, because you're the best mage in the academy." Keshka actually gave a short laugh.
She drew a deep breath, and began her work. Ord stepped away from the circle, placing a hand on Pasha's shoulder and looking through his spyglass, leveling it on the dots in the distance.

At first, nothing happened, Kari watched the Westerosi mage, muttering, hands held with her palms towards the earth, then she felt it, a pull, as if gravity had suddenly increased. The dust began to glow purple, and the air felt...wrong. The feeling grew more and more intense, the amulets began to respond, ringing like bells.
"What's happening?" Kari asked, her alarm building.
Not expecting an answer from the concentrating Keshka, Kari tried something new, she reached into her own magic, felt the power...and felt something tied to it. She hadn't noticed it before because she had no idea what her magic was supposed to feel like, but Keshka's spellword flowed around her, and compared to that her spellwork felt marred, weighed down by something clinging to it like mud. Keshka's magic was pulling it away.
It chipped at it slowly...too slow.
"They're almost to the edge of the island." Ord announced, tightening the straps of his saddle before taking another look.
Kari felt her magical power grow with each passing second and then...another memory:

A feeling of confidence, the utmost security of power. They were standing in the academy's great hall, smooth sandstone and brightly-painted murals of skybeasts and gods. She saw Ord's smiling face, Keshka's begrudging pride, and faces she knew she remembered, but could not yet name. Then came more memories, she remembered having the knowledge, remembered having the fire magic she had mastered, and the combat skills too, though when her mind reached for the knowledge, it wasn't there. There was going to be a battle, they were going to a battle, and Kari felt confident, almost overly so. Whatever the threat they would face, after that day in the great hall, Kari felt ready for it...standing in Keshka's circle, she had a horrible feeling they had not been...at all.

Keshka cried out. The magic seemed wild, almost beyond her control. It was fighting her.
"Kesh!" Ord cried, and moved to help her.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled, "Keep your eyes on those deathborn! You know what to do!"
Ord looked torn, but put the spyglass to his eye. "They'll be in sight range soon...I should go now."
The group was struggling to stand now, the magic seemed to drag them towards the ground...or what was beneath the island. Kari's temper flared. She thought of Keshka in pain, of Ord going to face a pack of the savage deathborn alone. It made her angry.
Kari began to fight the dark magic too. She took hold of it with her fire gift. A heat mirage began to flicker about her body. She fought back with all the strength she had.
Ord was in the saddle, Pasha's wings spread, ready to leap when suddenly, there was a great blast of wind, emanating from the center of the circle, it eliminated the dust pattern and blew them all backwards.
Kari sat up after a moment, thankful she didn't hit her head. Keshka was on the ground, motionless save for the quick rise and fall of her chest.
"It...worked..." She gasped.

Ord looked like he might sob with relief. He slipped down off Pasha's back immediately and jogged over to her.
"Get your skybeasts, quickly, there's a cave behind that waterfall, hide."
Ord slung one of Keshka's limp arms about his shoulder and tried to lift her to her feet and get her to Storm's back. He was having limited success. Keshka was tall.
Kari let Zephyr out as soon as she had her amulet back. She somehow knew exactly which stone contained her beast, and chalked it down to the magic in their bond.
The cave was nearby, and with some effort they managed to get Keshka to safety too. The, they waited.

The deathborn landed, Kari could see them through the spaces where the water didn't flow. They were the size of ponies, birds this time, skeletal with glowing orbs in their chests. Their claws looked wicked sharp...but as they walked this way and that, they didn't seem to realize that all of their targets were safely hidden behind the water. Then one gave a screech, and they all took off.
Kari let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"This cave lets out behind the cliffs. There is a forest of rock pillars, lots of places to hide. These deathborn will keep searching the area, we won't be able to leave without being spotted, but we can choose when and where the fight will happen. We can use those rock pillars to set up an ambush."
Keshka was propped up with her back against a rock wall. "I can't fight." She admitted, still breathing heavily. "You...need to leave me here."
Kari made a face. "If the deathborn search this cave they'll kill you."
Keshka just smiled, and suddenly Kari realized. She knew this would happen. She knew after the spell she would be too weak to defend herself. Both she and Ord really were willing to give their lives for them...
"The moment there is a break in the fighting, you fly." Keshka told them.
Kari grit her teeth. She wouldn't leave anyone like that.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"No. We kill them all." Kari looked to the others for support.

((Your characters can go pick a place to hide in the new battle area, and start fighting the deathborn, you can control them as you like))

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Saturn_moon

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf fell to his knees with the oncoming memory... so many people... Such confidence... What was this? He didn't know.

He heard the call for the skybeasts and immediately used his magic to send Spica's crystal flying to his hand as he ran to the cave entrance, summoning Spica back out.

"Hooooooly crap." Aldaf quietly whispered once the deathborn had passed. He heard Keshka suggest leaving her, and Spica looked at him with concern.

"I'm with you, Kari. These things are mindless drones. We're a group of academy trainees and some amazing teachers. They don't stand a chance."
Aldaf wore his cocky smirk with pride, disguising the fact he was very worried about what would happen if things went south.

"So we, the riders, can hide relatively easily behind smaller objects. Our beasts, however, can't. We'll need to hide them and spring them out once we snap the trap." Aldaf spoke seriously, looking out amongst the pillars of stone.
"We also need each person to have backup. Teams of two. We separate from each other, we'll probably be overwhelmed."

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten AncientBird Lioness075

 

[AncientBird]

As Keshka’s spell commenced, Serik felt a great force pulling him to the ground. His mind ran wild and terrible headache overwhelmed him. Suddenly, like a picture was forced unto his head... He saw, he saw himself with the others, standing at the academy... They were sure of themselves, proud and confident. He saw himself, weaving the power so powerful like nothing he would ever expect coming from himself...

Serik snapped out at last. He saw Keshka collapsing to the ground with Ord rushing to hold her. It was a success, at least that’s what Keshka commented.

Just as Ord took his partner away, Serik reached to his amulet. “Korray!” With his word, the stork drake reappeared again. Her frightened eyes widened and beak uttered a loud screech of discomfort, she didn‘t like being contained at all...

Before she started another mess, Serik rushed and clamped her beak shut with both his arm. “Calm down, Valkyrie! They monsters are arriving, if you don’t want to die, then stop losing your mind over little thing!” Serik shouted in her face and Valkyrie stopped thrashing , probably by the shock of seeing Serik so straightforward and aggressive.

The band then escaped into the cave nearby to hide. Trying to be as quiet as possible. Serik could hear the terrifying sound of the deathborns searching for them outside. Whatever the spell did to them, it worked. The monsters seemed unable to track them anymore. However, they wouldn’t give up so easily... Soon they would come searching in this cave.

With Keshka weakened by her spell casting earlier, she decided to have the youths escaped without her. Serik was horrified by the idea.

“You saved our life... All of us hadn’t been found and killed right away because of you... How could you even consider that??? There must be another way out of this!” He said.

Seeing Kari and Aldaf protesting against Keshka’s idea, Serik got up and stepped to their side. He would not let the terrible fate befall on her...

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten kase9187 Lioness075

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Gerel expected that going through the ritual wasn’t easy. He didn’t expect to feel as if the earth himself was pulling him down towards her deadly embrace. At the same time, it felt like something… slimy was dripping down from his chest and onto the ground. With each pulse of the ritual the putrefying taint sloughed off, to be replaced by something purer. With each pulse, the wind whispered more clearly to him. And as the formation exploded outward and knocked them all off their feet, in the moment Gerel hung suspended in the air before he crashed back onto the grass, two memories came back with startling clarity.

It was him, wearing the uniform of Academy students, standing in a grand hall of limestone full of murals of the gods and many other skybeasts. Ord was there, and so was Keshka, two different expressions of pride displayed on their faces. Then Gerel was in a training hall of sorts, with a circular field fenced off from the rest of the students. He was standing there, a dagger in one hand and a… handbow (yes, that was what it was called) in the other. It was a sparring match between him and… Matthias. Yes, he was up against a mountain of a man who could knock him out with a single hit. They fought, strength clashing with agility, and Gerel remembered using Ventra’s winds to aid him in combat and keep him from meeting Matthias’ fist and blade with his face.

Then he hit the ground, the pain knocking away the rest of the memory. He tried to recall how to do those acrobatic moves he displayed in that training hall, but to no avail. He was grasping at mist, and with the deathborn coming there was no time to waste. Acting on Ord’s orders, he ran and snatched up Jeff’s pendant. They all looked the same, but Gerel felt a certain haughtiness in the way the light glinted off this particular pendant’s gem.

“Koray!” Gerel said, and Jeff materialized from within the pendant. Without pausing a beat, he jumped up and mounted the Kirin before taking off towards the waterfall cave Ord mentioned. Now the greatest test of Keshka’s ritual was upon them: would the deathborn go straight for them even hidden behind a waterfall? To Gerel’s great relief, they didn’t. But that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t run into them soon enough.

He listened intently to Keshka as she described the layout of the cave and the pillars within. They would make for a good ambush, especially with their party having multiple hunters. But Keshka said something so preposterous that both Kari and Aldaf proposed a solution that sounded reckless to Gerel.

One that he happened to agree with.

“No one gets left behind,” Gerel said, throwing his support behind Kari, Aldaf and Serik. “You got rid of the taint that drew the deathborn to us. The least we can do is get you out here safely.

“Besides…” Gerel paused here, thinking back on the memory he saw earlier. “I think we owe you a lot, far beyond the ritual you did. It’s time we return the favor.”

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon AncientBird Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten kase9187 Lioness075

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja was already sitting when the force started to push everyone down, so there wasn’t much of a struggle for Katja.

However, when the memories started flashing through her head, she groaned and doubled over. Strange things flashed through her mind, images of her companions sparing, lessons at the mage academy, she... was confident? That’s new. Everyone was watching her fight- fight!- with someone from the academy, and when she glanced over in the direction of the cheering group, her eyes met Caliban. The smile on his face was different than the normal. More tender. What was going on with him?

When the visions started to fade away, she grunted and looked up, then almost unconsciously she turned her head and looked toward Caliban. What had she seen? Did he see something too? There wasn’t any time to question it, for as soon as they were told to, Katja spring forward and grabbed at her pendant, summoning Barran out in a hurry, attempting to pull herself up into the saddle, but for some mysterious reason, she could no longer even get her feet off the ground. Barran ended up having to grab Katja in her talons and fly away.

When they were safely in the waterfall, Katja was sitting with Barran in the corner, and she was too busy having a mild panic attack about the whole situation. The memories, the deathborn, the gods were surely testing her...

And she was surely failing.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon AncientBird Naberius Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro
kase9187 Lioness075

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka hadn’t notice it before but as Keshka’s spell enveloped them, she felt a weight being lifted from her core and her magic grow, slowly but surely. Paradoxically, at the same time, it was literally crushing them. She planted both her feet and fought against the overwhelming power pulling them down to the ground. Then came another memory, vibrant and clear… Them, dressed in matching robes of blue and gold, standing under a stunning painted ceiling in front of an audience that was beaming at them with pride and joy. Marylka realized, despite her discomfort with all the attention, she herself was smiling with more confidence than she had ever felt her entire life. It was a celebration of all the hard work they’d put in to master their magic and combat skills coming to fruition. Yet, when she tried to remember what they had learned, her mind drew a bank. It was such an odd feeling, to know she knew but not know at the same time.

The memory ended and they continued to fight the force of Keshka’s spell... until they weren’t. In an instant, a blast of wind knocked Marylka back and sent her flying, hitting the ground with a gasp. Getting back on her feet took awhile for she needed to reorient herself but once she was up, she rushed forward and released Archie from her amulet. There was no time to lose as they jumped onto the back of their skybeast and headed towards the cave as per Ord’s orders.

Time passed at an excruciatingly slow pace with them huddled in the cave, too afraid to even let out a breath. When the deathborn finally took off, everyone visibly relaxed. The spell had worked. They would no longer bring death with them wherever they went. Then Kesha spoke, each word that came out of her mouth sounding more absurd than the last.

Kari was the first to speak up and as the others stepped up in support of her plan, Marylka closed her eyes and silently worked her magic. It came so easily now and flowed through her without any inhibitions. It took all but a minute but when she opened her eyes and peeked through the gap in the falls, her vision was completely obstructed by a dense fog.

“I’ve concealed the cave.” She said firmly. “That should stop the deathborns from searching in here while we fight them off out there… I take it they aren’t very smart. It’ll also give us some cover as we sneak out the back and get ready.”

She looked to Keshka and added "If you haven't already realised, this group can be pretty headstrong when it comes to keeping people alive."

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten SilverFlight

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (3/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Leandra had relished in her sparring with Serik, thoroughly enjoying what had been often a way for her to play with Caliban when they were teens. The adrenaline rush was exhilarating as always and Leandra was pretty sure that she was borderline addicted to it. She had always been a bit of a thrill-seeker and becoming close friends with Caliban had only encouraged that behavior for her.

When Ord requested aid in scouting, Leandra had eagerly joined him. It was daunting when they discovered the incoming Deathborn and she landed quietly beside Ord, dismounting Falarion as she ran forward to join the others. Falarion joined her side and butted his head against her arm, allowing her to absentmindedly rub his head while Keshka instructed them all accordingly.
Leandra was slow to join the circle unlike most everyone else who was quick to get into their places. The mere idea of having to potentially face the Deathborn without Falarion at her side struck fear into Leandra. She was plenty confident about holding her own in most fights, but the Deathborn were on another level. Falarion had likely saved her life in the previous fight by keeping the Deathborn at bay for her. They would be surrounded so quickly if this ritual went awry.
But soon enough the decision was made for her as everyone else called their Skybeasts into their amulets and got settled in the circle. Leandra muttered a curse under her breath and followed suit. She whispered an apology to Falarion as he vanished into her amulet.
Taking her place in the circle, mindfully avoiding the arrangement of the purple dust, Leandra anxiously shuffled her feet until another memory hit her. An overwhelming sense of confidence flooded through her and she could see everyone back at the Academy. A flood of other memories came flashing through her mind, seeing herself gliding over Falarion's back dual-wielding katanas and clashing with an opponent. She saw herself in another instance, just as a fight was starting. An arrow flew at her and she effortlessly caught it before it could meet its mark. Then just as quickly as the memories came, they were gone and Leandra glanced down at her hands in both shock and awe. She felt some lasting feeling as if something had gone horribly wrong, but she could not place why she felt this way.
Her moment of contemplation abruptly ended as the ritual seemed to go awry. Leandra fell to her knees, her hands striking the dirt in front of her as she gasped for air. She had been so distracted by the flood of memories that she had not been prepared to fight an invisible force pulling her down. Her arms trembled and she struggled to keep herself from eating dirt.
Then just as suddenly, the ritual was over with a blast of wind. Leandra was already on the ground, so she merely rolled a meter or two away, now eating dirt despite her best efforts to avoid that.
Just as she was shakily returning to her feet, Leandra heard Ord shouting for them to hide in a nearby cave. Shaking her head, Leandra scrambled forward to find her amulet, feeling an invisible tie to the one Falarion was within. She scooped it up and shouted, "Koray!", just as she started running for the cave.
Falarion appeared beside her and was running for her to quickly climb onto his back. It was a very awkward attempt and Leandra ended up in the saddle, which had begun to list to one side since she had loosened it earlier for him to relax.

Luckily, they joined everyone in the cave and Leandra leaned forward over Falarion's head to watch the Deathborn land outside. They certainly looked confused and Leandra was relieved when they flew away. She dismounted from Falarion's back and went to work cinching his saddle while the others discussed battle plans. Hearing Aldalf's plan, Leandra popped up from Falarion's side and said, "Yeah, what he said," before promptly vanishing again to fix the last strap.
Once she was satisfied, Leandra stepped out from behind Falarion and said, "We either fight together or we flee together. And it sounds like fighting is our best bet."
Just then, Marylka provided the group with some fog cover. Leandra grinned at this and said, "This is our best chance to get out there and prepare an ambush."
At the mention of going in pairs, Leandra instinctively looked towards Caliban. She knew he could potentially set up some traps in the area if they had enough time, but they undoubtedly had too little to set up their ambush.
Not wanting to feel as if she was tied only to Caliban in the group, Leandra stepped forward and said, "I'll go with whoever for this. I have some experience in ambushing beasts, at least."

SilverFlight Naberius explosiveKitten AncientBird Elenion Aura SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro