Fantasy The Darkened Skies

[Idea]

(Lyra's POV: )


As I talked to the man, another person entered. A fish-person, this time.


"H-Hi!" I greeted nontheless, startled by the door (given the one used wasn't the one the others did, but one that happened to be closer) . Looking at the woman thouroughly, I could see she seemed a little worried. Maybe nervous like me. Like me. I smiled at her.


"So, what's your name? I'm Lyra. No need to be nervous, we haven't started yet. Do you have any idea what this is all about?"


@RedSophie

 

[sprouhtt]

Azraelle walks in with the girl and heads over to a table that has refreshments and she takes a class of rum which she is forbidden to drink but those rules goes by her mother and since her mother is not in the room with her she takes it anyways. She drinks the whole glass of rum in one gulp. She looks over to her side to see a Glorian and another man that was standing just a few feet away from them. "Why in the world has my mother summoned all of them people." She muttered.


She walks around and everyone in the room is giving her a stare, she feels the tension high in the room. "The queen will be with you in just a moment," Azraelle told the waiting group and she walked out of the room not saying another word to them. SHe made way towards her mother chambers and opened the door to find the dresser fixing her dress before she goes out.

"Mother why do you have all of these people waiting for you out there?" She asked her mother as she walked around the room before leaning against her mothers tall bed post. Her mother signals for the dresser to leave and she does leaving her and Azraelle alone in the room. "I have pressing matter to discuss with these people, and perhaps and proposal to them as well." She told her daughter as she smelled something familiar coming off of her.


"What would that be?" She asked as she folded her arms in front of her chest, "Please tell me you are still not trying to form that group to go and retrieve that--" Before Azraelle could finish saying her sentence her mother began speaking, "You will soon hear about once you get cleaned up," She told her daughter as she kissed the side of her forehead and walked past her making way for the door and just before she walked out she said, "Don't think I don't smell that rum coming off of you," Azraelle groaned and shook her head knowing that she was going to get caught for drinking that. (I just found out that @TheWingedCrusader is playing the queen, sorry I did a little bit of the narrating for the queen.)

 

[RedSophie]

"Hi. I am Delmara. I have no idea why we have been summoned here." She smiles a bit nervously and glances around the room once more as the young woman informs them that the queen will be there shortly. "I guess all we can do now is wait."

 

[maerow]

Everet found beauty in everything. The spacious castle, the atmosphere of it all-- it was just breathtaking. To the carpet and up toward the chandeliers, the crystals gleamed in a way similar to the girl's orbs. She spun around once, giggling like a school girl. A Princess. A Queen. Then she took a bow, pretending that there was a large audience in front of her. They applauded, but something wasn't quite right. Her delusion broke as the same stranger caught up with her. She gasped, taking a step back-- almost toppling the expensive trinket behind her. "S-Stalker!"


"You two!" A man clad in armor intervened, putting a hand between the trinket and Everet. "This isn't a playground! Go wait in the hall like the rest of them."


Everet was speechless. This man...could he be...could the Queen be hiring him as a personal servant? He sure looks the part. Dillydallying in her thoughts, the guard wasted no time to personally escort the pink-haired girl to the waiting room. In which she assumed, the stalker was right behind her as well. And not just him too. Others who have been summoned-- by whatever reason(s). It was truly like a playground now. Everet scanned the room she was now in. The many faces, more or less, were distinctively different.


But her attention swayed from the task at hand, and her eyes lingered on the rum. She didn't ask, and just swiped it from the man, nearly tripping over the little girl beside her. "I know why we have been summoned," she began walking around, holding the rum like a Queen would. Elegantly. "We have been summoned here to..." She raised it high and proud, "...to get drunk together!"


(@Idea


@anyoneelse)

 

[Aridis]

Sera

​

Okay. This guy was awesome.


An amused smile curved itself on her lips, and a small excited light ignited in her eyes. Things suddenly got a bit more interesting, and she was now happy to have met this person. If anything, Sera was getting more and more anxious to fight this specific being. It would be an interesting duel, at the very least. Whether she won or not was of no concern.


Shifting all her weight to one foot, the girl folded her hands behind her back. "Noooo idea. All I know is that some random shmuck walked up to me one day and handed me an invitation. But, with whatever reward we're getting for whatever reason, I hope its a big one!" It might've just been the dragon in her, but just the thought of gold and other valuables was a very tempting one. Of course, there was a line, but she had become the type of person to do almost anything to get a few jewels. "And, until one of us decides otherwise, how about friend? I'm Sera, by the way. Sera Drakoli. And who are you?"


@Idea

Daren

​

Enough was enough. He had to keep going, distractions weren't really a good thing for this occasion. After double checking his bag to make sure that his book was still there, Daren shoved his hands into his pockets; a precaution to make sure that he didn't accidentally try to pickpocket again. Picking up the pace, he jogged toward the castle. And, soon, he was at the front gates, where he was required to show his invitation in order to enter.


Once inside of the waiting area, he just looked around, a bit lost. There were several people around him, but a majority of them more or less looked like they knew what they were doing. And, in all honesty, he was one of the probable few who was completely lost. Not knowing what else to do, the brunette just kind of retreated to one of the walls and awaited someone to give them orders. Or...Something along those lines.

 

[Coyote]

The Throne Room, Castle of Heaven, Salina

The Queen sat down on her throne and motioned for the guards to open the enormous and delicately decorated silver doors that led everyone into the throne room. The throne room was large, the walls made of jade and the columns of granite. Statues of stone warriors stood, each with different weapons. Queen Mariavé raised her hands and said with a pleasant smiles, "Welcome, warriors, adventurers and fighters. Welcome to Salicia," she said in a rather deep tone for a female. Ironically enough, the queen of Salicia was not human. She was mixed blood. Even though she was of some metallic material, they have traced her bloodline back to the first Salician king on one side of the family and a whole mix of supernatural, beast, and to a much more subtle aspect, Zeialan. Nonetheless, her beauty speaks volumns.

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/ae08faae9c0c9ea2f4cbe2f4b54a8bc0.jpg.cf0be8cbd4f08f9574c3f3e96accbc94.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="94689" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/ae08faae9c0c9ea2f4cbe2f4b54a8bc0.jpg.cf0be8cbd4f08f9574c3f3e96accbc94.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

Her clothes were extravagant and elegant, and she certainly wielded her obsidian rapier with finesse to cut a strand of hair into two thinner strands. The Salician Advisor, Sirius, and the other five Royal Duelists stood by the Queen, a few whispering amongst themselves as they studied those who stood before them. "I have called you all here today for one purpose. A very common purpose amongst the entire continent. Even though I have made such a move without consultant the City-States, I have brought you here for a mission. You were all selected to become a group a individuals, a team, that will prove their worth on the field of battle, and face the Advisor, ending this eternal war. It's a tall task, and for that reason..." the doors to the throne room slammed shut, and guards now blocked all exits and entrances. The echoes from the doors quieted down before the Queen spoke again. "I am going to test each of your individual abilities. Unsheath your weapons," the Queen said sternly. "This test is simply to determine whether it was a mistake to call you to be a part of this group that will be sent for such a tall order. Ready yourselves," The stone warriors began to creak. Suddenly, all of them turned their heads to the group at the same time. They each jumped down from their pedestals, landing in such a way that a united roar shook the room. Twenty stone warriors surrounded the group. Spears, axes, swords, daggers, staffs, maces, hammers, and twin blades were all among the mix of weapons wielded by these warriors. The Queen raised her hand. "Ready... Begin."​

 

[Idea]

(Jukrekknaxter's POV: )


"Expected of a queen. How boring..." I sighed. And I who thought this one queen might just be an interesting person to meet. I had even considered volunteering for royal guard or something, I didn't get the proper chenanigans for city ranking. "Well, if at least we don't come home pursued by some angry god...since that's the only kind of people I DON'T expect to find inside. Speaking of which, shall we? I don't want to make our "escorts" wait too long, it's be rude of me."


I smirked and pointed at the guards with my thumb. ThEn, I continued headed fir the chamber and the girl introduced herself.


"Nice to meet you. You don't want to know my name, trust me. Or rather, I had enough people with trouble with "accurate pronounciation" for a day. EnoUgh faces that I had to smack into a wall.." one of the guards coughed and I turned, smiling and waving for a moment " So, just call me whatever you want. And, getting to more pressing matters, why don't you tell me your "talent"? I'm pretty sure the queen didn't invite people from taht far just cause it'd be nice to chat. Nor did the people be picked at random."


@Aridis

 

[sprouhtt]

Before the doors to the throne room closed Azraelle quickly walked in and the doors made a huge slam behind her. She freshened herself up like her mother told her to before she had walked into the throne room. She saw that the guards had blocked out the entrances and she walks over to her mother,"Is this why you summoned these people here, to fight to their will?" Azraelle asked her mother as she stood near her mothers throne before she took her seat near her mother on the same duplicate chair as hers except hers did not have such details as her mothers which was understandable.


She watched as the men and women that her mother had summoned ready their weapons of choice and began to run towards the statues. Some hitting the statues in the head and she watched as the statues head shatter on the floor; breaking into a million pieces. She felt bad for the others when the statues fought back as well hitting the statues's opponent or wounding them greatly. "The first group clearly did not make it out alive in the war and I was there. What makes you think that they will succeed." She told her mother in a calm and collective voice. @TheWingedCrusader

 

[Aridis]

Sera

​

She was about to answer, and further the conversation. However, the girl's train of thought quickly shifted towards the queen. Her excitement quickly spiked, upon hearing what they needed to do. While she had been hoping for a battle at one point or another, the redhead wasn't expecting one so soon in her new adventure. Inside of her, Sera could feel the dragon that she had defeated growing restless as well. While he would not be called out until she was in a truly desperate situation, he was excited for a fight as well; and was itching for his chance to join in.


Grinning like a child on Christmas morning, Sera unsheathed her swords, and took a small step away from the stranger that she had more or less befriended. "Mmm... You'll have to give me time on the name thing. It'll take me a while to come up with something that's not completely stupid." She took a small step back, lowering herself as if she was getting ready to pounce at the stone opponents. "And, I'm a Dragon Master. Everything else you'll just have to find out by observation. If you even care enough to do so~."


The redhead couldn't say much for the whole "you're now a team" thing, but she was definitely excited for everything else that the Queen had stated. And thus, she darted into battle without any further hesitation. Twisting, jumping, slashing: Anything that was needed to take down as many of the statues as possible. They were strong opponents, sure. But that didn't mean that it was impossible for her to knock their heads off.


@Idea

Daren

​

Well this was a strange turn of events. However, it wasn't the most random thing that he had encountered over the years. Daren pushed himself off of the wall, and quickly made his way towards the group of living warriors. Once the battle began, he didn't want to be in a position where he could be cornered.


Fishing through his pockets, the brunette pulled out a silver stick that was about as wide as the shaft of a walking stick, but only barely longer than his hand. Well, that's what its appearance was at first. He held it at his side, and muttered something that sounded like 'Crescer' under his breath. After that, it didn't take long for it to suddenly grow in length. In a matter of a second, instead of the small stump, he held a spear. He wasn't one to make the first move in any fighting situation. Usually, Daren played the offensive.


Although, this time around, he may have to change it up a bit. As soon as one of the stone warriors came close enough, he attacked.

 

[maerow]

Entranced not only by the Queen's words, but her beauty as well-- Everet aspired to be such a prominent figure. When the doors to the throne room shut, and the stone warriors surrounded the group, she couldn't help but feel completely excited and terrified at the same time. Taking in a deep breath, the girls emerald eyes focused on each individual statue-- down to every detail. It was a rather quick calculation, since there wasn't much leisure to think of tactics. One with a sword came quickly at her. She had to mentally prepare for the strain on her body that was about to commence.


But what she lacked was time. There was hardly any of it, not giving her the opportunity to shift will make things increasingly more difficult. But not impossible. It helped that she was agile, like a cat, but dodging wasn't enough. The stone statue was swift, being smart enough to swipe its feet underneath hers, tripping the pink-haired warrior. The sword came down on her-- with seconds to spare, she craned her next to the side. The sword missed its target, but deeply grazed her cheek. It was enough to infuriate the girl, and enough to give part of her body time to shift. Her arms, which had begun to turn to stone.


She grabbed onto the statue's sword, and once her entire body turned to stone, she kicked the original statue away. In her right hand was a mace, and she mimicked the statue down to the smallest detail. "You've made me...very...angry." Everet muttered, a dark undertone that didn't belong to a happy-go-lucky girl. She prepared for her next move, while at the same time, trying to get used to her new body.

 

[Idea]

(Gaudus`s POV: )


"Stalker?!" I inquired, raising my hands as if defending myself. Then, growling, I took heavy steps towards her. "Now, look here, I..."


I was interrupted by a guard. A rather rude one.


"Playground? I am sorry, but I am not about to let some chi..."


It seemed the man wasn`t listening, though, as he told us to wait with "the rest of them". Who were those? My heart pumped at the possibilities, knowing that the ones invited could not be good. Based on what I had to go to, which is me, an angel that had failed in his mission and prevented from returning home since, and a pink-haired maniac who had just attacked a child for no good reason.


Before I could say anything, the two began to walk away. I growled and followed them into the hall. There were all kinds of people in there, but my awe was short lived and replaced by an even greater one as I saw the queen...I bent my knee on the spot, while hearing her words. My face only turned up when she mentioned a "test", and these stone man began showing up, each carrying a weapon. I stood. From the looks of it, my enemies were puppets, unworthy of the divide.


"Heavens, I will


hunt your filthy foes


put them ever still


beneath the crows." I chanted raising my hands at the stone man. "SUMMON!"


There were three circles draw mid-air, all containing a heavenly crest. From each, a spear appeared, which charged ahead as I shoved my arms forward. A stone warrior was stabbed right through the chest, while another two pushed the spears away. Still, in the process one ended up sending the spear against the neck of the stone warrior next to him, destroying him nonetheless.


I would have grinned, was it not fresh in my memory that I was just told I`d have to team up with that pink-haired woman...And, judging by what I heard said not too far away, a dragon-master as well.


@kokochii @RedSophie @Aridis @anyone else


(2 stone dudes killed)

 

[Idea]

(Lyra`s POV: )


"Indeed we don`t." I agreed, nodding. The queen was soon to arrive, which pissed me off a bit. On one hand, I missed the chance for a decent conversation (something very rare), and on the other, I realized me and this queen had NOTHING in common. Except we were both girls. But there were a lot of girls here who were NOT confused with her cousins. The queen then proceeded to explain that we were gonna be tested. I was about to ask what kind of test when, out of nowhere, this stone man showed up. I screamed, and as they approached, I began spitting in all directions. Some of the stone man tried to defend themselves, but only the ones that ducked got out of it unscathed. After all, it was acid. Now they had this tiny holes all over them, and although some had them in crucial locations (the eyes, the joints of the arms or hand, legs or feet), which numbed their movements a little, none of them was down. I heard a large noise as I saw a Glorian burst two of them open.


I had to do something more. I just HAD to. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the ground and then blew out. A hot air came out towards it and tiny cracks started forming. The ground was growing these tiny branch-like things, which grew and joined together, until they began to reassemble dragons.


I ducked as a stone arrow passed by me, and screamed. Looking around, I saw the man who had the rum and ran to hide behind him.


"I knew it, I`m just useless...I don`t know why they even called me here...I can`t even do it properly in a real battle." I whined to myself. A tear began to form on the corner of my eye.


@Alias @RedSophie @everyone else


(no killed, but several lightly injured and with numbed movements)

 

[Idea]

(Jukrekknaxter's POV: )


The queen...wasn`t quite what I had expected. I grinned, recognizing that they had got me. I was utterly awed by the sight. I wondered how her hands felt. There, grasping the throne, the solid gold and moving taking my hand, slithering across my furred arm and onto the top of my head, rubbing and...


Wait, this wasn`t the time for daydreaming. I cleaned the droll and smirked at the girl who just proclaimed to be a dragon master.


"Dragon master? How interesting... Can you breathe fire?" I inquired. Yet, the girl insisted that I found about her abilities by observing. "Well challenge accepted. I might get a nickname for you too..."


The girl skipped ahead and began dancing through the statues. Well, I couldn´t just let myself get behind like that, could I? I pulled out a couple daggers. Forged with fire salamander skin and coal, these were easy-to-carry, very efficient weapons, by my experience. Not my favorites, but my favorite had ended up in the guard`s custody. I clashed the two together and a spark flew in front of my eyes. Flames began to swirl around the blades.


I bent down, then charged. A stone warrior tried to slash me with a sword, but I ducked, sliding through the floor right beneath his legs and then jumped up again, stabbing his neck. The head was immediately separated from the body and I grinned. Another stone soldier came and pushed his spear away with a kick, then tackled him.


A mistake. These stone soldiers were every bit as hard as the rock they looked like. The solider didn`t seem to think of crushing me pure and simply, though, and instead attempted to get in a position where he could stab my back. I waited and then jumped backwards int he last second, doing a flip through the air as the soldier ended up stabbing itself with the spear, bursting.


@Aridis @everyone else


(more 2 down)

 

[Alias]

Ellias raised his brow at the girl who asked him for rum. "Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?". But then, he remembered he started drinking when he was 16 so he gave her a bottle anyway. "Well whatever. But you'll have to pay for that later". A few moments later, the queen and her duelists entered the room. To his surprise, the queen didn't look human. She looked more of a Zelian instead. But something about her tells him that she's more than meets the eye.


With a voice full of authority, she informed everyone of a test she wants everyone to complete before she explains the reason everyone was summoned. In an instant, 20 stone soldiers emerged from the hall. Hell broke loose as everyone else started attacking the weird stone creatures. He was even surprised when the little girl started spitting acid and making dragons out of rocks. But for some reason, she started crying and hid behind his back. "Are you serious, kid?", Ellias sighed. She could've destroyed all of them with her dragon.


With great speed, a stone soldier found them and lunged it's fists at them. "Crap!", he yelled as he grabbed the girl and dodged it's attack. He pulled out his shotgun and loaded 3 rounds of smoke ammo. He fired three times and the room was filled with smoke. The stone creature was distracted and lost sight of the two. Ellias grabbed the girl and tried to run far away from the glorians. He won't be able to use his powers with them nearby. Now far enough, Ellias managed to regain a bit of his powers. He doubts it'll work on the stone soldiers so he used it on the one he's sure will work.


He turned to the girl and his eyes glowed purple. Pseudologoi have the ability to influence another person's actions by planting an idea in their minds using lies that they want to hear. Ellias knows how to do this and hoped he's using it on the right person. "Do you know why they called you? It's because they know you're strong", he spoke with a strangely soft and reassuring voice. "You're so strong that everyone in this room wants to be your friend. I'd love to be you're friend. We can go to taverns and drink lots of rum. But before we could do that, we need to destroy these bad stone things. So please, could you summon the biggest dragon you have and fight them all?".


The stone soldier managed to find them. Ellias loaded an incendiary ammo and fired it directly at it's face. "C'mon kid! Summon whatever dragon you have!".


@Idea

 

[Aridis]

Sera

​

It was a bit of a flaw of hers. But, if an opponent wasn't strong enough to keep her on her toes every second, then she had a habit of toying with them a bit.


Sera danced around this one stone soldier. He held a rather large battle axe; which was a pretty effective weapon in battle. However, against a ridiculously agile opponent, it was no more than a deadweight. She easily ducked under every swing. And, at the very most, only had to bat the larger blade aside with one of her own.Not even the random burst of smoke in the room bothered her. She was a freaking Dragon Master! And with the power of a fire dragon, at that. Smoke was nothing. Dust, however, was a bit more irritating. Despite her enemy being made of stone, she inflicted wounds on his ankles and wrists. With a living being, they would've been slowly bleeding out at this point from how many injuries she had given it.


Everywhere the redhead's swords ripped across, there was left a shallow scar in the solid material. Sparks would fly every time she moved to make another. There were several times where the solider came close to hitting her. Hell, she even earned a few scratches herself; but nothing serious was inflicted.


At one point, Sera grew a bit tired of this singular plaything. Everyone else was occupied, so no other warriors really had the chance to try to sneak up behind her. Everyone was engaged in their own battles. And, honestly, her own was beginning to get a bit boring.


For a moment, the girl glanced over to how her nameless friend was doing. Unlike her, he was taking down multiple statues. She watched his movements with interest, silently wanting to fight him more and more as the seconds ticked on. Sera could only imagine how such a battle would go down. Who would be the victor, and what movements would be taken to decide such a thing. However, her daydreaming was cut a bit short, as her own opponent was not yet "dead."


The axe seemed to come out of nowhere. She barely had time to block the actual blade, but ended up getting knocked back in the process. The teenager rolled a few feet, before jumping back to her feet and lunging forward.


The actual process of finishing the thing off was fairly simple. The warrior had swung his weapon down; in an attempt to slice her in half. All Sera had to do was take a step to the side, and continue her course. She rammed her shoulder into the thing, knocking it over. And, after that, came the decapitation. One blade was driven into the statue's neck, in order to create a couple of cracks. Almost immediately, she withdrew the first sword, and used the second to finish the job; sweeping it horizontally and breaking the head off entirely.


(1 down!)


@Idea

Daren

​

Daren kept having issues with breaking through the statue's defense. He managed to stay on his own two feet while defending, but actually attacking the thing was a little harder. He was used to blocking and running, not attacking and continuing to do so until the opponent was finished.


Breathing a bit heavily at this point, the boy continued to make his attempt.


It was his spear against a sword. While he had a longer reach, the stone warrior had more power. Plus, he had a better defense. Rock was a bit more sturdy than a flimsy barrier spell. Besides, it wasn't like he could just whip out his spell book in this situation. He would need time to find an appropriate spell, for one. And having one hand be preoccupied with such an item, while the other was holding his weapon, was hardly the most efficient strategy. For now, Daren would have to depend on his memory alone.


Deflecting his enemy's attack with his "flimsy" shield, he managed to find an opening. "Conlidam!" The tip of his spear glowed with a soft blue light. Jabbing it at the torso of the statue, he managed to make the attack connect. The spell itself only lasted for a second. However, that was more than enough time.


Where the spear touched, the stone immediately cracked. More than cracked, the small area was reduced to nothing more than dust. Given, the affected area was barely half a foot in diameter, and only a couple of inches deep. However, that was enough to be counted as a victory in the brunette's eyes. Alone, Daren hardly had enough strength to do such a thing. But, with the aid of magic, it was more than possible.


With the sudden appearance of smoke posed a bit of a problem. If he acted fast enough, he probably could've done a bit more damage. However, he didn't want to risk it.


The boy jumped back, as far away from the statue as he could manage. Coughing softly, he lifted up his shirt to cover his mouth and nose, until it dissipated enough for him to breathe safely.

 

[sprouhtt]

Sera

​

It was a bit of a flaw of hers. But, if an opponent wasn't strong enough to keep her on her toes every second, then she had a habit of toying with them a bit.


Sera danced around this one stone soldier. He held a rather large battle axe; which was a pretty effective weapon in battle. However, against a ridiculously agile opponent, it was no more than a deadweight. She easily ducked under every swing. And, at the very most, only had to bat the larger blade aside with one of her own.Not even the random burst of smoke in the room bothered her. She was a freaking Dragon Master! And with the power of a fire dragon, at that. Smoke was nothing. Dust, however, was a bit more irritating. Despite her enemy being made of stone, she inflicted wounds on his ankles and wrists. With a living being, they would've been slowly bleeding out at this point from how many injuries she had given it.


Everywhere the redhead's swords ripped across, there was left a shallow scar in the solid material. Sparks would fly every time she moved to make another. There were several times where the solider came close to hitting her. Hell, she even earned a few scratches herself; but nothing serious was inflicted.


At one point, Sera grew a bit tired of this singular plaything. Everyone else was occupied, so no other warriors really had the chance to try to sneak up behind her. Everyone was engaged in their own battles. And, honestly, her own was beginning to get a bit boring.


For a moment, the girl glanced over to how her nameless friend was doing. Unlike her, he was taking down multiple statues. She watched his movements with interest, silently wanting to fight him more and more as the seconds ticked on. Sera could only imagine how such a battle would go down. Who would be the victor, and what movements would be taken to decide such a thing. However, her daydreaming was cut a bit short, as her own opponent was not yet "dead."


The axe seemed to come out of nowhere. She barely had time to block the actual blade, but ended up getting knocked back in the process. The teenager rolled a few feet, before jumping back to her feet and lunging forward.


The actual process of finishing the thing off was fairly simple. The warrior had swung his weapon down; in an attempt to slice her in half. All Sera had to do was take a step to the side, and continue her course. She rammed her shoulder into the thing, knocking it over. And, after that, came the decapitation. One blade was driven into the statue's neck, in order to create a couple of cracks. Almost immediately, she withdrew the first sword, and used the second to finish the job; sweeping it horizontally and breaking the head off entirely.


(1 down!)


@Idea

Daren

​

Daren kept having issues with breaking through the statue's defense. He managed to stay on his own two feet while defending, but actually attacking the thing was a little harder. He was used to blocking and running, not attacking and continuing to do so until the opponent was finished.


Breathing a bit heavily at this point, the boy continued to make his attempt.


It was his spear against a sword. While he had a longer reach, the stone warrior had more power. Plus, he had a better defense. Rock was a bit more sturdy than a flimsy barrier spell. Besides, it wasn't like he could just whip out his spell book in this situation. He would need time to find an appropriate spell, for one. And having one hand be preoccupied with such an item, while the other was holding his weapon, was hardly the most efficient strategy. For now, Daren would have to depend on his memory alone.


Deflecting his enemy's attack with his "flimsy" shield, he managed to find an opening. "Conlidam!" The tip of his spear glowed with a soft blue light. Jabbing it at the torso of the statue, he managed to make the attack connect. The spell itself only lasted for a second. However, that was more than enough time.


Where the spear touched, the stone immediately cracked. More than cracked, the small area was reduced to nothing more than dust. Given, the affected area was barely half a foot in diameter, and only a couple of inches deep. However, that was enough to be counted as a victory in the brunette's eyes. Alone, Daren hardly had enough strength to do such a thing. But, with the aid of magic, it was more than possible.


With the sudden appearance of smoke posed a bit of a problem. If he acted fast enough, he probably could've done a bit more damage. However, he didn't want to risk it.


The boy jumped back, as far away from the statue as he could manage. Coughing softly, he lifted up his shirt to cover his mouth and nose, until it dissipated enough for him to breathe safely.

A few of the dust from the statue that Daren broke into millions of pieces with his staff swarmed around near Azraelle and she put her hand out in front of her to disperse the powder that swarmed in the air. She looked at the boy that was swinging his weapon side to side and she nodded her head up and down agreeing with her own thoughts. "The kid on your left mother, has wonderful structures." Azraelle told her mother. Her mother looked up at her with a concerning look as she furrowed her eyebrows thinking Azraelle took a much rather liking to the boy.


"No, no. Not in that way mother, I simply mean he has great fighting structure's that we are looking for. Someone who is always ready and knows when the opponent is going for him. Just look at the amazing footwork he has when moving through the statues. " She told her mother as she crossed her legs elegantly. "He's good at fighting even without the spell book, this kid has potential. You may not see it but I do." She continued speaking highly of him but then looking over to take a look at the others and she saw that Jukrekknaxter was doing an excellent job, not that the others weren't do so well she only has two eyes and tried to look at everyone fighting.


@Idea @Aridis

 

[Coyote]

The Throne Room, Castle of Heaven, Saliva

The Queen smiled at the effectiveness of skills demonstrated by each of her hand picked champions. They were surely making out to be the team that could bring down the Advisor and end all sources of evil. She always began to take mental notes of their fighting styles, briefly studying the boy her daughter mentioned. True indeed. Her daughter certainly had a good eye for technique. That was something she herself taught her. The Queen was pleased to know her daughter was attentive to what was going on as well. "Do know, that I plan on having you join the group as well, Azraelle," she said, plainly.

15 soldiers remained.

5 were destroyed.

3 were lightly injured

12 were still fully capable of battle

"Sercus," Queen Mariavé called out. One of the Royal Duelists looked up to her. "Yes, my lady?" He said, skipping over to her, a sly grin on his face. He had a very colorful outfit indeed. His golden eyes danced gracefully as he observed the fighting. Then they dashed back to the Queen. <p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/74b5458cb86a07c32634c87b89f6dd97.jpg.aed8bd2eb1cced5a4e9874f5ef58e033.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="94759" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_12/74b5458cb86a07c32634c87b89f6dd97.jpg.aed8bd2eb1cced5a4e9874f5ef58e033.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

"Let's give these heroes a little to sweat about, don't you agree?" The Queen said, her face unmoving as she kept her eyes trained on the fighters. A girl who seemed to be having fun with her opponent, the dragon prodigy, the other dragon masters and their styles, the Glorians, and others. Sercus nodded his head enthusiastically. "Oh but of course! With absolute pleasure, hee hee," he said, with a high pitched giggle. Then Sercus turned and thrust his hands out. Suddenly, black strings shot from his finger tips and embedded themselves into the soldiers, then turning invisible. The soldiers stopped in their tracks for a brief moment. Then the eyes of the soldiers turned green. Sercus had the power to control inanimate objects. If he wanted to throw a pot at you, he'd take the pot and fling it as if some invisible thing forced it to fly towards you. In this case, it was the stone soldiers. Then the soldiers resumed their attacks. This time it was different. They weren't stronger or faster, but their technique was now nearly perfect, save for the fact that Sercus had to control 15 soldiers at the same time. They were all now had Duelist level technique. They didn't have the strength or speed of one, so a real Duelist could easily out match one of the soldiers but the stone warriors now swung their blades strategically. Aiming for weak points and striking in vulnerable moments. Dancing in and out, weaving the lines of defense and offense. Sercus chuckled devilishly. "Oh how I love playing with my toys, hee hee," he said. The Queen didn't answer, but only watched. The others standing nearby turned their attention away from their incessant chatter towards the fighters. Of course, they also wanted to see if they could best Sercus' toys.​

 

[sprouhtt]

"Yes I am well aware of that considering the fact that I was with the other group from before, let's just hope that they all return shouting victory from the highest mountain top." She told her mother letting out a small sigh. Azraelle turned her head slowly towards her mother and watched as her mother had no facial expressions whatsoever to what was happening, and this made it hard for Azraelle to figure out her emotions. "You could try showing some expressions mother so that it made it seem like your engaged in watching them fight for the spot." She told her mother as she let out a small but quiet chuckle knowing that she had always made fun of her mother for not showing any facial expressions when around people.


Azraelle puts her elbow on the chair handle and she leaned her head slightly against her hand watching the young group fight.


@TheWingedCrusader

 

[Alias]

The stone soldier stopped moving. It was about to fall down when it's eyes glowed green. It regained it's balance and charged the two once again. Ellias pushed the girl aside and dodged the soldier's attack. He unsheathed the swords tied on his back and swung it towards it's head. It simply dodged the blade and returned a blow. He rolled backwards and managed to dodge it. The soldier's fists hit the ground and rocks flew from it. A rock then hit the soldier's eyes. Now's my chance!, Ellias thought and began to reach for his shotgun. But another soldier that was located a few meters from his position fired an arrow and hit his shotgun. It flew from his hands and landed far from him. How the hell did he get that shot?!, he panicked. There was no way for that shot to have landed since he was really far from his point of view. Just as when he ran to retrieve his shotgun, another soldier lunged towards him and hit him square in the stomach with it's club.


Gasping for air, the force of the impact caused Ellias to be flung towards a nearby wall. Coughing up blood, he used his sword to regain his balance but fell to his knees anyway. Something's wrong, he thought. The stone soldiers were acting differently than before. Earlier, they were mindlessly attacking the group individually. Now, they're coordinated and attacking as one. It's like something started controlling them. He tried swinging his sword towards the two but the soldier with a club simply hit his sword and flew from his hands. It rested it's foot on his chest to pin him against the wall and raised it's club, ready to smash his skull open at any given moment. He looked at the little girl he pushed earlier. He's glad they didn't attack her or it would've been ugly.


Wait a minute...





Why won't they attack the girl? She was beside a boulder and they were just a few meters beside her, so that should've been the logical choice. His eyes rose up and saw the queen. Beside her was a strange man giggling madly with his hands thrust out. There was no way he could see the girl from up there. Could it be?, Ellias grinned. This is probably a long shot, but it's the best way to go if he were to die here. He pulled out a smoke ammunition from his satchel and smashed it to the ground. A huge smoke cloud erupted around them and the soldier with the club missed, grazing his head instead. He got out from his pinned position and the soldiers began swinging around blindly. After a series of breaking noises, Ellias got out of the smoke cloud with a bloodied head. Clasping a half-empty bottle of rum, he went to retrieve his shotgun. He drank what was left of the bottle before checking if it still has ammo. An incendiary. Perfect.


The smoke cloud dissipated and the two soldiers locked it's eyes on Ellias. They didn't notice the small satchel wet with rum in front of them. He aimed for the satchel and pulled the trigger. It hit the satchel and caught on fire. So did his incendiary bullets, explosive bullets, and bottles of rum inside it. It caused a huge explosion and it's force and the shrapnel in it shattered the stone soldiers into pieces.


Panting due exhaustion, Ellias dropped his shotgun because he can't use it anymore since all of his bullets were in the satchel. Before he went to where his sword flew, he turned towards the grinning madman with golden eyes. He pointed his two fingers from his right hand and pointed it to his eyes. Then he pointed it towards him. It was his way of mocking someone and saying I can see right through you, punk. He grabbed his sword and turned to the kid. "Dragon. Now. Hurry."


(2 down)


@TheWingedCrusader

 

[maerow]

There was so much going on now, that everything felt like a blur. The strangers, whom were announced as her future teammates, were all trying their best and working towards a common goal. For some reason, this gave Everet strength. It wasn't physical strength, but something deeper within. Dancing around with the stone soldier had worn her out. She had to get rid of as many as possible-- since she was already beginning to feel the strain. The opportunity presented itself when she tackled the statue into the wall, jamming her own stone foot into its center. She raised her mace, pounding continuously into the statue's head, until it began to crumble. And this is why I wanted turn into one of you guys. It was really between the hammer or mace. Something that was the easiest to crush their heads with, at least until she thought of another tactic. She couldn't completely mimic the extent of these stone soldier's powers. Moving around was the hardest part. With one statue down, she looked around at the others.


But then, suddenly, something weird was happening. The eyes of the soldiers turned green, and the aura around them shifted. "Oh, bloody hell." Everet cursed, but couldn't stop now. Before she could even do anything however, a smoke cloud appeared. The guy with the rum was quick to retaliate.


(1 down lol


@TheWingedCrusader )

 

[Idea]

(Lyra`s POV: )


I tilted my head when he said I was too young to drink and frowned.


"I`m not a baby! For your information, I`m five and a half! " I complained. He gave me the bottle of rum, and I did my best to ignore his attitude, although when he mentioned a paying, I stopped myself from drinking. I had no money...But maybe there was a way, some places had let me sleep in them and eat their food..."I don`t have any money. Is there perhaps something I can do as payment?"


.............


I took a peak at the man fighting in front of me. He looked amazing, although he kept pushing me around...I, on the other, hand, was such a wuss. I couldn`t even focus enough to summon my dragons!


And then I heard them. His words, on my head. A bright smile opened in my mouth as I looked up to him again.


"Really? You want to be my friend?" I hesitated for a moment as the man continued fighting. "I am...strong?"


I wasn`t sure why, but it felt like his words were true. Beyond a doubt that my mind could reach. I looked around with determination. Then, I took a deep breath.


"Give me cover." I requested. "Well, continue to."


I raised my hands and stared at the ground.


"Please..." I begged it. The branch-like cracks on the ground showed up again, much faster this time. A few of them were stepped on by the soldiers, breaking, but most lived. Those began to cluster together, forming tiny stone dragons. They weren`t large, but there sure was a heck lot of them. seventy to eighty, as far as she could count by eye.


The man was thrown around by one of the soldiers and was coughing blood. I ran to him, worried.


My head was hurting like hell and I ended up falling to my knees, struggling to keep my breath.


"Are you alright? I can`t keep them for very long...Can you tell me where to send them?" I asked of the man. I smirked, maybe we had a chance.


And then the soldiers turned invisible. My eyes opened wide in a panic, and some five dragons disintegrated in that instant.


@Alias

 

[Alias]

Ellias stood in awe at what the little girl accomplished. Sure, the dragons she summoned weren't big, but they were in such great numbers. But then, she lost her balance and five dragons disintegrated back into stone. He held her gently to keep her upright. "You did great, kid", Ellias pat her head. "Now time to help our other friends. Send half of them to our friends fighting the soldiers while the other half...", he pointed to the madman with golden eyes. "Should go play with Mr. Freaky over there. I have a hunch that he's somehow controlling the soldiers. But don't attack him or we'll be charged of assaulting a royal duelist. Just obscure his point of view and make sure he can't see his pawns clearly".


Gripping on his sword, he stood in front of the kid in case someone attacks them. "You can do it, kid".


@Idea

 

[Idea]

(Lyra's POV: )


"Got it! I'll just keep some here too, you need some rest, no?" I grinned at the man, then nodded at my dragons, which split into groups. Five of them came to me and to the man, flying around us to keep us covered. The rest split in equal clusters.


The first pack of stone dragons headed for the stone soldiers. I was tired and still moving around to avoid the attacks, so it was hard for the dragons to really take on the offense. A slash of a stone sword cut through some four dragons, turning them to dust in the short breeze. The remaining dragons jumped on him, digging everywhere into the soldier as if carving a nest with their repeated biting. The soldier flunged around, helplessly trying to get free of the dragons so he could use his weapon properly, but the dragon's claws were already carved to deep into his rocky skin. At last, the soldier burst into tiny fragments.


The other group flew towards the man that was pointed out by the rum guy. The packed in front of him, forming a sort of cloud wof beating wings and stony bodies, each releasing tiny screeches and moving around to complete block the man's vision and audition.


On the ground, I smiled as I saw all this happen. I hoped I was doing good, even as my legs were shaking as their strength was driven away, and I grabbed my dress by chest-height. My desperate gulps of air were becoming increasingly frequent. I looked at the man. I needed to stay strong. For my friends here. But how long would I last?


@Alias


(1 more down)

 

[Idea]

(Jukkreknatxer's POV : )


Thing were going pretty well. To my side, the dragon master girl was flinged around and stabbing the stone guards...in the worst places possible. Was she stupid or something? We had no idea if there would be other parts of the test and she was spending precious time and energy on blows that weren't the least bit effective? Well, whatever. I just needed to keep my own blows coming.


I skipped to the side as stone soldier flinged a spear at me, which I deflected with my dagger. I raised them both, preparing for the next strike, when their eyes suddenly went green and they stopped. I raised my eyebrow, confused, when suddenly three of them started jabbing at me in different directions, but somehow all in sing, unlike before. Before I knew it I had my arm cut twice and was forced to jump backwards, grinning. I wished, again, that I hadn't lost my weapons by having them confiscated. Well, I still had sone though.


"I guess it's time to cheat." I put down my daggers and their fires went out. The soldiers charged at me, each flinging a sword of his own, but keeping an amount of space that was juuust right for an effective attack from various angles and paces. I pulled my slingshot that I had tied to my tail. Deepfrog from the Guri Swamp. An animal with a especially slippery skin, perfect to allow them to store water to shield them from the fall after catching birds that flew nearby. Or, after I made it into a slingshot...


Spheres of gue formed in the slingshot as I pulled it, pressing my fingers on the skin parchment. I aimed, then shot. the glue exploded in contact with the stones, causing the soldiers to trample one another, getting their swords smashed together and even injuring each other. I took the opportunity to jump at them, swaying my daggers again at them, before jumping of so they couldn't catch me. Only one of those three had survived this, and ended up tripping on the gue, crashing onto the ground and breaking to bits over the damage it had taken before.


I grinned. I loved winning. I waved at the queen, hoping to get her attention as I gave her a broad smile.


@TheWingedCrusader @Aridis


(three more down)

 

[Idea]

(Gaudy's POV: )


I observed the former pink-haired woman transform into one of the stone soldiers and allowed myself to indulge in the fantasy of one of us hitting her and turning her to bits by accident. Before I knew it, a bunch of stone dragons emerged from the ground, or rather attmpted to, since they vanished. It only served to remind me we had dragon masters in the group. I was pissed.


Ignoring the fact that the warrior's eyes were now green, I raised my hands slowly and then streched my arms in opposite directions quickly, causing the spears to all charge at the soldiers again. Only , this time, they all perfectly managed to deflrcted my spears. Growling, I repeated the motion, only to get the same result.


I felt a knock on my back that alsmot threw me to the ground. I turned to see a stone warrior that had sneaked behind me. If it wasn't for my armor, I'd have a large wound on my back now. Instead, it was just a lot of pain.


"Summon." A fourth spear materialized in my hand and a fith on the other. I raised them defensively, blocking the next couple blows. Then, I noticed it...there was a string on the soldier's back! By the feeling it gave, the one from magic being absorbed, it was most likely invisible to my...hum..."allies". Without hesitation, I flew over the soldier and parried his attempted stab, used my spear to cut the string. As I did, the soldier fell to his knees, inanimate like a doll. A firm of puppet, most likely. I javbed my spears onto it's neck and the soldier turned to bits. I turned to the rest.


"EVERYONE! THE SOLDIERS ARE PUPPETS, THERE'S A STRING ON THEIR BACKS! AIM BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS AND YOU SHOULD MANAGE TO CUT IT!" I yelled.


@TheWingedCrusader


@everyone


(1 more down)