Fantasy The Four Courts RP [closed]

[HeartOfFerria]

Aquilla
Upon seeing the two women being killed Aquilla’s eyes flared. It was a fury nobody had seen from the girl before. The last of the magic in the gloscan drained as more frost covered her body. A thick helm of ice formed around her head and was promptly shattered by the impact. “Your first mistake was killing them...” she then moved to put the Dread Fighter’s sword arm into a hold that would make her Maester proud. If she succeded she would bring him to the ground and try to lock down the other arm with her legs. Your second mistake was not fearing the wrath of the Ignis Court!” She exclaimed.

Saffron

Saffron slipped into the room, she was cut on her leg but that didnt really bother her. What bothered her was the guard that saw her slip in. She drew ger dagger and slashed through the air letting a burst of air cut loose and if it succeded it would slam the guard against the wall allowing Saffron to close the distance.


Isabelle
The Umbral mage looking at Remy then to the dress then to the salesperson. One last sigh escaped her lips. “Fine... Ill try it on” she seemed to be putting on a stage of annoyance as if she did sort of want to try on something that wasnt her normal Cinque clothes.

Quinn
The maid stared at the sphere then to all the other lights on the room. “This all feels so other worldly... like a story book.” Her eyes were unusually alive. “Of course I will keep quiet but Maestra... what DO you intend for this artifact?

 

[Xion136]

Zion - Vivifica - Awake

Awakening, she stretched and yawned. Getting up, she took flight, once more heading home.

Kagura Sumeragi - Somnum - Grand Cathedral

Kaga yelped. Working on instinct, he danced back, water slicing up to bisect the Dread Knight. He didn't stumble, his feet entering a rhymthic pattern as he began to dance, lances of water firing off at the dread foes around him and Shiroo. With a deft change in steps, Kagura changed water to ice as he fired off at more Dread Fighters, forming a platform that rose him above his foes. He was working on pure instinct. Absalom was under attack. He was under attack. he had to fight.

Mystics Apprentice


Eden Silvius - Umbra - Market

Eden appeared behind Remy and Isabelle. She looked at the dress, shoving a pair of plainclothes into Remy's hands. "Here. Fresh change." She said, then watched Isabelle get on stage. She raised her coin purse to the clerk. "If she likes it, I will purchase it for her." Isabelle could be a merchant's daughter on a trip with her manservant and nana or maid. Would work perfectly.

Mystics Apprentice HeartOfFerria



Eclaire de Wynter - Umbra - Vita River vs Lagricius


Eclaire prepared to attack...then Feynne was at her side. She said she'd help...and Eclaire gently rested a hand on Feynne's head. "...Eclaire." She said softly. "No madame, or miss. I am not your owner nor master. I...am your friend." She dispelled Thornflare, and now raised Caladbolg, the dark greatsword she swung with ease. "...cover my blade is your hottest flames, Feynne." She held the sword before her, the single-edged blade an obsidian black. "Elle. Give me your strongest defense."
Once both had added themselves to her, she did something that the girl had forsworn....or had lied to herself about forsaking. From her back erupted wings of white-blue light, fractal and shimmering. She took flight, charging forth the sphere of water, and roared.
"CAL....ADBOLG!" She slashed the beast, powering through the sphere as golden shields formed an arrowhead to piece her way, striking it's body with all her might.

Mystics Apprentice Nero Kunivas


Makoto Suzaku - Ignis - Vita River vs Lagricius

Makoto struck with all her might, roaring in triumph as the beast's spines broke, it roared in pain and defiance. Still airborne, she used her Blast Magic to get higher and higher once more. After both Henry and Eclaire struck, she charged herself with lightning and blasted herself downwards, foot outstretched. "DIVING PHOENIX KICK!" she screamed. Fire would erupt from her foot, the mage about to do the mother of all dropkicks.

Endless Thundaza

 

[Thanny]

- Daruk Mordem, Ignis Court, fighting a giant sea snake with a party of . . . uh, a lot -

Daruk whooped with the force of a hundred gwa's and a hundred ha's as he witnessed his rock striking the beast, allowing a fair chance for the others following Henry and Makoto's team attack. Now for his own follow-up. Charging forward with his rocketing/skating maneuver, he skirted whatever geysers remained and crossed the battlefield with great speed, then let every point on his arms and the ones at the base of his feet unleash a gout of fire, propelling him upwards as well.

He passed Makoto mid-air, winking as he did so, and as soon as he crested his parabolic arc he pulled out his sword and -- what else? -- tossed it straight down at the creature. Normally the laws of physics would have the sword miss the creature due to gravity, but Daruk's sword, Smokestack, was special, in that it channeled fire much like he did. Fire burst from the pommel of the sword, and fire also gouted from each of the cross guards and tinier ones from holes that traced all the way down to the hilt. The end result was a makeshift missile launched toward the creature's wounded back.

Nero's prison was spectacular in that it locked the beast into an excellent position, but it also caused issues with absorbing blows meant for the beast. He hoped that the great speed of the sword, as well as Makoto's sundering dropkick, would cause Smokestack to find a home inside of the beast, wounding or perhaps killing it outright.

 

[Elrandir]

- Diane Corbeau - Court of Umbra - Sanctus Heights: Library - 1st Floor -
Stardustblade358

Diane and Vincent would search for the arcane signature with the help of his device, it was time consuming, since the device was not that accurate. Sometimes it would give a big reading, others it was weak or nonexistent, but after a while both found themselves in front of Sanctus Heights' library. The building looked like it was safe from any fire damage, it and the knowledge stored inside spared from such a cruel fate.

"Information regarding such archaic ways of magic could be stored in such place. It is part of our history, after all. Hopefully, the tomes that contained such knowledge were preserved with the best security they had," Diane said.

The Lich went inside the building once Vincent opened the door, she gave him a small bow before going inside. The place was . . . different . . . at least when comparing it with the library at the Umbra Court. This one was bright and clean, floors of marble, a lot of people reading, researching, people of the staff helping those who requested their services. It would take some time before they could manage to find something, this place was huge, and with multiple floors. Then Diane noticed that Vincent was about to bump against another person. She quickly got closer to him and put her hand on her shoulder to make him stop.

"Be careful, Vincent," Diane said as the bowed towards the guy who was going to bump into Vincent, "there are many people here using the fecilities, and if you don't pay attention then you can cause an accident. Nevertheless, I will be your eyes while you look at that device of yours, just keep following the arcane signature while I take care that you don't bump into anyone, or against one of the bookshelves."


- Thea Nero - Court of Somnum - Vita River -
Mystics Apprentice Stardustblade358 Thanny Xion136 Scrapmaster Nero Kunivas RikuXIII Endless Thundaza

Nero was trying her best to keep the water sphere floating while containing the creature inside. Seeing a shark appear out of nowhere took her by surprise, but at least it was attacking the creature. One by one the rest of the group began to attack the Lagiacrus and the creature would be unable to do nothing to stop the attacks. Avoid them? It would take a lot of effort, but it was possible, but all of them were powerful mages, Nero was sure that it was only a matter of time to defeat the creature.

"Keep going, everyone! At this pace we will be able to finish it quick!" Nero yelled.

 

[RikuXIII]

{Gerik Lockford - Umbra Court: Vita River; in battle}
With the the Bilröst Lagiacrus much more aware than he believed, Gerik dismissed the necrotic chains, in case one of the other mages came into conntact with it. So, it would need a little more wearing down, was it? That could be arranged. Pulling out his revolver, the Umbral Maester took a few pot shots as he skated across the water's surface with his dark matter board. The others seemed to be doing well enough, though it was Professor Nero's attempt to contain the beast that got his attention.
"Nicely done, professor." He called out pleasantly as he shot past his fellow maestra.
With a few Ignis mages making a play, Gerik backed off, muttering incantations under his breath. Ignis selected stout stock for their memebers. They could hold till he was done. Ah, three courts working together against a common enemy. If only things didn't have to be so dire to ensure such cooperation.
Abandoning his holding pattern around the fitful fiend, Gerik charged towards the beast. The others were putting on their finishing touches, but he hadn't been able to pull out this spell in ages. If nothing else, he would enjoy this. Launching himself in the air, a dark rune appeared around him as the spell began to take affect.
"Claws of dark,
and teeth that bite.
Come, Cerberus,
lend us your might!"
Clapping his hands together, a bellowing cloud of darkness sprang forth, and sped towards Lagiacrus. As it got closer, the cloud took on the appearance of three dog heads. With a yip that sounded like thunder, the Cerberus spell dove in with all three heads, biting at the monsters head, throat, and face.

{Anya Alighieri - Ignis Court: Sanctus Heights; 1st floor of cathedral}
Anya's arm was cocked and ready to throw her chakram in answer of the thrown knife, but luckily she saw the target before she let it fly.
"Watch it, there!" she hissed.
With Arun taking lead with the civilians and with no obvious injuries, Anya took up watch to make sure who ever was making trouble wasn't taking advantage of a distraction. It wasn't long before they were ready to move again. While Arun turned down Viola, Anya gave the maid a wink.
"Find help fast enough, and we'll see how goot you are with those knives." She promised before headin after her courtmate.
***2nd floor***
Taking things a little slower to watch their back, Anya arrived a few moments after Arun, with the battle with the dread warriors joined. Catching Vlad's words, the Phoenix Bearer smiled darkly as she pulled her other chakram.
"Got one in mind to live?" She asked Vlad as she threw both her blades. A few inches from her finger tips, the chakram's burst into flames. Now under the Pheonix's control, they moved unnaturally, altering course to avoid Arun and Vlad. While they spun close to the warriors, any hit they achieved was more a happy bonus. Instead, the spinning discs began bouncing off the walls behind the warriors, looking to cut off escape and force them onto the weapons of Vlad and Arun.

{Mako Koyl - Somnum Court: Sanctus Heights; Infirmary}
Mako was trying to hold in the fear she felt as the foot step got closer. She had to do something. She could port out of here! Get out, and bring help! Yeah, that was the thing. But what about Aquilla? Could she leave the other girl here to die? And weren't there others in here too? Filled with doubt and indecision, when the warrior got close, she acted on instinct. She called out to magic, but it wasn't her teleportation abilities that answered. Lightning crackled across her, engaging her gauntlets and boots. Part of her knew she didn't have time to ponder and threw her out of the curtain at the Dread Warrior. With her fists extended, she went for a tackle to take the warrior down. Electricity crackled around here, meaning contact from her attack or the warrior attempting a counter attack might have shocking results.

{Valery - Vivifica Court: Vivifca Temple}
Valery had her things prepared and ready to go. She didn't need much, just some rags to disguise herself. Her familiar would take to the skies and keep an eye out. She would need to rely on the others to make her signing known to other people, but she hoped that wouldn't be too big an issue. One of the items she packed was a personal journal that contained all the leads she had followed in search of her brother, Davide. The latest lead was written meticulously inside. She hoped she would have time to follow up on it.
As she finished her packing, she had a...odd feeling. Something she recognized, yet foreign. What ever it was, it gave her an uneasy feeling. With a crisp snap, she called her familiar over to her. She left her room, trying to pinpoint the source of this feeling.

 

[Mystics Apprentice]

–Sanctus Heights: 1st Floor Grand Cathedral–
Stardustblade358 , RikuXIII , Xion136

​

[KITCHEN]

Viola appeared saddened when Arun turned her away, her cheeks flushing at the mage's touch. She glanced down at his hands, and then back into his face. "I wouldn't just be a liability," she murmured softly. "If that is what you're concerned about."

It seemed that Anya was a bit more receptive to Viola's companionship. She flashed the fire mage a bright smile before saluting the two. "I will get help on the double!" she cried out, before rushing through the opening in the wall. This left Anya and Arun alone, until they reached the second floor.

[GREAT HALL - Kagura, Shiroo, and Absalom Sagus]

Meanwhile, in the great hall, Kagura put on a great display of water magic. Even Shiroo was impressed. The dread fighter which had charged Kagura was whipped back by the water, falling to the ground spouting blood. Clearly, it surprised both the fighter in addition to Shiroo that water could be so sharp and deadly. Three were on to Kagura quickly, but were not able to pursue him due to the ice which he now rode. One, however, did leap up behind Kagura, deftly charging after the dancer on ice. Speed was perhaps the dread fighter's greatest asset. Sure-footed, he continued to charge Kagura, until he was behind the Somnum Mage and made a leap, twin katanas out and ready to splice. Around this same time, a kusarigama, a chain attached to a heavy iron sickle, whipped out, the Dread fighter attempting to ensnare Kagura and bring the mage to him.

The other three Dread fighters rounded on Shiroo. Sweat gleamed down Shiroo's forehead as they rounded on him, extending his hand. His cousin's whittling magic ran in the family through their mothers' blood, only he could forge weapons utilizing earth magic. His palm began to glow orange as particles within the room formed. A spear formulated in his hand which he met the parry of a dread fighter with. Absalom's summon charged forward as well, skewering one of the dread fighter's during its fixation on Shiroo as it casted the body hastily aside.

That was the last action from the summon, however, as it grew faint before fading from existence, Absalom Sagus collapsing to the ground from exhaustion.

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: 2nd Floor–
HeartOfFerria , RikuXIII , Scrapmaster

[INFIRMARY - Mako and Aquilla]

The resistance which Aquilla put up certainly caught the dread fighter by surprise. She grasped his sword arm and knocked him successfully to the ground. "Girl, you will regret defying me," he said coldly. As she tried to pin his free arm he jerked it back, potentially jabbing his elbow sharply into her gut. Throwing her off, the dread fighter rolled to his feet, unsheathing a dagger which was concealed within the folds of his robes.

"And your mistake," he said, slowly approaching Aquilla, "was not simply complying when you had a chance. Pity. I didn't wish to kill you."

Before he could get far, however, the crackling of electricity drew his attention. He froze in place, nose wrinkled in confusion. As he went to turn his head he was pummeled by Mako, surprise on the teleporter's side. His body jerked violently from the shock of the electricity, before he went still on the ground, not far from his companion with a frozen head. It seemed that the shock had caused his heart to stop, though the one frozen was still very much alive. It was possible that he would arise from consciousness in time.

[HALLWAY - Vlad, Arun, and Anya]

As Vlad grabbed Dread Fighter #1 to use as a human dart board, the man continued to move, instead attempting to grip Vlad and, if possible, throw him over his shoulder. Whether this was successful or not, he would bring forth his kusarigama from his belt. He shook the chain free, swinging it around his head a moment before whipping it out toward Vlad. His goal was to pin him so that the chandelier would land upon him, but it seemed that the attack by his comrade was already intercepted.

The chandelier crashed a mere few feet from Dread Fighter #1 and Vlad, Dread Fighter #2 still riding atop it. It crashed to the ground, DF#2 leaping away from it moments before impact. He landed gracefully, bearing twin daggers as he charged Arun at full speed. He made to slash at his neck and face, and, if successful, would continue to slash away with immense speed.

The burning chakram's were certainly a surprise. DF#1's shoulder was grazed as one flew past, causing him to cry out in agony and drop to the ground. He dropped to the ground and rolled, putting out the flame. Thankfully for him, the burning aided in the cauterization of the wound which the chakram created in the flesh. While painful, he was not going to be suffering from any severe blood loss from Anya's assault.

Three additional dread fighters made the scene (3, 4, and 5). Their footsteps silent upon the carpeted hall. They were all now surrounded, trapped, within the hallway thanks to the flames which cut off access. It seemed that they would be getting well acquainted very fast. Dread fighter #3 charged Vlad with a katana, aiming to dive it clean into his torso. Dread fighter #4 flung his chain out toward Arun to pin him. Dread fighter #5 moved toward Anya with a kick toward her torso, and then would string a fancy combination of moves to attempt to grab her wrist, pull her close, and try to embed his dagger into her neck.

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: Basement–
HeartOfFerria , Nero Kunivas

The gust of wind caught the guard by surprise. It brought him off his feet and smacked him into the stone wall behind him. As Saffron approached the guard rose to his feet, attempting to scamper out of the room from the door behind him. A bullet whizzed through the air and found its way into the guard's thigh, a cry of agony escaping his lips. If Saffron turned around she would find Tibarn spinning one of his gun blades on an index finger, a frown furrowing his brow.

"Can't have him going off to cry for help," Tibarn murmured, moving forward toward Saffron and the guard. "I'd say we bind and gag him, at least for now. This wound isn't serious."

If the plan was decided on, Vaike would offer ropes that he'd untied from a nearby crate, grabbing one of his own napkins to shove into the guard's mouth to silence him. "I am rather sorry about this," said the blond, shaking his head. At full height he gestured toward a staircase that went further into the basement.

"Apparently the fiasco upstairs didn't cause all security to be abandoned down here. We should be quick," Vaike suggested, leading the way down the stairs.

If they continued on, they would find another floor, wooden doors lining either side of the walls, perhaps eight or so. Two guards had swords drawn and were seemingly prepared to greet Saffron, Gabriel, Tibarn, and Vaike. Perhaps the noise on the upper floors alerted them.

"Halt!" one of them demanded, moving quickly toward Gabriel, as though assuming the man were in charge for whatever reason. "You are not authorized to be down here. I demand you leave at once or face the consequences!"

–In front of the Grand Cathedral–
Nero Kunivas , Scrapmaster , HeartOfFerria

Everyth folded her arms over her chest, clearly unimpressed by everything about Arno. "Papa Johns," she scoffed, shaking her head and not making an attempt to hide her contempt. "Sounds like a pathetic pizza joint if you ask me." If a rise was what he sought, he certainly received it. Reactions were something that Everyth didn't provide a shortage on.

Her lips pursed as Arno continued to taunt her about the guards, though she fought the urge to retort with something witty. It wasn't that she hated Arno. No, but she didn't enjoy being eavesdropped upon or watched from afar, nor did she know the man's true intent for his arrival. She had to be wary of anything, even the most innocent bystander. And, to top it off, it seemed as though he knew too much.

"Ah, so you are a mind reader as well as a snoop?" she countered, violet eyes flashing dangerously toward Arno. "Brilliant. I wholeheartedly trust an unaffiliated mage bounty hunter with the lives of everyone here, sure." A defeated sigh escaped her as she shot a glance behind her toward the cathedral's doors. "But I suppose that you would be in the correct. We should move inside and see how we can help. You sure that you can get in and out of here without burning the place down, Papa John? I've heard that unaffiliated mages can mean . . . messy business."

–Sanctus Heights: Shopping District–
Xion136 , HeartOfFerria

A look of disgust crossed Remy's face as Eden dropped a pair of bland clothing into his hands. And here he was looking to flash off flamboyant purple robes and call himself a high mage of the Umbra court! If . . . any of their mages actually dressed that way, which from the looks of things they did not. "Fine," he replied, reluctant, as he fled behind the curtain to change into new attire for himself. While the garments were bland indeed, they fit remarkably well, and were admittedly in better condition than his blood-stained torn, soot-covered garb that he'd been wearing for the past number of days. He probably smelled better, too.

The salesperson happily guided Isabelle to a dressing room where she could try on the dress. "If you need any assistance, dear, just give me a holler! It's what I'm here for." As she returned to the front end of the store she was delighted to catch a glimpse of the coin that Eden had to spare. "Quite the nice gal, you are. Would you be the girl's mother? You have that kind of face, though goodness knows that you don't look old enough to be her mother!"

Remy, behind Eden, tried to conceal his snort of laughter.

–Sanctus Heights: Library–
Elrandir , Stardustblade358

Through the staircases and shelves the device would lead them onward, sometimes uncertain of its destination whereas other times its guidance was true. It lead Arun and Vincent to the uppermost floor, into a corner which had bookcases on all three sides. A large circular table which would sit four people resided in the center, while three people were present in this particular nook. One was a tall blue-haired man with spectacles. It seemed that he was dressed as an academy student, sifting through some novel and entirely unaware of newcomers. Another was a pink-haired girl scribbling something on a piece of paper, back to the mages, while in front of them sat Elia Cabret, the raven-haired churro girl from the day prior.

"Vincent! Hey! How's it going?! Is this your girlfriend?" she asked enthusiastically, voice all too loud to be used in a library. Irritated glances were shot her direction as she bounded over to them. The device in Vincent's hand would be reacting to something, or someone, within this room, seemingly particularly heightened when Elia bound over to them. The girl tilted her head, glancing down at the mechanic's hands.

"What's that you have there?" she inquired, curious.

–Intermundium–
HeartOfFerria

A tender smile crossed over Aislinn's features as she would wrap an arm around Quinn's shoulders, gently guiding the Vivifican mage away. "I cannot think of anything that could be more otherworldly than another world itself," she said, mirth in her tone. Her expression grew more serious, however, at the question which had followed.

"My intent is simple: I wish to put an end to this threat. I want to bring this right to the front door of our enemy, and ensure that they never get what they want. Even then, I don't know if I can, but I want to try. I should have enough mana now. It is only now a matter of time before I acquire the right materials to open a gate." With that, Aislinn procured a pinch of Itika from a velvet pouch she wore around her waist. It glowed in her fingertips, which she reconfigured as it resembled a hexagonal shape. A spot on the rock began to glow, and the forest which they left would appear before them. She gestured toward the outside, gaze falling upon Quinn. "After you, dear."

 

[Stardustblade358]

- Arun - Ignis Court - Sanctus Heights: Cathedral 2nd Floor - Hallway -
Arun blocked the first attack from the DF#2 with his axe, keeping it from hitting his neck. As the second dagger went for his face he spun his battle axe, slamming the blunt end of it right against the DF#2's abdomen. The cut did get him, cutting him across the face and just barely missing his eyes. Blood dripped as Arun focused solely on the enemies. The hit on the abdomen was followed by a swing of the axe across the abdomen, followed by a kick on the man's knees, trying to knock him down. He rose his axe to bring it down on the enemy's head. But as he was about to bring it down, the axe was caught as DF#4 had thrown his chain, and it wrapped around the battle axe. Arun pulled on it, but the DF#4 pulled right back, causing a tug of war that placed him at a disadvantage. Arun had to think fast, and he proceeded to rely on his brute strength instead. He pulled on the axe hard, and instead of trying to get it away from the DF#4, he grabbed a hold of the chain. He began to spin it, swinging it and possibly the DF#4 around the hallway, hoping to knocking him into another Dread Fighter around him, if he did not slam him face first into the nearest wall.

- Vincent - Ignis Court - Sanctus Heights: Library - 4th Floor -
Vincent glanced up as Diane prevented him from bumping into someone and causing an accident. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, my apologies, Diane. Thank you. I am just kind of focused on the signal. I do not want to lose it..." He admitted, looking back down at the device as they continued their journey around the library. They were led up to the second floor, then the third, and finally the fourth. There he heard a familiar noise, and Vincent smiled. "Oh hello, Elia." He blushed a the mention, shaking his head. "No. This is Diane, from Umbra Court. We are investigating about the automatron." He said. He did notice the spike in the device, and was quickly paying attention back to him. "Something that is helping us with the investigation. Um." He said, aiming the device at her, and then overall walking around the surrounding area, searching for the biggest spike within the room. It was here, he just needed to follow it. It was somewhere...around here... He aimed at the table, the bookcases, the people, everything, searching for the source. The source itself would give the biggest reading of them all, the spike heading all the way to the right. "You would not have happened to see anything suspicious around, would you, Elia?" He asked, keeping his gaze on the device.

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Soren Monroe, The Fractured Bulwark, Ignis - Sanctus Heights -
Scrapmaster Mystics Apprentice

The sudden arrival of Arno Cross was a surprise to be sure and at first, Soren wasn't convinced it was a welcome one. The man came in out of nowhere, blustering, snarking and provoking Everyth's disdain and Soren's silent frustration. In his silence however, Soren eyed Arno closely, his amber gaze panning up, down and across the numerous details of his attire and face, eventually leading to a realization, leading Soren to step forward after Everyth had said her piece.

"I know you." Soren began in a tone that could be mistaken for menacing, particularly as Soren loomed over Arno with his superior height and broad, strong figure, amongst other factors. "Yes, I do. I've seen your face on today's paper, you're one of the Bounty Hunters responsible for apprehending a rogue Fire Mage, a Nomad, down at the Tavern. That was a brave thing you did, whether it was for money or not, that man was dangerous." Soren's tone shifted, to a more relaxed, almost pleased tone, though Arno was not completely off the hook in his mind, Soren knew when praise was deserved. "I didn't expect you and your crew to be so...flamboyant, but you're far and away less of a concern than most Mages who wander without teaching or a Court, so it wouldn't be out of the question to trust you with survivors."

Soren then frowned, folding his arms across his chest and assuming a slight lean. "However, it is not your place to say where me and my friend here need to be. There are a great many things to attend to in a crisis such as this, some of greater priority than others. I trust you've seen the bodies behind us?" He gestured toward the corpses with his head briefly. "Instead, I would suggest that you, while you're here, should make yourself useful and not start trouble with anyone else. If you do, I will hear about it and you'll be sent away, your contributions stricken off the record. Is that clear?" Soren concluded in an authoritative and firm tone, unfolding his arms then gesturing at Arno whenever he mentioned him directly, then towards the border of Sanctus Heights upon mention of a dismissal.


- Ronin of the Shade, One of Many Names, Unaffiliated - Warehouse District -
Elrandir Thanny

The responses from Jari and Incarose were, unsatisfactory to say the least. While it seemed like they would either be delayed by a fight or would leave and not come back, the words of Incarose set something off within Ronin's soul, a fire not unlike the one the Shade held within his palm threateningly. And thus, he would place a foot forward in a confrontational manner. "Do not lecture me, child! Instead, know that everything I do, is done for the greater good! Criminal?" He looked to Jari. "Flawed reasoning? The words of the ignorant, the naive. Your rebuttals are pathetic, absolutely pathetic, terrible masks for your true intentions, the ones I will not allow to come to pass!" Ronin bellowed, standing his ground and likely, compelling the agitators to remain and listen. "I know of the kill order. Your Elders and their abuse of power, their intent to wipe a Court from the face of the Earth, for they act for a cause and reasons that either the Elders do not understand, or they know full well and seek to silence them forever."

"This is the start of a long darkness that is sure to envelop all of Regalia, one I have seen before. A shroud borne of corruption, malice and hate that threatens to destroy all that we hold dear and I will not let that happen! Not ever again!" At this point, Ronin knew he had said too much, but there was no going back, for his passions had ruled him up for those few moments, but it was sure to pique the curiosity of his foes.


- Gabriel Woods, The Soaring Raven, Bounty Hunter - Grand Cathedral -
Mystics Apprentice

Gabriel's talents were not needed at first, but when two guardsman approached the man himself, seemingly assuming he was the leader of this venture, demanding that they leave at once or face the consequences. Gabriel considered a few options for a moment, looking between both of the guards keenly, never once showing his intentions via expression or body language.

"Stand down, noble Guards. We seek a particular prisoner, she is our dear grandmother and last I heard, she was terribly unwell. I personally cannot bear the thought of her dying without seeing us again. If you would be so kind as to allow us passage, we won't be a bother, just a few short minutes to say our goodbyes. The only thing I ask is that you leave us...privacy is scarce enough as it is these days, no offense, but out of respect, I would prefer we are alone with poor grandma."

Every word Gabriel uttered was a hastily fabricated story, but was delivered with complete confidence, convincing sorrow and a soft tone of voice, complete with slow, deliberate hand gestures as to not alert the guards and further sell his story. Whether it would work was unknown, but Gabriel preferred a life taking risks. He also preferred to disarm the Guards without violence if it could be avoided.

 

[Elrandir]

- Diane Corbeau - Court of Umbra - Sanctus Heights: Library - 1st Floor -
Stardustblade358 Mystics Apprentice

"It is quite alright. Let's just be careful with the people around us," Diane answered, "The signal is coming from this building, we can be sure of that. We must make haste, but don't forget we are in a public space."

Diane kept guiding Vincent around the library, stopping him or making him turn another way when needed. Many others came close to bump into the strange pair, some even looking at them, some with curiosity, confusion or annoyance. Once they were on the third floor, a voice called Vincent's name. It was a young girl, she had seen it the day of the fire, but was not completely sure who she was. The only thing she knew was that she was helping at some point. She asking Vincent if she was his girlfriend made her slowly tilt her head to the side. Something about this was strangely familiar.

Spoiler

- Diane Corbeau - Unaffiliated - Somewhere around Regalia -

It was a clear sunny day outside the small library, the perfect day to have a picnic some people would say. Not for Diane, of course. Oh no, this was the perfect day to stay inside and read a good book in the library. Everyone was so busy doing stuff outside that she had all the books for herself. Though she didn't noticed, she was not the only person inside at the moment.

"Reading again, Corbeau? The day is pretty great outside and you prefer to stay indoors to read?" a young looking man with black hair and brown eyes asked Diane, "I suspect you're trying to keep all the library to yourself at this point. Hey! maybe you will be the new librarian once the current one retires."

Diane put the book she was reading down, the man glanced at it, "Before the Dawn". He had heard of that, a romance novel. The pale young woman sighed and rested her chin on her hand.

"Why, perhaps if I am the next head librarian then I will ban you from ever taking a step inside the library, dear Pietro Valonde," Diane answered with a mischievous smile, "I would enjoy the peace and quiet if that happened."

Pietro tucked a strand of hair behind his head and faked a gasp, his eyes widen in fake surprise.

"You wound me, Miss Corbeau! You wouldn't dare to forbid someone from obtaining the knowledge contained within these books, right? It goes against the purpose of what a library should do!" Pietro said,

Before Diane could answer, another person came into the library, a younger child, a girl with auburn hair and brown eyes, some stains were barely visible on her worn-looking dress.

"Hurry up, Brother! Everyone is going to the lake to swim and, oh?" the child suddenly stopped while she looked at the two, "Is this your girlfriend, Brother? She is pretty!"

Pietro's somewhat pale face was red from embarrassment, Diane looked at the young man and then at his . . . sister?

"Hello, I am Diane Corbeau and I am the head librarian's assistant. And no, I am not your brother's partner," She answered as she glanced at Pietro, "but I am a friend of his. Why, you could say I've known him ever since we were children."

It took some explaining and convincing from Pietro to make his sister, Alouette, understand that Diane was not his girlfriend and that they were just friends. Although, he had to admit that she was cute, not that he would ever tell her that! At the end of the day, Alouette had managed to convince Diane to go with them to the lake. It was not like anyone would go to the library on such pretty day, after all. She took the book she was reading and closed the door of the library before following the two siblings to the lake.

"It is a pleasure. As Vincent as said, I am Diane Corbeau of the Court of Umbra, Miss Elia, " Diane said flatly without taking her eyes from Elia, "And we are in the middle of helping with an investigation regarding the rogue automaton."

Vincent looked a little confused while looking and pointing his device around. Diane was ready just in case something happened while they where there. The moment Vincent discovered the source of the arcane energy from the blood rune that would be the moment to act.


- Incarose Vassar - Court of Ignis - Sanctus Heights: Warehouse District -
Thanny Nero Kunivas

"The greater good? You are willing to cause more suffering for the "greater good"? I might be a child, but you are the one who is acting quite childish right now," Incarose responded, "people who do things for the "greater good" are often those who cause great atrocities, and by the look of it, you are one of those people."

Incarose glanced at Jari and, surely, just like her, his legs were slightly shaking. She was scared of the guy in front of her, but not because they were in possible danger, but because he was willing to do anything for some stupid reason, one that she did not care to learn what it was.

"Our rebuttals might be pathetic, but that doesn't make them any less true. You call them terrible masks for our own intentions. But look at yourself in a mirror and ask it who is actually wearing a mask, and I'm not talking about the one you are currently wearing, because even your own rebuttals sound like a pathetics excuses to me," Incarose said, "I just joined the Court of Ignis just a couple of days ago, and while I do not completely understand the situation, even I know that Vivifica dealing with Itika has the potential to be something bad. Their maestra didn't answered the summons, she didn't provide answers to calm the uncertainty that the rest of the heads of the courts and elders felt. One of their mages basically declared war against the courts and the elders if they attempted to restrain the maestar of Vivifica."

Incarose's hair slowly went back to normal, she also put her sword back into its scabbard, she was tired of listening to the guy in front of her, and she was not going to risk more destruction to the city.

"You say the elders want to wipe a court, which is not true. Those who do not fight back will not be harmed. You also speak of the elders wanting to destroy the court because they do not know their reasons. How can they know such reasons when the maestra has continued to avoid answering the reasoning behind her actions? how can the elders, and the rest of the maesters, trust in someone who doesn't trust them enough to explain why is she doing the things she is doing?" Incarose said flatly, "You might want to keep this facade all you want, you might want to think you will save the whole world and do anything for the greater good, but, to me, you're just one poor delusional fool who is willing to make anything for the greater good, even if it means destroying the lives of thousands in the process. Whatever your problem is, you need help, and fast. I grow tired of listening to empty words coming from a man who doesn't even have the courage to show his face, instead, he hides it behind a stupid mask. There was no one worth helping here, Jari, I think now it's the perfect time for us to continue our way."

Incarose Vassar did not wait for a reply from the man, nor did she cared to hear any. She wanted to be outside the building the fastest as possible. She grabbed Jari's arm on her way out, she did not want him to stay behind and risk being hurt by the crazy guy inside.

 

[Endless Thundaza]

Jynn Venas, Vivifica - Vita River, retreating


As each second passes, the power of this attack continually drains Jynn of his mana. His arms start to get exhausted, and the bleeding from the injury on his arm was not helping either. Henry calls him out on this, and Jynn takes a moment to consider his words. Perhaps it was time for him to back down and retreat. Jynn stops the powerful beam, and lowers his arms. Should he have continued, he would seriously hurt himself. He raises his right arm, and the Leviathan returns to its sword form and returns to Jynn’s hand. It was hard to even hold up his weapon at this point.


“I need to retreat! I’m going to require healing. But this creature needs to be dealt with first.” He transforms his sword into a giant scythe, and uses it as a walking stick. Slowly, he walks back towards the carriages, but keeps his eyes on the monster, in case it tries anything.


Jynn reaches the carriages, and notices that two horses have fled the scene. Mel was trying to keep the rest from taking the flight instinct. But this was not the time to worry about that. Jynn rushes towards the wagon containing all of the supplies and weapons everyone needed. He grabs a roll of horse bandages, and does not hesitate to wrap it around his wound. The wound needed a mage’s healing, but the bandage manages to stop the bleeding. Exhausted, Jynn sits down on the grass.

(Will post for monster later)

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Ronin of the Shade, One of Many Names, Unaffiliated - Warehouse District -
Thanny Elrandir

Though he was listening to Incarose, Ronin remained silent for the entire rebuttal. Letting his passions rule him had only made the situation worse and only pushed Incarose in particular further toward dismissing Ronin as a lunatic. Near the end of her speech, Ronin closed his eyes, taking this time to center himself as shouting wasn't helping anyone, not here. These people had not lived the life Ronin had, so they needed to be educated thusly, but if they were to listen, he knew he had to be more receptive, more approachable, more direct. They weren't naive fools, if anything, Ronin had been the fool in his moment of anger. Now was the time for calm and Ronin had found it just as Incarose tried to pull Jari away. In an instant, Ronin leaped high into the air and behind Incarose and Jari, cutting them off from leaving and slowly rose from his kneeling landing and sighed, dismissing his Fire Spell Sigil and slowly walking toward the pair, sheathing his blade.

"Enough. This situation will only escalate if I don't stop." Ronin began in a tone that was radically different from the bellowing roars from before, as if his entire attitude had shifted. He was calm, but firm. "I'm sorry. The shouting and insults were uncalled for. I allowed myself to get too riled up, but if I want you to understand what I'm saying, I cannot treat you like children, it's not fair." He went on, gesturing reassuringly and calmly, stopping his walk a certain distance from them. "Listen to me. Everything that has happened today? It's happened before. A long time ago. The rulers of the land becoming arrogant, eager to use their power, seeking more than their current station. What Zion did was wrong, to openly declare war, it was foolhardy. But so too are the Elders. The Maestra of Vivifica has made her own errors, grave indeed. But does she and the rest of her court deserve to be hunted down for being silent and mining a forbidden resource?"

"Believe me or not, I seek to make things right. What I did earlier was wrong, what the Elders are suggesting is wrong, but Vivifica too are wrong. They should've made an appeal, made their case, instead of provoking the Elder's Wrath. I don't want their Court to be systematically hunted down and killed, but I also don't want Itika to fall into the wrong hands. Not again. I need to be sure Vivifica know what they are getting themselves into and I need to be sure the Elders are not what I fear they are becoming."

"Everything I was told shook me to my core...my spirit was disturbed and thus, my passions ran wild in that moment, I had forgotten all of the discipline of my years just for a moment. But consider that a single moment can be pivotal in changing the course of history. Many more and you could have a golden age or a dystopia on your hands, depending on the actions you take." Ronin spoke from the heart and the mind, hoping to make Jari and Incarose see, without telling them too much. To delve too far into the past was too painful for Ronin to consider, his voice even shaking as he made mention of how history might be repeating itself, but it soon calmed again as he went on.

"What I'm trying to say is, it's not too late. This entire predicament we find ourselves in can be resolved before it escalates too far, just like this discussion was. That's why I do what I do. That's why I could not let you pass, why I sought to protect Zion and why I will seek to bring Vivifica into question, along with the Elders. If I do nothing, history will repeat and this time, we may not survive the coming darkness." Ronin concluded, hoping that Incarose and Jari will see what he means or at the very least, see him differently.

 

[Thanny]

- Jari Coriander, Somnum Court, in parley alongside Incarose with a ghost -
Nero Kunivas Elrandir

Jari paralleled Incarose in many a way, it seemed, because he felt very similar to her in the opinion of this man. The way he lashed out with a "the end justifies the means" mentality, his rebuttals of calling them pathetic and children -- it further enforced his dislike for the man, and yet, in the end, the prideful spirit which led the man was silenced into a icy and smooth delivery of an apology and an explanation. It was like talking to a different person, and perhaps that unnerved him more than the fact that he cut them off with great speed, maybe faster than his fastest use of Blitzschnell. This triggered a refocused grip on his weapon now brought before him, a self-defense mechanism triggered out of fear instead of combat readiness.

He stood stock still, even if Incarose, already a good friend even if they barely knew each other, tried to have him keep moving. He stared at Ronin with skepticism, but slowly it waned into curiosity. His weapon-laden hand relaxed back to his side, his other arm probably still held by Incarose.

"If I may, Rose, I'd like to stay just a moment longer," he replied to her, his voice soft and eyes pleading. He turned back to Ronin. "You say all of this happened before. I studied what is known of history deeply, and came up with nothing of the sort. Power struggles happen all the time, but not this, so tell me . . . are you talking about prehistory, the time before what is currently known? How could you possibly know this? And you were with Zion . . . that explains things. I wondered how you learned of the Elders. That's who you were protecting?

"Well, if you are speaking honestly, I'll speak honestly too. We weren't seeking Zion. Like Rose said, we were just looking to supply others with materials for relief." He breathed out a heavy sigh. "I do not condone of her threat against us all, and don't want a war, but if Vivifica does go down the warpath then there is nothing we can do, not you, not me, not even Rose. We can't change this history. It's out of our power unless we can convince everyone to lay down their threats and arms."

 

[RikuXIII]

{Mako Koyl - Somnum Court: Sanctus Heights; 2nd Floor Infirmary}
Mako landed on top of the dead dread guard, then scrabbled off as fast as she could. She looked wide eyed at the man she killed. Monsters was one thing, but a person. She felt like she could be sick.
“Y-you okay?” She asked Aquilla a little breathlessly, trying to think of something else other the corpse beside her.



{Anya Alighieri - Ignis Court: Sanctus Heights; 2nd Floor Hallway}
Anya smirked as she hemmed in the Dread fighters. Though, with the zeal Arun and Vlad were fighting, she might have to resuscitate one of these bastards. That concern was somewhat put to rest with the arrival of 3 more dread fighters. With #5 seeming to have his eyes on her, Anya abandoned one of her chakrams, which thudded into a wall and stuck, its flame dying out.
“Come on!” She yelled in challenge.
In a fluid motion, she brought her right closed fist back while her clawed left hand swiped across her body. The effect was that a flaming wing formed and swept in to block #5’s kick to mirror her left hand, as the remaining chakram answered the right hand’s command and sail back down the hall to hopefully hit #5 from behind, or return to Anya.

 

[Mystics Apprentice]

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: 2nd Floor–
HeartOfFerria , RikuXIII , Scrapmaster

[INFIRMARY]

The dread fighter, whose heart stopped from the electricity, was now officially dead, and no amount of revivification could restore him to the living once again. The other dread fighter was visibly stirring; he would likely get back up very soon.

From outside Aquilla and Mako would be able to hear shouts and the sounds of combat. While inside, everyone was in a flight of panic. The injured huddled into each other, some crying, others muttering silent prayers to their gods and goddesses. The scent of urine and blood filled the air. It was an unpleasant place to be, that was for certain.

[HALLWAY]

The battle axe to the gut of DF #2 made him back up, his twin knives with him. With his quick reflexes he leapt down, avoiding the slice of the axe, though the kick intended for his knees instead hit the dread fighter in the head. He flew back from the impact, rolling backward and onto his feet. Agility and speed were perhaps the dread fighters' greatest strengths. The axe would have met his head had it not been for his partner in crime, Dread Fighter #4.

With Arun's axe intwined with the chain and Arun himself preoccupied with tossing DF #4, DF #2 charged, both daggers still in his hands. He flung his left arm across his body, aiming to strike Arun in the chest with the full blow of his arm. He attempted to pin him to the wall, other dagger raised and aiming for the Ignis mage's jugular vein in his neck.

The chain throw did indeed work on DF #4, the masked man being flung into Dread Fighter #1 before the two subsequently collided into the wall. Grunting, DF #1 shoved the other man off as he surveyed the scene. The surrounding flames made by the chakrams made it near impossible to escape, even though such was not his intention. As DF #3 tried to run his katana clean through Vlad's stomach, DF #1 ran along the wall, a katana in each hand. He'd leap behind Vlad and attempt to cross both blades in front of Vlad's neck, getting ready to slash at the flesh if the opportunity permitted it. He'd already observed Vlad's dangerous tendencies with his shadows–he didn't trust him to remain alive.

As for DF #5, the chakram which Anya beckoned had embed itself into his shoulder, causing the man to inhale deeply in pain, yet no sound escaped his lips. The chakram slowed his movement, yet he still held his dagger in his right hand, which he tried to embed into Anya's right shoulder. Blood poured freely from his fresh wound, though he was not going to stop as long as he drew breath. Not bothering to remove the chakram, he continued to fight, aiming a palm strike across Anya's face as he planned to simultaneously kick her in the gut.

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: Basement–
HeartOfFerria , Nero Kunivas

Tibarn's gaze flickered from Gabriel toward the guards, wondering how they were receiving Gabriel's woven tale. To further add to the solemn nature of his request, Tibarn lowered his head and nodded silently, allowing Gabriel to do the talking. More input would mean more room for error, in his opinion, and it seemed playing the role and allowing Gabriel alone to speak was best in this particular case.

The two guards glanced toward one another, before one of them turned toward Gabriel. His gaze was long and hard, eyes boring into seemingly Gabriel's sword before he lowered his weapon and took a step back.

"Make it quick," he murmured. The other guard procured a keyring from his pocket. This guard was no older than twenty years of age, a boyish face not yet hardened from the obligations of a bodyguard. He beckoned the four to follow him, moving them toward one of the wooden doors and shoving a key within the lock. With a click it unlocked, allowing the door to be swung open.

"I am assuming your grandmother to be Elena Damora," he said softly. "She is the only elderly woman within our custody, and truth be told she has not seemed well. It is good that you have come to see her when you have, as I am not sure how much longer she has left.

"I will wait outside this door, but you four may have as much time with her as you need," the young guard said politely, standing a few paces back from the door so that they would not be overheard. Leaving the cell may still prove to be problematic, since he hadn't fully retreated, but at least they had gotten this far without problems or bloodshed.

Inside the cell was rather dark, with only two torches on either side. On a cot rested an old woman, the one and the same that had been accused of smuggling Itika aboard the train. Her eyes opened as she spotted the party, slowly rising into a sitting position. Tibarn shifted awkwardly, uncertain of who she was, or why they were even doing this for that matter. Vaike, however, seemed a bit more shaken. Mouth dry, he stumbled toward the elderly woman and knelt, grasping one of her hands.

"Elena," he murmured softly, rubbing a thumb along her wrinkled skin. "It has been too long . . . . Far too long. How I have missed you, though I hoped that our reunion would not be quite like this."

She blinked, a frown furrowing her brow as she eyed Vaike. "Young man, forgive a senile old woman's memory, but have we met? I do not recognize you, but I will say that there is something oddly familiar about you."

A chuckle escaped Vaike in response, flashing a grin at the woman. "Oh, we've met, all right, and been on many adventures to boot. But now's not the time to reminisce and explain. These are my friends–they have come here to help you escape."

"Escape?" Her eyes widened as she glanced toward Saffron, Tibarn, and Gabriel in turn, before laughing softly. She held onto Vaike's hand as she slipped off the cot, standing no taller than five foot. "My word, you really are the band of adventurers, aren't you?"

–In front of the Grand Cathedral–
Nero Kunivas , Scrapmaster

Surprise flickered across Everyth's face as Soren seemed to recognize "Papa John," explaining who he was and how he were recognized. A grunt escaped the Umbral mage as she lowered her head, nodding to Soren's words. "It would seem that I owe you an apology, Papa John," she murmured lowly, though not without slight sarcasm toward his name. "You will have to forgive me for being . . . wary, especially with everything going on as of late. I have traveled far, been attacked, and now this"–she gestured toward the distressed cathedral–"I do not know who I can even trust anymore, but if Soren says that you are an ally than I will defer to his judgment."

But I'm watching you, she thought sharply, the flicker of flame within her eyes perhaps even conveying this message silently toward Arno. She listened, rather in awe, as Soren wasted no time in saying that he would dismiss Arno if he started any trouble. She had gathered from their first meeting that Soren could be intimidating, but this was an extent farther than she had witnessed upon their initial encounter. With his deep voice, the raspy breath of the respirator, and his towering height, it made sense that many feared him. And yet . . . he had a soft tender soul, and he had even referred to Everyth as a friend! This made her happier than she cared to admit, and light even ignited her eyes as she beamed upon his words.

After a moment Everyth snapped to, realizing that she'd been unintentionally leaning into Soren's free arm. What was wrong with her? She drew a few paces away, unsheathing her battle axe as she took a step toward the entryway. "Seems clear," she informed her companions. "Though I hear a lot of noise coming from upstairs, as well as down this hall. The infirmary is upstairs. Do you suppose we should see to them first?"

–Sanctus Heights: Library–
Elrandir , Stardustblade358

The raven-haired girl nodded seriously, though seemed as if she were trying to contain her excitement. "Working on an investigation, huh?" She pondered his words momentarily before adding, "I could possibly be of help! I even know one of the lieutenants in the criminal investigation agency!"

When Vincent started aiming the device at objects, especially people, there seemed to be some annoyance. The pink-haired girl slammed her book shut, shooting Vincent a very cold glare before packing up and away. The device seemed to spike when he pointed it toward the blue-haired student, though he seemed not to pay Vincent–or the device–any heed. The biggest spike was from Elia, however, after his search was conducted around the room.

"Suspicious?" Elia repeated, watching Vincent as she considered his words. "Hmm . . . not really, no, except that my sister has been acting a little possessive and crankier than usual. I don't know what her deal is. She keeps going through my stuff, demanding to know where I go, and when, and just has been off the wall annoying. She even shoo'd me off when Dad came to visit." She blushed, realizing that she was speaking one-hundred miles per minute and that she needed to slow down. "Sorry, when I say my dad I mean Lieutenant Mastiff. He's my dad, but not really my dad. I mean, he's not my dad by blood, but I still call him dad–does that even make sense?"

 

[Endless Thundaza]

Vs. Bilröst Lagiacrus

Meanwhile, the monster was taken by surprise by Yael’s transformation into a shark. He manages to bite it on the side, and the monster reacts by trying to bite back, but to no avail, Yael was positioned well beyond its reach. It could feel the bullets from Gerik’s revolver hitting its scales, as well as weapons from Arkane’s magic pierce and lodge themselves onto its body. Then it’s attention was turned towards Henry, who manages to land his attacks on its head, causing a series of explosions. However, the beast manages to lean too close to the wall of the watery veil, and the attack sends it flying out of the prison, dizzying the monster, and severely charring it face.


Unfortunately, even though it was dazed, it recognized that it was out of its trap, and it immediately tries to blast away any mages that was near its body. Huge geysers erupt from the ground around it, and if Makoto, Eclaire, and Daruk continued with their attacks, they could risk getting drenched by scalding water, possibly suffering from minor burns.


The explosion heats up the air around them, as well as irritating humidity. The mages would find themselves more prone to exhaustion now. The beast regains its focus and lets out another loud roar, before setting down a hot mist on the ground around it and the mages. It then starts to spin, releasing 7 orbs of steam spiraling away from it, then homes in on the mages.

Mystics Apprentice Nero Kunivas Elrandir Scrapmaster Thanny Xion136 RikuXIII Stardustblade358

 

[Stardustblade358]

Spoiler: Music

- Arun - Ignis Court - Sanctus Heights: Cathedral 2nd Floor - Hallway -
Arun got his axe back from the chain, pulling back on it. His eyes landed on DF#2 much too late for the hit on the chest. The arm hit the chest armor Arun wore, sending him back against the wall and pining him there. The other dagger rose, and Arun held onto his battleaxe. He pushed a button, the loud click signaling the separation of his shield to his word. As the dagger aimed for his neck, Arun proceeded to swing his shield against the DF#2's head, bashing it as hard as he possibly could. The blow should have knocked him away, if it did not end up decapitating the man. With his other hand holding his sword, he proceeded to jab at the DF#2, aiming for his stomach before he pushed, attempting to slam him against the opposite wall.

Mystics Apprentice

Spoiler: Music

- Vincent - Ignis Court - Sanctus Heights: Library - 4th Floor -
Vincent gave no damns about who was bothered with his investigation, and merely waved the pink haired girl goodbye as he conducted the investigation around the room. He maintained his expression neutral and his focused dueled between the device and Elia. "Oh, you do?" He asked, in reference to knowing the investigators. He finally finished exploring the whole room, coming to a halt right back in front of Elia. The biggest spike certainly came from her. He was rather surprised to find out that Mastiff was her father, but he did not falter as he held the device. By this point the needle was aiming all the way to the right, as furthest as it could go while he watched her. "Your father is Lieutenant Mastiff? Then maybe you could explain why his file in regards to the automaton were missing?" He asked, keeping his gentle smile. "You see, I designed this device in order to chase after the source of the sygil that ultimately gave the automaton life. Even though the beast was terribly destroyed thanks to our efforts within Ignis court, the sygil was not destroyed, and I was able to absorb the remaining magical essence from it. This device is designed to follow and locate the source of the essence. Now in a big city, it could be anyone! Yet it has guided us here." He said, pointing at the arrow. "And right now? The two biggest spikes are you and the young man over at the table." He tilted his head. "Now, it could be contamination from being around the automaton in and post-battle. However...then it would mean that the device would react to Diane, or to me, or to the other guards...yet they do not. It all leads to you." He spoke, now standing between Elia and the exit strategically. "Well? What do you think that means, Elia?"

Elrandir Mystics Apprentice

Spoiler: Music

- Arkane - Umbra Court - Vita River - Vs. Bilröst Lagiacrus -
Arkane was already feeling tired from the use of magic. The increase in humidity and the steam only made it worse. Sweat dripped down his brow as he held onto his flute. His fingers were beginning to cramp, his throat was beginning to feel raw. His own warrior would jump off, backflipping from the beast as the geysers shot up in the air. The summon was hit by one of them, sending him flying right into the air. The burning water did little to its skin, but weakened him significantly. He would not last longer, and neither would Arkane. The umbra mage played his flute, the summon coming to its senses as it flew in the air. The summon found itself falling back down (thanks, gravity) and spun its body to aim at the beast. It spun its trident and aimed for the head. Wherever he landed, he would stab the trident into its skin with all that it had. Arkane went through his cards, what other curse could he possibly inflict upon the beast? He was however, taken by surprise at the giant orb of steam. If it got to him he would be cooked alive like a lobster! He summoned a protection curse, which stopped it momentarily. It gave him enough time to run and barely miss the incoming attack when it burst right through. He panted for breath when he fell onto the grass, looking back at the beast. He was going to have to make more cursed cards, damn it... He straightened himself and took a deep breath, focusing on his trembling fingers and lips as he played another tune. This one was a curse this time, one to inflict on the beast. He used the Binding curse. From beneath the beast a sygil would appear, and from it ghostly chains rose into the air. They would wrap themselves around it, tightening up and attempting to pin it down and restricts its movements. To others, he hoped it served a chance to attack the beast. Or maybe use the chains as a bridge towards it.

- Yael - Unaffiliated - Vita River - Vs. Bilröst Lagiacrus -
Yael held onto it stubbornly until he saw the incoming geysers. He jumped off the beast, transforming into a bird that would fly around to dodge them. Upon seeing the incoming spheres of steam, Yael attempted to dodge them, but it did catch one of his wings. He screamed out in pain as it burned some of his feathers off. He transformed again, this time in the shape of his normal self. He landed on the beast and slid down its face as it was restrained. He looked at the beast right in the eyes. "Sorry." he whispered, before he proceeded to shove his claws into its eye in an attempt to blind the beast.

 

[Elrandir]

- Thea Nero - Court of Somnum - Vita River -
Mystics Apprentice Nero Kunivas Endless Thundaza Scrapmaster Thanny Xion136 RikuXIII Stardustblade358

Nero glanced at the Umbra Maester as he complimented her choice of attack, he was such a strange individual, not that Nero thought that was a bad thing. The creature was being held by the water sphere while everyone else attacked it, it was working, Nero was sure that the lagiacrus was going to fall soon, if only she could keep it trapped inside for a few more minutes. That, however, came to an end once Henry's attacks managed to help the lagiacrus escape its prison.

"No! Quickly! Keep attacking it before it has the time to react!" Nero yelled.

The Maestra waved her hands, making the water prison move towards the creature, but it was not fast enough to contain it a second time, her concentration was broken once she realized that the creature was attacking all of them with orbs of steam. She barely had any time to rise her hand to create a shield, and even though it did managed to stop the attack, it didn't lasted enough to take the full blown by itself. Instead, it hit the Maestra's stomach, making her skid a few meters back before falling to her knees.

"Ugh . . . not the best outcome . . ." she tought, "better than to get the full force of the attack."

She could see the wounds the attack had caused on her body, she was in no condition to help at the moment, so she made multiple barriers of ice around her to act as a multi-layered shield while she began to heal her wounds with some healing magic.


- Diane Corbeau - Court of Umbra - Sanctus Heights: Library - 4th Floor -
Stardustblade358 Mystics Apprentice

Diane was looking around the room, her eyes slowly following the pink-haired girl after she gave Vincent a very cold glare. For some reason she could understand how the girl felt, a library was a place to read in peace, after all, and having a couple of noisy people around would make most people annoyed. While taking glances at Vincent's device, she did noticed the two spikes while pointing at both the blue-haired man and Elia. Could if be that either of them was the culprit? Hearing that Elia knew one of the lieutenants was surprising, but more surprising was to learn that Lieutenant Mastiff was her father. Well, not biological father, but father nonetheless.

"What a strange coincidence. The Lieutenant's behavior was a little strange while we were in his office," Diane thought, "I wonder . . . does this girl has anything to do with that? It's not impossible."

So, Elia was the adoptive daughter of the Lieutenant, she had a sister who had been acting a little possessive and crankier than normal, always wanting to learn where and when she goes somewhere. It could be because of the recent accident with the automaton that could make her feel a little paranoid and wanting to protect her little sister, but could there be another reason?

While Vincent was talking with Elia, Diane's eyes were watching the man with the blue hair, waiting to see if he had any reaction to Vincent's words, any kind of signal that gave him away, be nervous for having someone asking about the Lieutenant's files or the investigation of the automaton. She also looked at Elia to see her reactions. At this point there were two possible enemies in the room, and for that reason, she was ready to defend Vincent and herself if something dangerous happened.


- Incarose Vassar - Court of Ignis - Sanctus Heights: Warehouse District -
Thanny Nero Kunivas

Incarose was ready to leave, she even pulled Jari with her, but apparently Jari wanted to listen to whatever the crazy guy with mask had to say. Sure, she stayed with Jari, but she was so tired of listening to the guy's nonesense that she just wanted to keep searching for people to offer them some supplies. They had wasted much time in that place already. She listened to what Ronin had to say, and was a little surprised about his sudden change of behavior, it was like talking to a whole different person.

"Sorry? You think a simple "sorry" will be enough to forgive such a threat? I don't mind, or care, about you calling us children, but to threaten to bring the whole building down is plain stupid," Incarose said, "You think your life story is important? think again. You might have suffered in the past, but the people in the city are suffering right now. Maybe even those from Vivifica are suffering right now and their archmage, or whatever, only made things worse for them. Nothing in this life is black and white, the Maestra of Vivifica is at fault, her archmage is too, and so are the Elders, but who is to say that they want more power? If you asked anyone they would say that it's most likely that the Maestra wants more power than those from the rest of the courts, or even the Elders."

Incarose looked to the exit for a moment, how much did she wanted to just leave the guy alone and keep helping those around the city.

"You want to make things right, yet you fail to keep your emotions in control for something so small compared to the whole world. You want to prevent some darkness from engulfing Regalia, yet you side with those who keep mining for a forbidden resource, and yet you have the courage to call us ignorants, children. You say a single moment can be pivotal and I think you already made a bad choice. You think we want a Golden Age? A Dystopia? No matter which one we get, they will crumble at some point. Nothing is eternal, and nothing you do will change that, no matter what." Incarose said to Ronin as she looked him in the eye, "I don't care about this Zion, not when her actions only caused further problems for her fellow mages, you have no right to decide what is right and what is wrong, no one asked you for that. If The Maestra is guilty then it will be proven with evidence, if this Zion wants war because she basically declared it if anyone ever got close to the Maestra, then whatever happens to the Maestra or her fellow mages will be her own fault. If the Elders are at fault, then they will also face justice one day. Lies will not last forever. Someday, the truth will come to the light."

The redhead sighed and rubbed her eyes, she shook her head and waved her hand at Jari.

"I will be over there listening and waiting for you, Jari," she said calmly, "I've had enough of this for the day."

 

[HeartOfFerria]

Aquilla-Ignis
The pink haired mage let out a sigh of releif before picking up her sword and moving over to the captives to cut them loose. Her body was covered in ice in many places causing her to move rather sluggishly. “I should thank you.” She told the lightning mage as she did this. “However I dont think we’ve met. Im Aquilla Anistar, an Ignis mage.” She would smile a little at Mako, trying to appear completely unphased by the situation. However she was still shaking slightly as fear lingered over her.

Quinn-Vivifica
The maid bowed gently before leaving the sanctuary. Returning to grass, stone, and wood her body instinctually taking in the mana from the light. “Maestra... I was going to begin restoring my mana for my mission in the morning. Would you like to join me? There is a nice grove about a mile from here.” She explained.


Saffron- Bounty Hunter
The girl looked around the room, from their target to the walls. She was checking for anything like windows or the like, maybe metal bars. Anything that would be affected by her magic. If not then she would decide that wind magic could continue to be a good backup plan. Either way she simply watched the others


Isabelle Cinque- Umbra?
the umbral mage sighs as she enters the dressing room. For quite some time she stared at the dress. “It..does look nice.” She muttered as she felt the material between her fingers. It felt very different from the rather militaristic clothes of the Cinque household. She decided it would be best to change out of her current outfit, it simply screamed house Cinque. As she undressed she nervously looked at herself in the mirror, turning around to reveal the mark on her back. Seared into her flesh was the very mark that haunted her, the twisted owl with eyes of red eclipsing a full moon. her eyes slowly turned towards the ruby bracelet around her wrist. A band of the bloodiest of reds. A band just small enough that it wouldnt slide off her wrist, locked by a now broken key. “Ridiculous traditions..” she muttered to herself before looking at herself in the mirror, wondering where that came from. Maybe deep within her heart. She shook it off and slipped into the dress. Giving it a bit of a twirl before smiling, rather satisfied with the results. She would then step out of the dressing room. She certainly looked different from when they first saw her.

Luka-Somnum

As the boat docked Luka headed immediately towards the laboratory within her home court. She had made some preparatory plans on a book she carried around and was planning to obtain the required materials for her experiment. “Lets hope The dear Doctor is ready for mana experimentation” she grins

 

[Scrapmaster]

- Henry Heid - Ignis Court - Lagiacrus Fight -

Henry had barely a time to recover his breath and stamina s the lagiacrus used the explosions caused by his attack to release it from the prison of water that Nero had cast upon it, this was horrible, not only did he not do enough damage to disable the beast but he also got Nero hurt because of his idiocy. This struck a nerve in Henry's brain, almost like a snap as his reckless actions led to the wounding of another. "Am I that useless?" He asked himself thoughfuly, this wasn't the first time he acted rashly. Grief and guilt nearly took the better of him, this distraction was enough to cause the spiraling heat orb to clash onto him fully, his blast armor, thankfuly taking the full brunt of the heat and dissipating the orb with a controled explosion breaking the steam apart.

Henry was thrown a few feet back, having slid on the ground while still standing up, panting, exhausted, but not particularly wounded. 'Did Daruk chose poorly?' he pondered while he grit his teeth as he fought the pain and the heat, given his ignis descent and magic the heat didn't prove that dangerous. 'No, dammit, he must've chosen me for a reason...' He thought, a serious expression began to form on his face as he began to take as few steps forward. 'There is still something I can do.' he thought, looking at his hand and bringing out his sword, and making a small cut into the palm of his hand, a mage's blood was different than that of a normal person, and Henry's blood was more unique than other's, it was golden-ish due to sunlight, so it held some mana in it, the cut drew blood as he closed it into a fist, fire and light begining to come off the palm. He quickly extended his arm, but instead of forward he extended it upwards to the sky, he concentrated sunlight magic into his hand, as it began to shine, an orb of sunlight began to form floating above his palm, as he concentrated mana into it, blast magic particles also beginning to cover his arm as well.

He closed his hand as the orb of sunlight separated into several different orbs, each seeking and harmessly enveloping all active combatants except the Lagiacrus with an aura of sunlight, this aura would nourish them, giving them increased physical and magical power as well as constant mana regeneration. Additionaly due to blast magic, all those who were buffed were given a partial effect of blast armor, protecting them from the heat and it would hold until they were either hit or enough time expired, but the buffs from the sunlight would last as long as Henry remained active in combat. Henry however was not buffed. "you're all protected!, attack it while it's still dazed!" He shouted, a bit of conviction and determination in his voice would be notable to those with keen ears.

Mystics Apprentice Elrandir Nero Kunivas Xion136 Stardustblade358 Thanny



- Arno Cross - Bounty Hunter extraordinaire - This is why he hates dealing with mages -

Oh dear christ. This interaction with Everyth and Soren only proved to remind Arno of why he hated dealing with mages, not only did he have to deal with uptight and prideful mages he also had to listen to their silly demands. He was starting to regret coming up with the plan of distracting them.

Everyth wasn't so pleased with the Papa John remark, which amused him to no end as he adored seeing her angry. "To be honest I wouldn't trust an affiliated mage either, but here we are." Arno cut in right after Everyth's comment about trusting an unafilliated mage. The later comment about burning the place down was even more of a joke to him.

Everyth quickly apologized for her treatment of him after Soren spoke of who he was to her. "It's fine...I didn't make it easy to trust either." Arno said his part, clearing up some tension.

Then came in Soren a hulking man in size, roughly seven foot tall and muscular, in clear contrast to Arno's 5'9 height, he actualy had to look up to face the man! this was both impressive and annoying, and the man's speech afterwards only served to nearly put Arno to sleep, general mage talk, and a small remark about dismissal and off the record strictions, Arno got maybe two sentences of all that.

"Whatever you say..." Arno remarked, with a shrug, clearly not shook by Soren's words or presence. Arno looked at Soren with a look of pure indifference to the giant mage. "I'd rather have my name striken off, god knows your higher ups would sooner blame it on an untrained mage than at a fault of security." Arno commented dryly as he moved past Soren to look at the bodies for a few seconds to determine the causes of death, it was true, Untrained mages usualy took the blame for even the pettiest of things in the current time, it was unfair, but what could you do? such was life.

"These were precise stabs, not the random shanking thug, thrown knives, most likely." Arno commented, with an indifferent tone in his voice as he was now mostly on business mode. "Lady, you say these men used a mage girl back at the bridge? I figure its either a hit for revenge for you fighting them back or...they're here to kidnap mages." Arno asked Everyth in a much less hostile or sarcastic tone, he was now more focused on the task at hand, but he wasn't really going to take orders from Soren or Everyth, they didn't have any authority over him.

"Seeing from how the guards were dealt with, these people don't have any problems killing civilians, so we better hurry." Arno spoke, cocking his lever action magic rifle in preparation as he took point beside the entrance, quickly following Everyth inside.

"I'd say we check out the second floor for trouble." Arno suggested. "But civilians might be here in the lower floor too, split up?" He finished.

Mystics Apprentice Nero Kunivas



- Vlad - THe Shadow Paler - Dread fightin in the hallways -

Arun and Anya's backup was very welcome, made things easier to deal with, DF#3 rushed at him with a katana, and DF#1 who had just survived an attack from Anya was also coming in from behind, doing some sick ass Prince of Persia wall running moves, the only problem is that the man had to run on the walls...which were still covered in shadow from the explosion back then, the man would feel something reaching out to grab his foot as he ran along the wall, some little shadowmancy never hurt, specially since Vlad had control of these shadows that he had created, should the man (DF#1) try to jump away from the wall he's see that it was a shadowy tentacle reaching towards his leg, and should it land, it would pull him inside the shadows on the wall, but leave only the upper parts of his torso out, mostly his shoulders and head would be out of the shadows as the rest would be quite literaly inside the shadows, possibly incapacitating him for the remainder of the fight, Vlad hoped that the wounds the man suffered from Anya's attack would weaken him a bit.

"That one" Vlad sarcasticaly spoke as he pointed at DF#1 in reply to Anya. Before looking straight into DF#3's eyes as the man ran at him with their katana, Vlad would slide back his feet on the floor, using the shadows under his foot to slide effortlessly back, in his wake would be a shadow clone, sharing all of his features in a black silhouete, should DF#3 not react in time his Katana would find itself stuck inside the clone's torso. The clone would then quickly throw a punch towards their jaw before disappearing, striking with impressive force should it land.

But that wasn't what the DF#3 had to worry about, while he deal with the clone Vlad had already sunken down into the shadows on the floor and maneuvered himself, right below the Dread fighter, should the punch had landed the man would be vulnerable to Vlad emerging from the shadows below him and going for a grab straight to his throat, a coat of shadow covering his hand, as his grip would be strenghtened by shadow energy, while also reaching with his free hand to grab onto the man's sword arm to stop from katana based retaliation, as Vlad would stare deeply into the man's eyes, his eyes black and his face like that of a demon's before reaching forward with his mouth to bite deep into the man's neck, and begin to draw blood...and shadow from the man, should the man not be able to prevent this he'd feel his blood and his very soul being seemingly sucked out, he could struggle and break free, but the damage and horror would already be done, possibly to his body and psyche. Vlad was still in his playing phase of the fight, he didn't want to kill them all just yet.

Mystics Apprentice Stardustblade358 RikuXIII

 

[Xion136]

Eclaire de Wynter - Umbra - Vita River Battle

She had to alter her course, hard and fast. Overshooting and banking around, she barely managed to get into Henry's buff zone. Feeling her magic power enhanced, she turned to face the beast, sword glowing. She raised the blade above her head, gathering mana. "Caladbolg, tear the mountaintop from it's heavenly seat among the clouds!" She roared, firing a dark slash wave at the beast with a loud roar, wings flaring. Points of light began to form, and she twisted around. What would appear at first to be merely unnecessary flourish actually was a magic circle being formed beneath her. "In the name of House de Wynter I call upon the arpeggio - Albion!" She threw her hand out, a bombardment of light bolts fired.


Makoto Suzaku - Ignis - Vita River Battle

She had to avoid the heat, hard turning and hitting the ground. Rolling and converting all the energy she could as she tumbled, she eventually came to her feet beside Henry, the buff causing her to grin. She set her stance. "Ears." She said to her bestie, before literally blasting off towards the beast, her body glowing as she gathered her chakra into her right fist. "LAST....PARADISE!" She roared, aiming to strike the dazed beast with a chakra-powered explosive punch.

Endless Thundaza Scrapmaster


Kagura Sumeragi - Somnum - Great Cathedral Battle

The boy had foes coming from both sides. Seeing the chain would reach first, he formed a barrier of ice around him, letting the dread warrior tug him out of the way of the twin katana one. He pushed the barrier out as he began to tumble, freezing the metal and breaking it with a few deft water blades before a trail of ice appeared beneath him, and he began to slide, deftly figure skating as he fired icicles at the foes that both attacked him and were attacking his comrades in a deadly dance of ice. He was remaining calm, yes, but deep down he was scared to death like with the sea monsters....and there was no Nero to run to for comfort afterwards.

Mystics Apprentice


Eden Silvius - Umbra - Shopping District

She ignored Remy's snorting, curtsying to the owner. "No milady. I am but a humble servant, assigned to ensure she has the proper clothing for her trip." She smiled gently. "I have no children of my own, nor am I at the right age to bare them. My father would be aghast if I had anyways - he is very much one for arranged marriages, you see." She smiled sadly, selling it. "But for now, I am but a humble servant carrying my employer's coin." She looked over to see if Isabelle liked the dress...and smiled. "You look beautiful, my lady." She said, eyes merrily twinkling. "I dare say you shall be the envy of every bachelor from the sea to the mountains."

HeartOfFerria Mystics Apprentice

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Soren Monroe, The Fractured Bulwark, Ignis - Sanctus Heights -

It was clear to a seasoned man like Soren that Arno couldn't care less what he had to say, his thoughts confirmed almost immediately when Arno spoke dismissively in response to Soren's warning. It seemed that the Bounty Hunter was jaded to a degree, or was simply tired of the perceived bureaucracy of Court Mages. Arno then said something that touched a nerve with Soren, who spoke up quickly. "The unaffiliated are only implicated if they give us reason to blame them, such as committing the crime or acting suspiciously. Your comments don't do you credit, Bounty Hunter." Soren uttered, a tinge of disdain in his voice, for he tired of Nomadic Mages playing the "Woe-is-me" card and expecting to be treated like criminals just because they serve no Court, when in reality they do themselves no favors by playing the victim, it only gave people like Soren reason to suspect them, rather than prejudice.

However this did not matter when Arno reported that the civilians were killed by experts and related it to the attack on Umbra at the bridge he'd read about. "Hold on, the assailants are related to those who attacked Umbra on their way here? Who are they, really?" Soren then shook his head dismissively. "No, that doesn't matter right now. We have to apprehend them. Now!" Soren would then follow Everyth and Arno inside the Cathedral, raising an eyebrow at Arno's suggestion.

"A sound idea, but you will accompany me to the second floor. No debates, no arguments. Everyth? Check out the lower floors as he pointed out, make sure it's safe, but watch yourself. Good luck." Soren spoke firmly once more to Arno, wanting to have the hunter in his sights, just to be sure. His voice toward Everyth was still firm, but his last words were of reassurance, for he believed in Everyth and wanted to make it known. His expression firmed up once more as he gestured for Arno to follow him up the stairs.

Scrapmaster Mystics Apprentice


- Ronin of the Shade, One of Many Names, Unaffiliated - Warehouse District -

"I don't expect such easy forgiveness, madam. I would be naive to do so. I also understand where you're coming from, but I disagree unequivocally. History has time and again shown that even the actions of a single person can heavily sway its course. This crisis can be averted entirely." Ronin spoke calmly, raising a hand at Incarose as he denied expecting immediate and unconditional forgiveness. "I lost my temper, my spirit was shaken prior to our meeting but it was still a mistake on my part. For that, I apologized and explained myself to you. All I expect from you, is your understanding. Of the stakes and of my words."

"I won't press the matter now. You are angered and understandably so. I hope to have at least been heard by the two of you and that in time, you will see as I see. You'll need to, if we are all to survive what is to come." Ronin nodded, then gestured to the main door. "Go. Do what you came to do, help those in need. I might return to help do the same. For now, I am needed. Rest assured, if Vivifica is truly something to worry about, if it is indeed what I fear it to be, know that I will do everything in my power to bring them all to justice. But know that I will do the same for anyone else, should they be as bad, if not worse. Stay vigilant...farewell."

With an incredibly swift and acrobatic sequence of jumps and climbing, Ronin exited the Warehouse via a window and would soon be found in the Shopping District, appearing with a quiet, but sudden landing beside Eden. "Where's Zion?"

Elrandir Thanny Xion136


- Gabriel Woods, The Soaring Raven, Bounty Hunter - Grand Cathedral, Prison Cells -

Internally, Gabriel was relieved that the Guards had bought his sob story. On the outside he was calm and followed the Guard to Elena's cell, watching as Vaike took the old lady's hand and told her what they planned. However, the younger Guard's comments, combined with Elena not recognizing Vaike, did concern Gabriel somewhat. She did seem to know who he and everyone else were, to a degree, recognizing them as a "band of adventurers". Gabriel committed to his earlier act, in case the Guard wanted to check in, by resting a hand on Elena's shoulder and speaking in a tone that would be indistinct to the Guard, but clear to Elena and Vaike, his body language that of a comforting, relieved "grandson".

"Vaike. Are you sure about this? She does not look well, just as the Guard said...and she is older than I expected, even from what you told me. We may not get far with her in tow. No offense, my dear." Gabriel spoke cautiously and seriously, knowing that this operation was risky at best, but now more factors were working against them than Gabriel had expected, so he wanted to confirm that Vaike was committed to helping her escape. This is a man that hired Gabriel and company to kidnap the High Priestess after all, he had to know the man's heart before he could fully trust him.

Mystics Apprentice


- Laguna, The Maelstrom, Somnum - Vita River, V.S Bilröst Lagiacrus -

Henry Heid's reckless actions had almost gotten Laguna's Maestra killed. The Lagiacrus was rampaging and the High Priestess remained in danger, both from the beast and her...handler. Laguna chose that for now, they would hone their rage and focus it on the Lagiacrus. When an opening presented itself amongst the Geysers and Orbs of Steam, Laguna took it and flew towards the beast at high speeds, gathering Lightning into their body and Mjolnir all the while. Once Laguna closed the distance, they would bring the hammer down upon the Lagiacrus's head, in an effort to either crush its skull, damage its brain or at the very least, give it a concussion. Henry's buff would help greatly, either way.

Regardless, the Lightning would course through the monster, likely causing burns and serious pain. Laguna was determined to slay this beast as quickly and painfully as possible...wait...why were they focusing on the pain? And...why didn't Laguna feel in control of themselves?

Questions for another time, Laguna. Kill the beast. "We can discuss this later."

Endless Thundaza


- Eleanor Le Doux, Fierce Shadow, Umbra - Vita River, V.S Bilröst Lagiacrus -

Eleanor roared, allowing the Darkness and Henry's magical buff to flow through her before she sent several crescent shaped energy waves through her Swords at the Lagiacrus with every swipe, finishing with a cross-shaped wave by performing a cross slash with both blades. Every dark energy wave would explode on contact with the Lagiacrus and deal serious damage to even its toughest scales. Afterwards however, she would take a moment to quell her power, as to try and not allow it to possess her. Fortunately, she met little resistance and her aura calmed quickly. It seemed her affliction was leaving her alone. For now.

Endless Thundaza

 

[Thanny]

- Jari Coriander, Somnum Court, with Incarose after a brush with Ronin -

Jari felt miffed again, regarded merely as a number when he asked a direct question. That was the last time he would give the man any acknowledgement, though he was admittedly curious as to what he had to say. And he waited so patiently, too, gosh darn it.

Turning toward Incarose, he huffed and glared one last time as Ronin slipped out of a window. Good riddance, he thought, and at the same time he wondered if he should have attempted to stab the man, if not for Incarose, then for the sake of the rest of humanity. This rogue, this scary vigilante, held power in his hand, and yet he seemed to point his blade in the direction of both parties, Vivifica and the other three Courts. Who was he?

"Well, that settles that," he mumbled, looking up toward Rose. "I have had enough as well from that addled man, though he spoke with a riddled tongue. If only I could run faster, then I can find his whereabouts on the sly, but he is scary fast." He paused for a moment, biting his cheek in thought. "We should tell someone what we found, but the maesters and maestra are gone to Vivifica. What should we do now?"

- Daruk Mordem, Ignis Court, buffed and ready to go -

Daruk frowned when he witnessed his rocketing sword somehow miss the creature. Strange. It usually was hard to miss a giant monstrosity with a speeding attack, but at the very least his sword would survive the impact.

The steamy geysers were a hindrance, but it was nothing in comparison to his mastery of being in heat, water-based or air-based. He conquered every water bath and desert air, and a couple of steam blasts were not enough to take him down. Nevertheless, he avoided them all the same, rocketing out of the way of the main streams of water and ignoring the building heat and humidity as best as he was able, most especially because of his young heir's, Henry's, boost to his overall strengths. Strength, magic, resilience to heat -- it would all be utilised.

The steam ball would miss him initially too, because he was charging straight toward the now-spun creature with a flame-ridden kick, heat lines stream-lining in an angle around him.

"Ignis Impalement!" he roared soon before the delivery so as not to give his position away.

The blast would be titanic, and if the beast was not fast enough to move its weak spot the kick will break ribs and the backbone, and the heat will boil the creature from the inside out. This fate, as much as Daruk thought, was not worthy of anyone but those who have brought forth Ignis Court's ire.

 

[Endless Thundaza]

Bilröst Lagiacrus


Nero and Yeal get caught in the beast’s onslaught, but Yeal latches back on in his human form, and slashes the Lagiacrus’s eye, blinding it. It was now completely vulnerable, distracted by the loss of its eye, completely unaware of Henry’s attempt to strengthen everyone’s attacks. In response, Laguna slams his hammer upon the monster’s head, almost burying its face in the ground, leaving it a major concussion. Eleanor slashes at its body, causing several dark explosions, leaving serious wounds on its body.



Meanwhile, Ignis maester, Daruk, performs a fiery kick towards the Lagiacrus’s chest, causing a massive explosion. The monster’s insides start to boil, and it wails its head around, emitting one last bellow, before finally slamming down to the earth beneath it, lifeless.

Mystics Apprentice Nero Kunivas Xion136 Scrapmaster Stardustblade358 Elrandir RikuXIII Thanny

Jynn Venas, Vivifica - Vita River


Jynn witnessed the beast’s fall, and lets out a long sigh, exhausted and injured. He could feel the blood on his shoulder staining his skin, which would require immediate attention from a healer. “I’m going to need to step up my game and retrain myself if I want to keep this group’s respect.........”

 

[Stardustblade358]

- Arkane - Umbra Court - Vita River - Vs. Bilröst Lagiacrus -
Arkane watched the beast finally give in. The ground shook and water splashed as the river had turned crimson from the beast's blood. Then there was silence. Just silence...and it was almost as deafening as the actual fight. The Umbra mage allowed himself to drop down, sitting back on the floor as hie fingertips bled. The shimmer of his cards would fade, and they would slowly float back down until they were mere cards again. His precious summon disappeared into nothing along with the chains, and now he just had a whole bunch of blank cards and a headache. He was also cold now. If he got sick out of this, he would not be surprised. He moved some hair away from his face and glanced up at the beast. Sadly, only when it was dead and still could one admire its beauty after witnessing its strength. The mage collected his cards getting them safely in his satchel before pushing himself onto his feet and approaching the corpse. He was hesitant for a second, before placing a hand on the beast, feeling the scales as fresh blood still dripped from its wounds. It was almost sad. He looked back around and patted the scaled skin once more. "...your soul shall remain free. It is much too powerful and pure to be used for necromancy...thank you for leaving your body behind, and for the uses that it shall bring." He muttered.

- Yael - Unaffiliated - Vita River - Vs. Bilröst Lagiacrus -
When the beast fell, Yael clung onto it. Once the whole place stopped shaking, he would peek back out and look around. ...they survived! the beast was dead! Yael lowered his ears and leaned against the beast, pressing his forehead against the scales. "I am sorry. I hope that you re capable of resting beyond this mortal realm." He whispered. He then would jump back up. "JYNN!" He screamed, waving and smiling. "Jynn! Do you see this?! Do you think I would be allowed to eat it?! I want to eat it!" He yelled, taking a seat on the corpse. He then proceeded to slap the surface of it. "This bad boy can contain so many calories! I would not have to eat for days if I eat all of this!...did I mention I am hungry after all of that shapeshifting?"

 

[Mystics Apprentice]

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: 2nd Floor–
HeartOfFerria , RikuXIII , Scrapmaster

[INFIRMARY]

Upon being cut loose, a group of young teenage girls began sobbing, fleeing to a young boy in a corner and clutching him tightly. One of them glanced up to face Aquilla with a tear-stained face. "Thank you ever so much," she said, pale hair framing her face. A long cut ran down the length of her pallid face, likely from the Dread Fighters which had been holding them captive. "You've saved my sisters and brother. I didn't think we would make it out alive! We heard them killing people, and with the threats they kept extending we feared that we would be next."

The fourteen or so people in the infirmary were immensely grateful to be freed, though none seemed particularly eager to leave the sanctuary of the infirmary. The sounds of battle from outside the room could be heard, causing an elderly woman to shrink up against her equally aged husband, who grasped her hand firmly. One young man, however, seemed prepared to face what was on the other side of that door. He deftly swept down to grasp one of the fallen fighter's katanas, before meeting Aquilla's eye and nodding. He was perhaps no older than twenty, dark bangs sweeping his face and nearly entering his aqua-blue eyes. He stood a mere 5'6" tall, likely equal or shorter than Aquilla herself.

"Whoever is on the other side of that door needs your help," he told Aquilla. "I overheard your introduction. You are an Ignis Mage, no? I see the fire in your eyes. If anyone is capable of stopping these assassins, it would be you, Aquilla." He held the blade out in front of him, giving it a thorough glance as he weighed it in his hand. "I will lend my blade, or, er, his, I suppose."

He chuckled softly, before giving her nod. "Since I know your name it is only fair if I proffer mine: Kolm. Kolm Diarisso."

[HALLWAY]

The shield from Arun came down fast and hard. DF #2, trying to avoid it, ended up getting it smacked upon the side of his skull. A sickening thud resulted, the force of the blow sending the man onto the ground. His head garb was askew, the man down on the ground. It didn't seem that he would be getting up anytime soon.

DF #4 took this opportunity while Arun was hopefully distracted. He bolted right up to the man, aligning himself parallel to Arun facing the wall. He then brought his arm across Arun's back in an attempt to knock him facedown to the ground. If successful, he would wield the blade sheathed in his left gauntlet and attempt to stab Arun's left shoulder.

Meanwhile, the sensation of something running along DF #1's legs caused him to jerk in alarm. Freezing in his steps, he glanced down to find the shadows themselves gripping his legs. In an attempt to break away he was merely brought in deeper, the man now ensnared in shadows from the chest down. He let out a shout and struggled, swinging his katana around wildly and shouting profanities toward Vlad. Yes, he would be amusing to keep alive, should he be Vlad's victim of choice.

The combination of Vlad's attacks landed against DF #3, having fallen for the clone and ran his katana straight through. Only too late did he realize his error, as Vlad emerged from the shadows below him and clung to his neck. The Dread Fighter struggled, curling himself up and attempting to send a very powerful kick with both legs against Vlad's chest. He would then bring his arm with the katana up and attempt to bring the blade against Vlad's wrist, the one whose hand had a grip around his neck. Even if Vlad fought to disarm him, he would fight to keep his arm there. Whether he cut Vlad's wrist or not, he struggled greatly to break free, before Vlad would be able to sink his teeth into him (quite literally).

–Sanctus Heights: The Grand Cathedral: Basement–
HeartOfFerria , Nero Kunivas

A chuckle escaped Elena as Gabriel moved to place a hand on her shoulder, though looked taken aback when he'd voiced his concerns about her age and survival.

"Well, you're the discreet one, aren't you?" she said harshly, retreating from his grasp slightly, to which Vaike held her against his side protectively. His eyes bore into Gabriel's, expression unwavering as he voiced. "I am not leaving without her."

Was that a tear? His eyes were slightly red, before he shook his head and let out a sigh. "If you guys want to bail out now I don't blame you. With Gabriel's story you can still probably make a clean getaway. But I have a vow to upkeep."

Upon his words, Elena froze, eyes wide as she turned her gaze up to Vaike. "Magnus?" she asked, voice hesitant. "That's you . . . isn't it? You wear a new face and name, yet I would know that tone anywhere."

A hesitant smile crept up onto Vaike's face, before bringing a finger to his lips to silence her. A look of concern washed over his features as he glanced toward Gabriel, Tibarn, and Saffron, before finally saying, "I'll explain later. First, have any ideas on how to get out of here with the least amount of bloodshed? We're at peace now, but if we try to leave with her they're going to assault us, of that I have no doubt."

The room had no windows; only two torches in brackets on the wall, the metal cot, and the wooden door which they entered. The guard stood several paces from the door, granting them privacy but would spot them as they would attempt to leave.

–Sanctus Heights: Grand Cathedral 1st Floor–
Nero Kunivas , Scrapmaster , Xion136

[FOYER]

Arno was becoming slightly more palatable to Everyth, but still the woman was wary of the bounty hunter. Perhaps it was because he introduced himself with an obviously false name, or it might have been because he was an unaffiliated mage. Regardless, she would keep an eye on him, perhaps sticking a bit too close to Soren for comfort. That was, however, until Arno suggested that they separate, to which Soren agreed.

"Oh, alone as always," Everyth murmured darkly, shooting a glance at Arno and then eyes roving back toward her friend. "Don't let him do any funny business. I'll report what I find."

Stay safe, she thought, not daring to utter the words aloud as Soren and Arno moved upstairs. They would find the hallway with dread fighters, Vlad, Anya, and Arun to their right, while another set of rooms would be to their left. All was silent to their left, though much activity was happening in the nearby hall, if gauging from the shouts, sounds of steel, and footsteps running.

[GREAT HALL]

The shower of icicles halted the two dread fighters in their tracks, raising their arms over their heads defensively as they were mercilessly pelted by Kagura. They were not as surefooted on the ice as Kagura, one of them slipping and falling smack on his back in an attempt to get away.

"Nice one, Kaga!" Shiroo shouted from across the room, holding his spear out in front of him as a katana tried to sever through it and slice the Ignis mage. Tendrils of shadow wrapped their way around the dread fighter's neck which Shiroo had been fighting, however, gripping him and flinging him to the side. In the doorway stood Everyth, dark hair billowing around her, violet eyes ablaze as she scanned the room. With immense speed, she flickered over to Kagura's side, as one of the dread fighter's was about to bring a katana to the water dancer's back.

"You all right, kid?" she asked, holding her ground as her battle axe met with the katana of the dread fighter. "I've got this one. The elder over there doesn't look too hot, but it's up to you if you want to deal with this threat before trying to heal him. I can hold them off."

Two dread fighters still surrounded Shiroo on one side of the room, while three others circled around Kagura and Everyth like vultures deciding on how they wanted to enjoy their meal. All three held twin katanas. At the front of the room was the collapsed elder, Absalom Sagus. His face was an ashen gray, and he appeared unconscious.

While Kagura was deciding, one of the dread fighters charged him, attempting to cut at him from his left side, just below his heart.

–Sanctus Heights: Library–
Elrandir , Stardustblade358

A frown furrowed Elia's brow as Vincent was seemingly accusing her of being involved in the automaton incident. "What? Why would I know anything about some stupid file?!" she demanded, practically shouting at this point. "I didn't even know a file was missing!"

She flung one of her backpack's straps over her shoulders, shooting Vincent one of her dirtiest glares. "What do I think that means?" she repeated. "I think it means that you're a big jerk! I guess it's true what they say about court mages! I thought you guys were cool and different, but you think this is somehow my fault?" Her tone was reaching hysterically high octaves at that point, even reaching the blue-haired man who seemed otherwise engrossed in what he was doing. He closed his novel, slowly shifting his dark eyes toward Diane. There was something cold and unearthly in the way that he looked at her, though it was gone about as quick as it appeared as he adjusted his glasses and moved forward, between Elia and Vincent to leave. The device didn't react to him in any way as he moved past.

"I don't want to ever see you again!" Elia cried out, tears now staining her cheeks. "I can't believe you think that I would do something like this!" She would move forward to leave as well, unless Vincent or Diane stopped her.

–Sanctus Heights: Shopping District–
Nero Kunivas , HeartOfFerria , Xion136

The shopkeeper smiled kindly toward Eden. "What a humble woman you are, which is not common to find around mage courts, no offense." Her gaze shifted toward Isabelle as she emerged from the dressing station, her eyes alight with the youth's joy. "It would seem that the lass is rather fond of it! Just because you are all such a merry band, I'll give you a small discount. But don't tell the others or they will run me out of business . . . !"

"Nice to see you, too," Remy sneered, folding his arms over his chest and walking beside Eden. He wore new clothing, rather bland thanks to Eden's referral, and his bands were pinned up with his hair in a ponytail. He looked different at first glance, but his freckled face and blue eyes would quite easily give him away to Ronin, along with his condescending sneer. His attention was arrested from Ronin when Isabelle emerged, looking positively stunning wearing the dress from the window.

"Well, what do you know? You could almost pass for a princess, Bambi," Remy teased, offering his new friend a genuine smile. "Well, I mean, you already have nobility in your blood–but, well, you know what I'm trying to say."

If their shopping was finished, the shopkeeper would extend the bill to Eden, thank them for their purchases, and the merry band of four would be well on their way into the streets of Sanctus Heights.

"So, where to now? Are we following Zion?" Remy asked Eden, ensuring to keep his voice down in case they were being watched.

–Vita River–
Endless Thundaza , Thanny , Xion136 , Nero Kunivas , Elrandir , Stardustblade358 , RikuXIII , Scrapmaster

The Lagiacrus was finally laid to rest–no longer would his threat be looming over the mage's heads. However, the struggle had cost the mages a set of horses, meaning that they would have to abandon one of their carriages unless they made other means for bringing it along.

"We can make do," Mia had concluded when one of the coachmen had informed her of their current predicament. "Don't need a maester and his boy hogging an entire carriage to themselves anyhow. We will just be a bit cramped, but we will make it just fine. Maester Lockford"–her gaze cut to the Umbral Maester, a warm mirth emanating from her–"grab your things from your carriage and come along! We've already lost enough precious time as it is."

Mabel hadn't uttered a word while she sat obediently in the carriage during the conflict, though nothing could halt her from rushing to Jynn's side when she saw him not far from the carriages, sitting alone in the grass.

"JYNN!"

Her voice rang through the trees, seemingly carried along the river as she ran, hitching up her robe so that it didn't hinder her movement. She knelt before the Vivifica mage and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're hurt! Where? Can I see?" Already her gaze trailed the blood to the site of the wound, causing all color to drain from her face.

Meanwhile, at the sight of the Lagiacrus and Arkane's fascination with it, Mellark stabbed his javelin into the ground and shook his head.

"You are so unusual, Arkane," he said, though there was something respectable in his tone as he'd said it. "Get your fill of this beauty. I'll see you guys at the carriages."

The blue-haired mage moved toward Maestra Nero, whipping his javelin to one side of his body while extending the other side and arm for the professor. "Professor Nero," he said gravely, respectfully. "Pray tell, are you all right? I didn't witness what transpired, only that you did not continue in the assault which only made me assume the worst."

–Vivifica Forest–
HeartOfFerria

Quinn and Aislinn emerged from the rock, appearing solid and not giving away any trace that something otherworldly existed through a rift within it. When Quinn proffered for the Maestra to join her, she gripped Quinn's hand tightly and offered the young woman a smile. "I would be happy to, dear," she said, her tone holding warmth and fondness for the Vivifican girl. "Though I am afraid that I have wasted most of your morning away at this point."