Fantasy ~The Lords of the Magistone~

[Effervescent]

It was the roar of fire that caught his attention fully. He had heard the stumble and distant chatter of a girl, but did not expect a fight to ensue. Naraya quickly darted out the door, and Rederik followed with weapons unsheathed. He passed by Skyre, swooping in to the next soldier that had turned back down the dirt road. The blade of his dagger met the flashing steel of the soldier's sword, blocking the downward blow to his shoulder while plunging in with his other blade. Rederik's dagger sunk into the soldier's side through a weak point in his armor. Naraya clawed into the soldier's shoulders and drove him downward before mauling his neck.


The burst of fireballs caused him to stagger into the next soldier, and elbowed him away. The blade of his sword sliced over his leather chest plate tattering the dark, earthy dye. Rederik slashed toward his neck, though it was parried and turned away from the soldier. His agility kept him quick on his feet and away from the danger of the sword like a dance. The soldier's movements were fairly predictable and almost repetitive, and his ferocious form would only fatigue him. If they all were like this soldier, the band of survivors stood a chance in this simple fight.

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre grimaced as he prepared to engage, and jumped as fire arrows struck each of the soldiers in turn, causing them to spin around in confusion. Unfortunately, the helmets had completely protected them as the arrows had simply bounced off. Skyre wondered what material they were made out of, and what they did. Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Skyre set up a barrier of wind with a swift slicing motion of his hands, dealing off the soldiers from accessing the wounded girl, then dashing past them as the group of shadowmen turned back to face him.


Noticing Rederik dash past him, Skyre backed down the lowly street, still hesitating to attack. One of the soldiers staring him down looked no older than him, somebody with so much life left in him, somebody who didn't deserve to die so cruelly against his will. He wondered how the others could have the backbone to not even flinch at damaging the civilian warriors.

 

[MisfortunateDreams]

Clara let out a muted cry as a soft noise met her ears. Surprisingly enough the pain that she had been expecting never came, giving her the courage to open her eyes once more. The soldier's back had turned to her, revealing the knife that was driven deep into it's flesh. It bled openly, causing Clara to gag and stagger to the side just in time for the other knives to dig their way into the soldier's body causing him to tumble backwards where she had been seconds before. Sitting in the dirt by the bleeding face, chaos around her, Clara wondered how she had been so confident in a fight until then. She could kill, she had before in the month since the Shadow King had begun his rule. There was just something about these soldiers, something told her that killing them was like killing another survivor.


Reaching forward she slipped the helmet off the soldier's head, staring at the pale face as the man underneath stared up at her hopelessly. It was very clear he had little time left. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth and nose, spraying her face lightly as he let out ragged breathes. He looked to be in so much pain, his young face twisted and stained with tears and blood.


"I..." He began the shake as he struggle to speak. "I...m.. so.... rry..." It was with that last breath that he began to choke on the blood pooling in his mouth, a thick glob of it being sprayed across her cheeks as he coughed himself into a painful sleep. A sleep he would never wake up from. Clara let out an unsure, sorrowful cry as the explosions seemed to shake the ground beneath her. Despite the fact that she didn't know the man cradled in her arms and that he had just tried to kill her, Clara felt the sting of tears filling her eyes. Her eyes searched the area around her, the corpse of the two men she had roasted and the others that had been stuck down by her companions.


What is this... Why do I feel sorry for soldier under the Shadow King's rule? She thought, desperately trying to force back the sorrow so that she could rejoin the battle. It was no use, her body was shaking like a leaf and continued to shake as she gently rested the soldier's head on the ground. She then attempted to stand, looking down at her hands and clothes to see them covered in the lifeblood of the now-dead man. She looked like a savage, blood covering her face and body. She then remembered something her grandfather had told her when it came to other survivors of this horrid war.


"You don't have to worry about them being the Shadow King's, Clara." He had said when they sat by the fire. "The Shadow King never works with other humans that he can't control. Instead you need to worry about cut throats and raiders..." Her eyes found the soldier at her feet, realizing why he had apologize to Clara in his last moment. He probably didn't want to attack her, he just didn't have a choice in the matter. She had murdered innocent people. She had...


Clara's mind was brought from the clouds when a blade cut through her flesh, slicing open her arm like it was as soft as butter. She let out a scream of pain, caught completely off guard as she spun to face the soldier. "I don't want to fight you!" She said wearily, her hand clasping onto the wound to stop some of the bleeding. "Please, I know you don't want to fight either..." It was no use, the soldier swung his sword half-blind at her again but this time she dodged it. She had no choice, not if she wanted to live. So when he swung and missed a third time she side-stepped and placed her blood soaked hand on his helmet.


"Please, forgive me." She whispered as her pressed the heat of fire into the metal. The soldier screamed but didn't back away, instead he began swinging blindly at anything he could hit. She could smell the stink of burning flesh heavy in the air around them now, the steam of it evaporating through the bottom of the helmet. She pulled her knife from her belt ready to defend herself but his movements were beginning to slow. His sword stopped swinging and with a loud clatter of metal he sagged to the ground just as her other two victims had.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Helia looked past Skyre to see the fire mage was busy weeping over the death of one of her own, even if the man had never been on their side. Ignoring the burning of her muscles, Helia ducked past Skyre and through the others, beelining for the girl.


As Helia was ducking past everyone, she watched as one of the soldiers opened a crease in the mage's arm. A few more swings were thrown the mage's way, and Helia sped forward as much as she could as she watched another solider begin making his way towards her as well. Then, in a seemingly miraculous turn of events, the mage managed to nut up once more and kill the soldier that was her immediate threat. Still, she didn't seem to have a clue about the other angered soldier coming up behind her.


Unable to perform a proper leap, Helia slammed into the soldiers leg before he could reach the mage, pushing her dagger halfway through the metal armour. Halfway wasn't nearly good enough though, and the soldier reached down and lifted Helia up by the collar of her cloak.


Helia struggled futilely against the hold, but simply wasn't in the state to do anything about it.


Then, as she flailed, she felt her foot connect, and the soldier gave a high pitched grunt and promptly threw Helia against a nearby wall.


Laying there, Helia couldn't even get to feeling scared as the soldier rose back to his feet and turned towards her, his sword raised for a strike.


Raising her own arm, Helia turned the back of her hand towards the man and flipped her index and middle finger up in a 'Y' shape.


"You too, mate, you too."

 

[PicaPirate]

Warren had been wandering aimlessly in search of enemies in this destroyed world. The world had gone to shit and this meant the destruction of his favourite type of havens, taverns. It made him a grumbly git, not getting stiff drinks. He didn't care much for the disaster of the world itself, its not like he had great life ambitions or a home to go, or friends to call upon. For him, a day was at a pub drinking or fighting, always loving a good ol' fight.. Now that was all gone...


With nothing else to do, he decided to go fight this evil Shadow King. If he wanted someone to blame, it was him. It turned out that near here was a convoy of shadow soldiers. What better place to hurt the shadow king than to hit his men flat on the face? ((He isn't the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to thinking ))


"Hmph, raucous lot."


Warren came up behind a soldier chasing after a girl who seemed to use fire, towering over him and lifted him up, then threw him to the ground. He stomped hard on the head, getting a satisfying crunch. If there was one thing he could not stand for, it was soldiers attacking a young girl who looked frightened like a mouse.


"Girl, you keep hesitatin' and they'll slice you in half. Either fight em, or go home."


Two more soldiers came, running and screaming. Warren did a gesture with his hands, after which rocks and rubble flew to and clung to his forearms and hands like an armour.


He blocked a sword blow, bouncing off the rock and with the other arm swung to the side of his hip, sending him flying. He then with the other arm uppercutted another soldier, then giving a final blow to the stomach. The rocks around his arms crumbled partially away from hitting steel, but then he willfully shook the rocks off. He just hoped there weren't arrows somewhere to impale him.


"Who are ye then? Most girlies dun walk around roastin' men to their grave."

 

[Cookie]

Someone had messed up. Ari couldn't have seen who, but she still cringed as the sound of battle erupted. Now she would have to get involved to keep their trust.


Reluctantly, Ari downed one of her last potions. She knew she would need the energy as she leapt into battle.


But they were fighting other humans! Unsociable as she might have been, Ari couldn't help feeling like something was wrong. They shouldn't fight survivors! But if they didn't, they would be obliterated.


The sunlight glanced off of their metal armor into her eyes. Wait...Metal! Ari smirked somewhat evily. Metal was a great conductor. She stealthily approached a soldier, just to test out her plan. Slightly tapping the back of his armor, she sent a moderate charge of electrical magic through her fingers.


The soldier crumpled as the electricity ran its way through his body. Not enough to kill, Ari didn't want to kill the humans if he could help it. She intended to paralyze or otherwise incapacitate, but her magic was too weak at the moment. The soldier began to rise. Ari had about two seconds before the soldier figured out it was her doing, so she settled for an alternative method of incapacitating --she stabbed him through a chink in his armor. The soldier crumpled again, this time unable to wield his sword. It was a temporary fix, but it was better than killing.


As she originally planned, Ari stayed on the outside of the skirmish. She repeated her successful pattern on several other soldiers, being careful to use her height as a form of stealth. It went well for the first few soldiers, but Ari felt the effects of the potion wearing off. Her limbs grew heavier, her movement slower, her magic weaker. But the end of the battle was near. It had to be! Ari just needed to hold out for a little longer...

 

[IceQueen]

Lapis had been trying to avoid using her powers in her fight, seeing as she wasn't completely healed. She dogged most of the shots fired and had wounded a few so far. She had just seen some man crush a soldiers skull. It did not bother her, she used to have to kill for her family and no other reason. Now that se sees that, she realizes that it was pointless. As she started pondering, a sword came a her from the corner of her eye. She raised her sword to meet the other one, causing a loud clang to cross the clearing. She used this time to punch the man's gut and make him double over. Then she shoved the hilt of her sword into his head, enough to make him forget what happened. She began to swirl the air around a group of soldiers, encasing them in a small tornado. She then jumped though the wall of wind, and began knocking them out under the cover of the wind.

 

[Macaberz]

With a gurgle the man standing over Helia fell, a bloodied dagger sticking all the way through his throat. Modrin has thrown his entire, inconsiderable weight behind plummeting his blade in the man's neck. The soldier fell to the side and Modrin landed on top of him. Yanking the dagger free he stabbed another time, and another until the soldier's black armor had been repainted red. Bone cracked and crunched, blood began to spray like a fountain as he hit a crucial vein.


For a while he'd remained hidden, but now that there was an open fight taking place he had a second chance at first impressions. Careful to circumvent the crossfire, he'd hurried over towards the girl and leaped onto the soldier, throat locked with one hand and holding his dagger in the other.


The soldier was definitely dead now. After having poked another satisfying hole in the dead body, Modrin retracted his blade and looked up at Helia with burning eyes, hungering for more bloodshed.


He didn't know who the petite girl with the tan skin was, but he did know that acting in her defense would earn him trust. Hands soaked in the man's blood he stepped up from the corpse and extended a hand to her without even speaking a word.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Helia watched the man that had just saved her, and violently brutalised the body of her aggressor, stand and offer her a hand.


She wasn't up for taking it though. Not because the man seemed off, or because he was covered in blood. No, Helia was just done. Barely able to raise her hand to give a salute of thanks, Helia cocked a tired half smile and nodded.


"Thanks for the assist, but I think I'm about done for the day. Watch the mage for me, I think I'm just going to sit here for now." Helia groaned as she leaned her head back against the wall, "And hope for the best."

 

[MisfortunateDreams]

Clara's mind and sight were both becoming blurred, both from the overwhelming amount of emotions that seemed to be coursing through her body at that time. The area was still encased in a power struggle between the soldiers and survivors, though it looked like her companions had the upper hand. The soldiers were so defenseless, running around like children with no clue what they were doing. Even she knew that swinging a sword was pointless if you didn't have meaning behind it, or at least some degree of skill. For Clara and her companions this was a battle for life, for the soldiers it seemed like they bodies fought against their minds. Clara didn't want to kill anymore though, she wished to go back to when her father was still alive. To a peaceful time when she lived in a golden age Valia. It was pointless, something made clear when she heard a clatter of metal and turned as a wave of new enemies came toward her.


One was taken down by a woman with caramel-like skin, their grapple leading to the man's destruction at the blade of a late arriving Modrin. The others died at the hand of a new face, one Clara didn't remember seeing at the camp earlier that day. It meant he was new, but with a stomp of a strong leg he had crushed the skull of her attacker and saved her. Turning to her to speak a few words before, with a rock-covered fist, beating the two other soldiers that appeared within seconds of each other.


His voice was rough when he addressed her, though she was more preoccupied with the way he manipulated the earth. Earth magic was something Clara was used to, her grandfather was an earth mage after all. Grandfather, her eyes trained to the forest. She had left him alone in the trees hoping that he would be safe but perhaps the rest of the Shadow King's army had passed that way? She felt her heart clench, it would be her fault if he died somewhere in the forest alone.


"Thank you," She managed to say to the earth mage that had saved her, staggering to her feet after realizing her knees had given out at some point. "B-but I need to go..." Clara's knees sagged once more and she dropped to the ground beside a fallen solider, pain shooting up her legs. She was weaker than she thought from the loss of blood and use of magic. At this rate she might just pass out before the battling was done. Using her good arm, Clara pushed herself up and stared around at the surrounding battle. She'd send someone to her grandfather, someone she trusted the most of the group. Skyre was her first choice, her eyes catching hold of him at once across the road. He was in an intense spout with a few soldiers, doing well for himself. Desiree too, was also preoccupied by her own opponents. In fact, she was so distracted that even she didn't noticed the solider approaching from Skyre's blind spot. It's sword seemed to laugh at Clara, flashing it's white blade like the glint of a tooth from a smug grin. She knew that his soldier meant to do Skyre harm, meant to kill the monster by cutting off the head. She wasn't sure how it had figured out that Skyre was their leader but even she knew the best tactical move was to kill the one in charge so that it's underlings had no one to follow.


If Skyre dies... Clara knew that if he died the group would lose the hope that they had gained under his leadership. She couldn't let that happen, not when she was still alive. Her hand wrapped instinctively around the hilt of a fallen soldier's blade as she rose, forcing back the pain. She had lost all feeling in her left arm, not even the warmth of her blood dripping from her fingers could be felt. She couldn't heat her sword with magic because she'd pass out at once which left her with one option. Darting through the crowd of soldiers and survivors, Clara dodged the blade swung at her and let out a fierce battle cry. Then, using all her strength, she ran the soldier through with the blade in her hand. The pointed end of the blade pierced the armor, blood gushed out of the wound and made the hand slippery but she didn't halt her attack, diving it farther into the thick body before it was in to the hilt and poking out the solider stomach.


"Ha..." She let out a staggering laugh; breathing hard as the soldier fell forward, taking the sword with it. "B-behind you..." She mumbled the late warning, giving Skyre a meek smile. "People sneak up on you all to often." Her reference to how they had met made her give a real laugh this time, light and tired but still a laugh.

 

[Kharmin]

Hells, Desiree cursed again as Clara tumbled from the wall above and with an unusual display of magic, righted herself. She stood, one small child against the soldiers just before all hell literally broke loose.


Desiree glanced toward Skyre and saw the woman with him throwing knives at will. The shadow warriors were suddenly everywhere as chaos reigned in the run-down street. She stood from her position behind the rubble wall and started toward Skyre.


He had protected the woman with some kind of air shield – it was strong and Desiree could smell it from where she walked. She smirked at that; it was odd that she sensed only his magic and not the fire that threatened to eradicate the remaining delapidated structures.


One of the warriors came at Skyre but the woman leaped at him. Her waning strength was not enough to take him down, and the soldier grasped the woman by her collar. The woman kicked him and he flung her against the wall. Then, he moved in for the killing strike. From seemingly nowhere, Modrin came in and dropped the warrior with wild abandon.


The woman with the long brown ponytail summoned air and used a whirlwind to extricate herself from a group of soldiers. From this distance, Desiree could taste her magic as well. It was different than Skyre's; his was acrid whereas this woman's was more like honeysuckle. Desiree's mind filed this away for later scrutiny.


She continued to walk toward Skyre when a soldier came toward her. "No," Desiree said calmly as she continued her stride forward. She was fully rested and her energy was at its peak. She summoned the air around her which caused her hood to fall away. The torrent swirled about her and caused her long hair to wildly dance. With her left hand extended toward the warrior, she released the air as she clenched her fingers into a tight fist. Wind rushed past her to her target and crushed the armor with such force as to almost make the front touch the back. Desiree recalled the wind to her, blue eyes blazing with power, and the flattened body collapsed to the ground.


From behind, a jolt of electricity burned through the air. Desiree turned quickly and realized the source: Ari? The woman worked from the edge of the battle, and unleashed her torrent of lightning at will. Desiree smiled at her; Ari would hold her own just fine.


She turned back to the skirmish to find additional targets. She hoped that the fight would last because she reveled in her element especially now that she had rested and could more easily wield it. Her visage became almost maniacal as the air around her continued to buffet against her cloak and hair which billowed them out in all directions.

 

[The Wizard]

Ethan walked the forest path keeping in the back as the bag was weighing him down a bit. Though the supplies where lessen since the departure it was still a weight he was not use to. The image of this caravan was wide and spread though he could tell many where fatigued. Ethan worried for the elder man not knowing if his condition was able to keep up with the prattle of their youthful leader. Still the old man seem to keep pace keeping close to the young maiden. Unsure if they where related Ethan simply saw that their bond was close.


The group finally stopped to rest, Ein had offered to take a party to the river below. Ethan looking for Rederick to join him was surprised to see the hunter had slipped out for the time being. Unsure where the hunter went or his companion Ethan left it as a way to relax in privacy. Nodding to Ein as he grabbed the kettle. The group would need water and not knowing when Skyre would start them back up on the trail left Ethan worried of heat stroke for some.


Time passed and Ethan had reached the river with Ein and the rest who joined. The water glistened in the sunlight and he could feel the small breaks of drops fall on his chin. carefully kneeling on one of the rocks Ethan filled the kettle and soaked some strips of cloth. Setting down the kettle he noted the small amounts of foliage that kissed the edge of the stream. While the others finished filling there water pouches Ethan found this a good chance to nab a few needed herbs. There was not much but he was able to find some Yellow-Tail Spinner flowers, some bitter exposed roots, and a few mushrooms under a damp log.


It was then as he was cleaning his dirt hands in the river that Ein showed a shocked look on his face. The man was darting down the river his face with an ominous foreboding. Unsure Ethan quickly dropped the gathered material and abandoned his kettle attempting to keep up with the man. Looking to his wisp Ethan knew it would cost him them tracking of the small girl from this morning but felt that risk would be needed. Cutting the connection the small sprite that was tailing her faded away before his wisp glowed bright. "Ein!" He motioned as the wisp screamed passed the both of them. It left a small stream as it rushed forward faster and faster. The pulses where hastened at each increase before it broke from the stream and flew high above the town.


Images of the buildings and the rustle of a shadowed mob rushed into his mind. Unable to get details he was unsure of what he was seeing. The wisp caught the glimpse of Skyre's red hair and rushed quickly downwards before stopping briskly near his shoulder. Ethan's face lit up knowing that color was him but from the blurred images he could not tell what he was seeing. Unable to stop running Ethan couldn't concentrate to clear the vision, looking back to Ein "There is something in the town, I can't tell but whatever it is they are struggling with it" his breath heavy as his feet continued to push through the rocks and sand of the bank. Whatever it was it left Ethan feeling worried, had the group already failed before it began. Unable to give in to that dark thought he kept his pace with Ein, his cloak and hat waving through the wind.

 

[SkyGinge]

Skyre backed away from the three oncoming soldiers, finding himself frozen and unable to do anything. He cursed his over-sympathetic nature; he knew he had to fight them off in order to survive, but to him it was a much harder battle to predict than before with the shadow dogs - with them he could slash and stab without the guilty conscience of fighting another truly living creature. But he was too soft; they'd only just appointed him leader and he was letting them down.


Suddenly Skyre felt a flurry of fast air behind his back and span around with surprise to find that a wounded Clara had saved his life. His eyes widened with both surprise and gratitude, but spinning back around he realised he had briefly forgotten about the threat of the other three soldiers, who were now raising their weapons and just about to slash. Thinking fast, and a little unaware of Desiree's arrival, Skyre grabbed the girl and dived out of the way, holding her tight as the pair span through the air to evacuate the place where they had been a split second ago, which was no occupied by several sword blades. He landed amongst the wreckage of a half-standing house, his back taking the force of the impact as they hit rubble and rolled once. When they stopped, he was still gripping her close to him in protection.


Almost face to face on the ground, Skyre opened his clenched eyes and instantly looked over at the opening to the house-structure, where the tree soldiers were now running angrily towards them. I need to do something. She's wounded as it is and unless we move we're sitting ducks. His emerald eyes quickly surveyed the area, looking for an easy way out; there was an open doorway on the other side, but there was absolutely no way that they'd be able to both get to it in time. And, with a wry thought, Skyre knew who'd be the scapegoat.


Glance returning to hers, his emerald eyes shone. "Thanks," he whispered with a controlled smile, and then rolled to the side, quickly letting go of her and using a blast of wind to carry her out of the building. The three soldiers entered the building and, still looking at Clara in order to keep her safe, Skyre raised his hands to the ceiling.


And the ceiling collapsed on top of them as the ginger boy powered a blast of wind upwards, submerging himself and the soldiers under a mountain of rubble that cracked and smashed as it fell, forming a huge cloud of dust. Beneath this dust, Skyre had just had time to soften the speed of the rubble above him when it fell, knocking him out instantly but saving him from any larger wounds. The soldiers, meanwhile, were crushed instantly.


//////


CONDITIONAL POSTING IS NOW ACTIVE





(RPers may continue the battle but if they complete it must not go any further)

 

[Effervescent]

Rederik took the time to assess his opponent as they were locked in a fight. He could have ended it rather quickly, but it was all too unsettling for him to make the final blow. At one point he twisted his dagger around and used one of the side bars to butt into the soldier's helmet. Generally, a blow like that would have knocked the metallic helm off, but it stayed secure, and the soldier spun about. Viciously, the soldier thrust the sword towards his chest, and Rederik managed to block the attack narrowly. Its speed was still enough to sink into his flesh between two ribs.


The pain in his chest was severe, and it was suddenly difficult to breath. Rederik stumbled back, realizing he had taken far too long in downing his opponent. But there was a look in the soldier's eyes as if they were glazed over and vacant. Something told him it wasn't right at all, and he couldn't think of a reason why anyone would side with the Shadow King willingly. Another swing of the sword crashed into the side bar of his dagger, and he weakly pushed the blade away. Just as Rederik straightened himself and gained his footing, Naraya was on the soldier. The feline held no hesitation towards threats, no matter where they hail.


His heart raced and his chest tightened. He knew he needed to find some place to tend to his wound if he wanted to survive. His breaths came in rasps, but he could continue on if he put his mind to it. Jnar had taught him the importance of working through pain. The heat of a battle could allow the body to compensate for a time, but it was the aftermath that Jnar had warned about.


Let the pain pass through.





Rederik turned as a wind began to whip him about. His dark hood fluttered off of his head to rest on his back. Desieree was the image of a storm personified, but she was not the only mage to illustrate their capable destruction. He began to push through his pain, mentally setting it aside as he charged for another soldier. They had to be killed. He finally came to that conclusion as he labored through his attacks. These soldiers were more like husks than people, carrying out a will not of their own. Rederik had to insure their souls moved on from such possible torture.

 

[Kharmin]

Coming to Skyre's aid, Desiree unleashed a powerful blast of wind to disperse much of the debris that had cascaded down on him. She furrowed her brow in anger at her lack of speed in getting to him sooner.


Desiree looked down at Clara whom Skyre had saved using his own body as a shield. The wind whirled around Desiree and her blue eyes danced with power. She scolded the child, "I thought I told you to stay put! Who is protecting your grandfather?"


She stepped around the girl and knelt next to Skyre. "Go to your grandfather, girl. I can manage this without your recklessness," she said with anger dripping from her words


Desiree checked Skyre and ensured that he was still breathing. Good thing, or I might have had to kill Clara for her stupidity! she thought. With no manner to heal him, Desiree simply erected a dome of whirling wind above them. She cradled the mage's head in her lap and with a wicked, blood-thirsty grin, said, "Sorry I'm late, but the traffic ... was murder."


She looked around them with wild, power-infused blue eyes which dared any shadow warrior to even attempt to get to Skyre.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Watching as Skyre protected the fire mage, Helia couldn't help but grin. The boy had something that reminded her of her own master. It wasn't some silly fairie tale romance she felt, just an admiration, even as Skyre pushed Clara from the building and dropped it on himself and the soldiers.


He'd helped her as well, pulling her from the street when it would have been more expedient to leave her.


Mayhaps that's why she had decided to protect the fire mage? Because she had been inspired.


As she pondered her time away a soldier, one of the enemies, seemed to be crawling towards her. He was not a sizeable opponent, maybe a five foot at best. He seemed to have parts of another soldier's armour melted onto his, locking most of his body still, save for his right arm. The arm he was using to drag himself towards her.


As he crawled closer Helia couldn't help but see past the slits of the armoured helmet. What laid behind it was horrifying. The 'soldier' was but a boy, a young farm lad at best. His eyes, clouded as they were, shed tears, and his face was twisted into a grimace.


Helia usually wouldn't have been against killing, but at this point it would have been like kicking a puppy. Well, if Helia could have mustered the strength to stand. Instead she rolled to the side and pinned the free arm of the boy beneath her body, waiting for the fighting to die down.

 

[Effervescent]

He knelt heavily beside Helia as she pinned down the boy. His most recent attacker was being finished off by Naraya behind him, and he elected to move on at the sight of the girl's resistance to end the soldier's life. When he noticed the soldier's age, he tried to remove the helmet. Again, it was to no avail, and he began tracing his fingers along the outline that capped the boy's crown.


"It won't come off," he managed to say to the girl, and then looked up at her. "He is in pain."


Whether she liked it or not, he made plans to end the boy's suffering. The pause as he looked at the olive-skinned girl was to communicate her chance to look away before he performed the deed. He rose to a stand on weary legs, tilting the boy's head forward and raising the thick blade of one of his daggers. Swiftly, he jabbed the dagger into the boy's spine, severing it and causing a painless death.


"May your soul find peace," he prayed quietly. "May your transgressions be forgiven divinely and earthly. Blood of my blood. May you sleep among the stars for eternity."

 

[Shura]

Rusar ran along the outside of the town scanning for any enemy, her mind was locked in hunter mode seeing the solders not as humans but as shadows. Features no different than the shadow hounds that had hunted her for days. She trying to avoid being seen but the sound of foot steps behind her alerted her that the efforts were in vain. Rusar glanced over her shoulder spotting two shadows chasing her and growled drawing two more arrows as she picked up speed in an attempt to create some distance. Her bow glowed red once more before she turned and fired the arrows this time shooting for the shadows chest. The arrow struck home, exploding once more on contact and killing the soldiers instantly. "Two down..." She thought to her self before hearing the sound of more fighting just on the other side of the buildings.


Rusar hurried around the corner drawing another arrow but stopped short when the sound of crumbling rock was heard once more and one of the building collapsed kicking up dust into the air. Rusar cursed under her breath before looking up to see what the damage was until she saw hulking figure. She raised her bow and nearly fired believing it to be another shadow until she realized they weren't wearing armor, and were much larger than any of the soldiers she had seen in the group aside from the leader. She stood frozen in her place as she realized who the familiar figure, her survival trance broken by the sight of someone she had written off as dead.

 

[MisfortunateDreams]

Clara felt her body suddenly get ripped from it's spot, a strong arm wrapped around her waist as she flew backwards. She landed inside a house close to falling like all the rest, though it was far less uncomfortable then she had imagined it. Shifting around her weight, she felt the soft cushion of a body underneath her and caught a glimpse of ginger hair. Skyre had saved them both from the oncoming swords. He had also taken most of the impact of their landing from the looks of it, the thought made her heart drop into her stomach despite the smile that he gave her. She hadn't jumped to his rescue so that he could do something so reckless, and to make matters worse it had only been a temporary fix. The soldiers were now headed straight for them with a vengefulness. They wanted their heads on a platter and it seemed Skyre knew this as his eyes locked with hers.


"Skyr-" She stated to say, but was cut of by the thanks that he expressed before she was lifted by the wind and carried out of the house. Clara was settled onto the grass outside, her eyes flying back to Skyre just in time to see the building above him collapse in a cloud of dust and rubble. She let out a painful cry as it came down, staggering to her feet to begin pushing away rocks with her good hand. She was helpless, with only one hand and close to no magic she couldn't do anything. Not even move rocks at a fast enough pace.


She had mere seconds to try before Desiree was on her, fuming and emanating power as she closed in on Clara. Her scolding would have been frightening if Clara wasn't so preoccupied, her mind whirling weakly around the scene of the roof collapsing onto Skyre and his attackers. His eyes had still clung to hers, green and brown holding for a split second before the dust had blocked her view. She was brought back to reality when Desiree made the comment about being able to handle everything on her own. The older woman then turned away from her, uninterested in Clara's presence.


"D... Don't yell at me!" Clara snapped, her voice cracking as she tried to get to her feet. "Do you honestly think I would want Skyre to..." Her eyes caught hold of Skyre's unconscious form amongst the rubble. "If it hadn't have been for me, Skyre would be laying in the dirt right now. Dead. A-and he saved my life... I'd much rather I be the one laying there then him, okay. If I had known what he was going to do I wouldn't have let him... So BACK OFF." Clara flinched, her voice had risen and the yelling hurt her throat. She coughed slightly, shooting Desiree one last glare before stumbling through the ruins of the house and lifting a sword from one of the crushed soldiers. She felt a sudden rush of power enveloping her and used it to cradle her fire magic into life. The soldiers that had been left behind for the battle were either dead or about to be, which seemed to calm Clara almost as quickly as she had been enraged. She let the blade she held drop from her hand, blood splattering with it was already mostly soaked from the liquid dripping down Clara's arm.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Helia's eyes turned down.


She knew the helmet wouldn't come of. It wasn't a surprise to her at all. But sadly Rederick didn't realise what she was trying to do. What she'd done before. It was okay, though, as for how badly wounded the child was, they would not have gotten what she wished from him. Instead Helia gave a nod to the man that aided her and looked about the battlefield.


The soldiers were almost all dead, really. They hadn't been driven like the rest of these survivors were. Not by a long shot.


Pulling herself up as best she could, Helia staggered a few steps toward the collapsed building, her mind telling her she needed to help. Her body, on the other hand, was spent. Her magic expended. Falling into the blood muddied ground, Helia could only grunt in frustration as her body finally absolutely gave out on her.


Casting her eyes over to Rederick, Helia gave a half smile half grimace.


"Thanks for the invite to camp, but you know... I'm starting to think my chances may have been better out there..."


Before she could even detect a reaction from the man, Helia gave a weak chuckle and began to sing a little tune as she stared into the sky, thinking about the 'soldiers'. Of the fact that they had been people twisted to such acts by the whims of fate. That really, the survivors were but in the exact same boat, simply in another sea.


"Bittersweet memories... left behind... And I can't reach what I'm trying to find..."

 

[Kharmin]

The fight against the black armored warriors continued in earnest outside and around the shell of the building in which Desiree sat with Skyre's unconscious form. The wind dome was rapidly taxing her strength and stamina, but she was determined to keep it raised against any attackers. Her power-filled blue eyes stared vacantly as she sought and sensed the air currents around the dome.


As she focused, she began to realize that she had never been able to sustain so much power for this length of time. It was yet another puzzle for her to solve later, and she sent the thought to that recess in her mind reserved for them.


Two warriors approached the building; she could feel their movement in the air currents. As one, they collided against her dome, and with unfocused eyes she grinned at their frustration. Again, the assaulted her dome and again she repelled them. The exertion was intense and Desiree suddenly realized that she was rapidly depleting herself.


She snapped her eyes back in focus, turned to look at the two warriors and dropped the dome of air. Gently, she laid Skyre's head on the ground and she stood to face the attackers with a mischievous grin.


But her appearance was lost on the soldiers as their will had already been lost to another, more powerful force. Without hesitation, the scrambled over the debris and came at her. Desiree was momentarily surprised as she had expected them to pause when they looked upon her façade, but she only saw hollow, uncaring eyes deep within their helms.


Desiree's confidence wavered. How could she defeat these two now that her energy was so very low. Regardless, she remained determined that she would die before she allowed any of them to touch Skyre.


She had lost her quarterstaff somewhere in the street which annoyed her as it was the last, remaining item she owned other than the clothes that she wore. Anger at her material loss fueled her resolve. Before they could completely climb over the pile of rubble, she summoned air and with both hands outstretched she opened her fingers fully and sent a blast of wind against them.


One of the warriors was tossed completely from the pile and fell beyond it where Desiree could not see him. The other one was pushed back, but managed to maintain his footing. That's not good, she thought and again her confidence slipped.


The warrior advanced and Desiree had a moment of clarity. She recalled the many lessons of control given to her by Professor Hagen at the university. She hated them – both the lessons and the professor. However, one part of that lesson entailed her dodging and manipulating items that he tossed at her through the air.


Desiree grinned in victory as she summoned her air once more. This time, instead of blasting the armored men with wind, she caused the wind to pick up and hurl the stones and other debris that Skyre had rained down upon himself.


With rapid succession, Desiree lifted and hurled rocks, stones, pebbles, broken beams, whatever she could latch onto with her air. The items hit the soldier en mass and with such violence that it succumbed to the bludgeoning. When at last the armored man fell, Desiree collapsed to the ground – all of her energy spent.


She panted as she tried to breathe lying next to Skyre. "I ... told you ... we could ... take 'em." She tousled the mage's red hair with a weak hand and passed out with exhaustion.

 

[PicaPirate]

He continued killing soldiers, though one had caugh him off-guard and did a glancing blow of their sword on his left arm, adding a further injury to his lifetime. It was only a minor cut though, so he shrugged off the pain and mauled the soldier straight in the face. Punching a steel face hurt his hand and was not preferred, but his strength sent them straight to the floor.


Warren noticed arrows flying and exploding. He looked around seeing the source, seemingly a hunter. When Warren noticed them priming an arrow at him, he as fast as possible covered himself in rock to the arms, using just about anything to create a form of shield.


"Ye gotta be f-ing kidding me!"


He then put his arms in a crossblock when the arrow flew and tucked his head behind his arms. the explosion blew away all the earth that clung to his arms and was pushed back a good amount from where he stood. His arms hurt like hell from the shock.


"What the actual.....Oh."


When he saw the face memories danced up into his head. It was Rusar, from the neighbouring village he lived in until it was pillaged.


"Looks like the pretty girly got even prettier with age. Ye still got the temper though." He laughed heartedly. He would be cursing like a sailor at them for making his arms numb, but this was a special case.

 

[EinRaikou]

As Ein and crew hurried across the short strech of wasteland towards the village it became apparent that combat was going on. From where they could see there were only human figures standing ahead, but way too many for the number of warriors in their party.


He knew something was wrong, as he could not see Skrye standing anywhere, and strangely all the remaining warriors were spread out among what appeared to be black knights. 'They are humans,' Ein thought to himself. "They're fighting humans!" he called out loud enough in case Ethan couldn't see what was happening.


As they reached the center of the town, the battle had subsided. Corpses laid about, some burning, some cut... That was when he spotted Clara standing over Skrye and Desiree. 'They can't be dead?!'


Ein glanced quickly over to Ethan, "Check on Rederik and that girl. She's the one we saw resting in the tree this afternoon, and she needed medical attention then. I'll check on these three, " he said as he ran towards Skrye, Desiree and the young girl known as Clara.

 

[Effervescent]

He staggered as he walked, his breathing becoming increasingly difficult and painful. Each inhale was like a short whirring wheeze, and he coughed up blood. Rederik lowered himself cautiously to his knees and brought a shaky hand under his armor where the sword had run through. Had he been in better condition, he would have tried to convince the small girl to stick with the group, but he could tell his lung had collapsed, and the pain was becoming more difficult to maintain.


Naraya walked over to Rederik's side and leaned against him. He gratefully draped over her as she sat, his fingers lightly clutching her fur. He knew he could make it through the injury he sustained and just needed to take things slow until he could find proper aid.

 

[MisfortunateDreams]

Clara was weak, her whole body wanted to give out but she fought to stay conscious. Desiree had collapsed and most of the others were in as bad of shape as she was. Still, even though her wound bled openly most of the red she wore on her clothes were from the men that she had either killed or witnessed being killed. She wanted to at least sit but found that a bad option as well so remained standing, a light relief flooding her as a face she recognized from the campfire appeared before her.


"L-late..." She mumbled tiredly. "Skyre... check. him." She pointed her finger at their red haired leader. Clara needed to be sure he was alright, that he hadn't hurt himself in the collapse of the building. If he had hurt himself she would never be forgiven, she would sooner leave the group then allow something like that to happen again. She also knew that Desiree would never allow her to stay, the others would then follow suite. Clara just hoped they would let her grandfather stay if they didn't want her around. He might survive if he had a large group of warriors like them around.