Fantasy The Monsters Among Men

[Redrobinwing]

The streets of Stormshield were an utter wreck. Buildings were toppled, rooves were caved in, weapons were broken and scattered on the floor, and the blood of both demon and man were still being cleaned by various civil servants. Citizens were crying in the streets, mourning those lost in the most recent attack, and yet despite all of the carnage, this had been one of the less severe nights. The King was to give a speech later in the day to try and quell the peoples' unrest, but it was clear things weren't good. If something didn't change, the city would fall, and with it, the entire Kingdom.

Leon Strathemore walked through the streets of the city carrying only a bag, a weapon or two, and the clothes on his back. He was a tall man, well-built and obviously still at a fairly young age. Beside him was a dog, large but not unnaturally so, with grey fur and a small pack of his own on his back. Normally, the pair would be somewhere in the forest now, traveling to the next small town to try and make a bit of coin, but things were different now. Today was the day that the King had ordered the expedition to gather at his palace, probably just in time too. Leon looked around, a tired but neutral look in his eye as he examined the damage done to the city. It didn't phase him; this wasn't quite the worst he'd ever seen, but it was certainly getting close.

Dozens of guards were stationed at and around the gates of King Alexander's palace. At least from the outside, it seemed as if the royal grounds had been spared much of the carnage that the rest of the city had experienced. As Leon approached, a few guards held out their hands. "Halt, in order to pass, we must-" He gave them a disinterested wave and continued through them. "Leon Strathemore, part of the expedition, king is expecting me." The last few words he spoke were tinged in annoyance. He still wasn't happy he had to do this, but denying the King when things were so desperate would certainly be a death sentence. The guards let him through, and Leon walked towards the entrance to the Palace.​

 

[Slav]

Nishakrus saw the Palace in the distance. The streets were littered with blood and bodies. This was a sight Nisha was all to familiar with. He stepped in a puddle of blood, "Disgusting." He said to himself as he walked on towards the Palace. He answered the call of the King because he thought it was the right thing to do and to save this world from evil. His helmet was hot, with sweat forming on his fur. Nishakrus noticed a man going the same direction as him , seemingly having the same destination as him. He was almost at the Palace and noticed guards. You could hear the clank of his armor as he walked up to the guards. "I'm here because I was called upon by the king." Nisha said. The guards pointed toward the entrance and Nisha nodded. He made his way to the entrance, his eyes watching Leon.

 

[starfallen.txt]

.YUELIA !

....starlight dancer

Yuelia was starting to have second thoughts about volunteering.

She had seen blood and corpses before. She had seen multiple of those in just a year while she traveled the lands for the first time in her life. This? She had never seen anything like this before. It smelled horrible. It smelled of blood and death and despair, and it was almost enough to make the half-dragon cry. Steeling her nerves, she hefted her bag up, tightening her grip on her spear. Yuelia made sure not to step on anything - mostly because of how disgusting and disrespectful it would be to track blood into the palace.

She passed by a crying woman kneeling beside a corpse, and Yuelia felt herself cringe at the sight. She felt the need to stop, tapping the woman on the shoulder. The woman looked up, a bit startled at her appearance and maybe even a bit scared, until Yuelia pulled out several gold coins from her satchel. "Here," she said, mustering a small smile. "I don't need them."

The woman seemed to smile as well, though it was the kind of broken smile that was always hard to look at. "Thank you," she replied, taking the coins. Yuelia nodded, and then continued on towards the palace.

Again, she was starting to have second thoughts about the expedition.

She approached the guards, who stopped her like they stopped every other suspicious visitor. "I'm here for the expedition," she explained, gripping her spear tightly. "I won't attack." Deciding that she looked like she was too weak to attack, the guards let her in. She could see about two others up ahead; no doubt part of the expedition as well. They were probably more experienced than her. People who could actually stomach the mess of dead bodies in this city. More suited for the expedition, no doubt. Yuelia didn't even know why the king accepted her. Her best guess was that her healing abilities were needed.

Still, the half-dragon continued on, deciding it would be best to follow the others for now.

 

[Brynna]

Zelai had arrived at the city in the wake of the chaos from the night before. She had slipped through the streets quickly, primarily unfazed by the death and desperate wails that hung heavily in the air. Citizens and guards alike were far too preoccupied to notice her, and her quiet passing went unnoticed. It wasn't until the castle gates were in full view that she decided to stop.

The spy decided in that moment that she was about to cross a threshold. Behind her was the entrance to the city, where her freedom lay. Before her was the entrance to the king's palace, where this death sentence of an undertaking loomed. Her first orders were to go straight to the palace the moment she received the king's word. So, naturally, she'd do the opposite. Call it a test, she thought, to see if he actually has any hold on my actions. She moved to sit against the wall of a nearby building, placing her mask next to her. Hood up, knees up, head down. She was out of the way enough for her to watch passerby and not be noticed, and if they did look, she'd just seem like another lost mourner. As she waited, the intricate scars that lined her spine stung. She shifted uncomfortably but didn't move.

Barely an hour passed, and the only people of notable interest that had walked by were a grumpy hunter and his dog, a bipedal cat, and a compact girl with strange eyes, dark wings, and a pair of horns. All of them were headed towards the castle; none of them had taken any particular interest in her. By then, the stinging feeling had turned into something more akin to being too close to fire. She trembled something fierce, and if she didn't look like a distraught citizen before, she most definitely did now. Maybe she should see what would happen if she actually began walking away from her destination.

At that thought she suddenly felt like open flames were licking at her back, and her spine went ramrod straight. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from yelping aloud. That was enough, she determined quickly. With her jaw clenched tightly Zelai moved to stand as calmly as she could. Right away the burning feeling became more bearable, and she sighed in both annoyance and relief. A step towards the castle, and the feeling down her spine returned to a mild stinging. Another, and the feeling disappeared entirely. She picked up her mask and trailed quietly after the others, more than a little disgruntled.

 

[Nano]

[class=bg] padding: 50px 0; width: 100%; background-image: url('https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nxxh8as88lz0nrx/00.Lines.png'); background-color: #f6f6f6; font-size: initial; [/class] [class=right] position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0 auto; padding: 50px; width: 100%; max-width: 750px; background: #ffffff; border: 1px solid #e3e3e3; [/class] [class=basicimagewrap] position: relative; width: 100%; height: 350px; [/class] [class=focuswrap2] position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 350px; [/class] [class=leftfocus2] float: left; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: space-between; margin-left: 1px; width: 50px; height: 350px; [/class] [class=rightfocus2] float: right; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: space-between; margin-right: 1px; width: 50px; height: 350px; [/class] [class=focuscolumn2] width: 50px; height: 50px; [/class] [class=basicimage] display: inline-block; margin: 25px; width: calc(100% - 50px); height: 300px; background: url('https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1a4zkk8tvka0gk5/Vim04.jpg') no-repeat 95% 50%; background-size: 900px 300px; opacity: .8; [/class] [class=header] width: 100%; font-family: 'Playfair Display', serif; font-weight: bold; text-transform: lowercase; font-variant-caps: normal; font-size: 2.0em; line-height: 80%; color: #444444; text-align: center; [/class] [class=subheader] margin-top: 4px; width: 100%; font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 0.7em; line-height: 80%; color: #999999; text-align: center; [/class] [class=box] box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 50px; padding: 25px 20px; width: 100%; border: 1px solid #e3e3e3; font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif; font-size: .9em; line-height: 125%; color: #444444; text-align: justify; [/class] [div class=bg] [div class=right] [div class=contentwrap] [div class=basicimagewrap] [div class=focuswrap2] [div class=leftfocus2] [div class=focuscolumn2]

[/div] [div class=focuscolumn2]

[/div] [/div] [div class=rightfocus2] [div class=focuscolumn2]

[/div] [div class=focuscolumn2]

[/div] [/div] [/div] [div class=basicimage] [/div] [/div]

[div class=header] vimirias;

[div class=subheader] technique takes you a long way over power [/div] [/div] [div class=basicsR] [div class=box] A sanguine glow dyed the duo’s weary cheeks with a rosy hue. “Now, please don’t take care,” Vim said, rising from beside the firelight. Perhaps it was due to having just lost their home in the siege, but the melancholic eyes of the brother and sister seemed to show that they understood the true meaning behind Vim's words. An instant fondness crept into the Aldena’s heart, but they only turned to walk away. Other than providing a little warmth with their magic, there was nothing more that they could do. They were never meant to mingle with humans for long, nor could they afford to abandon the mission at hand.

It wasn’t long until the royal palace’s gates came into view. As Vim drew closer, the guards’ weapons were gripped tighter, as if to whip out at a moment’s notice. Ha. The king had called for an expedition party, yet their first reaction was aggression. Did their eyepatch make them appear suspicious? Regardless, Vim’s pace maintained its calm and steady gait.

Just as one of the guards opened his mouth to stop them, one of his fellow guards leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Vim was fairly close, yet the whispers were hushed enough to prevent their sharp ears from eavesdropping. The bits that they did hear, however, were “purple” and “that pyromaniac,” suggesting that perhaps the scribe had told the guards of their coming ahead of time. Could it have been in order to avoid them confusing the guards? Well that was certainly amusing.

With only a nod, the guard stepped to the side to make way, and Vim quickly obliged. What they saw on the other side gave them a slight (but pleasant) surprise.

So far, three had assembled in the palace square. The first was a human, which was only to be expected. The second, however, was some sort of beastkind while the third was a dragon—no, half-dragon. The king must be an amusing individual to gather all these races. It was going to be fun to observe them.

“Good morning,” Vim greeted despite it already being well into the night. They didn’t expect much of an answer, especially from the two men, but they were still all smiles. It couldn’t hurt even if it was just for formality’s sake. [/div] [/div] [/div]

#leon--#nishakrus--#yuelia

Redrobinwing Slav starfallen.txt

[/div] [/div]

 

[Redrobinwing]

As he made his way towards the entrance to the Palace, several more individuals passed through the gates. Leon glanced behind him to see what sort of people were either brave or stupid enough to embark on the expedition. If he was being honest with himself, he was pretty sure he fell into the latter group. A human-shaped cat wearing full plate armor was first, probably some sort of warrior-knight if his armor was anything to go by. A young woman that seemed a little small despite her obvious dragon-heritage followed, along with a lady carrying a mask of some sort that was a bit behind her. The final figure to approach at first glance looked like a young man, however the feminine features it held and the color of its eyes meant that it was probably an Aldena. Leon had read about them in one of the family books written on the various races that populated the land, though he had never seen one before in person. It was definitely an odd group to say the least. His silver eyes glanced towards them once again as he checked their weapons, armor, and how experienced they seemed in combat. A couple of warriors, including himself, along with one or two that didn't seem particularly inclined for combat, and all spawning from various races that weren't exactly native to the area. Most of them at least seemed to be well-geared enough for the mission, which was good, though he had a feeling they'd be given some extra equipment by the King once they embarked.

A voice from the back of the group startled him just a bit. The Aldena greeted them with a 'Good morning', an odd thing to say since it was obviously nighttime. Rather than offer a verbal greeting, Leon simply gave a little nod in its direction. His expression was still rather even; not particularly hostile nor glad to meet any of his companions-to-be. The front garden of the palace was very well-kept, with several flowers and well-trimmed bushes lining the walkway that lead towards the entrance. Were it not for a few blood stains that painted some of the trees and decorations, it might've looked like the place was completely untouched by the horrors that the rest of the city had seen. As they approached the entrance to the King's home, a group of guards opened the large, silver-lined doors and allowed them to enter. The monster hunter seemed to be leading the group since he was the first to arrive, which was fine. He'd walked the Palace grounds before, he knew where they were meant to go.

 

[Slav]

Nishakrus heard a man who said " Good morning" behind him or at least he seemed to be one. He seemed too feminine to be a human, which seemed weird to him, so Nisha felt it was better not to reply to him. The man in front of him seemed to know where he was going to, it was probably a good idea to follow him. Nisha glanced him to see that a few people were going to be in this group. It was probably a good thing, less people meant that they had the ability to travel quickly. Nisha took of his helmet as it was getting unbearably hot in it. Once Nisha took of his helmet he was also able to get a better look and everyone and everything. The only person that really popped out to him was a dragon, half human. He'd never seen one before and he assumed she had some sort of strange abilities. Hopefully they would be very useful for the group.

 

[Feifei]

Odette was praying that she was not late. It was inevitable, this time, that she was later than she planned to be arriving at the palace. She could see people crying and blood on the ground, but she didn't stop, just simply glanced at it as she walked by. This was definitely not a good impression and if she was truly late, she'll never hear the end of this from her siblings.

As she reached the palace gates, she halted and lowered her hood. Her hands fumbled around in her bag before she pulled out a letter that was sent to her. She hastily pushes the paper into one of the guards' hands before continued her walk. She didn't even wait for them to move as she dodged the guards and entered the palace. When the palace square came into view, she let out a breath of relief as she saw people, of different kinds, still standing there. Not late then, she thought to herself, lucky.

 

[Rage]

The night....was dead if one would say. The sounds of suffering radiated and seemed to coat the air with a sense of a pain... One that would to reach into one's soul, blood caked the stone underneath the people's feet and the homes of the common folk had been thoroughly ruined from the destroyed rooftops of various builds all around. Many of the citizens across the town mourned but many stopped as they felt the earth shake under themselves as they wondered what possibly cause the ground to shake. A march of knights from the king's possibly allies?!
...Or a large and human-lusting demon that wasn't killed during the attack.

None knew what it could be but inside atop of the destroyed buildings with a roof... which a creature ate it's fill, the corpses of demon varying in size had been dragged inside and only bones remained which the creature looked at across the city from the top of the roof as it consumed and devoured the flesh of a rather fat and ugly wimp of a demon...who was a battering ram which was known as living siege weapon made flesh, some could say even a champion of the demons but...he was filling the stomach of the beast who gazed over the town....It was time.

The creature ate with a savage fervor as it devoured the demon in which it stood on it's hindlegs and held the skull of the demon only to effortless crush it in hand as it slowly squatted down before it leaped off the roof top which the creature jumped from rooftop and rooftop which it landed onto the street-level only to jump right off, the ground shook violently and was crushed from the weight of the creature as the people could see a blood-caked cloaked figure of inhuman stature which seemed to have been rained onward by the blood of something...or someone as well being a hulking mass of muscle which rippled under the tight clock.

This beast had traveled it's way towards the castle only to slam down just infront of it's gates with a mighty and ground-shaking slam which stood slightly upwards and walked forward. The guards ready themselves which resulted into many of the guards all from the castle to come to gates and looked at the figure who seemed threatening and it was...It towered over all of the men infront of it and it was little bit short than the gate themselves which the cloak was more or less befitting of drapes for a hundred war-banners but it was just a massive and crimson stained cloak that it walked forward with every step shaking the ground as the beast walked towards them only for it to stop and say
"Gork Come. Old Man Talked. 'ere To Fight Demon. Eat Demon. Knights Know Of Gork. Don't Fight Gork. Gork...Fight With Man."

Despite trying to decrease the air of violence, the speaking creature put the men even more on edge at the monstrous figure. They had known that some monster was coming, some beast which would help them against the demons...but nothing as large or as intimidating. These men were battle-harden from the protecting the city from the attacks but this monster seemed to appear even more powerful and violent then the demons they fought against which they opened the gates to this... "Gork."

And with that "Gork" entered which the beast walked towards the entrance of castle as his every quaking step shook the earth despite himself trying not to do so but he was walking upright and not on all fours. This in turn lead to his thunderous steps drawn the attention of the group in front of him who seemed to be enlisted upon the task given by the king....of these lands but "Gork" wanted to see what kind of battle that this....Alexander could bring about...What kind of fight he would give "Gork."

Many would know that this...creature wasn't normal in the slightest or even connected to these lands based upon looking like nothing seen or heard about from fairytales or the odd magical creature hunts some might've undertook in the past. It turned it's head slightly as moved the hood of the clock around so some could see the pure white orb which was it's eye as the gaze of the monster shoot down and examined all of the people gathered around.

...A Knight In Heavy Armor...Beastkin As Well, A Human Adventurer With A Hunting Dog, A Half-Dragon Girl With Strange Items...The Smell Of That Dust Came From Her One Of Her Pouches, Another Human...A Woman....And she seemed....Sneaky...Assassin With How She Seemed To Be Built, A....Hum-El-Magica-....A Thing That Looked Like A Mix Of A Man Or Woman Which Smelled...Stranged...Magick...Maybe...He Held That Stink & Finally... A Faerie....Magick Stuck One Them Like Gold Does In Between Red Dragon Scales...

Different People... The creature move it's hood around which it's eye was hidden by the clock but the mysterious and blood covered maw could be visible to the group as the massive creature crouch down and now appear to be on all-fours which is still towered over the group with ease which it came closer and the shaking of the ground became more violent with every step as a group of guards surround the creature and kept their eyes on the creature as it approached.