Flux

Eleriese could feel the beast's pain and anger as the katar sank into its back. She almost felt sorry for it, were it not trying to kill them. She begn an intricate dance, weaving her feet among the sand, the steps familiar. She had a feeling they would need the strength she was about to give them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The beast's strike towards Kozuto shifted to the side as it twisted in pain, the large palm landing next to the shaman. It reached behind it with its other hand, tearing off Braius and throwing him to the ground. It stood to its full height, blood dripping from its back and severed ear. The beast reared back its head and let loose a blood curdling roar. The flames in its mouth intensified, and its eyes glowed a bright red. It released a giant ball of fire towards the downed berserker, the heat more intense than the desert sun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Olrien release the spell he had been preparing. Originally intended to be an offensive attack, it would have to serve as a defense for Braius now. Just before the fireball reached the Shantii, it slowed against a large funnel of wind, the fire spinning to the sides. It was a battle as to which element would dissipate first. Eventually, the fire faded, and Olrien bent to a knee, panting from exhaustion. That had been a more powerful spell, and he'd had to draw much of the mana required from his own body. Perhaps it was simply because of the desert, or perhaps their quest was true, but there was not a large supply of mana available here. ---------------------------------- Gillem watched the beast go into a rage, feeling helpless to stop its wrath. It charged towards him, its shoulder breaking right through one of the giant pillars in its path. "How... how can we stop such a beast...?!" Gillem thought as the pillar tumbled to the ground, the giant mass of stone breaking into pieces as it hit another pillar. He raised his shield as the clawed hand came towards him, but he could not stop such strength. He was flung into one of the broken stones pieces, and he was sure he had felt ribs crack. ----------------------------------------------- Kho ran at the beast, leaping towards its back, hoping to inflict more pain. However, it swept an arm back, catching him mid jump with the back of its clawed hand. He skidded across the sand, landing near Braius. Thankfully, he had set his shortbow and quiver down earlier, or they would have broken in the tumble. He felt his ribs, checking for any breaks, but there were none. He ran to retrieve his shortbow, hoping to distract it with a few ranged attacks. ----------------------------------------------- Olrien watched helplessly as the group was battered. He stood up, sword in hand, and used some of his dwindling mana to increase his speed. He could feel strength seep into him, likely from Eleriese's dance. He arrived at its feet and looked up at the monstrosity. Its face was twisted into pure rage. He began to speak, his words directed at Gillem behind him. "Gillem, I fear this is not a battle we can win. To stay and fight would be folly, and a waste of lives. If you do not want your journey to end here, I would ask that you press on. I shall serve as a distraction." He turned to look at Gillem, giving a sorrow-filled smile. "I'm afraid this is where my journey ends. Go, and do not look back." He looked down at his sword, focusing on the old man's face. Soon, it would be crying tears of blood. He nodded solemnly. No sword should be drawn if not to defend the lives of others, and that was just what he planned to do. -------------------------------------------- Eleries ran to Olrien's side. She gave him a small smile. "You know I can't just leave my childhood friend to die. We'll fight this beast together." Olrien opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest, but then closed it with a defeated look. "I know there is no arguing with you, Eleri. Come, let us make our last stand." He charged at the beast with the speed of the wind behind him. Eleriese gave Gillem one final look, a sad smile on her face. "Go now, do not let any more lives be wasted here. The journey ends with you, so live on." She said the next part with a hint of sarcasm. "Save the world, if you really belive it is in danger." And with that, she began her final dance. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gillem began to protest the two elves, before slowly dipping his head with a look of helplessness. When he looked up again, only determination remained. He spoke to the entire group. "I have failed you all as a leader." He shook in anger at himself and at his helplessness at the threat they faced. He met eye contact with Olrien one last time. "I expect to see you both in Sakiiri." ---------------------------------------- With that, the group of four ran -- Gillem, Braius, Kozuto, and Kho. They never looked back, just as Olrien had asked, despite the cries of pain they heard coming from both elf and beast. They ran and ran, passing pillar after pillar, running through the day and night, until they finally reached the gates of the Shantii capital. It was then that Gillem let his tears of sorrow flow as he fell to his knees, pounding at the gate, angry with himself and his failures, and grieving the lives of his fallen comrades. End of Chapter One

Lars had followed the group up until this point, but now he was stuck. The group had been told to split up, and there were equal amounts on both sides. He stood where he was, pondering which direction to take. "Clint and Sid, or Logan and Lionel..." he thought. After a little thinking, a smile came onto his face. He walked to the right. "Logan, Lionel, and Lars. It only makes since to go with the L's."

Nero stood suddenly, looking Orpheaus in the eye. He spoke calmly, but there was a rage flickering in his eyes. "I would request to join the battle against the Death Knight." His eyes seemed darker than usual. "I have a score to settle with him." He kept his steely gaze on the Victonari, awaiting an answer.

Well, Murdoc and myself are the only people left in Group 1 besides you, though I'm controlling Olrien and Eleriese for a short time here, so... if Murdoc doesn't help you out, someone will. You aren't going to die yet. Edit: Also, you guys are almost to the end of chapter one! Just a little more and then chapter two can begin. I'm hoping things will begin to flow better there since we'll be starting the main plot, and we'll have a larger group again.

"Ah Master Nash it seems I'm the first one to arrive you seem a bit troubled anything i could help with?" Nash shook his head, smiling lightly as the thief arrived. He had not expected the Vanda of all people to arrive first, if at all. He was certainly more trusting of Crag than he had been at the start of their journey. He watched the others arrive and make small talk, before Alleria took the final place among the group. He looked over to Rhea, who smiled back. The entire group had decided to stick with them. It was more than he had hoped for, that much was for sure. He spoke to them in his gruff voice, preparing to move. "I see that you have all decided to stick with us." He grunted. " I'm glad to see you're all so dedicated." He turned to the side, looking down the long road towards the desert. The sun was blisteringly hot, and the heat could only get worse as the day went on. "We travel through the Shantii desert today, setting our sights on the capital. We'll make as much distance as we can before resting for the night." He paused, looking them over. "It's hot, so bring plenty of water. This is unfortunately not a desert to be traveled at night. Beasts of all manners hunt during that time, and they are much better suited to evening combat than we." He gave them all a firm look before mumbling. "Frankly, I didn't expect to see you all here this morning, but I'm not about to complain..." He grinned. "Without further ado, let's move out!" ***** Rhea was exhausted. They had been traveling for hours, the sun bearing down on their backs. The desert looked the same no matter which way you turned, an endless sea of sand dunes and sparce vegetation. This vegetation was sometimes the only way to be sure you were facing the way you wanted to. The town had disappeared from sight quite a while ago, and there was no turning back. She took a small sip from her waterskin, being careful to save plenty for later. This was only the first day of their journey, though Nash said that they could reach Sakiiri by the second night if they kept this pace. She sighed. This pace was hard enough, but she wanted to reach the city as fast as possible. She smiled at the thought of seeing Gillem again. It seemed so long since the three of them had been together -- Nash, Gillem, and herself. She wondered what sort of people he would bring with him, but supposed she'd find out soon. She was brought out of her daze by Nash's sudden stop. He was staring at something ahead. She squinted in the sunlight and followed his gaze. There were many scattered dark shapes ahead, but she couldn't make out what they were. Nash motioned for the group to move on. As they moved, she noticed that he had quickened his pace. "Something's wrong..." she thought. "Nash seems to be on edge..." She gasped as they came closer. The shapes had been farther away than they had seemed, but she could tell that they were large from where they stood now. The dark forms were bodies of some sort, curled and collapsed, spread out as they were. Rhea turned to Nash, a worried look on her face. The forms were like that of giant scorpions, with sharp, barbed stingers and giant pincers. "Are those... scraeth...?" she asked shakily. Nash simply nodded, still staring straight ahead. He mumbled a reply. "A few grand scraeth as well." Upon looking a second time, she could see that there were a few larger bodies scattered among the corpses, with two barbed tails rather than one. The sand was swept back into order by the wind, leaving no sign of the battle. However, there were some sections that still bore the red stain of blood. She looked at the green liquid pooled beneath one of the scraeth shells. A chill went up her spine. "Scraeth bleed green..." she whispered, her eyes wide. "That's human blood..." True enough, there were scattered fragments of metal, appearing to be small chips of armor that had been broken off during whatever battle had taken place. She looked at Nash in fear. "You don't think... Gillem's group...?" The last part was almost inaudible. Rhea was shaking, looking to be on the verge of collapse. Nash tried to reassure her, despite his own beliefs on the matter. "We don't know that for sure. This could have been the work of a traveling caravan, or a group of mercenaries." He put a hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. "Besides, there aren't any human bodies here anyway. Whoever killed these scraeth must have gotten away." He looked at the red blood, doubting his own words of reassurance. But he wouldn't let Rhea know his own worries. They would do her know good. For now, they needed to push on. He turned to the others. "...If you can find anything of use here, take it. No one will be coming back for it. For now, we need to think logically and stay on guard. There could be more of these creatures around." With that, he strode forward into what had previously been a battlefield. He was unnerved. There were too many corpes here to fit with the nature of scraeth. They traveled in small groups from what he had seen of them, but there were easily more than twenty here. He hoped the group could manage to avoid further trouble.

The beast cried out in pain, lunging at the now-vulnerable shaman with an arm. It dropped to a knee, bringing its clawed hand down from above at the same time. Flames sputtered out from the corner of the creature's mouth as it brought the full weight of its body down into the swing. (((OOC: Do not assume any major blows land on the beast. Nobody has broken this yet, but I want to make sure you all know before it does happen. Things like shallow slashes and the ear are fine, just wait for me to verify blows that would hinder or kill the creature. Also, would you guys prefer if I supply theme music for battles like this or not?)))

I thought the Dragon Rider/Dragon interaction was a large part of what made this so interesting, so I'd have to say I'm still in favor.

Jory, K_H, rustytengo, typhlosionrulez Cedric nodded approvingly as each recruit displayed their power. "That Barrier saved me from a Foul Ball that was headed right at me in a Baseball Game." He gave a light chuckle at the remark. "Seems an sensible use for such power," he commented. He could barely notice the next recruit's power, but saw that the man had taken his watch. "Such speed..." he thought. "That man could prove useful..." But it was the third recruit that really struck him. As soon as she stated that she could alter a person's memory, Cedric turned to Lux. He was about to comment on the fact, but decided they could talk once the group was finished. He listened to Lux speak with the other recruit, calling himself Photon. "Photon, eh? I was going to suggest that he take a codename, and it's fairly fitting... It's reminiscent of the hero that he wants to become." He retrieved his watch from Lux -- no, Photon, after he explained the basic goal of the Organization to the recruits. "Thank you kindly," he said as he took the watch, "and I couldn't have explained us better myself." He turned to the recruits. "We are not a strict group. You will have freedom, safety, and a home of sorts while you are here, though there will be times when we will call upon you for assistance. These are the terms of our little agreement." He paused, looking them over. "Now, I don't believe I have your names yet, save for Ace." He turned to Lux. "It seems we have chanced upon our memory restucturing..." he whispered. "I'd almost claim it to be fate, if I believed in such a thing." ------------------------------------------------------------------ Hukuna "I assume you have an armory around this place somewhere. My pieces are a bit outdated, need some new kit. I can't willy nilly throw my power around, it was real costs to me and everyone around, so it is Important I have good equipment." Poseidon nodded brusquely. "You would assume correctly. We are allowed use of BOA's armory, though we have chosen not to make use of it ourselves. I will take you there when the interview is finished," he said, motioning towards the office. ------------------------------------------------------------ Arkhidon "Yes, that is my name. And no, I wasn't always so quick-witted as I find myself now. Though, this new transformation is linked to The Pillar that rose recently. Between the time it was erected, my father's arrest, and my allure to the entity itself, I cannot think of any other reason. The Pillar changed me." Lydia Archer nodded as he spoke. "I see," she said simply. She paused for a while, looking through the papers on her desk again. After a while, she spoke again. "Well, such problem solving skills would certainly prove useful. Perhaps I will have you demonstrate them in a test of sorts..." she mumbled, before interupting herself. "Another time. For now, let us finish this interview." She met his eye. "If I am to offer you a position here, do you have any preferences as to where you work? I can put you in research and development, assign you a place among BOA, our newest group, or see if Olympus would have you. Perhaps you could do some of each, working in our labs as you see fit, and going on missions when we require your talents. What do you say?" ------------------------------------------------------- Supernovae and MasterWeavile898 "Hello, Kiri." Kiri gave no response, simply retreating behind Zweiss once more. Zweiss watched her for a moment before returning his gaze to Cassidy. "Well," he said, looking to Jude, "I suppose we should get going." He turned to Cassidy again. "I would suggest you do the same. I'm afraid I won't be holding these men down forever." He turned and began to walk back the way he came, Kiri trailing behind him. Actually, he could simply increase the pressure and end them all. However, he felt that such things were unnecessary at times like this. He looked over his shoulder at Jude to see what the man was doing.

All right. As you've all probably read at some place or another by now, I'll be gone for the next week. Feel free to move along on your own for a while. The group will be heading into the desert for a while. Start an encounter if you wish, or whatever. You can bunny Nash and Rhea a bit if need be, just try to keep them in character. Just stop before the Pillars of Cre are in sight. I have things planned there. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you may need to read into Group 1's thread a bit more. It's the last area of the desert before the capital. Alternatively, if you don't feel like it, you can just wait. Whichever works.

Nero - Scout Team "Oi, Nero! Is that you? What in the Nine Divines it is.....How the hell you get back before us, and where is Steele?" Nero spun around, temporarily stopping his hammering on the gate to see Odin and Jeneve. So he had been thrown farther than they were. He spoke quickly, his serious demeanor keeping him calm. "I can explain later, but for now this village has bigger worries. I've seen a glimpse of their army, and it's no pretty sight. As for Steele..." He was unsure of how to say things. He decided he would keep it simple. "He's still back there. He was holding out the last I saw, but we'll need to mobilize quickly if we're to have even a hope of saving him." He was unsure of why he even cared about Steele. Normally, he just worried about himself and let others deal with their own problems. But it was that same feeling... He'd experienced it 3 times now. Once when he stepped in during the hopeless fight with the Gentleman, once in the woods with Steele, and again right now. That feeling that he should help people. He tried to ignore it as he thought over the matters at hand. He would have a lot to tell the village, and a short amount of time to do it.

Hukuna, I'll be gone until Saturday this week, so if someone could move Nero along until then, it would be greatly appreciated. It's unfortunate that I will probably miss most if not all of the battle, depending on how fast things move, but I'll manage. Thanks, and sorry for any inconveniences this might cause.

Just posting this in all the RPs I'm in so people will know what's up. I'll be gone this next week in Cincinatti until Saturday, so if someone could bunny Lars until then, that'd be awesome. On the other hand, you might not need to, and everbody could just assume he's there. Thanks, and sorry for any inconveniences. Edit: Also, you have Dominance listed as a Nidorino in the current party section, but he should still be a Nidoran since no experience was gained from any battles yet.

Notus, I'll be gone for the next week in Cincinatti without internet access, so do whatever you need to with Phantom. He's pretty much been a loner so far, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep track of him. I'll be back on Saturday, so hopefully I can catch up then.

Ah. So while technically a white wyvern, the scales are still black (With the small streaks of red) due to his ancestors being black and red wyverns (With the obvious white wyverns mixed in), correct? That makes sense now. I'll edit that in when I get a chance. Also, I unfortunately will most likely not be here when this starts up. As you may have seen in The Awakened OOC thread, I'll be gone for the next week, so if we're started by then I'll just have to catch up.

Murdoc, you have me listed as a white wyvern, though it should be black.

Well, I'll be gone for a week starting tomorrow to help people in Cincinatti, so I probably won't be able to update anything during that time. I'll try to get you updated one last time before then tonight, since I doubt I'll have internet access while I'm there.

So I've edited a bit more into my post in the other thread. Just posting here so you'll know and can check it out when you have time, since Murdoc said he wants us to keep posts to a minimum in that thread.

Lars looked at the General, his usual blank expression returning to his face. He really had no idea what they were up against. He had missed most of the battle at the side gates when Sleepy had warped him away, but the bodies they had walked past on the way here gave him some idea. He responded to the general. "Yes..." he paused for a while before seeming to remember something. He slowly added. "um, sir."

Phantom's been climbing for a while now, so... probably fairly close to the top of the garden.

Goodbye, Acquiescence... Despite being around the RP forum for almost as long as you (I think... Maybe a few weeks behind you.), I feel like we didn't have a whole lot of chances to get to know each other well. Still, from what I've picked up, you were one of the prime RPers around here, and a fun person besides. You will be missed...

I believe Jory specifically said he was dropping at some point... Don't know about Nova though.

Nero ran through the woods, having reached the point where the village was in sight. He needed to get there as quickly as possible. Hopefully Odin and Jeneve had arrived already, but he couldn't be sure if he had been thrown farther than them or not. He was more than a little surprised at Steele's "revelation", but hoped the man (If he could still call him that) wouldn't do anything reckless simply to save Nero. He thought back to Steele's words. "You will be important in the upcoming battle, get to your friends, I am not going to let you stay here and die for nothing." What did he mean Nero would be important in the upcoming battle? He hadn't stood a chance against that Death Knight. And how could he be any more importantin the battle than a dragon would have? He thought back to the last words Steele told him. "Don't worry about me, I am going to take out as many as I can." He had told him not to worry, but Steele's last five words were what bothered him. As many as I can. Did he plan to sacrifice himself? Nero reached the village gates, pounding on the outside, hoping someone would let him in. He had grave news for the people.

Ah. So Jupiter will be joining us. I was expecting some sort of tragic death scene in this battle, causing her to be unable to join the group and be Helzebeth's sister of sorts. Oh well. I suppose not everything has to be tragic.

Name: Ka'el (May be subject to change. It's reminding me a bit too much of Superman at the moment...) Species: Black Wyvern, Frost-Breath (If Wyverns can have that... Unsure exactly what I should do about ancestry and breath concerning wyverns. Any ideas?) Age: Adult, closer to Elder than Young. Ancestry: (Not exactly sure what to do here... Family of wyverns I guess?) Appearance: Wyvern body, covered in black scales, as dark as night. He has powerful back legs and a wide wingspan. Narrow, but regal face shape, with two black horns facing towards his back, in-line with his head. Two small trails of red scales between his eyes, which are a deep blue with flecks of gold. At the top of his wings are small claws, similar to small hands, the trademark of wyverns. (Perhaps I'll try drawing something... It would be interesting as I haven't really drawn dragons before...) Backstory: Will fill in later... So yeah, some help on the areas in question would be great. I'm planning for him to start as a neutral-ish party, as an enemy of the humans. Though with enough persistance, someone playing a dragon rider may be able to tame him... If they wouldn't mind becoming a wyvern rider.