Maelyn played her first set, her bow flying gracefully across her instrument, she too swayed with the music and watched as the people watched and danced. She noticed at several points how a crowd was forming a ring in the center and a couple of dancers were stealing the spotlight. She grinned excitedly, knowing the couple there were dancing to her music and frankly doing very well as the crowd applauded them. Eventually she had completed the first set of songs and taken her bows, now was a time for a short intermission. Turning to her totems she played across the strings, magic gathering within them as she instructed them what to do next. On command the totems began to produce different tones and beats to produce a Smooth Jazz beat for the dancers to listen and play a slow dance to.

She then exited the stage, allowing her magical companions to continue on without her, when she was suddenly intervened by a couple; the same couple on the dance floor. The male looked predominantly elven, with perhaps traits of a djinn of some kind? The woman looked human also, though perhaps a little older than she. The young violinist smiled and bowed to them, "Thank you, I'm always glad when my songs are appreciated. My name is Maelyn, Maelyn Eurona, Saesa omentien lle. (A pleasure meeting you)" The last part she spoke in elvish, hoping to create a stronger bond of trust by using his native tongue. She didn't know elvish to a fault, but she studied enough culture to know that giving a proper fae greeting was always appreciated, even knowing just a little, can sometimes go a very long way.

"You two looked like you were having quite a bit of fun out there, I could see you dancing from the stage." Her smile was bright and her eyes were sincere, "And what might your names be? Are you also a part of the tower?"

Ao smiled at this girl's greeting. So polite! "Ar' y' seasa oment- lle vee' eithel, nessa Maelyn."

Deciding to introduce himself, and Jerall, Ao said, "My name is Ao'Drial Relvas. My subordinate here is Jerall Miphas."

Winking, Ao said, "I must say, though, a great deal of this fun we're having comes from the music. I haven't enjoyed a party this much for... about forty years?"

Rolling her eyes, Jerall nudged him in the ribs, and took the girl's hand. "It's true, he's usually a grumpy curmudgeon. Your music is so beautiful! Where did you learn?" Ao smiled, and spoke up.

"Yes, to answer your question, we are from the tower as well. I am a Knight Captain, and Jerall remains a Knight." Jerall glared at him, and kicked back at his shins. Jumping over the kick with the grace only Elves had, he smiled. "Unfortunately, Jerall, dresses weren't made for fighting in." He looked up at Maelyn, and took in her outfit with a smile and a long look. "Most of them, at least." The attractive Elf winked, and leaned on Jerall's shoulders, placing his chin on top of her head, looking at Maelyn. "But I am curious about where you learned. Where in the world could've someone taught you to play so beautifully?"

Maelyn laughed at their antics, the two of them seemed like an old married couple. She briefly wondered if such relationships were allowed within the tower, considering they were at the leader of said tower's wedding however, that was probably her answer. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," her smile was wide and sincere, she was happy that her music had given them such enjoyment, but now they wanted to know how she learned her trade. Maelyn took a step back and looked into their eager and inquisitve faces, "The violin is just something I've played all my life, I started learning at a very young age. My tutors taught me well, but I was always interested in learning songs from other cultures, something they could never teach me. It wasn't until I joined the gypsies with my brother, around a decade or so ago, that I was able to really let my talent flourish."

Maelyn's eyes traveled towards the skies, "We traveled to so many different lands, met so many people and I learned a great deal from them. I think in all my travels though, the only one I could truly call my mentor was our Shamaness, Alara. She taught me most everything I know, even how to conjure beings like those." She gestured towards the totems, still playing their jazzy tune.

Ao's eyebrows raised even more, and a twinkle of recognition sparkled in his eyes. "Little Alara is the Shamaness? I knew she could do it!" Still leaning on Jerall's head, he smiled. "I always knew she had wanted to become the Shamaness. Good on her for following her dream."

As if thinking for a bit, Ao pulled something out of his pocket. Handing it to Maelyn, he pressed her hand around the object, a silver bullet. Winking, he stood up, saying, "If you ever find yourself in need of help, at any time, whisper, Alexandriae reges autem stultitiam to the bullet. Trust me."

Straightening up, he bowed to her, and said, while taking Jerall's arm, "I am afraid that with our conversation, I have both neglected my Knight, and caused you to be held up before your next set." Walking away, he looked back to the girl. "I look forward to hearing it!"

The two walked back into the crowd, smiling. "I think that she is the nicest little thing to ever grace the Tower." Jerall had a wistful look on her face, as if reminded of something.

"I agree, Jerall. However, I recall a certain Knight acting similarly back when she arrived at the Tower, herself." Ao looked pointedly at his partner for the evening, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Oh, come on, I was NEVER that polite." Ao simply looked at her, eyebrows raised. "I really wasn't!" Ao began to chuckle, causing Jerall to get flustered. "Ao!"

Laughing outright, the two reached the dance floor, where a.... situation was unfolding. Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Ao began to frown as he walked towards the children. And Calder. When he reached the situation, he didn't say anything. He just stood there, hands behind his back, very presence intimidating. If anyone said one more word....
@Tracyarmav@Jangel13@Wind Wild@Viciousmarrow

---

Her eyes widened, "You knew Alara?!" Maelyn revisited her memories of the old shamaness. The woman had told her many tales, even those of the fae and elves, but there were far too many to recount to pinpoint which of them could have been of "Ao of The Tower". Taken from her own thoughts, the elf suddenly pressed something small and metal into her hand; a bullet. She looked up at him, suddenly confuse as he began explaining how to use the bullet, she didn't understand the words, but she trusted what he had to say. Nodding with a smile on her face, she bid the two farewell as they wandered their way back out to the crowd.

Turning towards the stage she took another look at the bullet in her hand, and gripped it tightly before taking her steps. It was almost time for the first dance for the bride and groom, she had to find her brother. Maelyn closed her left eye, requesting access to its partner, Elias obliged and both were connected to the others vision, she'd be able to find him in no time.

---

His challenge ignored by the two ingrates, he took it upon himself to drink, regardless of who would or wouldn't be drinking with him. It was by his third drink that his left eye began to glow, his sister calling him, probably time to go onstage. He smacked himself in the face a couple of times to sober up and stepped off the bar stool just as Maelyn approached.

"Elias, its time for our performance."

"Yea, yea," he sniffed and began walking towards the stage, following in his sister's footsteps. Suddenly the young woman stopped and turned on her heels, Elias raising an eyebrow at the sudden motion.

"Do you think you could hold onto something for me? I don't have any pockets to put this in..."

"What is it?" Suddenly a silver bullet was presented and placed in his hand, "Where'd you get this from?" Even more questions began flooding his mind.

"I made a friend today," she smiled simply, "Now, come on, we have a song to play."

Elias looked at the object and shrugged, he'd find out more later, but for now, he had to fulfill his obligations. Shoving the bullet in his pocket his sister took to the stage and he grabbed a guitar case that was placed to the side of the stage. Opening it, he grabbed its contents, a classy looking acoustic guitar, a rental Maelyn had picked up from a shop a few days ago, because his electric guitar was 'too harsh'. He scoffed and picked up the instrument, climbing the stage to meet her, it was almost time for the newly weds song.

@TheMerlinHawk @Grin

The High Necromancer’s foot tapped along to the Violin player’s music as he sat against the railing of Blackwing just off the dance floor. It had been a lengthy day but it had been surprisingly fun for Lazarus. Shard had been married, there had been food he hadn’t had in too long and he’d finally got to see the whole of the Tower out in force. Nursing his glass of brandy Lazarus peered through the crowd. Unfortunately he knew very few of the Knights now and few approached him; understandably so.

A familiar face appeared as Akime appeared from one of the Cabins. For a moment he paused considering what the plan was. With a shrug Lazarus crossed behind the dance floor and approached the Mistress of Sight. Watching her steps and her demeanor he could tell she had been drinking a little. With a smile and a chuckle Lazarus downed the rest of his drink. With practiced ease he set the tumbler down on a table and glided through the cool mild night air and walked up to Akime. “Having fun?”

Akime spun around and had to grab the rail to stop herself from making a full circle. She tried to make it look casual and hide it behind wide, sparkly grin. “Heeeeyy there,” he greeted. “It’s nice to see you looking all pink-cheeked and smiley.” Was he pink-cheeked and smiley? Whatever, he looked good, she liked him. And she’d been missing him, although she’d denied it last time had felt as close to a date as it got for her and here everyone was either taken or flirting and she couldn’t find him when she’d meant to—

She realised she’d been staring at the edge of his lips, where that small dimple was, and her eyes fell to his chest. “Oh. You’re actually wearing one of those!” She put her hands out and bowed slightly. “I’m sooooooo sorry about that, that was so inappropriate! I hope you didn’t take it the wrong way, I didn’t mean to…” She fell quiet, rubbing her hands together and trying not to blush, stare OR grin. He did look great though.

“I appreciated it.” Lazarus stepped in and took her arms with gentle casual grace. Perhaps a little more inebriated than he thought but it was certainly interesting to see her like this. With a gentle tug he lead her safely away from the railing. “I had no idea what is in so I was very relieved to see you sent me a set of suits.” His steps took the two of them a bit further from the dance floor and away from the noise and the general light of Blackwing. Letting the cool air brush against the two of them Lazarus smiled and released her arm making sure she didn’t go towards a railing.

“How much have you had to drink” He gave her a teasing smile.

Like a princess~ she thought as she was led away. She liked the way he walked. Had she said that already? Ah, no, it’s one of those things you’re not supposed to say.

When they came to a stop Akime puffed a strand of hair off her face and rolled her eyes simultaneously with a dismissive hand-gesture that almost swatted him in the face. Then she grinned again – perhaps she thought a grin could excuse anything? “Too much? Not enough? Who can say what’d appropriate and what isn’t?” She gathered up her skirts of her golden dress and sat cross-legged on the deck, leaning on the rail. “If we cared about social conventions, we wouldn’t be talking. And Christian and Catherine wouldn’t be married. Seriously, whoever follows the rules is a sucker!” She shrugged, frowning at her feet. Then she sighed and threw her head back to look up at him. “And how much have you had to drink? Enough to say “fuck it” to social conventions too? I mean, you did just look at a bridesmaid’s cleavage.” He hadn’t but she knew that as soon as she’d said it, he would look. The grin turned into a giggle that shook her shoulders violently but she tried to silence it with a hand over her mouth.

In an attempt at humor Lazarus stood on tiptoes and with no stealth looked right down her dress. “No I haven’t had enough; but I think I like you sufficiently to follow your lead. And I don’t know either so don’t ask what is too much.” With a chuckle Lazarus kicked off his shoes and walked barefoot across the deck and acquired a decanter of liquor and a pair of glasses. Flopping down next to her he offered her a glass and then filled it with a small amount of the crystal blue liquor. Filling his own glass with slightly more he started sipping at it.

“I think rules are for those who aren’t allowed to break them.” Lazarus reached up and pulled her hair back away from her face and tucked it behind her shoulders. Meeting her look he grinned. “Just incase you decide to throw up. It would suck to get it in your hair.” With that he settled in next to her and rested his shoulder against hers gently.

Akime’s eyebrows rose in disbelief as he said he hadn’t had enough while he peered down her cleavage but then he went to get some alcohol and she realised what he’d meant. She felt reassured that he reached out to touch her despite all the reasons why he shouldn’t and shook her head violently as he explained why. “Oh nooo, puke in hair? Nonononono.” The woman hurried to gather her hair up in a loose bob that she held up with a cocktail stick someone had dropped, then took a sip of her new drink. It tasted oddly fresh, of spring clouds and morning dew.

“I like your way of thinking.” She uttered thoughtfully. She also liked that he wasn’t scared to touch her (any more) and that he’d taken his shoes off but didn’t say it. He was bizarre, puzzling, but that’s what made him intriguing. “Who would have thought we’d come so far, huh? Considering the war, all we’ve been through, our very nature. I wonder how many times Christian thought it was hopeless and thought about ending it all. I wonder what made Raven leave and what made her come back. I’ll probably never know. But isn’t it wonderful how life works like that? You never know what you’re gonna get tomorrow and sometimes it’s better, and sometimes it’s worse, but it’s always unpredictable.” She probably wasn’t making a lot of sense but she suspected that around him she didn’t need to. Still, she decided to elaborate.

“I’d never thought I could enjoy life so much away from my homeland. Let alone with half the Stygian elite. But I think it’s wonderful that we can disregard the past. It made us who we are but maybe we can be ourselves despite it too.” She took a long cool sip of the alcohol and looked to Lazarus.

With a laugh Lazarus nudged her “You’re for sure drunk typically you make sense.” With a shift he adjusted so she could lean up against him. Swirling the drink in his tumbler he took another drink of it pushing himself further along. “Was your home all that great anyway? My understanding is that things didn’t go super great while you were there.”

Lazarus left the topic to sit not wanting to press too much “I honestly think that the fact we survived the war is indicative that we were cursed to live interesting lives.” Chuckling Lazarus looked up at the sky and its dancing auroras. “And for the record I don’t think Christian has even contemplated anything other than living for an eternity. I personally don’t understand it but Christian really doesn’t view the world the same way that the rest of us do. He really is more force of nature than anything else. Just sweeping things like fear and concern along in the wake of his joy and anger. I don’t think I could have gone a thousand years without that.”

Stopping abruptly Lazarus suddenly downed the liquor in one solid swallow and refilled his glass; continuing to drink regularly from it to give himself an excuse not to talk anymore. Careful to avoid Akime’s eyes.

Akime shrugged in response to being drunk and took note of trying to be more coherent. “Home is…. Well, home. You only ever get one, right? Originally, I mean. The one where you get to be innocent and away from it all. And it's not great but it's yours, people know you, you know them… then it's different when you leave, you have to make people notice you to kill some of the loneliness.” she took a long sip, contemplating. There was so much she wanted to say but she couldn't, not now. “I'm not like Christian, I can't just ignore it. But you know, he feels it too, I'm sure he does. The times I've seen him sit on the edge of his tower, searching for Raven among the stars... I think the only real difference is that he wouldn't think of jumping. Not because it didn't hurt enough for him to.” Akime made a long pause and untangled her legs across and wiggled her toes to give herself something to look at. Where were her shoes? Lazarus’ chest supporting her felt warm and soft and really really good. “But you're right. He probably doesn't see the world the same way. Life and death not as struggles and escapes but just as beginnings and ends. He lives in the moment and maybe that's the best thing he can teach us all. We spend too long in our heads and too little looking out.” She pointed at the sky, her head leaning on his shoulder as she looked up, her hair tickling his face. The distant music, the warmth of his body against the playful breeze, the dance of the auroras and his heart beating next to hers. “This is true happiness.” She muttered with a smile.

Lazarus nodded in agreement as he very gently moved the offending strand of her hair away from his face. “I have to wonder if he wanted to leave with her when Raven left. I never could understand why he didn’t. Not to say that I don’t think that the Tower was an incredible endeavour.” Looking up at the sky he smiled. “I think Shard wanted to see the stars as well; so I’ve never understood why he left.” With another drink he caught the last muttering as she lay against him.

“I’m glad you think so, the single moments we have are the most important. Sometimes I wish I was the avatar of Faros so that I could dictate how long the moments lasted.” With a small laugh he set his glass down on the deck and looked down at her. “Where are your companions? You are forever with others, why not now?”

“Oh, you've noticed?” She glanced up. “They're busy catching up with old friends or making new ones. Cole, the tall one with the white hair, is ‘copulating’, and with Titania nonetheless. Amber is having a little conversation and a checkup with Croweater. And Ibuki is catching up with some old friends and acquaintances from all over, surely looking for more work for us. Sometimes they don't want me around, and frankly, sometimes I don't want them around either. And how about you? Are you reconnecting with people? And actually...” She turned slightly to catch his eyes. “.. what about the Twilight council? Are they after you or have they accepted defeat?”

Lazarus eyes practically popped out of his head at the name Tatiana. “God’s bellow are you serious?!” Bursting into laughter he leaned back against the rail. “That woman is actually insane I don’t know how she does it but once a year she drinks Vulture under the table. Which by the way; that is why Crow has that thing following him around. Yishreenok cursed the Demon who was sent to collect Tatiana’s soul when it failed to do so. As a result Vulture was sent to tutor Crow and be at his beck and call. Kinda funny in my opinion.” With that he shifted her a little closer and looked back down at her. “I don’t know about the Twilight Council anymore. Their presence in Galendar is so sporadic. The Stygian Blade has lost so much influence here lately that I doubt they have much capacity to act anymore. That is unless they want to appear in the mortal world Shard and Raven proved how dangerous that is for them.”

Akime shook her head with a small smile, bemused by Lazarus’ stories of people’s antics and said people’s antics and said Lazarus’ knowledge of them. She still didn’t want to ask about what got him imprisoned in the first place but it was good to know that he felt safe here with them all.

Eyes drifting over the crowd on Blackwing’s shoulders, Akime had to agree with the desire he’d expressed. It would be so great to be able to stop time and experience this bliss for longer than it would naturally last. She reached to her drink again, content to just sit there, under the stars, in his arms.

“You know what we are doing here is dangerous right?” Lazarus finally seriously met her eyes. “I’m not going to deny how I feel about you in the short time we’ve been together.” With that he turned Akime to face him as he settled her in front of him and stroked her hair out of her face. It occurred to him that this could for sure be the alcohol but it was like she’d grown more beautiful the more he got to look at her. This could go so sideways so quickly and yet his feelings were so much more potent than his reason right now.

“I want to see where this goes. I think that I’ve wondered if I’d see you again from the day we met and here we are now. Years later. Shard’s disregard of the consequences of pursuing what he wants is more than enough push for me to say this.” He gently took her face in his hand. “I don’t know how safe it would be for us to be together but I’m willing to at least try if you feel the same way. If not I certainly understand. There are so many reason to not do this.”

Akime’s eyes widened and only kept widening as his speech, verbal and physical, progressed. It came like lightning from a clear sky but not because she hadn’t secretly wished it could happen. He’d left an impression the first time they’d met, yet it was the second time that was truly her downfall. After that day out his face had haunted her and it’d taken anything in her to stop herself from seeing him again. But she knew her reputation and the way men reacted to her, as if she was more monster than human, and hadn’t dared even dream he’d return her feelings.

So she’d denied it, for a week now, convincing herself she was just a pathetic and desperate old woman and that she should have the grace to admit defeat and accept that she’d die alone with her cats and… griffins.

But in reality she had hoped that maybe, just maybe…

She hadn’t been able to get him out of her head all week. This couldn’t actually be happening, right? He was probably just really drunk, or she was wasted under a table and dreaming. Or maybe it was a trap laid by Yishreenok?

The thought slowly turned her surprised expression into a huge, almost manic grin that spilled over her face like the tide covering the scars in the sand. She took the hand that was on her face and pressed it against the deck gently, holding him in place as she leaned in to taste his lips. And the stars went out and the voices faded and it just felt… right. Her eyelids fluttered open again and the smile was deep in her golden eyes, lighting them from within. “You are right, it’s so dangerous, even outrageous, and we should be two mature and reasonable adults… We should give up. Never meet again. Forget the other existed. Perhaps even kill each other, for good measure?” Her mouth spoke and her eyes screamed I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care!

Lazarus gave her a flat look. “Oh please. I am Death. There is no way I could kill you or myself.” With that he leaned back in for another kiss. This one was longer and far slower and he pressed into her. Slowly working her lips before slipping his arms around her waist and pulled her fully into his lap.

“For the record I am not drunk enough for you to write this off as me being drunk.” With a wink Lazarus wrapped the night around them wiping their souls from the visible realm with ease as he surrounded them in shadows. Pulling the woman fully on top of him he tangled his hands in her hair as he pulled her into a much more forceful kiss. Hooking his legs around her he grinned. “If we keep this up we’ll need to move someplace a bit more concealed.”

"You. If you keep it up." She corrected, but her kisses were just as heated and her body didn't shy away from his. She was running a hand down his back, feeling the tension of his body. She could build it up still. "So stop." She teased. "You don't even know what you're getting into. You should read the small print before you put your mark down."

Really, they should stop. She could feel the blanket of his essence covering them but it didn't erase them from existence and what they were thinking right now was hardly appropriate. But the question was could they really go back to talking now. Threaterus thoughts of escaping to the fae realm played in her mind but she didn't make a move, not pulling away either, just staring at him, wondering still if stopping now wouldn't mean stopping forever.

“Oh yes it’s all me” Lazarus voice dripped playful sarcasm as he stared up at her. “You know I don’t care about any fine print. If you don’t think right now is a good time to continue this we can always finish later” With a wink he leaned in for a final kiss before pulling her into his lap. “You know. We could always go for a dance if you’d like. Might be fun”

Lazarus left the offer hanging as a way for her to escape the sudden halt she’d put on where things were going. It wasn’t blame because they probably shouldn’t have continued so openly.

“Advantage?” She chuckled, the word “mercy” clawing on her mind. “I think it makes you ugly and slow.” Hazumi

Akime pondered for a long moment and actually had to pull away from him in an attempt of thinking straight again. Sitting opposite, she considered him and the glasses beside them and the paper lanterns of Blackwing… Somehow everything seemed different. A new door had opened and let life and colour flood back into her world.

If that’s how Christian and Raven felt right now, she couldn’t be happier for them.

“Yes, let’s dance.” She smiled, getting to her (somewhat wobbly) feet. That should make it easier to keep away, right? A slight blush found her cheeks at the thought that maybe she should have put up more of a fight, along with the nagging feeling that she didn’t really deserve him. But then, if she was completely honest he might not want to give her a chance. And she did want a chance, with him. “Are you sure about this?” She asked one last time. It was a serious question but she tried to make it light by adding. “Would daddy approve? We don’t want Vulture to poop in your hair while you sleep.”

The look that Lazarus gave Akime was as sure as death itself. “I am incredibly sure. I don’t know if I loved before I lost my memories but I’ve always wanted to try.” This was such a strange feeling for him; after all Death couldn’t love. Could it? Perhaps this wasn't what that was but he was certainly going to take it as far as he could.

Leaning in close to Akime’s ear he whispered gently “I don’t care. I’ve lived in fear of The Grand Lich for too long. It can’t take this from me and It won’t ruin this night for me either.” With that he lead Akime to the dance floor and caught her hands smoothly as the musician’s started their next set. Out of the corner of his eye Lazarus caught the approach of the wedding couple to the floor. It seemed their timing was perfectly timed. All eyes would be on Raven and Christian so Akime’s drunken state would go unnoticed and less eyebrows would be raised at the unlikely couple.

@BeastofDestiny@tracyarmav

Shiba sighed a little when the person put his fist in front of Shiba threatening him. Shiba didn't like that he got dissed that way but honestly Shiba thought that she was just recklessly angry in any other context Shiba would have showed them a thing or two by sneaking up to them and putting his claws on their throat. Nothing says you *ucked with the wrong guy then claws on your throat threatening to rip it off. Shiba didn't say anything but when he turned around he saw that their commotion got someone angry since the person in front of Shiba looked really pissed and intimidating. Shiba wasn't afraid though he gently tapped calders shoulder then he bowed to both of them I think ill go watched the bride and groom dance Shiba said using his cloak to turn himself invisible to leave them both to their own problems. If nothing else it was entertaining for a bit. Once Shiba was sure he was out of their range of view he got rid of the illusion and stood nearby the bride and groom on the dancefloor waiting in case something went wrong...

Marielle growled as she tugged at the bottom of her dress. Yellow wasn’t really her color, she preferred her black and white tops with her combat boots, but today was an exception. Pirates and Knights littered the main floor of the reception as Marielle stood stationary. She frowned and glanced over at the bar area. Maybe a drink or two would help get her into a more festive mood. Wading past wave after wave of bodies she made it up to the bar counter, making her way into a seat. “A small cup of whiskey, please. On the rocks.” Her favorite. The bartender nodded and made his way to the back. She leaned back in her stool. Hope blondie is at least having a good wedding.. Marielle’s mind was pretty blank. After her blackout with Ralrisk she was placed right back into Iris’s care in the infirmary of blackwing. The girl snarled, understanding the event as if a child needed to be babysat. It would take a lot to lift her mood from the recent cloud of gloom looming over her.

Adéla for her part was already well on her way to drunkenness. Several empty glasses were stacked in a small haphazard triangle nearby. In spite of all the alcohol in her system she was still quite aware of her abnormal attire, though at this point she had gotten over her discomfort with it and simply begun to drink. She would’ve struck up a conversation with someone, but her only “friend” apparently hated her right now. Or thought she was an assassin/traitor/something who would get shot in the back just to get at her, all because of her damned “boyfriend”.

Gods how she wanted to plant her boot through Marcus’ face some day. Some day she would be able to. Maybe she’d even get the chance to drop him down that hole he left her to die in. She might let him fester in fear of what she’d do to him though. Revenge best served cold and all that. His death would be adequate seasoning to make up for that though.

The bartender had left now, getting a drink for someone else. Someone with a familiar voice. Adéla looked to her side, quirking an eyebrow at the familiar girl sitting not too far away. What had her name been? Maria? Mary? Something with an M and an A, she knew that much. With a tired gesture she waved to her, whatever her name was, before downing her glass and calling for the next.

Marielle absently glanced over at the gesture only to find the face of the woman known as Adéla. Her eyes widened ever so slightly. “Oh, hello. Adéla, was it?” She stayed still. “It’s been a few days. You helped get me to the infirmary, at least, that’s what I heard.” She frowned.

Adéla nodded, raising her drink to Marielle as if giving a toast. “That was a pretty respectable fight there, even if you did bite off a bit more than you could chew. You were pretty banged up after it though.” She nodded again, signaling the bartender for another drink before making her way to Marielle’s spot, claiming the stool next to her. She gave her a quick, appraising look, idly commenting, “Yellow doesn’t really seem your color, to be perfectly honest.”

Marielle snorted. “Yeah, well, I’m not very good at color coordination and shit. Not really my forte.” When she got her glass she quickly swallowed all of its contents, thudding it back down onto the table. “Hey guy behind the bar! One more.” Though she said one more she knew it wouldn’t be the last. “And as for respectable fight, you don’t have to be so kind about it.” Marielle eyed Adéla and quickly gave her a look of mild disbelief. “It was a fool's errand and everyone knows it. I got my shit kicked back inside me before it even started.” A dry chuckle came out of her. “Still, at least I know that the lady isn’t all talk. There’s a reason why everyone doesn’t piss her off.”

Adéla raised an eyebrow, “I never said you came close to winning or something. All I meant was that, despite the fact you were hopelessly outmatched against Raven, you fought fairly well.” The bartender arrived with her and Marielle’s drinks and she immediately snatched it up, downing a mouthful and making a face as the rum and whatever else was in there burned it’s way down her throat. “There’s a reason I grabbed a stretcher the moment I realized what was happening. Still though, against an opponent who isn’t y’know, over two thousand years old and a nigh demigod, you’d kick some ass.” She shrugged, finishing her drink and signaling for yet another one, though by now the booze was really hitting her system, and her voice was starting to slur slightly. “Interesting set of cards, by the way.”

Marielle smiled a little at the compliment before quickly drowning herself in the alcoholic drink again. She gave the bartender a look and he nodded before picking up her glass yet again. “I appreciate it mecha chick, I liked how you fucked up the Warden too, that was some hot shit.” Her smile got a bit wider. “I think we can both agree that we’re a good pair of badass motherfuckers.”

“Fucker deserved it…” she grumbled, miming the same brutal swing she had cut off his head with. “That’s what he gets for grabbing my ass every other day. And some other things I won’t mention.” Downing another glass of her drink she grinned at Marielle, “I kinda wish he’d died on a larger platform really, I would’ve liked to punt his head off the side myself, preferably with the leg he cut off.” She perked up suddenly, “Badass motherfuckers indeed! Though I think I’ll stick with people I’m not related to. Or anyone else really. I’m not picky.” She grinned at Marielle, leaning in with a mischievous grin on her face, “Which reminds me, a little bird told me that you know how to get Crow drunk!”

Marielle cocked an eyebrow at her. “I can get anyone drunk given the right circumstances, but why the fuck would you want raisin face drunk? He’s always obsessed with his dead body fetish. Unless,” She smirked. “You want him to pass out so you can pull all kinds of hilarious pranks on him...right?”

“I’ve heard he’s an excellent lay if he’s drunk enough to stop obsessing over corpses long enough.” Adéla cackled, downing another drink, “But that’s not to say I’d never consider some good old pranking and humor with him. He’s always so… morose.”

Marielle spit out a laugh in the middle of downing another drink. “Him, fuckable?! God damn, I might have to be completely plastered myself before the thought can come to mind.” She twirled her finger in the air proudly. “As for pranks, you can always just superglue his dick to his ass, that is, if it can even reach.” People started to stare in horror but Marielle didn’t even notice.

“I spent my early life as a prostitute. You find your standards loosen considerably.” She grinned despite herself, thinking of her past never gave her any warm fuzzies, “Besides, I just about am plastered anyway! You’d know best with the pranks though, my oh so tender upbringing hasn’t exactly made me a huge prankster.”

Marielle looked a bit surprised. “Oh? That would make a lot of sense.” She paused. “I’ve lived in a circus most of my life so tricks are what I’m all about.”

Adéla raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Tricks you say?” She grinned mischievously, “Just what kind of tricks did you learn, hmmmmm?” She leaned over, playfully nudging Marielle in the side, “Depending on the kind of tricks I know plenty myself!”

That’s just about when [Marielle/Adela] noticed something off. Most of the people around had thrown some disapproving or bemused glances at the two girls and quickly got back to minding their own business, potentially moving away slightly.

One girl, however, had her eyes glued on them and they were wide with what seemed like pure horror. She had short blonde hair, done in perfect curls, striking blue eyes and a few freckles, and although she wasn’t stunning, she could definitely class as “cute”. That is, aside from the fact that she was clearly eavesdropping on them.

Realising she’d been spotted, the girl turned shoulder to the pair swiftly enough to almost spill her drink. She caught it by a hair and sucked on the straw, staring intently at the bar as if trying to figure out the solution to a weird mathematical problem.

“Oh you know,” Marielle grinned at Adéla. “Stuff for everything. I was a magician. Flamelia is what the city called me,” She laughed. Marielle wasn’t really intent on giving out information of her life but at this point she was too drunk to really realize what she was saying. For her, talking right now sent invisible warm butter all along her body. The girl threw up her arms. “I was famous. Everyone knew me as the sexy motherfucker with a hat that contained a world of cool shit. It was fun too, being able to wink at people and have them go crazy.” She frowned. “Basically everyone here is a tightass though and don’t give a fuck about magic.” The black haired girl downed another glass, pleasured by the lingering burn of the alcohol.

“Flamelia?” Adéla snickered, “That’s the name you chose? Kinda generic don’tcha think? Maybe do something a bit more adventurous perhaps?” Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the other girl watching them and made a mental note, albeit an inebriated and unclear one, to keep an eye on her in case she did anything else. In all likelihood she was simply bemused by the drunken revelry, but it was always possible she was up to something more sinister. “Well I mean you are in a tower full of people ten times our age. And a lot of Fae.” She took another swig of her drink, “Fae are weird. Weird courtship practices. Weird social rules. Really weird kinks. You won’t believe some of the stuff I was asked to do by respectable looking men in sharp suits!”

Marielle cocked an eyebrow at that. “Fae are definitely not my type, that’s for sure. They may look pretty but they can really fucking piss me off.” Marielle clenched her fist. “As for the dumb name, yeah, It’s pretty generic, that being said I wasn’t the one who came up with it. The host for the whole circus did.” Marielle swallowed. “Nobody likes a good magic trick anymore. Which is why I had to haul my ass elsewhere. Fuck people and their high fucking standards.” Marielle looked at the bar tender. “Ah screw it, just give me the whole damn bottle!” Her cheeks and nose began to turn pink. Was it always this hot in here? “Anyway why do you wanna sleep with Crow? Like, what the fuck, aren’t you hotter than that?”

“I dunno. You have any better options in mind?” Adéla quirked an eyebrow, having lost track of just how much booze she’d consumed at this point. It wasn’t a big deal anyway. Worst case scenario she woke up in a strange place again and had to crack some skulls. Had happened before. Cybernetics were awesome. “And I mean at least you can do magic. I couldn’t until literally three or four weeks ago. Granted now I can do some really scary shit but it ain’t the same, y’know?” She signalled for yet another drink before following Marielle’s lead, “Fuck it just gimme the whole thing.” She turned back to Marielle, smirking, “So, as I was saying, any better options in mind, hmmmmmm?”

“I don’t know, maybe someone who doesn’t wear a mask that makes his face look like a fucking raisin!” Marielle threw her arms up again. “There are plenty of hot guys swarming around. Like some of blondie’s pirates. Hot damn some of them have got a fine set of abs, if you don’t mind a few scars.” She took a swig of the whole bottle and ignored the bartender when he shook his head. The two started attracting quite the attention. Marielle stared at Adéla before smirking maniacally. “Why don’t you just shout that you wanna bang someone, I’m sure there’d be someone who’ll show up to us. Besides we’re hot as fuck.” She leaned back against the whole bar table. “Actually, you know what? Screw the fae, maybe I’ll put on my own little magic show right now.” Marielle stood up and started fiddling with the yellow flower hair pin she had woven into her hair. She was definitely beyond reasoning. Screw him I can put on my own fucking circus.

Adéla watched her in amusement. “I don’t mind scars, got plenty of them myself after all. Probably a lot more than any of them do.” She upended the bottle of rum the bartender had hesitantly handed her, drinking a long draught from it. “And I mean I could do that, but it’s so much more fun to get someone hot under the collar and unsure of what to do with themself!”

She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as Marielle shot to her feet and… did something with the little yellow flower in her hair. “Have fun then. Just so long as we get laid with someone half decent I’m right behind you. Not literally of course.” She paused, then winked deviously, “Unless you want me to be, anyway.” She reclined against the bar, watching the show about to unfold.

”LISTEN UP BITCHES!” Marielle grinned and held her hand up high. She snapped once. Suddenly her body was licked by dancing flames around her, eating away at her clothes and replacing it with her circus uniform. Her pin popped and twirled into the magician’s cap, and she sat on the bartable, one leg on the stool as she held her hat in her hand. “It’s magic trick time. A special performance brought to you through yours truly. What would you like to see ladies and gentlemen?” Though her words were slightly slurred Marielle had a sweet curve to her voice, different from her usual groaning demeanor.

Marielle quickly held out her hands to the group of people that were staring. With that she smiled. Her hand glided along the air, pulling out a 3rd of clovers. Walking up to a passerby she took his beer glass. The man was about to grunt a complaint before she melted the card into her skin, and with one small breath of air she blew on the glass.

Suddenly, it wasn’t filled with beer, but with gold coins. Turning on her heel she strode back to Adéla, giving her a wink.

Clapping and cheers of approval had started to spread from the two girls and one rose above them all, a whistle more befitting at a bar than on a wedding reception. “Now if you can make your thongs manifest on my plate and prove they’re yours by lifting your skirt up, I’d be truly impressed!” Sirius shouted to make himself heard. He was walking their way, wearing an elegant old-fashioned swallowtail tuxedo and a bowtie… and a plate of cocktail bites with tiny pirate flags sticking out of them.

“Sirius!” A voice to Adela’s left hissed in outrage – the same girl from before. The man laughed and reached the bar, lowering the plate on it. “Sorry, darling, couldn’t help myself.” He glanced at Adela and grinned a wide, immaculate grin. “Besides, it would be rude of me not to answer the girls’ desperate calls.” The girl pouted, puffing her cheeks up in a cute manner and Sirius hurried to put an arm around her and feed her a bite. “I’m just joking, of course.”

Marielle sneered and crossed her arms. “You sure you’d want a thong? I don’t think you’d be able to handle it, since it’s a very adult-like item. You may poop your diapers.” She tapped her finger on her arm before winking at the guy she took his beer glass from and handed it back to him. “That’s a souvenir sweetheart.” He grinned like he just won the lottery and she turned on her heel back to Sirius. “Ladies and gentlemen my best act..” Marielle gave him an annoyed look. “I’m going to make him disappear.”

“Oh please, just call my brother first. He’ll want to see this!” Sirius laughed and spread his arms out. “Where do you want me?” Next to him his date was staring at her drink, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Adéla blinked at the two, shrugging before downing another drink. She watched the exchange, her eyebrow slowly raising as it progressed. “The things I can do once I take a thong off have made grown men weep.” She grinned malevolently at him, “Granted, that was usually because they were into some serious S&M. But even the regular stuff…” she trailed off, winking conspiratorially at Marielle, “I don’t think your pee-pee is developed enough to handle it. Try again, sweetheart, you might just sort of maybe impress me, or at least get a B- for effort.”

Marielle grinned, reaching for her deck for a ten of spades. Combustive fire. She stopped herself however, and stood still, as if she saw a ghost. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and her Flamelia outfit dissolved back to her yellow dress. “...you know what? I don’t have time to pick fights with small dicks.” Marielle pressed her hand over her forehead. The room spun and warped. Damn it, I had too much to drink.. She had reached her limit. Marielle may be tough but she rarely drinks. After a second of collecting herself she looked at the crowd. “Alright alright guys playtime’s over. I’d give more of a show but I’m too plastered to care. Thanks for the attention.” Marielle hoped they’d all understand the words that came out of her mouth. There must have been some effect, for she began to see the crowd go back to what they were originally doing. The girl turned back to Sirius. “What’s up with little goldylocks over here? She a side bitch or something?” Marielle licked at the tip of the whiskey bottle slowly.

“Oh my, the toughest Knight in the Tower offers me sex? I didn’t know you swung that way, darling.” He commented but his attention would rather be on Marielle. Her sudden change of mood (and dress) was as interesting as it was worrisome but as she posed her last question his eyebrow twitched with irritation. “Please girls, have at least some grace. It’s one thing to joke among ourselves but I’d rather you not insult my date.” He turned his back to the girls and grabbed the plate of bites like a waiter, smiling at the blonde girl. “Shall we excuse ourselves, Charlotte?”

The girl, now red as a tomato, nodded weakly and got off her seat. “Have a nice evening, girls.” Her voice shook slightly as did her smile but it lacked any sarcasm. She really seemed cute and innocent, possibly the only one at the reception who truly was.

Marielle nodded before turning back on her heel. The bar began to spin. She quickly gripped her head. Damn it, stupid alcohol. Fucking ridiculous. How do people drink this shit every day? She tilted her head up from staring at the ground. People began to run out from the room. The hell? What is--- And that’s when she saw it. Raven stood there. Everyone should be cheering for the occasion, but something was off. Her look was dark, desperate, a look Marielle had never seen her display. Something was clearly wrong.

Shard took Raven’s hand and lead her to the dance floor as the twins started into the set they had prepared for the newly wed couple. With a practiced hand he put his right hand to her left hip and guided her around in front of him and took her right hand in his left as she put her left hand on his right shoulder. With a whispered “one, two, three.” Shard stepped off slowly to the song the Twins were playing. With gentle pressure Shard lead Raven through slow steps, gentle turns and regal promenades. The Lord of Storms never let his eyes stray from Raven as the two danced across the floor. Shard smiled down at his beloved as they danced. “This certainly feels right.”

Raven smiled back, matching his pace. Feeling his presence guide her felt so comfortable, his hand on her hip was warm, as was his shoulder. Leaning in she pressed her forehead against his. Her companion, her partner. “I’m glad it does, because you’re stuck with me.” After a wink, Raven gave him a quick peck on the lips, returning to her previous position so the only thing she could see was the beautiful eyes looking down at her, worn by the handsome being holding her so closely.

Shard looked up to see that the other dancers had cleared an area around the couple as they moved through the steps of the dance fluidly. This was the way the night was suppose to be. The night was calm as the two of them danced, the last of the song floating around them as Shard smiled down at her, his eyes refusing to leave hers as the whole of their surroundings faded away into a silent moment that wrapped around them and refused to move as the final notes of the song drifted into the darkness.

---

As the song came to an end Shard twirled Raven an extra time and pulled her in close slowly running his hand over her hair. The night was quiet as they stood on the dance floor. The center of attention for that brief moment. Christian stood holding his beloved in his arms as his family stood around him. It had been such a long journey from the first time he had met her.

The Dragon peered down at the strange woman as she stood at the bottom of the incline offering him money to let the group of Stygian Deathdealers go. With a shrug Christian had agreed to follow her and her strange companions to the bloody end of the Stygian War.

Taking her arm he started to lead Raven back towards their table. Something suddenly caught his attention as they walked. It was a ripple in the air; it looked like a folded star for a moment. Squinting he gave Raven a questioning look before looking over his shoulder to the form of Urthar who stood frowning as he too took in the sight.

Urthar’s eyes suddenly narrowed in recognition as it dawned on Shard as well what was going on. Someone was opening a Way. And that could only be done by…..

An Aberration

“Raven darling. We may have to hold off on our Honeymoon.”

Shard’s eyes were suddenly filled with Stormclouds as Urthar shifted in the background dropping his left hand as he began to call something into it.

“We have wedding crashers.”

Raven noted his eyes. Something was off. She inhaled, then her pistols were in her hands, eye red with war tainted in the irises. She shut it, opening her moonless eye. She saw darkness, with a small glint. It felt like the tearing of flesh on a new wound. Opening her normal eye she turned to Christian. “We need to warn everyone. now.”

A crawling presence came over the couple as Urthar shifted away his veils. Too late

There was a sudden jerk as the Way tore open and disgorged a mass of Aberrations that Shard had never encountered before. Urthar cursed behind them; “It’s an invasion force Shard. I don’t know how they got through the Outer Door. This is going to be bad.”

Christian nodded at Raven. “Go, Urthar and I will buy time.” Turning back to the oncoming swarm of Aberrants Shard let out a long slow breath as he shrugged out of his coat. The swarm blotted out the stars as it descended on Blackwing. Stepping forward with his left foot Shard bent his knees and called lighting into his hands before letting out a sharp yell and hurling a little storm of lightning bolts up into the advancing hoirde.

Urthar’s wave of void bolts hit the Swarm next tearing through them like a sword through paper. They mindless drones dropped like flies as Shard and Urthar went to work slaughtering them by the hundreds from the deck of Blackwing. It was only a matter of time before they made it to the deck but they could at least stem the tide of the locus like horde that came down on them from on high.

Raven nodded and turned on her heel. She let out a breath she had been holding in, and suddenly two clones appeared, running in the opposite direction as her to brace her crew. I have to get all the vulnerables out of here, Raven massaged her temples, shutting her eyes. She focused on her ancient powers, then, she opened both of her eyes. Grabbing people left and right she teleported them back to the tower, a safe place. Using hand signals and body motion to keep her body in tact Raven practically danced from room to room, grabbing up to three people at a time and teleporting them to safety. She inhaled sharply. Using the dark star sword to warp space consistently by the second was not easy on her body. One wrong move and it could cut her body in half. She treaded on, however, and by two minutes everyone who wasn’t a knight or pirate was safe.

“Knights! Brace yourselves.” Shard skipped backwards as he let loose a series of lightning bolts flicking cards from the suit of sparks left and right as he danced backwards as the Swarm descended to the deck of the Ship. A familiar form dashed in front of him and buried a sword in the deck of Blackwing as a silver green wall of force and Antimagic snapped to life in front of Shard. “What took you so long?”

A sudden thud to Shard’s left answered the question. Turning he took in a rather disheveled looking Mistress of Shadows. Ralrisk gave Shard a pissed off look. “Seriously. I just got him separated from that airhead bimbo and you couldn’t hold off on having a catastrophe long enough for me to have a little fun.”

Shard turned and gave his Master of Blade a knowing look. Megelis kept his gaze fixed firmly ahead “I have no comment. I was assaulted by two women tonight. This is preferable.”

The dirty look Ralrisk shot Megelis could have curdled milk had he seen it.

With a quick flick of her hands Ralrisk conjured shadows to coat her hands giving her long supple blades which she flicked through the air cutting down anything that got near Shards Left flank.

A resounding thud off to Shard’s right signalled the presence of another person he’d been expecting. Urthar twisted the piece of Void held in his right hand and cut a swathe through the oncoming attackers. Anything that piece of sheer nothingness touched was torn apart at the molecular level and immediately consumed by the weapon. “Apologies, I was delayed.”
Shard shrugged at his Master of Word. “At Least you made it. Is that everyone?” Megelis gave a curt nod as he stood up from the sword set in the deck which was projecting a half dome of anti magic shield. Drawing his second sword he hop skipped backward and calmly cut down the next to of the Aberrations that breached the shield. Swaying slightly to the right and left; Megelis gave Shard the opportunity to fling lighting around him in sporadic bursts which damaged or killed incoming attackers as Megelis finished them off.

“Are the other Knights going to be okay? We’re about to be surrounded.” Megelis stepped backward parrying incoming claws and snapping mandibles as he cut down four more of the Aberrations without a second thought.

Shard nodded. “We need to hold the attention here. They can deal with the stragglers; have faith in them Megelis. Unless you have something you want to tell me about their training.”

Megelis grimaced, it had nothing to do with the Knight’s training and everything to do with how drunk most of them were at this particular moment. A wave of Aberrations descened on the deck at once. With an curt thrust of his hands downward Christian crushed them against the deck with sheer willpower. “This isn’t working. Spread out.”

His Masters and Mistress complied as they knew what was coming.

Raven bit her lip as she saw the way tear open with creatures she’s never seen before. She ran around to the side of blackwing, using nothing but her feet to keep her from falling as she transformed her guns into moonblade and nightsing, her legendary rapiers. Holding them to her side she ran, tearing through several creatures and ripping them in half with little resistance. She jumped and landed next to Christian, pressing her back to his. The creatures were relatively weak, but she couldn’t help but feel awful, as if she were poisoned. Was this what her great grandmother warned her about?

“Should have kept that whiskey flask on me, huh?”

“Little bit.” Christian grabbed her with his will and hurled her straight into the air.

WIth a roar like a thunderstorm Christian suddenly was covered in scales as he grew rapidly in size and dropped to all fours as massive wings sprouted from his back and a huge lashing tail extended sweeping the deck clear of Aberration behind him. With that Christian reared back and roared unleashing a Thunderstorm into the oncoming hoard.

With a shift he maneuvered so that Raven landed on his back.

Megelis stepped backwards in between Christian’s front legs and began to defend the front half of Christian as the Dragon began swatting and crushing oncoming Aberrations. Urthar stepped back under Christians right wing and began killing anything that moved on Christian’s right flank as Ralrisk did the same on his left side.

Raven held out her arms, then blinked. Her armor was on her, covering her skin.

”Everyone duck.” With that she spun with her blades. It created a whirlwind of sharp purple energy that cut anything that touched it. It cut open all the aberrations that bolted towards them from above, and stretched several stories apart. It was like a thin, compacted hurricane.

That’s my job Christian’s gentle scolding reached her as he swiped a group of Aberrations with his left hand clearing them from the deck in mass.

The way suddenly distorted and bulged as though it were getting ready to disgorge something. With a titanic sound like the death of a planet. A titanic being stepped through the way.

“It's the World Breaker.” Urthar delivered the news like he was talking about the Weather. “And it looks like it brought company.

A host of other smaller beings had passed through the portal. With malicious intent they descended on the deck of Blackwing. Urthar cursed in a language that seemed to grate at the edges of reality. It clearly required more tongues than Christian had and possibly some other vocal organ.

Spreading out the unique Aberrations began targeting Knights.

“This is not good Christian.” Urthar frowned as the Aberrant Drones seemed to redouble their effort attempting to overwhelm the group of Masters.

Raven stopped her flurry and stood, watching the way. Something dark and ancient twisted inside her in protest, as if it were pushing back against whatever force was about to rip open the world in front of them.

“Something is wrong,” She breathed. Her body began to tremble in protest, every cell in her body wanting to push away.

Christian turned his head up to look at her out of the corner of his giant bronze eye. Raven what is wrong?

Urthar snarled suddenly. “Shard, look.”

The Way rippled again only this time something truly massive stepped through the way. The titanic figure seemed to warp reality as it walk. Chunks of the ground ripped free and began to float through the air as it strode forward. A strange psychic pressure seemed to emanate from it. The being stood with no eyes but seeing everything as it loomed over the side of Blackwing.



Urthar transformed into his Aberrant form and yelled something in a language Shard didn’t understand before Urthar turned and looked up at Shard. “It’s the World Breaker. Iziel.”

Raven’s trembling stopped. She clenched her teeth and sheathed moonbane and nightsing. She glanced at Christian, sending a wave of her will through his head in the form of words. ”We need to send this thing through the way, fast. I feel my body resisting whatever this being is. It feels like my will is being sucked out of me. Do you not feel this?” Raven inhaled. Her tech arm began to glow a mint green through the detailed designs, as if they were 90 degree angled veins flowing with energy. She reached behind her head.

I feel it. Let's go. With a sudden flap of his wings Christian launched himself from the deck and began heading towards the World Breaker on swift wings batting aside the incoming Aberrants. As he closed Christian roared and let loose a blast of lightning to clear their path as the creature lifted its hand. Christian sank his talons into the hand and ripped massive furrows into the arm of the World Breaker. What’s the plan?

Raven jumped. She landed on the hand of the titanic monster, running along it to get up to its arm. With a sharp tug Raven pulled out a thin object with a black crystal hilt. The object itself twisted and turned according to the light and the direction one would face it, but vertically it seemed to appear thin, like a blade, and illuminated pure darkness like a black hole, the sun not shining over its exotic form. It distorted Raven’s image as she sprinted up the monster. ”Find an opening, something abnormal, a weakness, I’m going to distract it and do some damage. Hurry!” Clones appeared at Raven’s side, and they took out their own moonbane and nightsing rapiers, spiraling in different directions and cutting minor wounds into the world breaker. Raven felt the wind dance with her hair as she ran straight for the World Breaker’s head.

Shiba sighed a little as he watched until he noticed that apparitions were surrounding them. The bride was able to transport the vulnurables out of here. The last thing Shiba wanted was to get innocent civilians involved in this. Shiba took a deep breath as he drank the last of his wine since Shiba only had two glasses he wasn't nearly at the point of becoming drunk. Shiba then set down his glass just as he heard someone call out that we needed to defend ourselves.

Now Shiba was really comfortable, the sounds of attacks being fired off, the groans of people getting hurt. Now this reminded him of that job taking down a corrupted general on the battlefield oh sweet memories. Shiba soon saw a small group of apparitions trying to attack him. So Shiba soon got into his fighting stance. Right arm perpendicular to his face pointing forward left arm in a similar fashion straight forward. now then, lets go Shiba called out to them as they all tried to charge him at once Shiba quickly charged one of them and pierced it with his fingertips or rather his claws. Shiba then pierced the next on that came close. When another came Shiba kicked them away getting his arms free from the first two bodies. He continued the process until he heard everyone duck from the bride so he quickly dropped to the ground as the purple energy sliced through anything it touched.

Shiba was about to think that was to easy until saw some unique apparitions started to come after Shiba these ones were much smarter and it was getting harder to make the lethal blow so he had to actually put some effort into it. Soon he killed the ones that were after him but only a moment after did he feel his body begin to shake almost in fear. Shiba hasn't felt this afraid since he was a kid all those years ago but when he looked out the window he could easily see why. It was the world breaker, Shiba's fear was well founded a destroyer of world appearing in a wedding. Now this was going to get exciting, Shiba though as he opened his wings and got ready to join his fellow knights...

---

---

Izual's visage lit up as four winged Aberrations dropped from the sky, horrific, twisted mandibles clicking as they approached the Hellspawn. They were humanoid in shape, yet there was not a single thing natural about them: their jaws were filled with uneven, razor sharp teeth, multiple spiked appendages adorned their frames, and they appeared to only exist to kill and wreak havoc. In a single moment, the world around the Blackwing devolved into a hellish nightmare, filled with swarms of these bloodthirsty horrors. However, just when the Knight thought things couldn't get much worse, a titanic monstrosity appeared from seemingly nowhere, towering over the landscape like a monolithic monarch. Izual had escaped to the deck to get away from the party, especially that Troll and Elf that confused him ever so, but this was wholesomely unexpected. An arrogant smirk crossed his lips and his body instinctively dropped into a combative stance, his claws prepared to deliver these abominations unto finality.

"You guys don't look so tough..." Izual taunted the hideous things before he launched his assault. A silver haired blur, he moved forward and impulsively raked a claw across the nearest Aberration's chest. No ichor came spilling out, nor did any visible wound appear. In fact, much to his dismay, the Knight felt his claws snap on the creature's hardened carapace. 'Not good.' he quickly thought while watching his shattered keratin fly from his fingers. The abomination didn't wait to retaliate and threw a wicked fist into Izual's temple. The surprising amount of force blew the Hellspawn away, flipping multiples times in the air before he hit the deck face-up. Pain wracked his bones and he could feel a bit of blood trickling down the side of his face. Whatever these things were, they were much tougher than he gave them credit for.

Unfortunately, Izual didn't even have a chance to recover from this attack. A pained shriek escaped his lips as he felt four needles pierce through his abdomen and thighs. Looking down, two of the other Aberrations had already dawned upon with speed to rival his own. Their spiked limbs tacked him to wooden planks beneath him and left him no chance to escaped. "My sword..." Izual agonizingly whispered out, silently wishing he had carried Novabuster with him to this cursed wedding. His natural weapons were ineffective against these Aberrations, he was pinned with nowhere to go, and no one was coming to save him. Things looked quite grim for him right now.

The atrocities were about to deliver his death knell when something strange happened, something that Izual had not seen in his life: a small black, swirling mass of shadows suddenly appeared, hovering over his chest. As the Aberrations attempted to lance their appendages through the Knight's torso to tear him asunder, their strikes were halted by tendrils of ebony shades that shot from the dusky orb before him. Like some kind of horrible virus, whatever those tendrils grasped vanished into the hazy source, vacuumed in by a power Izual never knew he had. Grotesquely, horrendous, muffled screams emitted from the Aberrations as the viral shadows crept up their flesh and assimilated their essence into the floating mass, causing it to grow larger and larger until it began to shift and form into the familiar shape of a sword. The Aberrations ceased to exist, and as if by divine intervention, Novabuster replaced them and hung in the air, pulsing with a dark, purplish radiance as if it were imbued with some new found power.

Shakily, the bleeding, horned man got back to his feet and grasped his blade. An overwhelming perception of power shot through him and a dark, murky aura enveloped his figure, becoming a wraith of impending doom. As he stood there, his metamorphosis complete, an incredible might radiated from him. To onlookers, he was no longer the silver haired Hellspawn, but rather a featureless shade with burning white slits for eyes. Though he was badly injured, pain left his body and it felt like all of his senses and physical abilities were multiplied tenfold. Snickering at the remaining two Aberrations, who were now reinforced by 15 more, the shadow-clad Izual raised his massive sword in challenge. "Let's get this party started." his voice boomed, several octaves below his normal tone. Though this form was new to him, something told him that he already knew the basics of what it was capable of.

Izual's body shifted and contorted, and the shadows transferred every last atom of his form into the midst of the Aberrations' horde. Surprising them with his unanticipated warp, he easily gored through the heads of several of the first ugly creatures he encountered, shish kabobing them onto his sword's length. He carried his swing's momentum to left and cleaved another four in half, a fountain of bloody ichor gushing from their useless corpses. Though they tried to muster a counter assault and strike him from all angles, they were no match for the Oracle's newly awakened powers. The wraith began a frenetic, violent dance, empowered by a reservoir of chaotic energies. Limbs were sheered from bodies, entrails plopped to the deck, and gallons of gore waded at Izual's feet as his Novabuster engaged in a massacre.

The last remaining monstrosity attempted to fly away from his rampage, but a shadowy tendril sprouted from the aura around the Hellspawn and caught the creature before it managed to escape. It was reeled back until Izual stood in front of it, a crushing grip now around its husky throat. It flailed in place, lashing everything it had at the shade of a man but to no avail. Its attacks did not seem to even penetrate the vortex of shadows that surrounded him. Cocking his head in amusement, Izual increased the pressure on its neck until its head was garroted clean from its torso, erupting in a grisly, sanguine shower. Victorious, for now, the unrecognizable phantom tossed the cadaver over the ship's railing and began to stride towards the thick of the battle to help his comrades, knowing this battle was far from over.

The events the presented themselves before Gibraltar were absolutely ludicrous, he knew the Hellspawn was a little dense, but he seemed to be making false claims against one who did not deserve them. The Orc was tempted to pacify the Hellspawn before anything got out of hand, but he knew how Calder fought, the other Knight Captain would be fine; and he wasn’t wrong. Calder handled his threat well, but revealing the information he did and the way the young woman reacted in kind, it didn’t seem like information that was meant to be shared.

Without warning the gates of hell seemed to open up, energy readings spiked across his Heads Up Display, soon followed by a flood of dots across his motion tracker originating from one point; and they were headed this way. With lightning fast reflexes his left hand reached down for his side arm, just as a hatch released the weapon from his left thigh. His arm flung upward and pointed straight ahead just as an aberrant abomination came charging forward. He takes aim, cybernetics auto-targeting, painting the target with an invisible laser. A click of the lever, a pull of the trigger, the bullet launched itself forward flying by his allies and straight into his target’s body. The bullet, upon contact, then exploded like a little shell, tearing a hole and flinging shredding shrapnel throughout the creature’s body; it was dead before hitting the ground. A second shot, a third, a fourth, he shot until the revolver was empty and an automated system in his arm reloaded the gun for him. He unsheathed his blade, electricity beginning to course through the antiquated weapon.

Was this unfortunate circumstances or pleasant? The sober mechanic lurked in the shadows observing everyone breaking into positions and getting ready to defend the fort. Luckily, Lethal had given her dress jacket to Bunny earlier and her current outfit was far more fitting for a blood show. In a fairly decent sized pant’s pocket, she pulled out her 1.1. FORESITE Goggles. Taking her time, with no creature or human noticing her in the corner, she placed them on her head, covering her single red eye, and pressed a minuscule silver button on the side. In the corner of her lenses, she saw exactly what her cyborg was seeing, while everywhere else examined the field around her.

Muttering to herself, she sent a voice message to Gibraltar, “Mic mode. Send message.”

Mic mode operating…

“Five minutes.” That was all she needed to say. The goggles sent her voice wavelengths to her cyborg and the mic icon disappeared from the right corner of her goggles. The most important settings that she needed were the field ocular reader, Gibraltar’s window, and her strategic intel analysis system. Immediately after the message was sent, she lifted the left side of her pants up to reveal her father’s dagger strapped on her leg. The mechanic preferred her alloy gun but at the moment it was stored inside her companion, so until they met at the center of the banquet… the bloodthirsty dagger would do. Twirling Ravager in her hand, the ominous woman finally leapt out of the shadows, lifted off of a chair, and jumped onto an aberration. The foe did not expect a pale woman to place herself on it’s shoulder and wrap her legs tightly around it’s neck like an anaconda snake. Without remorse, she savagely brought her magical knife straight into the eye socket of the creature, piercing deep into it’s head, and followed her attack with breaking it’s neck using her leg clutch. The creature crashed into the ground as she hurdled off the body and onto a clothed table. Around Lethal’s waist rested three grenades, waiting, waiting to be used. Sadly, Shard would be upset if she ended the night with casualties. Just like the evil they were up against, when the Cambion killed, she too became a ‘mindless’ drone.

Gibraltar’s eyes immediately fell upon his charge, Bunny, now nearby a rather young woman, though from Archive’s database, she was a Knight. ”Knight Rini, protect the Paladin, she is far too inebriated to fight, that’s an order! I’m going to find Lethal and bring in support!” WIth that he turned and began running through the others, Lethal had already connected him together with her foresight and relayed a simple message, good so it was on its way. The Time Berserker, via orbital drop, the two had prepared for it in the event of 'dire circumstances', and Shard having transformed into a dragon meant the situation was indeed dire. They had reduced the fall speed by 56.23%, enough to rock the boat, enough to crush most anything underneath its fall trajectory, but not enough to sink the ship.

The cyborg holstered his gun and held the blade in two hands, rushing towards the oncoming horde. His blade cleaved through a swath of them, electricity sputtering from their searing halves as skin and ichor and something else melted itself together. He bashed into one of the creatures with his shoulder, the whole while charging his blade with a potent amount of lightning. With a great swing, the blade arced a sickle of electrical energy, slicing through the horde of drones like butter. His locater told him where Lethal was, and it wasn’t long before he found her, impaling foes with her dagger, jumping and climbing upon them, avoiding their attacks as she drew blood and ichor from their beings.

Upon his back a hatch opened, revealing a compacted bar, he reached around for this bar, and pressed a button on it before chucking it to the young woman. The bar unfolded into her weapon of choice, her own design, the Alloy Cannon, ”Lethal, catch!”

Within the moment her cyborg called out to her, the woman darted her dagger toward him. Passing his face swiftly, the blade went inside the mouth of a flying drone. Simultaneously, Ravager grew a couple inches longer from devouring the blood of it’s enemies. Catching the gun that came her way, she promptly turned and slapped it on an aberration’s cheek like the bitch it was. Leaping back to avoid being struck, the mechanic blasted the metal at the surrounding creatures. Her style came across as wildly barbaric and it looked as if she had little to no aim, but all her shots were intentional and her hits resulted in a high damage attack. Her crimson eye detected the quickest way to get multiple drones at once. Lethal’s strategy was: find the vantage point where the bullet could strike a target, painfully hard, and in turn, that single shot would affect the majority of the opposing group, like falling dominos.

One.

Her first bullet hit the wing of a drone causing it to spiral out of control crashing into three others, giving other knights the opportunity to kill them the moment they smashed into the ground.

Two.

Her second bullet went through the crown of a drone that was on top of a knight. The monster spat out blood and let it’s life fleet out of it’s body, collapsing onto the man, who immediately pushed the beast off and smashed his foot into it’s head for extra measure. The bullet continued soaring until it went into the kneecap of another aberration causing it to screech in pain and bash everything around it, including other drones.

Three.

Taking one of her grenades, she whacked it with the butt of her gun causing it to soar in the air and with her third bullet she cracked it open causing the shell to rip apart and hit anything, and everything that surrounded it. The ship was not damaged. Lethal had aimed the grenade in an area that would not reach the ground or the ceiling, but definitely a large circle of aberrations.

By now, the mechanic was by Gibralter’s side. Leaning down, she pulled out Ravager from the skull of her victim and slipped the dripping blade onto her belt’s scabbard. Her grip tightened onto the alloy gun and her red eye surveyed the area like a hungry vulture.

Now that the two were together, a larger group of Aberrations began to surround them. Blade at the ready, Gibraltar towered over his charge, a stoic behemoth guarding the diminutive mechanical tactician. A clock in his HUD showed there were 43 seconds left, this was the time to make any last minute corrections in the drop velocity, any later and the designated target would be locked. Quickly he scanned through the horde, calculating mass, lethality and convenience, one particular Aberrant caught his eye and with a remote signal, the mech knew where to land.

”37 seconds,” His body propelled forward, arm swinging in an arc as he cut through another attacking being before stepping back into his original position. Electrical energy coursed through his arms, grabbing his weapon by the blade he hucked the sword like a spear and impaled an Aberrant, sending it flying and colliding into one of the ship’s masts. He held his arms out, the Aberrants clearly believing they were at an advantage against the unarmed Orc. Instead, they received lightning as arcs of energy emitted outwards in a powerful torrent from his hands. The creatures shrieked in terrible pain before collapsing to the ship deck, a stink now forming from their fried corpses, pustules of heated carapaces popping from the broiling temperatures underneath. Hand still extended, his sword pulled itself free from the mast, clamping itself back into Gibraltar’s hand like a magnet.

A small group now stood before him, hissing and screeching, ready to lunge and gouge into the metal warrior. Their wishes would not be fulfilled as suddenly, like a meteor from the heavens, the bulky form of a mech suit slammed into the deck of the ship, effectively crushing the small group into paste. The resounding quake that followed only served to rock the boat a little, but as Gibraltar had expected, it didn’t damage the ship. The suit began to deploy for combat readiness, unfolding itself from its boulder like form from the drop into the towering behemoth Gibraltar knew it to be. The cockpit opened up with a hiss of steam and the cyborg lunged forward at his second skin, climbing himself up into the suit with practiced ease, sliding into the leg and arm compartments.

The hatch began to close and modules began attaching themselves to different ports across his body, allowing him to see and move as if he were the giant robot himself. Most diagnostics had already been completed, but there was no time for final checks as he jacked himself in. The suit seemed to be consumed with a new life as the Orc took a stance, left foot back, as an underslung cannon began to fire with an explosive noise. Little lasers were painted across multiple targets as bullets the size of small children propelled forward ripping basketball sized holes into the Aberrants. The kinetic force of the bullets were enough to end the beings themselves, only for the explosives within the bullets to continue to shred apart the corpses into indiscernible meaty and shelly bits.

Meanwhile, the mechanic had silently followed the cyborg, killing away behind him and getting anything he missed. While Gibralter was in his stance, within the mech, readying himself to shoot, the female knight casually began climbing the giant metal beast, grabbing ahold of bolts and hinges she specifically designed for this purpose. Her half burnt face had a few blood splatters on it. Licking her lips, she took in a small taste of blood, her red eye showing pure amusement. Reaching the machine’s left shoulder blade while the Orc blasted away, Lethal latched her right foot into an opening in the mech’s back. The machine automatically tightened around her foot, securing her to her companion and allowing the Cambion complete access to his power system if she needed to give him a sudden “boost”. This position would give her enough freedom to work around him, as well as swing her body to face the opposite direction to attack those from behind, while keeping herself attached to him at all times. The woman didn’t mind heights, or the swift movements, or even the feeling of hardly hanging on. The thrill of being attached to her giant creation gave her enough reason to want danger to come their way. It was these moments that made her take note of any problems she needed to fix or potential upgrades to give the suit for future adventures. Sure, there was a high possibility they both, especially her, could get incredibly wounded (or die), but isn’t that why massive battles were pleasurable? Everyone was risking their lives for some damned reason. Scars simply showed what a knight has been through, including the one on her face.

“Ready when you are.”

Akime was pretty content in Lazarus’ arms, even if she could think of better ways they could be spending their time together. The appearance of the bride and groom on the dancing floor reminded her why she had to behave. They were both elegant and beautiful and deserved every ounce of happiness in this world and every shred of support she could give them. The love and warmth that was radiating from them was pure magic to her senses and unlike any other she had felt before. Well, it wasn’t entirely alien.

She was staring at the corner of his lip, the part that was quirked upwards, something making her too embarrassed to meet his eyes. Maybe it was the proximity of such a colossal love that dwarfed any other. Maybe it was the speed at which her own feelings were growing, as if by being close to him, Lazarus’ essence was intoxicating her own. Or perhaps it was just the mixture of vodka, gin and rum that made her feel like she was drifting over the floorboards rather than dancing on them. Either way, she couldn’t complain.

Not until that little smile on his lips dropped. Then some cacophony washed away the music and Akime’s senses compelled her to look up.

“Oh-hooooo~” A grin spilled over her lips as she saw the first intruders. “They even made sure we have entertainment after the dance!” She didn’t seem at all worried when she let go of Lazarus just to bend over and start to clumsily rip shreds of her bridesmaid’s dress to get to free her legs. But something was off. A slightly nauseating feeling.

Something else was going on. The people on the dance floor seemed to be dispersing. And the Masters and Mistresses were far louder than she’d like them to be, for some reason congregating on the deck behind her. She couldn’t make sense of it. Surely they realised that the hunt would be more fun if they scattered instead. Then Christian roared his voice no longer human and it made Akime cringe and frown with frustration. Her brain felt mushy and didn’t seem to like loud noises in its current state.

And then the world breaker shattered the skies and the impact of its essence against hers was that of a bullet-train colliding with a tree. It brought her to her knees with a yelp as the aura she had spread out over the whole Blackwing and beyond fractured – something that shouldn’t be possible. Something that only Urthar had been able to achieve before. Akime hissed in pain as she instinctively retracted her essence for the first time in a millennium and gripped her forehead to prevent it from exploding.

When she looked up at the beast, tears of pain smeared her face with dark graphite streaks and there was finally recognition in her eyes. “This is bad.” She whimpered, shakily getting to her feet. “Really bad…”

“What do you mean I can’t go with her?!” Sirius was shouting at Raven, his voice barely reaching the man over the sounds of thunder and the raging battle. His hair was getting soaked now but thanks to his heritage that didn’t do anything to cool his anger. Charlotte had been let through the gate but he was told he should stay here and fight, for whatever reason. “I need to stay with her and protect her, alright?!”

“She’ll be safe in the Tower. We need you here.” The bride explained, not stopping for even a moment. Her speed and the lethal grace, the way her wedding dress blended in with the night itself, made her look like deadly apparition as she dashed back and forth to shove the less capable through the portal and back to safety. It would have been a sight to behold if he’d been able to think about anything but his date on the other side. “That is if they’re not launching a second attack there!” He hissed his frustration, barely able to keep up with the woman’s speed. He had the nagging desire to punch her in the face for not giving him the full attention but he probably wouldn’t be able to land a hit anyway. Distractedly Raven assured him that the Mistress of Sight and the aberrant bloods would be able to feel it if the Tower was under attack and moved onto the lower deck.

“Yeah, right, if they could feel anything other than their own lust and desire for blood.” Sirius vented his frustration to the wind and tossed his gaze around. By now the battle was in full swing and soon Raven re-emerged to join her husband’s side. Then the sky cracked and spit out a monstrous bulk of alien flesh and blood, the sight of which made Sirius grab the rail behind him and curse more than once. Suddenly the situation had become a matter of survival.

He was still uttering curses like a chant while his magic worked on forging him a weapon. The rail was already wet with the rain but of course, it had a waterproof finish on it to keep the wood from rotting away. By digging his now metal fingers deep in the rail, he managed to do just that by simply channelling the water through the pores of the wood with half a mind. Raven would probably be pissed about him damaging her ship but after their brief alteration it felt like a small get back. As his hand came away it was holding a big, long chunk of wood that would soon be forced to turn into something else entirely. Say, a big whacking scythe with a long and a mid-range blade and with edges on the wrong side so as to keep anyone from getting too close. It was a bastardised version of the weapon but had proven its worth in battle numerous times, especially when surrounded by an army. Which seemed to be the case.

He didn’t need to employ his divination to realise things weren’t getting any better anytime soon. The horde kept coming like a huge obnoxious wave and even Calder was getting serious. His hail sliced through any foe effortlessly, quickly coating the deck in blood but did little more than reassure the knights as they slipped over them like simple raindrops. Sirius always had to admire his brother’s control which was beyond his comprehension, especially when it came to mass-effect spells. As the first aberrations reached him, Sirius spun the scythe to keep whatever approached him at a distance, rather than trying to hunt them down like most knights around him did. For a moment he was even optimistic, things seemed to be going their way. Everyone seemed to be handling themselves just fine.

But of course, the first tide was always of the dispensable soldiers. And when the second one came, they were already armoured and trained. Instead of rushing in head-first, they now reached out with nasty horned tentacles, and didn’t seem to mind losing a few. Their skin seemed to be reinforced too, judging by the way they could withstand Calder’s hail and still keep going. Sirius was still holding his ground but it wasn’t his physical skills that he counted on the most. It was his secret. The abdominal implant that allowed him to glimpse into the future. And a quick look revealed a pretty worrisome sight. “More are coming, keep your guard up!” He shouted a warning to everyone who could hear him, his voice loud enough to cut through the whizzing of the scythe, the creaking of the ship and the sounds of battle all around.

@Jangel13



A massive green aberration shot across the deck carving a path of gore and vicious death. The creature’s lethal maw had gorged itself on the blood of the weak it had been targeting. Any Knight that put up a fight it had simply avoided allowing the waves of drones to pile on them before moving in for the easy kill.

The creature was hardly afraid of the Knights even the stronger ones, it was just such a waste of time to enter into any sort of protracted battle with them. With an almost ecstatic shiver the creature thrashed its lower body through the blood and gore staining the deck of blackwing as it flicked the mess over the nearby drones and onto the nearby Knights as it impaled another pirate on its scythe like appendage.

The lesser races were far too enjoyable to slaughter; it was almost as though the blood and viscera were a morbid spa treatment for the aberrant champion. Assessing the deck it picked its next target and pounced drilling its scythes into the already dying Knight. Tearing open the female elf’s rib cage it gorged itself on her still beating heart as the life blood spattered the deck around the Aberration. The cries of the dying aberrant spawns caused the champion to raise its head from its bloody feast. Noting the Nephilim butchering aberrant drones the green aberrant turned and suddenly moved across the deck at blinding speed.

Knights and pirates alike were hurled from the path of the aberration. Its vicious claws sliced through flesh and armor like paper. Any who tried to stand in the way of the frightening champion of the aberrations was turned into a bloody stain on the deck of blackwing. With a horrendous howl it launched itself through the air at Shiba. The aberrations tail snapped back and forth propelling it through the air in a living missile of vicious clawed and teeth bearing death.

I am your doom Nephilim

@Viciousmarrow



A titanic Aberrant hit the deck of Blackwing and began crushing anything that moved. Aberrant spawn, pirate, Knight it didn’t matter. It was a bringer of sorrow and a crusher of hope as its mass of tentacles that served as the lower half of its body turned pirates and knights alike into bloody pulps. None lasted more than a few seconds as it ripped apart armored Knights. Sword, magic and firearm alike did little to the monstrosity as it shrugged off blow after blow. Tearing into the ranks of the unprepared guests it lashed about like an alien oceanic creature. Killing by the dozens it splattered Knights and Aberrant spawn alike with indifference.

As Izual transformed the Aberrant snapped its head towards the awakened Hellspawn. With a snap of its vicious tentacles it hauled itself across the deck towards Izual with smooth movements unsettling movements. Brushing aside the tendrils of darkness with its own appendages it approached the Hellspawn and tilted its featureless head as it stared down at the being confronting it.

Like an implacable tide it raised its mass of tentacles and brought them down in a wave not unlike an alien tidal wave. As they whipped through the air they tore other aberrant spawn out of the air without any sort of regard for other beings around it. The creature was like an ancient ocean given form as it brought about an implacable end. The tentacles whistled through the air, sounding a death knell.

@lovely complex @BeastofDestiny



The advance of the death dealing duo was suddenly checked by the impact of a pair of Aberrations that were exactly the same in their appearance. Standing at a towering twelve feet tall the aberrations sported heavy masses of unnatural muscle on their already massive frames. With a fluid movement the two broke off and moved to position themselves on either side of the mech. It was as if the pair moved with a single unified mind.

As the twins moved it became apparent that there was a difference between the two of them; however it was incredibly subtle. One of them was right hand dominant while the other was left hand dominant. It manifested only when they split apart and took up positions on either side of the mech.

The right hand conjured a void bolt while the left hand advanced to meet the mech. Conjuring a blade of what appeared to be a violet crystal to sheath its hand in a blade it drove forward as at the exact same time the right hand unleashed the deadly magic at Gibraltar’s back aiming to fell the mech from behind as the vicious magic was sent right at the knee joints of the mech in a flat plain of void energy.

Adéla froze as she felt… something. The sensation was both familiar and… terrifyingly alien. Deep down, far within the darkest recesses of her mind, deeper even than her subconscious - she knew what it was. It permeated the air - and she turned her head forebodingly to look at the source. The influence of alcohol was still strong, but its effects seemed to drop off for the moment

---------------

It felt like something was erupting inside her. She couldn’t hold it in, the Aberrant energy inside went wild, overpowering her attempts to keep it on the down low as her form enlarged, tentacles and armor rapidly growing off her. “What the…” she growled in an alien voice, by now familiar to her, her attention shifted as she saw the Way opening.

She didn’t exactly understand what was going on, but she had a pretty damn good idea. With a movement of her hand a void blade shimmered into existence, gripped tightly in the armored gauntlet. It was scaled up to match her increased size, easily dwarfing a normal two handed sword even as she twirled it in one hand.

Paying no heed to the reactions of those next to her, her suspicions were confirmed as a swarm of Aberrant spawn surged through the Way and assaulted the wedding reception.

Well, this would certainly be interesting.

She lunged forward, cutting a wide swath through the creatures, even as more swarmed on. Tentacles lashed out before her, crushing and spearing dozens of them as she dashed more of them to the floor or against the walls. The void blade flashed again, spilling more blood.

Adéla paused, looking around at the countless numbers of the unexpected invaders. This wasn’t the kind of environment she did well in, maybe others would do well against thousands of smaller enemies, but her own power leaned towards eliminating singular foes. She looked around for bigger opponents, letting the other Knights handle the disposables.

Bullets slammed into her armor and she whirled, glaring at a pirate with a clear case of mistaken identity.

Her attention was dragged away again as a massive presence filled the room. A titanic figure emerged, distorting reality itself. She gulped, this wasn’t the kind of singular enemy she’d been hoping for. Fleeing from it, she hurled herself into the melee instead, she had some fairly respectable power - but nothing compared to… whatever that was. Attacking it would simply be suicide, maybe if she could get to Urthar...

@Jangel13

Hider [+]

A massive green aberration shot across the deck carving a path of gore and vicious death. The creature’s lethal maw had gorged itself on the blood of the weak it had been targeting. Any Knight that put up a fight it had simply avoided allowing the waves of drones to pile on them before moving in for the easy kill.

The creature was hardly afraid of the Knights even the stronger ones, it was just such a waste of time to enter into any sort of protracted battle with them. With an almost ecstatic shiver the creature thrashed its lower body through the blood and gore staining the deck of blackwing as it flicked the mess over the nearby drones and onto the nearby Knights as it impaled another pirate on its scythe like appendage.

The lesser races were far too enjoyable to slaughter; it was almost as though the blood and viscera were a morbid spa treatment for the aberrant champion. Assessing the deck it picked its next target and pounced drilling its scythes into the already dying Knight. Tearing open the female elf’s rib cage it gorged itself on her still beating heart as the life blood spattered the deck around the Aberration. The cries of the dying aberrant spawns caused the champion to raise its head from its bloody feast. Noting the Nephilim butchering aberrant drones the green aberrant turned and suddenly moved across the deck at blinding speed.

Knights and pirates alike were hurled from the path of the aberration. Its vicious claws sliced through flesh and armor like paper. Any who tried to stand in the way of the frightening champion of the aberrations was turned into a bloody stain on the deck of blackwing. With a horrendous howl it launched itself through the air at Shiba. The aberrations tail snapped back and forth propelling it through the air in a living missile of vicious clawed and teeth bearing death.

I am your doom Nephilim

Shiba calmed himself when he realized that he had to help everyone still on the deck of the blackwing ship. Shiba was able to turn just in time to see the green apparition with scythe like appendages leap towards Shiba at nearly blinding speed. Shiba realized that this beast was fast and he noticed how the things appendages were able to cut through armor like butter so it meant that those weren't for show. As the beast shot towards Shiba he quickly put in a poison into his gauntlets knowing this beast would be tough to take down but if he added poison to his claws then he would have a much higher chance of killing it outright. When the beast got close enough to Shiba to try and slash through him Shiba stopped flapping his wings and had his body straight narrowly avoiding the strike by mere inches. As it kept moving farther from its planned target Shiba started to flap his wings again so that he could grab the monsters tail and started swinging his claws digging into the flesh of the monster already injecting the poison into its system before Shiba threw the monster back down to earth or more accurately back onto the deck. scum like you don't deserve to be in the air Shiba said knowing he had a great advantage with his ability of flight compared to the monsters ability to move at fast speeds. Shiba only needed to wait a few moments before the poison would spread to that monsters system and reach its heart where it would stop. Unfortunately the monster was large and as a result would take a bit for the poison to go into full effect but on the upside the more the monster fought the faster the poison would spread. Now it was the monsters turn Shiba needed to know what it would do and if it noticed that it was poisoned or not when Shiba grabbed its tail...

@Monochromatic Rainbow

Urthar leapt out of the way as a rather large swarm member slammed the deck where he’d been standing just a second ago. Tucking the staff under his left arm he made use of his wings as they battered the smaller swarmlings aside putting him in position to let go with a void bolt wave into the oncoming horde. Using his wings again he repositioned as he half flapped, half climbed across the deck. Still making use of the human form he pulled his wings in front of him as a rather potent wave of raw void energy rolled over him. Looking up and peering through a slit in his wings he took note of the being standing on the railing of Blackwing. It sported three faceless heads that seemed to shift back and forth between between different faces, some human, some animal, some totally alien.

Trexian'Zhan

All three heads turned to take in Urthar. Turning simultaneously they fixed on him before displaying the heads of three predatory animals that all roared at him in different voices.

Oh, I will enjoy killing you Priest. I can see you’ve gone native. Galendar has even corrupted your form.

Urthar grimaced from behind his wings as he leapt backwards and unsheathed the Scythe. The blade of pure nothingness cleared the area around him smoothly completely erasing all matter living or otherwise that it came in contact with. There was a loud pop as air pressure equalized from the sudden absence of any air molecules where the blade had cut.

Yelling in a voice that required more than one tongue to speak Urthar taunted the Collector. “Come let us see if you are as powerful as you seem to think you are. I shall enjoy consuming your essence”

With that Urthar opened a void maw and the beast on the otherside of the cut in the fabric of reality seized the collector in razor sharp tentacles dashing the aberrant against the ground before receding into the tear as it closed.

The Collector rearranged its shape so it could stand without effort. It will take more than that

The two had taken to the stage and their song began, their song for the lovely couple, this was their gift to them, to give them a night to remember. To give them a song that would encompass the bride and groom’s love and passion for one another. It was like a dream, a dream that suddenly turned into a nightmare.

As the sibling’s song ended, the very sky itself unfolded and a black swarm emerged, attacking the Knights in arms on the ship. Aberrations tore into the warriors around them, until they too were victims of this invasion. A small group encroached the stage and Elias, quick to react, and always ready to butt heads, smashed the acoustic guitar into the first Aberration in front of him. The guitar’s frame cracked in half, leaving the lower portion of it to hang on only by its strings, the enemy of course was more annoyed than anything as it roared in Elias’ face.

”Tch, typical…” He rolled out of the way of its claws as the creature retaliated.

”Elias!” The annoyed voice of Maelyn called out as she pierced through the carapace of an Aberration, felling the beast.

”What?!” As he got back to his feet, he was already swinging the guitar around like a flail.

”That was a rental!” She pirouetted to the side as another attacker came at her before she sliced off its attacking claw. As it turned to face her, about to scream, the bow pierced through its skull and it dropped to the ground dead.

”We’ll pay for it later, now’s not the time!” He brought the pseudo flail down onto the creature’s head, smashing the guitar into flying splinters. This of course only served to piss the creature off more and with its attention fully on Elias, Maelyn was able to step around it and decapitate it with one fell swoop of her blade. ”Shit, this isn’t working. Maelyn, give me some cover!”

Elias began running towards the opposite end of the stage with vigor as his sister complied and played a few notes on her violin. The totems, once happy and full of music, suddenly took on a more sinister glow as they flew around, and like angry sentinels began firing fiery hot beams of energy into the Aberrations, searing through flesh and chitin. Two of them flew alongside the brother as he traversed across the stage, dealing with any who dared to harm the young man.

His body flew forward, weaving to and fro as more of the aberrations blocked his path. They tried to claw at him, tearing through his shirt, only managing to nick at his skin. One jumped in front of him, roaring in his face before he slid himself under the beast and its face was melted away by the guardian totems. Elias slid right off the stage, out of sight of his sister, who watched anxiously as the creatures followed after him. Her worry was for naught as the aberrations were blasted away by a powerful sonic blast, a chord from Elias’ guitar, as he hopped back on stage, his ‘axe’ in hand. Another chord sounded out and fire spewed forth from its head, burning through the creatures in front of him. Screaming, clutching for anything, they fell, flesh bubbling underneath chitin as their forms popped beneath the carapaces. The brother rejoined his sister, his back against hers as he chided, ”Next time, we skip the rental.” He whipped the axe in an overhead strike, bearing it down on the closest Aberration before him, splitting its skull in two before it collapsed on the deck. He ripped the axe out of the creatures skull then tore the shredded shirt off his form, breathing a sigh of relief, "That's better." A wicked grin crossed Elias' lips.

The two fought hard, back to back, unleashing their songs of war against the enemy invaders. Fire and lightning flashed, air pressurized as shockwaves erupted, flinging Aberrations into the dark waters below. Axe blows landed hard, rapier strikes landed precise, parries, pirouettes, ripostes. The two made use of each other and their fighting styles to fell the monsters around them. It wasn’t long before a giant Aberration emerged from the aether, its very essence piercing the sibling’s skulls. Despite this they carried on, fighting for their lives, and as they took stock of the situation around them, it seemed some other aberrations, far different from the drones had emerged aboard the ship.

”Elias! They need our help!” Maelyn’s voice was pleading to her brother, and he knew exactly what she meant.

”Right!” He struck a powerful chord and a sonic wave erupted from around the two, clearing the area around them of any drones. Maelyn acted quickly, playing a few notes on her violin, four more guardian totems emerged, surrounding them, and with a glow of energy, emitted a shield that barred the creatures from passing through to the bards.

”Ready sis?!”

”Ready!”

With that confirmation, the two took stance, and began to play. Their song was loud, loud enough to reach the knights and pirates on the ship, in hopes to inspire them, to drive them, to fight harder against the enemy invaders. There was an unstoppable horde before them, little hope for victory, but that didn’t mean they could just give up, there was a world to protect, people with hopes and dreams ready to fight and die for those they cared for. It wasn’t much, but maybe it would help turn the tide in the warriors favor.

The two had taken to the stage and their song began, their song for the lovely couple, this was their gift to them, to give them a night to remember. To give them a song that would encompass the bride and groom’s love and passion for one another. It was like a dream, a dream that suddenly turned into a nightmare.

As the sibling’s song ended, the very sky itself unfolded and a black swarm emerged, attacking the Knights in arms on the ship. Aberrations tore into the warriors around them, until they too were victims of this invasion. A small group encroached the stage and Elias, quick to react, and always ready to butt heads, smashed the acoustic guitar into the first Aberration in front of him. The guitar’s frame cracked in half, leaving the lower portion of it to hang on only by its strings, the enemy of course was more annoyed than anything as it roared in Elias’ face.

”Tch, typical…” He rolled out of the way of its claws as the creature retaliated.

”Elias!” The annoyed voice of Maelyn called out as she pierced through the carapace of an Aberration, felling the beast.

”What?!” As he got back to his feet, he was already swinging the guitar around like a flail.

”That was a rental!” She pirouetted to the side as another attacker came at her before she sliced off its attacking claw. As it turned to face her, about to scream, the bow pierced through its skull and it dropped to the ground dead.

”We’ll pay for it later, now’s not the time!” He brought the pseudo flail down onto the creature’s head, smashing the guitar into flying splinters. This of course only served to piss the creature off more and with its attention fully on Elias, Maelyn was able to step around it and decapitate it with one fell swoop of her blade. ”Shit, this isn’t working. Maelyn, give me some cover!”

Elias began running towards the opposite end of the stage with vigor as his sister complied and played a few notes on her violin. The totems, once happy and full of music, suddenly took on a more sinister glow as they flew around, and like angry sentinels began firing fiery hot beams of energy into the Aberrations, searing through flesh and chitin. Two of them flew alongside the brother as he traversed across the stage, dealing with any who dared to harm the young man.

His body flew forward, weaving to and fro as more of the aberrations blocked his path. They tried to claw at him, tearing through his shirt, only managing to nick at his skin. One jumped in front of him, roaring in his face before he slid himself under the beast and its face was melted away by the guardian totems. Elias slid right off the stage, out of sight of his sister, who watched anxiously as the creatures followed after him. Her worry was for naught as the aberrations were blasted away by a powerful sonic blast, a chord from Elias’ guitar, as he hopped back on stage, his ‘axe’ in hand. Another chord sounded out and fire spewed forth from its head, burning through the creatures in front of him. Screaming, clutching for anything, they fell, flesh bubbling underneath chitin as their forms popped beneath the carapaces. The brother rejoined his sister, his back against hers as he chided, ”Next time, we skip the rental.” He whipped the axe in an overhead strike, bearing it down on the closest Aberration before him, splitting its skull in two before it collapsed on the deck. He ripped the axe out of the creatures skull then tore the shredded shirt off his form, breathing a sigh of relief, "That's better." A wicked grin crossed Elias' lips.

The two fought hard, back to back, unleashing their songs of war against the enemy invaders. Fire and lightning flashed, air pressurized as shockwaves erupted, flinging Aberrations into the dark waters below. Axe blows landed hard, rapier strikes landed precise, parries, pirouettes, ripostes. The two made use of each other and their fighting styles to fell the monsters around them. It wasn’t long before a giant Aberration emerged from the aether, its very essence piercing the sibling’s skulls. Despite this they carried on, fighting for their lives, and as they took stock of the situation around them, it seemed some other aberrations, far different from the drones had emerged aboard the ship.

”Elias! They need our help!” Maelyn’s voice was pleading to her brother, and he knew exactly what she meant.

”Right!” He struck a powerful chord and a sonic wave erupted from around the two, clearing the area around them of any drones. Maelyn acted quickly, playing a few notes on her violin, four more guardian totems emerged, surrounding them, and with a glow of energy, emitted a shield that barred the creatures from passing through to the bards.

”Ready sis?!”

”Ready!”

With that confirmation, the two took stance, and began to play. Their song was loud, loud enough to reach the knights and pirates on the ship, in hopes to inspire them, to drive them, to fight harder against the enemy invaders. There was an unstoppable horde before them, little hope for victory, but that didn’t mean they could just give up, there was a world to protect, people with hopes and dreams ready to fight and die for those they cared for. It wasn’t much, but maybe it would help turn the tide in the warriors favor.

As the Aberrations descended on the deck of Blackwing Crow stood up from the bar and turned around to take in the presence that had ruined what had turned into a really nice evening. As the Knight left the bar making a beeline towards his charge Crow fumbled for his staff. Picking it up he scowled up at the sky as the Aberrations descended to the deck in droves. The first one to notice him and Amber leapt through the air with a flicker of its wings. Crow’s talon produced a sleek piece of razor sharp metal in his left hand as he threw the projectile backhand at the attacker. The knife cleanly passed through the aberrations body in a spray of gore. As the thing landed on the deck Crow’s right hand closed over his staff crushed its skull.

As more descended to the deck Crow hopped backward and left fly with more of his knives before he hissed in Arcadian and a wall of Wyrdfire consumed the next wave of aberrations. Moving smoothly backwards he looked over his shoulder at Amber. With another quick stride he took her hand and tugged her behind him. “We need to find Akime. I can protect you but I’m not sure for how long.”

Amber’s eyes were wide with disbelief at the sheer audacity those imposters had to show up on a day like this. True, it wasn’t exactly the classical definition of a wedding, but it was one nonetheless and the fact that someone had chosen this time and place to launch a raid didn’t sit right with her.

For a while she watched Crow fight and longed to be able to join him. Sometimes fighting wasn’t a matter of moral or high ideas but just simple butchering and this was one of those times. Simple aggression. Nothing complicated about it, just beauty and efficiency.

As he turned and addressed her, she blinked, then felt a thug on her hand and realised he was talking about joining her mistress. Of course. She wasn’t Isabelle anymore, she was Amber and she wasn’t a protector but one in the need of protection. Sad but true.

“Sure.” She agreed coolly and followed trying not to think about all she’d done to the aberrations if she could fight once more. Still, the smirk couldn’t be contained. “Or you could give me some strength and I can join you in this.” She suggested, voice different.

Crow turned on her, his eyes held surprise for a moment and then cold calculation. “Okay, but it will be easier if I anchor you to me. So don’t run too far away from me or I won’t be able to feed you power.” With that Crow took Amber’s face in his hands and leaned in pressing his lips to hers and literally breathing life into her.

Feeding her current form as much power as he could before he finally called up plasm from across the veil to give her a malleable form. With a final surge of magic to seal the form he removed his lips from hers and smiled. “There, draw on my magic if you need more and let me know if you need more plasm if you are injured.” He didn’t use the word damaged. Amber was very much a person and the most alive ghost he’d ever met. Turning back he drew another blade from the talons he was wearing taking up a position on her left. “Tell me what you want me to hit. I will make you invincible so go without fear just stay close.”

Surprise. First it was his, then it was hers. But it was short and what came after felt very sweet.

A kiss never felt like a kiss with the magic types and of course, he hadn't meant it as one but it didn't mean it wasn't a kiss for her. In fact, she indulged in it; she kissed back even though it was silly and selfish and but an echo of days long past. Her hand buried in his hair and even squeezed a bit as the strange man gave her life once more. The long-lost warmth spread through her body and filled it with sensations she'd thought forgotten.

When their lips parted she was lost between the sensations of joy and immense power. She was grinning and then the lips kept stretching over a snarl and a muzzle and her body melted and reformed in that of a cougar the size of a bus. The first abberant was dead upon impact with Blackwing's railing after Amber's body slammed into it with enough force to break every bone and burst every blood-vessel in its body. “Thank you!” She tested the telepathic link that should have emerged between her and Crow and she truly did mean it. Time to feel alive!

Crow grinned. It had been a good kiss that was for sure. Not exactly something he did often; infact it had probably been years. Her hands tangling in his hair had let him know that it was more than the magic that was appreciated. As he let her go and watched her transformation he matched her snarl as he took the bell from his robes and struck it on his staff. The resonation sent the next batch of Aberrations tumbling to the deck as Crow danced along behind Amber’s path of destruction. Anything that got too close that Amber didn’t turn into a strange colored splatter on the deck of Blackwing was met with Wyrdfire or one of Crow’s knives.

“Of course.” Crow stepped along right behind Amber’s left flank using her as part shield and part death dealing machine as he picked off any stragglers from her rampage. “I hope you didn’t mind the transference. I’d have felt weird grabbing your heart to give you the magic so…” Crow trailed off as an Aberration got too close and he was forced to sheath his right hand in metal talons and rip its head off.

The woman’s laugh in his head was only half-human. I appreciate you didn't. and she did because few of the necromancers she'd ever met were that gentle or considerate.

Crow stopped and she did too, twisting her body around him to give him additional protection while he was dealing with the fool who got too close. The spray of blood hit her fur and gave it an ironic spotty pattern before dripping slowly downwards. It felt warm at first, quickly cooling. Are you also using their essence somehow? she asked curiously, motionless for now. She wasn't in a hurry for this moment to end and she was going to play around for a bit, switching between short bursts of aggression and seeming calm. Let them approach a little… soon she'd know what their blood tastes like.

I can’t, they are aberrants. I can’t even raise their corpses. Its part of what makes them so dangerous. Only directed necromancy or raising of beings from Galendar will work on them. Drawing on their magic is like consuming poison. It reacts poorly with Galendar’s magic.

With a hop and a quick shift from murder of crows to normal form Crow perched on Amber’s back; stretching out his left hand he absently scratched the spot between her shoulder blades as he surveyed the deck of Blackwing. You know, Ghost Walkers dream of finding a being like you maybe once in their life. At Least the ones that care about doing their job. With a surge of effort he leapt from her back and slammed his shoulder into an approaching aberrant causing it to slide backward across the deck before he dropped his staff, dropped to one knee and freed the firearm from his lower back. It was a small magazine full auto pistol. With a squeeze of the trigger he emptied the whole of the gun into the aberrant turning it into a gory mist.

As I was saying He stood and walked back over to her putting his hands on her side. This time with intention as he extended his senses into her plasmic form. I don’t think I’ve ever met a soul quite so intact after so many years. Not only that but the form Akime gave you hasn’t aged too poorly either. With another surge of magic Crow repaired the plasm giving her form. There was little to be fixed but it was better that he maintain her form constantly on the off chance that something happened. With another rub he turned back around to watch behind the pair; his Wyrdmask forgotten as he stood letting the night air sap the heat that his body had generated from the exertion.

It's not like she hadn't heard Crow's explanation or cared for it. It's just that one thing he said made all else pale in comparison.

”Dream”? That made her smile. Somewhere along the lines she'd forgotten she could be appreciated, liked even. Of course, Akime, Cole and Ibuki always tried but it was different with them. They were family by chance, not by choice.

But the people at the Tower of Stars were slowly turning out to be nicer than she ever thought possible. First Raven, who was technically the whole reason it existed, then Adela and now Crow...

“You're too overprotective.” She said moving away with the feline grace of flowing water. “But with you I don't mind so much.” With that she told herself to focus on the aberrants and realise that the gravity of the raging battle was actually larger than the gravity of their conversation.

She turned around swiftly and with the motion one gigantic paw was already coming up to swipe at the creature's head. As it narrowly missed, perhaps the imposter thought it was safe but that's when Amber's whole body left the ground and launched itself into the air and to the side of her mark. With her spine twisting at an impossible angle with impossible speed, Amber soon had her teeth buried deep in living tissue and ripping it apart with as little as a low growl.

Crow grabbed an aberration out of air and dashed it against the ground before suddenly crushing its head under his heel. With that he turned around and shook his head at her. “I am no such thing.” As he watched her leap it suddenly dawned on him that maybe he was towards her and that was what she was talking about

“Do you mean because of how I've been treating you?” With a flick of his wrist Crow drove his staff all the way through a spawn that got too close. Flipping it through the air he ripped it's head off with his talons. Freeing his staff he flicked the gore off of it and turned back to her. “I hate that you are with Akime. I'm sorry if you don't want to hear that but I don't think she has a clue as to what she's really done. Or as to how rare of an individual you are.” The next aberration Crow caught by the head without thinking and held it while it squirmed. Something warned on his face. Part of him wanted to keep telling her how much he hated Akime but a new thought was struggling to surface. Was this just feelings about how Akime had anchored ghost to her or did this have to do with Amber…..

The pop of the aberrations head brought him back to reality as he looked up at Amber. “I'm sorry. I sound like a broken record. Turns out sober Crow isn't so much fun.” He tossed the mangled corpse of the aberration. Putting his hand on her flank he gave her a smile. “Go get em” With a surge of magic he doubled the density of the muscle fibers in her body to give her more killing power. She was a natural at adjusting her body and it was a truly wonderful sight.

Amber’s eyes were alight with long-suppressed power. She felt strong, confident, unbeatable, like herself and not like the girl back at the hotel. The girl that was feared, the one who was dealing pain and not receiving it. Crow’s words and his spells added more fuel to a fire that he himself had started and now it grew into a fearsome blaze that would consume everything in its way.

Claws sliced through flesh with the ease of cutting ripe fruit, fangs ripped through necks and shoulders and legs with enough force to send the blood flying upwards, defying gravity before it slowly turned again to bathe the combatants in a red shower. She never stood still, never completely aware of what was threatening her because her movements were lightning-fast and the world was a dazzling flurry of colour and joy. Her muscles screamed, her lungs burned and all the time her heart was aflame with the feelings Crow had evoked. Of that day at the hotel, of the years and decades spent in a shell as harmless as someone wanted her to be, years of slowly being turned into something she wasn’t.

Suddenly Amber realised she was lying on her side; the world stabilised, sideways. Just as quickly she realised someone had managed to knock her over. And suddenly another memory surfaced, of being in the same position, staring death in its cold stormy eyes seconds before Death came.

Rage took over. They wouldn’t touch her, not again, not ever.

Her shape was melting, literally, magma bubbling through her pores and onto the skin. It was dripping on the wooden floorboards and singing them. A low growl was all the warning she gave the approaching aberrant before she leapt at its throat, a blast of steam erupting from their bodies upon impact. If it was any other creature it would have died in a second. As it was it took a few vicious shakes of her head to completely rip the life out of it.

Of course, that's all the time another one of the creatures needed to make a move. Uncaring about the heat of Amber’s magic and armed with ten spiked tentacles, it aimed one at her and shot it right through her thigh. With a yelp she found herself on the floor once more.

As the Aberrant closed in on the downed Amber, Crow snatched the skull from its bag on his hip and unleashed a literal torrent of souls. They descended on the Aberrants in a mass of talons, swords, arrows and tearing hands. The legion of Gorecrows he unleashed cut down anything that moved.

The creatures had once been the finest soldiers of the Stygian Empire. They had broken the backs of Galendar’s strongest defenses in ages past but now they bent to his will. Five hundred of the most blood thirsty, magically capable and dangerous phantom’s he’d ever been able to muster. It was impossible for him to control them all currently but it was only a matter of time. The twenty or so that he had summoned quickly returned to the Skull and Crow raced to Amber’s side placing his hand on her side to stabilize the form she was using.

The hits she had taken had sent her emotions racing back across the psychic link. With a quick flick of his eyes up he caught the sight of the massive Bronze Dragon as it tore into the World Breaker. With a smooth movement Crow shifted into his flight form and ascended to her back again. The assault of his ghosts had bought them a temporary reprieve. Sinking his hands into the fur at her neck he rubbed fiercely.

Stay with me Amber. No losing control. You gotta keep your form stable.

Ironically what came as a response sounded like laughter more than anything.

Right here with you she reported telepathically. ...there's just so much to kill and do little time.. beneath his hand he could feel her muscles coiled tightly like a spring ready for release. God, it’d been so long…!

Luxrian crashed into the deck before rolling and slithering over the ground towards the Shiba. Like some primordial apocalypse of a being it moved with an ancient and malevolent purpose. One of the Therax’ Sowers of Sorrow. The lesser Knights fled the area around the two combatants as Luxrian’s coils crushed the life from any still standing. It was pathetic. These were the best this world had to offer? So unsatisfying. It mattered not how advanced they thought they were. In the end they would all be ground to dust under the might of Therax and the other Outer Gods. Shedding its outer skin the poison was quickly secreted from the Aberrations body in slow drips as it moved across the deck of Blackwing. As it finished shedding its scales immediately hardened again. All of the damage to its form up until now had been cast aside with a single molting. With a sudden coil and a spring the Aberration launched itself through the air. Bringing its two leading scythes down over the top slashing at Shiba’s wings. At the same time the Aberration brought its other scythes in from underneath aiming for the soft spot underneath Shiba’s rib cage.

A torrent of whispers poured forth from the Aberration: I smell weakness. How saddening really I thought for a second you would actually be a challenge. Your kind are so pathetic. I’ve slaughtered beings like you across a thousand worlds, and hundreds of your life times. You even thought poison could bring me down. Fool. I’m not of this world and never will be. Give in and I will make your death as painless as possible.

@Themerlinhawk

Shiba watched as the monster started to shed its scales apparently it was much like its own snake like counterpart and as a result it made its new skin quickly and hardened itself just as fast. Shiba watched as it came and got its scythes ready to slash down both Shibas wings and aim for his soft spot under its rib cage. Shiba heard what it was whispering about how its killed more then it has cared to count in thousands of worlds and lifetimes.

Shiba grinned widely and a little evily at that "That so? Shiba said as he closed his wings quickly to drop again but he grabbed his scythe with his claws using the monsters own momentum to fling himself over the monster and got behind it and he made a fast punch or rather he pointed his claws forward and he dug into the creatures back deep to see it gush "Then I don't need to hold back anymore!! The knight yelled as he made 4 more stabs into the creatures back all the while injecting huge amount of poison into its system. When the creature was ready to drop the ground Shiba grabbed two of its scythes and ripped it from its very body as it flew back into the air and threw the scythes off the ship.