[IC] Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

[Taka]

Like a looming shadow, Pagonia would take form behind his younger, his imposing as a bear ready to attack. He only stood looming over his younger brother for a moment as the boy laughed and told his name. Pagonia hadn't been with the group and more so in the back due to an issue he had to take care of, an issue that would become clear to everyone once he revealed himself. Placing his right arm around Zes's shoulder, Pagonia leaned in with his head resting against his brother's head, his blonde hair swaying a bit in Zes's eyes. The makeshift sling upon the right arm of the blonde, older brother came into clear view of everyone. It was obvious that Pagonia had spent most of the time of their walk, fixing a sling for his arm. Pagonia himself did not know if his arm was broken or fractured but it hurt like hell to move. Pieces of the forearm armor had been rearranged and the shirt underneath was ripped to help create this sling.

"The name's Pagonia." Pagonia's cheery disposition seeped through those three words, a big smile on his face, "I use Aqua. Sword based but I can shape change it to fit any situation. Nice to meet you all."

Pagonia didn't know any of these people as far he could throw them and yet he trusted them, or atleast he wanted to. He was willing to try anything if it kept him and Zes together. Besides he had to survive to get revenge on the bastard with his face, Ouranos.

[Raijinslayer]

Lazulin Mulciber

---

• Ifrise Forest Proper, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

Laz clicked his tongue at the redhead's words. He'd hoped to get this over and done with as soon as possible, both for the sake of the civilians and himself, but it seems like he'd have to out himself a little. That said, he wasn't too eager to be the first to share, knowing that his set of abilities would draw some stares from others in the group. Hell, even his affinity would do that for some of them, as Malum users were often seen in a rather negative light.

Something that our fowl assaulter wasn't helping to alleviate with their swarms of mutated demon birds.The young man moted in his head, casting his eye over their motley crew of mages with a moderate interest in what they had to say. It was only after everyone else had spoken that he would step up, chuckling a little to himself as he noticed something the struck him as rather funny.

"Darn, if only we had a Sanctus, then we'd have the whole spectrum of Ether, wouldn't we? Ah well, I guess we will have to make do with what's available." Reaching up with his uncovered hand, Laz would pull down his hood to fully reveal his face with a wolfish grin before falling into a brief, if a tad over-dramatic, bow to the group as a whole. "I've already introduced myself to a few of you but as a refresher, the name is Lazulin Mulciber, Maleficarum extraordinaire and less than humble wanderer, at your service."

"As for what I can do, I' will have you know that I am quite well skilled in the healing arts using both my own magic and regular medicinal techniques, though I can also turn the former towards more. . . destructive purposes. as to what that means, it's probably best to leave it up to your imaginations, but taking a look at the crows that our assailant sent after us will give you a good idea." Laz gave them a moment to ponder the implications of what he said and work through whatever reactions they might have to such magic before continuing on with his explanation. "Unfortunately, I am not that skilled when using my magic for such transformations, at least on anyone other than myself, and even then I try not to rely on such things as they can be rather draining. My main way to dispatch of foes is with both my knives and a special pistol I carry, infusing them with a necrotic variant of Malum energy."

"And that's about it," he lied, " So with that out of the way, let's continue on our way, yes. I can even fix up tall, dark, and blonde's arm while we walk if he doesn't mind a little pain and fatigue. Can't go swinging your sword with just one hand now, can we?"

[Matsuri]

C L A R A

---

IFRISE FOREST — SOVEREIGNTY OF DRYADALIS

---

"Name's Clara.”

Clara was hesitant towards the swordswoman's proposition, but again, nothing good would come out of refusing. Clara Robles was an alias rarely spoken of, and she wanted to keep it that way. During her years of bouncing from town to town, she had always made sure to keep certain distances, to avert any curious attention away from certain truths. But again, her cooperation was vital. Lying like she often did would not benefit anyone at a time like this.

Etoile, Pythia, Zestasia, Pagonia, Lazulin. The five names of the people she would be betting her life on.

[mickilennial]

Location: Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis

---

Pythia scoffed at the silver-haired boy's mention of “the whole spectrum of Ether”, neither finding his comment amusing nor interesting. If she considered it anything it was an annoyance, especially since it was coming from a Malum of all people. Though it was not that Pythia was so imbecilic to be superstitious but rather the fact that trusting anyone who could distort the body and mind and not be even a little cautious about making such a revelation to a group of barely like-minded travelers. Who was this Lazulin Mulciber? And why did the Mulciber family name sound so familiar for all of the wrong reasons? If only she could recall the notes on other malefacarum she had acquired over the last few months with pinpoint accuracy.

She would remember eventually.

“Tch. Yes. We should get going, but we don't know what we're walking into he-” Pythia paused before snapping back to the group as her ears caught the sound of snapping branches and her eyes saw something move out of the brush. “-get out of the way!”

Her command was loud and clear as she moved into a roll as a several sharp projectiles were shot in her and the group's direction.

“Hsssssszzzzzzzz...”

[Taka]

Pagonia smile was still wide as a child that had just found himself in a candy shop. It was nice to travel alongside people as he had been on his own for a long time now. Especially with people that knew what it felt like to be ostracized cause of the ether within them. His eyes scanned the group, each one of them held a beauty to them in more than way; some were strong in their stance and demeanor whilst others were held a serene demeanor to them that let Pagonia know this might be a good idea. Though all of this was probably wishful thinking on his part, he still wanted to believe that this was the best choice for Zes and himself. Pagonia finally stood straight after pushing himself off of his younger brother to take a step over the front of group, situated himself in the middle.

"Look, I know we are all just meeting for the first time but, we all know what its like to be chased for what we can do. Even if this team lasts for only the next few hours, I hope the best for all of us." Pagonia bent forward into a small bow to show respect, before he locked eyes with Lazulin, "Oh I've tried it before but I'll gladly take the healing. Now -"

Pagonia was cut off by the sound of snapping branches as well, trained ears wouldn't be caught by surprise so easily. Pythia's voice rang out for everyone to get out of the way. Instinctively he already had his hand on his hilt, drawing out his sword quickly. The sound of the metal sliding from its sheathe caused a loud metal grinding sound. Being already positioned in the front, he pivoted with his blade at the ready to defend. One swipe allowed him to smack away at-least three of the spike projectiles that were aimed at him, Lazulin, and Clara. Just what he needed to release some stress, a big monster fight.

[AlteredTundra]

---

• Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

As per the usual it was with him, Zestasia's mind flaked on exactly what most of the names meant to anyone but him. The upside to this was knowing the names to the people he's had the pleasure of meeting (probably not mutual). He knew the scary, taller woman who berated him for taking off towards the danger was named Clara. He knew the man who was just a few years older than him (Zestasia assumed) who was the only one that gave Zestasia support was named Laz. Zestasia was glad to know the names of those who were probably more annoyed with him than anybody else: Etoile and Pythia. One was closer to his brother's age and one was closest to his.

And neither liked him.

"So, now that we--" Zestasia found himself interrupted by the sounds of something coming their way; soon finding out the cause of it. Big, scary, and with a lot of thorns, Zestasia went into half-panic, half-battle mode, his fists up and a scream so loud that one would think it came from a female. Thankfully, his brother was able to block the first round of projectiles, prompting the boy to have a new-found courage and fire under his ass. "Let's do this!" Zestasia smiled, feeling the ignis ether flowing through his body. It was evident in the specs of golden light surrounding his balled fists. He didn't have much time to sit back and enjoy because spikes came his way, though this was no problem now that he finally had access to his magic. All he did was swing his arms a few times and the spikes that were coming his way were deflected off of his Sol Vibrante-encased fists, proving that Zestasia wasn't useless as everyone thought.

Never underestimate the kid.

[Raijinslayer]

Lazulin Mulciber

---

•Ifrise Forest Proper, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

"My, how noble of you Sir Pagonia. If I were a dear young maiden, I might've become smitten with you." Lazulin chuckled as he Pagonia protected him and others from the lethal barrage of spikes. Despite his relaxed posture, his entire body was surrounded by an aura of Malefic energy as he set his sights on the creature in question. HIs red eye gleamed in excitement for a moment as thoughts of blood and gorging filled his mind, the hunger he'd felt rising up with his anger at meeting the Inquisitors sending another painful twist through his body. Instead of caving to his baser nature, however, he simply focused his energies into his hand as he drew forth his custom-made pistol with a flourish. As the magic flowed into the weapon, the barrel taking on purplish-blue illumination, he'd take aim at the creature. "Anyhow, let's be done with this obstacle. I'm very much interested in having a chat with whoever was behind those demonic birds."

Methods aside, anyone who's attempting to disrupt the Ecclesiae has the potential to be an ally. But best to keep that thought to myself for now.

With these thoughts in mind, Lazulin fired a quick barrage of 6 malum-infused ether bolts at the monstrosity before them, aiming to hit it at various spots along it's front in order to maximize the spread of malum that would begin working to degrade the beast's thick hide, and mayhaps even dismantle one or two of the launching mechanisms for its spikes if he was lucky. Anywhere the bolts would land would be tinged with crackling hotspots of necrotic energy, making for very visible targets in conjunction with his following statement.

"My magic is rather good at breaking down the physical toughness of most things, so if you wish to take him down quickly, I suggest you aim for them."

[Lemons]

Etoile

---

Etoile had been a fighter long enough to know that if someone screamed in a somewhat-panicked voice at you to get out of the way, no matter how little you knew them, you got out of the way. And that's exactly what she did, throwing herself into a tight roll and hearing, rather than seeing, a volley of spikes launching themselves into the tree where she'd been standing a moment ago. She winced at the twinge in her leg, but ignored it; it wasn't important where dying was concerned. Ripping her sword out of the sheath with a metallic screech, she placed her hand on it: "Gladius ventus." The rush of power out of her was comforting after the antimagic field, and the heatwave-esque aura in front of her sword confirmed that she was back in form.

As she ran at the beast, she threw her hand out, motioning at the ground beneath her. "Densus ventus!" A staircase-like platform folded into existence and she dashed up it, leaping off and reaching the apex of her jump about six feet above the beast. She pointed her hand at it, palm out, and smiled jaggedly as the staircase dissolved behind her. There we go.

"Impulsus ventus!"

The blast of wind that emerged from her staggered the creature, that was certain. Unfortunately, it had been long enough since she'd had to use Impulsus at such high power, and she'd forgotten the other component of it. She surged upwards, finding herself nearly twenty feet off the ground. She quickly dropped the aura from her sword and funneled the aether around her into another Densus, only barely managing to catch herself before she plummeted to earth. She let out the breath that she'd been holding and took a moment to collect herself.

[Matsuri]

C L A R A

---

IFRISE FOREST — SOVEREIGNTY OF DRYADALIS

---

“-get out of the way!”

Snapping her head around, Clara met the eyes of a grotesque creature, the huge spikes along its back prickling up with each step. Though the monster was quick to attack, she heard the young girl's alert quicker. But Clara thought she had leapt out of the way from the spike projectiles too late — and judging by his scream, Zestasia too — but the man who she remembered as Pagonia was even faster to brandish his sword and deflect the spikes coming towards her and Lazulin.

Clara didn't have time to thank the man as she instinctively stepped away. The creature was going to attack again, she needed to stay far and stay low.

Clara cursed, knowing she was at an immediate disadvantage. It was just her luck that moments after she let herself see her crystal in years, a monster had appeared out of nowhere trying to kill them. Her lack of practice had surely dampened her technique, and there was little Florentes Gemmae and Loricatorum Vallis could do from afar. Unless she charged in with a crystallised branch and beat the damn thing to death, she wouldn't be much help.

With the rest of the group beginning to deliver a barrage of attacks, perhaps there would be a chance for Clara to find an opening for attack while the monster was distracted. How she would attack the monster was a totally different problem. She readied herself to use Loricatorum Vallis if the spikes came her way again.

[mickilennial]

Location: Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis

---

“It's a Krovar.”

Pythia's bestiary knowledge seemed to come in handy, though she knew that the creature was more than what it seemed. Krovar's were dangerous enough by themselves, but this was a corrupted krovar. Pythia had little doubt about it as she saw the sparkle of malum energy and the grotesque mutations. Normally, krovar didn't have huge protruding spikes coming out of their skull and body nor did it have eyes of fire and death. There was little doubt in Pythia's mind that whoever was attacking the barge had planned it from the start and their wicked magic had transformed things in the forest beyond just mere birds. It was a sentiment that did not make her feel comfortable. At the very least she was glad she was with a group, outlaws or not, or at least she did before everyone appeared to be running around like a headless chicken. All save for a small amount of them.

A flurry of magic was shot forward and even with Etolie having an elemental advantage there was still a nervousness that swelled up in Pythia's stomach.

However, the immediate reaction Lazulin had made might've just made the battle a bigger, longer fight than Pythia wanted it to be. But this was of no fault of Laz's or anybody else. Normally, a necrotic spell would've still been a necrotic spell even if the creature had resistances to it through mutation, but for some reason whoever had changed the monster had planned for magic to try to interfere and “coded” a biological reaction to any malum magic that was not their own. It was the reason the creature's bones began to crack rather than the flesh's armor beginning to rot.

The creature howled in anguish as more spikes seemed to rip out of its body, Pythia's eyes wide as the mountains of Gala, as it foamed at the mouth and charged the one with the largest sword in the group. At the moment, Pythia couldn't even recall his name, though she knew that her magic would be the least effective against an earth-blessed creature with malum corruption in its bones. If she were to help him she would have to act tactfully or hope that Etolie and the rest knew what they were doing. And given she didn't trust or respect those around her it was likely going to be the former over the latter.

“It's charging!” She exclaimed, as she tried to get a better position.

[Taka]

Pagonia was focused on the battle at hand, his mind racing with adrenaline, palms sweaty from the excitement, and heart pounding harder than the jump from the barge. Everyone was getting into the fight with the beast, hurting it and illuminating weak points on its body. The sword in Pagonia's hand seemed to be heavier than normal, almost like it was weighing down his entire soul. Using his one good arm he pulled it upward in-front of his face, a cold mist starting to raise from the blade. His eyes were focused on the creature, his mind ready to work on how to handle the situation. Soon the mist coalesced around the blade, hardening into a solid mass of smooth ice that extended from the blade, making a wider blade of ice that gleamed from the light around.

"Now it's my turn." Pagonia stated with confidence, before dashing forward toward the creature. The commotion distracted the beast long enough for him to get within range with his modified sword. A quick swing using the full force of his single arm allowed him to tear into the arm where Laz had highlighted. The necrotic damage made it easier for the ice to began to overtake they area, freezing the creature's arm in mere seconds. Pagonia pivoted and dashed behind the beast, that would reeling in pain, to gain a better spot. He pulled his sword behind his back for a big wind up and then brought his sword down across the beast's back. The air was cleaved by the force that Pagonia was releasing upon this creature. Even if it didn't kill it, it would start to freeze from its spine, if it had one, and restrict its movements completely.

[mickilennial]

---

As Pagonia drove his sword into his arm, the cold numbness of the ice cracking around his rock-like skin causing the creature to howl in pain.

The swordsman had attempted to dash behind the creature as its leftmost arm was covered in a thin layer of ice. Perhaps Pagonia thought he could be quicker than the creature could anticipate, but the creature had been corrupted by malum energies and the burst of supposed necrotic energy had only caused its skin to crack and mutate faster. It also made its reflexes keener, especially in its legs. Normally a krovar would be less keen and quick to intercept, but this was hardly a normal situation. Before Pagonia could realize it the metal-like spikes embeded in the creatures back slid across his sword as the monster turned on its feet. His eyes and the monsters own met and the krovar's clawed fist met his chest sending him flying backward into a large, lumbering oak tree.

As it took one step closer it let a gluttonous, ghoul-like snarl.

[Lemons]

Etoile

---

"And here I thought you were competent," muttered Etoile as she watched Pagonia getting unceremoniously bashed into a tree by the giant krovar. Her eyes narrowed as she dispelled her platform and dropped to the ground. She shook her head at him. Getting close to it. What a foolish decision.

As the krovar turned its back to her, she sought out something, anything, to be a target, and her eyes locked onto the limb covered in ice. She thought for just a moment, then turned to its other forelimb and sliced two fingers through the air toward it. "Acer ventus!" There was a sound a bit like swishing fabric as a knifelike projection of air peeled away from her fingers and found purchase in a spot of corrupted, spikeless flesh near its intact shoulder. She smiled thinly as it howled in pain and stomped her foot against the ground, doing her best to draw its attention away from the tree-smashed man. She dove and rolled under a volley of needle-sharp spines that thudded into the forest behind her, then fired off another acer ventus before lifting an invisible wall of air in front of her and preparing to intercept a charge. She stomped her feet more and drew her sword, pointing it at the krovar in what she hoped was a very obvious threat.

"Come on, then! What are you waiting for? Come and get me!"

As she taunted the krovar, she peered over its shoulder and gave Pagonia a vindictive 'you owe me now' glare.

[AlteredTundra]

---

• Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

Time seemed to freeze around Zestasia as the events unfolded around him. When the older men (at least where Zestasia stood) took their stances and fought against the beast, a combo of sorts took full effect as Zes watched his brother first freeze parts of the beast's arm that allowed for a swift dash on his part and aimed for a strike with his sword. Just moments afterward, Zes watched with awe and a slight surprise when its arm broke free from the ice, turned to face his brother, and time slowed as Zes couldn't do anything to stop his brother from being sent into a snapped, oak tree behind him.

"Brother!"

Zes let out a cry. Emotions ran high in the teen's body, producing a feeling of brotherly revenge. This manifested itself in the form of Zestasia's highly-useful spell Solaris Pallio. His ignis malum flared up in a fiery aura of gold and red, hugging to his body. In an effort to not only deal what the beast had dealt to his brother, Zestasia, with his enhanced speed, jumped up, clearing the height of Etoile's wind wall and met the creature midair, unleashing a series of round energy balls, deep with a reddish-gold, at it as he yelled with angst in his voice.

"Take this, you monster!"

[Matsuri]

C L A R A

---

IFRISE FOREST — SOVEREIGNTY OF DRYADALIS

---

The ongoing assault kept Clara's feet stuck to the forest soil, unable to think, unable to run. In the time it took for Pagonia to get hurled into a tree and for Étoile and Zestasia to carry out their attacks, Clara had come up with nothing to contribute to the offence. The trials she ran in her head had lead to nothing.

Hearing the young ignis magi cry out in a fit of rage strengthened that helpless feeling in her gut; Clara knew how fragile of an emotion anger was, and through her narrowed eyes she could already see Zestasia begin to crack. At this point, she was just waiting for bad luck to rear its ugly head, ready to shatter all chances of defeating the monster.

But Zestasia and the others were doing something, at least trying to bring the fight closer to its much needed end.

Think.

Her attention switched to Pagonia, his limp body hidden by the shadows of thick tree branches. Although he had attacked recklessly, with so little care for himself that it almost pissed her off, he was still skilled with a sword and confident with his magic, he still charged forward despite the risks. The group was down by one valuable magi, and with Etoile also injured, that would make it two if they weren't careful.

Clara bit her lip, eyes darting to the chaos and then back to Pagonia. She had to admit, it would be unreasonable to leave the man vulnerable, for all she knew he could be on the verge of death after being slammed into the tree that hard. She wasn't as stubborn to deny that she owed him for deflecting those spikes just a minute ago either; he did just save her life. The least she could do was offer what little help she could.

After seconds of hesitation Clara finally took off, sprinting around the dark edges of the forest clearing to avoid the ongoing skirmish. Unable to get an immediate view of the severity of Pagonia's injuries, Clara dragged him roughly by his ankles behind the oak tree, where thin rays of light breaking through the leaves made things a little more visible. Her hand glowed a faint red as she placed it against the dead tree's bark, releasing her Florentes Gemmae spell to cover it in crystal. She glowered as she observed the distressed Zestasia one last time, before turning around to see the extent of Pagonia's injuries.

"Dammit… you better not be dead,”

[Taka]

The sheer force from the monster's claw had sent Pagonia from his feet, flying through the air. Eyes closed to world around him, Pagonia could only feel the pain from being slammed into the thick tree behind him. Pain shot through his body, his back would be purple for days and his chest would definitely be a source of pain. Pagonia was still wide awake despite what just happened, most notably trying to figure out what his next move would be. His eyes slid open just enough to see Etoile's glare and his brother going all out in his stead. It was probably a bad idea to attack the way he did but, at the time it was a solid plan. The monster's mutation surprised him, catching him off guard. Next time that won't be the case. Until then he felt someone drag his body, noticing that it was Clara.

"Welp that was fun." Pagonia weakly spoke.

About forty seconds passed before Pagonia felt he was ready to get back on his feet, despite any objections from Clara. He escaped from her defense and hastily took a stand. His hand rubbed across the armor, feeling the huge dent in the breastplate from the monster. Luckily the breastplate took the brunt of the attack, leaving only a bruise on his chest and possibly a broken rub or two. Right now he didn't care about any of that. He reached up to grab at a strap that helped keep the armor attached to him before pulling it and releasing the breastplate from his body. With a loud thud, it slammed into the earth, and Pagonia felt a wait lifted off his shoulders....literally.

"HEY GUYS! GIVE ME AN OPENING! I GOT A BETTER IDEA!" Pagonia yelled out to his newfound comrades, ice coalescing around the blade of his sword, which he still held tighter than a mother with her newborn, "Clara, can you make makeshift steps for me? I need some....height for this to work."

[Matsuri]

C L A R A

---

IFRISE FOREST — SOVEREIGNTY OF DRYADALIS

---

Clara grimaced at the massive dent in Pagonia's breastplate under the filtered sunlight. She doubted there were any useful medical supplies nearby, so just the idea of tending to his injuries was proving to be a difficult task.

"Okay, you're alive. Good,” she said in a calmer, more hopeful tone, simply nodding to Pagonia's raspy words. Although she was relieved he was even wearing armour in the first place — unlike his equally as reckless brother — Clara knew there were some broken bones underneath.

"Looks like you'll be needing a new set of armour, huh. Pricey,” she teased, kneeling down to get a better look at the damage. "I could try bandage you up with some cloth, but I really don't know how that'll… wait… hold on, hey, HEY—”

Clara continued to insist Pagonia stay put, and she would have grabbed him by his collar were it not for the serious injury he had sustained. Then Pagonia decided it would be a good idea to yell across the forest clearing at the other magi, as if the krovar wasn't just metres from him. When he turned back to mutter his request, Clara glared at him.

"Gods, were you even listening to me earlier? I don't make things! Best I can do right now is cover stuff in crystal,” she hissed, pointing towards the crystallised tree. "That makes sense? Or do I have to repeat myself again?"

Clara grabbed Pagonia's arm with force, fearing he would run off having just explained her limitations. "Look, you're hurt! If that krovar thing comes charging at you again, then you'll—”

When her eyes fell upon the crystalised tree bark behind Pagonia, Clara's face lit up. Yes, that could be it. It was a stupid, stupid plan, but in a situation like this, stupid was better than nothing.

"Screw it. Let it come here.”

Clara let go of the injured man and pushed past him, putting a hand on the fallen tree and releasing the ether from it.

"I've got a better plan. Let the krovar run towards me and I'll harden the tree just like I did before, right before it hits. While it's down, the others can attack it from behind.”

She tilted her head slightly to look back at Pagonia. "And since you're so insistent to join in on the fun, you could go get yourself some good hits too. I doubt a few broken ribs is gonna stop you anyway.”

Clara observed the other dead fallen trees to her side, the few bound by sturdier roots somehow standing at more upright angles than the others. It would be manageable, even easy, to run up them, especially if it was someone as stubbornly strong as Pagonia. She pointed towards a tree a couple metres to her left. "There, you can get some height from that one, right? It won't see you if you jump from it.”

Grabbing a sizeable rock and clambering on top of the fallen oak tree, Clara covered the rock and hurled it at the distracted krovar. Once it made contact, the crystal ether dissipated.

"HEY KROVAR!” she bellowed, almost losing her balance. She pointed a provoking finger towards the creature and stomped her foot on the bark. "You really tryna pick a fight with us, huh? Get over here ya fat bastard, I'm gonna kick your ass!”

The krovar turned towards Clara, snarling at her as it prepared to charge. With a deep exhale, Clara kneeled down to place her hands on the bark, eyes locked onto the monster.

"Alright Pagonia, you better start running now. I'll give you the opening you want!”

[mickilennial]

---

The creature’s attention had shot toward Etolie and then at Zestasia while Clara and Pagonia recovered.

Despite being mutated and enhanced through various forms of magic, the creature was still mortal at its core and by extension defeatable. As others observed, it became clear that the weaknesses of the monster wasn’t specifically forces of sharp wind or even burning flame, but rather tactical awareness. Time harried on and at the end of Pagonia’s sword into the softest part of the creature’s underbelly, there was a mild, temporary silence as a loud ‘thud’ echoed as the creature collapsed on the forest floor. But the defeat of the enhanced creature left open another question entirely.

What else had been experimented on in this segment of the Ifrise Forest?

[AlteredTundra]

---

• The Eoldysseus - Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

When smoke from the collision of the various attacks blinded Zestasia from seeing what was directly in front of him, the most the blond teen could do was stand there. Still, that didn’t mean what he heard didn’t have him on edge. He heard screams. He heard his brother yelling out to Clara and he heard Clara say something back, and then more screams came after. But after the long moments that felt they were drawn out intentionally, Zes balled his fists in anticipation.

And then, like it was nothing, silence took over and that was probably the worst part for him. At least when he heard his brother cry out his famous battle cry or Clara speaking to him or the monster roaring about, he could venture a guess, but with nothing heard — not even a single word — the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach grew and grew until the smoke had cleared. It had then, like a snap of a finger or the switch of a lever, been lifted, a smile on his formerly-pale face being the only reaction that didn’t result in Zestasia cheering as loud as he can.

“They did it!” He cheered, launching himself into a high jump and doing a celebratory flip. “We did it!” Zestasia continued the celebration even though his part in it was minimal at best.

Now that he was finally able to see what happened, Zestasia approached where Pagonia and Clara were and the slain beast. His stomach turned at the sight of whatever passed for blood of this particular species, so he turned away, choosing to keep his eyes on Clara and his brother. “I thought for sure you two were toast. For our sake, though, I’m glad my worst fears didn’t come to light.” Zestasia laughed, folding his arms behind his head. "So, what now?"

[Matsuri]

C L A R A

---

IFRISE FOREST — SOVEREIGNTY OF DRYADALIS

---

The last thing Clara remembered was being knocked off her feet, hard. Distant echoes of Pagonia's battle cries faded into white noise as her vision became shrouded in black.

A heavy thud jumped Clara awake, and she looked around frantically. Her nerves subsided once her eyes fell on the dead krovar, the adrenaline rush from earlier beginning to slow to a stop. She wobbled as she tried to force her tired legs into standing, feeling around for the source of her head pain. Even though she was met with the sight of blood as she withdrew her hand from her hair, Clara was so overwhelmed with relief that the pounding headache hardly mattered.

Clara was even glad to hear Zestasia's triumphant cries through the remaining dustclouds, even though it made her twitch slightly in pain. Wiping the trail of blood going down the side of her head, she gave the boy a small smile.

"Well, when I first saw your brother's injuries, I thought he was dead,” she joked, watching as Pagonia went to rest in his own corner. "His idea was totally crazy, but he's alive. At least we're all alive.”

Clara gave a nod to the others, and then looked to Zestasia. "Now? I guess if no other monsters are coming to get us, I say we use what little time we have to patch ourselves up. That krovar won't be the only thing trying to kill us while we're here.”

She folded her arms and looked around the group again in slight distress. Even if most of them seemed relatively unscathed, the ones who were looked like total wrecks, after just one battle with one monster nonetheless. While it didn't seem enough to stop their ongoing venture into the forest, Clara was wary of the complications it could cause later.

"We should at least slow down to try and recover, if we don't stop for a break. After all the trouble that gave us,” Clara said as she gestured to the dead krovar, "running ahead looking like we do now doesn't sound so smart.”

Clara winced at the sudden throbbing pain in the side of her head, and she pressed her hand against it. "How are we for injuries, though? I know Pagonia's broken, like, three bones and Etoile's still got those flesh wounds… how's everyone else?”