[IC] Fantasy's Shattering

[RedXCross]

Mal gritted his teeth slowing his breath slightly as the shadows at the edge of his vision started to dissipate. He felt the man next to him lifting him back to a standing position, but his eyes were still focused on the back of the man as he walked away. His hand twitched at his side as he felt anger like magma melt through his veins. The next time the two of them met, Mal was going to put everything into destroying him. He could almost feel the red gem and dark chain in his pocket waiting for the next target, but Mal shook that thought away. The fate of his pendulum was for the worst of the worst. Simple death would be satisfactory for Patchy the Asshole. He patted at his bag. Assuring its position on his back acted as a security blanket for a second, briefly pacifying him as he glanced back at the blindfolded man - Ungis, with a toothy grin. "Well... It's been a long day. And when you have three different types of magic fighting for dominance of your body, one of which being nearly sentient, it tends to put a bit of a strain on you," Mal explained, "Anyway. If we turn left here, I think we can walk back the way we came and into the little townstead..." He stopped to catch his breath. The spirit inside him was still reacting quite violently to the power of the relic in the man's possession. It wasn't aggression, however. Actually, now that he had the time to stop and feel it out, it actually felt like fear. At least the nicest person in the group he had the pleasure of talking to now had his hands on it. Hopefully he did a good job protecting it. With a final glance back in the direction of the red woman and her clunky asshole lackey (who now had a mark on his back, according to Mal), he turned to Ungis once more. "Thanks a lot. I usually compensate better for my... endurance problems."

[TheWendil]

Sable shrugged in response to the Taskmage’s jibes. “It sounded like…a taunt. It said there were no do overs…I suspect that it is the work of a Relic calling out to me, but I can’t be sure. It didn’t sound like it wanted to be found.” The Crimson Streak paused in her walking, enough time to raise a hand to her chin and for a certain enthusiast to catch up to them. Turning around to face the bouncing form of Muzai, Sable frowned before shaking her head. “It’s probably nothing,” she reassured the eye-patched man. “In any case, we seem to have company…greetings there Miss,” Sable said once the girl had joined them. “Is there a particular reason why you are following us?” A little farther away from them, the green Relic had begun to shine brightly. Twitching around, it crackled around lightly in Ugnis’ hand. It seemed to be pulsing dangerously near Mal, no doubt sensing the spirit inside of him. However, that wasn’t all. A few seconds later, a might roar rang out in the forest disturbingly nearby. From the way it sounded, it was much bigger than the dying bear from before.

[FVGT]

"Don't worry about it," Ugnis replied, waving it off with a hand as he stood back up. He could relate to fighting something within himself, though it was his own doing that caused his current condition. Nonetheless, it did put a certain strain on his body, as he had to stay constantly aware of both his emotions and what occurred around him. As Ugnis ran this thought through his mind, the relic in hand glowed a bright toxic light that shined through his blindfold. It jerked slightly and seemed to spark in his hand, sending shocks through his body. Despite how irritating these odd sensations were, Ugnis couldn't bring himself to drop it. Unintentionally cringing as he crashed backwards into a tree, Ugnis wondered why not. It wouldn't break, nor would there be some adverse effect if he did. "So why can't I... Oh, right." He was keeping the relic because Mal wanted him to. Why was he keeping a promise he didn't even make? Why should he? A pulse from dark emotions, seemingly cheered on by the relic, resonated in Ugnis's mind. He cringed and put his hand to his head. "I won't have to if he's dead, right?" "Wait, stop that. No. Stop." "Don't think that." Ugnis quickly restabilized his train of thought, before more bad thoughts surfaced. "That... could have gone worse, to say the least." A deep, somewhat hostile roar sounded from nearby. "Ah, that's good," he thought unfazed, a thick feeling of anger still lingering inside of him. An outlet would get rid of that disgusting feeling, and usually made it easier to happily go about his days afterwards. He didn't care about how terrible the monster was; he just felt like murdering something. Dusting off the cape on his back, Ugnis said to Mal, "You're still tired from before, right? Just stay out of sight, and let me handle this," This was partly out of a personal reason, not wanting others to see what he was like when he wasn't just carefree. But, it was more because he'd stab anything in his way when he pulled up his blindfold, Mal and other people included. As both threat and warning, with an uncharacteristic undertone of hostility, Ugnis said as if to confirm that Mal understood, "Got it?"

[RedXCross]

A decisive chill ran up Mal’s spine as the man stepped away. The moment the blindfold fell from his eyes, it was almost like Mal was staring at a completely other person. He didn’t know what caused the change. Maybe he held a more prominent spirit inside him? It wasn’t completely impossible. He vaguely remembered reading something about spirit levels… maybe in his father’s research. Dealing with both the heavy mist cloaking his past and the exhaustion that coiled around him made it difficult to recall. Still, Mal complied with the man’s commands, not willing to deal with whatever was coming next. He was careless with this one. There was a reason he usually set up in bigger cities. It meant easier escapes, more places to hide, and plenty of time to rest between confrontations. “I’ll just stay here then…” Mal grinned, stumbling back against the tree, “Maybe I’ll try to catch a bit of rest.” The moment he let go of the Ugnis, the spirit inside him started to calm. Its offensive thrashing around that wasted more energy that Mal was thrilled about. He would just have to hope he could stay out of this next encounter and recover whatever energy He could so he could deal with whatever was coming the next day. So, with a satisfied yawn, even as a monster stomped off in the distance. Mal leaned against the back of the tree, and willingly shut his eyes. Any amount of rest would help, even if only for a few moments. Besides, he had a sinking feeling that the man had more to him than originally suggested.

[Eisenhorn]

Atreides raised his head, already dismissing the follower as he heard the roar, narrowing his good eye as he worked on identifying the noise. Not another bear, nor nothing normally running about makes that much noise. Not many creatures make that much noise, and remain capable of fighting and hunting that is. That means big, fast, or just so plain dangerous that it doesn't need stealth or subtle approaches. There weren't many things like that out in these areas, and he drew his sword, looking in the direction of the roar, a thought dawning on his mind, one that he did not appreciate having cross his mind. One would hope he was wrong though. "Meat, rook, looks like we might have a problem..." No sooner than the Taskmage had spoken the roar came again, much louder and clearer, which meant it was closer. Out of the woods, several hundred feet in the air, was the green scaled form of a Dragon, easily the size of any of the buildings within the small town nearby, as it circled overhead, a green hued flame belching from the creature's maw. Its wings easily eclipsed the sun whenever it came between the sun and each person's viewing point, casting grand shadows along the ground. The jagged horn looked almost broken, and it was clearly older than it appeared at first sound. Atreides scowled, kneeling to enchant his sword again, the blade this time growing darker then it should normally have been possible, leaving a trailing image behind it as he rose, electrical arcs bouncing along his left, off arm. The Taskmage frankly didn't have much interest in dealing with this on top of losing out on one of the Relics, but the thing was clearly agitated and couldn't be left just roaming about like some sort of overgrown torch. "Great, if things couldn't get more entertaining, we have some god damn Dragon flying about being angry. This pisshole sure hasn't gotten any better. We should probably go deal with that thing."

[VKAllen]

"No miss Crimson Streak! I'm here on my own volition!" She said with a bright smile that dimpled her cheeks. Her bright pinkish buns seemed like it was glowing as she smiled. "You two are like, my idols! To see you face to face is like a dream come true you know!" She said as she jumped around in joy. "Please take me with you! I can be very useful!" She felt the earth rumble as the mighty roar resounded across the forest. Something is amidst and is within close proximity. She felt the trees growing restless as its branches wildly swayed as the rebelling winds swoop past it.

"Meat, rook, looks like we might have a problem..." The Taskmage wielded his sword, eyes straight towards the source of the roar. Muzai could be heard chuckling. The beast was close judging by its roar. Perhaps they had ventured to its territory and it wanted us to leave... But within the safety of the Crimson Streak and the Taskmage themselves... She felt unthreatened by its presence. Muzai followed the Taskmage's gaze. The flickering shadows made Muzai turn majestically as she tracked her eyes on the circling emerald dragon above them, roaring its cry loudly with its lethal maw. An old dragpm roaming about Rivenwood. "Great, if things couldn't get more entertaining, we have some god damn Dragon flying about being angry. This pisshole sure hasn't gotten any better. We should probably go deal with that thing." Muzai jumped joyfully.

"Aren't you amazed at that giant winged lizard?! Look how pretty and green it is!" She said in almost like a shouting manner. "It's like she's the forest herself!" While both the Crimson Streak and the Taskmage was worried about the dragon at hand it seems like Muzai was more into glamouring the dragon. "I wanna keep it as a pet!"

[agentmanatee]

The cursed swordsman stood at the edge of the clearing, shrouded by leaves and dark foliage. The ghostly spectre had been observing the great beast, watching and waiting, hoping it would reveal a weakness to him. But alas, after he had watched it for what could have been days or weeks, the great thing awoke, and the specter was found. At the first roar the fatalistic dead man rushed the green scaled horror, slashing his ruined blade across its chest. Though the scales were barely scratched his blade cut a very different wound far deeper. It's essence, the beasts soul had been his target and he had given it a sound thrash with his blade. Unfortunately, dragons had strong souls to match their bodies, and the pain led only to anger the beast, but it did serve to drive the beast into the air, surprised by its damaged soul. Now, thought the impossibly old specter, now the chase would begin.

The great green dragon soared into the air, green fire leaking from his maw. But the spectre could keep up... for a time, on foot. Giving his limbs the strength of the curse, and pouring his soul into his legs he kept pace with the flying lizard. It would land soon he thought... why did he think that? He could not remember... but he felt as though he had fought dragons before... when did he do that? It didn't matter though, as it flew he couldn't help but feel he was close to... something... people? He was unsure but as it landed he brought himself to a halt, allowing his body to return to its slow, dead and clumsy nature... Though now that he saw the beast again the spectre was no longer sure he could slay the great beast.

[TheWendil]

“How interesting. Are you taking a break from the story?”

The voice came directly in front of Mal, which seemed pretty impossible given the circumstances. Indeed, one moment nothing was there, while the next a man had suddenly appeared before him.

A gray mask covered his face which held deep, crimson eyes. A dark clock lay dormant on his frame while a necklace of locks and chains decorated his collar area. Finally, hair the color of snow covered his head and the man titled it curiously.

He was looking straight at Mal with…apathy? Or something else? His face was as unreadable as his mask.

“Tell me Mal Tervsa. Are you getting tired of this story?”

Not too far away, the sound of a bellowing roar continued to shake the forest. Pain brought it rage, and so the woodland dragon took to the sky in an attempt to escape the spirit-like knight. As it did, it spotted the man with the blindfold, its primal mind considering if he was a threat.

Sensing the power of the green Relic in his position, the forest dragon howled before turning its gaze in another direction. With another ear splitting roar, it launched a green-colored fireball straight toward Ugnis before twirling in the air and charging straight for a certain group of three down below.

“…it’s heading for us instead of the Relic,” Sable noted blandly. “It must be able to sense its power…”

As the scaled lizard made impact, aiming to ram them with its horns, Sable leaped out of the way, landing on the dragon’s back and running the end of it until she jumped onto the ground again. Swerving, the angry dragon breathed a stream of green fire at her, eager to end all life that threatened its territory.

“RE-Arch.”

Summoning her twin blades, Sable absorbed the attack before leaping away and landing near Muzai.

“I’m afraid this thing is a little…big to keep as a pet,” she said nonchalantly. “Can you substitute a salamander for it instead?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Rexicorg, Yem took pause in his step, the cursing having froze him in his tracks. Again, it seemed to be coming from the cave emitting the purple light, though he dared not venture there before recovering his wounds yet.

Even so, the voice chilled him with how much ferocity and anger was present. He hesitated just for a moment, wondering if maybe he should listen to the supposed Relic after all….

[RedXCross]

“Are you getting tired of this story?”

Mal’s fluttering eyes snapped wide open. His whole body jolted with magic as the spirt started to spiral inside him. He cursed as blood dripped from thin marks on his chest. They weren’t deep enough to do lasting damage, but it was clear that something was wrong. Mal lifted himself up with one hand against the tree, still panting as he yearned for some way to regain his energy.
“Where did you come from?” Mal grinned, “And what story are you talking about? I must admit, most of my reading has been… academic up to this point.”

His hands curled into his chains. It irked Mal how this man stood before him. There was no emotion, no intention to him at all. It was like staring directly at a wall.

And given Mal’s very two-sided philosophy, it made it really difficult for him to decide what was coming next.

“If you’re talking about the story of life… then you might have to fill me in on the exposition. It’s kinda foggy back there, if you know what I mean. As things are, as long as those Relic things don’t end up in the hands of the dicks of this world, then I’ll be fine.”

Blood dropped on the ground beneath him as he drew his free hand across his chest. He had little magic left, only what the spirit could provide, and it was ready to rip him apart to protect itself. He was surprised that it hadn’t decided to go for the dark wave spell it had used several times in the past.

Not that Mal was complaining. It usually hurt like a bitch.

Mal chuckled lightly, still with a few words curling on his tongue as he stared the man in the eyes. His face was incredibly passive, save for the shark-teethed grin and his vibrant red eyes.

“Why? What do you have planned for the next chapter?”

[VKAllen]

"Salamanders too small! I wanna ride a big dragon like that!" She cried, her hair fluttered as she did. "Green Dragon-san! Where are you goiiinnngg??? You're not going anywhere else until you've received my good lovin'!" She followed the green dragon in hopes that it will see her.

[agentmanatee]

The cursed man saw them... heard their shouting voices. The dragon had landed in the midst of what appeared to be some sort of group. He could not count for he was unsure he had seen them all, but at least two were visible. One was draped in the color of blood, and was quick and appeared lithe, the other he saw wore cloth of darker hues, blue and purple, both were small to him, and both felt of magic... Though the red only slightly so. Their spirits though, they were something else, each a powerful soul, with purpose well known... they were no mere wanderers... Though the blades in the red ones hands told him as much. But it mattered little... as soon as the beast was slain they would run... or more likely fight the ghostly form of the knight... and again he would be forced to slay or retreat... bug another power was felt. One he knew... but knew not how he knew of it... or what part of him knew of it, though it was there... and it was very powerful.

That was to be dealt with later, for now the dragon bared it's teeth and fire flew from its maw. The swordsman charged, his form pierced with arrows to ancient to ponder and broken blades rusting and rotting, trundled up to the beast in a slow, heavy run. As he closed the spectre hefted his great sword with his one arm, bringing it down across the dragons leg as its attention was pulled elsewhere. The beast roared as again it's soul felt cut, and it batted the offending party away with its clawed foot. The spectre flew a short distance, to heavier than his size could portray... the wait of his sins dragging him back to the ground. He stood as a gout of flame washed over him... but as it cleared it had served only to bring him to his knee, as his spirit weathered the blaze his physical form could not...

[Eisenhorn]

Atreides rolled his eye as the fangirl babbled on about the dragon and started chasing it, the roaring beast making its way straight for them all in the same instant. Atreides didn't say much now, instead dragging his foot and blade around himself, muttering as the dragon acted to attack that ghost of a soldier, which he would look at FAR closer after the threat was gone, and Sable went and absorbed the dragon fire with her blades. Awful useful little trick of hers, wasn't it? Circle around him complete, he smirked in a rather nasty manner, the afterimage growing greater in intensity as he flourished the blade, casting arcing lighting along the dragon's exposed side, which did little more than piss it off. Which was just as planned, as it turned and belched another wall of fire, and it englufed the Taskmage, obscuring him from sight.

The smoke concealed the next barrage of lightning long enough to catch the Dragon in the snout, arcing upwards and rupturing one of its eyes, and left more glaringly obvious sears in its hide. It roared in pain and rage, and the Taskmage stood in his circle, the defensive barrier it generated fading still from the furious barrage of fire. The Taskmage stood proud in his arcane arts and barked out orders in a brief, simple manner, already bursting into a sprint to evade the things charge, which shattered the shield he left behind.

"MEAT, GET BEHIND IT AND SEE IF YOU CANT SNEAK ON. ROOK, GET YOUR DAMN HEAD DOWN OR DO SOMETHING USEFUL TO KEEP IT OFF MEAT!"

Atreides ended up near the spirit soldier, who looked like he had seen every war in existence. Atreides wasn't sure he wanted to see the truth behind that, but he would have to later. Unlike the beings expectations, most likely, he spoke calmly as he addressed the being. He knew soldiers when he saw them.

"Right, cursed one, that thing is still pissed at me. It charges, you go right, I go left, and whoever it doesn't go after rips it a new asshole, or Crimson Streak does while we distract it. Agreed?"

Atreides wasn't one to waste time with his usual demeanor in the field of battle, there was time for insults and berating others later. Right now he had to utilize everything at hand to the best of its apparent ability, and from what he knew about beings that were cursed, they tended to do some rather nasty work to things that opposed them, for whatever damned reason that was. Gods knew he had seen his fair share of curses happen, and some very well might haunt him still, but that was neither here, nor there, or anything close to what his gut, experience, and arcane prowess told him this soldier experienced. But the moment it charged, he would be moving and, hopefully, so would the cursed soldier.

[Shiinen]

Well, well! What a show! Dragons and people fighting against Dragons? It looked like a fairytale come to life! But this could prove to have some dire consequences if it started eating the main protagonist! Nono, Exoris couldn't let that happen. It would make her new-found interest a boring little thing now wouldn't it? Crouched down, eating an apple as her other hand hung onto a branch above her, the Grand Imagineer eventually stood up and dusted her hands of the small snack as her Inconsistency moved up and in the direction of the moving dragon.

"Alright cranky. Let's see if I can get in on this fairytale...~"

Holding her hand out, the orb before her went through a menagerie of colors within it before it changed up and switched to a solid mixture of red and orange, almost like a tornado was inside of the sphere and the eye of the storm just happened to be where she was aiming her spell to come.
"Ars Incrementum. Now...aim at the big bad, pour my love right into this aaaand...."

A pulsating ball in her hand forged as she hummed a little tune, calm as can be as she forged a chunk of her energy into the spell until she judged for it to be of significant size and power. Seemed right to her about now...At least something to knock that dragon right off its feet! Holding it up, she placed one of her hands into the pocket of her hoari and grinned as the energy shot forward, converging into the storm that she'd created within her ball and growing bigger by the second that it stayed inside.

"Bang!"

Look, heroes! A new challenger had arrived! From the small beam she'd shot into her orb, one comparable to the side of the thickness of the tree that she'd been on would come shooting out, aimed at the main antagonist of the scenario. A multitude of shards and what even seemed to be decorative stars flew out with it, giving it a certain flair that only Exoris could achieve with that kind of hers. If it hit? Go boy, that dragon might actually get mad at her! If not? Well, say goodbye to a large chunk of the woodland. Oh, casualties had to be made for the sake of the imagination. She'd surely be forgiven for it...hopefully.

[agentmanatee]

The new man now at his side addressed him the way his old leige lord had... Who has he been... it didn't matter for, even with the new attack from above the dragon charged at him and the cursed swordsman, and without even a nod or indication the swordsman had even heard the man, he broke right as he had been asked to. His slow, heavy run made him an easy target to track, so did his size and the presence of his ghostly soul, and the dragon broke for him.

Barely keeping out of the creatures gaping maw the spectre slashed across its face with his rotting blade, cutting a small furrow in its horn and soul. It grew anary and closes what little distance was between the two, smashing into the swordsman with his horn and knocking him back to the ground after a small summersault. He picked himself up with his blade, and hoped the plan if the strange man would work... he had said crimson... was that the small woman in red? He had a strange feeling about her... as if she were known to him or... surely though it was just some vestigial memory... but he could not be certain

[TheWendil]

The masked man chuckled, amused by the way Mal was so quick to go on the offensive, saying, “There’s no need to be scared. You too are a piece in this grand tale of ours. What story you ask? Why, the one that surrounds us all.”

The man brought his arms to the air, as if representing the encompassing whole of the world. Masked freak who spouted flowery langue…who was this guy again? And how did he know Mal’s name? Noting these lingering questions, the man bowed with a sweep of his arms before setting his red-eyed gaze on the boy before him.

“Apologies for my lack of an introduction. You may call me…Jester. The Jester of the Court.

A hand was placed softly on Mal’s shoulder. When the boy turned around, he would be shocked to see it was the Jester, who was now gone from his spot just moments before.

“The next chapter? Ah…it is an interesting development, no? Let’s see….yes, shall we label you as a side character then, Mal Tervsa? Ah, that spirit inside you is…admittedly, disinteresting.”

Nearby, Sable saw the crazed Muzai charge for the dragon. At once she acted quickly, moving in to grab her by the arm and leap away into safety. Specifically, a nearby tree. Placing the other girl onto a resting branch she wagged her finger in a scolding fashion.

“Please do not kill yourself,” she said blankly, already leaping down to join the battle. As the dragon began to grow more desperate in its fighting style, rampaging throughout the forest, Sable heard her partner’s words and nodded once.

The lizard was too busy being distracted by what appeared to be a combination of her partner, an undead knight, and….a girl with floating orbs? She narrowed her eyes at the opening of weakness caused by the new girl’s attack, her blast setting off the creature along with Atreides’ strikes.

Dashing in the smoke and debris, Sable ricocheted off of the tree trunks and landed on the monster’s back. At once, she began hacking and slashing with her blades, eyes pinpointing a break in the green armor.

The dragon howled, wings spreading out and taking to the sky. Sable tensed, shoving her knives into the dragon’s back as she felt herself being carried away upward. The forest dragon launched another volley of fire towards the combatants below, racing up higher and higher.

“Engaging. Target must not escape,” Sable said to herself.

Ripping her knives out of the dragon’s hide, she ran across its body and launched each knife at a wing. The blades hit their mark, embedding themselves into the wings. The dragon snarled in pain, its body soon falling into a descent with its wings clipped.

“RE-Arch.”

Summoning her blades back to her, Sable used the momentum of the rapidly falling creature to hurry along its exterior until she leaped forward and struck her knives into the creature’s throat.

Yellow blood sprayed down to the earth below, and Sable held onto to her ripping weapons as the dragon fell from the heavens towards the group. The Crimson Streak rose in her hand one knife, keeping the other lodged into its throat.

Ready to make the killing blow.

[RedXCross]

As the smoke and colour magic flashed in the distance as the great creature tumbled to the ground, Mal was focused on a different point now. Even Ugnis with his relic had faded from his mind as Mal was confronted with this being.

“The Jester… Of the Court?” Mal’s teeth clenched tight at the mention of the authoritarian power. But just as he was taken off guard by the hand on his shoulder, he tumbled backwards, tripping over the root behind him so the masked man was towering above him.

He hated the court. He hated everything and everyone that had to do with that group that let its people suffer. But even as he stared, his grin gaining an aggressive angle and an eerie darkness clouded his eyes, he knew at this point that there was no standing up to this man.

The Demon Prince might have been his affectionate name from the underworld, but this man was at a whole different level.

Even now as Mal tumbled back from his grip, the resident spirit surged towards the spot as if warding off a lethal virus, which, to Mal’s chagrin, caused cuts to form on the bare skin. He didn’t have the energy for this. The man hadn’t made a single move yet, which meant that Mal should be safe for now.

But his spirit? Disinteresting? He couldn’t quite remember the details, but he had a faint understanding that some important people had sacrificed a lot to develop it and the form of magic that it represented. His hand scurried for the black chain in his pocket, searching for some form of comfort as the magic in his body buzzed on edge.

The chain was still there, along with its entrancing red gem. Using that magic now would surely kill him. Mal’s entire nervous system was a mess of signals, both telling him to run or to kill him for embodying the group that he hated.

“Label me what you want,” Mal grimaced, attempting to regain some dignity as he pulled himself out of the dirt with a hand clenching his now bleeding shoulder through his shirt, “But If you’re labelling me a side character, then understand that I’ll be writing the spin-off. Now are you here to entertain yourself with some anarchist refuse like me or do you have some grander purpose other than being some cliché chaotic neutral!?”

Even his exhaustion seemed to dissipate under the steam of anger that boiled at his bones. Part of him understood where the anger came from. He hated what this man represented, he hated that he was some giant know-it-all who knew him down to his name, and subconsciously he could tell that he was angry at this man for insulting the person who developed the spirit, even if Mal hated it more than he let on.
All and all, he was ready to let loose, and it was only the cold logic that he had nothing left that kept him from acting. He may put himself in danger, but Mal was not suicidal.

[FVGT]

Ugnis flipped up his blindfold as he walked towards the roar.

"Ha ha, it's been a while, hasn't it~!" Ugnis laughed to himself as he reached up to the sky in a stretch, looking around at his surroundings. "Rivenwood, again... Ha ha~" he chuckled under his breath as he drew Aegis and swung it around haphazardly, scarring the nearby trees with deep gashes. A wide grin crossed his face, remembering the other times he came here. "Ha ha ha~ I should come here more often!" Whether the monsters be beast or person, Ugnis liked to make deaths slow; making things bleed was almost artful to him, the light making the thick fluid glisten in the air and in pools on the ground. No one had agreed with him yet, but what did that matter to him?

Hearing the roar, much closer and in the air, Ugnis looked up at the scaled beast. This would be interesting! He'd never seen a dragon before, much less gotten a chance to see its anatomy. His excitement grew when it faced him and a green burst of flame headed in his direction. "Yes! Come over here-- Hey, where're you going?!" The dragon didn't even fight him, dammit! It just ran away like a coward! Red filmed over Ugnis's vision as he released a fury-filled roar, as if to match the dragon's. "GODDAMNIT, GET THE HELL BACK OVER HERE!" Ugnis clutched the side of his head as his face distorted into a snarl, unpleasant pulses pounding his head. His mind blanked out as a green blade replaced the relic in his left hand, at the same time both it and Aegis becoming whiplike blades.

He sprinted tirelessly towards the injured dragon, possessed with the thought of murdering it, but it had already flown out of range. Noticing the Crimson Streak preparing a lethal strike, Ugnis became frenzied, letting out another bloodthirsty cry. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted, flinging his two blades skyward like razor-edged bolas without any regard for the rider. It didn't matter if she got hurt. "It's ok if she dies too~!" he laughingly said to himself, the morbid, slasher smile returning with the beating pulses in his head. "Just some unimportant collateral damage, ha ha~"

[agentmanatee]

There it was... the power... the spectre was certain of it now... a relic. He felt someone's soul empowered by it, but also the relics own soul. The powerful fragment of a legendary hero... dead like him... he saw it surge along with the blades at the plummeting dragon. These people... they had one... and the one they had sparked something in him. The spectre had long forgotten why exactly he sought the legend relics, only that he sought them. As he watched the blades and it's soul a vestigial, ancient memory blinded him. He was suddenly surrounded by screams... knee deep in gore and viscera... it was jarring.

Suddenly he was returned to the moment at hand, a dragon rapidly falling towards him. He broke into his fastest run, quickly shambling away. However he didn't get quite far enough and when the beast... and the Crimson woman who... made the spectre feel some strange memory or... something, crashed to the ground he was flung from his heavy feat, landing hard on the ground. As the dust settled, he hoped the beast was finally dead, for he wished to know what the rapidly increasing number of living humans would do to the spectre... the ghost... the old dead one in their midst. He kept his sword arm tensed... just in case.

[Eisenhorn]

Atreides moved at the same time as the cursed soldier did, the Dragon opting to pursue the slower, hardier, target out of the two. Lightning arcing along his left arm, he blasted additional blows against the beast's hide, splitting scales away now from the repeated attacks and starting to really get under the thing's skin, no pun intended. Of course, as planned, Sable was already up and moving, and the dragon started aiming for the skies. Nope, Atreides decided, not that easy. Changing up his magic, he started lobbing unstable looking stones from the ground, that shattered before impact, shredding wing fabric on one side as Sable went about taking the other wing apart. Not much else he was going to do from this range at the moment, not that he didn't want hitting Sable. She was in a lot of splash range, as it were.

But down the beast came, Sable driving it into the dirt from on high. He reckoned she would be alright, all things considered, and he did indeed check briefly to ensure that, after the crash landing she was alright, he turned to address the most important thing in mind at the moment. The cursed soldier, the dead man still moving about under his own power. Well, whether it was his own or not was not necessarily the point right now. But he approached the man, for lack of better terms, hand resting on his sword just in case and spoke again to the deadman, although considering the previous silence, he was not sure what to expect out of the man. He remained frank and to the point still, he couldn't know how this soldier was going to act.

"Good work, for working under a curse like that. So, biggest question I have out of all the ones I could ask is this. You going to remain friendly, or are we going to have to disagree after bringing that thing down?"

[drewccapp]

Katarina had found her way into a forest. A wonderful place, with trees and streams and animal life she had never seen before. She practically danced as she went from one sight to another, absorbing all the spectacles she could. There were all these things she didn't know the names of. Things her parents hadn't even told her about! This was exciting, although she missed her parents dearly. Then came something spectacular, much more so than anything she had ever seen so far. A giant lizard landed on the ground and it had wings. It reminded her of some of the desert lizards she had eaten when she lived in Exilia, but much much bigger.

She wondered just how it tasted if she ate its meat. She then saw there were people fighting the creature and yelling. They must be hunting it, of course they must be really hungry to fight something so large when there was other wildlife all over this forest. She wanted to see how they hunted such a huge monster of an animal. After all something of that size could only be a danger to hunt. Maybe it was some rite of passage into adulthood, but some of those people were plenty older than she was. Perhaps they simply were seeking a way to prove their strength.

She climbed up a nearby tree and sat down on a branch at the edge of the clearing. Katarina saw another being that seemed to be fighting with the others, but it didn't seem to be human even if it held a human form. She kept herself ready to leap into battle when she felt she had a good sense of how to fight the monster.