[IC] Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

[TheDarkTemplar]

Nightmare Made Reality

Mood Music
It started as a low grumble, barely noticeable in its arrival but quickly it grew in intensity till the very earth felt as if it were to shatter at any moment. The dead woods, once again set ablaze by Bartuc had gained green flames and small fissures in the earth began to open with flames of the same color spouting forth from below. A demonic laugh, feminine and malicious, echoed across the land before a ray of green light shot out towards the sky. The knights all heard the same voice in their heads, "I've enjoyed feasting on your desires, your fears, your greed, your agony....this one in particular has filled me with such pleasure....Tis only fair I repay such kindness". The voice laughed once more, changing its tone and becoming more masculine in sound. "Your minds...I have stolen them...all that requires is to end you all while you slumber still", the demon's accompanying laugh began to fade as a great wind swept across the land and towards Starguard Castle. At the gates, a void of darkness began to amass as silhouettes took form. At the center of it was him, The Dead God, Sar'than, standing eight feet tall and built like a monster of a man. Beside him stood his generals Cyrena and Krovah, both wearing sinister smiles as if challenging the heroes to battle. What's more there were a number of warriors, as black as night and as many as the knights, standing guard over their masters.

"COME! LET ME TASTE YOUR PAIN! I YEARN TO FEEL YOUR SOULS LEAVE YOUR BODIES!", the demon's voice boomed in the minds of the knights before they were all transported to the site of the coming battle.

[boomlover]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UeA9Nus9Eg
As Argus started to calm down a great voice boomed through his head."COME! LET ME TASTE YOUR PAIN! I YEARN TO FEEL YOUR SOULS LEAVE YOUR BODIES!" A Green glow slowly started to envelop him. And then before he could even move everything went dark. A moment later he started to see his surroundings. He was back at star guard."How is this possible?" He thought to himself as he looked at the remains of the once proud bastion.He then looked around Seeing his other companions who had apparently also been teleported here. Then he saw something that made him shiver. Two Green eyes looked at him. But where they even eyes? They where more like Glowing orbs of dead. He then saw the body the eyes belonged to. A giant looking man. Although that was the closest He could compare it to.
He was surrounded by Knights clad in black Armour. There red eyes looked at him as well. Behind him stood two figures he couldn't exactly make out. But he did see two eyes of pure rage. His nightmare was still stuck in his head, tormenting him. He tried to break but to no luck. He then fell on his knees and screamed in pure agony. The demon laughed in amusement enjoying his pain. The demon shouldn't have laughed.

Argus stood up his eyes looking like two pools of rage. He was shivering all over not because of fear but because of anger. He then spoke in a way so dead and no emotion it would send a shiver to anyone who heard it." Are you the one who gave me those nightmares?"
The man laughed enjoying himself." Yes and it was so enjoyable to watch you cower in fear." Argus grinned." Big mistake "
He then grabbed his hammer which immediately Caught flame. He grabbed it with both hands and raised it into the air. He then started screaming. A scream Of anger. The hammer started to change as the runes started spinning. There Blue flames changing into white. The Man simply pointed his sword at him and the knights started walking forwards. Then something happened. The hammer opened up revealing the contents inside. It was a small ball of fire the size of a football. The ball looked like a sun and if you looked carefully you could see the the runes where feeding the ball. Argus then slashed his hammer down releasing the ball which flew at the approaching knights with great speed. And then it hit. The explosion that folowed burned three knights to ash send one flying and did nothing to the rest. Argus then fell to his knees using the hammer as support and said." IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME KILL THIS MONSTER THAT WOULD BE REALLY APPRECIATED !" He then stood up his Hammer one again becoming normal and waited for a response. He would not wait long.

[Ace of flames01]

Mood music: http://youtu.be/gmG1DwjaINM

Ruinil found herself in front of the demon that had brought forth that she and the other Templars had witnessed prior. Upon learning this, Ruinil was filled with a burning rage, but she then suddenly remembered the hell she had just seen. She turned to the others. "Run from here. As quickly as you all can. Run!" She yelled.

She watched as she gave them all a chance to get to a safer distance. "Run you fools..." She murmured. Ruinil turned to the demon, her expression was solemn and had the look of murder in her eyes. The demon looked amused and almost intruiged as to what Ruinil was planning to do. She took a deep breath and murmured, "Leilia." ("Release.")

Mood: http://youtu.be/IEeEUPrIDao

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind rushed through the battle field. The earth shook and the ground cracked open as the seals released one by one and fell to the ground. The temperature of the air got significantly colder and a thin layer of frost and ice covered the ground. Surrounding plant life died. Finally, upon the release of the final seal, a pulse of dark energy shot through the area creating a crater with Ruinil as it's epicenter.

Just as Bartuc had under went a transformation upon his rebirth, Ruinil went through a transformation of her own. The whites of her eyes, as well as the her blood veins and blood turned a jet black. Her hair turned into a silvery white. Her canines turned into sharp fangs and her nails into razor sharp claws.

Ruinil was now truly of her origin, a demon in the flesh of an elf. "Come... Let the world get chiller... Let us start this battle you dirty killer!"

Mood:http://youtu.be/EjIvnm0GBH8

Ruinil sprung into battle with incredible speed. She grabbed the head of one of the enemy's knights and smashed it into the ground, killing the knight instantly. A twisted smile etched itself on her face. Ruinil's body turned to smoke and disappeared, yet her voice lingered; she was laughing. "You filthy whoresons... Prepare to die!" She then appeared behind another knight and ripped his head clean off his shoulders with her bare hands. Ruinil quickly turned to the next knight and quite literally ripped out his throat.

It didn't take long for the effects of her demonic power to start showing effects of recoil, as she coughed up a little blood. However, instead of her blood being its normal crimson color, it was a deep black. This did not stop Ruinil though, as she continued to slay only the enemy's forces and protect her allies. Thus, proving herself to be a useful in assisting the Order and her allies. Though at the moment, what her allies thought of her now was not of her concern. She was out for blood; the blood of those who had put her allies through pain and suffering. And thus, for Ruinil, the battle had truly started.

[ShaggyDoo0]

Glodin smiled at Burtoc "Well we don't talk all that much, hard to get a good look at your character if we don't communicate." He watched as Burtoc left in a flash of light. He took a moment to look around him and take in the veiw at what may be his future. He sighed wishing that this dream was reality before following his savior from his dream to the next where he was meeted with a grim sight. Death,destruction, wastelands. That was all he saw before him before he heard the demon's voice in his head. Soon he was teleported to the demon and his minions, as he locked eyes with Krovah he no longer cared what the beast said. Glodin found his prey. "KROVAH! WE MEET AGAIN SNAGGLE TOOTH! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A FIGHT, HERE AND NOW, JUST YOU AND I!" he shouted as loud as his dwarven lungs would allow him as he drew his hammer and pick. A rune slowly carving itself into the pick from his sheer will power in the dreamscape. The rune translated to the common tongue said "Pierce". A deadly rune made to pierce even the toughest armor. A rune he had been working to perfect but could never do so in the waking world.

[OtomostheCrazy]

There is a funny thing about battle that Kaathe always expected. Chaos. Whether it begins early in the morning or late in the evening, battle always brings with it chaos. A plan made becomes as fragile as glass, and can easily fall apart once everything starts going off. Sudden attacks are somewhat less chaotic, but it does have some, and it does grow as time passes. These things never really bothered Kaathe much, but now it was getting annoying. Still, he chuckled grimly all the same.

"Those cultists just won't give it a rest, will they?"

He took in hand his crossbow, and walked forward to get a better look. Several pitch black warriors, just as many as their own little group, though by the look of things, they weren't all that tough, just intimidating at first sight. Then there were three others. The monster that he had seen before, a new woman, and a another new figure that seemed to have been the one behind these dreams.

Loading a bolt into his weapon, he spoke to Cythlla and Henry.

"I hope you've another strategy than 'summoning a giant monstrosity and getting yourself wounded"' this time."

Though he had given up and admitted to himself that he DID care for Cythlla, he still wanted to poke fun at how well that earlier plan ended.

"As for me...Hm...I think I'll try killing one of those three rascals. They've been showing up a bit too often. I'm beginning to think they're stalkers."

Kaathe took aim at the woman near the monster and the other figure. with a grin, he pulled the trigger and let the bolt soar toward her. He quickly loaded another bolt.

[Cuccoruler]

Cythlla was still in shock of seeing such an evil side of herself. That was until Kaathe spoke about recent failure of a plan. "Like you would do better under the circumstances." Cythlla spat back at him. It was then that Cythlla saw a fireball explode near by. "Great idea!" Cythlla yelled out to Argus before starting to prepare her own spell.

Cythlla dug her shovel into the ground, again beginning to chant. This place they were in had plenty of bodies. Definitely enough to summon not just one monstrosity, but two. Henry meanwhile stood in front of Cythlla, still in his human form. His axe out but as he was simply a spirit he could do a bit more in this dream scape. He closed his eyes for a moment and his simple wood cutters axe became a rather large battle axe. "Let's go!" Henry said with a toothy grin. One of the cultist came at him. He was able to duck beneath a swipe of a knife then jump up at the man slicing him in half with the mighty axe he now wielded.

"And I do have a better plan this time! I'm gonna summon two monstrosities!" Cythlla yelled back to Kaathe with a grin on her face. At this point two very large behemoths came out of the piles of bodies. They ran at the knights blocking them off, giving the others a clear path to the main villains of this battle.

[Zetsuko]

Landeel shoved the crumbling remains of one of the knights, these illusions were stronger, something that could even cause real wounds, but they were still illusions and still fell apart when they faced him. He was aware of the others, the dwarf's fireball, Ruinil's new form, and the two monstrosities the necromancer summoned, i didn't bother him, in fact he was somewhat counting on it, with them fighting the dark knights he was able to skirt around the sidelines and head straight for the demon behind all of this. They didn't keep the attention of all the knight however and he brought an arm up to stop the blade of the second knight to have gotten in his way. As the blade came down he moved his arm to trap it and grabbed the knight's helmet, crushing it as the helmet crumbled and disintegrated. He then let go of the blade and helmet and stabbed both his gauntlets into the knights chest, pulling it apart and casting the two halves to either side of him as he continued through where it once stood on his way toward the demon, ignoring most of the things that didn't get in his way.

[Snarfulblast]

Karl practically ignores the fact that he was just told he was just in a dream and stares at the daemon who had taken the form of Karl's most hated enemy. Karl's eyes glaze over still their red color from before his head drops and he begins to laugh a ,quiet,slow, and manic laugh,"So you're telling me that this is a dream. No it's not just a dream this is MY dream......... YOU DUMB BITCH!" flipping his head back face to the sky letting out the laughter of a crazed man. "If this is my dream then you are nothing compared to me!" Drawing his two blades Karl rushes past everyone and everything laughing like a maniac the world around him twisting and warping to fit his fractured mind, one of the knight got close to him and changed morphing into another Karl that rushes off to help the other knights. Getting close to the daemon Karl stabs at it with his blades aiming to pierce it's heart.

[TheDarkTemplar]

One moment she was standing at the edge of a burning forest, the next she stared down the enemy they'd been fleeing for so long. Evelyn could see the malice in the demon's eyes, it wanted everyone dead in the most drawn out method possible. Before Evelyn could even formulate a plan Argus shot forth a ball of fire from his hammer, it hurled towards the dark knights before exploding and killing three of their ranks. That alone was a surprise but it was when Ruinil had begun to change that left the young captain wide eyed. By the time Evelyn managed to unsheath her sword, six of the black knights had already been felled by her allies and now two undead behemoths began to charge at the remaining force. Kaathe began to fire crossbow bolts at the generals, distracting them while the others moved in for the kill.

"Cadeneir, give me strength", Evelyn whispered to herself as she raised her shield and charged at the enemy. A knight had been disarmed by the other party members and she took advantage of the situation. Slamming her shield into him with all her force she toppled the black knight to the ground before plunging her sword into his skull. Now there was a clear path to the three. Evelyn heard Glodin's challenge to Krovah and left the abomination to the dwarf. Her target was Cyrena as the witch effortlessly deflected the bolts with wards. The sorceress noticed Evelyn at the last possible moment, dashing backwards and avoiding her sword swipe. "You dare to challenge me, whore?! You are lesser than an insect compared to me!", Cyrena's words were venomous yet it did nothing to Evelyn, her stern nature keeping her composed as she continued to advance on the witch.

As for Sar'than, or at least the imposter, the demon anticipated Landeel's magic nullification and grabbed the temolar by his forearm. Sar'than's massive form held the heavy armored warrior with little effort as it spoke, "You may have power over my illusions, Templar, but you have no such power over me!", the demon threw Landeel back and towards Karl who was quickly approaching. "COME, BRAVE KNIGHTS! FEEL THE SWEET EMBRACE OF DEATH!", the demon roared at the knights as Cyrena and Krovah rallied to Sar'than. Cyrena smirked upon seeing the two undead behemoths Cythlla had conjured. "I see you've learned the flesh atronach conjuration spell. Amateur work, but impressive nonetheless", Cyrena laughed as she began to summon an undead Vernox. The summoned creature was large for its species and without hesitation charged towards one of the atronachs.

Krovah snarled as he heard Glodin's challenge issued, "YOU! I'VE A DEBT TO REPAY TO YOU!". Krovah snarled as he showed his broken fangs to the dwarf, the monster was ready to charge wild at Glodin but the demon knew not to leave itself vulnerable. Instead the three remained where they stood, bracing for the coming attack.

[Ace of flames01]

Mood:http://youtu.be/NTCLob_-Eak

Ruinil suddenly appeared in front of the Cyrena in a puff of black smoke. Before she had the chance to dodge, Ruinil sank her claws into Cyrena's chest and plunged her hand deep into her lung. She looked Cyrena dead in the eyes with a twisted, toothy smile. "So my captain is not enough to be a challenge for you, you filthy demon bitch?! Then perhaps I could suffice!" Ruinil ripped her hand out of Cyrena's chest and quickly returned to her smoke form before Cyrena could counterattack. Her laughter lingered in the air.

"Pardon my intrusion, Captain... But may I perhaps be of service in bringing down this filthy demon whore..?" Her voice echoed. " Though I understand if you wish for me to not tamper with your pride..." Her laughter echoed softly.

She then appeared behind Evelyn and ripped out the heart of an enemy knight's chest; whom had snuck up from behind of her when she wasn't paying attention. She crushed the knights beating heart in her hand, splattering blood all over her face and body. She turned to Evelyn and smirked confidently, " I await your orders, Captain Sunderland."

[TheDarkTemplar]

Evelyn was in the midst of preparing for another attack when a cloud of black smoke darted towards Cyrena before it materialized to reveal Ruinil. Cyrena screamed in pain as Ruinil punctured a lung, blood began to pour from her mouth and it was clear the witch was near death. Evelyn was about to deal the finishing blow when she heard the footsteps of a dark knight approaching. Had Ruinil not intercepted his strike, Evelyn would have met her end. Turning her attention back to Cyrena, Evelyn smirked before relaying her orders to Ruinil, "Take care of her, I'm going to help Glodin. Once you've dealt with this one, head for Sar'than!". Evelyn ran off in the direction of Krovah who held hid sword in one hand and his whip in the other. "Your commander's head rests on a spike! You'll soon join him!", Krovah slammed his whip into the ground in ahead of him. Bolts of electricity darted across the battlefield and towards Evelyn with great speed. Being an electromancer, the knight-captain simply harnessed the arcane energy from the attack to power her own spell.

"GLODIN! NOW!", Evelyn cried out as she fired a charged blast of electricity, much like the three bolts she released at the real battle of Starguard. The massive bolt cracked loudly as it's energy shot across the oath towards Krovah. In an attempt to block the attack, the beast used his sword to deflect it but instead it functioned as a conductor, sending the shock straight through Krovah as he spasmed uncontrollably. With his defenses down, this was the perfect opportunity for Glodin to strike.

The demon imposter had begun to weaken. Much of its magical energy was channeled into this illusions of the generals. It was clear that if Krovah was felled, the demon would be incapable of defending itself against the sheer number of skilled warriors against it. Slowly it began to retreat towards the gates of ruined Starguard, hoping to escape back into the dream long enough to regain its strength.

[Snarfulblast]

"Where do you think you're going WHORE?" Karl stands behind the daemon head tilted and an insane grin upon his face. Bringing his blades down across the daemons fake body Karl begins an unrelenting assault against it. With each strike of his blades Karl starts speaking punctuating each word with a strike from his blade."You. Tried. To. Break. Me. You. Tried. To. Kill. Me. You. Tried. And. FAILED!" Strike after strike, Karl drives the daemon is back towards the others who seemed to have killed all of the illusions, bringing the creature to it's knees Karl places his blades upon it's neck,"Before I kill you, do you have any last words or tricks. Because you'll have to use them to get away from me, but even if you do run I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED AND BREAK ME, MY WILL IS STRONGER THEN ANYTHING YOU OR YOUR FOOL GOD CAN DO! MY CONVICTION IN THE OREDER AND MY FRIENDS AND ALLIES WILL KEEP ME FIGHTING UNTIL I FIND MYSELF BROKEN AND BLOODIED UPON A COLD STONE DUNGEON FLOOR, AND EVEN THEN I WILL STILL FIGHT UNTIL I AM DEAD." Then karl begins to chuckle softly,"But I have to give you credit, you did do some damage to my mind, and you almost broke me. But I have to thank you, now I have all the more reason to kill The Dead God!" With that Karl takes both his sword and plunges his blades into the daemons chest making it scream in pain,"So now I'm going to kill you slowly and enjoy your pain like you so enjoyed mine."

[Zelosse]

Bartuc felt the transformation of Ruinil and his blood all but boiled, a portion of her demonic energy siphoned from her to him like a wave of the purest ecstacy, promising him violence on end and blood to sate even his thirst. Bartuc drank willingly of the rage that burned in his stomach as the transformation took its full effect as it had on Ruinil. Eyes of crimson stared outwards as he threw the helmet to the side, his muscles bulging to the limit and more while they altered to suit his newfound strength. His howl was beastial as his axe and mace led his charge into the fray, a smile that revealed sharp fangs splayed across his face.
Sense of mind let him differentiate between friend and foe, the latter was met openly with unrestrained fury. The night had been long and his hunt beginning to get fun. A demon of great power, knights of shadow, and the undead that sprang from the dream. Fireballs laid waste to the field, Ruinil was single-handedly winning the fight, but he was determined to kill as many foes as he could. "TASTE MY STEEL! FEEL OUR BOND AND KNOW DEATH!" He roared, charging to Ruinils side.

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

Marcus was unimpressed and unamused as the dream continued to shift, finally presenting a clear foe and a horde of monsters to battle for a last ditch effort in destroying the foul thing once and for all. Deftly he took aim and fired into the growing crowd, searing bolts of light blasted holes in everything it touched. Cythlla had summoned two hulking monstrosities, the corpses of fallen templar even being used to fuel it, but that didn't bother him. In death she had given these men the ability to avenge themselves. He ran by her and slashed, his rapier cutting a reaching shadow to nothingness, and nodded to her grimly. Better or worse they were in this together for now.
When it was over would be when he made his decisions.
Marcus was not a stupid man and knew Landeel would try to stop him if he tried anything. Old rebels died all the same.

[Ace of flames01]

Ruinil nodded smiling, "yes, sir!" She turned to Cyrena and smiled, her fangs exposed. Ruinil inched forward, she could see the terror in Cyrena's eyes. Ruinil watched as Cyrena desperately swung at her, as she inched ever close to her. Her body turned into smoke once again; only to reveal herself soon after, her hands firmly wrapped around Cyrena's neck. Ruinil looked her dead in the eyes, "How does it feel? Knowing that you died from the hands of a half demon?!" With that Ruinil squeezed down hard on Cyrena's neck, Ruinil looked her in the eyes and watched the life leave Cyrena's body. With a loud snap, Ruinil broke Cyrena's neck. Ruinil released her hold on what was now Cyrena's corpse, letting her body hit the ground. Ruinil looked down upon the corpse with a look stricken with grief and mourning. "Filthy whore... You should have never come here."

With that she turned into smoke and circled around Bartuc a few times, her laughter echoed softly through the clearing. She was happy to see he was well, but this was short lived, as Karl's sadistic laughter caught her attention.

She looked with an expression of terror as she saw her comrade, whom she knew to be kind gentle, turned crazed and out of control. She knew what must be done. With one final glance back at Bartuc, she rushed over to Karl and appeared before him. "Karl..." Before he could protest, before he could push her out the way, Ruinil slapped him with the back of her hand, sending him back a few feet, landing on his behind. She picked him up by his collar and slapped him across the face once more. "Wake up you foolish child! You ARE broken! You have lost all sense of yourself and are now no better than them! They have broken you with their little illusions and you let them! It is time to act like an adult! If you cannot do that then you are not fit to be a Templar and you should just go and die!" She slammed Karl into the ground with a powerful force, not enough to severely injured him but enough for him to feel a decent amount pain all over his entire body. "Tell me! How does it feel to be broken?! A bitter sadist?! To be corrupt of all sensations?! Does it feel good?! Tell me!" She yelled her tone was cruel and hinted warning. She kicked his stomach a few times then stopped and looked down upon him with scornful disappointed eyes. The battle field had gone dead silent.

"Stay on the ground where you belong. You are not worthy of the title, 'Templar'. Perhaps it would be better if you just die where you lay." She replied to Karl as she returned her attention to the imposter, whom at this point looked amused from her little display. A twisted smile etched its way back onto Ruinil's face.

"Did that amuse you? Filthy whoreson! I'll kill you for what you did to my comrade." She replied, her tone was unlike her smile, cold and hinted murder. She then charged into battle.

[ShaggyDoo0]

At his captain's signal Glodin charges forward, closing the gap between him and his victim. During his advance he saw the Deamon Saarthan retreat from the battle, as if feeling fear of the templars and their power. Without a moments hesitation he hurled his hammer at the Dead God. Glodin switched his grip on his pickaxe before grasping it with his right hand also. "This is for all the innocent lives you have taken! Fall before the might of Glodin Quarrey!" he said as he slammed his pick into Krovah's hip, peircing flesh and bone. He removed his pick from his opponent and stepped back as Krovah started to fall.

"Damn you dwarf!" was all the beast could say before Glodin's pick swung upwards through his lower jaw and jutting out the top of his skull. Glodin removed his pick from the beast with a smile, not caring that his beard was soaked in Krovah's foul blood.

Meanwhile, Glodin's hammer flew true and nailed the back of the imitator Dead God's helmet, leaving a fairly decent sized dent.

[Snarfulblast]

Karl doesn't move, he lays there thinking, then he begins to cry,"I am sorry, I am so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen, I just wanted this to end, I-I-I just wanted to..." He breaks down sobbing uncontrollably curling himself into the fetal position he rocks back and forth crying. "Someone end that bitch so we can leave....... PLEASE! Kill IT right now!" He slowly and painfully raises himself up off the ground walking slowly over to the daemon and Ruinill,"Hand me my swords please. Ruinill please, I am sorry for what I did, please let me end this here in my dream...... in my Nightmare."

[Ace of flames01]

Mood:http://youtu.be/9Lsb8Week94

Ruinil looked at Karl and smiled, her expression had softened and was warm and gentle. She hugged him gently in a comforting manner and whispered in his ear softly, "I know.. I know... We all want this to end... You are not alone anymore..." She placed Karl's blades in his hand, then squeezed his hand gently. "Now..." She placed one hand on Karl's shoulder and lifted Karl's hand, that had his sword in hand, and pointed his hands towards the imposter. "Plunge this blade into that bitch's heart... And release us from this hellish nightmare... Remember Karl.... You are not alone anymore... Should you need us... Call our names and we shall come running to your aid..." She her voice was tender and held a reassuring warmth. "Do us proud... Do not forget... You are a proud Templar of the Order..." One might describe her actions as that of a mentor to her apprentice or a mother to her child. However, Ruinil's actions were that between 2 friends or comrades in arms. In doing so, she had repaid her debt to him.

With that said, Ruinil glanced at the imposter and smirked confidentiality, "I hope you are ready, filthy whore. You are about to have hell to pay. My comrade shall make sure of that!" Her body then evaporated into a black smoke, yet her laughter lingered.

However, her disappearance was short lived, she soon reappeared, leaning against the foot of a dead tree in the surrounding forests, cloaking her in its dark shadows. She coughed wildly, black blood flowed heavily from her mouth, and her veins bulged out of her skin like the roots of a tree. Her body was far into the process of destroying itself. Not only was Ruinil's soul being effected by her transformation, but her body in the real world was also effected greatly by her demonic form. She was running out of time, fast. All she could do now was watch.

[Zetsuko]

Landeel tumbled along the ground after the demon had thrown him and stopped himself a distance away, getting back up to a kneeling position. From where he was he saw as the other templars took down the demons two minion's, Cyrena and Krovah, or at least the illusions of them. Looking back to the demon he saw Karl stabbing it with his blades, a mad grin on his face, before Ruinil came about and threw him aside, he could hear her chastising him for his bloodlust. It seemed to snap him out of it as the grin left his face and he rose slowly to Ruinil returning his sword to him along with some reassuring words.

Landeel got back to his own feet and drew his sword off his back, kicking up dirt as he struck it along the ground beside him. before being interrupted by Ruinil, Karl had managed to at least weaken the demon and it was now distracted by their exchange. Seeing this he rushed at it, Driving his greatsword through it's neck, quickly following that by drawing his shortsword and plunging it into the demon's chest just below. He then pulled the blade up, coming up through it's skull and out. With it finished he pushed the demon's corpse off his shortsword with his foot and sheathed his weapons. He remained silent and just waited for the dream to end now.

[TheDarkTemplar]

Dawn's Arrival

The demon lay dead, its unholy corpse writhing involuntarily as it began to evaporate into nothingness. There was a moment where it's writhing ceased before it disappeared completely. Once it was gone, a series of visions entered the minds of every knight present. The visions showed a cave system infested with Kest which swarmed to the surface and devouring all the living, they saw the kingdom of Farendar in the midst of civil war and weakened enough for Sar'than's forces to invade the east, images of Uldgorin collapsing and the last of the Dwarves dying. These visions and more ran through the minds of the Templars before ceasing altogether. There was a silence that dominated the dreamscaoe they still inhabited but it could be seen in the distance that darkness was overtaking the land.

Suddenly, an apparition took form before the group. It was a robed individual, a man from what they could make out, and he seemed to be a mystic of some sort. His head was hooded and the shadow cast over his face made him impossible to identify. Holing up a hand he spoke, "Fear not, I am no demon. I offer aid, what's more I offer answers to this war. First you must deal with the Kest, that cave you witnessed in your visions is nearby. Then, travel to the capital of Farendar, one of my agents will meet you there. You must hurry, each moment passing our enemy gains strength. We will speak again when the time is right". As quickly as he came, the mystic was gone. Without another word or lingering to answer questions he vanished back into nothingness. It was then that the darkness once seen creeping over the horizon was now almost upon the group. It took only a moment more before there was nothing but darkness.

The sun rose over the horizon as our heroes awoke in Thanermere Keep. The sounds of knights rising to start their day could be heard as some were already up and about. As for Evelyn, she wasted no time getting ready and heading to the grand hall. Waiting there she began to go over the message they'd been given that night over and over. The Kest were already a threat, but now they were top priority. And the civil war in Farendar? Dark times were ahead, times that would try everyone's souls.

[OtomostheCrazy]

Kaathe's eyes opened. Slowly, but surely. It was a routine to keep any source of light from blinding him. He raised himself slowly, but maintained his routine until his eyes had adjusted to the point of relative comfort. The dark elf then proceeded to get dressed, grab his weapons, and walk outside into the morning's chilling breeze. Kaathe found a small, empty and secluded spot for himself, and leaned on the wall there. He was thinking to himself.

He had just awoken from a rather lengthy dream, but despite waiting long enough for other dreams to fade away, this one stuck fast, and kept his attention. There were many things that were strange, but there were two that stuck out the most. One was his feelings for Cythlla, and the other was that final battle. Though most would deny it, he found a small connection between the two of those events.

Before, he could care less about anyone's well being, and just went about his own. Now, he wanted to help protect Cythlla when she needed it. The battle, showed him just how weak he was beginning to get. His crossbow bolts were nonchalantly brushed aside when he shot them at those people, and everyone else was able to do much more than he.

"Seems as if my time here is running out...I knew it would come eventually, but I didn't think that I'd die to some creature with power and a strange mind. I suppose it doesn't matter. My crossbow is ineffective, and my spear will most likely be as well. I doubt any water plentiful enough would be around either. Next they show, I may just wind up dead."

There is one last trick up my sleeve, though.

Kaathe blinked for a moment, and then furled his brow. Had he just thought something that seemed a bit strange to him.

"What nonsense" muttered Kaathe. "I'm becoming delusional."

Or, maybe I'm returning to my old ways. I am a dark elf, after all.

"It doesn't matter what I am. Insanity is its own beast. I'd rather not allow it to overcome me."

...Still, if there's a beast that would, I could always summon a beast of my own.

Kaathe thought more on it for a moment.

"No. It's foolish"

It's the only way to keep up.

"The other Knights would hate me for it. It goes against everything they truly stand for."

Then a thought occurred to him. One that he honestly was not expecting from himself. One that he should have, but for some reason, did not.

...Since when did I care?