13org

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

While the tight formation from her soldiers would serve incredibly well both against the arrows and against most animals, the same didn't seem to be true for the beasts charging towards them. Upon hearing Kareet's words, Nellara didn't lose a single second as she quickly shouted, ordering her soldiers to follow Kareet's instructions.

"You heard Seeker Kareet! Spread your formation right now! Stay away from it's path! Soldiers, draw it's attention and focus on dodging. Any mage who can, alternate ice and fire magic!" Nellara shouted, glancing to her soldiers for a moment before looking back at the enemies again.

While her magnetism or electricity wouldn't be as useful as fire and cold magic, and the fact that the creatures were resistant to magic meant that it was unlikely they would be dazed by her electricity, she could use a strong current of electricity to try and heat the creatures hides.

Focusing as much power as she could, Nellara prepared her small 'trap' to make a powerful electric current run through the beasts, the moment they approached her soldiers.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

The time for commemoration as the gunship fell was rather short. With the last powerful attacks by Salvator and Echo, the gunship became basically a flaming wreck slowly falling towards the ground. Unfortunately, despite the extensive damage the gunship suffered, it seemed it still had enough structural integrity for one last act of defiance... The moment it began to fall, Alice watched, alarmed as the remains of the gunship were steered directly towards her and Kleo.

"Kleo, RUN!" Alice shouted, immediately turning around and desperately dashing away as fast as she could from the falling wreckage.

With the corner of her eye, Alice watched as a missile pod and part of the gunship's wing slammed into Kleo's side. Still, there wasn't much time for Alice to get concerned about Kleo as immediately after that, Alice felt a searing pain burning her back as countless, burning hot pieces of shrapnel hit her.

Falling to the ground as the pain spread through her back in a wave, Alice slid through the mud and filth that the battleground was covered upon, before hitting the trunk of a tree. Despite the searing pain, a quick self-examination quickly showed Alice that luckily, the damages were rather minimal. Despite her armor offering almost no defense, the shrapnel that struck Alice luckily didn't penetrate deep enough to hit her lungs or her heart.

"Salvator, Ilshar, we've been hit!" Alice shouted by the comms as she got a syringe ammo from one of the small pockets on her armor, loaded with exactly the same mix as the one she gave Kleo and plunging it into the area just below her hips.

The pain from the injection was almost irrelevant when compared to the one she was feeling due to the shrapnel in her back. The drugs would take a few seconds to work, but she still had to move right now. Not only they were in a dangerous position, with enemy forces approaching, but Alice had no idea of the state Kleo was at the moment.

"Kleo, can you walk?" Alice asked as she got nearby Kleo and began getting her arm and putting it over her shoulder to try and support her. Even if Kleo was unconscious, Alice knew she had to at least get her into cover. It was on that very moment that Alice began to feel the rush of adrenaline from the injection, with the pain subsiding and giving her the boost she needed to help to carry Kleo.

"Damn... Another dose of painkillers and adrenaline isn't an option... Ilshar, Salvator, we're unable to provide support at the moment! We've both been hit by the falling gunship. I need to take Kleo to cover!" Alice said through the comms as she looked to Kleo again, trying to examine her overall condition and if she was still conscious.

Avalia

Time: One week after Zora arrived into Avalia.
Location: Riverbloom, The River
Interactions: Aurora @mole, Barrock @Conscripts, Rowan
Mentions:

---

The new addition to their group, was a curious one indeed. Despite their promises, Zora was well aware that they hadn't much to show... apart from promises that might as well be empty ones. So, the reason for him joining them was still something that greatly intrigued her. Regardless, it was still true that the path they had in front of them was a long and arduous one. Both for Zora herself and their 'rebel group'...

"A very, very distant land indeed." Zora said, with a mischievous smirk as she listened to Barrock's questions.

"Ain't it a nostalgic question!" Zora said, after Barrock asked her who exactly she was. Those words... Those exact words were ones she had already heard many times back in her world... And the answers she gave were always as varied and enigmatic as the interpretations people gave to them.

"One who was asked me even back in my world... Back then, I was called many, many things... Witch, soothsayer, mystic... Some called me a demon, while others, a goddess... It was always so amusing to hear the names, titles and stories the people used to give me..." Zora said, laughing, almost as if she was fondly reminiscing her past.

"But that was in the past... Those names and titles died together with the woman I once was and the power I once held... Here in Avalia, I am just Zora Sene, a mere human... At least for now." she said waving her hand as she dismissed that past as 'unimportant', finishing with an enigmatic smirk as she said the last phrase.

Even though she lost the power and influence she once held... The spirits often opened new doors when old ones were closed and here in Avalia, it was no different. She might have lost the power and influence she once held... but those were never truly hers... They were merely borrowed. What she had gained here in Avalia, was the opportunity of having a power that wasn't borrowed... A power that was truly hers.

While Zora did notice how Rowan seemed to want to steer the conversation away from her, she didn't interrupt him and instead let him do as he pleased. Unlike Aurora, it was very hard to believe he had done so in order to protect any of the secrets she might have. Instead, it was much more likely he had done so out of jealousy. After all, it probably was hard for him, who believed to be the 'leader' to have Zora so blatantly said she would obey no one and even have her being the subject of the current conversation. Such hypothesis made Zora quite amused, as she glanced towards Rowan, with a teasing grin.

With Rowan having taken charge of the conversation, Zora turned her attention to Aurora, who seemed to be more quiet than usual. Sitting besides her, Zora gently took Aurora's hand, letting a warm smile as she looked at her.

"Why the worried expression, sister? At least for now, everything is going as planned, is it not?" she said with a chuckle. By now, Aurora would already have gotten used to the affectionate way Zora seemed to call her 'sister', despite them not having any blood relation.

"And even if something happens, we need just to adapt ourselves and adjust our plans." she said, with a smile.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Nellara's expression as she looked to their assailants was almost frightening as she noticed they had no reaction to her words. Their lack of reaction, their immediate assault and how they were enough to confirm Nellara they weren't just common hunters or bandits. Depspite her initial intention of dealing with that matter with just intimidation, the amount of arrows being fired at them and the fact that there were already wounded soldiers between her men was a signal that intimidation and defensive formations would only take them so far.

While Nellara already knew that, due to her previous dealing with the humans, it was still a relief to know they weren't just harmless politicians and envoys to be escorted and defended. Vigdis quickly quickly grasped the situation and waited for the right time before returning fire. The humans' strange weapons, despite not being particularly loud or intimidating at first sight, were undoubtedly effective, with their projectiles flying faster than the eye could see.

"Vigdis, Captain Zeynep, thank you for your support. Feel free to fire at our assailants without reservation." Nellara said, glancing at the humans for a brief moment before she looked at her soldiers again.

"Soldiers, prepare fo-" Nelara began, just before she was interrupted by a worrying sound. From amidst the trees, the sound of a horn echoed, just before two frighteningly large creatures appeared, charging directly at them. Nellara didn't need to know exactly what were those creatures to know they were dangerous.

"Force mages, focus solely on defense against the arrows! Soldiers, shields raised, tight formation, prepare for impact!" Nellara said, hurriedly as the beasts charged towards them.

"Kareet, J'eon, do we have any information about these creatures? Vulnerabilities, weak spots... Anything?!" Nellara asked, grabbing a few of the iron beads with her hand, shooting them at the creatures using her electricity and magnetism magic to propel them at great speeds. One after another, Nellara tried to hit the head, the side of the head or any place she thought had any chance at deterring their charge.

Additionally, with the force mages focusing in defending them against arrows, Nellara was free to use her iron sand in a different manner. At the same time she shot the iron spheres, she made the iron sand form a long line in the ground, starting on her feet and continuing all the way after the shield formation made by the soldiers, forming a line just in front of them. The moment the creatures stepped or crossed the line, she would produce a strong electricity current, touching the iron sand line on her feet. Due to the creature' size, Nellara knew it was highly improbable it would be able to incapacitate them, but as long as it dazed them enough to confound or lessen the impact of their charge, it would be enough.

Avalia

Time: Night
Location: Guarav Village
Interactions: Cyrus @Helo, Menzai @samreaper
Mentions: Ophelia @princess
Equipment:

Steel Dagger of Unbreaking

Cannot break or become dull.

243 Amas

As Cyrus spoke about how much he was sorry for not having rescued her, Viola simply heard in silence. Nothing Cyrus had said was a lie... While Viola had indeed suffered a great deal, with her hopes of being rescued, of someone caring about her being slowly crushed, in the end, they both have suffered. Both her brother Cypress and Viola herself.

"We both suffered, but in the end, you came for me. Even if it was too late." Viola said, looking to Cyrus with a brief smile.

While Viola knew that her meeting with her brother was completely by chance, the fact that her brother hadn't forgotten about her, how he kept thinking of her despite the things that he faced were enough for her to believe he did not forget about her.

So far, everything Cyrus had said to her was of great help to calm down her mind, but his suggestion afterwards, when he told Viola to 'explore' her thoughts made Viola hesitant. The time she spent in Daka Island had changed her and after that, she felt some of her thoughts would be better left buried, sealed and undisturbed. Giving them attention and 'exploring' them could make the seeds that were planted in Viola's mind take further root and turn her into something much more cruel and dark than she already was... Even to those close to her.

Unlike Viola, Cyrus did seem to not think that bad of the constant vigilance they were being subjected to and to the wolf's intrusion into their personal matters. Menzai's words, despite everything that happened were still rather soft. He apologized for the harsh treatment Viola and her brother were put through by the other wolves and reassuring them that what he heard from them wouldn't be shared with anyone. His reply to Cyrus's question about revealing Phia's past or not, was predictable. To keep the truth hidden, to keep Phia's past a mystery was definitely in Menzai and the village's interest. While it was true that they might want to prevent Phia from suffering, couldn't that also be seen as an attempt to prevent Phia to reunite herself with her family?

Despite her silence, Viola's sharp, cold stare was enough to tell both Cyrus and Menzai himself how she felt about his 'request'.

Regardless of the animosity Viola felt towards Menzai, his offer to answer two of their questions was an interesting one. After thinking a little bit, Viola looked to Menzai, with a sharp, cold stare that seemed to pierce straight through him, almost as if she was trying to read his very soul.

"For how long do you intend to keep Phia away from her real family?" Viola asked with an icy, sharp tone as she watched Menzai's reaction and waited for his reply.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Thanks to Kareet's effort, with Nellara's help and the other mages that were among the group, the barge was safely put in the margin of the river, out of the strange black liquid. The very moment they thought they were safe though, a multitude of people were noticed by them. Even though they were partially hidden by the foliage, Nellara could still clearly see that they were a rather strange group. Without any noticeable marking, uniform or identification, the group's integrante were of many different races. They also didn't seem to be equipped for actual combat, resembling more hunters than even bandits, who often were equipped to some extent, even if only with plundered and stolen equipment.

Before Nellara or any of them could say anything, the group immediately sent a volley of arrows towards their direction. Without any warning or any negotiation, they definitely didn't seem to be bandits of any kind.

"Form a protective perimeter around the humans, right now!" Nellara ordered, as the iron sand she kept in a pouch quickly began floating around, flowing in the air as it gathered together, hardening to deflect shots before going back to it's previous form, again and again.

"Force mages, defensive formation! We need a barrier." Nellara continued before she gave a step forward towards the group, both aiming to make them focus their fire on her as she focused the iron sand to defend herself and to speak to the group.

"This is Castigator Nellara! Cease fire, stand down and identify yourselves immediately! You have exactly one chance to follow my commands and surrender." Nellara shouted with the loud, authoritative voice of someone who was used to commanding and coordinating large groups of soldiers echoing through the riverbanks.

"Failure to comply will be dealt with lethal force." Nellara finished, her voice quickly taking a darker tone as she threatened the group of hunters.

Despite the first volley of arrows getting most of them by surprise, a single glance quickly revealed that the humans were definitely quick to react and had mostly already took cover.

"Not neighbors. They didn't try to negotiate or steal us, nor they even tried to talk to us. Definitely not bandits and most likely not just normal 'hunters', as they would not have any reason to attack us if they were so." Nellara said, replying to Vigdis.

The Five Senses - Second Arc (Accepting New Players!)

Karina Frost

Even though Karina was trained, there was only so much she could do against that number of attackers without her magic. Trying to be something like a one-person-army and take every single attacker she saw on sight was a terrible idea, and Karina knew that. Due to that, she fought only when strictly necessary and tried to avoid detection as much as possible. Of course, this meant moving more carefully instead of blazing through the mansion. Due to that, Karina took noticeably longer to find the others than she would like to.

"I hate to be the one to throw salt on the open wound but... Do we already know what's going on?" Akai asked in a hushed voice as she followed Karina.

"No... And that is what irritates me. The fact that the Lord's own mansion was invaded and the lord himself is nowhere to be seen is very suspicious... Plus, this place was supposed to be one of the most secure prisons around. For such 'accident' to happen just as we visit it, escorting the princes is far too much of a 'coincidence'..." Karina said with an irritated tone.

"So you're saying this was all planned? But by who?" Akai asked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Capturing the Lord would be a good first step." she continued, letting a smirk appear on her expression. Karina didn't like being deceived and should she find the Lord after all this happened, her 'interrogation' wouldn't be a kind and calm one.

It didn't take long until Karina started heard some familiar voices coming from one of the rooms. At first, Karina sneaked nearby the door to assess the situation, but when she heard the calmness in the voices coming from inside, she knew they were all safe.

Knocking in the door as a way to announce herself, Karina got ready to enter.

"Tayla, Octavio? It's me, Karina." she said as she slowly entered the room, with her hands raised, avoiding a hostile posture in order to avoid any accidental friendly fire. Her rapier, with it's tip slightly bloodied, still on her hands.

"Are you all okay? Has anyone seen Chres? Both the lord and the princess are nowhere to be found... I'm starting to think this was all a trap from the very beginning." Karina said as she slowly and carefully closed the door behind her.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

While operating the old, clunky rocket launcher was proving to be quite difficult, with the adrenaline and the urgency of the situation not making it any better, Alice at least didn't have to worry about getting shot in the mean time, thanks to the covering fire being provided by the rest of the team. Salvator, after getting a rail-gun from one of the dying insurgency members was the first to jump into action. The familiar whine of the rail-gun powering up and charging it's shot, when coupled with the rhythmic noise of Echo's short beam cannons shooting down any incoming missiles definitely helped to calm Alice down, at least enough for her to continue operating the old piece of artillery without struggling too much.

Truth be told, Alice hoped the rail-gun would be enough to disable the gunship, knowing that loading the rocket-launcher would only be the beginning of her problems. With that said, she had no time to wait for the results of Salvator's shot. The Gunship was a definite threat and even if it was overkill, she wanted to be sure that they would be able to take it down. Plus, she knew that even Echo wouldn't be able to hold it forever. One HE missile had already passed through his active defense, exploding in the ground, dangerously close from both Echo and Kleo. Despite the shockwave having struck Echo, it was still able to fire it's main cannon together with Salvator without missing. Kleo, unlike Echo, seemed to be much more affected by the close explosion. While she didn't appear to have any external wounds, the impact definitely shook her, possibly even giving her an internal one.

One quick sweep through the battlefield was all it took for Alice to notice even more bad news rapidly approaching them. Taking advantage of the gunship, the few survivors of the firebase had enough time to reorganize themselves and were launching another attack. Taking control of the deactivated automatons and with the added support of a few Walker gun platforms, they were aiming to overwhelm the Envenomed, while they were being focused by the gunship. Ilshar was already in combat with one of the automatons, having been caught off guard by it. While it did seem like he would be able to deal with it, the Envenomed were still in heavy disadvantage, both due to their positioning and their numbers.

"We have another assault from their ground forces coming! They are reactivating the automatons and have a few walkers with them!" Alice warned by the radio, before she turned her attention back towards Kleo.

Seeing Kleo's state, Alice immediately grabbed her rifle, using the extended tube of the rocket-launcher as a support as she pointed towards Kleo, loading a single syringe round with a cocktail of adrenaline and painkiller, before shooting it on Kleo's thigh. The moment the syringe round hit Kleo, she would feel a powerful wave of adrenaline surging through her body, together with the pain of her wounds disappearing.

Kleo would know well, due to her medical training that even though the painkiller and the adrenaline would give her a burst of energy for her to go on, she would crash hard due to her wounds once the effect was gone. Regardless, it would be enough to support her for now.

"Sorry for the sting Kleo! We have more league units arriving!" Alice said, immediately turning her attention towards the rocket-launcher again.

Fortunately, the second assault from the enemies' ground forces wasn't fast enough to stop neither Alice's rocket nor Salvator and Echo's attack. At the very same time Salvator fired, the old rocket-launcher finally locked on the airship. With a loud noise and making enough smoke to force Alice to get out of the tent, the AP rocket slowly flew towards the gunship. The difference in technology was too much though and despite being distracted by the rest of the team and being already damaged, the gunship was still able to evade the rocket, albeit with much difficulty. Fortunately, the moment it did, it was promptly hit by Salvator's rail-gun. The Rail-gun proved to be much more effective than the old rocket-launcher, not only having enough force to go straight through the energy shield, but also completely obliterating not only the chin-mounted gun, but also a good part of it's lower side. The fact that the gunship was still flying was a testament to it's durable and sturdy construction, but without it's energy shield, main gun and damaged like it was, it seemed like it was finally going down after much struggle.

Still, the pilot was quick to show it wouldn't go down without a final stand. Using the remaining pod-mounted weapons of the gunship, a salvo of missile were launched towards Echo and Salvator. Seemingly disregarding even it's own allies, which were approaching the Envenomed, the gunship wildly fired it's missiles. Still, it's desperate struggle was for nothing as Echo's main cannon was finally charged and ready to fire. The first few missiles were promptly taken down by Echo's auxiliary beam cannons, while the remaining tree immediately fell as the powerful beam of energy was fired from the main cannon. Having nothing else to rely upon, the gunship couldn't possibly dodge Echo's main cannon, which struck it with enough force to leave only a flaming, distorted wreck behind to fall on the ground.

"Kleo, are you good to go? The adrenaline and the painkiller should give you enough fuel for now, but try not to overexert yourself. Ilshar, I have your back. I'm moving to assist with the automatons!" Alice said as she watched the wreckage of the gunship falling to the ground before she immediately relocated herself, getting in position to support Ilshar with the incoming ground forces while giving Kleo some breathing room for her to get back up.

"Echo, how much damage have you suffered? Can you still go on?" Alice asked, as she quickly crouched down and fired a shot towards the automata that Ilshar was fighting, hitting it right in the shoulder, aiming to destroy it and prevent it from continuing to flail it at Ilshar or trying to hold him down, like it had done a moment earlier.

"Understood Salvator, you and Ilshar have both my attention." Alice said, quickly moving her gun to where Salvator was and back to Ilshar again, sweeping the area near both of them.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

To have a well patrolled and used stretch of the river silent like that, Nellara had expected an organized military force from another kingdom, which somehow, got to know about the humans. Due to that, her eyes were not on the water, but on the river's margins, watching every single movement, expecting something to appear behind every bush and tree. Despite all her alertness, nothing could have prepared Nellara for what was about to happen. The first alert that there was something strange going on was feeling the barge quickly getting slower and slower, until for some reason, it seemed to struggle hard just to move a single inch. The culprit showed itself to be a strange, viscous, black substance that appeared in the water, completely surrounding the barge.

"The water! There is something in the wat-" Nellara began, before she was interrupted by the very same black substance, which had already corroded a hole through the floor of the barge, quickly enveloping one of the soldier's foot, making them immediately fall down. Nellara was expecting the soldier to be heavily wounded, giving how easily the substance corroded through the barge, but fortunately, his leg was only paralyzed.

Just as she saw what happened to the soldier, she heard Zeynep shouting to abandon ship, which only made Nellara even more alarmed.

"Whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH THE BLACK SUBSTANCE!" Nellara shouted, not only to the humans but to everyone present.

"I know not if it's capable of corroding us just like it is corroding the ship, but it is more than capable of paralyzing whatever member it touches. Going to the water right now will only get you either drowned or captured... Maybe worse." Nellara said with a grim tone, warning Zeynep and the humans.

"Someone, help him stand up! The rest of you, get away from the edges of the barge and mind your step!" Nellara shouted as she pointed to the soldier that had it's leg paralyzed before turning to Kareet.

At first, she was intending to ask Kareet if she knew what the black substance was and if there was a way to stop it, but upon noticing that she was trying to lift the barge from the water, Nellara rushed to help her, putting her hands on Kareet's shoulders. Due to the urgency of the situation, Nellara had no time to use her magic herself and talk to Kareet to coordinate their efforts. Instead, she would do the next best thing... To focus her own magic through Kareet and leave controlling it to her. Controlling it might take a toll on Kareet's mind, but it would be the best course of action at that moment.

"Sorry about this, but I'll focus my magic through you, Kareet. Control it as you wish." Nellara said, as she began merging her magic with Kareet, letting her take control of it. Kareet would feel the surge of power going through her almost like an electric shock the very moment Nellara finished saying that sentence.

"Any capable mages, assist Seeker Kareet immediately! The rest of the soldiers, do not let the black substance touch you or any of the humans!" She ordered before she turned to Kareet once more.

"Kareet, please tell me you know what this... thing is? Do we have to worry ourselves about someone controlling it?" Nellara asked, with a clear worried tone in her voice.

Avalia

Time: Night
Location: Guarav Village
Interactions: Cyrus @Helo, Menzai @samreaper
Mentions: Ophelia @princess
Equipment:

Steel Dagger of Unbreaking

Cannot break or become dull.

243 Amas

Normally, Viola would have preferred to keep her own thoughts to herself, but the conflicting opinions and her emotions in check was starting to get hard for Viola. The frustration of knowing her beloved sister did not remember her only fed the negative emotions that seemed to always be present after the time she spent as a prisoner in Daka Island... Due to that frustration breaking the delicate balance inside Viola's mind, more and more she saw herself falling to such dark thoughts, such as how Ophelia was the one to blame for having forgotten about her, how she shouldn't be exempt from the suffering both her and Cyrus felt... Such thoughts had gotten to the point that she felt she had to talk to her brother, worried that she might do something.

"I don't know how should I feel, brother Cyrus... It's getting... difficult... to deal with the frustration and keep my thoughts under control... It's hard to view this in anything but a negative way..." Viola said, with a deep, exhausted sigh.

"I do care deeply about our little sister. To see she is still the same cheerful, kind and sweet girl we know makes me... Satisfied... While knowing she doesn't remember us is incredibly frustrating, just knowing she is okay is good... Far from ideal... but still better than not knowing where she is or knowing she might be dead. But my other half..." Viola said, her face growing darker as she continued.

"The other half wonders why does she deserve happiness while we suffered so much... while I suffered so much! Why does she have the right to forget about us when we never gave up or forgotten about her!! While I was a prisoner in Daka, while my hopes of being rescued by someone... by anyone who remembered and cared about me were crushed, she was living happily like nothing wrong had ever happened... What makes her so special? What makes her different from the rest of us?" Viola said, the words coming out like a torrent, something that was very rare and unlike of her. In a similar manner, while Cyrus might be already accustomed to her usual apathetic behavior and lack of consideration, and sometimes even cruelty, to anything and anyone that didn't concern her, the amount of negative feelings in her words were much more intense... and worrying.

"There is nothing more I want than having my dear siblings back... I deeply care about Ophelia... But I don't know what to do... It's getting hard to ignore those thoughts and I-" Viola continued, before hesitating as she felt someone approached them.

Before she could continue talking though, a voice interrupted them, making Viola quickly turn towards it, alarmed. As Menzai walked towards them, Viola's eyes were like daggers as she looked at him, not knowing if she had heard her words or not. If the entire situation with Ophelia wasn't already frustrating enough, to be watched upon, heard and treated like a prisoner only made it even harder for Viola to keep calm.

"It is not a pleasant feeling... Both to be watched and treated like a prisoner and to be interrupted in the middle of a personal talk with your sibling..." Viola said, looking to Menzai with sharp, cold eyes as the vines from the blood rose shifted and tightened uncomfortably around her, clearly aggravated by Menzai's presence.

"I have nothing more to say... Other than what you have already heard." Viola finished, glancing towards Cyrus, silently asking for Cyrus to lead the conversation, should Menzai inquire any further about what he heard.