ERode

Iris Ascendis

_{@Nanaya@Estylwen@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark@Sifr}

And now, alone in the arena, Otis spoke of his own Ethos at last.

“Show me wonders of this world.”

The Door emerged behind him, and from it, he called up a plush chair that the Strigidae promptly sank into, before delving deep into the permissions that had been given to him. One hour wasn’t too much time, but he doubted that Ciara herself would survive one hour inside the Iris Record to begin with. They all had to make do, when it came down to it.

Pulling at his Adapa, Otis drew up panels upon panels of projected images. The highest floor was off-limits, and he hadn’t even known that the basement wasn’t accessible either, but the rest? Information flowed through his mind, amber eyes flicking from panel to panel as he ‘captured’ as many doors as he could. As a side mission, he flicked open his tome to another page, scribbling a quick message to be sent to the Hildegunde, Chunji, and Iraleth: “Davil is not anywhere that I can see, but I have no access to the basement or the top floor.”

More essence flowed through, as if extensions of his nervous system. Otis continued to analyze the situation, watching the flow of student as he reorganized his viewing panels to construct a three-dimensional overview of the Iris Record in its entirety. The doors to the arena itself closed, then locked, a sealed fortress to keep out any annoyances, before more doors and bulkheads began to collapse upon the hallways and corridors of the first floor in a sequential manner. Students and guards were caught between the subdivisions, of course, but they ought to thank him for keeping Ciara away from them, really.

Grasping control of all arcane cameras upon the first floor, Otis altered the functionality with a flick of the wrist, and in the next moment? Light bloomed within the Iris Record. Not a blinding brilliance that would cast stark shadows, but a soft, diffused light to thin out the darkness until it was hardly perceptible.

And as the medium from which Ciara’s Ethos manifested from waned, as Iraleth neared in her vengeful pursuit, yet another voice joined the others in her head.

“Don’t bother with the entrance. Third door to your left is still open. Go inside, then break past the wall directly in front of you. Run 20 meters straight ahead within three seconds; you’ll barely make it past the bulkhead before it closes if you manage that. Stairs will be westward. Third floor has no cameras.”

Iris Ascendis

Bruh, what the fuck??? Damn Sifr, that fucking sucks. Are you ok?

Iris Ascendis

Otis is first gonna do a quick scan of the entire Record using the security surveillance. Any sign of Davil?

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Meanwhile, Rhinecliff is like: "wow, does everyone and their mother have access to cross-continental levels of teleportation these days?"

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Nyx about to throw hands with a literal child (it’s ok because she’s also child-sized right now)z

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

As the people say:

Iris Ascendis

Eyo, here’s to another.

Iris Ascendis

Bwahahahahaha.

Anyways, Otis's next steps truly depends on just how much temp access he can get to the Tower while everything is in chaos.

Iris Ascendis

_{@Nanaya@Psyker Landshark@Estylwen}

He doubted that the woman would have drop those suspicions even if Ciara had won though. The draining of prime essence served as evidence enough to change one’s mere suspicions into a proper accusation and trial, so why even mention it?

Her magic though, was the real deal, as was the look of betrayal and hatred that the shadow-witch leveled upon him. He stared back, amber gaze unflinching and emotionless, before letting out the smallest of shrugs. Ciara had plenty of opportunities to come into the duel with an advantage. Instead, she had prepared a handful of parlor tricks before immediately depending upon her Ethos.

And, in the face of that shadow beast, in the face of that black tide? In the face of his own sword, being flung back towards him?

The Strigidae made one simple move: he stepped behind the adult, leaving her to handle everything. And what followed? Pure performance.

“As you’d likely know by now, Ciara’s Ethos draws greater strength from shadow. That, combined with her teleportation capabilities, means that conventional methods of tracking down her location is meaningless.” Otis was here to assist, of course, but it was simply a waste of time, chasing after someone like that. “I’ve noticed the cameras installed within the Tower. They’re all connected to a central magical array, yes? If you can grant me access to that array, miss, I can alter their essence to make them light-emitting, rather than light-capturing. If there is a system in place for locking down doors as well, let me handle their operation; I’d imagine she’d seek shelter in those places once it becomes clear that the corridors are flooded with light, so we can manipulate that to control where she goes.”

This was the kind of crisis that offered plenty of opportunity, after all.

“Ciara has participated in two taxing battles today, one in the morning and one this evening. I doubt that she had substantially rested either. Miss, please coordinate the guards via Adapa in a manner that ensures they keep their distance from her. Though she may reach rebound, there is also the possibility that she will be able to offset rebound by consuming others’ essence. That would be disastrous in its own right, considering the amount of Ethos-bearing students present within the Tower.”

After all, Valen and his clique had only left but a few moments ago, and in no particular rush either. Valen could undoubtedly protect himself, but how many more potential heroes could be ruined, if Ciara really applied her hunger?

Iris Ascendis

Pffft. I was about to say that I’d be waiting for Ciara to move before Otis did.