Estylwen

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Got a quick action post up! Resist being taken to the Ghost Corp HQ or forever hold your peace! :>

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

North Ehlm, Val's Safehouse

@SporkoBug, @Herald, @Qia

---

Four more shots rang in the air.

As Val lunged for the Ravager and his empty gun, he'd be able to see out of the corner of his eye two bodies that had collapsed on the ground. Teresa and an unknown - a dark-skinned man with dreads. Both just… gone.

The Ravager shrieked, chucking his gun at Val and pulling out his own dagger a moment too late. The next instance later, the Ravager was on the ground, unmoving. Three dead bodies. And Val's kill count for the day increased to one.

One problem, however.

As the Ravager fell, three more took his place, guns raised and one diving at him with a knife.

Inu’s voice was swift as Wren- as Ferz, grew vines around VV and A. ”Seirael na, thaela Umbra dhaelar, tel’sir ior nan en’alarei! Tesh ylir esia! (Grab them, those Umbra girls, and get on my back. We must leave at once!)”

Looking more closely at the two Umbra test subjects, one would be pleased to see that A's attack had succeeded, and Wren's attack had shielded. The Ravager holding the gun let out a pained whimper as his gun dropped, hands moving to stop the blood flowing from his nose and ears. He quickly fell to his knees. The other two Ravagers attempting to grab the girls were pushed back by the vines, hissing and screaming in discontent. Immediately, twelve bullets from their guns were aimed at Wren.

”Die, you black heart!” One of them yelled.

Before they were blindsided by a wave of shadow, all at the courtesy of VV, squinting through the thick vines.

She turned to A, “That was awesome, but we really gotta get outta here.”

The molotov sailing towards Mimi was an unfortunate bottle. You see, it already had a fine crack along the side. So the slight flick of pressure, of a tail, caused the molotov to explode. Fire and liquid caught on Mimi's tail feathers, smoke sputtering. Dex looked on triumphantly, but before he could make his next move, Le Fray raised a device in the air, and pressed its button.

Immediately, a shriek of a thousand souls emanated outward, vibrating the very air. Each Ravager was visibly overcome, falling to the ground with their hands over their eyes and ears, weeping.

Le Frey wasted no time, motioning for Val to come over to Inu. Everyone needed to mount the dragon, and then they'd fly out of the garage door. He'd ensure Val got on, and he knew Wren would ensure the Umbra girls and Mimi would get on. And if their charge still had any hesitations about taking a trip to the Ghost Corp HQ… well, he'd deal with them right here and now.

They had to act quickly. Already, some of the Ravagers were realizing they weren't in immediate danger, heads peeking up…

Iris Ascendis

It truly is this, ahhhh...

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

New post is up! Let me know if I'm missing anything or if you have any questions! :)

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Grand Bank, Duchess Agustria's Estate, A Few Days Previous

_{@Click This}

---

Mene gave his ‘sister’ a parting look before following Vauxhall down the hall. It was immediately unnerving to have two maids follow closely behind him. He could feel their stares hollowing holes out of his back. And, no matter how he wished or how his ring gleamed, there was not enough of an opportunity to slip away.

So, alas, he found himself in the lavatory, at a complete loss for what to do. His gaze immediately went to the large window. His fingers even traced around its edges, looking, hoping for a latch to open it. Alas, he had no such luck.

A part of him wanted to quit there, and simply return to his sister and the duchess to enjoy under the guise of a friendly meeting. But… Her Majesty was already upset with them. It meant that if he, if they failed one more time…

He didn't care for himself, but his sister… If anything were to happen to her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

There was an empty stone chamber pot on the floor. It was exquisite, with flecks of gold running through the polished granite. Heavy so as to deter guests from moving it; to leave that task to the maids. But perhaps… Perhaps he could use it.

First, Mene ensured the lavatory door was locked from his side. That would give him a few seconds of a head start. Then, Mene picked up the chamber pot by its lipped rim, approached the window, coiled and held his breath… Before he slammed the stone chamber pot into the window with all the strength he could muster, ring glimmering once again to increase his chances of shattering the window.

---

Present Day, Battle-Blood Minstrel, Above Athius

_{@Irradiant, @The Otter, @Click This}

---

"Can't play this time, sorry,"

Callum

Spirit growled in annoyance, watching as Callum disappeared over the ship's railing. His eyes were drawn back to the Captain, contempt in his demeanor and he drew his sword. ”You're going to regret interfering, old man.”

Captain Thorne balked, ”Old man?! I'm 29! …What, is it the beard?”

As Spirit aimed to break through Captain Thorne's shield, his dagger glowing with a gold Deshell, his shadow… well, it moved.

In the next instance, a hooded man holding a broadsword materialized out of Spirit's shadow, slamming his blade hard. Spirit turned on his heel, sword clashing. The deshell meant for the captain was instead transferred to his second-in-command, John Jones, who let out an irritated groan, now suffused with a gold aura.

”Great, see what happens when I cover for you, ’old man’!”

Captain Thorne shot back. ”Again, I'm not old!”

Spirit, rolling his eyes, prepared another spell to end the stalemate. But before he could use it, he was blown back with a wicked wind of frozen ice crystals. Vulluin stepped forward, joining the side of the captain and John. His gaze momentarily absorbed the carnage of the ship, the bodies of fallen soldiers and sailors, before his gaze fell flatly on Spirit.

”You're not escaping us, foreigner. Treason against the Queen is punishable by death.” He said, hand raised with another spell of ice.

Spirit merely smirked darkly under his mask, dagger at the ready. ”Good thing I only report to the true king.”

***

Under the water's surface, Valor could only cooly smile underneath her mask. She had gained quite a bit of attention, it had seemed. Though her target was still far below the water's surface, she would need to take care of the Queen's nobles before moving on to stopping this whole nonsense of ‘taming a leviathan.’

The blasts of air from Duchess Agustria were dodged easily enough. However, it was only the crack of a cut that alerted Valor to Minuette's sword attack. Her sword had wedged itself into her golden sphere, causing water to enter in pressurized streams. Valor looked with a lidded gaze, before a flash of light caught her eye. More than one flash, and brilliant orange hair…

Before she could do anything about Callum whizzing past her to the Queen below, one of the slices of mana had made its home in her sphere, passing through the construct to hit her square in the chest. The others did the same, and Valor hung there limply in the water, her armour shattered and clothes torn.

Before she raised her hand, an angry glint in her eye. Not needing to breathe, she clenched her fist. Specks of gold began to coalesce around Duchess Agustria, Minuette and Sir Hayworth. Each began to twist, growing like snowflakes snaking across freezing glass. They grew and grew, forming cubes that tried to bind themselves to the Arrowfell citizens and to the cubes around them. Attempting to both cage them and squish them under the pressure of golden cubes coming together.

***

Down further below, The Wizard Queen glanced over at Callum.

"Captain Thorne is occupied on the deck. I'll try and be quick about this."

Callum

It was necessary to read his lips as he spoke, the water muffling most of what he said. The Wizard Queen nodded in understanding, an anglerfish passing beside her. With a gesture of her hand, the anglerfish's massive bulk moved forward, eyeing Callum before it began to lead the way towards Ingens’ massive head.

With their speed, they made it to the massive scape that was Ingens's head with little issue, as Ingens was still recovering from being blinded. The anglerfish's bulb lit up, illuminating soft scales that could easily be pried to the side to allow for the burial of the Seeds.

However, the scales and the head suddenly and speedily shifted, illuminated by the light until Callum was looking directly down at the three massive eyes of Ingens.

”You really think I'm so stupid? …You mortals are all the same. Die.”

Water currents pulled at Callum and the anglerfish as Ingens opened his massive maw. It was like staring down a massive tunnel as one looked at the back of his throat. It was like staring death in the face.

And Ingens launched forward, aiming to swallow them whole.

***

Back on the surface, things weren't looking good for Raiden and Jikoryss. Jikoryss, suddenly having the whole of the fleet firing upon him, was flying widely through the air, trying to outrun the guns. Lightning filled his mouth as he prepared to deliver another blow to the Swiftsure.

Before he was blindsided by the blows of the Minstrel and the smaller fleet ships. Dazed momentarily in the air, Jikoryss took a direct hit from the Swiftsure. Smoke seeping from his wounds, Jikoryss began to fall towards the sea…

Faith, on the other hand, had dove into the water the first chance he got, avoiding the fire from the ships. Being spectral, he lacked the need to breathe, and his levitation made navigating the water almost as easy as the air.

He positioned himself beneath the Swiftsure, raised his lance, charged it… and threw it into the belly of the ship, hoping to create a gaping hole with the explosive shockwaves the lance would release upon impact.

---

Meanwhile, at the The Hathforth Castle, Present Day

_{@ERode, @Psyker Landshark}

---

It was just like any other day in the absence of the Queen at Hathforth. Merchants continued their trade in the markets. The fisheries and the port were busy as ever. Carriages moved nobles from one place to another. Commoners busied themselves with the purchase or selling of produce and household items, occassionally scoffing at the prices. Coin didn't go as far as it used to, after all. Beggars ignored kept to their corners of the world, holding tin cups for alms. Walking priests stood on their soap boxes, illuminating the attributes and blessings of the All-force. Many citizens stood attentively, nodding along to the priests.

The guards of Hathforth maintained their patrols, with barracks located at the castle. Guards were positioned at the watchtowers, looking over the farmlands surrounding the walled Hathforth. Guards also carefully watched the three gates at the north, east, and south, inspecting each merchant, farmer, and visitor that entered or left.

The military of Hathforth was set up in such a way that Hathforth was always in a position where they could respond quickly. Three forts surrounded the city - Fort Crysthanamum, Fort Fern and Fort Iris. Each held about a thousand warriors and mages. Each was about an hour's ride from the capital.

When the guards within Hathforth weren't cutting it in terms of safety to the people, the capital and the Wizard Queen, military personal were dispatched to see to it that peace was restored. The last time the military had been used was, in fact, against the Queen as she had fought to ascend the throne. Now? They busied themselves with coordinating with the captains part of the Crossguards, ensuring they were prepared for an attack from the North. Or, All-Force forbid, an attack from a neighboring city.

The royal guards were a sect of their own, patrolling the castle only, and seeing to it the safety of the nobles within were maintained. They were of a higher caliber of military, and titles would often be granted to those with noble merits. Though, the royal guards were still below the Crossguards.

That left Elysabeth as the highest authority within Hathforth at the moment, overseeing the city guards and the royal guards. At the moment, she was in the throne room. The decorations from the Hearthfire Gala had since been removed, making the throne room more of a simple, majestic place.

The throne lay empty. Even she wasn't crazy enough to sit on it without Her Majesty here. No. Instead, Elysabeth stood off to the side of the throne room, neck-deep in a conversation with a merchant that no, they could not grant him a written proclamation to acquire slaves from Nordor for his fields. Slavery had been abolished, anyway. And no, Her Majesty would not reenact slavery just because Duke Willowsteel committed treason. And no, Nordorians were not considered lesser in Hathforth legislature.

Every so often, Elysabeth's gaze would be drawn to the entrance to the throne room. She was expecting the return of Lady Safina, after all.

And nothing would mess this day up.

Dark Beyond: Voices of the Past

Sounds wonderful, alright!

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Ooh, she purdyyyy. I think I have an idea of when/how she's going to show up...

I trust your instincts, hehe. Glad you like her! She'll be introduced in the next IC post.

Speaking of which, I'm currently working on the IC post. It's about half done, so I'd like to have it up tomorrow. Thanks for you patience, everyone!

Magic in the Park

All good, I thought it was a good post.

I think that's all of us!

Dark Beyond: Voices of the Past

Good, very happy to hear you got a good prescription. It should help in the recovery process, hopefully. :)