Hero

The Shattering of Aegis

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Kyreth's words were barely heard, but just the sight of his hands was enough of a response. Great Goddess, he was lucky he hadn't burned his hands off! This wasn't the first time she had healed an errant fire Aetherborn's self-inflicted wounds, but she wished he had given her some warning of his element. She assumed it was likely earth or something as timid as him, but instead he had something quite dangerous. She had half a mind to offer a lecture on basic aetherial principles--they helped her out a lot when she first started, though she wasn't sure he was as academically interested.

Eila gingerly brushed his wrists up to his hands, guiding his aether up. She usually enjoyed watching skin repair itself--as morbid as wounds were, she still liked to watch her magic work--but as she heard Cerric, she held back a groan. She would much rather get to the root of whatever that thing was. What if it attacked them again? What if it was drawn to the cargo? What if they would encounter it again on their way back? Then what?

Ceolfric seemed to agree with Cerric, much to her surprise. Then again, it was probably the smart thing to do. She dropped her hands from Kyreth's, healing complete, and took in a deep breath to calm herself down. "Let us away," She said, though not before hastily taking Liliann's wrists in her hands--sunburn or not, she wasn't going to allow the poor thing to stay in pain. It was the one thing she was good for, anyway. Once finished, she released the girl, motioning towards the cart. She broke into a jog, figuring it was better to join Esvelee sooner than later.

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The Shattering of Aegis

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It was the Goddess herself that must have protected Kyreth. He was not burned to cinders as the cloak left him and the creature and left to...set the forest on fire. Oh dear, that could be bad. That must have been Liliann, bless her and her brilliance in the heat of the moment. Eila was ssurprised to see the fire put out rather quickly--so their lives were of little consequence to be lost but heavens forbid some plants get set on fire! The thought alone made Eila bristle. Kyreth could have died! Why didn't he help him?! But the poor child likely needed her help, and despite not being physically adept, she could help him in another way.

Of course, she was not only lacking in strength but also in awareness. A lifetime of being sheltered by city walls dulled her sense of safety, only for it to be torn down by the pain in her calf. She let out a squeak of shock, tripping over her own boots and landing on her knees. The pain had been sharp but it was nothing to the realization that she was a sitting duck. She looked at the wolf with wide eyes, the reality of the situation hitting her hard. She froze, body stiff as she watched the creature ready itself to attack her again. Her bow was already cracked, it wouldn't protect her neck a second time. She needed to move. But her legs refused--if anything, they clammed up further as she shrank back.

Ceolfric came and bashed the wolf aside. He made it look so easy. His comment was entirely dismissive but it still hit whatever pride she had. She lowered her gaze, fighting back tears prickling the corners of her eyes. She was sitting there scared like a child instead of being dependable.

Letting out a shaky breath, Eila did her best to collect herself properly. "Thank you," Eila said quietly, not wanting to seem ungrateful. She watched as Ermes' bandage wrapped itself around her leg, and she felt the shame creep up on her again. How humiliating. She placed her hand over the bandage, directing her aether to heal her wound. Ignoring the shaking of her legs, she forced herself to get up, ignoring the pair stabbing the wolf and walking over to Liliann and Kyreth.

"Are you alright?" She asked the pair. "You must have gotten burned. Show me, I can heal your injuries at the very least."

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Court of Nuhl

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No protests? Finally! Lyra would never admit it but it did give her a little confidence boost, especially as both vampires moved as needed. She was used to fighting with allied vampires, so their speed wasn't surprising. Instead, she made sure to take careful note of the room once the doors opened. Nothing looked particularly flammable aside from the people there, though her thoughts were interrupted by the scent of burnt flesh. Her heart dropped to her stomach--they were too late to save someone. Oddly, it spurred her into action, and she knew what she needed to do. Helping the vampires was out of the question for the moment--she'd just end up in the way with how they moved--and she focused on the survivors.

Quinn and Caspian focused on the remaining hostages, and Lyra figured she should do the same. Caspian had closed the gap while Quinn had pulled one of them--Roan, judging by the blue hair--to safety towards the mages. She hoped the guy wouldn't lose whatever lunch he might have had since she was dizzy just looking at him. She raised her hands, moving between him and Quinn with the intent on catching him. She wasn't exactly super strong, but she figured she could probably stop him.

"Oppolik!" She spoke her spell, forming a small wheel-sized shield against Roan's back. She figured it would help somewhat, except it was temporary, and once it was done, Roan still charged at her. She wished she could say she caught him with grace, but he came faster than expected and honestly the fact that she landed on her butt and not on her shoulder or back was already a miracle once he crashed into her. At least nothing was broken. Hopefully.

"Calm down and stay still. Quinn, watch the door, we're making enough noise I'm sure we're about to meet some reinforcements," Lyra spoke as she managed to get herself up, though she kept a tight grip on Roan's shirt. He was probably going to end up panicking and trying to get away, and if she was going to free him from his cuffs, she needed him to not move so she wouldn't end up accidentally burning him.

First things first: a shield to make sure she wouldn't get interrupted. "Endrelle." The square shield popped up around the duo, giving Lyra a little room to breath and look at the cuffs. She couldn't get them off without hurting Roan, but she could at least free him up to move. She quickly crawled over to Roan's legs, prioritizing the ability to run. She muttered to herself as a small shield popped up around his feet. Not that she would ever burn him on purpose, especially since Nelda would have her head if she ever did something that dumb, but better safe than sorry. "I'm gonna tell you again not to move--fire hurts."

She didn't bother waiting for a response, a flame blazing from her fingers and onto the chain. Focused solely on getting through as quickly as possible through what she thought would be the thinnest link, she made sure the metal molted before feeding the flame more to cut through it. Valafar would've been proud. Dismissing the shield from his legs, she hastily crawled over to Roan's back, pulling his arms back as much as she could without hurting him. It'd be uncomfortable, but she would be quick, and instead of mimicking her previous move she made sure to have two shields around both his hands. She repeated the process again, taking care to be more cautious this time and doing everything she could to make sure she wouldn't burn him.

"Okay, done," Lyra sighed in relief. "Careful, metal could still be hot."

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The Shattering of Aegis

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At least her clarification had clicked in everyone's heads, albeit the blank stares and lack of a response beforehand made her degree cry a little. Fortunately, it gave some much-needed direction to the group. She wished she could say she was relieved, but unfortunately, she neglected to give herself more space from the wolf. It missed once and didn't seem to want to make the same mistake again, the sting on her shin letting her know she was careless. But that was just the tip of the iceberg as Eila found her back meeting the ground, an aggressive wolf snapping at her. Somehow, it took longer than it should have to register the events. It had lunged at her, but for some reason, her mind didn't realize what it meant. Was it because she was scared? She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't, but it just happened so fast.

She greatly underestimated the creature, as even dead, it was stronger than she was. The sound of splintering wood made her realize much too late that it was aiming for her neck. Something so rudimentary slipped her mind, and it would've worked if she didn't switch to her dagger. It was still acting like an animal and wolves often aimed for the kill of any creature they hunted. Regardless of that kind of thinking, though, she was in trouble.

Once the reality of the situation came in, Eila was surprised she hadn't started screaming in terror yet. No, that was caught in her throat, her hands struggling to push the thing off of her. Curse her past self for skipping physical education, building some muscle would have proved useful! She seemed to find her voice as the wolf clawed at her, but fortunately, something seemed to muzzle it. Drawing in both of her legs, she gave it a solid kick with both feet, finally freeing herself. She nearly gagged at the stench of whatever that black stuff that it slobbered all over her was, wanting nothing more than to jump in a river.

The sudden warmth caught her attention as she got to her feet, and she let out a gasp as she watched what looked like a flaming wolf on top of the Tainted boy. "Kyreth!"

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Court of Nuhl

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Even when he agreed with her he had to make it snarky. In some way, Lyra thought this was probably some sort of punishment for her own dryness--she usually had no problem throwing back what she was given, but again, an argument here was counterproductive and she was trying to be a team player. At the very least, once they returned, she could tear him a new one. But she had a sneaking suspicion he wanted a reaction out of her. Welp, if they made it out alive with every hostage, she guessed that entertaining him would be a decent reward or something, so whatever.

She wrinkled her nose at their surroundings as they descended. Ugh, did the Empire really have to lean into the whole trope of bad morals meaning less upkeep for their facilities? She knew it was probably related to the inhumane torture methods, but didn't they have standards? At least Quinn's question had the gears in her head turning. While it was best not to make too much of a racket, she didn't think they'd be able to sneak up on the executioner. Not to mention there were probably guards somewhere, so it was just a matter of time before everyone knew they were there.

For once, however, she wasn't entirely worried about that. "We'll be charging in. Chadwick and Donovan can take the lead as the fastest and most capable of dodging lightning--if the executioner 'fries' people, it's either by fire or lightning, but I'm willing to bet its the latter," Despite being made fun of for overexplaining, Lyra ended up falling back into her habit. "I'll join in on the offensive. Caspian and Quinn can secure the hostages. I'm hoping our talented vampires can rip everyone to shreds before reinforcements pop up, so if they don't, then I'll pivot and Quinn and I can stall any reinforcements."

That seemed like a solid plan. At least, to her it did. "Caspian can also use his magic to see when reinforcements arrive, but I also want him looking for a clear path. There's no avoiding a fight, but the priority is the safety of the hostages since this is a rescue mission," She continued. She didn't think she had much more to say, but she couldn't help but add, "This way, Chadwick gets his head removal quota, we rescue our guys, and everyone's hunky-dory until the next disaster happens in the two minutes we get in there."

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The Shattering of Aegis

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This wasn't good at all. Dark magics were at work, unfriendly and dangerous to boot. The fact that there were multiple wolves was also very worrying. Necromancy was what it was called, if she recalled right. The absence of natural aether made the rotting bodies ideal to puppeteer, especially ones that had degraded so. Corpses made for attractive targets as no blows would injure them any further and they could move without worrying about any injuries in a fight like living creatures did. Horrifying stuff, really, and she would tut in disproval if the situation weren't so dire. Fortunately, this was a winnable fight.

She let out a tiny squeak of horror as one nearly nipped her leg, hastily draping her bow across her chest as her free hand withdraw her dagger from its holster. "Simple blows will do nothing, we must disrupt their aethric circuits to prevent the magic from further controlling them!" She called out, wondering if she was able to decapacitate the creature.

After a second, she realized they likely wouldn't understand. "If we destroy them fully or behead them, they'll be vanquished for good," She added. "They'll continue to be a threat otherwise!"

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Court of Nuhl

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Since when was making portals with water 'nothing'? Either Caspian was humble bragging or he didn't understand his own abilities. Lyra bit her tongue so she wouldn't retort, more focused on getting past the camera and debating whether or not she could safety throw herself down the stairs without injuring herself. She definitely felt lighter and her footsteps didn't make any noise, so she thought she could probably get away with it, but she might still end up making noise and ruining the whole 'element of surprise' thing they had going on.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as the elevator made noise. They hadn't been discovered--she was pretty sure she got past the camera fine and both Quinn and Caspian couldn't hug the wall more--but it was some bad timing. She threw her arm out to prevent any of them from getting closer as she gingerly approached the elevator doors. It wasn't a good idea, but she was pretty sure she could meld the doors shut before they opened up. She raised two fingers as a small fire formed at the tips, her other hand readying a protection spell that was just about to come out of her lips before she realized the elevator continued.

Welp, never mind that, then.

She blew the tiny fire out, though she'd be lying if she didn't say she wasn't relieved. Man, she really was on edge, she acted without thinking. At that point, Donovan decided to talk again, asking about frying a mage. Unless there was a giant vat of oil downstairs--and she really, really hoped they didn't--they were dealing with a lightning mage below. Good, she had plenty of experience fighting those. Her stomach turned a little at the idea of electrocuting mages, but she knew now wasn't the time to hesitate.

She didn't miss that Donovan was basically talking to her, but she wasn't going to let him get one over her again. "It means the execution's happening now, so we ignore whoever's in the elevator and keep on," Lyra said. "We have the advantage, so we're gonna rely on the element of surprise. Let's go."

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The Shattering of Aegis

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Ermes' protest didn't go unnoticed. Did he really think Kyreth wasn't capable of waking the others up if something happened? Eila couldn't help but frown at him. Maybe Ermes had the same prejudice the people in town did since Kyreth was Tainted. That would explain his wariness when Liliann left with Ceolfric. Hm, but maybe she was making assumptions. He may have meant it literally in that they were the ones being tested. She gave him the benefit of the doubt, instead focusing on eating and trying hard not to think too much on running on four hours of sleep. She hated to admit it, but she was tired, and the thought of walking more tomorrow didn't help.

Fortunately, the watch was easy enough. She let her mind wander once or twice more than she should have, but ultimately, things worked out. For one, once Liliann took over, she was so tired that she fell asleep right away. The ground was uncomfortable enough that she woke up easily once Ceolfric woke her up. Ermes was pleasant company and made it easier to stay up, but she'd be lying if she said her daydreams were filled with thoughts of the inn. She couldn't believe this trip had made her miss a bed so much.

Eila didn't pay much attention to the weather, more focused on the task at hand and being very curious as to why Cerric looked so tired. No, not tired, he looked exhausted! Should she just ask him? Would that be considered impolite? Her chance at asking was gone, however, once they stopped. The horse had become upset at a dying wolf, but Eila hardly paid attention as she noticed how utterly devoid of aether the creature was. Aether took time to dissipate from dying creatures but--wait, it was limping, but it didn't look particularly injured.

"What..." The word left her mouth as Eila stared at it, shocked. She looked to Cerric, who looked entertained. Both Ceolfric and Kyreth spoke, furthering her own confusion. No, now wasn't the time to stand around. Eila immediately withdrew her bow from her back with one hand, the other plucking an arrow from her quiver as she moved away from the caravan. She took aim and fired at the creature, bracing herself for a reaction.

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Court of Nuhl

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Lyra knew she was going to want to strangle someone by the end of the mission, but she was so sure it'd be the enemy, not her own 'teammates'. Donovan was full of it, for one; she had interacted with enough vampires that she knew almost every single word out of his mouth was absolute garbage pretending to be sanctimonious for appearances' sake. Everything sounded fine, sure, but it didn't match the smirk on his face--and she wasn't stupid, she knew he was watching her, appraising her, mocking her in whatever thoughts he had running through his head. Chadwick piped up and agreed with Donovan, much to her chagrin. Of course, both vampires were on the same side--no surprise there--but she had to bite down on her tongue hard not to retort to the Astorio, especially since that stupid smug grin was begging for a response. She must have had some bad luck if she was stuck with two annoying, judgmental vampires.

And of course, Mr. Righteousness over there was splashing around in his puddle acting like he was above everyone else. 'Discussing who likes who,' what was he, stupid? Did he think she wasn't taking this seriously? Was not wanting to get talked down to suddenly a crime? She needed to calm down or she was going to end up setting everyone that wasn't Quinn--who she noted was much more receptive to the nickname than his full name, she'd definitely remember that--on fire. Donovan was going to be first, and if looks could kill, he'd be on the floor after he decided to pinch her cheek. The only person allowed to do that was her mom, and even then Lyra hated it. She smacked his hand away, less than pleased as she glared at him. Condescending asshole.

Taking in a deep breath, Lyra decided since everyone was sick of her talking, she wasn't going to say anything else. Well, if everyone was telling her that she was the problem, then she probably was. It wasn't like they were wrong, maybe she was trying too hard. She looked down at her bracelet, thumb running over the letters. She didn't want to admit she was nervous, even if it was probably obvious. She wasn't exactly expecting almost everyone to dismiss her so suddenly, though. Welp, since she was the problem, then she'd have to be the one to suck it up and make sure everyone got along. And that meant apologizing even if she didn't want to.

Letting out a huff, she waved off everyone's words. "Fine, you're both right. Sorry," She said, deliberately holding back lest she further offend, though she softened as she watched Quinn. "C'mon." She gently tugged his sleeve, gesturing him to follow her. Since everyone was on her to just go, she decided not to wait and instead headed in the direction they needed to go. Her lighter footsteps took up enough of her attention. It took a little adjustment, but she was certain she had the hang of it. Gravity magic was pretty neat, wasn't it?

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Court of Nuhl

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No objections, that was a good sign. Lyra definitely felt a little relieved that neither vampire questioned her, even if she could do without their judgment. Donovan over there was watching her like she was a little kid, and Chadwick was...bored? Okay, maybe she could kinda sympathize since she'd rather go for a direct fight, too, but come on, there was danger all around them! Then again, she wasn't sure why she expected any different. Most Astorios she knew were the same, and if Chadwick was anything like Nelda, they were always looking for a challenge. She held back a sigh as she tried to decide which was worse, him, or the one who wouldn't stop staring at her.

She did her best to stow away her annoyance. Her mom warned her that vampires were easily offended, and she'd rather not get into it here. Instead, she turned her attention back to Quintus. She didn't miss him looking at the camera--maybe he didn't like her using his full name? She probably should've asked, but it was too late for that. At least he was way more amiable to her suggestions, and did as asked. The difference was pretty staggering even without taking any steps. Her already short hair already floated away from her face, and she felt a lot lighter.

Taking a few steps, she figured she could handle it. She turned back to him with a nod of approval. "Nicely done, Quinn," She paid him the compliment first and hoped he would like the nickname better before turning to Chadwick. "We'll see what state they're in and go from there. If we need to split up, we will. You'll get your chance to rip more heads off soon enough."

She almost added that she'd appreciate less commentary, but that was pointless. Instead, she looked back at the smug Eve. Despite knowing there was likely a better time for this, she figured it was better to just get it out in the open. "If you have any problems with me, either spit it out or stop staring at me," Lyra told Donovan. "I already know what you're thinking. I'm here to help because I want to be here. Now, unless there's any other objections, let's go."

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