Jay009

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Although Barracker had a well distinguished boot camp and early career as a soldier, his Paladin training was not amongst the very best. He was always excellent at following orders, combat training and keeping his armour and dorm clean. He lacked in a crucial area, and that was the strength in his source domain affinity. He lacked the ability to control his domain of magic, so much so that a couple of academic teachers spent a lot of sessions hammering into his head at least something he could manage at his low level. A couple of spells that would be useful for monster hunting, which were stoneskin and lesser barrier. Ironically earth domain and light domain were neither his domain affinity. His actual domain had never crept to the surface or really served much purpose. Until now.

When the steam bomb was launched, and Barracker lost sight of the enemy’s position. Somehow he realized he could still sense him, even as Zigmund moved towards Zell. His eyes followed, even though blinded by the steam cloud. It was so out of the ordinary that he was paralyzed for a second, wondering how this was possible. Luckily James was not so paralyzed and was able to save Zell with a bold move to say the least. His leader was a solid strategist but man, would he take insane risks when he had to. Zell would get to savor another breath, thanks to James’ quick and decisive action.

The steam cloud suddenly disappeared, his sight came instantly back. With a double blink, his eyes reset, adjusting back to normal. His gaze was set on Zigmund.

A water javelin was thrown his way. Barracker sprinted ahead, raised his shield arm, swinging to parry the javelin off target and past him. It flew off into the distance, evaporating into droplets. The Vampire joined his friend, Fenna. Back into the action he went, the Paladin’s vampiric speed so fast that he skidded low in the dirt, slowing as he slid just behind Fenna’s back, ducking the butt of her spear as she and Zigmund circled in their duel. Once clear of her and with Zigmund circling into him, the vampire changed direction, keeping his momentum and aiming to swoop into a sword swing with his claymore. The sword swung to meet Zigmunds legs, at the same time Fenna aimed for his abdomen.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

<Snipped quote by Saiyan>

That reminds me, I never really watched DB but it's a shame Akira Toriyama died.

@Dark Cloud

He's a legend of anime RIP

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Hope ya'll enjoy a lil insight into the head of the man that's bringing hell to a place near you. Also some lil thoughts about most of the current cast.

@Dark Cloud

That was absolutely epic post. Its Good to hear the thoughts about the other characters. It was very thought provoking and very visual with the speed of the horse and wind.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

As Barracker woke to the sounds of screams, he was up immediately. He felt mostly healed and fresh from a goodnight sleep, helped by his encounter with MacKensie. "THE NINJA! THE NINJA IS HERE!!!"

MacKensie. His vampire hearing heard her words clearly, then he remembered from Zell’s tale of what Second Chance members have been through. This ninja seems powerful and would be a dangerous threat. The Paladin rushed up, threw on his leather jerkin, boots and grabbed his tower shield and claymore. He ran up the set of stairs, connecting the basement to the ground level of the temple. As he was running, he shoulder charged through two doors in a row, placed his visor on and was unwilling to contend with the maze of rooms to get to the entrance. Barracker used the table as a launch pad to hurl himself through the highly placed stained glass window. In a shower of shattering colored glass, he landed in the courtyard and saw MacKensie facing off with the mysterious enemy.

The Paladin could hear such pain in MacKensie’s voice as he came to her side. "Lillianna."

"I had a lot of fun with her. A shame that her fragile wizard body could not last longer." The mysterious opponent bragged.

Now the vampire understood. He had not known Lillianna long but it struck a nerve that would urge him to fight harder than ever. “Today there will be justice for the dead.”

As this new threat kept talking, he listened closely, ready to react to any attack thrown his way, but also noticed in the corner of his eye, the demeanour of his friend. “Be brave, MacKensie,” he whispered to his comrade, although he could see by the display of power he realized that this would be mightily tough.

"This is where you all die."

“MacKensie, wait,” Barracker rushes after her as she charges, but the Ranger was so fast now he failed to keep up with her. Then the colossal weapon materializes, and evasive action was required. Barracker leaped out of the immediate danger zone, quickly muttering the word for his transmutation spell, ‘StoneSkin.’ With the combination of StoneSkin and clever use of his tower shield, he evaded taking any damage from the blast radius.

He spent a millisecond’s thought lamenting the damage to his god's temple, but the better part of his mind was focused on Adam's arrival and the incredible synchronicity of Adam and MacKensie’s attack. He spared no time to join in, swift and true and currently made of stone, he charged in.

His first act was to intercept the incoming stab attempt on MacKensie, letting his stone skin instantly put a stop to the lethal steel. Then when Zigmund went after Adam, Barracker followed with fury, “Today there will be justice for the dead members of Second Chance,” and entered into a homing whirlwind of shield bashes and sweeps, greatsword swings and stabs, ending his furious combination with a flip into an aerial downwards haymaker slash.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Jay009 your most recent post reminded me of something I was originally going to do. I was originally going to have Adam think Barracker was just really pale instead of a vampire. It was too much of a stretch to really have worked, but it would have been kinda funny and shown a little insight into Adam's thought process.

@Zapdos

It might be a stretch but it could be possible to do something like that. As long as Adam has never seen his fangs, I'd be up for having a conversation about them learning eachothers lives and vampirism coming up.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"It's okay," she whispered frantically. Barracker stiffened up. It is not okay. "It's okay." She held on tight to him. Barracker’s breathing was still irritant but his voice stayed level.

“MacKensie, I… This is not normal.”

"It's okay, my friend." Her voice was soothing and soft but this affliction had plagued his mind and body, and soul for years. "You are not alone. We are Second Chance. You need not turn away. It's okay."

“MacKensie Trydant, your words are whole-heartedly felt but you are holding a monster.” Barracker said through gritted teeth.

"You are not a monster. You are a righteous. You are a defender."

“And you are angelic. As merciful as ‘The Mother’. I do not deserve this.”

"It is not your fault that you carry this affliction. You are no less a Paladin. The gods allow you. A hero who protects the innocent."

The Ranger wore the Paladin down to silence, he simply could not contend with her kindness. And there they remained, with her arms around him, for a long moment. Until she came to sit next to him. Then there was further silence. He still felt shame but not because of her, she had a way of making it not awkward. It was quite settling in a way, comforting you might say.

"How did it all begin?"" She asked tentatively.

Barracker for a brief moment tensed up, remembering that day so vividly. “Another time my friend,” he replied weakly. “It is too much for me right now.”

"How has it affected your life?"

This question, he could answer. So he vented off some distraughts he had about how life had handed him a twisted fate. “Well, the innocents fear me. My home city has outcasted me and so I outcasted myself from my loved one.” He sighed with love on the mind. “Evelyne. Oh, Evelyne. The love of my life. I pushed her away. Distancing myself was all I knew, and all I could do. A Vampire Paladin… a monster that hunts monsters. She did not deserve to be chained to such a twisted joke. ‘The Order’ have not forced me out, but they all have made it clear that I do not belong.” He paused to let her absorb his story. “And then one day, the High Septum suddenly forced me into the path of you all.” He chuckled. “Areleth often does things like that, but this seemed like such a bad idea. On the day I was to meet your leader, I asked Hades for a sign. I asked him to reveal my destiny. And no less than an hour later, James revealed your party name…. Second Chance.” He smiled with both pain and pleasure. “Second Chance. And you have all been so accepting.”

Barracker stopped and then let MacKensie respond. "We are from another world. I died in my world. Second Chance really is my second chance at life. At companionship. Please, Barracker... let it be your second chance too."

Barracker placed a hand on hers and thanked her deeply from the bottom of his heart. Then he agreed to accept her offer for this second chance. And then they remained in silent companionship for a short moment before he asked politely to be left alone in the shrine room, so that he could practise his worship to the shrine-statue of Hades, that had been the only witness to their touching encounter.

Once alone and finished with his worshipping, he stood up and his face hardened. Sterner than stone, his fists clenched. “Viktor Battousai, we will meet one day out there on the battlefield.”

He went to the temple dormitory and found a bed to sleep in.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Loksfjoer cool new content for Mytheria! Always nice to see the world expand and become more fleshed out.

@Zapdos

Definately. It will help us all know how to use it in further posts. Great stuff Lok

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Barracker had never felt more happy about a victory. He remembered his first field assignment as a soldier, where he’d been part of a regiment who flushed out a goblin nest that cropped up on the outskirts of Valhiem. He had felt a surge of exhilaration because of the first kill of an evil being. But then that feeling was topped later in life as a Paladin, when he hunted his most toughest feat. A baby Hydra that was not yet fully grown to the creature of legend, but still almost killed him. And now his greatest feeling was to bring peace back to an entire region, with a band of companions who put their lives on the line for each other, trusted each other and worked as a unit. Words could not describe how he felt when he joined in with the final attack, led by Fenna’s spear, and made possible by James’ blessing.

His first instinct was to check the old lich and noticed the tears in the dead man’s eyes. He only felt sadness for all mortals involved, his anger was reserved for the demonic entity that had caused all this atrocity. “May Hades show mercy upon you,” the Paladin whispered.

The sight of the Paladin was drawn over to his comrades, not just to check up on them, but the glow of the crystal. Purple light shined bright, illuminating from the back of their left hands. He was in awe in his mind at the phenomenon he was witnessing. Ascension, directly from the source. His own crystal did not glow up as it had not reached its limit for this level. Barracker had taken many years to reach his current level of ascension, but here was a group of people from another world who seemed to ascend every five minutes!. It reminded him of his favourite boyhood story, Isaac Ferronor, the kid who was a hero at just twelve years old, right in the midst of the mythic age. “The short time of this party being here... Is this the start of a new mythic age?” He muttered under his breath.

Like everyone else, Barracker made sure to check up on everyone and congratulate them on a hard fought victory.

"Barracker, you were amazing," MacKensie said to the vampire, who returned the hardy handshake, feeling a spark of joy that she would adopt his warrior's handshake. "I cannot count the amount of times you carried the way through this mission. You have been a boon to Second Chance, and it is an honour to call you friend."

He couldn’t help but smile at his comrade, she was the one who saved him, Adam and James at the crucial moment when he had ran out of spectre oil and still had two wraiths to deal with. “Well friend, you have my most humble gratitude for it was you saved MY behind out there,” the vampire chuckled. “For someone so new to battle, you have shown your quality, my lady. We all make a great team”.

Barracker went up to the leader of Second Chance, a man who he was even more fiercely loyal to, after showing leadership qualities of the finest commanders out there. “James,” Barracker saluted with a fist to his chest. “It is still nightfall. I would suggest that we rest up here until morning. Either make camp outside on the hill top or use the kitchen and beds inside here”. He bows his head slightly. “I leave the decision to you. Until then, if I may be excused, captain?”

Moments later, Barracker was off on the other side of the temple. Familiar with the layout of temples in general, he found his way to the shrine room. He put his face mask to the side, then took off his leather chestpiece. Took out his satchel of blood vials and popped the cork of one vial. Thankfully to his mother, Anne had spiced the lambs blood with cinnamon and sugar. “Just like those cinnamon sweet rolls. I don’t know what I would do without these at my disposal,” he said before downing the vial. And then came the part he hated. The veins in his eyes became more noticeable and a deep red glazed over his sight, his heart pumping faster. Clenching his wrist to try and control himself, his veins started bulging out of his skin, the feeling was unusual. Hard to explain but a kick of adrenaline, his blood eventually releveling back to normal.

“Forgive me Hades.” In the middle of this surge of feeling, it was hard to notice anything or keep a sense of hearing of his surroundings. Suddenly the vampire turned and felt an overwhelming shame as he realised that someone had noticed him. “MacKensie.”

He turned away and hoped for her to disappear. He didn’t know how much she’d seen, but he still felt like a monster.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Hi everyone, that was great writing from everyone. I loved reading the posts. I am so glad to be here and to be part of this group.

@ZoolI will write the idea we discussed ages ago, seems like a good time to get it out in the story.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

<Snipped quote by Jay009>

True. She's very resilient

@Zapdos

Loving the word play haha. very appropriate and funny