@Dinh AaronMk
True, which is also one reason why I'd rather not. Sorry about that ^^
True, which is also one reason why I'd rather not. Sorry about that ^^
kapuchu Member
The Loremaster
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Bio
So... Bio's are a thing now. Fancy.
Anywho!
25 y/o guy, currently student and living by myself, yada yada.
Veteran Roleplayer, with over 7-8 years of experience in both Pen & Paper and text based, with minimal LARP Experience. I have a great interest in fantasy settings and tends to dislike Post Apocalypse, or generally anything involving guns and modern weaponry. Gimme a sword and the ability to throw fire, and I'm happy.
I have relatively high standards and find myself somewhat disappointed if my posts are below 500 words, preferring ~1000+ whenever possible (sadly, not always easy). At the same time I expect similar standards from my fellow players. I also have a tendency to play female characters in spite of my being a guy, mainly because I find it more entertaining than playing the big burly guy.
Anywho!
25 y/o guy, currently student and living by myself, yada yada.
Veteran Roleplayer, with over 7-8 years of experience in both Pen & Paper and text based, with minimal LARP Experience. I have a great interest in fantasy settings and tends to dislike Post Apocalypse, or generally anything involving guns and modern weaponry. Gimme a sword and the ability to throw fire, and I'm happy.
I have relatively high standards and find myself somewhat disappointed if my posts are below 500 words, preferring ~1000+ whenever possible (sadly, not always easy). At the same time I expect similar standards from my fellow players. I also have a tendency to play female characters in spite of my being a guy, mainly because I find it more entertaining than playing the big burly guy.
Most Recent Posts
@Dinh AaronMk
Looks neat, but I'm not much a fan of nation roleplays. I prefer only a single or a few characters :)
Good luck with the roleplay, though ^^
Looks neat, but I'm not much a fan of nation roleplays. I prefer only a single or a few characters :)
Good luck with the roleplay, though ^^
Heyo guys.
To get to the point, I'm looking for an RP, High Fantasy, and preferably set in a world that is not our own. I've been looking around for the past few days but haven't really found any that strikes my fancy, probably because none really allow for races aside from the common Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons... All things I've tried before.
If anyone knows an RP where being something outside of the most common ones is possible (like a half-[animal] half-human, for example), then I'd like it if you could point me in the direction of it. I prefer casual or advanced, so please don't list any free RP's.
So yeah, if anyone know of any RP's such as this, it would be appreciated :)
- Kapuchu
To get to the point, I'm looking for an RP, High Fantasy, and preferably set in a world that is not our own. I've been looking around for the past few days but haven't really found any that strikes my fancy, probably because none really allow for races aside from the common Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons... All things I've tried before.
If anyone knows an RP where being something outside of the most common ones is possible (like a half-[animal] half-human, for example), then I'd like it if you could point me in the direction of it. I prefer casual or advanced, so please don't list any free RP's.
So yeah, if anyone know of any RP's such as this, it would be appreciated :)
- Kapuchu
@FacePunch
I can see the appeal of having a character sheet this big, as it sets in stone what kind of person your character is. However, it leaves very little to be discovered. It's restrictive and doesn't allow the player to really come up with stuff on the fly, or have the character "write themselves", as it would all have already been decided.
Some people will like it, some won't.
I, for one, find it to be too restrictive.
I can see the appeal of having a character sheet this big, as it sets in stone what kind of person your character is. However, it leaves very little to be discovered. It's restrictive and doesn't allow the player to really come up with stuff on the fly, or have the character "write themselves", as it would all have already been decided.
Some people will like it, some won't.
I, for one, find it to be too restrictive.
I would like to have this comment deleted, please. I posted it on the wrong thread.
http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/2903972
http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/2903972
The first few seconds were by far the most bloody and chaotic she had ever experienced. Fire and lightning, ice and stone, flew everywhere. Swords and shields clashed with the same frequency that magic was tossed about.
But the screams… the screams were the worst. Those of the dying, those of the wounded, and those of the angry and desperate. Her own roar filled with bloodlust was drowned out by the inhuman screeches of shifters in monstrous bodies, and the thundering of monsters fighting amongst each other.
Yes. That was what they were. There were no humans present here. All that was, were monsters in one guise or another. Humans had always been monstrous in one way or another, and she—Lily—was among those who had been gifted a body to match that monstrosity that all were capable of, regardless of skin colour or origin.
The first to fall was a Fae who had been too slow to turn around to face them. Lily barrelled into him, one hand holding his throat in an irongrip as she brought her tails to bear, shooting a blast of raw magic at point blank from each. He didn’t even have time to scream.
She tossed the corpse towards another, only for it to be incinerated from a fire ball sent towards the frontlines, taking with it an airborne shifter on its way.
Lily raced forward again, this time aiming for a larger shape: that of a winged beast with a lion’s head and scorpion tail. It saw her and met her in a charge, sending her flying backwards as they collided. Utilizing her tails, she softened the fall and flipped herself backwards, landing on her feet in time to avoid the following charge. She dashed to the side, flinging an orb of blue energy at him, catching him in the side and singing his fur.
A roar and another charge as it regained its bearings, charging at her head on with a chilling roar echoing throughout the valley. It crashed into her… and then through her. A slash in the side revealed the location of his would-be target, only there was nothing but a floating sword. It retreated as he batted at it. The sword came forward again, ready the slash.
The beast turned its rear, sending forth its tail. The sword dropped, and the tail stopped midway, and the wielder of the sword came back into view. Lily had the tail firmed gripped with both her tails and hands, struggling to keep it away from her throat.
The chimera, however, wasn’t content with simply trying to stab her. It raised its tail too quick for her to realise and let go and slammed her into the ground. It ripped its tail from her grip and attempted to stab her again. Lily quickly rolled out of the way, getting to her feet again. But fast as she was, she was still inexperienced. She came up against a rock and, now that her retreat was cut off, the chimera sprung.
Claws reaching forward, maw wide up, the Chimera pounced at her, aiming for her throat. Lily would have tried to flee, but at that moment an otherwise ignored thought had come to mind.
She might actually die here.
And while the chimera certainly wanted to kill her, there were those who didn’t want it. The chimera seemed to stop dead in the air, then dropped in front of Lily like a ragdoll, a sword through its neck accompanied several cuts that hadn’t been there a second before. At the other end of the sword stood Tsukiko, breathing heavily but smiling at her.
“Gotcha in time,” she said and pulled the sword out. Her smile disappeared then. “Let’s go.”
Lily didn’t need another prompt. She nodded and followed Tsuki, finding that she fell behind quickly. Even now she wondered just how fast the Bakeneko actually were. She barely noticed the cuts she delivered to the Chimera, let alone the last stab that killed it.
The continued forward, aiming for a line of Fae being protected by a group of Demons, most of which were already fighting third years from the Academy.
A Valkyrie broke off at the sight of them, rushing towards Tsukiko and immediately started swinging her sword. The first few strokes showed no one of the two as being superior, but just two seconds passed and it was already clear that the Valkyrie was better.
She could watch no longer. Lily rushed in, intent on either smashing the valkyrie’s face into the ground, or at the very least disorienting them enough for Tsukiko to make a decisive blow. But the Valkyrie had other plans.
Almost as an afterthought she threw her hand towards Lily, sending a blast of energy at her, throwing her back and stunning her. She struggled to just sit up, trying and failing to will her to stand up. She watched helplessly as Tsuki was forced on the defensive, trying desperately not to get hit. She wanted to help. She wanted to… What? No!
An orb of some indistinguishable colour flew towards Tsukiko from behind, right at her blind spot. She couldn’t see it. She wouldn’t see it in time. She tried to cry out, but it had already hit when her mouth opened. She watched with terror written on her face as Tsukiko… She didn’t die.
Tsukiko’s attacks sped up as if she had suddenly gotten much faster. A glance to the side revealed a friendly—dying—valkyrie who had given what power of hers remained to give Tsuki a boost in speed and strength. She sent a silent note of thanks to her, wishing her peace in whatever afterlife awaited.
Tsukiko’s speed had indeed increased. Her strikes were quick, relentless. The valkyrie she fought was forced on the defensive, even as the cat-eared wonder hailed blow after blow upon her. She soon struck so quickly that even Lily had trouble following each blow, finding each and every chink on the Endolan’s defense and abused it.
And then it happened. She struck true. A feint towards the head brought up the Valkyrie’s guard, but Tsuki lowered her sword and stepped forward, piercing through the breastplate as if it were butter, spearing the valkyrie.
Lily couldn’t help but marvel at the vicious grin painted on Tsukiko’s lips as she pulled out the sword. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. There was a bloodlust there that she had never witnessed… and never wanted to witness again. She had managed to sit up when Tsukiko turned towards a Fae and readied for a charge. However the charge never came. Before she could even react a wall of kinetic force slammed into her, forcing her to let go of the sword, and sent her flying. Even from a distance Lily could hear the crunch of bones being broken, and see the blood spewing from her mouth.
And even as Tsukiko disappeared over the heads of Demons and Titans alike, Lily’s vision turned red. No… Not again. Please don’t… Don’t… It was Max all over again. Max was dead, and now Tsukiko was going to die too. And all because she hadn’t acted in time. All because I… She clenched her eyes shot, willing the tears away.
No.
She opened her eyes again, a snarl on her lips as her gaze zeroed in one the Fae who was responsible. He was standing there, smug and satisfied that he had done away with a Demon. She let out a growl like that of a monster about to pounce its prey and stood up, hunched forward. And then she charged.
Using her magic she concealed herself, making her little more than a blur of colours with no real cohesion rushing forward at inhuman speeds. The Fae saw her, but he was too slow to react. Sidestepping the frantic blast he sent her way she sped up once more, coming within reach in little more than a second’s time. He would have screamed had Lily allowed it, but it became little more than a gurgle as she tore his throat open, using her nails like a tiger’s law. A quick dash to the side and a turn, and she ended up behind him, her bloody hand covering his face, the other dragging shallow gorges in the soft flesh of his belly.
A boom briefly interrupted her, causing her to look up to meet the scaled face of dragon. His eyes were not on her, but rather the other fae. Good, he’ll keep the others occupied. She glanced at the horror stricken face of the Fae in her grasp, and smiled sweetly at him. It’s not over yet, my dear. You’re going to suffer
Her lips parted, fangs glinting in the midday sun. She would be lying if she said she didn’t savor the gurgling scream that came when she bit down, burying her fangs her his neck. The taste was nothing spectacular, but then again it was only blood. What was spectacular, however, was the power.
She started pulling, drawing the power of the Fae into herself, intent on leaving nothing behind. She had managed to take what seemed like a fifth of what there was, already feeling more magic coursing through her than ever before, when she felt a tug—and then a yank. Abruptly the power left her, draining back into the Fae far quicker than she’d liked. She moved her hand from his face and to the wound on his throat, digging her fingers into it at the same time as she sent a simple mental spike at him. He gurgled again, what remained of a scream… and his resistance vanished. She tugged again, drawing from him, just like she had been taught. It took but a few seconds her him convulsing in her grasp, shaking as his very life was torn from his body in the most brutal way possible.
Removing her hands from his throat and stomach, she stepped back, licking the blood off her fangs before spitting it out. The fae slumped together on the ground, not an ounce left of life in him. For Lily it was an entirely different experience: She had never felt so full of life, so full of power.
”Too much fire is coming from the Fae to our left. Create a distraction.”
I’m in the right area. Lily glanced the other way, already on her way there, tails alight with arcs of electricity shooting between them. A grim smile painted itself across her lips. This is what it must feel like to be powerful, and without fear. For right now she didn’t fear anything. All that meant anything to her was to sow as much chaos as possible.
But in her overconfidence she didn’t notice the monstrosity of a bird rushing down towards her.
But the screams… the screams were the worst. Those of the dying, those of the wounded, and those of the angry and desperate. Her own roar filled with bloodlust was drowned out by the inhuman screeches of shifters in monstrous bodies, and the thundering of monsters fighting amongst each other.
Yes. That was what they were. There were no humans present here. All that was, were monsters in one guise or another. Humans had always been monstrous in one way or another, and she—Lily—was among those who had been gifted a body to match that monstrosity that all were capable of, regardless of skin colour or origin.
The first to fall was a Fae who had been too slow to turn around to face them. Lily barrelled into him, one hand holding his throat in an irongrip as she brought her tails to bear, shooting a blast of raw magic at point blank from each. He didn’t even have time to scream.
She tossed the corpse towards another, only for it to be incinerated from a fire ball sent towards the frontlines, taking with it an airborne shifter on its way.
Lily raced forward again, this time aiming for a larger shape: that of a winged beast with a lion’s head and scorpion tail. It saw her and met her in a charge, sending her flying backwards as they collided. Utilizing her tails, she softened the fall and flipped herself backwards, landing on her feet in time to avoid the following charge. She dashed to the side, flinging an orb of blue energy at him, catching him in the side and singing his fur.
A roar and another charge as it regained its bearings, charging at her head on with a chilling roar echoing throughout the valley. It crashed into her… and then through her. A slash in the side revealed the location of his would-be target, only there was nothing but a floating sword. It retreated as he batted at it. The sword came forward again, ready the slash.
The beast turned its rear, sending forth its tail. The sword dropped, and the tail stopped midway, and the wielder of the sword came back into view. Lily had the tail firmed gripped with both her tails and hands, struggling to keep it away from her throat.
The chimera, however, wasn’t content with simply trying to stab her. It raised its tail too quick for her to realise and let go and slammed her into the ground. It ripped its tail from her grip and attempted to stab her again. Lily quickly rolled out of the way, getting to her feet again. But fast as she was, she was still inexperienced. She came up against a rock and, now that her retreat was cut off, the chimera sprung.
Claws reaching forward, maw wide up, the Chimera pounced at her, aiming for her throat. Lily would have tried to flee, but at that moment an otherwise ignored thought had come to mind.
She might actually die here.
And while the chimera certainly wanted to kill her, there were those who didn’t want it. The chimera seemed to stop dead in the air, then dropped in front of Lily like a ragdoll, a sword through its neck accompanied several cuts that hadn’t been there a second before. At the other end of the sword stood Tsukiko, breathing heavily but smiling at her.
“Gotcha in time,” she said and pulled the sword out. Her smile disappeared then. “Let’s go.”
Lily didn’t need another prompt. She nodded and followed Tsuki, finding that she fell behind quickly. Even now she wondered just how fast the Bakeneko actually were. She barely noticed the cuts she delivered to the Chimera, let alone the last stab that killed it.
The continued forward, aiming for a line of Fae being protected by a group of Demons, most of which were already fighting third years from the Academy.
A Valkyrie broke off at the sight of them, rushing towards Tsukiko and immediately started swinging her sword. The first few strokes showed no one of the two as being superior, but just two seconds passed and it was already clear that the Valkyrie was better.
She could watch no longer. Lily rushed in, intent on either smashing the valkyrie’s face into the ground, or at the very least disorienting them enough for Tsukiko to make a decisive blow. But the Valkyrie had other plans.
Almost as an afterthought she threw her hand towards Lily, sending a blast of energy at her, throwing her back and stunning her. She struggled to just sit up, trying and failing to will her to stand up. She watched helplessly as Tsuki was forced on the defensive, trying desperately not to get hit. She wanted to help. She wanted to… What? No!
An orb of some indistinguishable colour flew towards Tsukiko from behind, right at her blind spot. She couldn’t see it. She wouldn’t see it in time. She tried to cry out, but it had already hit when her mouth opened. She watched with terror written on her face as Tsukiko… She didn’t die.
Tsukiko’s attacks sped up as if she had suddenly gotten much faster. A glance to the side revealed a friendly—dying—valkyrie who had given what power of hers remained to give Tsuki a boost in speed and strength. She sent a silent note of thanks to her, wishing her peace in whatever afterlife awaited.
Tsukiko’s speed had indeed increased. Her strikes were quick, relentless. The valkyrie she fought was forced on the defensive, even as the cat-eared wonder hailed blow after blow upon her. She soon struck so quickly that even Lily had trouble following each blow, finding each and every chink on the Endolan’s defense and abused it.
And then it happened. She struck true. A feint towards the head brought up the Valkyrie’s guard, but Tsuki lowered her sword and stepped forward, piercing through the breastplate as if it were butter, spearing the valkyrie.
Lily couldn’t help but marvel at the vicious grin painted on Tsukiko’s lips as she pulled out the sword. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. There was a bloodlust there that she had never witnessed… and never wanted to witness again. She had managed to sit up when Tsukiko turned towards a Fae and readied for a charge. However the charge never came. Before she could even react a wall of kinetic force slammed into her, forcing her to let go of the sword, and sent her flying. Even from a distance Lily could hear the crunch of bones being broken, and see the blood spewing from her mouth.
And even as Tsukiko disappeared over the heads of Demons and Titans alike, Lily’s vision turned red. No… Not again. Please don’t… Don’t… It was Max all over again. Max was dead, and now Tsukiko was going to die too. And all because she hadn’t acted in time. All because I… She clenched her eyes shot, willing the tears away.
No.
She opened her eyes again, a snarl on her lips as her gaze zeroed in one the Fae who was responsible. He was standing there, smug and satisfied that he had done away with a Demon. She let out a growl like that of a monster about to pounce its prey and stood up, hunched forward. And then she charged.
Using her magic she concealed herself, making her little more than a blur of colours with no real cohesion rushing forward at inhuman speeds. The Fae saw her, but he was too slow to react. Sidestepping the frantic blast he sent her way she sped up once more, coming within reach in little more than a second’s time. He would have screamed had Lily allowed it, but it became little more than a gurgle as she tore his throat open, using her nails like a tiger’s law. A quick dash to the side and a turn, and she ended up behind him, her bloody hand covering his face, the other dragging shallow gorges in the soft flesh of his belly.
A boom briefly interrupted her, causing her to look up to meet the scaled face of dragon. His eyes were not on her, but rather the other fae. Good, he’ll keep the others occupied. She glanced at the horror stricken face of the Fae in her grasp, and smiled sweetly at him. It’s not over yet, my dear. You’re going to suffer
Her lips parted, fangs glinting in the midday sun. She would be lying if she said she didn’t savor the gurgling scream that came when she bit down, burying her fangs her his neck. The taste was nothing spectacular, but then again it was only blood. What was spectacular, however, was the power.
She started pulling, drawing the power of the Fae into herself, intent on leaving nothing behind. She had managed to take what seemed like a fifth of what there was, already feeling more magic coursing through her than ever before, when she felt a tug—and then a yank. Abruptly the power left her, draining back into the Fae far quicker than she’d liked. She moved her hand from his face and to the wound on his throat, digging her fingers into it at the same time as she sent a simple mental spike at him. He gurgled again, what remained of a scream… and his resistance vanished. She tugged again, drawing from him, just like she had been taught. It took but a few seconds her him convulsing in her grasp, shaking as his very life was torn from his body in the most brutal way possible.
Removing her hands from his throat and stomach, she stepped back, licking the blood off her fangs before spitting it out. The fae slumped together on the ground, not an ounce left of life in him. For Lily it was an entirely different experience: She had never felt so full of life, so full of power.
”Too much fire is coming from the Fae to our left. Create a distraction.”
I’m in the right area. Lily glanced the other way, already on her way there, tails alight with arcs of electricity shooting between them. A grim smile painted itself across her lips. This is what it must feel like to be powerful, and without fear. For right now she didn’t fear anything. All that meant anything to her was to sow as much chaos as possible.
But in her overconfidence she didn’t notice the monstrosity of a bird rushing down towards her.
The two of them landed on the ground with a jarring thud, at least for the mortal of the two. Time was approaching mid afternoon, the warm sun beating down on them from above.
Theá released Amaretto from her magical grip, letting him drop the last few centimetres onto the ground, small indentations forming in the dry ground where he landed. They had seen hide nor hair of Scalpel as they flew, even with Theá’s unrealistically sharp senses. In fact, Amaretto had barely through of even finding him, at this point just glad to be on his way home.
But he had an errand to run first.
He looked ahead at Northgate still a good kilometre away, sitting snugly on a hill top. Had he not known better he would have thought the town peaceful. A happy place. The smoke circled upwards towards the sky from the chimneys, and what little he could see from so far away, the tiny pinpricks of ponies walking about before disappearing out of his sight, made it seems idyllic. The corners of his lips turned upwards in the ghost of a smile. It reminded him of home.
“What will you be doing here?” The question came from beside him and, although not a surprise, did shake him out of his own thoughts.
Tearing his gaze from the far-away town he met Theá’s sharp eyes. It struck him then for some reason, how beautiful and young she looked, but her eyes were as old as anything he had ever seen. Older even. He let out a small hum which turned into more of a grunt. “I have to meet someone. Call me soft hearted, but there’s someone here I want to help who’s not part of my family.” He snorted then, a small guffaw following as his gaze returned to the town “Strange, isn’t it?”
Theá didn’t answer at first, instead following his eyes to the collection of wooden houses. She had an inquisitive look on her face as she stood there. Thinking. “Perhaps,” she said at length. “And perhaps not. You are compassionate towards those who have shown you kindness. I believe… I believe my sister, Silver Sweeper, might say that you have a heart to match your body.” Just as she had said it she could already feel the stallion’s eyes on her. Looking back at him she found him with eyes as wide as ever, mouth as close to gaping as it could without looking utterly stupid.
“Did you just try to make a joke?” He asked, closing his mouth and reigning in his surprise although it was still very much present in his voice.
“I suppose,” Theá admitted, tilting her head, thinking it over. “I don’t know.” She shrugged and repositioned her wings for better comfort. “You don’t approve?”
Amaretto shook his head, although not so much as to appear insulting. He hoped. “You’re not exactly the best at jokes, no. Best leave them to your sister, I think.” He took a step towards the town, stopping to look back at the goddess. “Thank you for bringing me this far. And… good luck with whatever it is you’ll be doing.”
“And you too,” she replied, giving him a nod in recognition of the luck wished upon her. She spread her wings then, about to take off, but gave the stallion a final look before she flew away. “Thank you for your help, Amaretto. While nothing much came of it this time, it was appreciated. Until next time.” A powerful flap of her wings and she was off, shooting towards the clouds at incredible speeds, only gaining more as she beat her wings again.
The resulting buffet of wind from where she had taken off almost threw Amaretto off his hooves, making him stumble away several steps to avoid falling. A grumble followed as he looked up at the green shape that was his goddess, muttering something about her needing to mind those around her when she takes off. His frown, however, soon loosened up, and he made his way towards Northgate, already knowing who it was he would be visiting.
Amaretto made his way into the inn little less than an hour later, pushing the door open carelessly and letting it bang against the wall. He, however, closed it properly behind him. Ignoring the stares he had garnered from his rather rude entrance he made his way up to the bar, his silver eyes locking onto the bored looking bartender, the same plain stallion he had met the last time he was here.
“Yes? What can I do for you?” He asked when Amaretto had come near enough to speak to. “Food? Drink? ...something else?”
“Amber.”
The bartender lifted an eyebrow. “So scotch?”
“No. Amber, the pegasus mare,” Amaretto pressed.
A knowing smile spread across the bartender’s lips, a glint entering his eyes which, for the first time, made him look slightly less boring and plain. “Very well. That will be ten bits, then.” He held his hoof forward in what could only be called a greedy manner.
Without complaint the coins were fished out of Amaretto’s saddlebags and placed in the waiting hoof. “Which room?” He asked.
“You will find her in room 072. Up the stairs and to your left.” The bartender didn’t even care to make sure that Amaretto found the fight room, nor that he only ‘visited’ one of the girls.
Greedy fucker, he thought, making his way up. He hoped the room had a window.
He walked up the stairs and turned, a long hallway with doors on either side stretching before him. The inn itself wasn’t terribly big, so how they even had enough room for more than seventy two rooms was a mystery. He figured that they had hollowed out some of the adjacent buildings and used them for additional rooms. The town was rather tightly packed, after all.
He continued down the hall, watching the numbers on each door until, finally, he found a door with a large “72” emblazoned upon it. He knocked on it twice before pushing it open, finding an amber coloured pegasus mare in the process of braiding her opal blue mane. She sat on a stool in front of a desk with a mirror, her eyes having shifted to the door reflected in the polished surface in front of her.
A smile spread quickly across her lips at the sight of the stallion in the doorway. She turned around, a glimmer of excitement coming into her eyes. “Hello there. Amaretto, was it?” She put the finishing touches on her bread and hopped down from the stool, walking slowly towards him. “I figured you’d be back. So… ready to be a little naughty this time?”
The stallion was quick to shake his head, holding up a hoof to stall her in her advance. “Afraid not. I have another reason for coming here.”
That got a curious look from the smaller mare, one ear flopping to the side, only adding to her puzzled expression. “And what would that be? Not another night-long conversation?”
“You sound almost as if you don’t enjoy a good conversation,” Amaretto chuckled. “No. I want something else, but first.” He closed the door behind him and, walking further into the room, turned to face Amber. “If you could, would you leave this place?”
The answer came almost immediately. “I would. It’s not that I hate my job, but I fear the war. I feel far too close to it, honestly. Why?” Her eyes narrowed, although there were no anger in her look, only scrutiny. “Do you know how I could get away? The guy downstairs wouldn’t let me, certainly, and I have nowhere to go even if I tried to leave.”
“I… might know a place.” Amaretto absentmindedly scratched his chin, almost in an anxious way, as if he was far too self-conscious about what he was thinking about. Steeling himself, he let his hoof back onto the floor with an audible thud, and spoke. “I want you to come with me. I live with my family in a place far from here, and safe. We… I…” he stopped, ears turning around to spot any possible sound. When he was satisfied that there were no one nearby he resumed. “My home is hidden and protected by Theá Erimo, the wilderness goddes.”
Amber didn’t seem perturbed that his home was shielded by one of the alicorn gods. Instead she just asked. “Which?”
“The green one. The one reputed to move too quickly for the naked eye to see. In return for working for her whenever she needs me, she has given me and my family a home which no one can find. Only those who already know where it is can find it. I will be honest, even if I don’t know you I want you to have a life free of this war. You, and many others, don’t deserve to live in fear of hordes of undead swarming over you, or whatever pitched battle Stormwing and Earthborne decide to arrange. Call me a sentimental old fart, but I want you safe, if only because you seem like a kind person.”
Amber had the decency to blush at the statement, hoof raised to cover her growing smile. “I… I would like to get away from all this, but… is it safe? Getting out I mean. The old man won’t want me to leave. I am one of his most popular after all.” Her smile took on a temporary proud look. “But… Yeah. I want to get away to somewhere safer. Can you promise me that you’ll keep me safe?”
Amaretto nodded. “I promise. But we will need to get out without being noticed. That—” he looked around, quickly finding the window to a back alley he was hoping for “—is what we’ll need that window for. We jump out and make a run for it. If luck has it we’ll be far away when he realises that we’ve left.” He stepped towards it, horn already lighting up and grasping the window’s latch. “I’m going to leave regardless. I’ve let my wife and daughter wait for far too long for me to return.” He looked back at her. “So now is the time to decide. Do you want to come or not?”
For all of a second Amber looked as if she didn’t know what to do. But in that second thoughts swirled through her mind, each warring for the front spot and attention. They wanted to be heard, to be the one to be the deciding factor. Should she go, or should she not? On one hand it would be a good chance for her to get away from the war—provided he was telling the truth—and she would likely never get another chance. On the other hand he could be luring her into some trap or whatever. But was Amaretto really such a stallion? She had known him for only a short time, spent less than a full day with him, but what she had seen lead her to believe that he was one that could be trusted. He worked for a God, a being similar to Celestia and Luna, so they had to be good, right?
The second passed, and she decided. It was risky, and she bet everything on him. She just hoped he told her the truth. “I trust you. Let’s go.” Please let this not be a trap, she thought, following him as he opened the window and crawled out, holding it up for her. And please let his wife not be the kind that goes ballistic when she sees another mare close to her husband.
Amber stopped, panting and sweating more than she could remember having ever done before. She let out a weak cry for Amaretto to stop, which he did, and slumped down, leaning against a rock on the side of the road. They had been running for the past two hours, having not stopped for rest for a single second to get as far away from Northgate as possible. Amaretto himself was panting and sweating as well, but not as much as the younger mare. In her prime though she may be, she had done little training aside from what was necessary to give herself a healthy and slender look.
“We need to hurry. We can’t risk them catching up on us,” he said.
“I-I know, but I’ve never been running for this long before. I… I’m dead tired. Can’t we at least take a short break?” She tried to make her eyes as big and innocent as possible in an attempt to persuade him, and, to some extent, it worked.
Amaretto grumbled something under his breath, but lit his horn and lifted the small mare off of the ground and deposited her on his back. “Rest if you want, but we have to keep going.”
“O-Okay,” she breathed out, resting her head between his shoulders. “Thanks.”
Unseen to her, a small smile played at the corners of the stallion’s lips. “You’re welcome.” And then he continued on, a brisk trot to keep up speed, but not burn too much energy. They had a long way to go, after all.
Theá touched down on the small stone plateau, folding her wings carefully at her side. It had been little over two hours since she had delivered Amaretto at his destination near Northgate, and had set off towards her own destination. Back in the inn room she and Amaretto had share in Woodswatch she had gotten a notion, or more like a thought planted in her mind.
She had often been told of a light in the south, but had always dismissed it as nothing but a campfire or a small town in the mountains being seen from a distance, but in that room a thought had struck her: Luna and Celestia couldn’t be found anywhere in Equestria and beyond as far as Theá and her followers could find. She—the tracker among trackers—had not been able to find her quarry, so could they really be on this plane? She thought it unlikely, and so, had latched onto the one clue she had so far dismissed in her arrogance, and went for it.
And that was where she was now, on the very plateau where the Southern Light was said be. And it was. A score metres away was what looked like a spherical orb of light, half again the size of Theá herself, similar to Celestia in size in fact. Its light was soft but of no discernible colour.
“So this is it?” She asked the empty air, brows furrowing and ears swivelling about in search of anything. “It certainly isn’t of mortal origin, that much I can guarantee. Maybe…” She lit her horn and closed her eyes, letting an aura of her magic blanket a large area around her, easily a hundred or so metres. There were insects aplenty, as well as what shrubbery could survive on the plateau, but there was no other life here.
But even if it was not life, there was still the Southern Light. She refocused on the orb in front of her and felt it. It shone like a thousand beacon to her magical senses. Of all the things she had met on the mortal plane nothing came even close to exuding as much raw power and magic as this thing did. It dwarfed Theá herself with such magnitude that she doubted even Celestia and Luna combined would be even close to matching it. It was so much that it caused physical pain to run through her horn, so much so that she forcibly tore herself away from her magic, cutting it off in a gambit to get rid of the pain.
She found herself panting, groaning from the last vestiges of pain surging through her horn. Now she understood what it was, and she also understood why only one of her own Verse did it. It was a portal, a tear in the fabric of creation itself. And the reason why she had not felt it until now was quite simple: It had been cloaked from magical senses so as to avoid a magical overload across the entire unicorn population. It caused this much pain when she scrutinized it, but if a mortal were to do it… the pain would be unbearable and, possibly, lethal.
“Explains why whoever made this shielded it like this.” She swallowed and stepped forward. She had a pretty good idea of where it lead, and possibly even to whom. It was only a matter of trying. There was no other way, is what she thought. She had to go there herself.
“And what sort of Hunter am I if not I follow my quarry wherever the tracks may lead?” She mumbled something unintelligible at her own hesitance and, steeling herself, stepped forward. The portal loomed in front of her.
She breathed in and, summoning forth her conviction, stepped through it.
Theá released Amaretto from her magical grip, letting him drop the last few centimetres onto the ground, small indentations forming in the dry ground where he landed. They had seen hide nor hair of Scalpel as they flew, even with Theá’s unrealistically sharp senses. In fact, Amaretto had barely through of even finding him, at this point just glad to be on his way home.
But he had an errand to run first.
He looked ahead at Northgate still a good kilometre away, sitting snugly on a hill top. Had he not known better he would have thought the town peaceful. A happy place. The smoke circled upwards towards the sky from the chimneys, and what little he could see from so far away, the tiny pinpricks of ponies walking about before disappearing out of his sight, made it seems idyllic. The corners of his lips turned upwards in the ghost of a smile. It reminded him of home.
“What will you be doing here?” The question came from beside him and, although not a surprise, did shake him out of his own thoughts.
Tearing his gaze from the far-away town he met Theá’s sharp eyes. It struck him then for some reason, how beautiful and young she looked, but her eyes were as old as anything he had ever seen. Older even. He let out a small hum which turned into more of a grunt. “I have to meet someone. Call me soft hearted, but there’s someone here I want to help who’s not part of my family.” He snorted then, a small guffaw following as his gaze returned to the town “Strange, isn’t it?”
Theá didn’t answer at first, instead following his eyes to the collection of wooden houses. She had an inquisitive look on her face as she stood there. Thinking. “Perhaps,” she said at length. “And perhaps not. You are compassionate towards those who have shown you kindness. I believe… I believe my sister, Silver Sweeper, might say that you have a heart to match your body.” Just as she had said it she could already feel the stallion’s eyes on her. Looking back at him she found him with eyes as wide as ever, mouth as close to gaping as it could without looking utterly stupid.
“Did you just try to make a joke?” He asked, closing his mouth and reigning in his surprise although it was still very much present in his voice.
“I suppose,” Theá admitted, tilting her head, thinking it over. “I don’t know.” She shrugged and repositioned her wings for better comfort. “You don’t approve?”
Amaretto shook his head, although not so much as to appear insulting. He hoped. “You’re not exactly the best at jokes, no. Best leave them to your sister, I think.” He took a step towards the town, stopping to look back at the goddess. “Thank you for bringing me this far. And… good luck with whatever it is you’ll be doing.”
“And you too,” she replied, giving him a nod in recognition of the luck wished upon her. She spread her wings then, about to take off, but gave the stallion a final look before she flew away. “Thank you for your help, Amaretto. While nothing much came of it this time, it was appreciated. Until next time.” A powerful flap of her wings and she was off, shooting towards the clouds at incredible speeds, only gaining more as she beat her wings again.
The resulting buffet of wind from where she had taken off almost threw Amaretto off his hooves, making him stumble away several steps to avoid falling. A grumble followed as he looked up at the green shape that was his goddess, muttering something about her needing to mind those around her when she takes off. His frown, however, soon loosened up, and he made his way towards Northgate, already knowing who it was he would be visiting.
Amaretto made his way into the inn little less than an hour later, pushing the door open carelessly and letting it bang against the wall. He, however, closed it properly behind him. Ignoring the stares he had garnered from his rather rude entrance he made his way up to the bar, his silver eyes locking onto the bored looking bartender, the same plain stallion he had met the last time he was here.
“Yes? What can I do for you?” He asked when Amaretto had come near enough to speak to. “Food? Drink? ...something else?”
“Amber.”
The bartender lifted an eyebrow. “So scotch?”
“No. Amber, the pegasus mare,” Amaretto pressed.
A knowing smile spread across the bartender’s lips, a glint entering his eyes which, for the first time, made him look slightly less boring and plain. “Very well. That will be ten bits, then.” He held his hoof forward in what could only be called a greedy manner.
Without complaint the coins were fished out of Amaretto’s saddlebags and placed in the waiting hoof. “Which room?” He asked.
“You will find her in room 072. Up the stairs and to your left.” The bartender didn’t even care to make sure that Amaretto found the fight room, nor that he only ‘visited’ one of the girls.
Greedy fucker, he thought, making his way up. He hoped the room had a window.
He walked up the stairs and turned, a long hallway with doors on either side stretching before him. The inn itself wasn’t terribly big, so how they even had enough room for more than seventy two rooms was a mystery. He figured that they had hollowed out some of the adjacent buildings and used them for additional rooms. The town was rather tightly packed, after all.
He continued down the hall, watching the numbers on each door until, finally, he found a door with a large “72” emblazoned upon it. He knocked on it twice before pushing it open, finding an amber coloured pegasus mare in the process of braiding her opal blue mane. She sat on a stool in front of a desk with a mirror, her eyes having shifted to the door reflected in the polished surface in front of her.
A smile spread quickly across her lips at the sight of the stallion in the doorway. She turned around, a glimmer of excitement coming into her eyes. “Hello there. Amaretto, was it?” She put the finishing touches on her bread and hopped down from the stool, walking slowly towards him. “I figured you’d be back. So… ready to be a little naughty this time?”
The stallion was quick to shake his head, holding up a hoof to stall her in her advance. “Afraid not. I have another reason for coming here.”
That got a curious look from the smaller mare, one ear flopping to the side, only adding to her puzzled expression. “And what would that be? Not another night-long conversation?”
“You sound almost as if you don’t enjoy a good conversation,” Amaretto chuckled. “No. I want something else, but first.” He closed the door behind him and, walking further into the room, turned to face Amber. “If you could, would you leave this place?”
The answer came almost immediately. “I would. It’s not that I hate my job, but I fear the war. I feel far too close to it, honestly. Why?” Her eyes narrowed, although there were no anger in her look, only scrutiny. “Do you know how I could get away? The guy downstairs wouldn’t let me, certainly, and I have nowhere to go even if I tried to leave.”
“I… might know a place.” Amaretto absentmindedly scratched his chin, almost in an anxious way, as if he was far too self-conscious about what he was thinking about. Steeling himself, he let his hoof back onto the floor with an audible thud, and spoke. “I want you to come with me. I live with my family in a place far from here, and safe. We… I…” he stopped, ears turning around to spot any possible sound. When he was satisfied that there were no one nearby he resumed. “My home is hidden and protected by Theá Erimo, the wilderness goddes.”
Amber didn’t seem perturbed that his home was shielded by one of the alicorn gods. Instead she just asked. “Which?”
“The green one. The one reputed to move too quickly for the naked eye to see. In return for working for her whenever she needs me, she has given me and my family a home which no one can find. Only those who already know where it is can find it. I will be honest, even if I don’t know you I want you to have a life free of this war. You, and many others, don’t deserve to live in fear of hordes of undead swarming over you, or whatever pitched battle Stormwing and Earthborne decide to arrange. Call me a sentimental old fart, but I want you safe, if only because you seem like a kind person.”
Amber had the decency to blush at the statement, hoof raised to cover her growing smile. “I… I would like to get away from all this, but… is it safe? Getting out I mean. The old man won’t want me to leave. I am one of his most popular after all.” Her smile took on a temporary proud look. “But… Yeah. I want to get away to somewhere safer. Can you promise me that you’ll keep me safe?”
Amaretto nodded. “I promise. But we will need to get out without being noticed. That—” he looked around, quickly finding the window to a back alley he was hoping for “—is what we’ll need that window for. We jump out and make a run for it. If luck has it we’ll be far away when he realises that we’ve left.” He stepped towards it, horn already lighting up and grasping the window’s latch. “I’m going to leave regardless. I’ve let my wife and daughter wait for far too long for me to return.” He looked back at her. “So now is the time to decide. Do you want to come or not?”
For all of a second Amber looked as if she didn’t know what to do. But in that second thoughts swirled through her mind, each warring for the front spot and attention. They wanted to be heard, to be the one to be the deciding factor. Should she go, or should she not? On one hand it would be a good chance for her to get away from the war—provided he was telling the truth—and she would likely never get another chance. On the other hand he could be luring her into some trap or whatever. But was Amaretto really such a stallion? She had known him for only a short time, spent less than a full day with him, but what she had seen lead her to believe that he was one that could be trusted. He worked for a God, a being similar to Celestia and Luna, so they had to be good, right?
The second passed, and she decided. It was risky, and she bet everything on him. She just hoped he told her the truth. “I trust you. Let’s go.” Please let this not be a trap, she thought, following him as he opened the window and crawled out, holding it up for her. And please let his wife not be the kind that goes ballistic when she sees another mare close to her husband.
Amber stopped, panting and sweating more than she could remember having ever done before. She let out a weak cry for Amaretto to stop, which he did, and slumped down, leaning against a rock on the side of the road. They had been running for the past two hours, having not stopped for rest for a single second to get as far away from Northgate as possible. Amaretto himself was panting and sweating as well, but not as much as the younger mare. In her prime though she may be, she had done little training aside from what was necessary to give herself a healthy and slender look.
“We need to hurry. We can’t risk them catching up on us,” he said.
“I-I know, but I’ve never been running for this long before. I… I’m dead tired. Can’t we at least take a short break?” She tried to make her eyes as big and innocent as possible in an attempt to persuade him, and, to some extent, it worked.
Amaretto grumbled something under his breath, but lit his horn and lifted the small mare off of the ground and deposited her on his back. “Rest if you want, but we have to keep going.”
“O-Okay,” she breathed out, resting her head between his shoulders. “Thanks.”
Unseen to her, a small smile played at the corners of the stallion’s lips. “You’re welcome.” And then he continued on, a brisk trot to keep up speed, but not burn too much energy. They had a long way to go, after all.
Theá touched down on the small stone plateau, folding her wings carefully at her side. It had been little over two hours since she had delivered Amaretto at his destination near Northgate, and had set off towards her own destination. Back in the inn room she and Amaretto had share in Woodswatch she had gotten a notion, or more like a thought planted in her mind.
She had often been told of a light in the south, but had always dismissed it as nothing but a campfire or a small town in the mountains being seen from a distance, but in that room a thought had struck her: Luna and Celestia couldn’t be found anywhere in Equestria and beyond as far as Theá and her followers could find. She—the tracker among trackers—had not been able to find her quarry, so could they really be on this plane? She thought it unlikely, and so, had latched onto the one clue she had so far dismissed in her arrogance, and went for it.
And that was where she was now, on the very plateau where the Southern Light was said be. And it was. A score metres away was what looked like a spherical orb of light, half again the size of Theá herself, similar to Celestia in size in fact. Its light was soft but of no discernible colour.
“So this is it?” She asked the empty air, brows furrowing and ears swivelling about in search of anything. “It certainly isn’t of mortal origin, that much I can guarantee. Maybe…” She lit her horn and closed her eyes, letting an aura of her magic blanket a large area around her, easily a hundred or so metres. There were insects aplenty, as well as what shrubbery could survive on the plateau, but there was no other life here.
But even if it was not life, there was still the Southern Light. She refocused on the orb in front of her and felt it. It shone like a thousand beacon to her magical senses. Of all the things she had met on the mortal plane nothing came even close to exuding as much raw power and magic as this thing did. It dwarfed Theá herself with such magnitude that she doubted even Celestia and Luna combined would be even close to matching it. It was so much that it caused physical pain to run through her horn, so much so that she forcibly tore herself away from her magic, cutting it off in a gambit to get rid of the pain.
She found herself panting, groaning from the last vestiges of pain surging through her horn. Now she understood what it was, and she also understood why only one of her own Verse did it. It was a portal, a tear in the fabric of creation itself. And the reason why she had not felt it until now was quite simple: It had been cloaked from magical senses so as to avoid a magical overload across the entire unicorn population. It caused this much pain when she scrutinized it, but if a mortal were to do it… the pain would be unbearable and, possibly, lethal.
“Explains why whoever made this shielded it like this.” She swallowed and stepped forward. She had a pretty good idea of where it lead, and possibly even to whom. It was only a matter of trying. There was no other way, is what she thought. She had to go there herself.
“And what sort of Hunter am I if not I follow my quarry wherever the tracks may lead?” She mumbled something unintelligible at her own hesitance and, steeling herself, stepped forward. The portal loomed in front of her.
She breathed in and, summoning forth her conviction, stepped through it.
A ghostly spectre shot up from the ground, off-white hair hanging around her head in tangled locks. She breathed out, losing her transparency, becoming solid once more.
Around her stood Commander Jones, Sylphide, and what looked like a small Gryphon, except this one was half eagle and wolf, as opposed to its lion-like counterpart. Its yellow eyes, sharp and intelligent, zeroed in on her as she appeared, beak clicking impatiently. "What did you see?" He, judging by the voice, said.
The Banshee looked up at him. Even smaller than other gryphons as he were, he was still large enough to dwarf her. She pushed the thought aside, looking out towards where the two ambush groups were hiding, just waiting for the Endolan forces to make their way through the valley. "Not far off, Cyno. They will be within sight of the secondary groups in a minute at most. Five minutes at most before they are in the middle of our secondary groups. Ten minutes until they engage with the main group. "
Cyno nodded, closing his eyes for a short while. He then opened his eyes again, looking to Commander Jones. "Information has been relayed. They are awaiting your orders."
The Commander sniffed as if unimpressed, his jaw tightening as it was wont to do when he thought. He nodded once, but kept silent. Orders would come when needed. Such as it always were.
Any second now, Lily though, lips pressed into a thin line thanks to a mix of concentration and anxiousness. Her eyes were trained on the nearby bend in the valley, where she knew the Endolan forces would appear from. So far she had tried to keep the thought of what would happen once fighting began out of her head, but as the Endolans--Our enemies--drew closer, it was proving more and more difficult. She had killed before. Once. It was an accident and over a minor dispute, although it had been major back then. She remember having been wide awake the following night, barely able to keep herself from retching. Fourteen years old and she had taken a life. What wouldn't Max have said had he known? Could it be possible that he did know?
She shook her head, braid waving back and forth with the motion, and shoved the thought out of her head. Max was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was no beyond that she knew of. So why even think about him watching me? I know he's not. Again she shook her head, this time more violently, making sure that this time the thought of him stayed out of her mind. Her teeth were grit and jaw tight.
It sickened her. To be so afraid after what she had been through? Not only her old life, but all the fights she had been in since then, spar or not. She had survived dragons and gryphons, gorgons, and a horde of other chimeric beasts trying to tear her apart, and she had still made it out, not yet quit and asked to be moved somewhere else; out of this life as a Shifter.
I am not backing out now!
She closed her eyes and let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the action, composing herself.
Looking back towards the bend of the valley, she spotted the snout of something big. Following it came the head, and then a long neck, followed lastly by an enormous body. It was a brown dragon, average size, and as imposing as one would expect it to be. Following it came a horde of other Mythics, large and small, beautiful and ugly, frightening and enchanting. There were so many of them; so many jaws of death, powerful sorcerers, and elementals with the power to tear the land asunder.
One almost had to wonder why they didn't use an Earth Elemental to dig a tunnel through the mountains, but the answer was almost too obvious. Had they done that, they would be too vulnerable to the elementals from the Academy in the event that they had been discovered. No one but the elementals themselves would be able to do anything down there, and dragon or not, several tons of rock falling down on top of you will deal severe damage.
Lily glanced around her, taking note of all the other faces turned towards the approaching Endolans. Many of them look as anxious as she felt, a few even more so. There were even those that seemed to be excited for it, polishing swords with grim smiles on their faces, and one or two that looked downright scary. She turned her gaze back to the off-worlders.
"No one attack," a voice said, cast across the local telepathic network. "Wait until orders are given."
Of course. She almost scoffed, borderline offended by the idea. Which one of us would be stupid enough to attack before the order was given? Once again, she refocused on the Endolans, watching them as she kept the cloaking field up around their group, aided by the other Kitsune.
A few more moments passed before another call was issued over the telepathic network, but this one was one of the smaller, local ones. It called to get a group of Shifters to gather around her, as she was currently immobile to keep the cloaking field up.
She turned around--that much she could do--and took note of the nine others walking towards her. One of them--an as of yet unshifted person, although with reptilian pupils--oozed far more confidence than the others, and not to mention respect. He looked around at the small group, eyeing each and every one up and down. Seemingly impressed, he went to address the lot of them, explaining what they were going to do. It would be a tried and tested attack that, even if it was thousands of years old, still worked. A simple arrowhead attack to split them back lines, break their concentration as best as possible. Other groups had agreed to focus more on the Titans, so they would take care of the Demons and Fae.
"Understood?" He asked.
A chorus of "Yes sir!" rang out from the small group, a look of determination on each and every face, even that of the surprisingly small girl among them.
Lily's gaze rested on the girl for a moment, hardly flinching as she received a steely glare in return. As if to prove a point, the small girl Shifted then, becoming some sort of grotesque creature of pure death. Bonelike spikes protruded forward from the back of her hands, as well as her elbows. Additionally her hands and feet had become clawed, and her face... possibly the worst of it all. She no longer had lips, or even much of a face to speak of. Two dark holes with faintly glowing light serving as eyes, two rows of pointy teeth that rivalled even those of a dragon in how murderous they seemed, and just a hole that looked like it had once held a nose, but no longer did.
How she managed to grin at Lily, she would never find out. "I'm a Bakasura," she said in a gravelly voice, not at all feminine. She chuckled at the surprised look she got from Lily, hunching over and resting on the long bone-like protrusion from her hands. "Good luck down there."
Lily nodded and turned around, refocusing on the cloak.
It was only a matter of time now.
Fight begins in 2 minutes
The Endolan forces had passed without incident. A few Banshees and other scouts had looked around, but none had found the ambush groups. It was understandable, though, as bringing Spirits was a liability. They were vulnerable, and not a combative type of Shifter. It would be a needless loss of life if too many of them were to get involved with the fighting.
Lily had kept her eyes on them, anxiously watching what few Banshees of theirs that disappeared in and out of few, looking every which way for potential ambushes. Thankfully, they didn’t find any.
Fight begins in thirty seconds
She could see the Endolans about to get within range of the Academy’s forces. Loathe though she was to let her spirits rise too high, she felt some amount of relief in finally realising that they outnumbered the Endolans, albeit with less than half again their numbers. But it was an advantage, one she was thankful of.
Her fists clenched, muscles in her legs tensing in preparation. They were so close. It was a matter of seconds.
The air was thick with anticipation, fear, and anxiety, so many like her filled with dread at what was to come. She let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the process.
And then the fight began.
One almighty boom reached their ears, Fairies from one side or another having sent forth a massive blast of magic. Next came the roars from the dragons and giant, the screeches from the wyverns and the chimeras. So many sounds of anger, despair, and pain. But everything was silent on top of the valley’s cliffs, the two ambush groups waiting with bated breath.
Come on. Come on! Lily urged, her tails snapping agitatedly in the air behind her. Give the orders! I don’t want to just watch people die here if I can prevent some of it!
Thirty seconds after fighting began
The fight had only just begun and already it seemed as if hundreds had died. The screams of pain was heard as clearly as if they were next to them.
The orders were awaited with bated breath, and then…
”Ambush Teams. Engage. Move in from the rear. Attack!
A secpmd call followed immediately after, coming from their Graduate CO. "Get on my back!"
A nearby person--the Graduate which had not been shifted before--shifted into a dragon, crouching low to allow their small squadron to climb onto his back for easier transport. Lily and the other Kitsune held onto the cloaking field as best they could while everybody scrambled to get onto the Titans' backs for easier transport, or sped down the cliff side. It would be gone once they started to move, but for now they could hold it up.
The dragon took off with a powerful beat of his wings, friends and comrades riding on his back towards their first proper battle. People would die. Friends would die… they themselves would die. But it was a price they all were willing to pay. A price they had agreed upon when they let themselves become something other than Human.
Lily crouched, peering at the landscape passing by below. The dragon shifter swooped in low, passing by a score metres above, and two scores behind, the backline of the Endolan forces, letting his passengers drop. Lily jumped down on the Endolans below, following her squadmates. A single thought echoed through her mind as they raced forwards at inhuman speeds, ready to tear into their enemies.
Leave none alive!
Around her stood Commander Jones, Sylphide, and what looked like a small Gryphon, except this one was half eagle and wolf, as opposed to its lion-like counterpart. Its yellow eyes, sharp and intelligent, zeroed in on her as she appeared, beak clicking impatiently. "What did you see?" He, judging by the voice, said.
The Banshee looked up at him. Even smaller than other gryphons as he were, he was still large enough to dwarf her. She pushed the thought aside, looking out towards where the two ambush groups were hiding, just waiting for the Endolan forces to make their way through the valley. "Not far off, Cyno. They will be within sight of the secondary groups in a minute at most. Five minutes at most before they are in the middle of our secondary groups. Ten minutes until they engage with the main group. "
Cyno nodded, closing his eyes for a short while. He then opened his eyes again, looking to Commander Jones. "Information has been relayed. They are awaiting your orders."
The Commander sniffed as if unimpressed, his jaw tightening as it was wont to do when he thought. He nodded once, but kept silent. Orders would come when needed. Such as it always were.
Any second now, Lily though, lips pressed into a thin line thanks to a mix of concentration and anxiousness. Her eyes were trained on the nearby bend in the valley, where she knew the Endolan forces would appear from. So far she had tried to keep the thought of what would happen once fighting began out of her head, but as the Endolans--Our enemies--drew closer, it was proving more and more difficult. She had killed before. Once. It was an accident and over a minor dispute, although it had been major back then. She remember having been wide awake the following night, barely able to keep herself from retching. Fourteen years old and she had taken a life. What wouldn't Max have said had he known? Could it be possible that he did know?
She shook her head, braid waving back and forth with the motion, and shoved the thought out of her head. Max was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was no beyond that she knew of. So why even think about him watching me? I know he's not. Again she shook her head, this time more violently, making sure that this time the thought of him stayed out of her mind. Her teeth were grit and jaw tight.
It sickened her. To be so afraid after what she had been through? Not only her old life, but all the fights she had been in since then, spar or not. She had survived dragons and gryphons, gorgons, and a horde of other chimeric beasts trying to tear her apart, and she had still made it out, not yet quit and asked to be moved somewhere else; out of this life as a Shifter.
I am not backing out now!
She closed her eyes and let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the action, composing herself.
Looking back towards the bend of the valley, she spotted the snout of something big. Following it came the head, and then a long neck, followed lastly by an enormous body. It was a brown dragon, average size, and as imposing as one would expect it to be. Following it came a horde of other Mythics, large and small, beautiful and ugly, frightening and enchanting. There were so many of them; so many jaws of death, powerful sorcerers, and elementals with the power to tear the land asunder.
One almost had to wonder why they didn't use an Earth Elemental to dig a tunnel through the mountains, but the answer was almost too obvious. Had they done that, they would be too vulnerable to the elementals from the Academy in the event that they had been discovered. No one but the elementals themselves would be able to do anything down there, and dragon or not, several tons of rock falling down on top of you will deal severe damage.
Lily glanced around her, taking note of all the other faces turned towards the approaching Endolans. Many of them look as anxious as she felt, a few even more so. There were even those that seemed to be excited for it, polishing swords with grim smiles on their faces, and one or two that looked downright scary. She turned her gaze back to the off-worlders.
"No one attack," a voice said, cast across the local telepathic network. "Wait until orders are given."
Of course. She almost scoffed, borderline offended by the idea. Which one of us would be stupid enough to attack before the order was given? Once again, she refocused on the Endolans, watching them as she kept the cloaking field up around their group, aided by the other Kitsune.
A few more moments passed before another call was issued over the telepathic network, but this one was one of the smaller, local ones. It called to get a group of Shifters to gather around her, as she was currently immobile to keep the cloaking field up.
She turned around--that much she could do--and took note of the nine others walking towards her. One of them--an as of yet unshifted person, although with reptilian pupils--oozed far more confidence than the others, and not to mention respect. He looked around at the small group, eyeing each and every one up and down. Seemingly impressed, he went to address the lot of them, explaining what they were going to do. It would be a tried and tested attack that, even if it was thousands of years old, still worked. A simple arrowhead attack to split them back lines, break their concentration as best as possible. Other groups had agreed to focus more on the Titans, so they would take care of the Demons and Fae.
"Understood?" He asked.
A chorus of "Yes sir!" rang out from the small group, a look of determination on each and every face, even that of the surprisingly small girl among them.
Lily's gaze rested on the girl for a moment, hardly flinching as she received a steely glare in return. As if to prove a point, the small girl Shifted then, becoming some sort of grotesque creature of pure death. Bonelike spikes protruded forward from the back of her hands, as well as her elbows. Additionally her hands and feet had become clawed, and her face... possibly the worst of it all. She no longer had lips, or even much of a face to speak of. Two dark holes with faintly glowing light serving as eyes, two rows of pointy teeth that rivalled even those of a dragon in how murderous they seemed, and just a hole that looked like it had once held a nose, but no longer did.
How she managed to grin at Lily, she would never find out. "I'm a Bakasura," she said in a gravelly voice, not at all feminine. She chuckled at the surprised look she got from Lily, hunching over and resting on the long bone-like protrusion from her hands. "Good luck down there."
Lily nodded and turned around, refocusing on the cloak.
It was only a matter of time now.
Fight begins in 2 minutes
The Endolan forces had passed without incident. A few Banshees and other scouts had looked around, but none had found the ambush groups. It was understandable, though, as bringing Spirits was a liability. They were vulnerable, and not a combative type of Shifter. It would be a needless loss of life if too many of them were to get involved with the fighting.
Lily had kept her eyes on them, anxiously watching what few Banshees of theirs that disappeared in and out of few, looking every which way for potential ambushes. Thankfully, they didn’t find any.
Fight begins in thirty seconds
She could see the Endolans about to get within range of the Academy’s forces. Loathe though she was to let her spirits rise too high, she felt some amount of relief in finally realising that they outnumbered the Endolans, albeit with less than half again their numbers. But it was an advantage, one she was thankful of.
Her fists clenched, muscles in her legs tensing in preparation. They were so close. It was a matter of seconds.
The air was thick with anticipation, fear, and anxiety, so many like her filled with dread at what was to come. She let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the process.
And then the fight began.
One almighty boom reached their ears, Fairies from one side or another having sent forth a massive blast of magic. Next came the roars from the dragons and giant, the screeches from the wyverns and the chimeras. So many sounds of anger, despair, and pain. But everything was silent on top of the valley’s cliffs, the two ambush groups waiting with bated breath.
Come on. Come on! Lily urged, her tails snapping agitatedly in the air behind her. Give the orders! I don’t want to just watch people die here if I can prevent some of it!
Thirty seconds after fighting began
The fight had only just begun and already it seemed as if hundreds had died. The screams of pain was heard as clearly as if they were next to them.
The orders were awaited with bated breath, and then…
”Ambush Teams. Engage. Move in from the rear. Attack!
A secpmd call followed immediately after, coming from their Graduate CO. "Get on my back!"
A nearby person--the Graduate which had not been shifted before--shifted into a dragon, crouching low to allow their small squadron to climb onto his back for easier transport. Lily and the other Kitsune held onto the cloaking field as best they could while everybody scrambled to get onto the Titans' backs for easier transport, or sped down the cliff side. It would be gone once they started to move, but for now they could hold it up.
The dragon took off with a powerful beat of his wings, friends and comrades riding on his back towards their first proper battle. People would die. Friends would die… they themselves would die. But it was a price they all were willing to pay. A price they had agreed upon when they let themselves become something other than Human.
Lily crouched, peering at the landscape passing by below. The dragon shifter swooped in low, passing by a score metres above, and two scores behind, the backline of the Endolan forces, letting his passengers drop. Lily jumped down on the Endolans below, following her squadmates. A single thought echoed through her mind as they raced forwards at inhuman speeds, ready to tear into their enemies.
Leave none alive!
So, Eldritch and I have talked a bit, and I believe we have come to a possible conclusion to this chapter of In Nominé's story. I can't promise exactly when it will be up, but there will be time for everyone else to conclude their individual storylines if they so desire. I will, however, encourage you to do so relatively quickly, as the conclusion of In Nominé will include a rather long timeskip.
I would also like to say that even if I haven't really posted anything here, I have not been absent. I've been checking in every day, read every new post both IC and OOC. So even if my interest in this RP became drastically less than before, I haven't abandoned it.
With that said, I will be going to bed. I hope everyone will find the conclusion to this story satisfying when it does get posted... Whenever that might be ;)
I would also like to say that even if I haven't really posted anything here, I have not been absent. I've been checking in every day, read every new post both IC and OOC. So even if my interest in this RP became drastically less than before, I haven't abandoned it.
With that said, I will be going to bed. I hope everyone will find the conclusion to this story satisfying when it does get posted... Whenever that might be ;)
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