Luminosity

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@JulienJaden and I did a collab thing :) Hopefully you guys enjoy it.

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_{Fiona and Nicholas}

Unknown Location - 500 HP - 3/6 Stamina (For Both)

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Fiona's spell faded away from her hand as she saw that the faceless being was simply absorbing it in its entirety. The magic had cost her no small amount of energy; driven by the rush of her last seeming victory, she'd enthusiastically pushed herself into the casting of it, and the gale of fire had been about as strong as she was capable of. It had no effect on the faceless, however, and Fiona was left breathless, sagging slightly through her legs. Its words cut deeply, as she could recognize the truth in them. How ignorant it had been of her, to assume her abilities would solve their problem with little difficulty. A foolish, childish notion.

She found herself rooted to the spot, both from the drain of the spell and from her despair at its pitiful lack of use, and the large black fist that came down towards her would've crushed her had something not hit her from the side first, taking her off her feet and leaving her momentarily weightless. Fiona hit the ground in no gentle way, on her side, barely keeping a grasp on her sword. She could feel an armored body on top of her, and turned to see Nicholas. Their limbs were somewhat awkwardly entangled, but Fiona hardly seemed to notice, her eyes instead finding the weapons that were conjured into the hands of the faceless monsters. Still, she seemed dazed, from her own failing more than any physical blow.

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From Nicholas' perspective, the events didn't look much better: Just like Fiona, he had hoped that fire would be the solution, the weapon their enemy couldn't withstand and the only thing that kept him from adding his own magical power to the mix was that hint of doubt and years of experience to tell him never to put all his energy in one blow until he was out of options.

The outcome of her attack, however, was more catastrophic than he could have possibly predicted - The creature didn't just resist her flames but absorbed them, used them to nurture himself and grow some of his mass into terrifying weapons... not before it took revenge for her attempt at destroying it, however. It was exactly what Nicholas had feared, finding the priestess unable to move due to exhaustion, fear or something else, and his body crashed into hers not a second too early. As intended, his weight carried both of them just out of range of the monstrosity's blow before they fell to the ground, the beast's limb slamming into the earth where she had stood with a thunderous wham.

Alarmed by its words and speed, Nicholas didn't dare try to run, didn't attempt to keep hold of his weapon. He did the only thing he possibly could, raising himself over the woman to shield her with his body, bracing himself for the second strike that would break his back.
Only, it never came, and he watched as it returned to its posture and grew weapons, changing its stance as if to prepare for an attack but not yet moving. Precious little time for them.

The mercenary searched for his sword sister's eyes and gently touched her face with a gloved hand, brushing aside a strand of red hair.
"Are you alright?"
Their position was exposed, their bodies entangled in a way that must have looked comical and should have been awkwardly erotic, but neither his facial features nor his voice acknowledged these circumstances, both radiating a calm he hoped she would absorb.

Fiona wasn't sure what she had done to inspire such a defense from a group member she had only recently met, someone she'd yet to have an actual conversation with. He was no Brother of the Burning Light, yet he stood over her with his shield presented to an enemy that had shown it could crush either of them. She was immensely thankful for the bravery and the selflessness, but she also felt a rather crippling guilt that she didn't deserve such a thing. The aggressiveness with her magic was her own mistake.

Then suddenly he'd touched her face, asking if she was alright. "I'm..." she stammered, suddenly aware of the entanglement. Her sword was under them, and she tried to get it free, but the blade was too long, her arm too short, and Nicholas was still above her, insistent on being protective for some reason. Their legs were awkwardly tangled, and Fiona worked at squirming free, eyes constantly darting back to the faceless creature.

"I'm fine," she managed. "We need to move." She didn't intend to attack again until she had the support of her allies, but they were hardly any use to the group down here, getting in each other's way.

She was right, of course, and he was glad that something in his words had shaken her out of her reverie, her paralysis far less grievous than he had feared. Something in her eyes, in the way she fought had spoken of method and knowledge but nothing more, enough so to make him suspect that this was one of her first fights against the horrors of the wild. She was certainly stronger than he had been the first time he had to fight for his life, a scared little boy then.

He quickly withdrew himself from between and on-top-of her legs, grabbing his sword as he rose and nonchalantly offering her his left hand to help her up.

But his dark brown orbs had shifted away from her, darting to their, quite literally, biggest problem and, when the being didn't make any worrying movements, onwards to the fight that raged between their nearly bald companion and a survivor of the small faceless Nicholas hadn't even realized existed.
Something about this fight piqued his interest and glued his eyes to them as they traded blows.

"That creature... It's different from the others."

Fiona took his hand and pulled herself to her feet, releasing it and making some attempt to regain her composure, brushing off her pants and the short skirt of her white robe. It would be difficult to throw herself back into the fight, with her confidence shaken, especially considering that she didn't know how best to approach the attack now. She thought perhaps to wield her magic through her blade, and attempt to cut cleanly through the faceless creature's limbs or weapons... but with how her last magical attempt went, she wasn't sure that was a good idea.

She too noticed the fight still occurring between one of their number and the other faceless. Fiona thought perhaps to intervene, but she'd already made things worse once, and didn't want to get in the way again. He looked like he was quite capable with his blade, regardless.

"How so?" she asked, taking her blade in both hands and holding a ready stance, keeping her eyes locked upon the larger of the faceless. They didn't have long to figure something out, she knew, but any sort of idea was more than she had right now.

Nicholas didn't know how to answer her at first. His statement was based more on a gut feeling than hard evidence when he made it, and as he didn't want to push their luck, he nudged the woman's side and slowly, carefully backed away from the scimitar-wielding giant towards the illusion of safety their companions offered. But with every second he watched the fight, his feeling grew stronger until he could finally place it.

"It's actually fighting him. The others... They wanted to be defeated, they just didn't want to make it too easy right away."

If they hadn't cut off the faceless's heads, they wouldn't have been able to join themselves, would they? Didn't this thing seem more desperate than them, blocking attacks instead of accepting them like its brethren had? Maybe the key to ending this fight was destroying this one creature instead of wasting their efforts another that seemed truly without weakness - after all, the Red Ones had spoken of a test, so the solution could potentially be as simple as choosing the right opponent to defeat.
He could have been wrong, of course - maybe they had to end both of them and the larger one simply wouldn't go down easily. Or perhaps it had one but it was well-hidden, deep inside its mass. But if that was the case, the last thing they needed was splitting their forces.

"We should try and kill that thing first. Maybe that's all we need to do."

He nudged her again as he stopped so she'd turn her head and see the confident smile. Nicholas didn't know her name but he didn't have to to know that he trusted her with his life that day - not that either of them had a choice in the matter, really.
A cocky wink transformed it from an inspiring to a challenging gesture.

"Try to keep up, pretty girl."

Ignoring the quiet throbbing in his shoulder where he had hit the ground, first faint aches in his muscles and few drops of sweat on his forehead, the mercenary ran quickly towards Marcus, widening the gap between himself and the giant and looking to attack the head of their companion's enemy from behind - even if it could sense attacks at its back, he hoped that it would need to divide its attention.

But if the big one decided to punish this mad dash, he would do what he could to hold his ground.

Fiona wasn't entirely sure that killing the smaller one would somehow kill the larger one too, if that was what Nicholas was implying, but he seemed confident enough in the plan, and that was more than she had. It was something to work with, at least. Nicholas still seemed confident in everything, actually, though Fiona didn't know how. It was infectious, not enough to completely drown out the guilt of her failing and her uncertainty, but she did manage to return the smile, just a bit. It was a small, fragile thing, but it was there.

She steeled herself, ignoring the warnings of fatigue that were starting to loom, and followed swiftly behind Nicholas, though she kept her guard facing the larger of the faceless, so as to watch her ally's back while he moved. They could only intervene so much to assist their friend without getting in each other's way, and Fiona was much more intent on playing a reserved role for the remainder of the fight, if at all possible.

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I'll wait for a few to go before I do again. Fiona and Nicholas are rather awkwardly tangled on the ground for the moment, if anyone feels like referencing that, haha.

🦄 Duplicity - D&D Style Fantasy Rp Adventure (Completed)

Persephone

Location: Gorlf Northern Territory
Interacting With: People

Seph figured it was a good thing her conversation with Sundos ended when it did, when they came across Kyra and the campsite she'd picked out for them. Seph was not fond of casting an entire race of people in the way Sundos had, effectively labeling them as lesser. She knew them to be violent, warlike, eager for conflict even, but whatever had caused this particular war remained unclear. Attacks on this scale did not occur without reason. And truth was something Seph had learned was different for everyone, with how strongly it was altered by perspective. She would protect the innocent, of course, but she would not think the orcs evil or deserving of death until she knew more. Blind condemnation was not the way of a young woman who claimed to walk with her eyes open.

"Absolutely," Seph said towards Keystone, grinning as she secured Boro's lead to a tree. He'd found something on the ground to munch on, and she patted his neck, thankful for the cooperation he'd provided for the day. "I'm not picky. Any warm meal would be welcome before night falls."

She watched the half-orc interact with the lovely elven bard with thinly-veiled amusement. It was always fun to observe complete opposites getting along well. Though Sona seemed to get along well with everyone, from what she had seen.

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Yes! I love making things worse :D

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And I went first. Fiona made a very fiery attack, so I dunno if maybe it would be best to get the faceless's reaction right off the bat? Then everyone else could go. Just a suggestion.

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_Fiona

Unknown Location - 500 HP - 4/6 Stamina

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Fiona felt an undeniable rush of exultation as her blade cut cleanly through the neck of the faceless that opposed her, severing the head and leaving it bubbling at her feet. Not only that, the others all seemed to have similar success, and as Fiona stepped back, she glanced over at Nicholas and smiled honestly. They'd proven more than a match for their first foes. She was hardly winded, too, and only the God Eater had suffered a blow in return. That was something she could fix easily enough afterwards, if he were willing to let her use magic upon him. The negative effects would all be on Fiona to absorb, but still some were not fond of having magic of any kind cast in their direction.

Her smile held until she noticed the piles of substance, melting and molding, beginning to gather together and form a new shape, a larger one, greater in size than any in their party, including the physically intimidating God Eater. Fiona took several steps back, taking her blade in both hands again and narrowing her eyes at the newly formed faceless, unarmed but somehow much more impressive than those smaller beings it had absorbed, so to speak. Its words, if they did indeed come from its mouth-less head, were bold and threatening, giving Fiona the impression that they faced a much more serious threat. Then again, the other faceless had seemed horrifying and inhuman before battle had been joined, and she'd felled one of them easily enough. Perhaps they would find this thing to be all bluster as well.

It refused to attack first, as the others had, but was the threat not declaration enough of its intent? It would see them all dead if they did not fight. Fiona stood as tall as she could in comparison to it, sadly still coming up short, but she hid any of her trepidation well. She could not deny she wondered how well her unleashed power could serve in the field; cities full of civilians were no place to sling fire about. And if her abilities could help end the fight before any of the others were injured in it, it seemed like a worthwhile risk to try.

Stepping two paces away from anyone so as to not risk catching them in the area of her spell, Fiona removed her left hand from her sword. "Everyone stay back!" She warned. Bending slightly through her knees, she lunged forward towards the faceless, feeling a surge of magical energy swell up from within her core, shooting with force through her body and along her arm, until a gout of flame roared into the air from her palm. The intense flames launched forward in a focused cone which would easily engulf the faceless creature. Any human would be easily burned to a crisp from such magic, but this creature was far from human.

Dungeon Crawl (1x1 Narratives, Player v. Dungeon Master)

@13 Critics I could probably fit in one more of these, yeah. Send me a PM? If you have general ideas about what kind of scenario you want to try, I have characters that will fit well with anything fantasy.

On my phone for the moment, but I can discuss more in a few hours, tops.

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@icmasticc Are we waiting for more posts before moving to the next round? Forgive my impatience, haha, I'm just excited.

Arena Chat Thread

I was mostly trying to come up with a name for the type of sword seen in my character's image. I like the look of it, but the angle kinda makes it hard to tell what it is. I suppose it could be a katana, but I can't tell if it's curved, and a katana is probably too long for what I would need. In any case, her sword is too thin to be most kinds of European things, I think.

Thank you for the tips, though, @DLL. I was thinking about some kind of full-faced mask/helm thing. Gotta find something aesthetically pleasing first, of course. Guilty pleasures come first.

And thanks everyone for the help. Lots of good points to consider. I appreciate it.