Opposition

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

I hope that works well enough. I didn't have much to do other than have Tatiana continue flipping out internally, but Lanostran squad should be ready to carry on!

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

The wasteland's piercing winds sounded diminutive in comparison to the thundering echoes of war on the horizon. Varyan steamships grinded themselves to pieces, but all the squad of inquisitors could hear was the groaning of steel as the hulking beasts gave out under cannon fire. It was the thunder of these blasts that carved its way into the Black Glacier— not the primal cries of dying men and women, disregarded in their individuality. No singular entity was noted. The enemy cared only for their mass identity. So it would be all of them that fell that day.

It was in spite of the unheard baleful calls of fallen soldiers that Tatiana's focus lied elsewhere. Just as mechanically as the seraph statues had swiveled to view her, Tatiana curbed her gaze to stare into the desolate eyes of her once opponents. It was that sort of response— one filled with desolation— that she echoed back to the creatures as the twisted into their own aberrant forms. The summoner didn't even appear to flinch as the two flanking demons shattered into fractured patterns of glacial shards. She had seen too much already. Too much death. Too much loss. Too much trouble. Too much desolation...

It was in the shadow of death that Tatiana's bleak gaze met that of her adversary's remote eyes. The few words he uttered spoke volumes to the fell summoner. Piece by piece, Tatiana constructed a picture of her own shadowy adversary. In her mind, the girl forged her own image of the enemy, but it was an enemy she would have never expected. As the last demon standing spoke, more memories rushed back into her mind. The days of her training as a summoner— the grueling hours spent in constant struggle, and it was all done with one man by her side. He was gone. He left their cause for his own deranged visions of better futures. He may not have been a puppeteer of the red-eyed demon, but he was behind the scenario. Tatiana could discern that much.

Tatiana found herself too locked within her own mind to concentrate on Cillian's woeful display of lashing out at the demon. Everyone's cards were already splayed out. There was no sense in fighting further. Tatiana knew that much. It wasn't until the red-eyed puppet set his ruby eyes upon Galahad. His hollow words met Tatiana with just as much hollow and impassive power. She stared idly ahead, pondering the fate of the Varyans. Something was off, though. There was something missing inside her. The toll of death was absent from her being. No heart-wrenching pangs of pain. No cold-running blood sending strange shivers throughout her limbs. All that remained within Tatiana was that hollow, desolate energy. For a moment, she thought she had lost her drive entirely, but then revelations began to reach her.

Perhaps it was Dara that killed—

The echoic shattering sounding from the demon being fractured into its base materials shook Tatiana from her thoughts. Her empty eyes settled upon the effigy of ice— now nothing more than just that: ice. Galahad was the one to speak up and offer guidance. It was time to flee. With that idea, Tatiana looked towards the crumbling Varyan masses. It was time to leave them. Perhaps this would be the last time Tatiana set her eyes upon the mass grave. Perhaps not, but she had a feeling. The inquisitor dropped her head to view her crimson-ridden hands, still grasping the horn of her friend enclosed in one of her fists. She didn't really have any goals in mind, but Tatiana had been growing cold towards the idea of her warband's imminent journey. This encounter had changed her, though. Something awakened within her. It was like a warm sensation ripping through her being and flaring up to give her cause. She wouldn't know the word for it.

She had to go after him... For one reason or another.

"We need to make haste." Tatiana nodded to Galahad as she spoke, struggling her way over to his side before pushing on into the glacial winds.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

Alright. I apologize for my bout of absence. I'm back and I'll try to get a post up as soon as I can do so.

@OppositionJ

Not sure if you've been keeping up with the Omestris story, but there's something kinda relevant to your character's backstory in this post. :)

@Lovejoy

I'll make sure to catch up and read through. Thanks for letting me know.

The Amberclad Index

I'm definitely interested. This is right up my alley.

1x1x1 (MxFxF) Cyberpunk and Slice Of Life

Indeed. I'll be around whenever you need me to start.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

Phew...



That was a lot...
I hope you guys like that nonsense.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

The Black Glacier, Lanostran Frontier

---

The cold felt so... desolate the further and further she advanced. It wasn't the usual feeling, no. She didn't hate the cold— not now. Instead she only felt that desolation. It was like she was running right into the embrace of death. There wasn't pain, only fatigue, hopelessness.. And desolation...

***

Nothing occupied Tatiana's mind in her guileless charge. At times, she was even oblivious to the presence of the massive creature bull rushing their opposition, her intent instead only focused on the monolithic masses that remained upon their thrones like false idols of the glacier. Of course, that thought restarted the young inquisitors thoughts. Maybe they weren't false idols. Her attention was shot elsewhere as the lance of one of the triumvirate of colossal beasts launched through the air at the behest of the statue that gripped it. Tatiana could sense an immediate reaction of the Terviclops to prepare a defensive measure, but all that was nullified when the symbionts realized that the racing projectile would far overshoot them. But who was it aimed at?

Tatiana's gaze rose up, though she never broke her tempo. Whenever she slowed, she would feel the prehensile tail of the Terviclops urging her onward, but what captivated her above certainly had her slowly for a moment. Astraea soared across the sky just above her and her companion, cutting through the air like she had been blasted from a cannon. That certainly had Tatiana nearly skidding to a halt, but she found herself moving again as the lance of the eerily human creature surged through the air to meet Astraea mid-air. Tatiana brought a forearm up to shield her eyes as the combination of kinetic and magical energies met and then bursted into a visceral cloud of blood, force, and light. For just one moment, Tatiana thought of her fallen comrade. What could have become of Astraea? The battle cry of her Terviclops swiftly redirected that focus and Tatiana's grip around her rifle tightened. The core of the Glacier's defense was only so far, and Tatiana could pick out in the thick of the wintry weather that one of them had stood with its weapon held firmly against the advancing pair: The lancer...

***

There was no inhibition in the young girl's form. Nothing held her back. In a way, she was akin to the elephantine brute that ran right along side her. In a way, the two of them weren't all that different from the titans they marched towards. In her mind, no distinction was made. None was needed. There on the Glacier, everyone— everything— was the same in the eyes of the inevitability that awaited them all. There wasn't man and demon on the Glacier. There weren't killers, T'saraen scientists, and scared little girls. There were just... Ghosts. Everything and everyone was a ghost in her eyes. What more could she count on? What else mattered in the desolation?

***

Its demeanor was odd... No, wrong. As Tatiana neared the lancer didn't set its weapon against her or her companion. Instead, the creature found itself standing at an idle attention. It was ready for battle, Tatiana could tell that much, but it awaited its opposition. No projectiles were thrown. It wasn't preparing a charge. It was just... standing, and it held a certain respect and reverence. It was a soldier. The soldier that would soon oppose it could recognize that much herself. The lancer demeanor make have shaken her resolve, but Tatiana would not falter in her actions. It seemed that even in such trying times, her own will was all that she could rely on, and it was time for her to enact just that. The two opposing forces would clash in only meters.

"Terviclops, overhead sweep!" With the order given, Tatiana shot right, aiming to arc wide around the two clashing demons to get herself a clear view at the lancer while her companion held the frontal attack of the lancer. As she raced outward, Tatiana witnessed her Terviclops heed her words, whipping its massive weapon low before allowing it to whirl above its head and crash down towards the lancer. It's reaction halted Tatiana's step briefly. Its covered right arm rose up as if seeing the future, to clash with the neck of the attacking spear. In the same motion, the demon used its free arm to thrust its spear straight towards Tatiana's marauding ally. The accursed howl of the Terviclops must have been heard around the entire battlefield as the lance carved straight through its shoulder. The lancer wasn't finished yet either. The defending hand jammed itself forward to push back Terviclops before the lancer contorted its body towards the inquisitor, swiping down with its palm to strike the rifle from Tatiana's hands as she went to aim. She was left stunned with a thousand questions, but all seemed to be answered as she caught a glimpse of the demon staring straight back at her. They locked eyes, if only for a moment, and what Tatiana saw within them was not a mindless automaton. Had it understood her order?

She was unarmed. The rifle had been ripped from her grasp and strewn across the ice. Tatiana could only imagine her weapon was cracked or otherwise dysfunctional, but she didn't have much time to ponder the concept. The summoner struggled for ideas as she dived for her bayonet in the snow. She could feel her opponent's massive weapon looming over her and striking out, but Terviclops shielded its master with the fervor of its eternal pain. The lancer swung its weapon low at a wide angle to smash into Tatiana's form, but the Terviclops found itself matching its enemy's speed, smashing a foot down on the lance and curbing it into the ground. This gesture of sacrifice left Tatiana's companion entirely open however, and it was only a moment before the lancer threw its weight against the Terviclops to shunt him back. In the next second, things seemed to move at light speed.

The lancer went to re-grip its weapon for another strike at the opposing demon, but Tatiana launched herself up from her knees. In one fluid motion, her bayonet was thrust into the gargantuan creature's hand and ripped as best as Tatiana could through its glacial flesh. The futility of her strike served only as a distraction, though. Tatiana knew that, and the repercussions came near instantly as the demon rocked its arm directly into the inquisitor's gut launching her to skid across the glacial surface. The inquisitor only halted as her head smashed against a protrusion of ice. A ringing overtook Tatiana's ears and for a moment she could only watch as her companion stood toe-to-toe with the lancer. It whipped its spear with all the might of its still good arm, but even its reckless speed was matched by the armored demon. Tatiana's eyes rose just in time to watch the lance shoot high and the Terviclops duck low, but not low enough. The extreme precision of Tatiana's opponent was perfectly shone as the tip of its armament cleaved off half of the Terviclops' horn. Tatiana let out a yelp, but it was entirely drowned out by the raucous rage that was evoked from the splitting lungs of the Terviclops. There was a torn look in the fallen inquisitor's eyes as she watched her partner stumble back from the lancer and writhe in pain, jumping and flailing with reckless abandoned. The lancer didn't advance. Instead, it turned towards Tatiana, maintaining a base stance. It waited...

***

There on the Glacier standing among the ghosts, something was awakened within her: dormant memories, and they confirmed her disposition. They came in flashes. The snow, the ice, the looming monolith in the distance; it was all the same. She saw the first time she laid eyes on the glacier in all its hulking permanence. She remembered the darkness it radiated. She saw the first time she came face to face with that warped demon black as shadow. She remembered the darkness she felt course through her as her final moments flashed before her eyes only to watch the creature curbed at her command. She saw the last time she would ever see her father. She remembered the darkness had caused it all. He treasured the darkness, but he never felt it. She felt it, and it felt like... Desolation.

***

Tatiana twisted her body, forcing herself to her knees and then up to her feet. A hand rose to wipe the blood from her mouth before slamming down against her hips to smash open any remaining vials of ether on her belt. The pooling liquid was guided to swarm and swirl around her hands as she locked eyes with her enemy. Her gaze would remain stuck on the soulless pits of her enemy the entire time she approached him. Tatiana moved no swifter than a walk. Their battle had no sense of urgency. It was coming to its head. The telltale black smog of the summoner poured from Tatiana's hands as she neared. After all, it took only a few steps before she was in range of the demon's massive lance. Tatiana's opposition didn't wait for her to prepare, but she didn't intend to. The demonic lancer brought back its twisted weapon in a mighty backswing that caused a whistling through the air. Tatiana didn't waver. Her gaze most of all remained taut and locked upon her enemy's visage as the darkness continued to pull around her apendages, but it was then that the weapon came whipping forward. Her hand shifted up in gesture. Finally, she spoke up.

"Halt..." It was not one demon that seemed affected by her words this time. Instead, the silence and stillness of the Terviclops was joined by another demon. Its tearing muscles seemed almost to freeze as much as they wanted to force forward. The lance was only a few feet from crushing Tatiana's skull, but she didn't react. This was the one place she had seen herself cheat death. It was time to wield her abilities as truly as she had before. She lifted a hand and pushed it towards her opposition.

"Back!" As if her gesture and voice guided her opponent, the lancer stumbled back a number of steps. For a moment, Tatiana seemed lost in feeling, recoiling from what actions she had just taken. She felt a rush. She felt unbeatable, completely unfocused on the fate of her enemy. It was then that Galahad and Astraea surged forth into the battle, Galahad smashing the lancer with a spell. Tatiana snapped out of her lost moment, readying herself to continue the fight. As the lancer and Galahad had danced between one another, both dashing attacks at their opposite, Astraea leapt into the fray. It wasn't long before her allies had finally taken the heat from Tatiana, allowing her a moment's respite. It was in that moment that the lancer's wing was cleaved off. In the next moment, Tatiana found her gaze directed towards the two remaining demons atop their throne-like edifices. They acted entertained by the bout of combat, and soon the lancer was bending knee before its superiors. Astraea spoke up, asking Tatiana for an explanation, but she had none. She did intend to reply, but as she opened her mouth to speak up, her body faltered and she inexplicably collapsed to her knees. Her eyes were still open but glazed over.

Lost in another world, the girl muttered something unintelligible, as if talking to entities that weren't there. Tatiana was completely unresponsive until Mother Elisheva and Father Cillian approached the strangely ceremonial encounter. It was then that she snapped away from her vision. Tatiana's eyes shot back to meet them as if she was completely unworried about the opposing demons that stood before the inquisitors. Elisheva spoke up first with a brief questioning.

---

_@Lovejoy

Elisheva's voice rang out from behind them. The red-eyed inquisitor, with Father Cillian trailing behind her wheezing in pain and clutching his side, slowed to a stop as they were greeted by the sight of the three greater demons and their strange ceremonial demonstration.

"What..."

Cillian's words were cut short by the sound of the three demons suddenly turning their heads in unison. They were facing southward, their black abyssal eyes gazing towards the ships in formation across the distant ice.

South of the Lanostran coast where, appearling like black shadows on the ice, three lone native ships stood against a crescent of eight Varyan vessels. Beyond them, in the misted distance, the ice storms raged unseen, hidden behind fathoms of snow and hail. Elisheva squinted her eyes, trying to peer into the swirling pale blizzards that haunted that unknown frontier.

The southern storms danced, the clouds still yet moving. Lights began flashing from within. And then, the sound of something like thunder.

"Is that--" Cillian began.

"Cannonfire..." Elisheva finished.

Streaks of pale light blasted forth from the concealing clouds, risinng in crescents through the white expanse until they fell upon the unmoving Varyan ships, engulfing them in destructive blue ether. From where they stood, the defeaning boom of engines exploding rung in their ears, deafening them momentarily. The force of the exploding Varyan ships, the winds of their annihilation, reached the inquisitors in seconds, their coats lashing back against the force of the ether explosions.

It only took moments for the destructive ether to dissipate in the unnatural cold of the frontier, leaving nothing but the smoking ruins of two of the Varyan ships upon the ice. It was then that a fleet of strange silver ships, their hulls gleaming in the sun, stormed forth from the beyond the cover of the southern storms. The silver ships, twenty in all, were smaller than the both their Varyan and Lanostran counterparts. Swift as leviathans, they glided through the frost unimpeded. To the inquisitors eyes, no ship had ever maneuvered so swiftly.

The Varyan blockade, unprepared for the coming attack, began to maneuver slowly into battle formations. But it was too late. Like the army of seraphs that the inquisitors had spent the early morning fighting, the unknown silver fleet began to swarm around them.

The three Lanostran ships, which had started maneuvering into battle formations earlier, began their counterattack. Their powerful cannons, armed with rounds composed of red ether, blasted crimson streams of energy at the smaller silver vessels, turning the ice to blackened glass wherever the rounds fell. Three of the mysterious silver ships fell to the Lanostran cannons, while the remainder of the fleet began to focus fire on the native ships.

---

"It's the Aegis... Something's wrong." Tatiana, spoke up finally with clarity evident in her voice. She had seen things— things she wouldn't understand, but that she would act on nonetheless. She looked around in a fruitless effort to locate one of her weapons. It was a futile endeavor. Both Tatiana's bayonet and rifle had been long gone. What she did find laying in the snow before her was the severed horn of the Terviclops. She reached a gentle hand down to pick it up before exhaling loudly. It was a gesture done more out of reverence than anything else. Once again, the black smoke pooled at her hands, but she didn't act on it. Instead she just stepped towards the thrones, gazing at the two unharmed demons. Tatiana didn't know if she intended to fight them. She seemed captivated by the appearance of the creatures, opting just to near them idly. She uttered one last sentence with some sort of certainty for once. For there was one thing she knew:

"Lanostre is under attack..."

The Adamant World

Gwendolyn Abramelin

Regis... As Lyrel spoke of herself, Gwen couldn't help but wonder where exactly she meant and what it was like. Gwen imagined it may have been like the Derelict City. Perhaps she and Lyrel had more in common than she had first realized. This assumption was only further concreted when Lyrel mentioned that Dilei was a city that held much more riches. Her locution was a bit different, but Gwen wasn't particularly aware. Instead, she merely assumed that Lyrel's roots had taught her a different sort of language. "Ah, I've not heard of that place. Perhaps it is like the—" Gwen found herself cut off as someone above rose their voice to address the ever-growing crowd. Her gaze followed upward to outline the speaker. She was a bit of a boisterous woman that certainly captivated the eye. Gwen could only imagine that this was some sort of authority figure.

The woman got straight to the point. As she explained the nuance of the guild's multiple boards of contracts, Gwen flashed her eyes across the various sheets of paper just long enough to miss the brilliant feat of flare the guild's authority undertook soon after. Gwen hadn't even bothered to note the various reactions shown by the populous in the room, instead still having her mind locked on the slew of contracts enticing her eyes. Of course, most of Gwen's focus was drawn specifically to the final board that the speaker reached. The few contracts upon the most 'distinguished' board immediately called to the young Gwen. She could only imagine taking on the worst of the worst with only the best of her skills put forth. She certainly didn't want to wait, but thought that perhaps the guild was right in allowing the new bloods to take on the easiest sort of work. It would be a great way for Gwen to acclimate herself to her strange new world.

The prospect of teams got Gwen's mind racing and her eyes doing just the same as they flickered around the room scoping out the few girls she had met so far. As the recruits were slowly separated into their respective groups, only anticipation flowed through Gwen's veins. There was a rush of excitement as she thought about what sort of abilities her own would be paired up with. Gwen had only ever seen a few other Powder Mages aside from herself. Her knowledge of the Flare of a mage and the possibilities it held were almost wholly a mystery. Gwen could only smile when the guild official came to her and Lyrel and direct them both together. Already she had taken a liking to her newfound teammate. They shared a certain unnameable air about them— or at least, Gwen had thought that much. The two others that joined the group had yet to acquaint themselves with Gwen, but she put forth a welcoming smile nonetheless. Lyrel managed to introduce herself and Gwen to start off the conversation. Another of the group's members introduced herself as Raven.

"I look forward to working with you," was all that Gwen managed before the guild's official spoke up again. With a new task in mind, Gwen set her eyes towards the board. Of course, her eyes were still locked on the most advanced board of contracts. For a long moment when all was quiet, Gwen contemplated what might happen if she tried to coax her team into taking one of those extensive contracts. Another word from the lieutenant sent her focus elsewhere. Of course that wasn't an option as of now. She felt an impulse just to go over and pick her favorite, but Lyrel's voice momentarily halted her step. Gwen had a team now. That was something she had never really experienced in her lifetime. Gwen wasn't even fully sure she would be able to work successfully in a team. Nonetheless, she and her team needed to make haste. Lyrel's query and Raven's input were met with only a few short words before Gwen started moving without much heed for her comrades.

"Well we'll have to go see our options!" Gwen had already started off towards the board as directed. The crowd held her back a bit as she moved, though. She had hoped it wasn't as noticeable as it was effective in deterring her from moving forward. Crowds were not present at all in the Derelict City. That was the way she liked it, but alas that wasn't the way things were anymore. Slowly, Gwen wormed her way through the groups of people to view the contracts well, only hoping her newfound teammates were in her stead. Gwen surveyed the contracts with a mixture of haste and tact. There weren't too many to manage, but a number of them caught the eye. At first, Gwen was enticed by the mention of the scholar and his key to forbidden knowledge. The chance that she could gaze into the sacrosanct chambers was quite low, however. Her focus was quickly drawn elsewhere and Gwen had decided on where her interest fell.

"The Grand Mausoleum: certainly a captivating spot holding a number of secrets, there's bound to be plenty of dust, and it shouldn't be too difficult at all. Of course, it shouldn't be too uninteresting. I opt for that." She turned back towards her group as she had spoken up— or at least whoever might still be in earshot after she had moved to the board.

"What say you, friends?"

_{@Jinxer@HecateProxy@wolverbells}

1x1x1 (MxFxF) Cyberpunk and Slice Of Life

@OppositionJ This looks right up your street oppy, want to be an A.I. again?

@Dynamo Frokane

Yeah, I'll play. I'm always reading to typecast my Singularity role. Let me know about any extraneous details and character sheets. Otherwise

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

Sounds perfect. I look forward to it!