Psyker Landshark

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Iraleth rose as she finished her prayer, regarding Professor Alto silently as he entered. He only just realized how badly he'd nearly botched things? She gave him a hard stare for a moment as he spoke, though eventually relented into a more neutral expression.

"Something is better than nothing." She said tersely in response to his apology, stepping back to give him space to pray. "Though it shouldn't have taken this long for you to realize how poorly that could have went. I would hope that you don't give the High Bishop cause to regret this project that he's poured so much time and effort into."

And then...ugh. She should have expected this. Of course he knew. Iraleth looked the professor dead in the eyes, unwavering.

"I never sought this battle out. I don't want to kill her. But if Ciara proves to be a legitimate threat, I have every right to settle the matter decisively. Umbralists destroyed everything I knew once already, Professor. I don't intend to allow that to happen to anyone else if I can help it."

Iris Ascendis

posting before the weekend ends, been caught up with some stuff sorry

SPIRITUM

Kalina Kovalic

Honestly? This was fine. This situation was fine. They were WARDENs. They were doing what they were meant to right now. Not wandering around aimlessly for the hell of it. Hell, at least Morden similarly didn't have his head up his ass about the whole thing. It wasn't the front lines, but at this point, this might as well be an op. Just...under the table.

Kalina didn't participate in the little debate about whether or not the attack was a false flag, believing there wasn't enough information one way or the other. The only pertinent matter was getting the princess into the hands of Rassvet authorities ASAP. Regardless of her intentions or importance to the throne, the girl was an asset in the right hands. To that end, Kalina saluted the image of Director Veld on Gerard's phone.

"Sir. Our transport took damage while we were extracting from the combat zone. Are there any available resources that can be spared for repair funds or sourcing an alternate means of transportation?" She glanced back in the direction of the garage with a doubtful stare. "We can't make it to the agreed location if our truck breaks down halfway there."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

The Revenant was surrounded on all sides. At the very least, the beast in the masquerade of a man possessed some form of rudimentary intelligence, quickly pinpointing one of the weak links in the encirclement and beginning a vicious assault. Esben fell, but he lasted long enough for Eve's incantation to finish and the assault to begin.

High-explosive rifle rounds slammed into the Revenant's sword arm, sloughing off chunks of plate before a flaming thunderbolt came crashing down on its head. It didn't even have time to snarl before Galahad plunged down, the head of his halberd plunging into the shoulder that Eliane's gunfire stripped the plate from. The tip pierced the chain below, and the Revenant howled, immediately reaching up with its free hand to grab the polearm by the halt, rip it out, and hurl it away, Galahad in tow.

The thing didn't get a moment to recover, however. Rudolf and Robin lunged from opposite ends, forcing it to defend. It turned and met Robin, its blade raised to deflect her strike as its other, still armored hand warded off Rudolf's strikes. True to Rudolf's assumption, the attempt left an opening in its guard. Miina took advantage, and her electrified blade pierced into its gut.

"██▅▇██▇▆▅▄▄▄▇!"

The titan screamed as it reeled, but only for a moment. It blurred away in a burst of godspeed, sliding its insides off of the red mage's sword as if the pain meant nothing. In an instant, the Kirins surrounding the Revenant found themselves surrounded in turn, a trio of almost-transluscent Revenants whirring around their formation, three masterworks raised to strike.

And in that moment, Izayoi stopped denying reality. This was her sword style. The beast's posture, strikes, and force were near identical to her memories of her youth. And that meant...

The storm. The swell. The sword.

"Do not move, or you will die!" Izayoi screamed as she hurriedly hunched down, her hand sliding her sheathed sword out as she invoked her Time materia to a level she hadn't since the war. Her old Gravity materia was shattered, and without it, she wouldn't be able to complete the attack. But at the very least, she could stop him from killing everyone in a single stroke...!

Time went into overdrive, and combined with Ciradyl's enhancement, Izayoi blurred. To the naked eye, only a flurry of slashes could be seen surrounding the Kirins. To those in the know within Osprey and Edren, this was Ranbu. The Wild Dance. The limit break that earned Izayoi her moniker.

The three afterimages the Revenant left behind surged in to strike, and each stopped in place, the mirages locked into a parrying stance as the Kirins' eyes caught up. They dissipated, and the original practically reappeared in reality in the midst of their formation as Izayoi appeared out of seemingly nowhere to deliver a downward slash, carving off a chunk of its helmet. She raised her blade to follow up...and doubled over, hacking out a lungful of blood. With a snarl, the Revenant brought its sword up, carving a deep gash into Izayoi's chest and knocking her back across the dunes.

She laid on the sand, barely able to lift her head. The damage she dealt to the Revenant's helmet exposed one eye. One bloodshot, maddened eye. Mottled, grey skin.

"What have they done...to you...Master...?" She rasped in horror before losing all strength, her head crashing back on the ground as blood pooled from her wound.

For its part, the Revenant regarded her in complete silence for a moment, its head tilting. Then its exposed eye widened, and it lunged, blade outstretched as it closed the distance to Izayoi's form, intent on finishing the job.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

Oh, what fresh hell was this? Safina had been doing her best to keep largely out of the way at the gala, content to merely observe. And then, Duke Willowsteel. That backwater idiot deigned to open his mouth and have nothing but pure idiocy come out. Normally, she would have dismissed everything the man said, but...

Rhinecliff was "hiding something"? Convenient, especially considering his general suspiciousness tonight. She needed to know more. The crown needed to know more. Unfortunately, he was rapidly approaching borderline suicide. Safina couldn't do overly much in her current position and cover, but a few well-placed words could tip this one way or another.

Lady Haliel, if that even was her real name (it damn well wasn't), let a thin smile creep over her face as she stepped forward, though not within striking distance of the upcoming duel.

"Duchess Bastille, perhaps you ought to sweeten the pot a little. Say, allowing the crown to take custody of the Duke should you prove victorious? These are rather serious accusations he's making, and I'm quite certain that many people would care to have their names cleared of this slander."

How this drunken sot was still a duke was beyond her. Oh, that was right: his realm swore off the use of magic, of all things. Unbelievable.

@Irradiant

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Oh yeah I'll be back around starting tomorrow, sorry for the absence. Good time for Safina to jump in too.

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

"Gracious Astra. I will harm. I will heal. Grant me strength. Strength so as to banish the darkness before me. Grant me temperance. Temperance so as to navigate the trials set before me. In light's grace, I beseech you."

Iraleth knelt within a small chapel on campus grounds, her sword planted into the ground in front of her as she prayed. How would her father handle this matter? How would the High Bishop? She didn't necessarily want to kill Ciara. If Iraleth had to, she would. But that was a path she'd rather not go down. For all of the girl's sheer bullheadedness, Iraleth still had her doubts that she was a full-on Umbralist.

Though the distinction mattered little when the shadow witch continued to use that magic of hers, to say nothing of her interest in preserving that accursed imp's life.

Nonetheless, she continued to pray, centering her mind and focusing herself for the battle ahead. No matter Ciara's fate, Iraleth herself would not lose on this night.

Iris Ascendis

Fair warning that, with the FFXIV expansion dropping tomorrow, I'll probably be a bit less active for the weekend. But I'll still try to post when it's my turn!

@Nanaya

same tbh

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

"Guh!" Izayoi barely managed to evade the Revenant's opening strike in time, though the shockwave of force left from its swing still caught her in the gut. It sent her crashing down into the sands-

The Ame-no-Habakiri gleamed in her master's hand as he tossed his teenage apprentice aside like a rag doll, boredom evident in his gaze. "Again, girl. This is pathetic."

Izayoi forced herself to her feet with a gasp, vaguely acknowledging Ciradyl's enchantment around her form. Better than her own Haste. She could work with this. Now wasn't the time to consider the necessity of a crutch. She ripped her hat and cloak off, hurling them to the sands before surging forward.

Meanwhile, the armored behemoth met Eve's Blizzaga head-on, the crimson blade in its hands a blur as it slashed icicle upon icicle, even having the time to strike Arton along the way. What few projectiles from the Blizzaga that did pass its guard barely pierced through the plate it bore. Strangely enough, no blood trickled from the armor.

The Revenant practically blurred from sight as it started flitting among the various Kirins, striking back and forth in the midst of their formation. A pair of slashes came crashing down towards Rudolf before it whirled around, a vicious roundhouse kick capable of breaking bones aimed for Esben's midsection. It raised its free hand as it stepped forward, gripping Eliane by the throat and raising her up briefly before slamming her down into the sands. Another swing of its blade sent crimson shockwaves of aether flying towards Robin and Miina before it lunged towards Galahad, intent on cleaving through his midsection.

Or at least it would have, had Izayoi not intercepted, their blades clashing before she was forced back from her foe's far greater physical strength. The two charged at each other, Izayoi barely managing to keep up with the Revenant's speed thanks to Ciradyl's enchantment. They began an exchange of parries and ripostes, blades glinting in the desert sun. After a few moments, it was evident to all but the most sword-illiterate that somehow, the two shared an identical fighting style. Their movements were the same, their strikes, even the way they sidestepped while sheathing their blades for battojutsu.

Izayoi narrowly sidestepped a downwards cleave from the air, trying to bring her blade up in an uppercut slash to retaliate, but found herself slammed several feet away by the juggernaut's sudden shoulder check.

His sandal slammed into Izayoi’s gut, creating distance between them as he sheathed his sword. Her eyes widened. She knew what was coming. In sheer desperation, she sheathed her own blade. They met each other’s eyes. They charged. They drew.

She shook the memories from her head as she desperately pulled herself to her feet, trying to ignore the lingering familiarity. All the while, the Revenant didn't move from its position, still in the midst of the Kirins as it gave a low, inhuman growl.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Estylwen The language the jester was speaking was elvish, right?