Psyker Landshark

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

Seemed someone else had succeeded in the overall goal, judging by the display of magic signaling the end of the test. Two down. One to go. Renar wasn't exactly pleased, with himself least of all, that he hadn't played more of a leading role in this matter, but fortunately, it wasn't as if this was an excursion that would win renown. In light of that, it stung less to be something of a bit part. And yet, against a dragon, they were all significantly lesser than the mage. Would that she wasn't smart enough to realize that and lord it over the rest.

The tales didn't quite do Thrinax justice. The damned thing was a veritable of crimson scale, fang, and claw. Dealing a mere injury was less than Renar had been expecting of the trial...if the target weren't so damned mightly. Even Steelfang seemed as if it would have difficulty piercing a scale directly, to say nothing of reaching the behemoth to begin with.

Their strategy for forcing it to ground revolved around the mage again, and Renar said nothing to contest that, as they lacked a better option. Instead, he'd have to formulate a plot to wound it. The eyes were the most obvious weak point, yes. But the wings were less armored than the rest of Thrinax's body as well. With that in mind, he spoke up.

"Even with it grounded, we've not a prayer of dealing significant enough damage to be dubbed an injury by any reasonable metric lest we aim for weak points. The eyes and wings lack the natural armor the remainder of the dragon has. As for how to reach said targets in melee..." His gaze shifted across the area.

"The hill. Once Thrinax is grounded, we need to bait it close enough to the top that a contingent of knights can make the jump and mount the beast. Hide them behind the other side until a signal is given, so as not to alert the dragon. That will give those of us who specialize in melee the best chance of dealing a critical blow. Most likely, we'll need to split into a distraction team and an assault team."

In truth, considering what the bulk of his training with the two brothers had consisted of, there was only one reasonable path Renar could take for himself to maximize their chances of victory. And besides, if he managed to stand against a dragon in a prolonged melee, that was worth near as much glory as actually striking the decisive blow.

"The majority of my preparation revolved around this exact scenario of facing the dragon toe-to-toe. I volunteer as a distraction once it's grounded."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ame-no-Habakiri was stopped by the darkest of magics, and for a moment, the Revenant looked at the barrier as if bewildered. It continued pressing down on the barrier with sword in hand, hairline fractures beginning to form in Svalin. Before any further headway could be made, however, the behemoth relented on its assault as the Kirins charged once more.

Emboldened by Ciradyl's song, Galahad's halberd pierced armor, but before the dragoon could complete his second swing, the Revenant abandoned its attempt to pierce Svalin. Its crimson blade batted the halberd aside with contemptuous ease, stopping the attempt cold. Before it could do anything further, an earthen fist immobilized the Revenant in its grasp. The abomination's exposed eye narrowed, and as Robin and Eliane closed in, aether welled up around its form.

It freed itself in a burst of raw, unaspected magic emanating outward from itself. Most of the attack's potency was spent utterly destroying Eve's stone hand, but enough force was left to send everyone around it flying back in a shockwave.

The Revenant's head tilted, its one exposed eye gazing back and forth between the various fighters as if it was only just perceiving them for the first time. It stilled and settled into a proper fighting stance, gripping its sword with two hands for the first time since the battle began. Just then, however, a buzzing sound rang out from the beast's helmet, causing it to jerk its head up sharply in the direction of the airship it was deployed from.

It disappearing in a blur of motion was all the warning the Kirins had before cannon fire from the airship began to rain down on their position. Most of it was small bore, and rather inaccurate, but the intensity of the barrage led to cracks in the ground. Beneath the sand was stone, and the saturation fire, combined with the damage from the battle that had already been raging, led it to finally give way.

The ground collapsed beneath the party, and they plummeted downward into the darkness.

___

Somehow, they didn't die. As the Kirins approached the ground below at a velocity that would almost certainly kill them, with the likely exceptions of Galahad and Eve, magic enveloped them and eased their fall. They touched gently down on stone tile, a cavernous complex laying before them.

Hidden beneath the ruined village was a massive marble structure, the symbols of the gods etched upon its face making it obvious that the building was a temple. And coming down its steps was a wizened old graybeard clad in white robes, clutching a plain wooden staff.

"Oho," He gave a slight smile, inspecting each and every member of the party before him. "It's been quite some time since we've received visitors or pilgrims of any sort. Not since the outside world has forgotten about this place, at least."

Izayoi, conscious and no longer on the brink of death thanks to Miina's healing, wearily looked at the man with naked suspicion as she pulled herself up to a sitting position with great difficulty. There wasn't a chance in hell she could stand on her own power, to say nothing of fighting, but at least she was alive.

"A temple complex buried beneath the sands? I've never heard of such a legend, and I'd traveled the desert extensively as a youth. Your name." She demanded, pushing past the reminder of what they'd just faced as best she could.

"Call me Cid. High Caretaker of Etro's clergy. And...I imagine you have questions about the sickness that infests the heart of our land. Please, let me know of how the surface world has been affected, and I will do my best to provide answers in return."

___

Back up on the surface, the Revenant looked down into the chasm that had been created with a dissatisfied growl. Sword in hand, it leapt into the abyss, following after the Kirins.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

Safina fixed Nephinae with an unreadably neutral expression once the offer was made, trying to keep her thoughts under control. This was why she didn't seek out the company of other elves. She was a street rat at her core, not some rarified dignitary. She had more in common with an average city-dwelling orc than an elf from the glades.

Unfortunately, Safina's """kin""" favored Evelyn thanks to her blood. Another idiotic trait on their part. Blood didn't lead to shared experiences or outlooks in life. But that meant Safina couldn't afford to lose their support on the Queen's behalf. So she eventually favored Nephinae with a slight smile in response.

"Perhaps, if Her Majesty can spare me. I'm kept rather busy within Hathforth's court as it is, so you may wish to have another option in mind as reserve. We can discuss this after the festivities are done with, yes?" She demurred. Of course, with the current situation, it wasn't unreasonable to assume that she would have to take this posting sooner or later. Unfortunate, and infuriating.

@Estylwen

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.