@Expllo Doing a balance pass on the stuff I made real quick, you think it'd be fine to lower the cooldown on both listed abilities by a turn for Ageha since they're not so much attacks as just changes in combat versatility?
Psyker Landshark
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STATUS: best I got's a microwave burrito and a handle of popov, straight 2 mos ago
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best I got's a microwave burrito and a handle of popov, straight
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when you smash ron after someone else calls riichi for one han just to make sure they get nothing
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To this day, I regret not being able to try pre-nerf four loko
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FREEDOM NEVER SLEEPS
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Alright, in any case, I'm open to making preestablished relationships with other characters for Ageha. Can shoot me a PM or do it in here.
Lady Safina Haliel
Irritating. So the elves may have had an idea of what Safina did. That, or they assumed she had a role as some sort of an enforcer. Regardless, Safina doubted her so-called kin knew too much of her true role, but it didn't hurt to be cautious in this regard. If they did know she was an assassin of all things, she doubted their ambassador would be speaking quite so candidly.
"Oh, a handful." Safina played the question off, as if there was no real secret. Let the irritating woman make of that what she wished. "Her Majesty affords me a soldier here or there when there are small tasks that require accomplishing outside of her other servants' purview."
She couldn't quash the whispers around court that Evelyn favored her because she was directly under her command, so why not take advantage of them instead? Play into the lesser rumors, so that they didn't go out of control into larger ones. Always control the narrative. And speaking of...
Safina allowed herself to show her interest in Duke Willowsteel's imminent arrest and imprisonment. After all, she was the one who'd brought the matter up in the first place. It only made sense. She'd have words with that one later.
"Tis an unfortunate turn of events to have the gala be so...marred by these proceedings. Fortunate how I doubt you'll miss him, considering his beliefs, yes?"
@Estylwen
So I'm assuming all our characters came up through the academy in the same year, so preestablished relationships are a thing, right?
"Thank you, my child. That is...good to know. Highly alarming, yet good to know, regardless." Cid smiled to Eve before nodding in acknowledgement of Galahad's contribution. He waited patiently for the Kirins to recover before gesturing for them to follow him inside the temple itself, Izayoi begrudgingly taking Galahad's aid in standing and walking.
The temple itself was a magnificent work of art, decorated with frescoes and stained glass in honor of the gods. For all its glory, however, Cid deigned to simply sit down cross-legged upon the floor, inviting the party to join him.
"Please, be at ease." He said to Ciradyl especially, laying his staff upon his lap. "This is sacred ground, and I will defend it with my life, this I swear. Now, on to the meat of the matter," His expression turned grave.
"This malaise you dub the Blight is not a new phenomenon. It has ravaged Arbor, the continent the Valheimr originate from, for nigh on a century. Why else do you believe they have come here, seizing land as they go? Their continent is dead. And the hubris of their rulers doomed it."
"And you would know this how, holy man?" Izayoi challenged, though with minimal hostility. Either she didn't have the energy to muster, or the temple itself convinced her somewhat of Cid. "By your own account, you have not left these grounds."
"Simple," Cid chuckled, taking no offense. "My life is extended by Etro's grace. In exchange, I am bound to Her sacred ground. All of it. As High Caretaker, I am able to traverse from holy site to holy site in an instant, but by covenant, I cannot leave it. And Arbor had holy ground of its own. You are not the first group of warriors I have advised in this quest. Even the Valheimr had heroes among them willing to oppose their emperor's tyranny. Unfortunately, they failed." The old man took a moment to marshal his thoughts before continuing.
"A century ago, Valheim was merely one nation among several on Arbor. Then, its reigning emperor conducted a blasphemous ritual, developed through decades of abusing dark magics. He siphoned Etro's very light from the land itself. In its absence, vile beasts plagued the land and razed the earth wherever they appeared. Shattered villages rot beneath the cruel sun and the blood of the innocent tainted the soil. Indeed, the absence of the Mothercrystal's Light from the land gives rise to rot, taint, and corruption: the Blight."
"Of course, Valheim had something to gain from this. In an instant, the nation it was on the verge of defeat against in war collapsed. Bound as I am to sacred ground, I could not intervene directly. Instead, I attempted to guide and advise heroes from across Arbor to stop Valheim. Those Warriors of Light failed, to a man." He bowed his head mournfully.
"The process repeated over the decades. Valheim weaponized its leeching of Light to dominate the continent, ensuring that it was the only nation standing after a century of conflict and tragedy. As to what they do with the Light, my knowledge only extends so far. Please, take a moment to gather yourselves, and then I will tell you what must be done."
The temple itself was a magnificent work of art, decorated with frescoes and stained glass in honor of the gods. For all its glory, however, Cid deigned to simply sit down cross-legged upon the floor, inviting the party to join him.
"Please, be at ease." He said to Ciradyl especially, laying his staff upon his lap. "This is sacred ground, and I will defend it with my life, this I swear. Now, on to the meat of the matter," His expression turned grave.
"This malaise you dub the Blight is not a new phenomenon. It has ravaged Arbor, the continent the Valheimr originate from, for nigh on a century. Why else do you believe they have come here, seizing land as they go? Their continent is dead. And the hubris of their rulers doomed it."
"And you would know this how, holy man?" Izayoi challenged, though with minimal hostility. Either she didn't have the energy to muster, or the temple itself convinced her somewhat of Cid. "By your own account, you have not left these grounds."
"Simple," Cid chuckled, taking no offense. "My life is extended by Etro's grace. In exchange, I am bound to Her sacred ground. All of it. As High Caretaker, I am able to traverse from holy site to holy site in an instant, but by covenant, I cannot leave it. And Arbor had holy ground of its own. You are not the first group of warriors I have advised in this quest. Even the Valheimr had heroes among them willing to oppose their emperor's tyranny. Unfortunately, they failed." The old man took a moment to marshal his thoughts before continuing.
"A century ago, Valheim was merely one nation among several on Arbor. Then, its reigning emperor conducted a blasphemous ritual, developed through decades of abusing dark magics. He siphoned Etro's very light from the land itself. In its absence, vile beasts plagued the land and razed the earth wherever they appeared. Shattered villages rot beneath the cruel sun and the blood of the innocent tainted the soil. Indeed, the absence of the Mothercrystal's Light from the land gives rise to rot, taint, and corruption: the Blight."
"Of course, Valheim had something to gain from this. In an instant, the nation it was on the verge of defeat against in war collapsed. Bound as I am to sacred ground, I could not intervene directly. Instead, I attempted to guide and advise heroes from across Arbor to stop Valheim. Those Warriors of Light failed, to a man." He bowed his head mournfully.
"The process repeated over the decades. Valheim weaponized its leeching of Light to dominate the continent, ensuring that it was the only nation standing after a century of conflict and tragedy. As to what they do with the Light, my knowledge only extends so far. Please, take a moment to gather yourselves, and then I will tell you what must be done."
Expressing interest, I'll probably have something up within a day or three
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."
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.
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.
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
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