VitaVitaAR

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Fio paused for a few moments to listen to the Queen, uncertain how to respond when she noticed her cheeks reddening upon looking at her, but soon enough she made her way to Ethelred. After all, she'd completed her research over the week with the intent of being able to deliver the information as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it wasn't as detailed as she'd hoped, but it would still shed some light on the nature of the strange stone all the same.

"Sir Ethelred," she began, stopping in front of him, "I did some research on the stone that little idiot gave you."

Reaching into her bag, she retrieved a sheet of her notes, handing it over.

"It's a fairy stone. You can think of them sort of like keys, thought not necessarily in the way you might understand one," she continued, "Sometimes they unlock objects, but other times they might dispel illusions or remove an enchantment, things of that nature. I tried getting more information out of her, all she'd say is she just picked it up."

The Sword Witch sighed heavily.

"Unfortunately, being a bad liar doesn't really matter if all you do is repeat that lie."

@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

Still fuming from being called short, when she clearly wasn't, definitely, damn stupid tall people being so tall and stupid, Elizstrazia paused for a moment when the maid who had initially elected to refer to her as such decided to ask her about why she was helping.

"Because it wa-"

She didn't have a chance to complete her answer. There was a distant crack of gunfire, and then something hot grazed her cheek, sent spiraling off in another direction from the impact.

It hurt. While it didn't manage to injure her, it still marred her skin with a smear, and it still stung. The impact had caused her head to snap sideways, and she stumbled slightly to the side before managing to catch herself with one bare, clawed foot.

"..."

The one who had shot her was already approaching, having come down from her perch. She was drawing a sword.

"... Okay. I see how it is. I get it."

Her hands clenched tight as she slammed her foot down, her crimson eyes burning. From her back a pair of draconic wings erupted, thin membranes stretched between the fingers that composed them.

Elizstrazia reasoned, simply, that killing someone who opposed her contract with Livia openly enough to attack her was simply defending herself. Simply defending Livia's investment in her. Thus, no-one could complain when-

"I'm going to spill your guts out all over the floor you bitch!"

-she took action.

Leaning forward, with one foot sliding back into position, her claws gleamed as she prepared to lunge forward...!

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This@AzureKnight

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Velvetica quietly ground her fingers to her chin, contemplating the information she'd been given. Certainly, there were some proposals that could possibly explain these actions in isolation. The ancient tombs in the borderlands were often stocked with all manner of wealth, so robbing them could be a route to profit for the average bandit. Using human remains to adorn their camp could be a method of intimidation rather then ritual. To make those who would approach fearful, rather then worship any profane entity.

With all that said, however, when combined with the actions of the supposed bandits it simply didn't add up. If they had been taking exclusively the living as prisoners, then it would still be explainable.

But they were taking the dead as well.

"Effigies using human remains and disturbed earth, then..." she paused for a moment, "In that case, I'm certain I know precisely what we're up against, now. Hiding behind the veil of mere bandits was a foolish idea given their proclivities."

A smile crossed the Steel Princess's lips.

"They're going to regret it."

It was a short time later, once her requested soldiers had largely been gathered, that she prepared to give her briefing.

The table-sized map now had a black marker placed on it, highlighting the likely location of the enemy camp.

"Our scouts' efforts have determined not only the location of the enemy camp, but also provided valuable evidence of the nature of our enemy," she began, "Taken in isolation, only the claiming of the dead is unusual for bandits. Disturbing the earth could be explained by hunting for treasure in tombs. Prisoners can be taken as hostages or slaves. Effigies made of human remains can be used for intimidation rather then ritual."

Placing her hands on the table, Velvetica leaned forward.

"But our enemy is guilty of all of these crimes, plus collecting the dead," she continued, "Quite unusual, is it not? Expending effort to cart off corpses is strange even if you're attempting to pretend to be something you're not. That is, of course, because our enemy is not simply bandits. Nor is it Ithillin's dogs, trying to portray themselves as such."

She straightened.

"But it's certainly a group that stands to profit from the situation. I'm certain at least some of you are familiar with the cults that worship wicked spirits and the ancient dark lords, correct?"

She regarded her assembled forces.

"Those who indulge in slavery and necromancy. Those who defile the dead in the name of their rituals, to make symbols from their bodies. Sins against the goddesses and all who follow them," she added, "Those who worship wickedness and evil. That, I am nearly certain, is our opponent. I suspect they're seeking a specific tomb, and forcing prisoners living and dead into labor for them. There's no way to guess what profane entity they worship based on our current information, but it will make little difference: They shall be wiped out all the same."

@Raineh Daze@Rin@AzureKnight@Psyker Landshark@The Otter@VKAllen@Eisenhorn@Crimson Paladin@Conscripts@HereComesTheSnow@Octo@PigeonOfAstora

Strange Gospel: A Heavily Persona-Inspired Urban Fantasy RP

"All you need to know right now is it's a monster!" asserted Nozomi, immediately. On the run, there really wasn't any time to explain anything involved. Right now she had to try and get to the others as fast as possible. At the moment they didn't have anyone to spare, so the people at the convenience store were in even more danger then Nozaki was.

Hopefully they'd at least stay hidden.

They weren't that far, either. Just a little bit more, and they'd not only be there but also in a far more open area.

She could still hear that thing crawling behind them, its limbs scraping up against the sides of the alley.

There! The alleyway opened up there! Now-

Another set of lengthy limbs crawled into view from around the corner, the pale masks swinging into vision as a second of the spider-like creatures emerged, crimson tongues hanging from the white masks.

"... I guess this is it, huh?"

Nozomi took a deep breath, reaching into her bag.

"I can do this. I've got this. I can do it."

From it, she pulled something that almost looked like a boxcutter, if one wasn't to look very closely at it.

"You can do it, Nozomi," she said to herself, again, "You can do this. This time nothing's here to stop you."

She extended her right arm, spun the object around, and brought it down into her wrist. She winced, gritting her teeth as the object seemingly penetrated her skin and bit deep.

But there was no blood.

"Hecate!"

Even paying close attention, what happened next was difficult to understand. Suddenly, as if assembled from mist, a figure seemed to construct itself from thin air, floating behind Nozomi. As the dark matter that seemed to build it from nothingness faded and took on colors, a strange shape was revealed.

It resembled a young, slender girl, though in actual size it was larger then Nozomi herself. It was mostly silver, its body clad in what appeared to be a minidress of similar color to was as most likely its skin. Its arms were unattached to its body, instead floating at its sides in the form of two long, flat, ribbon-like structures hanging from a pair of spheres. Its head was mostly human-shaped, proportioned much like that of a young girl's with suitably youthful features, but its eyes were pure, bright blue. Lengthy silver hair poured down its back, past its hips, and it wore a large hat with two points projecting from the sides. Each point was adorned with a gold medallion shaped like an odd wheel.

Its ribbon-like arms raised immediately, twisting around one another and gathering light between them, which quickly coalesced into a sphere of white. From the mist pouring off of it, it was evidently quite cold, and before the first of the monsters could draw closer it was sent hurtling towards it, careening into it head-on and slamming into one of the masks. A shard of porcelain(or at least what appeared to be porcelain) was sent spiraling into the air as the creature was knocked over entirely, trailing black ooze as it hit the ground.

Without pausing, Hecate spun, wrapping one of its ribbon-arms around the other spider creature's leg and swiftly upending it, tipping it onto its back and making room for their escape.

"Let's go!"

Without pausing to explain what had just happened, Nozomi was already dragging the boy along, the drifting form of the entity she had summoned following behind them.

@Bartimaeus

---

Resistance had been the las thing the oozing, masked creature expected. Especially no this powerfully.

It wobbled, reeling black, spewing black fluids as Belial's claws tore through its body, spattering oil-like liquid onto the ground. Several of its flailing limbs were severed, spiraling off and melting as they flew, splattering onto the dark backdrop and dripping down to meet the blood already staining the ground.

The blow to its side rocked through its entire body, as well, shredding through its goo-like flesh and causing it to writhe more intensely.

It was something like a dying worm, now.

But it wasn't done yet, as more arms rose from its back, grasping at the demon-like Echo and reaching for its summoner.

@Pitsuji@Psyker Landshark

---

As the boys spoke amongst themselves, trying to figure out how to escape from this dire situation, they likely didn't notice what was happening to the body outside.

He was sinking deeper into the black puddle. More and more of his body was breaking down. First it had been his mind, almost certainly the reason for the black liquid that poured from his eyes and nose. But now his entire body was melting, liquifying, turning into more and more of that black ooze.

And it was starting to move.

As the body completely liquified, something rose from it.

It had a feminine shape, hourglass-like, its head adorned with a simplistic white mask portraying a distressed expression. From its head, the hair it appeared to possess ended into small, grasping hands.

One of these hands reached around, seeming to plunge into the creature's torso, before drawing out a spike of silvery metal.

Then it drew it back...

And hurled it towards the convenience store window.

@AThousandCurses@hatakekuro@DarckLeon

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

"Tch."

Earned? Her very existence was something to be admired. Her beauty, her loveliness, that was something to be admired. She was like a work of fine art, wasn't she?

It was proof that she'd never be marred, to be admired.

"Well, I suppose you'll just have to learn," replied Elizstrazia, entirely ignoring the comment about 'funny business' from one of the maids in preference of addressing the assertion that she'd have to earn her admiration, "Anyway, I guess I'll follow you if I mu-"

Smaller.

'Smaller than I imagined'.

All other thoughts in Elizstrazia's mind, for a moment, ceased, as she grasped that phrase and analyzed it over and over again in her mind.

'Smaller than I imagined'

"I'm not short," the girl the size of a child snapped, stepping forward, "I'm... I'm-I'm beautiful! I'm a beautiful, admirable scale demon, utterly gorgeous and impossible to ignore and I'm not short or small or anything like that, got it?! If... if I were then..."

She trailed off for a moment, her tail rapidly swishing back and forth with irritation, her hands curled into fists at her sides. The sheer indignation in her expression, her tone of voice, was practically making the air vibrate around her. How dare anyone call her small? How could anyone see her and think something like that? She definitely wasn't! She totally wasn't! Just because she had to look up at almost anyone here and damn it why did they have to be so tall why didn't-

The point was that it was wrong to say that!

"... I'm not! That's it! Got it!?"

In some people the desire to ignore reality really was quite strong.

@Click This@AzureKnight@Rune_Alchemist

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

The undead, while numerous, were no different then those they had fought before. Perhaps they were better-equipped then the ones that had faced on entry into the mausoleum, but they were still mindless undead.

Bone shattered, dessicated flesh burning, old armor warping and bending under Dawn's Break.

Fanilly, too, had choosen to push forward. If Dame Cecilia could keep the lightning witch occupied, then it only made sense to press through the undead and take the fight directly to the necromancer as soon as possible. The faster that they could overwhelm him and rescue his hostage, the better.

Her blade flashed, targeting the gap between helmet and neck on one of the more well-armored undead, sending its head hurtling through the air with a dusty shower. The next, raising an axe, had the tip of the Knight-Captain's sword plunge through its chest and tear its way upward, its damaged body collapsing uselessly to the stone floor.

An arm taken, followed by the head. The legs cut out from a tall undead. Steadily, the numbers were thinning. The walking corpses were being returned to their rest.

"Tch."

Fierense took a step back, her lowered hand immediately manifesting a barrier of twisting white-blue light to intercept the projectiles before they could strike. Though it was constructed with haste, the mundane nature of the projectiles thrown her way made it easier to deflect them, the knife and the arrows clattering to the side before the barrier crumbled on its own.

"Yeah, you're right about that," she replied with a sigh, "Let's do this. That bow of yours isn't just for show."

Lightning crackled between her fingertips. She didn't seem to even be paying attention to the knights currently cutting through the undead.

"There's something inside. A divine spirit, maybe? A low-ranking one if that's true," she continued, shrugging, "Doesn't matter to me."

The crackling lightning in her hand swelled, blazing brighter.

"Show me what you've got."

The barrier around the necromancer was the result of a ritual, insofar as Shael would be able to discern, a chalk inscription on the floor beneath it playing a role in its generation. Of course, with the chalk inside the barrier this would make difficult to take advantage of that fact. It was also a strong one, it'd take considerable impact to break it.

But it didn't seem as if the necromancer's plans ended there.

"You know, the higher quality a corpse was in life, the more powerful and capable it will be when risen as an undead," he began, almost conversationally as his catalyst began to grow brighter, "Do you know who was interred on this floor?"

Fanilly's blade cut its way into the shoulder of the nearest of the undead. What did he mean? She didn't quite understand how such a thing worked, but did it mean that someone who was legendary in life would leave behind a better body for a necromancer to use?"

Then-

The gleaming figure that emerged from the shadows took her almost entirely by surprise. His armor shone as if it had been maintained in peak condition. His face, his entire body was fully concealed within, the lengthy, wide blade in his hand complimented by a shield bearing the Cazt star, the purple cape flowing behind his back.

The blade descended, slamming into Fanilly's sword, sending a shock up her arms as it sent her reeling back.

This was...!

"Erich Cazt," the necromancer continued, "The Hero of Aimlenn. The Demonbreaker. Certainly, even a fine hero such as this will degrade in death, but can you stand against the corpse of a man who drove a demon from these lands?"

The Demonbreaker raised his shield. Even though what was inside the armor was surely a corpse little more than bone, he still shone like a resplendent jewel.

And now he was the one they would have to go through to reach their foe.

@Rune_Alchemist@HereComesTheSnow@Raineh Daze

---

The journey to Candaeln had been done mostly in silence, the Princesses remaining close, Maletha still clutching her stuffed dragon toy. Neither of them had ever experienced teleportation magic before, but little was said of their feelings on the matter. They were still quite shaken by this point.

As they entered Candaeln, it was difficult to ignore the First Princess's response. Even if she was still quite uneasy, and didn't want to stray from her younger sister, the fact still remained that she was unable to hide her interest in any piece of history in sight. From the portraits to the cases containing legendary weapons, Princess Elisandre's eyes drifted over all of them.

Princess Maletha, however...

"... Th-thank you, Sir Ball Knight..." she half-murmured in Sir Fionn's direction. After a few moments, she glanced towards Tyaethe.

"... Can I meet Elei...?"

@Krayzikk@The Otter@Psyker Landshark@Raineh Daze

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Velvetica's tent was the largest in the camp, the same crimson trimmed with red that adorned the Lion's Banner. It was from here that she planned strategy, consulted with her advisors, and conducted official business.

It was also quite comfortable, but that was secondary.

Within, a large mat had been placed over the short, spikey grass, and atop it sat a table. Beyond that was where Velvetica slept, and kept most of her supplies, current concealed behind a draping set of curtains.

It was rumored that anyone who set foot inside Velvetica's personal quarters without permission would be subjected to a prompt and intense punishment. Velvetica herself saw no need to say anything else on the matter.

The map spread over the table was of the local area, the rocky plains of the borderlands, and she was examining it closely at the moment, icy blue eyes scanning each of the known mounds and rocky outcrops claimed(and sometimes proven) to house ancient tombs.

Certainly, a group of bandits could select such a place to use its reputation to conceal themselves.

However...

The tent opened before Velvetica could continue her train of though. The figure that entered was one of her personal retinue, a pretty woman several years her senior with her dark hair tied in a tight bun, wearing light clothing signifying her position as a noncombatant.

"Lady Hraesleg," she began, with a bow, "Your scouts have returned."

The blonde nodded, rising to her feet.

"Excellent, I'll meet them now."

Within a few moments, Velvetica had exited her tent. The first of her scouts to arrive was no surprise, given his speedy form of transportation.

"Sir Roger," she addressed the knight first, before her gaze shifted to the griffin, "Shortclaw."

Addressing the griffin as well was simply part of dealing with such creatures. Only an idiot would be unaware of the pride that a griffin felt in itself. To Velvetica, it was not dissimilar to the Hraesleg's pride, albeit that of a beast rather then a human's. Therefore, it was important to pay them mind when possible.

"As you have returned, I trust you and the other scouts have information for me?"

It was time to see if her suspicions could be confirmed.

@Raineh Daze@Rin@AzureKnight@Psyker Landshark@The Otter@VKAllen@Eisenhorn@Crimson Paladin@Conscripts@HereComesTheSnow@Octo@PigeonOfAstora

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

@Apollosarcher: Oh right sorry almost forgot to post this: Accepted. ^^;

I Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game, But———?! (Now Accepting)

Why was the crown prince here now!? That was the only thing that could have made the entire situation worse! First Serrica acting strangely, then Lilian showing up, and now him!?

If every day of school was going to be like this, she was going to end up dying in her new life too! The stress was too much!

She couldn't exactly not respond when she was talking to literal royalty, though, so after a few moments of stumbling over herself both mentally and physically Anne managed to take a deep breath to try and steady herself.

"A-Anne. Anne Merielle," she said, bowing her head once more, hands clasped in front of her, "A-and yes, he's doing fine now, thank you for asking..."

What did she say, now? What did she do? This was a nightmare situation. One wrong move could easily have Lilian misinterpret things. One wrong move could raise relationship flags she didn't want to trip.

It was like being surrounded by death flags. Sure, none of these would lead to death directly. At least she hoped so. But getting caught up too much in any of them was practically equivalent to launching yourself headfirst into a bad end for her.

She had to avoid it.

But she also had to try and think it through and find a route out of this situation that didn't end in some kind of pain.

Could she just walk away? Find some excuse she had to leave?!

Anne's mind was racing at this point, trying to latch on to any possible explanation she could for a sudden departure. Anything, anything...!

@PKMNB0Y@Pyromania99

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

"I believe it's for the best if everyone comes along," responded Aleksiya with a nod, "It's quite a bit wiser to attack in force then to leave anything to chance, is it not?"

Aleksiya would have liked to say she could do it by herself. In fact, it was rather painful to admit she couldn't in her current state. But more than that, she decided it would be rater unwise to reveal what the target was until they were out of earshot of the villagers. Only an idiot would bear them ill intent at this time, and Aleksiya fully believed in the cause of removing the threat the beast posed. However, to reveal the source was one of their allies would immediately set the villagers' suspicions running high no matter what the situation may be.

Thus, it was quite a bit wiser to wait until they could talk amongst themselves without such risks.

With that being said...

"Though... perhaps a volunteer could stay behind to help ensure the villagers' safety..."

@Psyker Landshark@Rune_Alchemist