ATER NOX

[Amiimii]

The only word that could even begin to describe what Maliarc was feeling and seeing was horrified. He had never seen or heard of this woman before, yet this was what she was capable of? Then again, someone of this power would certainly be able to keep herself well hidden. As he watched the events unfold, he noticed her sloppy dodge, only barely managing to get away from the lava streams. She was getting tired. Or at least, beginning to. Maybe this was his chance to prove himself. Just as he said that, the ground started to shake.

Shaking his head, he brought himself back into reality. He did not need to be on the offensive, simply protect Lady Aaren. He glanced at her quickly, and began to whisper an incantation under his breath. Looking down at the ground as it cracked, Maliarc wasn't worried. He simply made ground where there was none. Turning to watch what would happen between the mysterious merchant and the witch, and wasn't surprised to see the two men the merchant was after dead, and the witch aiming another blast of magic energy at the two men. Or, rather, the man and his beast.

He wasn't worried about that. Those two were quick on their feet, and tough. They would not be undone by some magical energy. What worried Maliarc the most was what would happen next. The corpses of her fallen men arose, creating life where the was none. Maliarc knew all too well of this sorcery, for he had experimented with it. He was sure almost any mage who had done such as he would know at least a small bit. It was called 'necromancy' by those who need a name for it. While Maliarc was no necromancer, he knew little bits and pieces of it. However, his little bits and pieces would not even begin to compare with what this witch knew. He could not rely on that now. He would have to stick with what he knew.

He glanced at Lady Aaren, and was relieved that Emer had kept her safe, and also relieved, even if not so much, that the young woman with Lady Aaren was safe as well. It would not do to have a woman with such talent die here. Turning to the demon that was coming at him, Maliarc was growing tired of this witches magic. She was outmatched, and the fact that she was keeping pace with them just meant that she was too powerful. She needed to be put down. But, that was not for Maliarc to do, so the demon was the first step. Maliarc clapped his hands together and began channeling his energy into summoning two giant hands. Once they were in the plane of existence, he used them to clasp on to the demon. Using all of his might, he ripped the demon in two, and threw it down the crack the witch had made in the earth. The demon might not have died but it would not be coming back for them. Maliarc was happy, though he was not sure it was worth what it had taken from him.

The downside of the hands that he had summoned were that they were an extension of his own. Or, rather, whoever summoned them. That being so, the beasts fire had burned all of his arms, and hands, rendering them useless. Knowing this had happened, Maliarc had no choice but to temporarily retreat, simply walking back to Lady Aaren and sitting down beside her. As he sat, his arms simply swung limply besides him, only further proving their uselessness. He closed his eyes, preparing all spells he had that he could use without his arms. Their were not many, but he would not be bested by this witch.  

[Valyrian Steel]

Ben's blade slid easily into the chest of the man he leapt at, and he heard Asher rip out the throat of the other man. As he withdrew his blade from the corpses chest, he looked over just in time to see Judith's face flash with anger. Asher didn't hesitate to start a run towards Judith as well, with blood now covering his muzzle, making the 350lb wolf a truly menacing sight. However, as Ben bent his knees and launched forward towards Judith, the Witch Queen blasted himself and his furry companion with an energy wave that sent them both through the air, backwards. The two of them hit the sand with a soft thud, and slid backwards until they came to a halt, now maybe 30 feet from the queen. He was thankful for it, however, for he saw lava rain down onto the area he was at just a moment before.

He glanced at Maliarc, guessing that the mage was the source of the Lava attack. He then turned his body onto its back, and bent his knees back towards his face, while simultaneously arching his arms backwards and placing his palms down onto the sand above his head. Then, in one smooth motion, he kicked his legs up and out, while pushing with his arms to add to the momentum, throwing his body up and forwards, landing smoothly on his feet. The With Queen's voice echoed throughout the cave, resulting in a sinkhole forming around Emer, Layla, Maliarc, and Aaren. He looked over to them in alarm, but saw Emer getting Lady Aaren away from the ground that began to crumble away. He also noticed Maliarc recreate the ground underneath himself, which was a relief to Ben.

He then turned his attention toward Judith, but saw her casting yet another spell in his direction. A blast of heat came flying at him from her hands, and at first he wasn't too concerned about it, until he noticed the sand crystalizing from the heat of the blast, as it came rolling towards him and his wolf. Asher leapt to the right, and Ben leapt to the left, narrowly dodging the heat wave.

"This b***h is relentless..." he grunted to himself as he pushed himself back up and to his feet. He moved his eyes to Judith, who was now chanting something else, clearly another spell. He stared at her in surprise as a vortex around her formed, kicking up sand and sending it in all directions, with red lightning arching around her. Everything else happened so fast that Ben didn't know how to react at first. The air grew heavy, and dim, and screams and laughs could be heard throughout the cave. Time seemed to slow as he saw the ectoplasm enter the bodies of the dead men, followed by silence tainted by Judith's soft laughter.

The bodies then exploded into fiery demons, something Ben had never seen before. The closest thing to this he had seen, was when the Dark Ritual was performed to bond himself with Asher out in the West 12 years ago.

The beasts then rushed forward into different directions, each carrying a flaming sword. "NO!!" Ben shouted, upon seeing one rush towards Emer, Layla, and Lady Aaren. He could not run to them, however, for one was coming towards himself and Asher. Time still seemed to crawl. He grit his teeth, and glanced at Asher, who was crouched, and snarling at the sight of the oncoming demon. He had to admire his companion, for the wolf never seemed to be afraid of anything that came at him.

He turned his gaze back forward, already formulating a plan to rid himself of this nuisance that roared and charged towards him. His feet still glowed with magic from his previous spell, but he began to whisper another incantation, one that he rarely used. His mechanical right arm began to glow, and his blade retracted back into it. The arm then suddenly began to re-arrange itself, as if it had a life of its own. The Novum steel moved and changed shape, each little piece of steel sliding over a different piece, changing the shape of his arm entirely. After a moment, his arm stopped shifting, and as a result took on the appearance of a small Novum Energy Cannon. He quickly reached into the confines of his dress jacket that was torn and dirty, and pulled out a small blue cube from a pocket on the inside of the jacket. There was a small square shaped opening on his forearm, and he placed the blue cube into it, and it slid in easily as if it was a missing puzzle piece.

Suddenly, glowing blue energy webbed out from his fingertips to his shoulder, like veins in the Novum Steel. He glanced over at Asher, who had turned his attention towards Ben during this process.

The Demon was getting closer now...

Ben gave the wolf a look that had a message to it, and the wolf returned its gaze to the Demon. Asher and Ben had an interesting connection, and it was almost as if the two could read each others thoughts.

Time still seemed to crawl.

Ben also returned his gaze to the incoming Demon, who was now less than 10 feet away. The head of the Agency put his right foot back a little, and bent his knees. Asher then suddenly bolted to the right, in a 90 degree angle from the line the Demon was taking towards Ben.

It was so close now that Ben could see death itself in the black pits that were the Demons eyes.

He clenched his jaw, and propelled himself forward at alarming speed with the spell on his feet still in effect. He soared forward, quickly coming at the Demon. The Demon raised his fiery sword, and slashed forward with a bone chilling roar. Ben threw his Mechanical arm forward, the barrel of it starting to glow. Then, the barrel of his mechanical arm that had shifted into a Novum Energy Cannon connected with the sword of the demon, and Ben unleashed the payload of energy that was loaded in his arm.

An explosion of bright blue light illuminated the entire cave, as a wide beam of extremely concentrated Novum Energy shot forth from the barrel of Ben's mechanical arm. The blast of energy threw the demon backwards, completely disintegrating its sword, and then its entire body, leaving a smoldering skeleton that landed away from Ben with a soft thud into the sand. Smoke was the only thing that even hinted that a demon had just possessed that corpse.

Ben's arm then began to rearrange itself back into the form of an arm, steam coming off the surface of the heated steel. The attack took its toll on Ben, and sweat and steam rolled off his skin from the energy that was fired from his arm. He ran his left hand through his sweat-dampened hair, exhaling sharply several times as he moved his gaze towards Emer, Aaren, Layla, and Maliarc, who had also disposed of the demons. He then glimpsed Asher from the corner of his eye. The wolf was still running, but had made another turn, and this time right for Judith. Ben immediately began to charge forward as well, determined not to let the witch make another attack like that, though he was far more than just exhausted. He pushed himself, however, and launched forward towards Judith. His body couldn't handle the charge, however, and it gave out as he soared forward.

He fell forward, crashing violently into the sand, and his body tumbled and rolled until it came to a halt several feet away from Judith. When Ben had launched forward, Asher was about 7 feet away from Judith, building momentum. However, when Ben's body gave out, his bond with Asher transferred the same effect to the wolf, who suddenly went limp as well, falling forward into the sand simultaneously as Ben did.

Ben opened his eyes with difficulty, staring up at the ceiling of the Cave, devoid of energy. 'Damnit...' he whispered to himself hoarsely. He had put too much energy into that attack on the demon, and his body couldn't handle anymore. Attacks like that were made for cybernetic androids from Novum, not for men of flesh and blood like Ben. He turned his head with difficulty, towards Asher, who was lying on the sand. The wolf was not moving.

He grunted and attempted to push himself up into a sitting position, but failed, and fell back into the sand.

 

[Lord of Angmar]

Judith's laughter turned to silence as she watched the other mage kill off a demon, followed by the knight guarding Lady Aaren killing the other. The knights attack was impressive, and made her realize just what Lucidian Knights were capable of. Her attention was grabbed by Ben, however, after he launched himself at the demon coming towards him. The resulting explosion of blue energy that lit up the cave startled the queen, for she had not expected it of Ben.

She stepped back, now worried that she might not make it out of this alive. Suddenly, she realized that she couldn't see Ben's wolf. Her eyes scanned the area, and saw the wolf bolting towards her. She also saw Ben launching himself forward at her as well, though the man suddenly fell forward, clearly out of exhaustion. She pulled out her flintlock pistol, and aimed it at the wolf. However, as she pointed it at the wolf, the wolf went limp, and she saw Ben do the same thing. A smile found its way back onto her face, realizing that the two had a dark bond, and that since Ben's exhaustion caught up to him, it affected the wolf as well. They both tumbled and slid, until they came to a halt a few feet from her. Her smile grew, knowing that this was her chance. However, she wouldn't kill them. She's use this opportunity to use a spell that would enslave Ben's mind to her will, especially since he couldnt fight back in his current state of mind. And if she enslaved Ben's mind, the wolf's mind would be enslaved as well.

The only problem with this, was that she needed energy for the spell, and the last spell had taken too much out of her. Her eyes flickered towards The group on the other side of the giant sinkhole, and an idea popped into her mind. She would use the curse she had on Lady Aaren, and sap the woman of what little life energy she had left. The curse would kill Lady Aaren, of course, which was a bonus for Judith. Then she would cast the spell on Ben and Asher, and pit the two of them against Maliarc and the knight. Then she would have Layla to herself.

A soft chuckle found its way out of her mouth, and she knew it was over. She walked towards Ben, and placed her foot on his neck after he fell back to the ground, and pointed her pistol at his face. "Sorry hun, you and your companions failed." a burst of soft laughter escaped her mouth, and she turned her head towards Lady Aaren. Keeping her gun pointed at Ben's face, and her foot on his throat, she stretched her free arm out towards Lady Aaren, and began to chant her curse that would drain the woman of her remaining life energy.  

[kdke]

Layla's body tensed, waiting for the coming pain, or the coming silence and darkness of death, but it never came. Instead, she listened as the sound of the demons' demises rang in her ears, an unearthly cry that caused her fingers to curl and claw at the sand below her. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked. Aaren stared back with watery eyes, but Layla looked away and up at the Lucidite knight. He had saved them, and the girl sighed in relief despite the fear that had not left her. This wasn't over yet.

Her eyes darted toward Maliarc, then at Ben and Asher. She hadn't seen Ben's attack before, but still watched with widened eyes as the man and his direwolf lunged forward toward the Witch Queen. As Judith's anger and fear seethed, Layla could feel that same pulsing grow stronger inside of herself. That magical pulse that made her veins feel like they would burst, or even her heart. It wasn't painful, and yet it was intense. It was behind her eyes, in her head, the source of her hands shaking as she stood up.

Aaren noticed this and furrowed her brows. She watched Layla, and noticed that her hands not only trembled, but it seemed like the trembling began to travel through the girl's petite figure. The lithe muscles shook under skin, from her arms to her legs; it was barely noticeable, but enough that it made Aaren wonder and grow nervous. Perhaps the shock of this whole event was finally taking place. "Come back," she tried to say, but her voice was too small, and Layla looked like she was too entranced with what was going on before them.

And it was. Layla looked on with a broken heart and horror as Ben and Asher fell, clearly injured. She would've run toward them, but her body didn't permit her to. It was stuck, like the sand below her had turned quick and muddy. Her feet tingled painfully, and her eyes began to burn with tears. It felt like everything was going end, all over again, starting with Ben as Judith walked toward him. The site of the pistol in the Witch Queen's hand made the girl quickly reach forward to grip at Emer's armor-covered arm. She couldn't speak.

The whole cave grew silent, then, as Judith spoke. Layla's heart pounded in her ears; she couldn't tell what the woman was saying, but her gaze followed the woman's hand as it rose toward Layla's direction. The energy flowing through the girl's body constricted momentarily, like it was now fighting to be released, and it grew stronger. Layla's lungs breathed deeper, trying to force air into themselves where space felt like it was slowy being taken away, being replaced by whatever it was that was trying to cause the girl to burst.

It was then that the girl's trance was broken by the feeling of something touching her ankle. She turned around, though it didn't feel like she was doing so. The sensation of her body moving was being overpowered by the pulse, the tremble. Layla could even see a kind of haze washing over her eyes, but it was still faint. She looked down at Aaren, and a panic took her over.

The Lucidus leader looked as though her body was going into a gentle seizure, though one that looked as though it was steadily choking and pulling the life from her. Her body shook on the sand, and while she tried to breathe, nothing filled her chest. Layla's own breath grew quick as she knelt by Aaren and grabbed her shoulders. Her face contorted into one of desperation and sadness. "Stop it! Stop!" she cried as she finally understood what was happening to Aaren.

Layla saw the haze in front of her vision grow more opaque, and as the beat of her heart grew louder in her ears, she also grew deaf to the fact that she was screaming. Screaming because she didn't want anyone to die, screaming because she didn't want this fragile, kind woman to die; screaming because the horror around her made her mind feel overwhelmed and she couldn't anything to stop it; and screaming because the pulse in her body finally won. It felt like it was splitting her skin open and firing out, yet nothing so violent as that was actually happening. That same haze that now made her blind grew visible aorund her whole frame; it was like a smooth mist, both translucent and thick and glowing with the magic that finally freed itself from its host's body.

In the girl's mind was where she could finally see, and in there, everything was still loud and intense. She couldn't hear her own voice, and felt as though she couldn't speak at all. Images flashed in front of her, vivid ones of things beyond her understanding at first, but after a while, she understood their meaning. She saw her mother, and her mother's mother; she saw the power they held, and practiced on others. The pain, the power, the greed, the lust. And then she saw her mother again with a book, and a small girl—it was Layla. She saw the day her mother gave her the cursed karambit dagger, and the spell to counter the curse.

But then she saw the book from where that counter curse had come from. Layla was too small to understand such words just yet, but then she heard her mother's voice read them, a voice loud like temple bells and yet gentle like the voice Layla had known only months ago.

The spellbind, ages old—cherished and held close among
Mystics as one incantation to break the most, if all had the gods favored.
The spellbind that grips and tears away the kings' and queens' kept reign
only at the hands of Mystics; the one that restores all to balance, all within
the mortal grasp of what affliction caused by the Noxian curses of old is
known to Ater Nox herself. A spellbind, great incantation, treasured and
hidden, yet proclaimed and sought. Guarded by the daughters and sons of
Mystics old, never to leave the chosen bloodlines. The one breaking that no
ruler can thwart.

The voice echoed and was imprinted upon Layla's memory, as were the images of her grandmother, and the images of the Ater Nox she never knew, and the images of the women's actions. They became like memories she herself had created, things to look back on and recollect. As feeling of nostalgia suddenly washed over her when she envisioned them, but the feeling was drowned by the quick fall back into the present moment.

Layla's voice went from screaming to gasping for air as she struggled to balance herself again. The magical aura around her didn't cease, and her body shook much like the the Lucidite woman on the sand's did. The girl's grip on Aaren's shoulders was tight, unknowingly bruising the skin. Layla opened her eyes and looked down at the woman. The life-taking seizure was growing more faint as life left Aaren.

It was after this lucid revelation that Layla knew what to do. That counter curse... her mother had known it was too precious to not teach her it. It was in that moment of awakening and gathering that the girl came to understand the one spell she had in her grasp could take away the Noxian hex that now plagued Aaren. Layla began to murmuring the spell; her voice trembled like the rest of her did, but the words were clear. She could feel the magic pulse inside of her again, but felt it travel down and into the Lucidus leader.

Aaren's body was still as the girl chanted. The seizing ended, and it seemed like Layla was too late had it not been for the fact that the woman's chest was softly rising and falling. The air around them was quiet for a moment, but then grew thick as the counter curse finally took place. The smooth, misty aura snaked down and into Aaren's mouth, making the woman breathe in deeply. Layla kept on with the chant quietly, watching as the magic held itself inside of Aaren. It then expelled as the woman breathed out, as though with a deep sigh of relief. The aura, though, was black, and quickly vaporized when it rose into the air.

The exchange felt like the very wekaness that Judith had afflicted upon Aaren had also come upon Layla. When the girl felt the pulse leave her and went into Aaren, it was like a part of herself left as well, only to be released as a cursed miasma into the cave. Aaren was no longer conscious, but Layla knew she had succeeded. The curse was gone.

"...She's ok," she whispered shakily. She could no longer hold herself up; her grip on Aaren's shoulder's loosened, and her elbows collapsed. Layla fell over the Lucidus leader helplessly, exhausted from the magic that was too much for her body and mind to handle. Such power deflated all her stamina, and she lost consciousnesses.  

[Arcine]

(Sup guys?)  

[Amiimii]

Arcine

(Sup guys?)

Nuthin' much. Sup with you?  

[Arcine]

Digital Obsession

Arcine

(Sup guys?)

Nuthin' much. Sup with you?

I'm just worrying about you bunch. I know Valyrian Steel/Shinigami of the Dark has been busy moving.... just don't want to lose you peeps.  

[Amiimii]

Arcine

Digital Obsession

Arcine

(Sup guys?)

Nuthin' much. Sup with you?

I'm just worrying about you bunch. I know Valyrian Steel/Shinigami of the Dark has been busy moving.... just don't want to lose you peeps.

Won't lose me. I check at least 15-20 times a day. I mean that quite literally. XD But in my last post, Maliarc lost his arms, so he can't really do anything. So I sent them both messages letting them know that I'll be skipping my "turn". That's the only reason I'm not posting. In any event, you won't ever have to worry about losing me biggrin  

[Valyrian Steel]

(( will throw posts up tonight. Sorry for the absence over the past couple weeks. I made it safe back to oklahoma and stuff. Hanging out with a friend of mine cause he's shipping out to basic tomorrow. I'll be on later though.))

 

[kdke]

[ Everything's alll right on my end, too. Just been busy with lots of reading and insomnia. Dx And lots more coffee. ]  

[Arcine]

(Maybe, ya'll should fast forward and detail the scene as if it were the night before? If someone's MIA, it's their loss.)  

[Strict Envy]

It'd been three days past since the burning in Lucidus Magus. Manson left upon one sobering morning back in his hotel room, surrounded by the unique damage that was his recollection of what was caused by one drunken man who just stepped into world of dark magic the very same day. He checked out extremely early hardly noticed by the elderly women at the desk and from then on, Manson would wear aviators.

It seemed it was by the most difficult of ways that Manson would make it back to Ater Nox. He went by airship this time and this was a voyage that included no stops and the most roundabout way to achieve getting to forbidden point B. It seemed there was plenty besides the singular detail of Manson's participation on that day in Lucidus that would now make traveling to either Aes or Ater Nox difficult.

He felt a little evil, but what was wrong with that?

Ater Nox was dark as always. It'd been daylight when Manson came, but once the ship became part of that mysterious mist of the island, it seemed that the sun was already setting.  

[kdke]

[ posting's going to be hard for me. I fried the video card in my laptop due to my clumsiness, so I've been getting on the internet through a cheap-o tablet. It works for what it is, but it's a pain to type on. Just fyi x3 ]  

[Arcine]

kdke

[ posting's going to be hard for me. I fried the video card in my laptop due to my clumsiness, so I've been getting on the internet through a cheap-o tablet. It works for what it is, but it's a pain to type on. Just fyi x3 ]

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