The first sign that war had come to Soudul were the boats filled with Mara. They came as a complete surprise as no word had yet reached the main land of the Mara's taking over Eowyn ports and boats. Swarming silently out of the ferries, the Mara caused a massacre in the port towns before the guards could beat them back.
Every port (including the smuggling ones!) have been attacked and Draco's has issued an evacuation order along the coast to keep the civilians safe while he and his warriors deal with this threat.
For that was only the first wave, and the second soon lands. So many of the ports taken had ferry's that lead to Soudul that an army of Mara's has gathered here.
Draco, after seeing that his land is besieged, orders that all civilians capable of helping out join the fight. His strongest hunters he sends out to stall the Mara and get the non combatants to safety while he gathers his army in the Forests of Endeldarth.
The battle between them and the Mara is more of a series of small raids by one and then the other side. Each one trying to kill off the smaller raiding parties while the larger bulk of the armies slowly march towards one another. The Oblivionite's would have the upper hand in magic... if not for the special reinforcements the Orderites had originally built into the Mara's. One on one it is not as noticeable, but when in large groups, the Mara's resistance to the dark powers of the Oblivniotes is obvious as powerful spells that should destroy them don't. The Oblivionites must fight with weapons and not magic for this battle! You can always use magic of course.. it just doesn't effect the Mara directly! You will need to think up ways to effect the area around the Mara instead....
All towns in the area have evacuated, many of them simply joining the army and hoping that their house and fields will be there when they return.
All Oblivionites who have an Army rank will be put into one of a few positions: Scouting: purely information gathering, lots of archers, a few swords man and mages. Raiding: Small groups meant to go out and attack the others scouts and patrols. A large mix of classes. Army itself: You are apart of the army itself, in charge of getting your squad up and moving, keeping them trained, in line, and the like. Meetings with Draco and the Generals will happen as they prepare for the actual battle to come. Or change their plans after fighting and stuff.
Hunting Mara's
You may still roll for Mara encounters! Roll the dice in this thread and at the end of the meta, claim all your loot and EXP! You can also just link to a Hunt thread in the Hunt forum if that is easier for you! At the bottom of your post keep track of the Word count for the hunts (you still need 300 per Mara!), the EXP gained and so on.
Sometimes the Mule will quote and tell you that you are being ambushed or attacked by Mara, treat these like normal Mara hunts and follow the prompt given.
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:15 pm
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests
pidgeons go meow X3
Malta was even more nervous than usual, if that was possible. Normally she was okay in the dark days of Soldul, but things were far too quiet for comfort. Many of the warriors of the Tribe had gone to the nearby coastal towns to affirm their alliance with the Oblivionites - for the glory of Soudana, they had said, leaving her and a few elders in residence.
Something about stone monster creations of Aevah Avi, and death and war. None of those were good things, though death had its good qualities.
She worried about her friends - Imoogi and Detra, and her family. She hoped they would be all right in the fight.
She was inland, so she thought she ought to be safe. But her scales tingled with apprehension, and the day-birds of Soldul were silent. That was never good.
She crept through the underbrush towards the main road - perhaps an oblivionite was silencing the birds - if so, that would be nice. They didn't usually, but Oblivionites were not too scary in her mind, not anymore. She could deal with an oblivionite.
She glanced out onto the road and then shrunk back into the bushes.
She could not deal with that.
It floated on a ball of magic, and looked as though it was made of rocks and metal. It was wrong and unnatural and she did not like it.
She managed to stifle a whine as she started to move away, following the road in case there were people that needed to be warned.
Merikh Oblivionite, Expert Swordsman Oblivion City
With Yolana followed along as his side, and recovered from the wound caused by a would-be assassination, Merikh was hurrying along toward where everyone was gathering. He was really itching for a fight at this point, having been forced to hold back for longer then he liked due to his wound. Now that he was better he was really wanting to get back into the fight, "We need to find my family, they are sure to be at this gathering too." He told Yolana, knowing that with those words she would be getting a look out for the rest of his family, or at least his mothers. If his grandfather was around he doubted that he would just be with the normal soldiers after all. Even if it was just his mothers he found he still needed to talk to them about so many things, some things more important then others, not to mention he wanted to show them the grand changes in himself.
It seemed that with such a battle going on that Soudana had deemed him worthy of some real gifts, something that he had to admit he was pleased over. The wings and tail were blessings enough in his opinion but more importantly was the third eye that he was developing. That would be quite helpful once it came in he thought to himself. The changes told him that he was on the right path, that he needed only to keep striving forward. Of course, given the current situation that was what most everyone had to do at this point. They all had to do their best to keep from being overwhelmed by Aevah's toy soldiers.
A tap on his shoulder got Merikh's attention and he turned, glancing toward where Yolana was pointing, and he gave a sound of relief. Seeing his mothers standing there was a good sign, it meant they were both alright despite the many Mara that were coming to Soudul via their stolen ship. He broke into a run to cover the distance between himself and them, finding himself instantly wrap up in a tight hug by his mom Nereza. He hugged her tightly, "I'm glad you're alright." He said, giving her a smile before looking to his mother, "You too, I missed you both so much." He was quick to give his mother a hug as well before stepping back and set to telling them the abridge version of everything that happened and what he'd seen between when he'd last seen them and now. He'd been afield so it was best he shared what information he had with them so his mothers would be that much better prepared. Not to mention they should know that there was someone sniffing about and sending assassins his way, just in case the same sort of people might find their way to their doorstep.
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests Adept-Rank Civilian Current Loot:
(Attempting Metal Mara x 1, 81-100; Loss)
Malta ran alongside the road, on the uneven ground and roots and sinews of the forest. had run too fast - she needed to take a break. Panting, she leaned against a tree, her legs shaking with exertion. She was a little better at running than before, and, only the other day, she'd been able to sprint without being too tired. Today, though, that wasn't the case. Her joints ached mildly, a discomfort that her magic could not stop. She had checked herself with her magic, and she knew she was healthy - very healthy in fact. It was no mystery what was happening - she knew the signs well.
She was having another growth spurt. She prayed to Abronaxus that it would be the last one - hers came in little bursts, were unpleasant, and plain miserable. She was going to be tired more easily, and hungrier than she usually was, and it had all started up - again - today.
She shook out her forepaws, first one and then the other, before peering up and down the path. She did not think the mara was following her - why should it? She had hidden and run so stealthily.
Well.
Except for all the twigs she had snapped. She'd snapped a few.
But she had been running the opposite direction to where it was going, and surely it... She stopped midway through the thought as a shining figure loomed out of the mists of the forest, gliding silently but swiftly down the trail.
It had followed her!
Malta made a strangled sort of cry, and she saw it look at her with its unnaturally glowing eyes. It made a sound - a loud, clear sound that hurt her ears, and started moving towards her.
She panicked and bolted - her joints be damned - trying to make it further down the road and to help.
Castor had been planning on fighting these Mara for some time now, since he first heard the of them from his father when he returned from his first dragon hunt, but suddenly the situation became much more real. There's something different about hunting or fighting when there isn't any pressure, only his own life on the line. Now though there was a large force of these Mara rock creatures raiding all of the settlements near the water.
It may have been only a few short weeks ago, but Castor was looking to come through for someone, like Sam had came through for him. If he could protect a few people from these beings he had to try. The strong have an obligation to protect the weak. Even if he wasn't all that strong, and even if he didn't have large army forces to back him up due to his mother's insistence on him never joining rank he would do his best. Getting rid of even a handful of these beasts could save countless lives. His fingers traced over the rock pick in it's little leather holster on his hip. The weight of the bag of bombs gently pulling at his hip as he trekked through the dark forests, the closer he got to the dock towns the more likely he'd be to find a few Mara.
Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 7:00 am
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests Adept-Rank Civilian
Current Loot:
reirelight
It was hard to smell when she was breathing heavily with exertion, and when her nose burned from the volume of air it was taking in, but she could swear she caught the scent of Oblivionite ahead as she ran or- it seemed - tumbled past the trees, the packed ground and stone of the path racing by beneath her.
For once, she was happy to scent it. Oblivionites were strong! They would protect her!
"Help ! Help!" she shouted, wheezing breathlessly, in the wake of her voice. She skidded to a halt, panting, as she saw a small dark figure with a shock of light amongst the dark colors of an Oblivionite. "Help!" she managed, "Mara!"
She heard grating rumbles and metallic cries, unlike any sound that she had heard or ever wanted to hear before, and whimpered, flinching, her earfins flattening against her head as she looked back in the direction she'd come...
Sucess Rate: 71-100 Rolled 95 Battle outcome: x1 Win 10 exp from a rock mara for a fighter under 10 LUK
Left over Exp Bin: 3/5 -> 2/7 Now level 7 LUK: 6 -> 7Robo: Mara kills do not give you LUK! Luck loss count: 0/3 stays the same
One thing brought Castor back to his thoughts, a large creature stumbling past him calling for help. She stumbled past him and seemed to come to a stop. The firs thing he noticed were the interesting patterns on her scales. If only I could see what color that is.... wait, now is not the time for that. "Mara?" He asked then stood breathless for a second as he saw them.
There were two of the Mara standing at the edge of the clearing, one metal resembling a suit of armor whose entire body clanged and screeched as it moved, and the other who had the look of a mountain, a large rocky mass with metal plates. The metal one gestured to the pair before leaving, it's armor screeching as it returned to the forests. The large rock mara floated forward, toying with the large pickhammer in it's hands. "I... turn... two... to dust!" It spoke in a deep rumble as it began to swing it's hammer.
Castor ran in front of the Orakovan and motioned for her to get back. "Let me take care of this, I'll protect you. Be ready to run if I can't though." he spoke calmly as he pulled the rock-pick from it's leather strap on his waist.
Running forward he ducked low under a wide swing from the Mara, the hammer a foot away from his head. And with the next swing he dodged to the left, the hammer smashing into the ground. With a few swings of the blunt side of his pick Castor chipped away at one of the Mara's hands a few fingers falling motionless to the ground.
As the mara picked up the hammer again it's grip was shaky, the swings weren't as consistent or fast anymore. Castor ducked and rolled under a low flying one as he pulled out a bomb from the pouch hanging on his hip. Lighting it quickly and frantically he lobbed it inside opening at the bottom of the mara, into the green magic making up it's legs. The look on its face was panicked as Castor laid flat on the ground, covering his head with his hands. "You! Back there! Duck!" He yelled to the Orakovan before the stomach and chest of the Mara blew into pieces, flying across the clearing. All that was left was a now immobile upper half, a bunch of rubble across the clearing, and a cloud of black smoke.
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests Adept-Rank Civilian
Current Loot: Pending Loot: Rolling for rock mara loot next post +1 kill
(Rolling for the rock mara, but its dead. Thems the rules though! XD)
reirelight
Malta's luminescent eyes widened in terror as she saw them, the unnatural creatures of stone and metal. "Yes!" she whimpered, shrinking behind the young Oblivionite. "Can you kill them? Oh please say you can..." she began to babble anxiously as the stoney monster raised its hammer.
She shut up as the oblivionite spoke, and nodded, "A-all right." she said, reassured by his calmness. He seemed nice enough - though she'd only just met him. He was small, but magescans - even if oblivionites were nice and hadn't hurt her yet - were still powerful.
She flinched as the pick hit the mara, watching the fight with rapt and frightened attention. Her flattened fins perked up ever so slightly as the little oblivionite lit a... thing... that hissed and crackled and smelled of chemicals and sulfur.
She did as he asked, no questions, and flattened herself as best she could to the ground, arching her wings awkwardly to protect her head.
She yelped at the loud sound of the explosion, feeling the bitter taste of venom begin to grow in her mouth, and jumped as a piece of heavy stone mara landed next to her, crashing to the pavement of the road with a heavy sound of rock on rock.
She peeked, nervously, out from under her wing. "Is it gone?" she whispered, her voice coming out as more of a low rumble than anything. She saw that it wasn't moving, and slowly began to stand upright again. She walked over to it, stiffly afraid and, from as far away as she could get, tapped the remains cautiously with a claw.
Nothing.
She looked at the little oblivionite in awe, relaxing slightly now that the immediate threat was no longer there. "How did you do that?" she asked, her voice quiet, and demure, "It was..." scary. Loud. "Really good."
Castor slowly rose to his feet and brushed off the dirt from his clothing, couldn't have it getting too dirty, his uncle would have to make another pair. Or teach him to make one.
The Orakovan asked him about the bombs. He fumbled slightly jittery after just winning the fight as he went to the leather sack hanging at his side. He stuck his hand in the bag and took out a shiny black round ball with a wick coming off of it. "I did it with this. It's a bomb, mostly used for clearing rocks, but they can be used as weapons too. My father thought that something used to blast rocks from mines or caverns would work on creatures made out of them. And they just showed that they were really effective..." he rambled on for a little bit about it, "I'm going to have to thank him later. These are just sort of metal shells with some explosive chemical powders in them from what I was told. Nothing too special."
He slipped the bomb back into his pocket and picked up a few pieces of the Mara from the ground as a token of the win. His empty gaze looked over the creature, "You know... you sort of look like Sam. But you have those fins." He spoke moving his hands along his head on where they would be on her. "By chance are you different than a normal Khehora? Or do you all just have different attributes like us Oblivionites seem to?" He was curious, this was the second Khehora he had met in the course of a month. "Is there anywhere safe you can go? The forest is filled with those Mara, it's dangerous."
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests Adept-Rank Civilian
Current Loot: Moonstone x 15 +1 kill Pending Loot:
(Loot roll for the rock mara)
reirelight
Fixed
Malta stretched out her neck and sniffed the bomb cautiously, jerking back at the acrid, chemical smell of it. "A bomb." she repeated, slightly troubled. The other one had exploded. Malta had not liked it - loud sounds, heat and fire were generally not her thing.
Still... "W-well, it worked. It worked really really well." she said, sitting back on her haunches, wiggling her tail. He had said father, and it was sort of strange. Only months ago, magescans had been mere legends, powerful beings that she had to fear. Now, she was talking to one, and it had a family, like her. Then again, it may just be Oblivionites - or the Oblivionites that she had met thus far, she hadn't met many - that had mortal lives and families. Maybe a few were special. Malta didn't think it likely. "Thank you." she said awkwardly, uncertainly. Well, the mara chasing her had gone away, but it had summoned a friend, and there were probably more.
There are always more she thought, her tail twitching and fidgeting before she coiled it around herself, glancing to the woods on either side of them. There were always more things to be scared of lurking just in the next shadow.
He spoke again and she turned to look at him. "Hmm?" she said, trying to figure out what he was doing. His hands were to his head and... She flared her earfins and flexed them. He was trying to make his hands into her fins? "Um... I don't know a Sam..." she said haltingly, "And, um... Yes?" Malta wasn't sure what the Oblivionite was asking her, but she wanted to answer and the answer - along with a lot of other jumbled junk - came tumbling out. "W-well, I mean, I guess so. I mean, I don't know other khehora with headfins other than my brother Raichi, and his are purple, and I guess I have Papa's neck fins too and my brother and I have the same horns, sorta, though one of mine is longer than the other and I... maybe I am kind of strange... but um..." she blinked, shrinking back into herself, a compact round khehora. "I'm sorry... Was that what you asked? Please don't be angry... I didn't know that Oblivionites look different too... I'm sorry."
She shifted from paw to paw, agitated. "Um... My home is in the forest, s-so if its full of mara... Its not so safe..." she looked at the Oblivionite, half afraid, half not. The other oblivionite had not hurt her, and this one had saved her from the scary Mara, but the old fear was still there and fairy tales could not be easily quenched.
"My name is Malta..." she ventured, "I'm... um... I'm a Ysali. Khehora. My tribe is..." Ahhh, what was her tribe? Were they the Bloodclaws? Soudana's Talons? Sadadiab? She couldn't remember. There were too many scary diabi tribe names for her to remember and she mostly wanted to avoid them. "Umm... umm! It doesn't matter!" she said frantically, "Do you have a safe place"
"They're effective, that's a good thing." He nodded a bit pondering it, "Oh... and don't worry. They don't go off unless I light the fuse at the end." Castor pointed to the little white wick on the bomb before stowing it back in his pouch. "I made a promise to protect people if I could to another khehora I met a month ago. My father also says it's a man's duty to protect those that need it if you're able." He said with a little smile beaming up at her, "I'm glad I was able to help, you're welcome."
So khehora had little differences as well, fins, and different sized horns and colors. "I see..." he looked down at the ground thinking about it, "You don't look strange to me or anything. Your scale patterns are nice. And purple... that sounds like a nice color..." His voice trailed off, he tried to recall what he was told about that color, a royal dark color.
He nodded when she apologized, "No, no, that's exactly what I was asking don't be sorry. I've just only met two khehora that weren't bonded in my entire life. And yes, we Oblivionites look different. We have different physical builds, and I have been told we are different colors. Like..." He held his blue hand out, "I've been told that I am blue. But my uncle is dark orange from what he says."
When she mentioned that the forest was her home he scratched his head. That would not be safe, she couldn't stay there, the Mara were walking through the place all the time. "There are refugee camps outside of Obsidian city... you might be able to go there? It's definitely worth a shot, they're guarded by the Oblivionite army. I could take you there. We'll have to go through the woods though, I imagine the path is full of Mara."
"My name is Castor. I am a swordsman and an apprentice tailor. It's nice to meet your acquaintanceship Malta." Castor spoke with a smile on his face and a little bow.
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forests Adept-Rank Civilian
Current Loot: Moonstone x 15 +1 kill Pending Loot:
reirelight
Malta looked at the 'fuse' of the bomb with misgiving as he put it away. "Um... Good. To know, I mean. Really good to know." Thank the gods that her magic didn't... ignite... anything. In a fire-y way.
She relaxed slightly - she thought she might like this Oblivionite. If he talked to khehora on friendly terms (and Malta saw no reason such a nice small Oblivionite would lie about such a thing) and had madea promise to protect people (which sounded like an enormously valiant thing to Malta, who could barely even protect herself), he could not - definitely could not, be that bad.
She wondered why he seemed so unsure about colors. Could he not see them? She'd heard it, but she hadn't believed it. Colors were important. "My scales are green and grey and.." she offered, being polite and lifting one of her paws, "Brown. I-I mean, if you wanted to know. Can you, um, not see colors?" how terrible that would be, not being able to enjoy flowers and trees and other lovely planty things... "I'm sorry, I mean... I heard it somewhere and it makes sense, I mean, No eyes and... all..." she stopped herself, flicking her tongue, "Sorry. I mean, its hard to believe... How do you..." she stopped herself again, shifting shyly. "Sorry. Um. Anyway, thank you Castor. I like your name... its a pretty name..." She waddled slightly closer to him, "And I think that is a good idea, Mister Castor..." An army of Oblivionites... That meant a lot of them? That sounded scary, but it also sounded like it would hold the mara away. That meant safety, and if she was quiet and didn't get in anybody's way, she might... just might... be safe there. "We should go there... But, um... How many of those 'bombs' do you have?" she asked, looking up at him with her luminous eyes, "And, uh. What is a tailor?"
"Yeah. I keep the thing I use to light it on the other side of my body," Castor said patting the pocket on his left side, while the bag hung off of his hip on the right. "don't want any mishaps. I had ten, so now I have nine. The rock-pick I have seems to work well enough though just in case I run out."
"Oh! Those sound like earth colors! That's really cool! Green and brown sound like such nice colors..." he smiled a bit and looked at her paw, trying hard to keep the excitement down so he wouldn't ramble or talk loud, it was harder when he was ecstatic. Oh, she didn't know then, that made sense the more he thought about it. She did live in the woods after-all and away from Oblivionites most likely from how she was behaving. "It's alright." he said with a little nod towards the apology. "Most of us Oblivionites cannot see in color. Some of the older ones get this third eye right... here," he said poking his forehead close to the yellow and black diamond tattoo on his forehead, "that lets them see in color. But for the most part, no, we don't see like that." He crossed his arms, pondering a bit how to explain this, to him it was just sort of a fact of life that he didn't overly think about other than his wish to see in color. "Well... you see... when we Oblivionites see we can distinguish outlines, textures sort of, and depth. But we don't see... what is it... oh yeah, dark and light. We don't perceive color either unless we get the third eye from the crack later in lives." He let out a deep sigh, "It's going to make my job harder in life as well. I'm training to become a tailor, we make clothing and things with cloth and leather, like these" he pulled at his leather shoulder guards before patting his shirt. "it's kind of important to the job as well that you coordinate colors and things as well. I can't even tell, but uncle says these clothes he made for me are black, white, and yellow."
He turned and started walking into the trees motioning for Malta to follow suit. "Then that's what I'll do, have to make sure you're safe." He said with a bit of a nod. "And thank you... about the compliment. Your name is nice too."
Malta Ysaki Orakovan, Feral Alchemist Soldul Forest Adept-Rank Civilian
Current Loot: Moonstone x 15 +1 kill Pending Loot:
(Rolling for 5x Stone Mara, 51-100 range) (Currently: 2x wins, 3 x Losses)
reirelight
The thing to light it? He wasn't using magic? Right. Magescans used tools to do things. So did she. This was not surprising, Why was it surprising.
"They are earth colors!" she said, relaxing somewhat, "Earthy and plant-y. My brother said it suits me, and its really good for hiding..." which was one thing she was very happy about, "But my eyes are blue and they kind of glow, so..." she had to be careful when she did hide to keep her eyes out of view.
She preened slightly at his compliment, out of his view. "Thank you. I've always thought so..." she said. Malta was a pretty name, and it felt sweet on the tongue. Like her - she was sweet, or at least she hoped she was. Maybe too sweet for some.
She listened to her new protector and friend - she could be hopeful and it seemed likely - raptly. "Is that what the third eye does?! Thats wonderful, I mean... It would be so sad if you had to not be able to see colors forever! That would just be terrible! There are so many colors everywhere! The world is beautiful, especially when there are flowers... I love flowers..." even this forest was beautiful, when it wasn't scary and full of predators, and especially when it wasn't infested with mara, "So you should look forward to seeing them all." she said, reassuringly, "And you are a very nice color of blue, with a pretty streak of gold on your hair and a nice gold marking on your face. And your clothes are black, white, and yellow and go together really well..." She thought that it was only fair to offer what she saw, since he couldn't see it for himself.
So a tailor made clothes. Okay. She knew what clothes were - they were the things magescans and some khehorian wore. That left only one real question unanswered. "Why do magescans wear clothes?" she asked cautiously, keeping her voice low as she followed him, a large slinking shadow in the forest gloom. It was sort of a non sequitor, but she wasn't sure when she would next have the opportunity to ask. "They look like they get in the way a lot..."
