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Fire everywhere.

You begin running, following the crowd of knights all shouting ten thousand different things in panic. You hear shouts of alarm, of ambush, of sieges, of Camelot being under attack before it is consumed by the sound of cannons, of ballistas, of people screaming, of shadows tearing into flesh from out of suddenly nowhere.

It is dark outside, the illusion has shattered. You feel just the tiniest sliver of despair: this entire time Camelot had not been as safe as you hoped. It was protected only by a veil of ignorance, and the shadows had arrived to shatter it. It is dark outside because it had always been dark outside, and all along, it had been the other way around.

You did not belong.

You still, reflexively protect yourself, there are knights left and right, fending against creatures they barely understand. One second you hear screaming, the next blood splatters everywhere, a decapitated body twitching violently, you catch the glimpse of something - some half-formed creature made of those shadows - with the severed head still in its jaws- and then one spots you, and you scramble to find footing against it.

Something shakes to your right, someone has used the ballista shots, they are lit with fire and somehow, the shadows back away. Somehow, they are scared, and you buy another second.

"Fall back!" It doesn't matter who shouts it, it only matters that it was a human voice, not the sound of screams and guttural cries. "Fall back into the great hall!"

Knights, some heavily wounded, some carrying knights that were long dead, scramble past you, pushing you left and right in desperation. The fear radiating from is contagious, you can't help but feel panic and despair. A part of you simply wants to give up. Another part questions why.

You autonomously move with the rest, half walking, half-pushed inwards. The gates close. Only a small fraction of your original numbers have made it inside.

For some reason, for now, you are safe. The gates hold, the hard work the other knights put into securing it pays off. You have a moment to breathe. Three Great Knights appear from the chaos of the injured, each with a purpose.

"I will lead the offensive," it was Morgan who spoke first, sword still unsheathed, dripping a strange black ichor. Any who caught him in those brief moments of battle might have also caught his crazed expression, someone who fought purely for the sake of fighting, "the courtyard is the swarming with shadows. We will destroy and secure the remainder of the castle. Follow me if you wish to take back what is ours."

"I will lead those who seed medical aid." Gawain spoke next, though he had to tap his staff several times against the walls to make sure knights were actually listening. "We will remain in the great hall, and tend to those hurt and needing medical aid. Follow me if you wish to help those in need."

"And I will lead the defensive," followed Percival. His armour was already heavily battered, his own blood dripping from his shield arm. "We will go back and secure the ramparts, adding as much defensive power as possible. Follow me if you wish to keep the castle safe."

Each of them nodded and parted ways. The other Great Knights were nowhere to be seen, possibly already lost in battle, possibly in hiding. Even the legendary Camelot could not hold back what the shadows already claimed.

Those few that had been nice enough to assure Riley there was more to saving the kingdom than fighting, had been right. When the call was sent out, and those brave knights surged forward to battle, Riley knew exactly where she would best serve them - she only hoped she wouldn't see familiar faces in her care too soon after the fighting had begun.

Or, perhaps she hoped to see them more than not. If she never saw her friends again, that would mean..

Seeing them was preferable then. She left to Gawain's side, to help mend that which was broken.

[Rei enters]

The pulsing chaos is visible, even with the Taint around them. Knights' bodies are laying haphazardly like the aftermath of a typhoon- even the Great Knights are not unharmed.

The eye beneath the patch has long throbbed with head-splitting pain. Rei gnashes his teeth enduring, while seeking for any things he can do to prevent SOMETHING happened again.

He felt the atmosphere is somewhat similar. He had experienced something like this before.

From outside the screech of both knights and the shadows interlapped into something horrid-something that kills any hope of victory.

Three Great Knights emerged from the slammed gates, each with various state of damage- Morgan, Gawain and his own Great Knight, Percival.

Each of them spoke their own plan to repel the attack. But Rei has decided when he laid his eyes on the injured Great Knight, his blue attire now stained black and red.

The throbbing eye has subsided. He slowly rose to his feet and chased the blood trail of his Great Knight.


[Exit]

Haze the Black knight-apprentice
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[ENTER]

The scent of blood filled Haze's nose, his eyes strained to look at his surroundings as people and creatures swarm about. Gritting his teeth together he seethed in minor pain as his lungs tried to gasp for air. Adrenaline now pumping through his veins he did his best to defend all who opposed him. But no matter the countless beasts that fell more seemed to appear. Spreading as rapidly as the fire that raked across the battlefield. This was complete madness! A crimson liquid splatter against Haze's pale skin as he continued to trek through countless bodies of the fallen. Looking up to hear a voice call them back into the confines of the gate. He receded in with the rest, and as all settled for a moment the apprentice-knight would hear the voices of three Great Knights. Listening to what each of their stances would be during this battle. Even if the white haired man was passive aggressive when he could be, Haze could not stand idly by as countless others were slaughtered. Blood already staining his face and clothes he gripped onto his weapon, pulling his red scarf over his mouth and followed Morgan into battle.

[SZCZEOSNY]

This was not good.

Lucky paced near the gate (not TOO close, though) and tried to quell the panic he felt. There were still screams coming from outside, piercing the endless night. How could they possibly prevail?

When given a choice, he knew where his skills lay. He would be of better use healing the sick and purging the darkness there through mystical means. He saw how big the shadow beasts had been. As if he could do even a modicum of damage with his mace, to something that big! He'd leave that to other knights better suited for the purpose. He was merely a catch-all, without skill and purpose. That was the code of the serpent - to be prepared to do anything.

He followed Gawain back into the castle.

Perhaps it was a blessing that Horace had not been on the battlefield when the shadows broke through. He had heard it, though, in a sort of muffled, distant way, like the persistent chirping of a bird's nest hidden in the rafters. If he had wanted, Horace might have been able to ignore it, to pretend all was well within Camelot and that nothing could pierce through their defenses. Almost. Instead, as soon as he had gathered enough supplies (although he knew that in a seige, in war, there would never be enough), he had rushed to the hall, hopefully trailing Lawr behind him. Horace was worried about the other man, not in terms of competency, Lawr was certainly not stupid - but in terms of protection. He found himself wanting to protect the other man, wishing there was someplace safe to stow him. It was a foolish thought; they were both knight-apprentices and capable of taking care of themselves, but... Horace couldn't quite explain it, but Lawr seemed different than the others. The whys and hows of it seemed less important.

Abruptly, his attention snapped back to the knights as they called out orders, a calll for fighters, defenders, healers. Horace was not really a healer, but he was, by sheer stubborness, prepared. Supplies had been what he had focused on - Horace knew he was too weak, not good enough to be of much use anywhere, after all. And he and Lawr had found some, stripped beds, taken herbs. But as the noises grew louder and he heard the shouts of the dying, his feet carried him to where he might be needed most. Perhaps he could be useful to Sir Gawain. Horace had a strong stomach; the sight of blood, of entrail spilling out of a wound would never phase him. And who had time to be phased during this?

Admist the chaos, Horace breathed deeply. He would go were he was needed. Before he stepped forward into his role, his place, he turned to Lawrence. "Where will you go?"

{ Dong Shu Lei }

She had been there for some times, yet, Shu didn't make any connection with anyone. Her friends didn't come to find her and for a moment of heartache, she thought they might forget her already. Yes, she regained a tiny bit of her memories. She remembered she had some friends and a family that she lost, though vaguely.

The petite knight apprentice blended into the darkness once again the lights shattered. First, she had an alien sentiment of what could be called loneliness, the smile that can be often seen on her face vanished flatted out. When the clamour developed into chaos, defending and attacking took place, people became lifeless bodies but anything. She'd believed Camelot would be a safe place proven that it withstood the darkness for years without falling, but what she witnessed toppled her hope and relief. It was time for her to take up the dagger, like that day she had sacrificed memories for.

This world was never so nice to her.

The sky was always that dark.

They only had limited options as someone in a world like that: be a coward, hide or seek for protection from others or stand out to fight even so little your power is. She picked the latter and became a knight apprentice. The weight of the chakram in her hands felt heavy, not about its physical mass but her determination behind wielding them and faced those horrible shadows that could tear people apart.

The small body convulsed, the violent scenes, the stingy smell of smokes and flints as well as the most heartrending screams and cries all induced fears from deep down her soul. It was engraved onto her injured soul. She couldn't control the shaking, she felt like crying when nearby people started to and mourned that it's the end of their world. "Everything's...ending?" she whispered with a doubtful voice.

She didn't belong.

A stretcher past by, carrying a body to the deeper part of the castle, she peeked and saw the pale hand freely swung down, like a pendulum, she heard people yelling each other by their names. "Walter! Damn it! Do you hear me?!" Name was important because it's how someone called you. Batch went out and batch went back as bodies, covered in blood, missing their heads or limbs. If the knights ended up like that, what a small apprentice like her would make a difference? She slid down along a pillar, swallowed by anguish and despair.

The castle were packed with people, injured or not. That was no space for a useless person like her. She got pushed when several carried severely injured knights past by, scolding her for blocking the path at that emergency. She switched the position but pushed backwards by a swarm of knights in their retreat. The enemies were too much and too powerful, she was just lucky to be one of the few that temporarily saved.

The gate was closed, but the throbs and roars outside didn't stop. They wanted to finish them all, eliminated the last sanctuary of mankind. Shu wasn't sure what she should do, or better say what she could do to aid the situation. At the dismay, the Great Knights appeared to rally the loosened morale. She took a good look at them, their armors were covered with bloods revealed they were fighting.

Shu carefully listened and shortly decided she would fight the shadows, she hated them she knew, just a feeling but it was crystal clear. She thus followed after Morgan, take back what is ours was such a promising speech he'd made, she would gladly fall into that trap with any price if they can eliminate the evil.

[Zar]

Chaos broke out properly and they found themselves collectively under attack, of course it hadn't been safe here, of course. Nowhere was safe any more, danger was closing in all around them and bringing the darkness with it, they could fight as much as they wanted but the odds were stacked against them. The sky was cracking, the world was failing, it was all just staving off the inevitable.

But that was what living was. So he intended to keep on going and fighting until they fell.

He wasn't a fighter, he didn't have the build nor the constitution for it, so he followed Percival to the ramparts, all the while searching in the crowd for Barth, he had no idea where the other man had gotten to and was anxious and concerned that he had gotten hurt like those other knights.

He could only vainly hope that he would arrive safe and sound wherever he ended up, and not dwell too long on the alternative.