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 Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:25 am
Maximos smirked and nodded. He didnt know much about where they were going, but he trusted Ryugi to lead the way. He stood, he reached for his back, slipping one strap over one shoulder, and clicking Ankokuko back into place, its sheath at his back.
Indeed! Water is key.
His smirk stretched to a smile as he remembered Vergan fondly, every desert, every sandy expanse brought him back to that place.
I miss the sand, its been far too long.
And he was set to follow!
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:53 am
Well, I'm up for some breakfast first, and then we'll head out. Can't go on a long walk without energy after all.
And with a grin, Ryugi would gather his things and walk out into the courtyard, following his nose to the first thing that smelled tasty.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:00 am
Breakfast?
Maximos quickly shuffled into his pocket and pulled out his black pocketwatch and seemed utterly surprised.
We slept that long!?
And with that realization his stomach growled. The sort of growl that made it seem impatient. As if it had been waiting for recognition since he woke but only now got the opportunity to voice itself. Slightly embarrased Maximos scratched the back of his head, and rubbed his tummy, then said.
Yeah, I guess I'd better come too.
And did just that. Following a scent would be easy, trying not to disturb meditating monks would be tricky. So he stepped quieter, sneakier, so as not to wake anyone.
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:30 pm
Ryugi grinned and chuckled as he made his way out of the sleeping area and around the monks, following his nose and a scent of something that smelled very tasty. It wouldn't be long before the two travelers found themselves in front of a small stand. A woman was handing out Angaran Sweet Bread to those who passed. Ryugi walked up to the stand and grabbed two loaves.
One for himself, and one for Maximos.
Afterwards, he'd head toward the smell of fresh water, and come to the side of a small icy creek running alongside the shrine.
This seems like as good a place as any to have breakfast, eh Max?
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:10 pm
Maximos trailed behind as Ryugi followed his nose. For a moment the Shadow expected they would arrive at a large bowl of fruits or cereal. But for the life of him he couldnt imagine why he'd expect something so outrageous. Either way he followed.
With practiced and learned politeness, he regarded the woman with a bright smile and a small bow of the head, a universal silent gesture of thanks. The bread didnt only taste sweet, as Maximos had learned earlier. It smelled sweet! He could himself breaking off finger bite sized bits to abate his appetite until they reached the icy stream.
Indeed it is!
He said in response with the brightest of smiles, just after swallowing a tiny bite. Making his way to set of rocks, Maximos took a seat and proper bite of the bread.
This entire country is absolutely gorgeous. I dont think a bad spot exists!
A statement he meant fully. Only, after saying it he noticed exactly how cottony his mouth felt. He turned, taking a few steps toward the stream and kneeled beside it. Normally, he might have just dipped his hand on one, but he wanted to try something knew. He felt around then reached both his hands out in either directions, grabbing at shadow ribbons, and pulled them inwards, and then grabbed the shadows proper in both hands.
The rest was elementary. The balls of swirling unshapen black were dipped into the water, and came out full as two mugs filled with icy fresh water. Maximos then made his way back to the rock, sipping one, and offered the other to Ryugi.
Thirsty?
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Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:15 pm
Ryugi chuckled a bit and grasped the shadowy mugs of water. he took a sip of the icy fresh water and sighed a contented sigh. He then looked to max and spoke, grinning.
It looks like you're starting to get the hang of your shadow abilities. That's good.
He chuckled and took another sip, and took a bite of his sweet bread.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:10 am
Argon sighed as Ryudo got all mad and started raining death on them. Well, it was to be expected.
"How irritating..."
Without so much as batting an eye, Argon placed his left arm on the Tainted Dragon, whom proceeded to shield his master from the barrage. Thousands of dark projectiles rained on Lazarus, each one easily capable of dealing lethal damage. However, when the attack resolved, there wasn't so much as one dent on the dragon. Not one scratch, wound, or bruise. Could it be that, even with Lethe's assistance, Ryudo's attack was once again negated?
No. Ryudo's assault perfectly bombarded its mark, but the Death Knight temporarily reinforced his mount's body, pouring magical energy into any 'faults'. This made the Dragon's already impressive defenses nearly invincible.
Wait... but the Death Knight didn't even charge any energy for that, did he?
An elementalist drew in arcana and merely returned it in the form of a spell. Being a creature of death, however, Argon literally drained the life-- magic from his surroundings and used that energy to fuel his power. This corrupted energy did not merely return to nature, rather plagued the environment as a festering wound.
The Death Knight didn't need to charge his own arcana when so much was readily available from Gaia. The magic concentration on Angara was especially high, so continuously taking energy from oneself was such a waste, no?
In any case, reinforcement magic was the most basic magic out there. The base object already existed, so there was no wasted energy actually creating anything. However, making something that was nearly perfect even better was excruciatingly difficult. It was entirely possible for a novice mage to add faults into whatever it was they were trying to reinforce.
Fortunately, the Undead Shade wasn't so inexperienced with magic.
"Come. We have more pressing matters to attend to."
The Death Knight, now mounted, left to catch up with his troops. He had a war to fight; he wasn't going to play around with a Shadow Dragon and his pet.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:04 am
MagnusXL Fortunately, the Undead Shade wasn't so inexperienced with magic. However, "magic" would be the very least of Death Knight's worries. What he would, what he SHOULD, be worried about was not the shadow energies that appeared to be the main threat. Ryudo had attained his psychic prowess out of necessity to prevent himself from falling into madness from the chaotic and unpredictable nature of his shadow elements. But right now, all those holds were removed. All that energy, all that rage, were all left open to attack, maim, and otherwise destroy whatever unlucky target decided to try and oppose Ryudo. All that controlling psychic force that maintained Ryudo's calm and logical exterior was now all aimed at ripping Death Knight, his mount, and whatever else tried to stop him into microscopic pieces. The only thing keeping Ryudo from completely descending into madness was Lethe. The symbiotic entity used its own abilities to maintain enough of Ryudo's mind to allow him to control all of that energy, at the cost of his emotionless and calm limited exterior. The result was all the power of a berserker, with the mental control to direct that energy towards whatever target it desired. While outwardly, Ryudo appeared to have lost all sense of tactics, inwardly, the powerful attack had been planned. The massive energy released was wrapped in an invisible envelope of psychic force. The tips of the spiked protrusions, as well as the front of the wave of black spikes was wrapped in energy that would be peeling away the energy supporting the target like one peels away the skin of an orange. It would literally assist in prying into the target where the energy would then pierce and do massive damage. If that succeeded, then Death Knight and his mount were about to feel like a couple of pincushions, and then they'd feel themselves being gripped from the inside out as the spikes would sprout additional spikes that would act like anchors within their bodies. And then, the whole mess would explode in a terrifying display of power. The end result would be that chunks of flesh would be blasted out from both targets, or, if the mount soaked up the blast, it would be heavily, terribly injured... However, if that didn't take them both out, then Ryudo had another surprise waiting for the Death Knight...
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:45 am
Perhaps Argon overestimated his reinforcement job, or maybe he just didn't anticipate the attacks properties. Whatever the case, his defense wasn't quite as solid as he thought. With Lazarus absorbing the bulk of the blast, the Death Knight himself would escape unscathed.
â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ â–ˆ !!!
However, with the way the Tainted Dragon recoiled and howled in fury... it was undeniably injured. It was to be expected, seeing how the spikes tore into its scales, bore down, and exploded. Lazarus was lucky that the bulk didn't get all the way through his tough, supple armor.
It wasn't as though the reinforcement was completely wasted. Lazarus wasn't in critical condition, but that didn't change the fact that Argon was quite... vexed.
"...Fine."
Argon stepped away from his mount and began drawing in more energy. There was a change of plans; the Death Knight was once again fully committed to wipeing the Shadow Dragon off the face of the planet.
The murderous pressure exerted between the two would be intense.
"Prepare for your oblivion, cretin."
With that the Death Knight advanced on foot, quickly closing in on the berserk Ryudo. A 'close range' fight actually worked in his favor, though it was apparent that the Shadow Dragon a lot more ammo. When Ryudo attacked, the Death Knight would be ready to strike back with a surprize of his own.
Man, he hated psychics.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:13 am
Ryugi Kazamaru However, if that didn't take them both out, then Ryudo had another surprise waiting for the Death Knight... MagnusXL "...Fine.""Prepare for your obli--" Talking meant that he was still alive. That meant that Ryudo's job wasn't done. The Death Knight wouldn't get to finish his taunt. Unlike him, Ryudo wasn't up for bragging. He was here on business. The instant before the Death Knight tried to advance, Ryudo's body would glow with energy, and suddenly, the air around the abomination would feel thousands of times heavier. It felt as though it was trying to crush him flat from every angle at once. Little known fact, liquids are notoriously difficult to compress, and most bodies were filled with it. Almost anything else like bones, organs, etc were essentially empty spaces that were waiting to be compressed. Breathing would be all but impossible save a few scattered gasps of pain and air as his lungs fought to receive oxygen and the pain would be indescribable. The Death Knight would not only feel as if he was being condensed into a tiny little ball of flesh, but that he was being pulled to the very ground he was attempting to stand up on. His bones would threaten to shatter if he did not give. His organs would want to be pulled into his feet if he did not give in. And every moment that he continued to resist, the energy would seem to go up, ever forcing his strength down into the ground. In a split second, the Death Knight would be turned from pompous warrior of death into a groveling maggot as he would be fighting to maintain his un-life, and not be destroyed from the immense power being exerted on him now. Obviously, Ryudo wasn't alone. The injured tainted dragon, the one called Ezra, and other beings of the Forgotten and corrupted would likely be scattered across the field. While Ryudo was focusing his attack on the Death Knight, he was aware of the others around him, and at the speed of thought, his power could be transferred to any of them. Maggots...are not allowed to speak. And Ryudo's right hand would slowly begin to close into a fist, the pressure threatening to squash the mighty Death Knight like an egg. He'd lost his upper hand. His attitude had gotten him nothing but defeat. And now, unless something happened, he was, quite possibly, going to die. He'd pushed the buttons of something that should not have been toyed with. Let sleeping beasts lie, as they say...
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:56 pm
Ryudo seemed to be under the impression that it was impossible to act and talk at the same time. Alas, that point was minute at this moment.
Argon's eyes shot open in a dangerous combination of shock and rage as the immense pressure of Ryudo's psychic prowers bore down on him. No normal combatant could escape such an attack, as the sheer force made it impossible.
Falling to one knee against his wishes, it seemed that the Death Knight was no different.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAH!"
Argon struggled greatly against the psychic pressure exerted by his draconic foe. Alas, apparently even the Death Knight had his limits, as he slammed both hands on the ground to support himself.
But with that impact was a discharge of mana.
It was an elaborate ruse. He had no organs to crush. He had no bones to break. The Shadow Dragon was a fool if he thought he could hold the Death Knight for long. Sure, it was possible to pin him, but that was about it.
He was literally a container of chaos and death.
Dark energy spread through the leylines in the earth, traveling towards Ryudo and Lethe at an incredible speed. Not a moment after the energy was discharged, Argon's spell would activate. Long, sharp projectiles flew out of the ground beneath the Shadow dragon. The purple, crystaline blades of consintrated chaos energy came out like a hailstorm set in reverse. Spread-out, rapid, and unpredictable, this spell would be difficult for even the agile Shadow Dragon to avoid.
And there wasn't a clear end in sight, either.
The Death Knight merely continued to pour his magical energy into the ground at a casual rate. As his energy branched out further, making further connections with the earth, his spell reaction time would increase. If he focused long enough, even Ryudo's movements wouldn't save him from the assault.
Even though Argon was bewstowed the title of a powerful warrior, it didn't change the fact that he was a powerful sorceror.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:02 am
Suddenly, something changed. An energy spike was detected from the Death Knight as he hit the ground, and Ryudo changed his tactics as well... NNNNNNGGGGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! With a massive pulse of psychic energy, Death Knight would be cast through the air with tremendous force as the energy he released was eradicated as the ground under Ryudo literally exploded away from him at the same time it disintegrated due to a massive unleashing of energy. The black form that had risen from his shadow quickly overtook his form the surge of black seeming to soak into him before a final eruption of black shot into the sky. For a split second, if one were to look, they would see a form floating in mid air. It was completely black, save for a pale "v" shaped area below the neck, and the face where a "human" face and inner chest showed. The "hair" was silvery and long, roughly mid back, but it seemed to bristle like spines. The "ears" looked more like black horns that extended out and back away from the head, almost helping to frame the silvery spines. The eyes were beastly and blood red, with slitted pupils. The forehead was almost like a black helmet that extended back to the spiked spines. Black tribal markings fell from the bottom of the eyelids down to the cheeks and chin, and the eyes themselves were surrounded by black tribal markings. The body was thin, but at the same time, looked terribly powerful, clawed draconic feet with sharp talons hovered above the ground. Clawed hands and spiked elbows bristled at the form's sides, and on its upper back were two thin draconic wings, and below was a draconic tail that came to a almost demonic pointed tip. The massive pulse of energy would seem to not dissipate, and would rather remain constant as the figure stayed still. However, in a flash, it would be gone, moving as a lightning fast black blur and dust shot away from it as the black form sped towards the flying form of the Death Knight...
End this quickly, you've no time to toy...
Our last hurrahs... Don't worry...
[1/7]
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:19 am
((Anberlin - Reclusion))
The connection to the earth was broken before it was fully established, as the Death Knight was catapulted away from it. He didn't watch as the Shadow Dragon merged with his servant. He could feel the massive exertion of power as the powerful beings fused together.
Acting the moment he landed, Argon placed both of his hands flat on the ground. With a powerful pull of negative energy, he rapidly drained the field around him of life and mana. Strands of shadow enveloped his body, weaving tightly around his entire frame. It was obvious that this power wasn't being drawn for the sake of spell casting.
He was using the life-force to speed up the regeneration of the Shadow Plate.
The Death Knight's armor finished regenerating not a moment too soon, as Hybrid Dragon took form and charged flew forward. Lowering Ruination low to his right side, Argon was ready to meet him head on. Unleashing a wide horizontal swing, the Death Knight called out in a disembodied voice.
"Shock Tide!"
Thrusts were the most powerful attack a spear possessed, as the physical force was focused onto piercing a single point. However, that also made it the easiest attack to dodge, as the defender could merely step to the side, duck, or otherwise get out of the way. This meant that the primary attack for a good spearman was the swing. Though lacking the ability to pierce armor, this attack relied on a large arc, making it difficult to avoid. Backing off would help the spearmen keep at their peak range, while a side step would result in a smashed rib. This fact was even more prudent for a Greatspear, whose added weight and range gave it incredible crushing power.
So it made sense that, while fortifying an attack with magical attributes, one would use a wider swing with the Greatspear. A hellstorm of purple and black energy flared from Ruination wildly as it was swung. The first function of the attack was to simply destroy the life-force of anything it touched. The second half was dedicated to disintegrating any matter it hit with terrifying efficiency. Ruination's already impressive range was increased to about 15 ft. Even if Ryudo was agile enough to sidestep the weapon normally, he could very well be caught off guard by the sudden increase in attack coverage.
Chaos and negative energies were working hand in hand to produce a truly devastating weapon.
Foliage probably wouldn't grow in the drained area for years to come, as the mana necessary to support new life was forcibly stolen from the ground. Not that it mattered, as they were likely to destroy most of it anyways.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:40 am
The blurred form of Ryudo's merged body sped across the ground at a rate of speed that would catch nearly any fighter off guard. The sleek form allowed maximum speed by design, and the thin wings added to that by creating more force and turning control, coupled with the tail for balance and further manipulation. The form was a perfect balance of speed, power, defense, and sheer ferocity all rolled into one single killing machine...
The form sped towards the shock wave of energy that erupted from the tip of Ruination as the weapon spat thunderous amounts of power to try and quell the new threat. But the massive weapon would only serve to slow the Death Knight down. The merge had no heavy weapons to slow its advance, or impede its fighting ability. it had all the weapons it needed in its claws and tail...
As the blast neared, the blurred black form would zip to the sky and into the air, before a burst of speed and dust would rocket the form down towards the recovering Death Knight. The right claw would zip outwards and a pinprick of energy would appear at the tips of the claws, until with a mighty blast, the form would burst ahead aiming to collide with the form of the Death Knight.
An explosion of energy would occur as psychic energy enveloped a powerful drilling blast of directed shadow energy directly into the body of the Death Knight, aiming to pierce directly through his hardened plate with a massive shock wave of jack-hammering energy. The force would be so massive that when the attack was released, the ground below the two fighters would explode away into a crater, casting dust and rocks into the air as a mighty pulse would race across the plains as the two energy sources collided.
Even if the lightning fast strike missed its mark, the energy would still plow a crater into the earth below, and hide Ryudo in a cloud of dust. Time was running out. The clock was ticking.
Would it be enough...?
[2/7]
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:54 am
Max nodded, and grinned back, after passing back the mug. When Ryugi's eyes fell on him again, he would be sitting on a rock with a black ribbon swirling around him like a snake. It had no shape, just cloth like.
Its a bit tricky, I know its meant to be a part of me, but its a new part. And still, I have you to thank for it. For this!
He gestured around.
Really I cant thank you enough!
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