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 Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:46 pm
Mike stretched once more before the flames englufed him and turned him back into his mortal form. He had never been in the desert at night but had been in groups with people who had. Some said it got as cold as mountain tops while others said they could freeze a person solid and melt them the following day. He pulled his cloak down to cover his biceps and lifted the top over his nose to keep the sand out. He ruffled his hair to a comfortable spot and stretched his mortal limbs a bit.
When Ashe offered him the cloak he thought for a moment. Though it was a very kind gesture and he was sure the night would be cold he pushed it back to her. He had survived the umbearable temperatures and tortures of the Inferno. He could survive the mortal desert.
"You keep it. I'll be fine." He smiled at her with tender eyes, something odd for a demon to do. There was no evil, no darkness, no home sickness or guilt in them. Just love. He hid his worry that this battle could be their last. He knew two things: he may not walk away from this battle alive, and there was no chance he could persuade Ashe to turn back and let him go alone. Though he needed her, he couldn't let her come to harm. She wouldn't understand. She was stubborn and loyal to their friendship.
He liked that in a woman.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:51 pm
Ashe eyed Mike and shrugged, stuffing the cloak back into the pack. It could be used for an extra blanket should they not be able to make it to the oasis town. "We should get going. Don't know who's lurking in the sands and I'd rather sleep with both eyes closed and not have to worry about a night watch for once."
She noticed the look in Mike's eyes and turned, not wanting him to see her blush. She also used the turn as a way to start heading off towards the town. "I hope Shiango doesn't try anything till we get to his mountain..."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:00 am
As Mike started walking just slightly behind Ashe he rested his left hand on his sword. He felt good and was ready for whatever lied ahead. He almost laughed at Ashe's comment when a thought popped in his head.
"I only hope that if he does make a move he does it himself. I'm tired of fighting pawns." Besides, something about that demon seemed familiar. His memory was still blurred and fuzzy, but around Shiango it was crystal clear. They had met before.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:28 am
Ashe snorted. "He doesn't seem to be the type who likes to get his hands dirty. Not until the very end." She patted her swords and smiled. She was itching for the upcoming fight, but knew it was full hardy to rush in now. The nights where dark, and there was no moon to lend it's light tonight.
As the oasis came closer she could make out the buildings and some of the guards. A small group of them started to make their way towards them. "Here comes the welcoming crew."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:08 pm
"Well then I expect him to show himself. After all, the next time I see him it will be the end." Mike said with a smile. Every time his heart beat it made him feel more and more ready to destroy the demon that threatened so many lives. His death would give him a good reputation and possibly unlock the hidden memories in his mind. He could almost feel the memories pushing into his mind.
As he noticed the group start to walk towards them Mike flexed his right hand and relaxed his left. He was ready to whip his sword out of his hand if they had to defend themselves. Worse came to worse he'd transform and lead them in the direciton Shiango was. It would be a nice distraction even though he would also be under attack. Still, he wasn't about to let anyone hurt Ashe: mortal or demon.
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:25 pm
Ashe laid a hand on Mike's arm, telling him silently to wait. "I'll do the talking," she said, walking forward towards the men. They were the town's guards, but they looked worn and two wore bandages on their arms. Did the dark dragons cause this on the way towards my...the mountains?
"Greetings. We are travelers in this desert and wish to pass the night in your town," she said with a calm smile and open arms, showing the guards that she didn't hold weapons in her hands. Three guards relaxed, but the fourth frowned and studied them.
"Where do you come from, and where do you plan on going to?"
"We came from the mountains behind us. Our destination is..." Here she blushed, "Our destination is still unknown."
The fourth guard nodded and sighed. "Sorry for the questions. We have been under attack as of late and we are weary and short of arms. We can lend you a room, but only for one night."
Ashe nodded and thanked the man. He turned and the group headed back to the town. She looked back at Mike and smiled, then turned and followed the guards.
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:48 pm
Mike was tense as Ashe talked to the guards. He was worried a conflict would arise and they'd have to run through the town. His eyes shifted from man to man as he thought about what would happen in a fight. He cast the thought aside, he knew Ashe would convince them to let them through. As they conversed more he looked around.
The buildings were small, but the taller ones looked like chunks had been smashed off, the rubble on the ground just barely noticable under mounds of sand. The guards were in bad shape, and the townfolk he could see had faces of distress. They're town was half destroyed. Mike was sure it was Shiango's fault. As he clenched his hand there was a small spark of flames out of sheer rage. He shook his hand slightly as the embers fell to the ground and disappeared. He didn't want to come off as hostile right away.
As he walked through the town behind Ashe he glanced at his shadow. He had forgotten about the moon. It was full, and his shadow was cast on the ground in all it's glory. While he looked like a young elf, his long shadow showed a fierce demon with giant wings. He quickly grabbed a torn cloth that had covered a market store and wrapped it around himself. It took away the shadow of his wings, and as he pulled it up over his head and clenched it around his neck a guard looked over to him in confusion.
"Oh, sorry. It's a little cold out for me." Mike said. The guard smiled and nodded before looking forward again. Mike sighed an unnoticable sigh of relief. He was glad his shadow had been concealed. Now he wished night would leave.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:49 pm
Ashe looked back at Mike when he grabbed the market's cloth and gave the 'I-told-you-so' look. Though she guessed the true reason for the cloth she still had to roll her eyes at him. "Stubborn..." she murmured to herself.
Shortly afterwards the guards led them to an inn. "You can spend the night here. But we ask that you leave in the morning. For your own safety." Ashe thanked them and they left. Turning to Mike she asked, "Shiango?" She shook her head. "He's going to do something tonight...this destruction looks recent."
~
Shiango smiled, the Dragon caught on quickly. But he wasn't going to do anything tonight. "No, I'll let the Sand Wyms give them a welcome for me."
He sat down and swung his feet up on the table, getting comfortable for tonight's show. "The Wyms would be easy for those two, but I don't think the villagers will want them in their town after the fight," he said a wicked smirk.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:33 pm
Mike smiled when he saw Ashe's look. Still, he was glad she could use the cloak if she got cold. When she turned and talked to him he nodded with agreement. There was still dust and sand blowing off the buildings and rubble, meaning it had been done within a few days. Mike shifted his eyes to the townfolk. They were obviously suffering. He couldn't let it happen anymore.
Suddenly there was a deep bellow in the distance, much like the bellow of an elephant without the trumpeting. Mike's head whipped back and forth, the sound coming from all directions. In a flash he had whipped his sword out and gotten ready for combat.
"By the Hells what is that!?" he shouted as the echo faded.
"Thats the demons that attacked us two days before, twin Sand Wyrms." one of the guards said as he gripped his spear.
Mike knew what Sand Wyrms were from both stories and seeing the destroyed skeletons of them. Of all the mythical beasts that slithered on the ground, Sand Wyrms were the most fearsome. They were gigantic in size and slithered like snakes, having no legs. Their face split into four sections for digging and tunneling through the ground, as well as engulfing anything that it could eat above it. They were terrors of the land, and luckily they were secluded to desert areas where their numbers varied within a dozen or so, being so ancient they were thought to be myths. Apparently a demon could persuade them to attack, and twin wyrms could easily level the city.
Shiango was toying with this town.
There was another bellow, causing all the soldiers and guards to run around, gathering up the townfolk to move them to a safer location. Mike crept up behind Ashe to whisper to her.
"If these things start to attack let me deal with them. I need a good stretch anyways, and in this moonlight I should be able to handle them without much trouble." he turned his attention towards the moon and then glanced at the town. "Besides, there's no reason for us both to have to sleep in the desert. Just say you picked me up while traversing the desert."
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:04 pm
Ashe wanted to fight by Mike's side, but didn't protest. Though her night vision was excellent, and the added full moon helped, she knew that Mike was more in his element at night then she was. She nodded, "I'll guard the townsfolk."
She ran to help them find shelter, which took the form of an old storage house just on the outskirts. This part of town was mostly untouched due to it being closest the the water. Sand Wyrms stayed as far away from water as possible.
"I am truly sorry that your stay here has been disrupted by the Sand Wyrms," the guard from earlier said. Ashe smiled softly and shook her head, "It is not your fault."
The guard looked through the crowd, "Where is your companion? It's not safe out there."
Ashe, faining ignorance, looked about the scared townsfolk. "He's not here...I thought he was in the crowd as we took shelter here." She pretended to become worried. "I hope he's not planning on taking on the Sand Wyrms by himself..."
The guard patted her shoulder. "Shall we tell the look out to look for him?"
Ashe shook her head, "I should like to watch for him as well. Please let me."
The guard nodded and handed her a crossbow. He then moved to another window and the people settled to wait out the attack.
((Leave me some fun with the Sand Wyrms. But it's all your fight.))
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:51 pm
Mike made his way towards the town exit as the civillians rushed past him to get to buildings that went deeper into the ground and were more sturdy and surrounded. A young girl was running past him when she tripped on some hidden rubble. Mike had already started the transformation into his demon form when he caught her, and as he caught her he realized his skin was starting to spark with black flames. His exposed arm was seen by the girl. She looked at him, her dark beautiful face full of suprise and confusion. The building next to them exploded as huge chunks of rock sailed down at them. Mike dropped the girl and was fully engulfed in flames. The moment the rock made contact with his hands the flames vanished as he was in his demon form. He set the rock down and looked at the girl who's face was now in horror.
"Get to safety." Mike said as he turned and bolted out of the town, the sand and dust that was beneath him swept aside as if it were just air.
As Mike reached a safe distance outside the town he focused on sensing the aura of the beasts. He could feel them, they were not evil but very large. However, there were two very high concentrations of demonic evil. Mike threw his hand out as his blade appeared and he held it cautiously. He looked behind him to see two giant pillars of sand coming straight for him. He crouched down as two gigantic worms burst out of the sand, the four flaps that made up their mouths curling out to the sides as they let out their cries. Mike leapt upwards and spun backwards as they drove into the ground infront of him. he noticed that each of them had a large jewel on them right below their heads. He was positive by their dark purple glow that they were causing the wyrms to attack the city. Once destroyed they wyrms would be freed and perhaps go docile.
"Damnit Shiango, using innocent to fight. I'll have your head for this." Mike said as he pulled his blade back and held it for battle.
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:28 pm
A child ran into the shelter, crying. Ashe caught her and asked her what was wrong.
"Big scary monster..." she cried.
"Scary monster?" the guard asked.
The girl nodded and the guard cursed. "First the Wyrms and now another monster? This town can't take anymore of this destruction."
Ashe stroked the child's hair as the child stopped shivering. "If this monster was evil, wouldn't he have killed the child?" she asked.
The guard was quiet.
Ashe stood up. "I'll relieve the guard on top. He must be as tired as the rest."
The guard nodded and Ashe climbed to the roof, sending the other guard back down to rest.
"I really hope that I don't have to do some fancy talking to keep us in this town, Mike..." she said with a smirk.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:09 pm
Mike stood in the sand as the wyrms circled him. Suddenly the mounds disappeared and the rumbling in the earth stopped. A moment passed as Mike stood up, wondering what happened. Suddenly the ground shook violently as the two wyrms exploded into the air, heading straight back down towards him. Mike managed to leap out of the way and took a swing at the gems on their heads. He missed by a long shot due to the sand the wyrms threw out on reentry. Mike took off into the air, being just high enough to manuver but low enough to still attract the beasts. He watched as the sand mounds started to move again. Straight towards the small town.
As they plowed through a building and rose from the earth, Mike flew up to them and threw two fireballs into their faces. One went inside a wyrms mouth, causing it to roar at a higher pitch, a scream. The noise caused Mike's vision to blur and his ears to go temporarily deaf. He was decending when one of wyrms threw it's head into the ground and spit a ball of solid stone at him, held together by quick hardening spit. Mike took the full force of the blow and hit the ground hard, the pieces of the stone crumbled around him. As he stood up he cracked his neck.
"That's it, no more nice Nero." Mike said as he stood up and took to the air. He flew up high and dove straight down. Smashing one of the wyrms heads into the streets as people fled for their lives. He had to get their attention again. One of the wyrms cocked it's head and looked at a large tower that was still in the process of being erected. Several guards were at the top, firing flaming arrows at them. The wyrm reered it's head back and smashed it into the base of the tower, taking out a large enough chunk to cause it to start falling forward. Mike swooped around and swept through the top of the tower, grabbing two guards under his arms and two in his wings. As they flew from the top of the tower Mike aimed himself so he would land in the sand. As they hit the ground he rolled, releasing the guards. They were battered and bruised, but breathing nevertheless.
Mike thought fast, He leapt onto the tower and shot several fireballs at one of the wyrms. It turned to him and smashed it's head down on the tower. The edge flipped up and shattered off the rest of it, flying through the air and smashing into the other wyrm. It turned and started attacking the other wyrm. As they fought Mike summoned his sword and flew up again into the air. He took aim and dove straight downward. He spun as he held his blade downard and slammed it into the gem on the back of one of the wyrms. It released another cry of pain as the gem sparked a bright pink glow as the energy escaped from it. Mike looked up to see the other howling in pain. As he drew his blade and let the wyrm collapse to the streets. He watched as the other wyrm's eyes turned bright red. It roared at him and dove back into the ground. Mike hit to the sand and started running back into the open area.
"Damnit! The crystals were linked! The power transfered to the other crystal when I destroyed it, and now this thing is barreling down on me like a mad bull!" Mike thought as he ran. He had to get away from the city. There was no telling what was going to happen.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 10:09 pm
Ashe watched Nero fight. She had her bow at the ready, but it seemed as if he had it under control. That was until he saved the first Wyrm.
"Damn," she spat and stood up. She took aim and waited for the remaining one to show itself. It did shortly after Nero left the town's limits. Ashe let her arrow fly. Aided by her wind the arrow flew straight and true, landing in the jewel on it's back.
It didn't have the power to shatter it, but the arrow served to slow the Wyrm down and gave Nero a moment to attack. "Hope this helped..." she said, sitting back down.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:25 pm
Mike was dodging the giant beast when an arrow pierced the jewel. The wyrm let out it's cry of agony as Mike turned and smiled back at Ashe. Now that some of the dark energy was seeping out the beast was less rageful. It was still going beserk though, and dangerous as ever. Mike took the brief moment of calm as the jewel cracked to finish it off. Till something went wrong.
As Mike's claw got close to the jewel, it came into contact with a magical barrier. His fingertips sparked as it held him in the air. He could feel the darkness from the energy flowing inside him, almost turning into the Harbinger. He had to destroy it fast! He tried to claw through it but it shot him backwards. He hit the ground and shook his head. The barrier had shot energy through him and dazed him. He stood up and looked for the wyrm right as it slammed through him like an ogre's club. He was sent flying across the sand, rolling several times before coming to a stop when he used his claws as an anchor. The second time the wyrm came past Mike managed to lazily dodge it's head, but it's tail whipped him back towards the town and through several buildings. As Mike sat in the rubble like a power-drunk king, he shook his head. There was no way he could touch it due to his dark nature. Shiango was a genius as well as a dead man.
Mike looked up the tower he had landed infront of. Ashe was up above him. Mike reached up with his clawed hand and ripped himself up to the top of the building. The guards drew their scimitars and aimed their bows, but Mike had neither the time nor effort to deal with them. Instead he came up next to Ashe.
"A-er miss! I need you to fire another arrow when I give you the signal!" Mike looked off in the distance to see the wyrm getting ready to head towards the city. Mike looked at Ashe and gave her a reassuring smile. He believed in her. With that he took off towards the wyrm, moving so fast he blew the sand off the tower and people inside.
The wyrm was lifting it's head to drive straight through the roof of a shelter. It's mouth opened up, and in a flash Mike had grabbed the section between it's jaws with his left hand. While small, Mike had momentum and speed on his side. Ripping the wyrm back so far it completely toppled over. Though an innocent creature, Mike had no choice but to harm it. He took his blade and smashed his hilt into the creature's eye. It leapt up and roared, allowing Mike to turn and scream "NOW!!!" at Ashe.
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