Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I know what you're thinking." Victoria was finally speaking fully now that she had at last gripped onto her staff she dropped earlier, letting its aura flow through her. She still held onto the forged tome rather tightly. "You think you're a coward, and that you're not doing anything. I can see it on your face. Well, you're wrong. I've lived longer in the fires of war than you, Father Rhys. I've seen things. I've seen what you never should have to."

Although unable to really move, Victoria did sit up. This staff was strong, potent. However... her clothes didn't suit her at all. As soon as she could move, she was getting out of the rags that were once robes.

"If you were a coward, Rhys, you would have done what my Order's Archbishop did back then. He took all the monks... the young light magic users, and fled with them to train them. He wanted them all to fight alongside the Lycian league, while us clerics and priests stood by and waited for him to rescue us with his Aura tome. But he didn't come. He and all those boys abandoned us, not so they could strike Bern and end tyranny... it was for glory. For fame. They wanted to be Saints, every one of them, him included. A few of us who did live... us staff users..." the woman sniffled, remembering it all.

She had never cried in front of anyone for a long time. "We never saw each other again. We all went our seperate ways to safety, so Bern could never find us and use our staves to heal those who just wanted to spread more bloodshed. The only reason that I'm here... that any of the ten of us escaped those spears and swords... is because of the courage the lower bishops, my own father included showed. They alone protected us... while our leader, our Archbishop... he turned arond and fled. And from what the history books say, him and those monks never joined the League. What he did was true cowardice, but you... Rhys... you'd never abandon your Order. Especially not for personal glory. You'd never abandon General Amelia either. Instead, put your faith in her as my father did for me. Believe, and she will have victory.... because she can feel your presence."

{I know it's long, but there's no short way to say all that. D:}

Amelia tried to duck away from Rei's arm and move out of the fog, already clogging up in her nose and throat and making her cough, but his grip was still too firm and there wasn't enough room to move free. "That's a laugh. You want me to let you go?" Amelia opened her mouth to say something, deciding against it as the urge to yelp overcame any words that were going to come out. Small drops of blood welled up from the deeper scratches and cuts, moving one foot to kick Rei in the shin. She still couldn't get her lance free, he was holding onto it too tightly with that damn tentacle of his.

Oh, come on, holy man! Giving up your little girlfriend already?" Rei shouted over to Rhys. Amelia scowled, arms trembling as she tried again to heave her lance free. "Leave him alone...!" she hissed, forcing all of her strength into tugging her lance back into her use. It didn't work. "I'm making her bleed, nice and slowly. Then, I'll rip her to pieces!"

Amelia started to scream right into Rei's ear, hoping the sudden noise would throw him off-balance and create enough of an opening to move when she completely stopped, eyes wide. Like a child's game, 'cracking' your fingers against a friend's scalp and trickling them down to imitate a smashing egg, a comforting warmth centered at her scalp spread slowly across her body, all the way down to the arches of her feet. A voice unfamiliar to her, yet completely known, echoed in her thoughts.

"Child of Magvel, the voice of your heart's treasure has broken the stillness...

Listen to his love...

Draw your strength from it.

I bless you with what remnants of Order I possess..."

Amelia was still holding herself in place when her voice left her mind. A smile spread across her face as slowly as the power had flowed into her bones, her muscles, her veins. The energy in her limbs made her fingers itch, and her grip tightened on the spear. The tendrils wrapped around her spear, holding it in place, almost seemed to recoil away from her, trying to get as much distance between her gloved hands and their bodies of elder magic as quickly as possible.

"You forget one thing, demon," Amelia whispered, smiling still. She took in a breath, summoned the new power surging through her, and ripped the spear right out of the spell's grasp, immediately turning and kicking hard at Rei's ankles as the shaft of her spear collided with his side, intending to knock him far away from her. "Rhys is a bishop, and thanks to him... I've got the power I need to beat you!" she screamed. She didn't bother waiting for him to get up, she simply ran at him, readying to slash the spearhead across his face.

"Thank you, Rhys... Ashera," Amelia whispered, grinning.

Amelia grinned. The power was invigorating, a pulsing presence that guided her hand and straightened her aim. She laughed, slowly riding off the initial high of not just taking the lead, but yanking it out from underneath Rei's feet and watching him fall from the shockwave. Her cheerfully mad face slowly shifted to a calm, serious expression, and as Rei fired a Flux spell, Amelia changed her center of balance and leaped to the side. Most of the spheres missed, a few grazing her arm, but one struck clear in the chest, knocking her back a few yards and to the grass.

Even with Ashera's blessing, not to mention her already-lackluster ability to endure magical spells, the spell hurt, and Amelia coughed. She pulled herself back to her feet, a little shaky. She rubbed at her chin, staring at Rei hard. She picked her lance back up, holding it on one hand. "You aren't going to kill me," she said simply before running at him again. She made a motion to plunge the lance into his heart, then rolled to the side, leaping up at his side with the intent to gash deeply into his side, at his ribcage. With any luck, the surprise factor would land her a good hit. Her own chest ached a little now, getting a Flux spell right to the chest.

Amelia took a step away from Rei, panting. Her lungs ached, the Flux still spreading pain through her chest, muffled well by the blessing Ashera had been generous to give her. Thank you, goddess, Amelia thought, smiling. She moved again towards Rei as he began to fall. The gash in his side was enough to stall him; a good strike to the head would be enough to knock him out. Would that be enough to stop him? If it didn't work... Amelia gulped, lifting her arms to swing. She knew what would have to happen.

Before she could bring her arms down and crash her spear into his temple, Rei's eyes were gathering up tears. His expression was his own again, an innocent trepidation that made his voice wobble. "A-Amelia, p-please st-stop. You-You're hurting m-me."

Amelia's eyes widened, a shocked breath sucking in through her teeth. She faltered, hesitated, and the lance slipped out of her hands. Was he back to normal? He was, wasn't he? He had to be! Her side was bleeding and spreading a thick red radius that stained her red shirt, visible only by how clearly her life made the fabric stick to her skin as she fell to her knees next to Rei, the lance forgotten now as she put a hand to his side, over the deep gash. "I-I'm so sorry," she blubbered. "Are you... you're back, and you're hurt..." Amelia looked over to the wall. "Father Renault! Rhys!" she shouted through, trying to spy them through the thrashing tendrils. The magic hasn't worn off yet... "Rei's back! He needs healing!" Amelia tenderly rubbed the tears away from Rei's cheeks, smiling a little. "I'm sorry, I... I couldn't think of a better way to snap you back to normal. You forgive me... right?"

This doesn't seem right. Amelia tried to keep Rei balanced as he pressed his hands to the grass, frowning. His face was still pale; the wound really did look bad. Something's wrong here. Get out of here. Amelia tried to shake off the doubt. Rei was back to normal. He had to be. If he wasn't... Get away from him. Father Renault can heal him. Worry about your own wound.

"Forgive you...?" Amelia looked up, snapped out of her reverie. There wasn't any time to react. "Of course not!" One hand shot out before Amelia could so much as fall backwards. She was scrambling to her feet, ready to run, but the Erebus tome was faster than her, and suddenly her wrists were suspended away from her body, tentacles wrapping tightly around her calves, holding her in a half-sitting, half-fallen position on the ground, propped up only by the magic holding her in place.

"You tried to kill me!" Amelia struggled against the magic, the blessing's power beginning to fade as panic swept through her chest, seizing her lungs and quickening her breath. "And then you lost your only means of defense... how sad." Rei was grabbing her weapon, her fallen weapon. He grabbed it in his hands, clearly awkward with the long spear, but it was easy enough for him to get the sharp end facing her. "I said I was going to kill you, didn't I?"

He intended to kill her with her own weapon.

Amelia let out a weak laugh. You idiot. Never learn, do you... you've let Siegell get the better of you twice now. And now Rei. It's... just as they say. Naive girls ask for hard lessons, and the lesson... is repeated until learned. She shook her head slightly, hair falling into her face as tears began to crawl down her cheeks. I'm sorry...

"...I don't want to believe that," Amelia murmured, though her voice shook, fingers trembling. She was visibly afraid. "I don't want to believe you'll kill me... I know... I know you're in there. I don't know if that was really you earlier. It was... probably fake. But you know me. You... wouldn't kill me."

Amelia lifted her head, and stared him down. The fright was clear in her face, the tears on her skin and the wideness of her eyes, her shaking hands. But her voice was level as she said simply, "So do your worst."

Victoria noted that the tone in Rhys's voice wasn't as fierce as his words. She, however had become quite the master of trash-talking her opponents, due to the many pirates and bandits who took advantage of a war-torn Elibe to plunder things. Picking up their speech was inevitable, and her friend Tristai taught her mercanary speak as well..

"Your heart doesn't seem in it... Rhys..." She smiled slightly. "And also... how long has it been... I wonder..? It feels like forever... and not to mention... I'm almost top shape thanks to this healing me." she looked at the staff, glad it came from Tellius with its user-healing properties.

She stood up, supported by the staff. She had enough spunk in her to mock Rei as well. "Idiotic user of Ancient Magic!" she yelled, although weakened, it was still very fierce. "You know... I've always hated your kind... because you're all the same. Weak! You let the darkness take you over thinking it will make you stronger, when really... it consumes you! Your very mind and soul is lost because you're too faint-hearted to stand up to your own so called gift! What a coward!"

Shortly after, the woman found herself kneeling again, but she didn't lie down like before. The staff continued to heal her.

Oujay looked at the two different bishops as they were yelling mocks at Rei. "Is that really going to work?" he thought as he looked back at the barrier.
He had a feeling that is might reach the real Rei instead of the one that's doing all this destruction. Buy Oujay had doubts. "Maybe it's going to fail," he thought as his hands tightened. "Let's hope it doesn't."
He heard Amelia's Spear drop onto the ground. He had a bad feeling about this. "Did she drop her spear?" he asked himself. Next, he heard a thump onto the ground like it was a body.
Suddenly the barrier dissipated and it was only Amelia lying on the ground with her spear onto the floor too. He was wondering where was Rei, but he started running towards Amelia.

Rhys was first to arrive by Amelia's side. Still alive... no Rei? What happened?

He cursed the fact that he'd lacked the foresight to bring a healing staff. Or any healing potions or what-have-you, for that matter... wait! No! There was something that noble had given him... a vulnerary! In all the ensuing fuss, he'd attached it to his bluish rope-belt.

Unattaching it, he said, "Where are you hurt?"