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 Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:52 am
Morphs continued to fight the captives and the reinforcements. When the petals touched them, they continued march and attacked. It was unsure if these petals affected them or not. They had no emotions. No conscious and common sense of what this magic could do. Their order was to eliminate them. They were the mindless soldiers of Mika.
When the petals disappeared, they continued with the assaults. Melee soldiers marched and attacked those who crossed their path. Archers were hidden behind the thickets and trees as they launched their attacks on the enemies. Shamans and mages muttered their spells before throwing their attacks to them.
Suddenly, invisible flowers entered their bodies. It made them stronger. It made them faster. Yet, these morphs did not know. They could not tell the difference that they had the upper advantage over the enemies. Their order was still the same: eliminate.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:53 am
"Deflect it!? Yeah, sure," Rhys shouted, trying to raise himself up out of the sticky dark goop despite the sudden burning sensation coursing through his vains. "Easy as pie! All we have to do is just FIND HER IN THE DARKNESS WHEN SHE CAN DO MAGIC LIKE THIS! Grr..."
Monsters appeared to be rising up out of the muck around them. Some of them looked similar to ones Amelia had described... the ones with the large eyeball-shaped things on top had to be Mogalls, whereas the ones with wings and lances were most likely gargoyles.
He thought for a second about pulling out Nosferatu, his "heavy artillery", but... this magic pulled the life force out of enemies. What was the life force of these monsters? Was it safe to use against them? Morphs might be okay, but these... they were made of the same poison that now seemed to affect everybody. It didn't seem like such a good idea.
He therefore opted instead for Shine. "Okay then. The longer she's out there, the less chance we've got! We can't stay on the defensive, so let's move forward and smoke her out!"
Shine was... surprisingly effective against the dark monsters. Perhaps it was because they WERE darkness themselves, but it seemed as though the moment Shine struck the bodies of monsters, they dissipated into the black goop from whence they came. On top of that, said sticky goop slid away wherever the Shine touched. Maybe this isn't all that bad... he thought as the goop fell away from his body, unable to stand Shine light.
"Okay. Can you keep the morphs off my back?" Rhys asked of Isadora. "I can handle the monsters, but it's going to take some work to find Evelyn in all this magic."
"FREAKING. DARK USERS."
Jin cursed all Dark magicians and their ilk as he tried keeping the monsters off, trying to escape back to healers and safety. This Assassin business wasn't going to work well with all the magic flying around. Not if there was a spell that could cover EVERYTHING at once.
Worse yet, his mobility was hindered by both poison and goop... being only a Priest, he couldn't so easily get it off, and he couldn't pull off more acrobatic stunts.
At least the archers were nice game... like before, the thickets and trees weren't the safest place for long morphs, and strength-enhancing magic didn't help much against a sharp blade. But it was getting more difficult... all this moving around was starting to wear him down.
He stumbled out of a thicket and found himself...
...In another thicket. Terrific.
He was poisoned, and lost. Not to mention surrounded by monsters, who didn't fall so easily to knives. Sticky magical constructs just had the annoying tendency to draw more darkness from the ground.
Well. If I can't find the way back...
He turned in what looked like another thicket.
Somewhere over there... I heard a voice. Soon as she said it, the monsters rose up, too. ...Hmm...
Ducking and dodging around the monsters, Jin ran for the towards the thicket. It was still a long ways off, but if he couldn't find the way to safety, and the magic user was(?) right there, might as well try for the head honcho. He couldn't risk her letting loose with another shot like that!
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:46 am
"Coming!" Isadora shouted as she charged her horse to Rhys. Though it was dark for the paladin to see, she was able to see the light flickered in the dark. It must be Rhys' magic. It was hard for Tuomas to head toward Rhys. Not with this spell placed on them. Although she could feel the poison spreading through her body and the movement was slower, she would rather take this spell than the one Evelyn placed before. Less damage and painful.
Slashing the morphs with her spear, she rounded her horse around Rhys giving him protection from the enemies. This should gave Rhys some time to cast his spell.
As she was busy hacking the enemies away, she noticed a figure in the back where Lance and the others were. The figure was in white robe with yellow hair. Victoria! Good! Another light user!
"Victoria! We need your assistance!" Isadora shouted before ramming her shield into the morph's face. It may not cause a damage, but it would sure leave a mark on the face. "We need Recover from this poison! In addition, your strength to cast the dark magic away!"
Although they would be able to deduce the enemies and had found a away to counter the darkness, Rhys was right about one thing. They needed to find Evelyn. It was the only way they would be able to stop her sick-twisted magic on them. But where was she hiding?
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:15 pm
"Get next to me." Victoria told Isadora. "You and anyone else that's affected by the poison... I'll need to cast the Restore spell." The blonde bishop was lucky that she'd been healing the Watch and Guard members earlier today that had been injured from their previous uprising. As such, she was more prepared for healing than ever. Restore, Recover, Fortify. Three very good staves to have in this situation.
Calling up the Restore spell, she watched the garnet gem work its fascinating magic, and a green light surround those afflicted with poison. The slowing darkness too met its match against the Restore.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:21 pm
As soon as he sensed another disturbance in the atmosphere, Soren broke off his own spell, the glow fading from his body. He shook the reins in an order for his rouncey to pull back. The horse turned, trotting away, glad to put some distance between itself and the chaos.
They stopped not too far away and the rouncey turned about again. The horse continued to fidget, for it had felt a terrible foreboding.
"Pitch. Neziat."
The rouncey heard and obeyed, calming down. Pitch focused its eyes on the scene before it and tried to hang to the rider's command.
Soren lifted his head as the sky descended upon them. He tightened around him an article of clothing that had not been with him when he last left — a white fabric wrap trimmed in gold, quietly humming with the essence of Order. It would not protect him against everything, but it was still suitable protection. He quickly assessed the current situation and took note of who was where. What struck him, however, was that no one appeared to know where the mastermind of the battle was.
"Pitch. Uopnez."
With a wag of the reins, Pitch was slowly walking forward. The horse was shaking and had its eyes fixed on the falling clouds. The rouncey was not experienced like the coursers and destriers that others had; this was its first time in a battle. Soren would not set high expectations for Pitch for the time being.
Isadora was wise to count on the light users. Soren attempted to raise a wall about himself with the magick of Reason, calling on the manifest Wind spirits to ward off the elder spell that was coating them, but Reason never held well against the disruption that Elder magick devised. As the substance stuck to his clothing and his rouncey's skin, Pitch began to sag beneath him. Soren depended on his wrap to keep him unaffected by the poison for a little while.
It would only last a little while before the poison broke through, though. Soren dismounted.
"Pitch. Usamikieted."
Pitch turned and hurriedly fled the area. Soren hoped to himself the horse would not succumb to poison. After all, as cheap as a rouncey came, they were not that easy to buy. The mage trudged deeper into the battlefield, muttering to himself in the Old Tongue to usher in the spirits that would press away Chizakura. It was no perfect attempt, but it was something.
"Blade form wind style. Magick archive heed."
Another mutter of the Old Tongue called up the Wind spirits that had surrounded him. They morphed into the form of blades, the standard form for Wind magick, and hurled into morphs that had yet to approach him. The incantation seemed to change then, as did the immediate area around Soren. His flowing movements became blunter and stronger. At that, Fire spirits sparked up, fighting off the darkness of Chizakura, and they burned into enemies advancing on the group he was assisting.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:00 pm
There was magic, wind magic. It was blowing away the petals, and Leon could see another on horseback charging ever forward just like he was. Well, maybe it ain't gonna be so bad. I ain't alone at least.
Now was no time for words. The Lieutenant knew what he had to do. He had to defeat them... every last one of them. Getting rid of even one of the "Heroes" and their minions would put the Eyris citizens that much closer to their rightful home. Although his grip was loosened, his slices slower, the black-armored knight continued to fight, now meeting Soren as far as distance in the front lines of the battlefield. Magic and axe combined their strength to continue fighting on. If I fall here, I ain't gonna be nameless at least. I'd be 'membered as on of them brave warriors who gave 'is life protectin' FEF... who're Eyris all th'same.
Sue had to curse the recklessness of the two in the far vanguard of the fighting group. What were they thinking? Taking on more and faster numbers head-on? Reckless! Suicide! Those were the first thoughts that came in her mind when she saw them spear-heading the relentless assault. And yet... the two up front worked so beautifully... maybe, just maybe with more numbers.... "Who ever's able, follow me." Sue instructed briefly, now sheathing her Killing Edge and drawing her trusty Silver Bow, already firing arrows into any morph that dared cross her path. Maybe there was brilliance in this charge. If they were to rush Evelyn's forces, she wouldn't know what hit her.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:01 pm
"You heard Victoria! Anyone who is affected by this spell, get heal!" Isadora shouted to the members. She grabbed Rhys by the arm and pulled him up to sit behind her. She then forced Tuomas to ride toward Victoria as she slashes the morphs away with Rhys casting Shine.
As she approached the female Bishop, she let Rhys slide off from her horse before getting healed. As the cool, calm feeling rushed through her body and her horse, Isadora began to think. This was the second time she had to get healed from Evelyn. Just what was that Dark user doing? If she wanted to kill them, she could have finish them off immediately before the members came. So what was that woman planning?
Just as the morphs were about to advance them, she was flame burst from one side, incinerated the morphs. Looking at the direction of where the flame came from, she saw Soren casting another spell. She nodded her head to Soren. It was good having help along the way.
Not daring to retreat, Isadora put aside her spear and pulled out her silver sword. "Don't give up so easily! We can still beat the morphs. If that spell caster casts more of her spell, no need to worry. We have our Light users to cast the dark out. Not to mention any magic user with healing too. So don't give up! Remember our motto. Together, we RIDE!!!"
Isadora then charged again, striking the morphs with her blows. She could see the magic spells of light and anima along with arrow flew passed her as she rode. They couldn't give up yet. Not while they had a long run. Even though the war was not about to be over, Isadora refused to let their freedom be captured again. It was a fight to live or die.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:44 pm
Soren watched an unfamiliar figure in the corner of his vision, a brown-haired horseman who was cleaving his way through enemy lines with an axe. He could see potential in the man. He saw strength and a knight's resolve, the two characteristics which combined created a most powerful force. He slipped up beside the knight and drew a symbol in the air.
Murmuring more of the Old Tongue, a curiously intricate incantation that his perpetual clearheadedness was able to comprehend, Soren generated orbs of magic floating in front of him. It appeared to be the typical complex of magic that a sage often produced to ward enemies off, but it became much more. As the spirits wove their signatures in and out of the orbs to create the encircled hexagram, the circle suddenly extended into multiple circles, creating a tapering funnel of some sort.
Each circle rotated alternately as though they were segments of this funnel. And then more of these formed around Soren, spreading across a distance, like a wall of sentries, a line of guardians.
Each funnel seemed to click, to twist dramatically before freezing. They all suspended in the air, motionless, glowing the green of Wind magic.
Then they were suddenly firing off invisible projectiles, each segment of each structure wildly spinning at imperceptible speeds, a limitless assault of Wind flying into the enemy, spread over a large area that made it difficult for the morphs to evade. Those who did evade went unscathed, but a great number was caught in the line of fire, and the constant projectiles struck them in numerous areas that forced the morphs to stagger. As the morphs backed up, Soren adjusted the tilt of his structures so that they remained affixed on the enemy cluster. Each projectile had the effect of a whip: with enough strikes, the skin would break and bleed.
To simplify for us roleplayers, Soren turned Wind magic into a chorus of automatic machine guns.
He too was glowing green, lost in a trance as he held his arms out, continually fixing the angle of his magick structures to rain bullets down on the morphs without striking allies. The summoned monsters had been fortunate enough to evade the line of fire (they hadn't advanced close enough for him to catch).
Leon, Isadora, and Sue were open to cut the morphs down as easily as wheat.
But the poison was sinking in. He slowly became aware of a sort of disorientation as the poison managed to seep through the defense his fabric wrap provided, and the bullets began to waver, the structures began to weaken. The morphs caught in the line of fire were still staggering and stumbling, but the assault would not last long.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:10 pm
Leon noticed the spells cast in what was just the blink of an eye. So much happening around him! He hadn't fully understood magic in all his days in the army either. How could the casters mutter the words so fast? Ah, no time for thinkin'. I gotta carve through these creepy morphs 'fore they start movin' at full speed again!
If the Lieutenant knew anything, it's that a person takes an opportunity when given. This was a gift from this mysterious magical rider... and he was taking it generously! First throwing his handaxe and retrieving it, now with much better accuracy than before, and then slicing through morphs' chests like a hot knife through butter, the young man felt even more exhilarated as they all fell to his feet at a now rapid pace.
The tables look like they're turning. "Isadora!" Sue noticed the Paladin join her in the charge, hoping that others too would take advantage of the time the new Soren was buying them. She didn't know who he was though... the nomad didn't recognize him. She did notice his suffering to be signs of being poisoned... "Sir... whomever you are..." the Trooper said. "I'd like it if you visited the Bishop... she'll heal that poison."
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:23 pm
Soren himself began to sag as the poison worked its way through his veins. The fabric wrap was no longer able to fight off the corroding effects. The bullets finally stopped, the magick structures finally collapsed; Soren wiped some of the black substance off of himself, panting, his mind wheeling. But he did not panic. Panic was connected to fear, and fear was an emotion, an effect of psychology.
And the new Soren did not feel emotion.
He turned his eyes as Sue rode up, recommending him to see the Bishop nearby. He recognized Sue as the ally of his older self, someone he had not seen in a while. Still, there was no emotion, and that made him seem all the more like a stranger. He merely nodded with a sort of weariness and began to retreat.
But not without landing another kill. Soren punched his fist out toward morphs and monsters that had begun to surround them. He blurted another incantation, a very simple one with devastating effect. The spirits heard him clearly and channeled themselves into manifestation through his magick strength and clarity. Flame sprouted up, swallowing morph and monster alike with fury, and as the pyres burned Soren dragged himself back to Victoria.
Meanwhile, Pitch the rouncey had fled to a safer part of the trees, shaking the black substance off of its skin.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:34 pm
The tides were turning. The wind had changed. The table had turned against Mika's power. With each attack the morphs recieved, numbers began to dwiddle. Whether it was the pierce of the arrow and magic or the blows of the melee, it seemed this side was about to lose.
Eliminated the captives and enemies. That was their order. There were no sign of retreat. No sign of fear or panic in the stoic faces. Despite the numbers being reduced, the morphs continued to fight.
As the mounted units continued to slay their troops, a small group of thieves and archers crept silently in the forest. Away from the battle where the mounted were, the group sneaked quietly. Making not a sound for the enemies to hear. Not to make themselves visible to the enemies' eyes.
As they reached from the back of battle, they saw those who were in the back. Those who were unable to battle. Thieves moved in silently to strike their attack. Archers strung thier bow, aiming at the Bishop and Sages. The archers released their arrows as thieves sped up.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:45 pm
Victoria noticed movements behind her. It was good that she hung back in the rear, where she could heal and at the same time protect those who couldn't move or fight at all. She opened up her Divine tome, shortly after giving the unfamiliar horseman a nice Restore spell to ease his poison. Well, he was a horseman until his steed retreated. "Sir... they're hiding." she warned.
Shortly after, she lit off the first of probably many of her forged Divine tome. A thief fell out of the tree, singed by the light of it. "Come on... I'm ready for all of you. Elmine's judgment will rain upon you." She said, smiling the whole way through.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:01 pm
Dawn began to break as they battled. However, they could not see the color of the golden ray shined. For darkness of Evelyn's power had cast upon them. As mush as Isadora wished to sleep and rest, she knew she had to wait. There were still morphs around and she needed to find the spell casters. Therefore, her determination, hope, and adrenaline were her energy to stay awake.
It's becoming smaller. Isadora thought as she gave a fatal slash across the morph's chest. How many morphs she had slain? She was unsure. How many did Mika send? Again, she didn't know. However, what she knew was that there was one Hero. And a Hero she had to find.
"Come out, Evelyn!" Isadora shouted, giving the mage a good whack of her shield. "Your army of morphs are getting smaller! It won't be long until you are outnumbered!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 5:49 pm
•I bear the seed of ruin…
•A golden age turned to stone… вєαѕтмιѕтяєѕѕ
єѴєℓYη
Sometimes I wonder why they need me at all! … For this, a tragic journey•
… A vision of a dying embrace• Evelyn groaned as she buried her face into Triumph’s soft mane of fur. Despite the creature having not been under her watchful eyes the past couple hundred years the fur was surprisingly well kept. It also probably helped that the girl had been brushing it regularly since they had been reunited. After all, when you have to sit on a monster for a good portion of time, making sure the monster had better than average hygiene was important. “Triumph, these people are all a bunch of meanies,” the tired girl mumbled into his fur. Evelyn was tired both from battle and a lack of sleep, and it didn’t help that at the rate things were going she missed breakfast. “And I was looking forward to breakfast made by Kyros…”
Raising her head up, she yawned and stretched in an effort to chase away the fatigue. Her first battle in years and she couldn’t even win it with ease. Plus the people she was fighting were all cheap little bastards, with the way they were teaming up on her. Even so, she still had numerous options available to her. The one that stuck out in her head most though she refused to use. It was her secret weapon; something that had the power to make them all tremble in fear as the creature snapped them up. The teal haired girl would save it for later; she was in no mood to summon such a large beast after all the spells she had let loose on the guild members. The second most viable option was to call for help somehow. If worse came to worse as it quickly was, the Beastmistress wanted to make sure she at least got out of things alive even if she lost the battle. She had to live to fight another day after all.
“Triumph, I’m s—“ The Gwyllgi growled cutting the girl off. Being the creature he was, he was much better than any horse and had senses stronger than any human to back that fact up. There was something, or someone, lurking nearby and they had just made the fatal mistake of letting Triumph smell them before they had a chance to strike. With Triumph by Evelyn’s side it didn’t matter if an enemy stood downwind or any fancy stuff like that, to avoid notice, Triumph would still realize their existence. “Who’s there? Well? Show yourself, urchin,” the teal haired girl hissed in the direction Triumph was growling.
Evelyn was starting to get slightly irked by all this madness. She had severely underestimated these people and was now paying for her miscalculation. Even though she was now alert to a potential attacker nearby, she was not at all worried about him scoring a hit on her. Triumph kept her well guarded after all, allowing her to cast magic and almost never have to worry about being injured while she was distracted. It also helped that the monster was one of the fastest in existence, easily out running any creature a human could get their hands on, and putting any laguz to shame.
While she waited for the person to reveal themselves, Evelyn decided to work a little magic to call for more reinforcements and set up a potential escape plan. Her right hand clenched into a tight fist as words of an ancient language poured rapidly from her lips. A few sparks surrounded her fist for a moment before vanishing. When the small light show ended, Evelyn parted her closed fingers allowing her fist to open and revealing the creature now perched in it to the world. Seated rather comfortably on her now open had was what appeared to be a small dove, but it was a dove unlike the ones found naturally. This bird was a creation of magic; elder magic to be specific. The animal was an almost pure black in color, black that was marred by the occasional swirl of purple that betrayed its origin. “Take flight, my dear,” Evelyn said to the bird as she kissed it on the head before it quickly darted away at a startling speed. The creature would travel back to the mansion and inform her comrades of the condition of battle. And with that information passed to them, they would send aid, and the tide of battle would once again turn.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:13 pm
Soren nodded to the bishop who had alleviated his condition. He stood away from her, shaking the substance off of his fabric wrap, hoping its guardian effects would remain untainted. He then nodded again as he was warned about morphs in hiding, for he had suspected as much would have happened. The signature of the morphs was a strong stench. So it was hard to miss when morphs crept around to the rear, disrupting his nearly nonexistent aura at that region.
Soren turned around and saw a thief struck from his tree. Determining that the units that had been dispatched from this area were mainly indirect attackers and fleet-footed morphs, he quickly decided on a form of magic that would easily subdue them. His time at the rear would be quick; the front lines were in a greater need of magic on the offensive.
Logic dictated the kind of magic that outdid any thief's agility.
"Iranimak."
The spirits of Thunder screamed triumphantly as bolts fired down, striking a few approaching thieves. He swept his arm out and the jolt of lightning followed his movement in an arc that struck and subdued some of the archers.
Soren quickly slipped back to the frontlines, entrusting the task of defending the rear to Victoria and other such support.
When he approached the combatants up ahead, he had already prepared a spell. It seemed to be the same rapid fire Wind spell as before, as he had already weaved out the encircled hexagram and extending it into a tapering barrel (of a gun). But this time there was only one such structure. He held it suspended in the air, its segments rotating as before, and he began to back away. The more he backed up, the larger the circles became.
When Soren backed up enough, the structure had become enormous.
Countless wind spirits had flown into the structure and it glowed brilliantly, thrumming with the power of perhaps a hurricane. It resonated so significantly that he could feel it within his chest, amplifying the thudding of his heart against his ribs. He, the caster, glowed so brightly that he was blinded by the presence of the spirits. All he could see was a complex world of spirituality and space...
...Until one word fired off that structure.
A great boom resounded throughout the battlefield. Soren flew back as the structure shattered and he fell flat on his back, breathing harshly, while a massive invisible projectile hurtled into the morph and monster ranks.
It had the effect of a cannonball.
Suddenly a line of morphs and monsters had been flattened: the one that took the blow directly was dead and crushed, while its flying corpse had flown into those behind it, and those had fallen back against those behind, and so on and so on.
Soren lay still on the ground, supine but alive, drained of energy. Emotionlessly.
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