Welcome to Gaia! ::

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▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫-"If you have hope then you never need to fear anything."-▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪
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Rikkaetheon nodded as Liliana asked him to tend to Lord Krayth. He assumed it was the one closest to her. However he didn't move just yet. The green lady had mentioned her lord. She mentioned a 'they' and she also mentioned rebuilding the world. Could she work for one of the gods of this world? Doubtful, even an evil deity wouldn't do things in such a crude manner. Still, she could believe that she worked for one. Which one was the dark soul, Grits, or Grix was it? One of his follows could be behind this. "Liliana, I believe we may be dealing with a zealot, or a cult, or something far far worse." He said as he waited for the one known as Krayth to request assistance. He did not know the man, so he was uncomfortable just walking up and healing him while he still seemed completely capable. It was also interesting to Rikkaetheon that this may have all been orchestrated by a deity or cult. Religion had a funny way of always making those that followed it appear good to themselves and those that followed it.


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The Anima was through listening to Ivy's words. She would offer no answers while she lived. His pulsing violet-orange eyes looked back to Liliana. Out to Tombz; to the priest who had just arrived. To the people -his people- that slowly gathered in a circle around them. The battle still raged in a few areas, but Lord Valdiir knew his followers to be capable and that the death of their mistress would break Ivy's soldiers' morale. He was not worried about them, nor for the life that was whittling away in his veins. His people were watching. It was time for judgement.

Ivy wouldn't have the opportunity to scream. Beyruun knew its brother's wishes immediately, and its inky black substance rushed over the Plague General's mouth. Even if she had taken a deep breath, it would not matter.

"The time for words is over!"

The Lord of The Devil's Eye snarled as he brought both of his hands down on Ivy's head. Beyruun yielded to his touch instantly, and his fingers wormed their way into his Exodus' onyx material and his hated foe's hair. He could feel Beyruun panting; giggling with happiness. It was time to feed! Before the abyssal black matter closed in around Ivy's ears, Krayth took the time to lean into her and utter one damning phrase.

"Your soul will hide no secrets from me."

Beyruun contracted in ecstasy. Krayth's hands flexed with force as his arms grew taut from the effort of raising Ivy from her knees, to her feet... until those limbs that dared invade his lands no longer touched the ground. While the venom inside him spread ever further, The Anima howled his verdict.

"Death is all that awaits our enemies! People of the Devil's Eye, here is your justice!"

Beyruun ceased its restraint. Krayth willed his darker half to do what came naturally. His Exodus' material pushed into Ivy's eyes, nose, ears and mouth without regard for her comfort or health. The pain she would feel would be immense. Her eyes would pop from Beyruun's knife-like fingers; her mouth would fill with is hungry ichor, and her ears would burst from the invasion of its reach. It would have been enough to drive a confession from her, if she had the power to speak. That time had passed. Now came her execution.

As he held her there, hanging from his hands as Beyruun forced its way into her brain, all would see Krayth's violent decree. Even if it was in the name of Justice, it was violent, and it was monstrous. Many looked away, but even more refused to. Those men and women whose hearts were still as fierce as the tribes relished in this act of revenge. Some cheers sprang out among the crowd.

"Praise the son of Salathiss! The blood of the wicked will water Her Desert!"

Krayth was blind to the world around him. His entire being was focused on the task at hand; on his beloved Beyruun's happiness. Whether the others sought to stop him then wouldn't matter. Ivy would die, and the Lord Valdiir would take her soul... and from her soul he would take her memories... and from her memories he would seize the truth.

Then, the hands responsible for this puppet show would pay. Every finger would break. Every nail would be removed. No place would be safe for The Plague Lord and his Generals.

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▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫-"If you have hope then you never need to fear anything."-▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪
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"Not like this." Rikkaetheon muttered to nobody but himself. As the attack was happening he focused more energy than he ever had before into his hands. They lit up like two bright golden lights, as it spread all the way to his elbows. He ran up to the green woman and released it, all of it, as he touched her. He shielded her, healed her, and finally cured her. If the cure killed her, she would at least die peacefully. Killing an opponent who was outnumbered and for all purposes subdued was not the way. If they were going to kill her now, it should at least be because of an impromptu trial. "This is savagery. You are no better than her if you kill her like this." He said as he put himself between his allies and the woman. "I wont allow needless slaughter no matter who's being killed." He added as he gripped his staff tightly. "You'll honor my wishes if you want to be rid of that poison anytime soon." He added speaking towards the one known as Krayth.


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It took more than a moment for The Anima to realize what had transpired. The breaking of Ivy's mind; the beautiful sanguine eruption of her blood down her neck as her Death Mask collapsed her cranium. Then, as he could feel Beyruun's eager drinking of The Plague General's soul, he also felt a detachment - a force attempting to separate him from his Exodus, and from Ivy.

The priest Liliana had brought to help was... was it even possible? The man had just been speaking on torture -keeping the witch alive as long as they needed, and now he attempted to both spare Ivy from her fate and her executioner. Beyruun screamed with frustration and alarm as it was deprived of The Plague General's life essence and it felt a force attempt to remove Krayth's hands from its innards.

Despite the priest's convictions, the barrier was not strong enough to hold back Lord Valdiir's strength of will and rage. With a roar of fury in both anger and pain as the poison inside him began to burn at the fiber of his being, Krayth's arms shattered the barrier. His grip on Ivy remained, and though the sudden swell of fire in his insides kept him from holding the Plague General aloft for all to see he did not relinquish his grip as she slammed into the ground. She was barely alive... and alive was not the word for her state of being. Beyruun had been sure to exact a fearsome toll, and his Exodus' knife-like protrusions into Ivy's cerebrum remained.

As Krayth rested on one knee, Ivy's limp frame hung over his leg and obsidian encased face connected to his hands, The Anima attempted to draw breath. All around them, there were now shouts of anger and surprise. While some of Triwind's people found their Lord's display gruesome, none would abide the intervention of a stranger. This was The Devil's Eye Desert, a land whose violent and oppressive history could not be compared to the other nations of the world. For the first time in centuries, and because of their new Lord and Lady, all of the tribes and peoples of the Desert were free. For once it was the blood of their enemies being shed, and not that of their kin. Two men were quick enough to anger to pick up stones and hurtle them at the priest. If the Holy Man thought himself in the right, the people of The Desert would quickly prove him wrong.

"SHE KILLED MY BROTHER, HEIFER! HOW DARE YOU!"

The score of townsfolk who had gathered were furious -those who were not were unheard amongst the storm of outrage. As their Lord sank further towards the ground, it became deadly clear that if things kept on the way they were there would be an uprising. Not against their Lord, but the interloper who wished to stay his hand.

In Krayth's mouth lingered only silence and shallow breath. The pain wasn't much -it was the surprise of its arrival that had caused him to sink so low- but the fire of the poison smoldering in him was a reminder of his mortality, and the promise he had made.

My soul I offer to The Black. My mortal light is given to The Dark. Revenge is all that drives my heart. Damnation, naught a thing I fear... give me endless Night, to walk in shadow among the day...

The priest would truly let him die, for killing a harlot who would murder women and children? Would he die here, surrounded by his people, because of one man's self-righteousness? The thought of Azur's eyeless head, staring back at him cast in flame...

No. The Anima looked up at the priest, and without anger or pride in his eyes Krayth's mind touched Beyruun. What had once interrupted its harvest no longer remained. Those razor tongues within Ivy's head wagged with abandon, shredding whatever hope she had of survival. As she would lay there, twitching in Krayth's arms in her death throes, The Anima spoke to the priest firmly, but his focus was on fighting the growing pain inside of him.

"This is a land of savagery, priest, and your convictions will not change that... these people will not suffer any longer, not even for a moment, and no mercy will be shown to their enemies."

He did not attempt to justify his actions, or plead for the priest's help. The Anima knew what he was, and would not ask a Holy Man to spare him any mercy he did not deserve... he only hoped that the man would see the way of these lands, and that every trial here convened and adjourned with the spilling of blood.

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▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫-"If you have hope then you never need to fear anything."-▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪▫▪
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Rikkaetheon used his staff to deflect a rock, and caught the other in the shoulder with a thud. It hurt, but the distraction of the chaos that had issued forth was keeping him occupied. He spoke first to Krayth, someone who clearly had long ago been lost to the light. "Even the most evil of creatures deserves a chance to redeem themselves before death." He paused for a moment contemplating how this would go over with Liliana she spoke. He had no real answer for her. How could he describe a feeling that he had. "Fair cause? One does not need a reason to revere life. If she must die, let me for her first. Everyone deserves a chance to walk in the light." He stopped again, thinking it over before he spoke once more. "You cannot beget slaughter with more slaughter. You cannot kill simply for revenge." He spoke as he focused his energy. He put all of it into his free hand as he gripped his staff. "I cannot let you die. You did only what you know." He said as he focused placed his left hand on Krayth's shoulder. Releasing the energy as he did so. "Light purify. Light cleanse. Light give you back your strength." He muttered as he paced within the fire wall. Unsure what would happen to him when Liliana had him alone.


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