What did he hope to find here? There was no miracle lying among the rubble. The only thing here that could stop chaos was himself and his weapon. Nothing more.
Erytheia's amber eyes looked down at the golden incense burner in his hand. Its form was like a gilded bird cage held by a delicate, but weak chain. This was supposed to be enough. This was all he was supposed to need. The rest was supposed to come from him.
He held on to it tenderly as he looked into the distance at the heart of the battle. It was time. But what would the page do?
"Grab the body. Close ranks."
The voice was familiar and was enough to jolt him from his thoughts and indecision. It was Hverlgelmir!
The page remembered the knight of Cosmos from the first meeting of fellow knights he had been to on Olympus. It seemed so far away now, but it had made an impression on him. There were others out there that were willing to help. He was not so alone in this fight.
He ran as fast as he could to Hvergerlmir's side, but it was what he saw when he got there that stopped him in his tracks.
It was Scholomance. His body seemingly dead with its starseed removed and in the hands of another!
"Scholomance!" He yelled feebly as he felt like a shard of ice hit his heart. This was someone he knew. He touched the signet ring with the update that the knight of Saturn had made and installed for him. Erytheia need not check the meter that lined the inside of the ring. He could feel his heart in his chest. He didn't need to check the display to know his heart was racing.
Sheer desperation was in his voice now and, by the way he now held his weapon, there was a new determination, but also, fear.
"Hvergelmir!... What's happening to him!?"
HP: 120/120 PER: 7 DEF: 2 DMG: - Effects: Answering Hvergelmir's call with PER
Order's ranks had managed to recover Scholomance's fallen body. Against Hvergelmir's fears, they'd done it -- and while Hy-Brasil, Tortuga, and Ptomely began to carry the body back and attempt to repair to some safer ground inside the storefront, Hvergelmir raced to put herself between them and the agents that weren't already upon them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of them (Hy-Brasil) break away from the group -- but before Hvergelmir could attempt to encourage her to fall back in line, another page rushed up to Hvergelmir's side -- a fellow Cosmos knight.
Hvergelmir was tense as she reached her appointed destination, trying to aid their retreat even as Cinnabar cast a group of youma out among them. "His starseed's been taken out," she hurried to explain. "Stay with the body, get it somewhere protected and safe as fast as you can, then we can negotiate for his starseed! Go -- I'll handle things here."
Hvergelmir had to hope Erytheia trusted her word, and wasn't aware that her oath left her vulnerable as a lone defender. Still, if her magic was as potent as it had always been, it would likely make her hard to target -- it was difficult for anyone to fight blind.
All she needed to do was slow people down enough to de-escalate the combat situation and convince the Negaverse to negotiate with her -- hopefully that meant very little fighting would be involved.
Hvergelmir didn't look back to see if Erytheia had gone. She reached out a hand and drew her tall, golden distaff out of the air, its bright antlers reaching high up toward the sky. Her second hand reached up to pull down the spindle hooked to it, and she let the thread lead until she had the spindle hanging properly. Then -- with the magic her Wonder had given her -- she lit what she had come to think of as the rising star.
It was hard to hear the sudden, splitting crack of sound in the air on such a contentious, writhing battlefield, and harder still to smell the sudden rainwater scent of ozone -- but the sudden, sparkling burst of light was immediate and dominant: bursting outward from Hvergelmir's staff and her skin, sending searingly bright white light in all directions -- and huge pillar of light climbing high, high in the air like a spotlight, likely visible even from farther away where she'd left Kerberos to deal with his attacker.
Quote:
Hvergelmir spins out thread from her distaff onto her spindle; light sparks up from the thread of her weapon and begins to cover her, illuminating her like a small, bright star, capable of projecting a single, bright beacon of light into the air. This is useful as a defense mechanism -- looking directly at her becomes nearly impossible, and can cause temporary blindness if you try to keep doing it for more than a few moments -- and at this stage, the light is also focused and powerful enough to shine a beacon high into the air that serves as a useful distress signal to nearby/non-powered-up allies. The effect lasts for up to 45 seconds total per battle, or as long as Hvergelmir can maintain focus, keep spinning her thread, and channel her magic. The easiest way stop the spell is to disrupt Hvergelmir from spinning her thread.
HP: 200 / 200 DMG: N/A PER: N/A Effects: This is Area of Effect magic. Your character will not take any damage, but they will operate at Accuracy -3 for the duration of the spell, due to severely reduced visibility.
"Kill her," Chrysocolla called towards Ceraskia and Cinnabar, stepping back as Hy-Brasil barreled towards them -- but they still had Scholomance's body -- she'd made the wrong decision, maybe, with her magic. Or maybe she wouldn't have been able to fix it, regardless, but she was doing her best --
the sky flared horrible-bright and she winced, cowered back, an arm over her eyes - "He's ours," she snarled, not at anyone or anything in particular. "He lied, he's ours, we keep our own." Her magic bubbled under her skin, bright, searing, wanting out - and she incanted it again, pulling back her arm and throwing, waiting for it to sink into Ptolomaeus' fuku and to twist his wants to anger. One less helpful figure - one more stray sheep to steal away.
HP: 193 / 210 DMG: N/A Effects: N/A ATK: 10 / DEF: 9 NRG: 45/60, carrying two energy orbs (+10) Attacking Ptolomaeus with magic! Accuracy is 5 - 3 + 2, so 4 = hit!
Whimsical Blue
Calling to Cinnabar
Beejoux
Calling to Ceraskia
Kitomyx
Magic affects 1 target and lasts for 2 posts. Effect under spoiler!
If this attack connects, it temporarily reverses the enemy's primary emotion for twenty seconds; i.e., bravery to cowardice. Unlike Warhol Mood Reversal, this attack cannot be shaken off prior to the natural timeout, even if the enemy realizes their emotions have been affected.
Meighei rolled 1 10-sided dice:
9Total: 9 (1-10)
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:01 am
Erytheia of Cosmos
His eyes were wide as his hand covered his mouth. He felt his eyes ready to stream with water as he watched a sight he hoped never to see. He could see the glint of a noble knight's bright seed in the distance so far, far away now. Like a small star across a vast expanse he could not traverse.
He couldn't get to the starseed. Couldn't hold it. Protect it. His instincts as one under Cosmos's protection told him of the starseed's preciousness. It was the soul. Scholomance's soul in crystalline form and it was in cruel, dark hands.
Erytheia yearned to take it back from the brick. From the dark. But he could not.
With pleading eyes and his voice yearning, he spoke once more to Hvergelmir before running to the body it was now his duty to protect without waiting for a reply.
"Please. Don't let them take his starseed."
He could see the knight of Cosmos in the corner of his eye as she shown like a bright star. Perhaps she would be the light that could traverse that dark expanse of chaos and take Scholomance's starseed back. Surely it would take a strong light like the brightest of stars to do that now.
HP: 120/120 PER: 7 DEF: 2 DMG: 9+7=16 PER (on Hvergelmir) Effects: -
Erytheia is giving you some inspiration for what little it is worth.
Strickenized
Protecting Scholomace's body.
Quote:
NOTE: Erytheia is now protecting Scholomance's body so he is in the vicinity of anyone who is also doing so as well as Negaverse agents trying to take it back. (I didn't want to mass quote since this includes just about everyone at this point.)
Meighei
Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
Offline
Kitomyx
Questionable Loiterer
Offline
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:00 pm
Ptolemaeus, DMS of Change
"Ah!" Before he could get a response from Tortuga, Ptolemaeus felt something strike the side of his head hard, loosening his grip from the knight's body on his back and causing it to slip off. He fell forward, once more getting acquainted with the asphalt of the parking lot, his head spinning as he tried to get a mental grip on what had just transpired. Wincing, he attempted to roll over and sit up with a grunt, a wave of dizziness washing over him. He put a hand to his head and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second before opening them wide again. Where was Scholomance?
Looking up, located his assaulter before the knight - a copper-haired agent in spectacles whose energy signature seemed to be about on par in power with his own. Ptolemy couldn't attack or defend in his current situation, but he would take whatever hits he needed to as long as he thought he could last. He could still try to get the body to safety if this man was still the only one who stood in his way. Of course, though, he wasn't for very long.
Before he could make sense of how, there were youma running wild across the vicinity. Calm, calm; he had to stay calm. He couldn't allow panic to overtake him or he wouldn't be able to focus. He had to clear his mind and keep his thoughts on their goals. He was too far and too powerless to get the starseed, so the best option for him right now was to protect the body. First they had to get Scholomance's body somewhere safe. The deserted store beside the Circle K would do for now. If only he could get him there... And then a furious, snarling voice declared possession of the Saturn Knight. Ptolemy jerked around, still on the ground but hovering protectively over the empty vessel, and instinctively threw out his hand with a call on his own magic. "Change of Subject!"
As his net of blue light shot out from the multiple mood rings he wore, however, the Corrupt Eternal senshi's power collided with and disintegrated it on contact. Since the magic of the attack was on par with a super senshi's, his own basic level magic was no match. He tensed as it reached him, unsure of what would happen and hoping to brace himself against it as best he could. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened, though. While he had been fighting to remain controlled up until then through a certain indifference, Chrysocolla's Warhol Mood Refraction dissolved whatever distance from the situation and emotional control he'd built up. It opened the floodgates and everything hit him at once, threatening to drown him under the weight of his own feelings.
His eyes began to blur with tears and he wanted to scream. Raking the fingers of both his hands back through his dark hair, he threw his head back and howled his agony, rage, and despair to the sky for all the world to hear as the primal sound of a feral beast. How could those agents do this to Scholomance?! After all they had already inflicted on the man, all they had stripped him of, they were going to take more?! It would have probably been more merciful to end his life than to have tortured him as they had, both mentally and physically, so much that corruption and a loss of memory might have been welcome for the knight, but even that thought was too much for the Dark Mirror senshi to bear.
Ptolemaeus' whole body began to shake with the intensity of his emotions and he didn't know if he had the strength to get back up on his feet, much less carry Scholomance the rest of the way to the abandoned store space. He could barely keep it together anymore; could barely think.
"I...I can't!" he wailed, involuntary tears streaming down his face as he clawed at his hair, making an immense effort to address the others trying to get the body away from the Negaverse's clutches. Somewhere deeper inside, he was shocked at how difficult it was for him to even form coherent words. "Someone...please! Take him!"
HP: 87 / 100 PER: 10 DEF: 0 DMG: — Effects:Warhol Mood Refraction - Temporarily reverses the enemy's primary emotion for twenty seconds. Round 1 of 2
xSyrie
((Keyite, since he attacked))
xDaekie
((Chrysocolla, since she attacked))
Quote:
((Gonna take a leaf out of Meighei's book and say this post is directed at everyone else in the general vicinity of Scholomance's body without quoting each and every person individually.))
Meighei rolled 1 10-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-10)
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:38 pm
Erytheia of Cosmos
"I can't...Please...Someone take him!"
The man - it looked to him like a member of the Dark Mirror Court - who had been holding Scholomance's body was, quite literally, crying out for help. He watched as the knight's body feel to the ground as the senshi pulled at his own hair. He was being affected by a corrupted senshi's magic and now no one had a hold of prize that everyone so desperately wanted for their own.
"I will protect Scholomance's body for as long as I can. I may not be able to do much on my own. We - we need to find some way to barricade ourselves in."
Now it was his turn to do as Hvergelmir had asked. If only he had more power than that of a mere page.
He began to drag the body as far into the building as best he could, but he would need something to hold off those coming for Scholomance. He needed to form some sort of barricade. Something to buy Hvergelmir some time to negotiate for the knight's starseed.
He only hoped he could hold out even for just a moment. He knew his limitations all too well. He would not last long once it was found out that he was trying to protect Scholmance's body.
He looked at the knight on the ground as he looked for something to shelter him. Scholomance's uniform reminded the page of death. Bones against a dark azure backdrop. Like a long dead corpse in the wastes. If Erytheia couldn't hold the line, there would be nothing left to save.
HP: 120/120 PER: 7 DEF: 2 DMG: 1+7=8 PER (searching the building) Effects: Erytheia is encumbered by trying to move and protect Scholomance! All attempts to hit have +2 accuracy against him.
Searching the building for something to make a barricade to buy time.
Kitomyx
Quote:
NOTE: Erytheia is now protecting Scholomance's body so he is in the vicinity of anyone who is also doing so as well as Negaverse agents trying to take it back. (I didn't want to mass quote since this includes just about everyone at this point.)
Much of Reinerite's focus had been taken up with the purple haired senshi (Hippolyta) in front of her, but it was not enough to distract her from the command that rang out from the blonde-haired General (Schörl) in green.
And whilst she was annoyed with the purple-haired senshi - there were more important things that needed to be done - she had more important things to do.
She summoned her snow globe to hand as she turned with the intention of heading towards where the mass of people seemed to be, hoping that she would find the body there as well and as she did so she caught sight of a red-haired man running in that direction (Tortuga) and swung her arm up with the intention of lobbing her snow globe in his direction.
The snow globe swung out into the air and as it did so a bright white seemed to erupt out from somewhere from said direction, forcing Reinerite to have to look away with a wince.
She was not able to see if it would hit
Quote:
HP: 108 / 120 DMG: 0 damage to Tortuga due to Hver's magic Effects: -3 to magic for the duration of Hver's magic
xParue
Hippolyta is welcome to chase after her <3
Fiction1119
incoming snow globe, but edited due to Hver's magic
Quote:
+ everyone else in vicinity which I think is p. much everyone
Quote:
For my notes: Reinerite ATK: 4 Reinerite DEF: 5
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:49 pm
Ptolemaeus, DMS of Change
Shaking his head, his thoughts still swamped by the density of his emotional impairment, Ptolemy tried to inhale deeply; to get himself back under control, but the lump in his throat and the disruption of his hiccups made it difficult. There was still no damming back up the intensity that had spilled past his mental defenses. He couldn't distance himself from the situation to see it more clearly because every time he tried, his just felt like his face was being shoved deeper into his raw emotions so that he couldn't breathe.
No; no this couldn't last forever, right? It was too strong to stay constant; it had to let up sometime. He just had to wait it out. And then the comforting rationality of these conclusions was overwhelmed once again by feelings. Feelings that this pain could last forever. He just wanted it to stop, why wouldn't it stop?! He was no use to anyone this way. He was just wasting more time trying to wait it out. What use was it waiting? Why did he have to get so wrapped up in these worries and fears and despair that he couldn't even physically move?
Ptolemaeus shut his eyes, put his hands over his ears, and bent double, trying to block out any sensory perception that might have added to his inward struggles. He needed to be able to focus again, and to do that, he had to silence his screaming emotions.
Go away, go away, go away, go away...
HP: 87 / 100 PER: 10 DEF: 0 DMG: — Effects:Warhol Mood Refraction - Temporarily reverses the enemy's primary emotion for twenty seconds. Round 2 of 2
Kitomyx
Questionable Loiterer
Offline
Strickenized
Garbage Cat
Offline
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:09 pm
Meighei
Erytheia
Abandoned storefront
5 PER (pass) In a frantic initial search, nothing stood out amongst the leagues of trash coating the store floor. Behind the counter, several papers and burnt-out pipes lingered. A can of mace sat on the counter, empty. The only primary means of shutting the doors down was, ostensibly, the allen wrench tied to a thread off the end of the door. Inserting the allen wrench through the vertical locking mechanism on the double doors would hold them shut, certainly, though not for a great length of time. Perhaps it would hold long enough to find better resources. (The allen wrench can barricade the door for 1 attack. Afterward, it will snap and the storefront becomes penetrable by the opposition. Teleportation can bypass the door.)
10 PER (fail) ???
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:54 pm
Erytheia of Cosmos
Erytheia barricaded the door with the small bar of metal that was to be his only defense against the first person that decided that they wanted to burst through that door.
The next line of defense, which now seemed not much better than the closed door of the old abandoned building in the derelict storefront, was himself. His weapon. And his body.
Erytheia knew that he must do anything in his power, whatever that might be, to protect starseeds - and that included their hosts. As he looked at the limp form of the knight that he laid, almost as if in repose, on the bare ground behind him, he felt a sense of duty to the man. Someone needed to fight for his body while others fought for his soul.
It was the former he was sent to protect and, as he gripped his insense burner with resolve, he watched patiently, but with much trepidation, what would come through that door.
HP: 120/120 PER: 7 DEF: 2 DMG: - Effects: Erytheia is encumbered by trying to move and protect Scholomance! All attempts to hit have +2 accuracy against him. Item in Use: The allen wrench can barricade the door for 1 attack. Afterward, it will snap and the storefront becomes penetrable by the opposition. Teleportation can bypass the door.
Erytheia is using what he found to barricade the door. Wish him luck.
Quote:
NOTE: Erytheia is now protecting Scholomance's body so he is in the vicinity of anyone who is also doing so as well as Negaverse agents trying to take it back. (I didn't want to mass quote since this includes just about everyone at this point.)
Quote:
NOTE: If you are the first person to try and break down the barricaded door, see the item in use above!
Meighei
Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
Offline
Kolina
Inquisitive Agent
Offline
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 6:31 pm
Hy-Brasil, Squire of Earth HP:193/200 ATTK: 5 DEF: 5 Effects: Effected by Chrysocolla’s magic post 2/2; Activating her Aspect DMG: -- Note: Beej has given me permission to assume the attack hit and sent Cera flying from Cin and Hy since Beej is unable to post.
Contact. Sweet contact. The tiny corrupt found herself air born and shoved away from the location she has retreated to with the half-youma General. It was a satisfying sensation and Hy found herself grinning. She may not much care -why- she was fighting, but she damn well was enjoying herself for the time being. Though, with the corrupt now gone, it meant that she had someone else to take care of.
She spun her incense burner in her hand like an awkward baton as she contemplated what she wanted to do next. Who to attack. There were more than enough around. The General in front of her and the Green one though brought about a rather angry emotion within her. It had something to do with the body and the starseed that Schorl carried, but Hy wasn’t all that much interested in the details.
She was very well aware though that the General Cinnabar had summoned herself some minions. With a grin she dared to taunt the half-youma. “You’re looking a little run down there. Need some friends to help you?”
Before she could do or say anything more, a bright, blinding light enveloped the area. Hy flinched from the sudden brightness. Her night vision was instantly ruined and she had a hard time readjusting. ““The hell is she doing? Is that suppose to help or hurt?!” She cursed as she shifted her stance to try and put the light to her back, but it did little to fix her vision. At the same time, she activated her Aspect in hopes of correcting her lack of visibility.
Whimsical Blue
”Shazari”
mention
Beejoux
Mention and I made note of you being alright with me skipping your post. <3
Well. This was turning into s**t. Cinnabar went flying, Scholomance lost his starseed, Negaverse agents and knights were popping from everywhere, and Scylla was stuck in the middle of a bright, shiny hell with no place to go. This was not the plan. She couldn't protect anyone like this. Order dissolved to Chaos, and...
Why she hadn't just followed Ares into the mirror, sometimes she wondered.
But Ice was laying on the ground, and she had promised him she would be here til the end. So she followed. She would protect the door. Maybe punch a few people if she had the chance. Work out some of her broiling irritation.
Quote:
Original post had there going to be a grapple attempt on 6 characters; I should have asked more questions on how her first and second stage attacks were to be limited when her second attack changed and became limited.
I thought she could use her first level attack as often as she wanted, based on the wording of the power. Tonight it was clarified that she only gets 12 tentacles total for first and/or second level grapples. I used "9" on Cinnabar. So I couldn't go for the 6 character grapple I was rolling for. Whoops.
To avoid any appearance of cheating and grabbing only beneficial targets, Scylla did not use her first stage grapple this round.
Like lungfuls of air after an eternity underwater, Ptolemy's self-control finally seemed to return to him and he immediately used his rationality to contain the torrent of emotions he'd been submerged beneath. A few remaining hiccups still plagued him, but the flow of tears stopped and he could swallow more easily again. Hardening his heart once more, the Dark Mirror looked around and tried to update his read on the situation. The Cosmos Page had successfully taken Scholomance's body into the abandoned structure and he was fairly certain he could sense the eternal senshi from earlier in there with them. At least with her around, he wasn't too concerned about defending what they had.
Now came the harder part - an endeavor he was pretty sure he was in over his head attempting, but he felt obligated to do his best. Last he'd seen of the Saturn Knight's starseed, it had still been in the green general's possession. He hadn't been able to get an answer to the question he'd asked her, either, before everything had gone to s**t. He didn't know how willing she was to negotiate at this point, much less if he was of any value to her in any way. Time to find out.
Pushing himself up off the ground, he forced his legs to start running in the direction he had last witnessed Schörl.
HP: 87 / 100 PER: 10 DEF: 0 DMG: — Effects: —
Ivynian
((Coming to find Schörl and the starseed))
Meighei
((Mention of Erytheia))
Infinities
((Mention of Scylla))
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 8:26 pm
General Cinnabar
It took a force of will to hold onto the struggling youma when the bright beacon went off, the light from that damned cosmos knight flooding the battle field. Even throwing up an arm didn’t save her and Cinnabar was left blinking stars out of her sight, the shapes of the combatants around her little more than blurs.
“God damn it…” She hissed, jerking when the youma lunged. She dragged it closer as she turned to snap at the youma she had released, her fangs bared.
“Go!” She snarled. “Get the b***h that grabbed me!”
They shyed away and then darted for the eternal senshi with the dark wings, darting between people to leap at her as a group. It left Cinnabar to the single one she held and with a predatory motion, she darted her head down to sink her fangs into it. It had time for another shriek before it dissolved, swallowed up by the general.
Her form seemed to… swell as she took it in, and new scales bled down her form, over her broken skin. Her eyes sharpened, but they had a wild note to them, lacking the intelligence of the woman even in the midst of battle. A low, rattling growl rolled from her throat as she bared her fangs.
Youma Absorption - Cinnabar activates her ability by biting into a full youma. This causes them to dissolve into a black, oily cloud that she then swallows. While absorbed, the youma gives her a physical boost, upping her strength, speed and defense. After ten minutes, her body rejects the youma and its regurgitated; slightly drained, but undamaged. This ability comes with a ten minute cool down. While her body is recovering, any attempt to eat another youma will result in getting violently ill as her body rejects the absorption.
RNG: 10/60
With permission, all four youma are going after Scylla for 40 damage this round.
Light and chaos, of smaller, meaner sort. Not enough agents on the field, and snatched so succinctly. The miscalculation was plain, and might cost the prey of the field. Attacking anything, seeing anything, with the brilliance was wasted effort. So was doing nothing at all. Exiting and waiting for rendezvous was no good- it left Cinnabar open and the few lieutenants and Pigeon open to many, many weapons.
But the light was good cover. Barbary pawed, lowered maw. "Unbroken." The beast slunk off in the blinding light.
Then the green general reached out to the rift a final time and pulled up a youma. " Dark Mirror Senshi."
