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Post by Althea on May 25, 2017 23:48:33 GMT -6
Her vision subtly but frustratingly blurred, Althea found herself struggling to pay attention to everything going on around her - she had never been good at multitasking at the best of times, even with the immense amount of practice she had accumulated recently with her energy manipulation form of Mire. Adding to that the minor shock of having used magic that was... frankly well beyond her limits and the temporary neural degeneration that even smaller uses of calculated planar portal creation caused, and the tides of emotion sweeping across her in recent moments, and she wasn't too far from passing out on the spot quite frankly. A threat that the dark mage was acutely aware of but unable to address or ignore.
Althea!
Eris's worried tone snapped her out of her reverie to a limited degree but did little to solve her overall dilemma.
We need to get out of here, NOW. I... can't do that again.
The spirit's voice did sound fainter than usual. Wispier? In the madness of the moment she could hear and feel it in a strange way that she could not quite understand.
I - cannot leave Drei and Aura behind.
Aura had collapsed. Drei was clearly injured, shocked, but... hopefully not fatally wounded. But that was all incidental. Vadis and even his men, aside from possibly Hildebrand, hadn't REALLY been trying to kill them. and still done that much damage.
You CANNOT be stupid enough to try to take this guy on alone. Even by your standards.
She was not strong enough for this. Althea was... aware of that fact. Not proud of it, nor was it an easy admission. But the truth was not named so because it was convenient, and accepting it was rarely all that simple. Nonetheless over the years she had been forced to face a great many things, unfortunate facts of life and loss that she had not wanted to accept, and so this too came naturally. Not pleasantly, but a darkness that was like unto an old friend.
-But she had also learned by now, as she had said to Eris earlier, that... sometimes running away wasn't an option.
Hildebrand had been consumed by her own hatred, a fittingly grotesque end for a grotesque monster. Drei's opponent, the lightning magic user, was gone. There was no chance whatsoever of her being able to actually face Vadis in fair combat, but - Althea did not see an option to the contrary. She could not leave Drei and Aura behind. She could not flee. She could not rely on Eris's shenanigans... and she had a feeling Vadis probably wouldn't want to hear any of the spirit's crappy jokes either. All she COULD do was fight.
So it was all she would do.
"I-" Her breath caught in her throat, Althea's heaving breaths still coming irregularly and with difficulty. She was trying to look the part of invincible mage, but uh, it wasn't exactly a successful effort given her mixture of bedragglement, slight swaying, and heavy breathing. "I won't let you hurt them." Gods above, if she had said 'friends' she would actually have fallen to the point that she would legitimately say something as dumb as 'I fight for my friends' and honestly at that point she would have to welcome the sweet embrace of death as a preferable alternative to living in eternal shame. "And I belong to no one!"
Four of the Nether portals swirled to life behind her, but far more slowly than before as she clenched her fists and tried to concentrate. Althea was not especially, ah, optimistic about killing Vadis but at this point the best she could think of was to try to intercept some of his projectiles and figure things out from there.
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Post by Drei on May 26, 2017 19:21:36 GMT -6
He heard Althea's lovely voice(opposed to the horrid sounds that every other human was making that time)calling out his name. He would've answered but he was currently lacking that important oxygen thing his lungs needed to make words. Instead the warbled panting that exited his lips was about all he could manage. Right . So his vision wasn't supposed to be that split. All four of the feet from his left leg were firmly rooted in the ground at-least. Drei was barely able to comprehend the colossal pressure of the attack that suddenly ruptured pretty much everything in-front of him. He did however feel the reverberations of everything getting obliterated. His fingers tightly gripped at his shin and knee as he knelt hunched over. Though the current of electricity had ceased and no streams continued, he legitimately felt like his body was being hit ceaselessly. His skin screamed with residual agony. He was alive though. That counted for something.
Drei's body shook as the man called off his lapdog and began to speak in faded tones to Althea. He couldn't understand everything. He couldn't actually process it all perfectly. He knew one thing. He didn't like the tone in the other man's voice. Words need not be processed when the tone exuded such raw negative implications. In his stunned state though he was having a hard time. The Shaman's palms gripped tightly. Leaning in and shivering slightly or shuddering as he felt his knee's lock. Ashen strands splayed and draped along his visage like curtains composed from silken veil, golden hues gazing towards the man who was so fixated upon his companion. Drei quietly closed his eyes. Isolating himself from all things. Every facet of life. He inhaled slowly. Exhaled slowly.
He lightly tested himself. Briefly, gaze every present upon the foul elder male. Fingers ever so lightly extending as his magic gathered. Slowly a crewing with currents of the void pulsing to life within his veins. Every aspect of his will singularly unified into attempting to sculpt and mold it. Until moments later he condensed it. Drei extended his palm as he stood up with every ounce of his body. Swiftly twisting his palms into twin poise with one hand lifting upwards, the other hand bending at the elbow with his hand upturned. For a brief moment he mirrored the same pose he'd displayed during the shadow shows with his family. It was taught by his father that the poise helped maximize the flow of magic and the guiding of it from the Nether to the length of the conduit, and out the palms. In actuality Drei learned it was impractical at best and held no basis. A placebo. However he had done such back then simply out of showmanship. Now? Habit. Despite this, the twin orbs that flared to life and hardened moments before sculpted into hardened magic as Drei projected one with abrupt motions of speed.
Like he had with the bone-walkers, and the pirates before, Drei guided the tendril to bind the male. To restrain and snake it around his body with crushing embrace as if caught in the winding grip of a great serpent. The other globe he kept primed with palm crossed over his elbow. Ready to project it and attack any counter strike with his own blast.
He would not go down easily. He would not fall over and play dead, and he most definitely would not surrender in the face of losing a friend.
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Aura
Priest
Posts: 117
Profession: Hereticus Exterminatus
Affinity: Light
Profile: Aura
OoC Alias: Vincent
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Post by Aura on May 27, 2017 18:16:03 GMT -6
"Listen my dear, you listen to Aura's madness and let him continue to paint me as a villain. Don't be in such a hurry to take sides here. I don't even want to hurt anyone. I merely wish to guide August back to his senses and your other here will not have to worry about hurt. I mean to kill him outright!" He smiled beneath the mask and his tone spoke whimsically. He did not think he was in control here, he knew he was.
Aura clutched at his chest, his magic all but spent now as all he could do was watch. He cursed his own weakness and gasped for breaths that brought only more pain. Like an efficient machine the pain caused him to react and the reactions caused him more pain, the agony threatening to be an eternal suffering. His other hand scrapped against the dirt clawing at it until the force made the underside of his nails bleed. He had to rise, he had to fight! He had to do SOMETHING! ANYTHING! But his strength failed him to the last.
The owl masked mage knight tensed as he felt the surging of magic from Drei. He was about to move to intercept, to fight him for himself, when he realized the greater surge building around Vadis. He relaxed and folded his hands, there was nothing to worry about. Vadis used many single cantrip spells to consolidate his strength in focused and simple ways. So long as his own body was strong he could use it to augment his own power and fight with inhuman efficiency. But there was one other ability of his that was key to his victory. A near impenetrable defense.
Single cantrips to call upon magic that he could wield in a passive nature were only important to maintain his defensive method. A use of the Ruin spell to call upon chains that he could command and move freely, ever extending or contracting, grabbing, crushing, or blocking assaults for him. It was nearly flawless in a way only the prepared could combat, and these fools were not prepared. The drawback? He had to remain still to control it.
As Drei's power surged Vadis could feel it. "You idiot!" The tendrils struck out, he meant to bind him! There was irony in this! As the powers moved visibly Vadis brought the chains of nether into a cluster to prevent their assault. Snapping the bindings as they tried to tighten on him. Vadis retaliated as the chains moved and swam in an assault back on the Druid. He meant to latch onto his every limb and neck, to pull him to the earth and keep him there. And to help promote him to stop casting? After the chains lashed out he threw the nether forged knives at Drei's hands and arms. "DO NOT interrupt!" He let the magic dim after this, the focus on the chains broken. If the mark was caught he should be held down. If not, he'd have to settle in for a two on one knock down drag out fight. "SOME PEOPLE!!!" He shouted as he turned back to Althea. "My apologies."
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Post by Althea on May 27, 2017 20:06:21 GMT -6
Paint him as a villain...? Althea wasn't a master of comebacks at the best of times, but in the wake of Vadis's absurd viewpoint she found herself ever further from a response as he continued. It was clear that diplomacy would avail her little here, as the masked madman continued to twist her words into silken lies, spider webs that trapped the truth within. She didn't entiely understand what he was talking about, though much of it was clearly linked to Aura's shady past in apparently turning people into crazy murderers, but it was the parts she did get that really bothered her.
Like that casual mention of how he was going to kill Drei.
...You're not afraid of dying? Terrified, actually.
If she had bene capable of it Althea would have smiled. It was simple truth. She had never been so... blatantly overpowered. Weaker certainly. Drei was stronger than her by and large. But they were at least in a similar plane of existence. This man, this... Vadis, was not.
Then why are you fighting him at all? I have people to protect. He's going to brainwash Aura or worse, and he's going to kill Drei. So you're going to commit suicide by stupidity just to help them? No. For you too. ? Eris, what do you think he's going to do if he finds out you're inside me? ... You see. I have all the reasons I need to fight. Nothing about justice and heroism? I think those are for other people. I'm only going to risk my life for what I believe in.
There was a moment of silence from the spirit. It was unusual for Eris to not say something snarky at this point, but the exapserating spirit seemed to actually be having difficulty with the concept. Althea... couldn't blame her exactly. She wasn't really on board with the whole self-sacrifice thing either. But she simply could not see any other way right now. If nothing else she could hopefully open an avenue for the other two to escape, or... or something. As plans went, this one lacked definition.
I'm sorry, Eris. This is the only way.
More silence.
...Althea, do you trust me?
What kind of question was that?
Let's see. You're a spirit of the Nether who occasionally tries to convince me to kill people, has the attention span and patience of a goldfish, and has a worse sense of humor than Jalid. ... So... sure, why not. It wouldn't be the worst decision I've made today. ...I can't tell if you're joking or not. Eris, you've either been the shittiest evil spirit in history, or a teenage girl stuck in my head. So far you've only done right by me. And you're, uh, about the closest I've ever had to a sister, at least in that we fight a lot. Really feeling the love here Shut up, you asked. But yes. I do. And that's why, if I do die here, at least you'll be free again
No. I'm - Look. Althea. Just..."
Eris trailed off, her voice about the most hesitant and uncertain Althea had ever heard. She actually wasn't sure what to react.
You're right. There... are things worth fighting for. Not many. But I think I finally found one.
Eris's voice was stronger now. More certain. Well, at least she'd been a good psychologist for the evil spirit in her head in her last moments. She could die happily now!
I - I'm going to trust you Althea. So please. Have faith in me. I do.
...How odd. Her own voice sounded a bit stronger there, too. Maybe they had both realized something. Almost made her feel worse that it was all about to end.
...I've been... running away for too long. I - I don't want to make any more mistakes, Althea. I want to do right for once. And this... this is going to change everything. I can't solve the problem this time.
But we can.
What do I need to do?
Take out the stupid book. And... hope I don't screw this up too.
Althea actually did allow herself a small smirk as she retrieved the weighty grimoire from the sack tied around her shoulder, clutching it to her breast protectively. It was AMAZING how Eris could ruin literally ANY moment.
...You're not filling me with a boundless sense of confidence, Eris.
Shut up, I've never tried this before. And... one other thing.
Yes, yes.
...I've... only ever lied to you about one thing, Althea. I swear. There's not enough left of me to remember everything, but I told you almost everything that I did know. I'm... sorry for not telling you the truth earlier, but... I spent my life being used for who I was, and I died for it too. I thought at first that you were going to do the same. But you never did. You never asked me to use my power for you. Not even now. And you were still willing to fight for me for nothing in return. So... don't call me Eris anymore.
...If you say 'The Artist Formerly Known As Eris I swear to-
Ha ha. No, though I'm stealing that for future use. Just... try to relax. Think of happy thoughts. I promise I'll keep you... us... safe, Althea. No matter what.
Then what do you want me to call you?
And in the wake of Vadis's mocking visage, of his attack on Drei, the albino dark mage took a step forwards. Towards Vadis. Towards destiny.
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Post by Drei on May 27, 2017 21:20:53 GMT -6
The moment to Drei, in which the gravity of the situation sank in, wasn't when his tendril was shattered. It wasn't even the point when he felt chains crash into and roughly bind his limbs. The extra one around his neck for good measure? Yeah no that wasn't a problem either. Sure breathing had just gotten alot more interesting, but that wasn't it. Even as the solidified blades of energy from the void puncturing his limbs weren't the breaking point really. In-fact, had he not been the one currently housing four newly acquired murder shadows he might've found it both inspirational and fascinating to attempt and replicate. No. It was when he managed to gaze through struggled visage through messy bangs at Vadis, and see him turning back to Althea that it truly sank in.
His pulse quickened. He could feel it hammering up to his throat. He grit his hands, and condensed the orb still barely clutched within his palm. Lips parted as he struggled to inhale what little he could. Relentlessly trying to preserve every last ounce of energy. At this point he was able to feel his consciousness struggle. Vision briefly flickering as his body kicked into entire fight or flight mode. The Shaman's limbs instantly feeling as if they fell asleep for a few prolonged moments while he started to black out.
--
He couldn't manage it. Every effort. Every attempt to dredge up the memory of his family's faces. Every last time he tried to call up the likeness of his own parents came short. Blank faces with assumed smiles and muted tones. Even his last moments...couldn't be to thoughts of his loved ones. Water welled beneath shut eyes. Staining his cheeks as the shaman tucked his chin to the right. Golden hues sealed behind closed lids slowly drown in a build up as he failed repeatedly to even remember his father's smile. His mothers voice. Her laugh. All lost to him. The absolute futility of his situation several times lesser than that single realization. Wasn't he dead already? Everyone he'd loved. Gone. His entire livelihood cast into the wind. Then, when he'd managed to bond with another. When above all the odds he managed to find some kindred spirit, he found himself hopeless and on the precipice of death with so minute a chance.
What had changed? What had he really been able to accomplish since the deaths of his family? In the futility of it all he felt like he was drowning. Drowning in a sea of darkness. Cast into blackest night with not even the stars to guide his way...
A soft tone spoke. A comforting one. A tone that had reached his hears not moments prior to his current situation even.
A candle whose light is shadow...
Instantly the thought immersed within his mind. The image of Althea within that carriage. Twisting radiant umbra magics pulsating with the same vibrancy of any living thing. Pure condensed energy free of alternate form within her grasp and the faintest of shade dancing with void magics creating soft light. His eyes snapped open and Drei felt his consciousness rush back. As if he'd been hit with several small electrical currents. His fingers extended before curling closed tightly and he felt the hairs on his neck rise. Drei saw that single step. That one single step that Althea made, and he narrowed his gaze. If he couldn't move his arms or legs, he'd use his palms. If he couldn't get his palm to work he'd use his fingers. If his fingers wouldn't work, he'd manipulate it with his mind.
He could feel it. He could feel the tug of the nether upon his mind. He grinned. If only internally. How often had he over done it, and it tried to take his memories? His joys. His thoughts. The headaches. All of it. It plagued him. No more.
Okay then. That's what I'll do. I'll give you a story...
Traces of shadow and fell void essence slipped betwixt pale digits and funneled into a colossal orb. Every last vestige that he could draw upon it. As if addressing the nether, through muted gasps he struggled to bring about every ounce of his mental prowess of power. His body was broken but his mind was strong.
The void. A parasite, eaten with a longing for the powers and lives of others. On love. Memory. Loss. Joy. Sorry. It could take any and all of these.
Come on then. Take mine. Take my joy. Take my memories. But I hope you've got a big appetite...because I've got a lot to give.
Violet hues danced once more and conversed upon the sphere he'd tried to hold. Blood trailed along the punctured wounds of his limbs.
I've felt misery. Such sorrow. My family burned. My home destroyed. My future torn from my fingers. Left alone and helpless. Where I saw no one around. No soul alive...just me! I've lived through much worse. So take it. Take it all!
The second spell he'd prepared instantly flooded with what power he could conjure. Drei tried to shout, but it came out as a muted gasp as he felt the condensed pressure around his neck result in a small trail of crimson to leave his lips and stain his pale flesh as it trickled down his nose and from the left mid section of his mouth. The tendril in his left hand pulsed to life and punched forwards with every ounce he could fuel it with. His body shifted and he gazed to the pale haired girl for a single hanging moment as she moved to Vadis and he tried to make that single moment perfectly still within his mind. Every aspect of it. So often, he'd focused on purging his emotion. Feeling nothing when he cast. Althea had mentioned that she often experienced the opposite. Drei drew on the emotion that stirred so heavily inside him. Desperation. Fear. Anguish. Ferocity welled and determination mixed as he felt his head throb, exploding with agony before the Shaman's palm opened.
The tendril erupted wildly and raced towards Vadis like a multi-woven spear. As it extended it twisted, pivoting on a central stationary axis as he retaliated against his captor. Vadis had manged to protect himself from Drei's first one. It meant he had a way to defend himself. A shield, or a barrier or simply powerful magic. If he could distract him perhaps it would give the snowy haired Althea a chance. Perhaps it wouldn't. At this point, he'd sooner die than see the results of their failure. So he'd fight, with little held back.
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Aura
Priest
Posts: 117
Profession: Hereticus Exterminatus
Affinity: Light
Profile: Aura
OoC Alias: Vincent
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Post by Aura on May 27, 2017 22:06:51 GMT -6
Vadis laughed as Althea took that fateful step. THIS was the behavior that he adored, those that could face agony, pain, loss, suffering, all of it, and yet would not back down from their beliefs, from their goals. "YES! Yes, that is a good look for you my dear. Allow me to gaze upon that visage for but a moment more." Oh, there was no way in the seven hells he would kill her now, she was going to become his new project, she would be someone he would have to shape and mold into his idea. Perhaps he would send that Vincent boy after her, see how he contended and which of them deserved his full focus.
With a clap of his hands he chanted a short spell, his body enveloped into a crimson light. He strengthened his body once again, making him faster, stronger, and tougher. The spell was not a one off strike this time and would last him much longer for this match. "Between you and August I think I'm going to have my hands full." He raised his right hand and called to the nether forming a blade once more but this time it was different than the nether knives. There was a solid blade but where the hilt would be it was in flux and disruptive leaking out between his fingers as though it threatened to explode. Perhaps it was an unperfected spell.
He took one step and was about to charge Althea when the other assaulted him once more. 'The Spare' would seem to be a spare no more. He was bound and deprived of breath and yet he fought on. He called upon such great and terrible strength just with his mind alone. It should be impossible to direct as he was now and yet a mighty spear of the nether was coming for him. "crap!" He had but a moment to react. If he cast a barrier there was no telling how much it would withstand before shattering. It was never his strong suit and to do so he would have to cast away the blade he had JUST made.
"UwaaaaaaHHHHHHHH!!!!!" He shouted as he turned to face the coming force, he blocked it with his own magic struggling to keep from becoming skewered. As the force struck it pushed him back leaving a trail in the dirt where he once stood. One foot, five feet, now fifteen, he was pushed a great distance now. With a careful step he rotated his body away from the blade to let it pass but not without harm. As it did so he was scrapped by the power drawing first blood. All from the one he thought to ignore.
The strike broke his focus and released the magic blade in a harsh eruption that harmed his hand. "Gah! You bastard!" His words were angry but he was far from so as he laughed jubilantly. "Drei was it?" He faced the battered druid. "Rejoice! Rejoice for you have earned your life! But, sleep now as it is not yet your time!"
He put his good hand out before him and chanted yet another spell. It was a much longer one, there were no simple cantrips for it but the powers of Nosferatu surged through the chains still clinging to Drei. It was a slow build up, the method of execution far too complex for its own good. Perhaps it would be stopped, or perhaps Drei would finally be rendered unconscious? Regardless, Vadis could feel his hurts begin to fade. Fascinating man, but a real thorn for his goals. He only wanted August, but then there was the girl, NOW he wants the girl, but then there was Drei. He sure hoped August did not suddenly find a surge of his old strength to get in his way too? No? He was still down? Good.
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Post by Althea on May 28, 2017 17:32:29 GMT -6
"My name..."It was Althea's voice, but if Drei or Aura were paying close enough attention in the din of battle they might notice that it was slightly off. Not simply harder than it usually was. Not angrier, or sadder, or much of anything really. It was just... different, almost atonal, as if ranging across two spectrums of sound simultaneously. She could - dimly feel the limbs. Her limbs? No. Yes. Each finger as they grasped at the flesh of the tome, scraping against the profane bindings of the unfathomable sin that it represented. Each toe as the ground pushed back up against them, gravity against force. Gravity... she held out the tome, almost gently, cradling it between both hands as she concentrated. She had always been good at breaking things. Opening doors that should not be opened. But this... this was opening a door that she would never be able to close. A decision that could not be un-made. Althea would suffer for it if she failed. So she just had to not fail. No pressure or anything. She would have laughed if she was able, the emotions runing through her mind and spirit at high tide. Well. By Althea's standards, maybe. For her it was still miserably muted. She could feel on a basic level, she recognized the fingers and toes and shoulders and pain, but they weren't hers. Not yet. A tiny, almost imperceptible spark, and the great grimoire ripped itself apart, a torrent of pages exploding outward in every - a stream of paper that wrapped back around her, the familiar magic that was once hers responding to her command. THAT was her body. That was her flesh, her blood, her sinew, her spirit, her soul. Not all of it. Not even most of it. But it was her nonetheless, and it was so much more. A page slammed into her from the side, Althea's body jerking as the information poured into her, the paper dissolving into raw data. That was what they had never understood. Magic - was - life. It was information. It was everything. And she was magic. The druid's body continued to jerk as the torrent of paper split itself apart further, page after page detaching from the cyclone of light and growing darkness and battering her as the magic bound within each page struggled to escape the confines of the great trap. With each fragile sheet of paper, memories. Emotions. Sensations. Magic. With every entry - a page, a chapter of her life - the cyclone tinged ever darker, Elder magics seeping from it, caught up in the whirlwind of magic consuming her. She could FEEL each finger now, not just recognize their existence. The oppressive weight of gravity lashing her to this earth. The rising tide of - everything, the hatred and love and anger and happiness and loathing and kindness. A implosion of emotion, what had once made her - her - and so much besides. Strongest still were what had been sealed away in her last moments... the realization of betrayal, the absolute terror, the fear. He had never come for her, he who had never left her before. The one she had trusted above all, the architect of her demise. Those she had trusted, watching. The... the blade- She could feel Althea falling away, into her, a peaceful sleep. It was the only thing she COULD focus on to keep herself in check. Without Althea's calming influence the sheer force of her emotion, the tidal hatred that consumed her - Althea trusted her, it was only in the druid that she had found any measure of control, she couldn't f**k this up again. Not now. Not ever. It was only because of Althea's trust that she even existed at all now, and she clung to that sacred bond as though it was life itself. She could feel EVERYTHING now, the pain, all the pain, the flesh screaming as it threatened to burn away - the reason she had needed Althea to sleep at all, it wasn't right to make her feel that - her hands shaking as magic seethed and shredded within and without. And above it all, as her magic circuits warped and burned and broke and built, the building rage. She held to it as she did to Althea. Not the hatred. Not the fear. Not the pain, or the loathing, the happiness or the sorrow. It was the only thing she could feel that had purpose, that had meaning. All she was in the first place was rage, but this way she could control it... as Althea had taught her. She knew what Althea had locked down so tightly. She had seen and heard everything. The flames, the screams. The memories that were so tightly locked away, amidst her dazed dreams and fitful slumbering as little more than a rider among her host's thoughts. And she knew now that she and Althea were more alike than either of them had ever realized. The pages were almost all gone now, burning to the cinder and ash they had been forged from. The broken dreams and crushed ideals. The death of a peaceful solution to that horrible war... a war that didn't even exist now, because like the dragons who had completed that genocide, her race didn't even exist anymore. She remembered what she had seen drifting amidst the darkness. The... things that had once been her people. The whispers of madness that had claimed them. The hatred that paled in comparison to her own. They thought they knew what emotion was. They thought they knew everything about darkness. About fear. About the power of the Nether. They had forgotten who she was. Who she could have been. Who she... should have been, had she not been so weak. Had she not been so damnably innocent, never seeing what was obvious in retrospect. Her very name, gone forever, a footnote in history that had long since been erased. But she was here now, wasn't she? And she did have a name. She had forgotten everything else, for a long time. According to Althea, for centuries... millennia. Numbers strange and disconcerting. Awakening in a world not her own, where she and her kind did not even exist. But she was here. She was alive. She was real, thanks to Althea. She was... not exactly whole, but close enough to be somewhat of herself again, even if those long years had warped her, and she knew they had. For most of that time, she hadn't had anything but that name, clinging to it as if it was the only proof of her identity, her individuality. Without it she would be nothing. With it, she was something. Some one. Not a monster. Not... quite herself. But close enough. She didn't have to remember everything to remember the important things, and really, she only had to remember one thing at all right now. The cyclone of shadow dissipated in a heartbeat as Althea's ruby eyes speared through Vadis with crushing disdain for the worthless worm before her, this... man-child who played with forces beyond his control. He thought he walked among the gods, but in the end he was only a man, a human. If she had been capable of it she might have pitied him. But not now. There was only the ever building rage, the torrent of fire that coursed through her veins as her body paused in its previously relentless advance. The eye of the tornado. The calm before the storm. There would be no mercy today. Not even with Althea conscious could she hope to hold all of this back, nor did she want to - though the fact that a tiny part of her could actually consider that fact dispassionately was proof that even in sleep Althea still served to hold her together, allowed her some clarity from what consumed her. Helped her be herself again. And she knew, now, who she was. "- Is Ereshkigal." themeThe ruined house next to the slender figure evaporated instantly, as if it were a toy slapped aside by a playing child's hand, wood and nail alike ripped to splinters and disintegrated to nothingness in the same instant. Around her for a good twenty feet the ground pulsed and crumbled, bushes and grass obliterated, leaving only raw earth flattened almost to a complete solid beneath her. It all paled to nothingness compared to the imperial force of her tone, all pretense of Althea vanishing to the four winds from the unrelenting overtones of force, of will, of magic, that pulsed from those words. There was no petty paupery of magically enhanced volume, only the truth that she was magic. Bringing her - Althea's - right hand up before her, she glanced at the open palm faced toward her for a moment, inspecting it for a moment. Then it moved again, sweeping regally to the right, and darkness sprang forth in its path as an oppressive wall of raw magical force smashed in that general direction, dissipating as it went but still strong enough to batter Drei and his restraints alike, though as her arm fell back to her side those restraints evaporated like so much chaff in the wind. The dark magic pulsing from her was another story entirely, a pressure so great that it warped gravity itself directly around her, tides of inky darkness spilling out in every direction. If one had been standing near her it would have been impossible to even stand, though Vadis, Drei, and Aura alike were far enough away to not be forced to kneel before her just yet. She could feel the anger overcoming her again, trying desperately to remember her goal. Althea's anger, too. She was asleep but not entirely unawares. She had some idea. And even with her human counterpart's control, it was... difficult enough to retain herself in the moment. " And you..." Disdain dripped from her words like the blackness seething across her body, crimson rivulets of - something - snaking up Althea's pristine face, branching out like brambles spearing her flesh, coursing across her body like a bloody tide. Tendrils of magic. This was not her body to do with as she pleased, but if she did not reinforce it then the flesh and bone would rip themselves asunder from the stress her magic bore upon them. Her dress dripping black that consumed the white, gold trimming dyed red as she asserted her temporary dominance. She could feel the pain. It was familiar. Almost grounding. She was glad that Althea didn't have to know the sensation; better she suffer alone than the both of them. Bringing both hands up before her, almost eerily similar to how Althea had cast Mire so often before Drei, magic pulsed inwards and outward. But unlike Althea's magic, there was no orb of power between upstretched hands. Instead, the earth cracked and split, rivulets turning into streams into rivers into oceans of writhing shadow, a torrent of inchoate magic that dripped down and rose up all around her, pillars rising into the air around her as more and more of the profane magic gathered. And around her, throughout the village, reality warped and broke, fractures that cracked and shattered into seething tides of black magic as the barrier between reality and the Nether crumbled. Not wholly. She still had enough of herself to remember not to do that. It was better than that village in Lycia that she had met Althea in. More controlled. But she needed mass. Magic. Herself as a conduit was the ideal, but in his body she could not create it all directly. She had to borrow. Over the next few seconds it was as though an entire ocean of dark magic spilled over, corrosive blackness that consumed house and shop and corpse alike, reducing them to their component particles and then less still. All for one goal. One purpose. She would destroy this worm. Remove his sin and all evidence it had ever existed from this world. She didn't really know who Drei and Aura were, but she knew Althea had cared for them, more than the reserved mage had ever let on, more than Althea had realized about herself. She had never actually fought for someone else before. Althea, that was, but she - Ereshkigal - the difference was hard to remember - she didn't have much experience with that either. Right now, it was all Ereshkigal could do to think as the world broke around her and the intoxicating flow of her magic threatened to consume her, to remember her goal. It was simple. Althea wanted him dead, and she wanted him dead. Perfectly aligned. Simple. Easy. She was still but a shadow of herself, but even this would be more than enough for scum like him. But why? Althea didn't... hate people. Well, except for one, but she had pretty good reason for that. Althea always tried to keep her emotions in reserve, but she had been so distraught, so enraged, that even she had lost control. Ereshkigal didn't quite understand why. Aura and Drei were probably very nice people but Althea wouldn't break over a couple of acquaintancnes dying. She was too strong for that. Too controlled. There had to be a better reason. -Are in my way.The words died before they even reached her lips. It was what she should have said. Would have said. But it didn't feel quite right now, and she ill liked to use the wrong wording in matters of state. And besides, she owed it to Althea to say the right thing. Do the right thing. She just didn't know how. All she was good for was breaking things. Breaking people, fortifications... dragons. And running from her problems. That was a big one too. But Althea had showed her that she could be more. That... maybe there was a chance she could be free. Make her own choices, for once, rather than have them made for her. And she owed her everything. ... It was so obvious in retrospect that even through the anger, the rage, the fury that consumed her body and soul, Ereshkigal couldn't help but smile lightly as she languidly gestured at Vadis, and as if boudn by her will, the raging tides of Nether rose and swelled and crested into a massive wall of darkness, a magical tsunami of unrelenting power that was met by another rising on his other side. One alone would have been enough to ruin a castle. But that wasn't enough for this... thing. This insignificant thing that styled himself a god. And now she knew why her anger continued to swell, why she still retained some level of control this time. " ...You hurt Althea." Her opened hand closed into a fist, and all the powers of hell crashed down upon Vadis.
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Post by Drei on May 30, 2017 0:01:29 GMT -6
He was able to see the collision of his spell. Though it faded a moment later, the tendril's mark had managed to be met. Even if it did not inflict a grossly distinct amount of damage it was definitely something. The blades of fell energy that had punctured all four of his limbs seemed to break apart and fail when Drei launched his counter-strike. He couldn't speak, but his lips did slowly crack into a faint grin. He might've smiled more were he not being strangled and suppressed by the strong chains. Were he gifted enough to conjure more than one or two tendrils he might've even been able to break out of the situation. Drei had no such fortuitous timing however in developing such prowess. That sudden strike had likely been his last.
He was slowly slipping into delirium. He wasn't so far gone however that he missed the sudden abnormality. Now, he'd spent a fair amount of time with Althea. A few lengthy conversations, and plenty of times exchanging words to recognize that her voice sounded different. Though...he wasn't in a strong enough state of mind to actually process what was different. She...felt different though. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. His skin crawled. As if every inch was traversed simultaneously by a horde of insects with their small legs. She was clutching her tome. The one she'd had uncertainties about prior, and asked him to hold. Was she planning to draw upon it, or utilize it?
Is Ereshkigal
So. He was out of it sure. Absolutely not in his best frame of mind. But had Althea been struck? A name he'd never heard of and he was fairly certain she was taking that whole "Speaking in tongues" concept to an entirely new level. Judging by the torrents and raw waves pulsating like currents of fell might, he certainly didn't plan on speaking up any complaints.
Drei could barely see even with head pivoted, chains restricting his ability to see all around him while he tried to search Althea's reaction. He had no way to anticipate it, and found the breath swept from his lungs a moment later. A pulse washed over Drei that hit him like a palpable strike. A hardened blow of sorts, that suddenly sent his body sprawling a few feet back as the chains restraining him were scattered like dust into the wind. In a flushed blur of purple and white the shaman tumbled a few times, body nearly limp as he rolled side over side. Rolling until he flopped onto his left side. Each limb was dead weight. Heavy and throbbing with a thump of pain that made it feel as if his heart-beat originated from each leg and arm simultaneously to one another.
His body sank down a bit into the ground. As if he was nestling in, except it wasn't by his doing. He felt a weight wash over him now. Not a crushing intensity, but a weight that certainly convinced him to simply...stay where he was. If he'd even had a choice. The sound of shattering wooden plank and the groan of support beams fell to the din of the entire home being obliterated like such a twig beneath a waterfall. Currents of nature's gale drifting about in response to the rising tides almost forced him to shut his gaze for a moment, against that breeze as he was. He almost saw it with greater clarity when his eyes closed. The image of her burned into his mind. Veins upon her porcelain complexion and soft features somehow...sharper. Dual tone causing him to open his gaze once more as the raw crushing force of the nether itself crashed down upon the man who had sought to negatively impact them. As if he were about to be washed away. Lost to the nether itself for all of time.
As if a tsunami of twisted energy steeped in blackest magicks had been unleashed. Umbra hues writhing betwixt violets and varying shades between. It obscured most of his vision, and Drei almost felt for a moment as if he'd passed out. Gaze unable to register anything beyond the overwhelming shadows that moved before his gaze. In their place, his mind held only the single sight burned within. Crimson hues, laced beneath with those veins. Was he really thinking of Althea?
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Aura
Priest
Posts: 117
Profession: Hereticus Exterminatus
Affinity: Light
Profile: Aura
OoC Alias: Vincent
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Post by Aura on May 31, 2017 21:20:40 GMT -6
What was this? This, this was power! Aura could only watch as his very reality was assailed by the dark nether. It oppressed and felt like it was burning his flesh, drowning out the air he breathed! More and more it continued to grow, unfathomable amounts of dark magic accumulating. What could not be produced from within was being taken from without. All of it, everything that was this village was broken apart at their very nature and transformed into magic. "Althea?" The village was destroyed and decimated by Vadis, but now, it never existed.
The sensation bombarded Aura like waves of darkness from the air. It felt familiar, terrible and painful, but familiar. It was as though he was being enveloped in a cold nothingness with but the faintest of touches reaching out to him from somewhere. Why did this feel familiar? What even was all this? Where did Althea find such power? Even the magic of others was being taken into her own. That was this feeling, it was as though a thin layer around himself was becoming peeled away.
August did it! There was no way else to explain it! He may have failed for himself but he really must have called upon a being of the nether! Vadis felt his face turning wet, streaking his expression of pure joy. Were these tears? They must be, but to think he DID achieve it! "Hahah... AHAHAH.... AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHHH!!!! YES!!! You are BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL! YOU SHINE SO BRIGHT YOU BLOT OUT THE LIGHT!" He lost his composure in its entirety. But even in his joviality he was no fool, he could still feel the killing pressure, he knew what was to come.
"I will claim you! I will FIX August! This world will whither and bleed beneath OUR heels!" He held both arms outstretched before him as a passionate chaplain. As Vadis spoke his minion wanted nothing more to do with this and began to retreat at as quick a pace his legs would allow. It was spectacular but as the nether mounted into unfathomable quantities it was time to act or die.
It was sudden as the waves crashed. He was forced to act quickly in full retreat. It was like walls of nether closing in and all devouring. As he leapt back he lost his footing, forced into an acrobatic display. Under the influence of Strength he was doing quite well to escape. The magic was not complex in its approach, just an unquantifiable amount.
As it crashed into itself Vadis was only able to narrowly avoid the ocean of nether. "Guh!" He was not fast enough for this! He was almost out of the danger area when the way out closed as well! "Dammit!" He swore. He had but a single moment to live or die. "Barrier!!!" The transparent space covered over him shortly before the sea of nothingness surrounded the shield. "Hurk!" It took far too much to sustain this! What power, that could have swallowed him whole.
Cracks were forming in what he had believed to be an impervious shield. Was it feeding the dark power she wielded? Perhaps his staff-work needed work. He had to act fast, and to cover the distance he needed to pump as much magic into his spell as he could! He would give all of it! He focused on the warp incantations, his pendant lighting up like a beacon. The cracks were growing in number and a shard fell apart leaking in the dark energies. They dripped like an ooze onto the ground beside him. He continued to chant in a more hurried and worried tone.
Crrrrcrash!!! A portion of the shielding blew out just as the incantation neared its completion. Like an open hose it crashed in shooting across the area into the other side. There was no time to evade it as it doused Vadis's left arm. No, it did not douse. It devoured! "UAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" There was little time for pain as he was shot out of the danger. Reappearing in a dark and shadowy shroud he collapsed to his knees. Blood ran freely from the now empty space. If he did not act it would kill him. "R-r-ruin!" What he had left was spent, using energy that would shorten his life he covered the wound in formed nether to prevent blood loss.
Aura looked at his enemy and silently cursed the very fact he could escape at all. "You're weak now, Vadis." Aura continued to clutch his chest but seemed to find a slight vigor at the sight of him. Forcing himself to his feet he clenched his fist. "I-I just need one to two hits to break your neck!"
"No-NO! Get back! ALL OF YOU!!!" He had never considered the consequences of receiving such a strike like this. He felt no pain of injury, what was touched was instantly converted after all. But the shock alone threatened to ruin him. And August! He was clearly playing dumb all along! "I get it now! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" August was done with him. "You're throwing me away!" He scooted back from Aura and God herself. "You really are heartless as they say." He laughed coldly and weeping. "I thought I was different... I found you! I WAS YOUR EQUAL!!!"
Aura was now upon Vadis. He was too hurt to harm his enemy, and his enemy too weak to harm him in return. But Vadis seemed to be blaming Aura believing him a trickster of sorts. "If you want to live then run! But you better run fast!" It seemed that he was safe from Althea's rage, but clearly Vadis was not and to leave his proximity would spell more danger.
Vadis managed to stagger to his feet. He stared down August with a cold gaze. "This is open war!" he announced before trying to flee as quickly as he could. He was exhausted and could be run down if any of them were in the shape to do so. For Aura at least, he was unable to end it here. Collapsing yet again he watched Vadis as he began to leave before looking back to the more important people, Althea and Drei.
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Post by Althea on Jun 1, 2017 22:45:35 GMT -6
Ereshkigal simply stood, surveying her domain with sightless eyes as she reveled in the torrent of sensation she had not felt in so long. She had almost forgotten how exquisite the pain could be, the dull aching soreness, the sharp rending agony as her body fought to keep itself together, the vague sense that this mortal's body was so incredibly unsuited to magic compared to her own, even with the alterations needed to keep it in one piece at all from that stunt. The warmth of joy, of vindictive pleasure in another's suffering - as this mortal worm had made Althea suffer, so too did he now, escaping her initial strike but injured. His plans crumbling about him like so much gossamer in the face of a hurricane. It was nothing compared to what she would do to her father if the vengeful spirit ever found that mongrel again, but it was also a sort of... not gentle joy, exactly, but satisfaction, to know that she had helped in repaying his crimes against Althea to some tiny fraction of a degree. Nothing like what he too deserved. But a taste of what she would make him suffer. Until he begged for the release of death, and even then not until he broke completely, a mewling child broken by his own dreams, would she allow him even that mercy.
Aura's actions only drew her attention after the argument began, drawing Ereshkigal's attention back to the subject at hand... the strange albino man who was facing down the worm who called himself a god. Without any knowledge of their relationship it had little meaning to her, aside from the clarity that the two of them were not on the same side Whatever meaningless bullshit they were arguing about seemed to result in Vadis fleeing... with Aura, intentionally or not, blocking her path. Had she been mistaken? Was this creature also arrayed against her? She could feel the anger burning ever brighter, but in Althea's memory struggled to keep herself under control. Striking first... against a possible ally... would be directing her ire on those who did not deserve it. Probably. Maybe. This would be much easier were Althea here to explain things to her, but with the original owner of this corpus temporarily pacified she was left to figure out the puzzle on her own... not her favorite thing to do in the world.
Whether from mercy or uncertainty not even she could tell, but the spirit of magic watched Vadis's retreat for a short time before turning towards Aura, her seething emotions held in check mostly by the structure of Althea's mind but also by her own efforts. Limited perhaps. But it was the best she could do for now. "You." Did she know his name? Nnnnnot a f**k**g clue. "Mortal." Hey, given the circumstances it was about the best she could do, and it WAS technically completely true. "You allowed that... worm," and she spat out the word, "to escape my judgement. Why?" As much easier as it would be if she could just ask Althea or read all of the mage's memories to figure out who the f**k anywhere here was, right now she needed to get a better understanding of whether or not she was supposed to be blowing him up too or not.
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Aura
Priest
Posts: 117
Profession: Hereticus Exterminatus
Affinity: Light
Profile: Aura
OoC Alias: Vincent
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Post by Aura on Jun 1, 2017 23:40:44 GMT -6
Mortal, the word send shivers of pure animalistic fear through Aura. He looked at Althea, but not Althea, what, what could he call her? His mind raced trying to make sense of it all. She was like a scar on reality, a tear of the nether that should not exist, his mind, his very being rejected her, but she was still Althea, he knew that, in his mind and soul. Just gazing at her like this rendered him in a paralyzed state, but he managed to mouth words emptily, before he started again in order to find his voice.
"I... I allowed him to flee because it was over..." He clenched his fists. "I want to kill him! I want to see him dead! He deserves it! I never meant to hinder you!" He looked up at this thing that masqueraded in Althea's body. "There are so many things I still do not know, he hurt you both and so many others!" He had no reason to stop her. "I never stayed your hand though." As Vadis walked away she could have struck him. She could have devoured them both honestly. What could he do to stop it? There was more Althea in there than, whatever this thing was, that had to be who stayed her.
"I don't even understand what is happening! Who I am, what you did to Althea! But LOOK around you!" He gestured to the 'village' or rather the lack thereof. "You saved us all... I have no right to judge you, and if you wished it my life would be forfeit." He just sort of shrugged. A weak motion barely noticeable. "I just... I don't want anyone to kill out of hate and rage. Vadis needs to be exposed to the world! If he dies here?" He trailed off in thought. "If he dies here then the legacy he has built around himself will only continue. By no means should he live, but to kill him now would not fix things." He planted a hand on the dark soot tainted ground. He tried to stand, to stand face to face with this other Althea. There was no more fighting through it heroically this time as he gasped out in a cry of pain and stayed down.
He felt pathetic. His eyes pooled and he screamed in some sort of emotion. "More than anything! I don't want you to kill in rage! Your 'judgement' is your vengeance for hurting you, for hurting Althea! Hate can only make more hate!" He was no priest, at this point he would not dare to make such a claim, but many of the teachings would never leave him. "Killing out of hate is the same as murder! It blackens the soul and leaves you empty. It makes you no better than Vadis, than... ... than August." His voice faltered at that last name. The name that was his own, belonging to the himself he had forgotten. He would not wish this curse of self loathing on Althea, even if she would think nothing of killing Vadis, he would not wish it.
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Post by Drei on Jun 2, 2017 18:14:06 GMT -6
His sentience faded in lapses. His ability to accurately gauge and measure time was quickly fading in brief lapses. The backlash of his actions seeping through every fiber of his being and invading his senses as quickly as the power he'd drawn on. Coupled with the wounds, to which he could feel stretching at his initial attempts at blind movement. Limbs probing by extending and reaching out. The primary shock had faded and he was able to feel the burning sear of pain like a freshly molten iron pressed to each limb. The warmth of sanguine fluids steadily coating the segments of pale flesh around might've been an enjoyable sensation were it not for the overwhelming agony. His body universally ached. Every aspect. Internally. Externally. The background noise nearly muted as explosive bursts of nether flooded around him, half-delirious as he barely managed to push himself with his body's weight into a sitting position. Back pressed to a segment of wood still standing firm that had previously been the corner segments of plank for the building behind. His limbs now fairly slack, and his gaze hazily drifting upwards.
The two men wrestled and flailed, but his amber hued eyes found only the pale female. At this point Drei was wishing he could wipe the crimson trail of blood from his lips, but even then he found himself having an immeasurably terrible time breathing. The agony of burning within his throat was one such that he found the mere prospect of speaking difficult. However he felt the insistence and importance of it when he looked to her visage. The eyes. They beggared the question most. Drei's fingers twitched a bit quietly, but otherwise his eyes had to do must of the questioning. Searching her expressions as she spoke to the boy who had been thrown about so wildly.
"Althea...no. Who...are...you?"
Every word was punctuated with a sharp inhale through the nose and nearly pursed lips as he grit himself. The tole of strangulation on his throat by the chains had caused exceptional damage to his throat. His ability to speak was a miracle in and of itself, the pain a small price to pay.
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Post by Althea on Jun 2, 2017 19:07:06 GMT -6
The confusion over what Aura was even talking about certainly served to keep her temper in check if nothing else. Partially because she didn't really get why they couldn't just nuke the f**k*r and go home for tea and crumpets, and partially because hey, at least she wasn't the only one here who was tremendously confused about everything! Man she seriously didn't understand why Althea hated jokes so much, soon as her newfound little sister woke up she was gonna make sure Althea recognized just how great they were.
...She also didn't get why the white haired guy was talking about her killing him too. Obviously if that was the plan she would have done it already. What was he going to do, bleed on her shoes? Or the legacy bits. Just keep on killing his guys until there weren't any left. Eventually people would wise up to it being a stupid ideology. Seemed pretty simple to her. Though the human's stupid little diatribe about reasons to kill did serve to nettle her a bit. He knew nothing of her or what drove her, so who the hell did he think he was to lecture her?
There was another human though apparently, behind her, the one she'd forgotten about after freeing earlier, that grabbed her attention with a shorter bit of commentary that led to Ereshkigal turning towards him and responding. "...I thought I was pretty clear about the name thinHOLY-" Actually getting a better look at him, her voice rose for a moment in completely unconcealed surprise, kinda ruining the 'regal resonance' vibe but that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. "What the hell is this, some kind of albino party? I know one of you is Drei and the other is Aura, but..." as her head turned, she saw a blush of white to the side, bringing her hand up to inspect the... white hair... her expression drowned like a mopey puppy in the rain as she looked back to Aura almost pleadingly. "...I have red eyes too don't I?" Please don't say yes PLEASE don't say yes. "Is - is this normal by human standards now? Do they all look like this?"
RIGHT. Focus. Um. crap, she wasn't actually sure what to do or say. She'd kinda figured they'd have some epic fight and then Althea would wake up and handle the boring crap but that had ended a lot faster than she had anticipated and she hadn't even thought about the idea of having to interact with these people.
...
Hey, live in the present, right?
Looking back to the fallen white haired human who was clearly completely unlike the other white haired human, her shoulders sank a bit. "Look, I don't know which of the two you are, but Althea knows some healing magic right? What's mine is mine, and what's hers is mine, so by the commutative property I... may be able to heal you. Probably. Maybe." Overwhelming confidence right there. Assuming that he was indeed one of Althea's friends she should probably try to do SOMETHING to help him out, though he didn't look to happy to see her... or maybe he was just busy bleeding to death. "Anyways, if you want me to try, nod or something. It could be fun!"
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Post by Drei on Jun 2, 2017 21:25:12 GMT -6
Right so. His robes were getting stained. There was also a small series of darkened soil patches around him. It seemed, though he was trying to wrap his mind around precisely how horrific it was, that he was quite literally sitting in his own blood. An attempt to bend his knee instinctively resulted in a muted groan of pain as a small squelching sound of damaged tissue tore further and the dark crimson trail began to thicken. So, moving. Not a good idea. In-fact it felt like a worse and worse idea really. At this point Drei was almost absolutely positive he was not in the best of places with his life right now. Sure, the pirate ship hadn't been all fun and games but the meek healer had managed to mend his wounds well enough to preserve his life.
Actually. Now that he thought about it. This was quite possibly the worst shape and corresponding situation he'd been in, ever. Had the entombed incident been worse? Maybe. It'd torn him up pretty bad. But then again, he had just had one shoulder mauled. As opposed to every limb seriously injured and his throat partially crushed. So that was fun. In a, "I'd sooner experience any physical sensation than this" kind of way.
His gaze drifted quietly to Althea. Or she who resembled Althea. The way she spoke made it seem like she had a split personality? That made little sense however. He couldn't help but feel like he would've noticed that by now. Either way, he quietly inclined his gaze before speaking after a single painful attempt to clear his throat. Of blood.
"I'm....Drei..."
Yeah talking sucked. Maybe a life under vows of silence? Either way, he quietly gazed towards the female and nodded at her hesitant offer to mend his wounds. Even if it would likely turn out just shy of fifteen times worse. If he was going to have to speak he'd rather not cough up blood when doing so.
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Aura
Priest
Posts: 117
Profession: Hereticus Exterminatus
Affinity: Light
Profile: Aura
OoC Alias: Vincent
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Post by Aura on Jun 4, 2017 22:13:44 GMT -6
In short, Aura was feeling rather foolish for his emotional outburst and impassioned pleas towards Althea Alter. Her imposing nature and haughty godlike voice suddenly wavered and outright ended. He stared up at her in breathless pause. What... just what was he supposed to be making of this? Of her? Was Althea simply holding back all along and now playing some sort of joke? No, that was surely not it... but... what?
Aura passed his glances between Drei and Althea as Drei introduced himself to this amnesiac or other Althea. This was somehow not the strangest thing to happen in his life. "And uh... I am Aura." Despite everything he found himself smiling as she asked about her eyes and hair. He had to hand it to Drei, he was MOST DEFINITELY in worse shape than he was but he was there, standing, and bleeding out from the looks of it. What was a few cracked ribs next to this? He should apologize to him when he gets the chance.
"Well, do you want an embellishment or the simple truth? If it makes you feel a bit better we can say your eyes are... uh... crimson?" Maybe it was a bad idea to get informal with someone that can convert matter into mana but hey, a lot of mistakes were made today. Aura winced but he kept quiet on the healing offer, Drei was the priority here. "You said that Althea knows healing magic, so, who would that make you?"
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