Shadow
Shaman
"... ... ..."
Posts: 236
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Post by Shadow on Jul 7, 2010 16:01:59 GMT -6
The shaman had stayed silent throughout the process of Tionne's inspection. It was a relief to know that the two did not find his scar. If they had, Shadow was not sure if he was fully prepared for the questions that would follow. He was not one to willingly talk about himself to complete strangers. That was one reason why he was angered by the annoying kid some time back. What was his name... Morgoth?
Going back to the present, the dark mage simply sat in silence with his hood covering his eyes, observing the new swordsman. Just because he and Tionne had some mutual thing, which did not mean the shaman was on the same page. Simply accepted newcomers would be foolish and stupid. At any time, this guy could turn. The key word, however, was 'could.' Shadow still wasn't sure if he was particularly a friend or foe. He simply kept his guard.
However, Shadow did respond to Aura's statement. His voice was calm, but had an edge. "I have been given false words before. To simply take the word of a stranger is not so acceptable nowadays. Just be sure to keep a distance." The shaman leaned against a tree in a sitting position, hand close to his tome. No chances were to be taken yet.
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Aura
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The music of life is often played on instruments of war; luckily, I studied the way of the Sword!
Posts: 12
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Post by Aura on Jul 7, 2010 17:45:11 GMT -6
Aura snorted when Shadow spoke; simply because one was jaded did not mean paranoia was acceptable for everyone. Glancing around, he noticed that it was unusually quiet, even for night to have fallen already; gripping the handle of his sword even tighter, Aura whistled at Shadow, then jerked his head towards Tionne.
Walking over carefully, Aura gently pushed Tionne's shoulder to wake him. "Yo, Tionne; I know it seems early, but we are in trouble." was all the myrmidon had to say before Tionne was already up with his book in hand. Chuckling on the inside, the ex-acrobat couldn't help but marvel at the monk's tenacity.
Striding towards Shadow, Aura whispered softly, but loud enough for Tionne to hear as well. "I think you two were followed here from the village, and it seems that whatever it is, it was enough to scare most of the wildlife into silence." Glancing at both the light and dark mage, he noticed they were manuevering to stand back-to-back with him as point. "Any ideas for a plan?"
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Tionne
The "Before" years
[M:0]
May the light of the Goddess shine upon you...
Posts: 37
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Post by Tionne on Jul 9, 2010 17:28:41 GMT -6
Tionne was fuming on the inside; he'd been traveling for St. Elimine knows how long, just settled down for a quick nap, and he gets woken up just five minutes later! Oh, whoever followed us had better pray that I don't get my hands on them!
Answering Aura's question, Tionne said "Since Shadow is still injured, we have to make sure that we don't allow them to surround us at all. Shadow and I have to stay in the back, due to we rely on incantations for our affensive abilities; that means you'll have to stave them off for a while."
Glancing at Shadow, the monk continued with "I think that I should create a few barriers, in case things get ugly. Aura, you are in charge of defending both of us, while Shadow and I provide support with magic."
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Shadow
Shaman
"... ... ..."
Posts: 236
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Post by Shadow on Jul 9, 2010 19:40:45 GMT -6
Under his hood, Shadow was fuming. He listened to Tionne believe that both magic users should be protected. The swordsman was to treat the monk and him like dainty children. However, the shaman had other plans in mind. For him, simply waiting in the back was not acceptable, wounded or not. Shadow was made of sterner stuff than most magic users, especially other shamans. His inner darkness was strong, his prowess of the night impeccable. This shaman had no intentions of staying behind out of danger.
With a slight growl, the darkly garbed man stood. His actions were swift and silent. Without a word, he held a tome in hand, slipping through the pages. Using his opposite arm, he brought in his hand, making a hand that required his index and middle finger pointing outward, but the other digits of his hand tucked in.
For only seconds, he held a withdrawn pose. It looked as though he were sheltering himself. In reality, Shadow was performing the exact opposite. He then swung his entire arm outward, in a slicing motion, his two fingers aiming towards a tree located just ahead of the group. From Shadow's hand, there came a dark wave of sorts, cutting through the air towards the tree. As the wave struck the tree, there came a splintering sound of wood breaking apart. Such magical prowess that Shadow exerted in his dark attack would have left a mediocre student on the ground, haplessly used up. But Shadow was no mediocre, no simple student, no weakling. He stood in pride of his work, as the tree fell to its side, blocking their previous trail. While the bark-covered plant was not a giant in all means, it did provide a splendid shelter from oncoming slaughterers.
Shadow looked back, happy from his work. From within the darkness of his hood, the shaman's eyes shone with new vigor and excitement. Oh, how he enjoyed his work of cleaning the filth from the streets and woods. Some would call him insane, and he would not deny such claims. With a hint of malice in his voice, the shaman spoke to his comrades. "Well, there's your barricade. Or, would you like me to make more? "Either way, I want something to be clear here and now; I do not stay behind. I fight like any other man of honor would. Besides, it's you, Tionne, who is the important one here. Let me assist you by my own means." He waited for any reply with an evil smile on his face. This was going to be enjoyable for the crazed dark mage.
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Tionne
The "Before" years
[M:0]
May the light of the Goddess shine upon you...
Posts: 37
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Post by Tionne on Jul 9, 2010 20:43:49 GMT -6
Tionne stood with his jaw hanging open, looking at Shadow's handiwork; normally, a wounded man who tried what he just did would cause them to collapse, but the dark mage simply did this like it was nothing!
Deciding to reevaluate his plan, Tionne simply flipped through his book, ducking his head so they wouldn't see the blush color his face. "Sorry. Now seeing as we have a barricade, it will be harder for them to attack us." Turning to Aura, the monk said "Aura, I need you to keep any melee away from us; that includes yourself. I'll try and blind the enemy as much as possible without blinding us."
Walking to the shaman, Tionne said tentatively "Listen, I'm sorry if I was patronizing you; if it wasn't for you, I would have died back at the bar. If anything, I should try and repay what I owe you instead of causing you more suffering."
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Shadow
Shaman
"... ... ..."
Posts: 236
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Post by Shadow on Jul 10, 2010 22:37:32 GMT -6
The shaman stood, taking in every word Tionne said. Shadow had been a bit harsh with his outburst, but it was necessary. Besides, the monk was only trying to help him. And it seemed that help from the holy was not as forceful as others would be, like say, another shaman. Either way, the dark mage held no grudge against the caring man of light.
Still holding an evil smile on his face, the shaman spoke to Tionne. In his voice was a hint of wickedness as well. "No worries, my good monk. It's nothing to be concerned with here and now. We are preparing for combat, and you must be sure to stay safe. Besides, you could not possibly cause any kind of suffering that I have endured previous from our encounter." Again, Shadow held the evil smile. The darkness was truly swelling in him now, as he thought of his past.
Shadow then turned towards the myrmidon. The man seemed prepared for the fray at hand like the shaman was. Yet, it was needed for actual understanding, instead of simple observations. The shaman still carried an evil tone in his voice as he spoke. This evil was not directed toward his comrades, but was meant for the trouble that was ahead of them. "So, Aura, tell me; are you prepared to fight?"
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Aura
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The music of life is often played on instruments of war; luckily, I studied the way of the Sword!
Posts: 12
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Post by Aura on Jul 10, 2010 23:43:01 GMT -6
Aura felt a nervous feeling well up in his chest at hearing the evil tone in Shadow's voice; granted, wasn't scared, just...worried.
"Yes, and I won't let anyone harm Tionne; in fact, if they even try to hurt him, I'll-" was all the myrmidon was able to say before a large ball of fire shot out towards the monk.
Pushing the holy man out of the way, Aura glanced around to see if anything was moving in the darkness. "Tionne, we need some lights; think you can handle making a few lanterns?" Aura asked as he realized he couldn't see anything in the forest around them.
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Akasha
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The absence of light isn't darkness, but death. One cannot have just light or dark, but instead both
Posts: 4
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Post by Akasha on Jul 14, 2010 13:35:18 GMT -6
"That won't be necessary, Aura; in fact, you should be more concerned with the fact that I am right behind you..." Akasha said gently behind the trio. While the three of them had been busy trying to block their trail, he snuck up behind the group and had listened in on Tionne and Shadow's conversation. When they turned around to face him, he held his hands up to show he meant no harm.
"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Akasha, a shaman who is looking for a purpose in life, and it seems I found it. The men attacking you are ordered to capture you, alive; the ones in town, however, wanted to just kill you and get on with collecting the reward." Shaking his head, Akasha stood up and continued talking. "Already they are preparing to attack if you don't surrender, and that fireball was just a warning shot.
"I wish to help you as much as possible, Tionne of the Third Order. Although I seem to be weak, I can take on a multitude of enemies. So, what do you say to that?"
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Shadow
Shaman
"... ... ..."
Posts: 236
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Post by Shadow on Jul 14, 2010 16:02:00 GMT -6
When Shadow had heard the soft voice from behind Aura, he had prepared his Flux tome for combat. He was about to strike the newcomer, but stopped when he saw the man's hands above his shoulders. This motion was a meaning of surrender. Also, with his hands up, he could not swiftly take out his tome and attack the group. Yet, this was not what gave this new man Shadow's altered attention.
This man, who Shadow soon found to be named Akasha, was a pupil of the dark arts. He, like Shadow, seemed to have a thirst for knowledge. The previous shaman he had encountered had no such desire to learn. With his observant stare, the shaman examined the fellow shaman with great detail. Like Akasha admitted before, his prowess did not seem to be much. Yet, there was potential. And he had said before he was looking for a 'purpose in life.'
Shadow suddenly had an aspiration that dealt with this man. Akasha was looking for a purpose, and Shadow already had one. If he could simply talk to the fellow dark mage one-on-one, then perhaps Shadow could explain his purpose. Of course, his purpose was to destroy the scum of Elibe. The shaman's new idea was become a sudden fascination. However, he had to wait for the monk's reply. It all came down to Tionne's decision whether or not to accept this man's invitation to aid them...
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Tionne
The "Before" years
[M:0]
May the light of the Goddess shine upon you...
Posts: 37
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Post by Tionne on Jul 14, 2010 17:55:33 GMT -6
As soon as the newcomer, Akasha, had spoken, Tionne automatically thought that they were under attack; but when he didn't make any threatening moves, the monk relaxed. Akasha then proceeded to explain why he was there, and what he intended to do. After listening to him speak, Tionne decided on the course of action best suited for the situation.
"Akasha, if what you say is truth, then welcome to our small company; we are in need of all the help we can get. A third magic wielder is always a boon that is graciously helpful." Tionne said with calm, clear resolve in his voice.
Turning around, the monk then created the "lanterns" that Aura asked for; opening his tome, Tionne found the page that he used when he invented the Pumpkin Lantern spell a year ago. "Luminos yumena deus ex fatali!" Several pumpkin shaped lights appeared, floating in mid air, giving a good fifteen-foot diameter of light each. At the awed looks he recieved, he shrugged and said "I wanted to make something comical, yet useful a year ago, so I came up with the Pumpkin Lantern."
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Aura
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The music of life is often played on instruments of war; luckily, I studied the way of the Sword!
Posts: 12
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Post by Aura on Jul 17, 2010 19:27:26 GMT -6
Aura glanced at the newcomer, Akasha, wariy, but trusted Tionne's judgement; he seemed to have a knack for making clear and precise decisions based on strategic judgement. After the monk made the lanterns, Aura could see an archer and a mage near Shadow's area, while a theif and a curate were near Akasha and Tionne. Finally, a bandit and a myrmidon were near his area, which seemed to make the ex-acrobat even more excited.
"Akasha, Tionne; take down the curate and thief twelve feet away from you. Shadow, an archer and a mage are in your area; I've got a feeling we'll have a handful with this bunch." was all the warning Aura gave before he leapt towards the trees, running towards the bandit first. Grabbing his sword, Aura slashed at the bandit's axe and then slashed at the overly large man's legs.
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Akasha
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The absence of light isn't darkness, but death. One cannot have just light or dark, but instead both
Posts: 4
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Post by Akasha on Jul 18, 2010 14:30:40 GMT -6
Akasha whirled around and saw that Aura, the swordsman, was right; a thief and a curate were right in front of them, and he was worried. Thieves were notorious for being speedy, while curates were highly resistant to magic.
Akasha threw a handful of darkness at the thief, and then another again; his magic wasn't the strongest, but it was effective when used repeatedly. But just as the shadows were about to hit, the curate used his staff to absorb the spells!
Damn! A Barrier staff, which means that magic isn't going to work so long as the curate is using that staff, we aren't going to have much of a chance against them... "Tionne, that curate is using a barrier staff; we aren't going to have an easy time with this. Can you create barriers like you said you could earlier?"
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Shadow
Shaman
"... ... ..."
Posts: 236
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Post by Shadow on Jul 18, 2010 16:15:24 GMT -6
The new light that was produced by the monk was a bit much for the shaman. Shadow cringed, even under his hood, from the new visibility. Yet, it was necessary for his comrades. The dark mage would not have his strength be their weakness. Being that his strength was the dark, and their strength was the light.
Shadow caught enough of what Aura said to understand that they were surrounded. He quickly looked behind him, and saw what the myrmidon was talking about. It was at the instant the dark mage saw the anima wielder, and the bowman. It was also at that instant they saw him. That moment which carried a sudden epiphany seemed to last for some time. Still, that moment ended, and the combat between the two parties did, in fact, begin.
The dark mage's first battle was with the archer. Being that the archer had the slight advantage, he took the offensive. An arrow zoomed at Shadow, hitting him in the left shoulder. The pain was terrible, but bearable at the same time. Luckily, during some time of their previous rest, the vulnerary had finished its healing powers. This kept the shaman in a combat-ready position.
With a terrifying laugh, Shadow pulled out the arrow. He could feel the darkness within build up. Every second of this power was what the shaman needed. He then reacted quickly to the archer, who did not know what to think after seeing his actions. The shaman held out his tome, flipping the pages with a single hand. He then sent forth a whirling orb of darkness at the archer. Shadow knew one would not do, so he spun around, and repeated his previous procedure. The momentum with his own spin gave his strike more power, as could be seen by the archer being forced backwards into a tree, killing him by the pressure of the two forces.
Suddenly, the tome in his hand fell apart. It was done, extinguished of its dark contents. The magic within the tome was drained. Yet, the shaman did not worry. He simply threw away the dead pages of the tome, and took out Luna. With this new tome, he could cut through any resistance against his magic, but it came with a slight price. The magic was based upon his own power. Still, that would not be a problem. Shadow knew he was a formidable opponent with a magic prowess to fear.
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Tionne
The "Before" years
[M:0]
May the light of the Goddess shine upon you...
Posts: 37
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Post by Tionne on Jul 18, 2010 17:28:00 GMT -6
OOC: For the mods to know, I'm not trying to make my character omnipotent, but instead am borrowing an idea from the anime Kekkaishi...a monk throws up layers of barrier spells to protect him and someone else.
BIC: Tionne was surprised that the gentle-voiced Akasha was able to fight, but was also shocked even more by the curate's prowess with a barrier staff. Shaking his head, Tionne chuckled at Akasha's request. "It's not a matter of can I, but a matter of how strong I can make it..."
Grabbing Lightning, Tionne intoned the Light Screen, and tweaked into a single cube that deflected attacks from the outside, but allowed the magicians inside to attack. "Get ready, Akasha; the thief will be our main target, but the curate will either use another staff lying around to heal, or continue using that Barrier staff." The thief chose that precise moment to hack at the cube made of light, but it reacted like a gellatenous dessert!
The thief looked bewildered, but shrugged and continued hacking, while the curate picked up a staff and used it's magic to conjure a hazy looking mist that encircled the barrier. It seemed to lazily lap at the walls, which seemed to crumble with each attack from both offensive attacks!
"Um, Akasha? I think that curate has a Sleep staff instead of a Heal..." the monk said worriedly. He flipped through the pages of his book, throwing up another barrier cube underneath the prexisting cube. "I don't dare throw up another one, because I'll pass out if I do."
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Aura
The "Before" years
[M:0]
The music of life is often played on instruments of war; luckily, I studied the way of the Sword!
Posts: 12
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Post by Aura on Jul 19, 2010 20:07:42 GMT -6
Aura flipped backwards to avoid the large axe; even though swords beat axes most days, the bandit was all muscle and twice the size of Aura. Racing up the trunk of the tree, then slashing the bandit's arm off, he then kicked the bandit down.
"Stay down if you know what's good for you." was all Aura said before the myrmidon was attacked by the swordsman that was the bandit's friend. "I wouldn't turn my back on an opponent if I were you..." Aura shivered at the oily voice of the swordsman; clearly darkness dwelled in his heart. "Whoever said I was turning my back?" Aura asked before drawing his other sword, the Slim Sword. It wasn't as durable as the iron sword, or as strong as the steel sword, but was twice as fast and lighter, making it easier to use.
Cartwheeling, Aura lunged and hacked at the swordsman, who seemed more keen on parrying and then slashing. As the two dueled, Aura spared a glance at his comrads; Tionne and Akasha were troubled, while Shadow seemed to be doing fine. Elimine help us... Suddenly, Aura felt the other swordsman's blade sink into his calf. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" was all that erupted from Aura's throat; the other myrmidon smirked, licking the blood from the sword.
"Mmmm....delicious. Both your blood and your screams are pure ecstasy..." he murmured, but Aura then stabbed the other man and said "Who got distracted now?" before appyling a vulnerary to his leg.
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