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Thousands of years ongoing as the conflict continued, the underworld races diversified and collaborated under a sort of slaveship under Kronos’ will, this story begins with one of the soldiers destined to fight for the future of the old land, a young Druid named Ingeborg Nightgem.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJRCmOVZvp
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1448 N.A. [Grimhearth]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXhqnwzUgp
i.
“As the sun lays down for rest, have thou submitted a proper blessing to Lord Kronos as expected?” his master, Ozad, questioned, his tone remaining stagnant but firm as his emotions were never allowed to seep into his manner of expression.
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“Yes, Master. Our greetings of divine thanks can never be overstated.” the young Druid responded, his voice cracking somewhat as the lack of energy began seeping through after their intense training session began settling into his joints and bones. His experiments with utilizing his Druid-born powers of Lightning and Stone had began to come to fruition as his physical form could finally begin to withstand extended usage of differing forms of his power within a short period of time, however, the young man still had room to grow in the department of extending his will. “Very well.” his master responded, continuing on: “Soon, our way of life will collide with those born above, the Holy Guardians of the overland. You are well aware of their distasteful disgust towards our existent being and way of life, as the many tales of hatred I have shared with you should ring as bells of worship in your ears. I have made you whole in the heart and spirit of battle as I can, howe-”
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Before the elderly master had finished his statement, a thunderous bolt of fire, lightning and iron emerged from the clouds, piercing the soundsphere at a rate that would cause almost instantaneous bleeding in modern humans. The training grounds that the two stood on were obliterated as rock formations, trees and many unarmored humans alike split into thousands of chunks, a sight even Ingeborg hadn’t been trained to expect, neither being trained to anticipate that the day the Gods would attack would come so soon. The Druid was thrown backwards, up and over a wall which landed him into a river below while his master, much closer to the initial impact zone, had his legs blown off as his upper body clung onto the last remaining resolve in his shell, still gasping and crying for air as he tried to call out to his student. However, unable to see and unable to move, the elder died among the rest of the dying or deceased brethren in the field as Ingeborg sat unconscious, his armor scraped and cracked but ultimately unscathed as he remained dormant for what turned out to be hours on end.
ii.
At the moment of his awakening, his throat almost closed at the harsh taste of the ash that had overtaken the atmosphere, ember and smoke construing the landscape as the remaining buildings and masses of land were damaged immensely, the death count easily toppling the tens of thousands of living citizens of the mid-plane.
The ambient rumbling of nature rung louder than ever before as he came to his feet, his success to stand bringing forth his realization that his weapon had been lost in his fall, and as he began to make his way towards what remained of the Royal Citadel not far away, he came across a dead soldier, one of the many of his fellow brethren that had fallen victim without a chance to brace for the elemental blast. Half of his corpse remained, his innards crisped and cauterized before they could even leak, though Ingeborg’s eye was caught by the veteran’s blade remaining intact among what remained of his sheathe and with swiftness, he grabbed it and quickly claimed it as his own as he believed that he would need it sooner than later. As he came back to his feet and continued to trek onwards towards the Citadel, the deceased set of armor behind him began to reanimate, the metal shell readjusting back into form as the missing half of the body was substituted with black magic and the mass mirroring the original body perfectly followed in-suite as the body came to stand on two feet, immediately dashing at the young Druid without a moment’s notice.
“FoxForm: Fog Cloud…” the ethereal voice spoke out softly as it met Ingeborg at his guard with his sword up and, in almost an instant, the two were completely surrounded by a 20-foot sphere of fog as the soldier seemingly disappeared into thin air and out of sight, however, seconds later, he returned alongside his dash towards Ingeborg as he struck at him with martial styles of Royal form, his movements purposeful at each bend of the joint and muscle contraction as he quickly broke down the measly guard of the young man.
“Stoneskin!” he summoned in response, parrying the ghastly attacks and turning the non-affected arm of the soldier to complete stone; while this made the arm inactive, the remaining side was still engulfed in black magic and soon spawned a Greatsword, a feat in itself to be able to wield it with only one hand, before a wide and sweeping swing at Ingeborg to which he narrowly dodged out of the way, his armor becoming even more chipped and cracked from that single landing of the edge of the ethereal blade. He motioned in and out of range of the grand weaponry, baiting heavy swings and parrying to land a few small strikes in between his patches of defensive stances. His base remained staggered and fluid, a form perfected within his Master’s training regiment and philosophical attack perspective, and with this he continued to wear down at the ghastly knight as the rock formation on the off arm began to shatter and crumble and before allowing it to become mobile again, the boy stepped back and parried once more, only heavier this time in an attempt to stun the apparition. Adjusting his stance, he placed his sword at his side as if to sheathe it, however, the metal soon began to spark as he utilized Lightning Bolt to generate a spark through his blade, the flux amassing quickly and somewhat uncontrollably as he struggled to keep his grip straight. In an instant, he swung outwards and downwards on an angle with as much force as he could, releasing the straight-line of lightning from the tip of his sword and into the shadowed-muscle of the being, the result formulating in a 100-foot wall of lightning, the opponent screeching loudly and violently in pain as the remaining human flesh was burned to its last layer of protection. In response, the shadow side swung its Greatsword through the wall of lightning, collecting it on it’s ethereal blade and making contact with the center mass of Ingeborg, the blade piercing his armor and side partially as he felt his ribs snap on his right side. He winced immensely, though, after forcing his sword deeper into the crevasse of the neck of the apparition, the suit of shadow-armor ceased movement, it’s blade being removed from the Druid’s side as it’s arms fell downwards in a loose and careless motion, signifying it’s death or, at minimum, it’s momentary neutralization. The young man fell to the ground, immediately grabbing at his opened wound as he looked towards the body to confirm that it halted movement; confirming as such, the young man refused to take time to rest and leave himself open at risk of being of a target and, refocused, he continued on toward shis original set path to the Royal Citadel.
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iii.
As he made his approach, the cracked roots of the pillars of stone and quartz crumbled ambiently in front of him.. His wound had begun to prevent him from fully keeping his frame up, his walk turning into a slight limp as he held the wound closed in an attempt to cauterize it with the cold steel of his armored gauntlets and as the ghastly sunlight pierced through what remained of the glass ceiling panels and mosaiced windows, the deafening silence of the interior halls had never rung so dense within his years of the building serving as a second home. Unfortunately, he had returned to this home in a state of near immediate collapse and exhaustion, an uncommon occurrence at the estate, and as he passed the ceiling right pillars of quartz and stone, “The Infirmary...there has to be something left behind by the nurses…” he noted as he continued to limp slowly through the halls, heading up the large main flight of stairs and stepping off onto the third of five floors; awaiting him was another large, elongated hallway that was strewn with banners and mosaic windows, the Druid noting that the windows began to show signs of freezing as if they were in a cold-weathered part of the year. He continued down the hall, recognizing the Infirmary embroidered seal from a distance as he felt his legs becoming weaker by the second; his wound losing it’s resistance and beginning to leak his darkened blood. Before he could reach the door however, another thunderous shot pierced through the atmosphere and into the building, the ceiling and wall by Ingeborg crumbling in a flash of light and falling on top of him without any regard. The young man cried out in violent pain, his injury being amplified by the pressure of the rubble upon his arm and abdomen, and as the sound of large wings approaching became louder and louder, a white mass came into view and approached the entry in the building, the mass landing inside and a few feet away from him as he recognized the figure as a Royal Aarakocra, one of Odin’s finest servants.
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The two locked eyes as the deafening silence rang fervent throughout the vicinity, the only sounds being exchanged belonging to Ingeborg, his painful winces and attempts to fight the pain proving evermore difficult.
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“Banished Form: Hallucinatory Terrain.”
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The ambient silence of the citadel had been engulfed within an even sharper silence as the two had been transported to an alternate dimension, one defined by the lack of any recognizable features or landmarks of any kind, even going as far as to formulate the entire ground layer of the dimension with water as the two stood in an almost infinite pool of nothingness, surrounded by trees and mountains on all sides that were visible to the eye.
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“W-what is this?”
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“I do not wish to unfairly harm you, youngling.”
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“Why did you take me from my home? What is the purpose of this dimension?”
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“Judgement.”
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“For what shall I have to atone for? I’m merely a man!”
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“You are more than you think, Druid.”
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Momentarily, the young man noted that his mortal wound had been healed completely, this dimension serving as somewhat of a reset to his physical form.
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“But...what God would choose my existence as crucial?”
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“You are not crucial, boy. More freely, you are being given a chance to prove your life worthy of sparing, courtesy of I, Valmir Itchdir, one of the chosen of Odin’s court. Now, on your guard.”
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An ethereal wave of control ran over the boy as he felt his body take up the stance of his battle form, initially thinking of resisting before realizing that this lack of physical control had to have been the presence of a much stronger and larger spiritual entity attempting to assist him.
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“Elemental Bane: Frost.”
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As the Aarakocra spoke out into the abyss, Ingeborg felt his joints and bones freezing over from the inside outwards, his attempt to dash at the opponent being halted immediately as he fought to resist his hardening; his stride was struck down in an instant. He fell to his knee, struck breathless and gasping from the burning cold. The layer of ground under the surface of water was a sort of concrete or stone, ethereal no less as it had to span this entire dimension and, in only a few moments after attempting to take his guard, noting the lack of time between his entry to battle and possible point of exit, only found through a swift defeat, his remaining posture was stanced into his rebuttal: a one motion Thunderclap that pierced even this seemingly infinite sound barrier with the speed of the divines. Not even clipping the bird’s wings, it candidly and surely dodged out of the way of the burst as it almost read the attack before it even came out; grinning slightly, the Aarakocra halted his offensive brigade.
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“Interesting, a Thunder user within this era. I had surely believed your kind was truly eradicated within the last over-world massacre. I must admit, I admire your history, Druid.”
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Before he could finish the statement, he quickly maneuvered out of the way of another attack from the recovering Ingeborg, still stiff and aching as his bones thawed out; the boy threw a child-sized lightning bolt at the royal guard, not even skimming his garb and, in response, he utilized Earthbind to halt the young Druid completely in his place.
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“Unfortunately, that ancient style has been forgotten with the ages for a reason. I pity you for being trained under the guise of weakened power, never reaching your true potential.”
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Anger arose within the young Druid as he stood immobile, his legs captured by energy coming from the lake below. His hardest struggle was met with stagnant defense from the energy and, if he wanted a fighting chance, Ingeborg realized that he would have to resort to the Third Level of his ethereal ability, a level unexplored by him before due to the warnings of inevitable mental and physical wear and eventual self-destruction that follow its use. Almost inevitably, as he considered the conclusion, his master's warnings rang rampant throughout his mental scape of the countless numbers of soldiers and guardians lost to the extent of their own ethereal being; a tragic ending to those destined for determined greatness as conduits of their lord’s will.
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In the next moment, the boy attempted to cast Flame Stride at the base of his feet, the blue and orange-tinted flames mixing with the energy masses currently holding Ingeborg in place and struggling to keep him in place as the young man wormed his legs free in a stride towards his opponent. Once close, he met the Royal guardian’s guard, the two exchanging sword to sword blows as their martial training complimented each other well; the boy’s form being flowing and smooth as if water and his counterpart being dense and expansive within his space and force. Ingeborg’s sword, named Sunstrike, began to chip on its blade as their exchange carried on. Noting this and the density of the spiritual-looking blade of the Guardian, he quickly backstepped for a moment’s rest. Feeling the remaining energy in his body draining much quicker than expected, Ingeborg focused every ounce of his ethereal spirit into his core, positioning himself to let off a final flash of flame, Aganazzar’s Scorcher. The 30 foot long and 5 foot wide spiral of flame emitted forward, upward and outward from the thrust of his blade in an instant, his hands shaking and trembling as he struggled to remain in control of the sheer force and pressure of the release of the flame; a release that was so expansive that he could not even see past the mass of flames in front of him to see if he even met his target. Unfortunately, the time spent channeling his core was enough for his opponent to summon a Dimension Door in his place and as the young man realized his continued stream of flame had seemed unfaltered, he halted and noted the dimensional seal before another seal appeared above him in the sky and opened, spewing out all of the built up flame mass that Ingeborg had let off in the direction of the door; the shadow of the flaming mass overtook the immediate vicinity where the young knight stood and he looked around in all directions for his opponent, confusion and concern mounting as it got closer and closer. At the last second, noting the royal guardian in the sky next to the seal’s entry, Ingeborg let off his final attempt: a Thunderwave upwards towards the flaming mass coming downwards onto him, the speed of the wave being met with the force of the flames as the two met in mid air and pushed back and forth, both men straining their ethereal core to confirm their attack on the other. Ingeborg continuously strained his body within the moment to attempt to expand all of his remaining ability, much the same as his opponent, though his will to prosper proved too weak for the moment, the mass of flames and thunderous force slowly combining and clashing back down through the sky towards the young knight. An eclipse shadow covered his immediate field of view as the true grand mass of flames took one final gasp before imploding onto the young man and before his death, a momentary acceptance of his place in history as an untold sacrifice in the grand scheme of the history of the world. His body partly disintegrated as the sphere of flames compounded onto his body and, as his father and grandfather before him, Ingeborg had been murdered at the hands of one of the elitist existants of the over-world, another soul left within the void; however, after noting the extent that the boy was willing to go to attempt to prove his life worthy, after claiming his victory, the Royal guard took up the young boy’s weapon and vowed to deliver it to the next of his bloodline. Locating the presence of the Nightgem spirit and tracking them down, he eventually found a small family of Druid and Hexbloods living within the outskirts of the upper world, their home being located somewhere off the coast of what would eventually become Grassmere. Sunstrike became a family heirloom of sorts as immediate generations of Ingeborg’s sister passed down the grand weapon of their uncle and great uncle onto the next as a sort of remembrance of the untold history of the Nightgem soldiers who fought for the future of time; unbeknownst to many of the Nightgem blood, it’s ethereal properties were still hidden and not fully explored, its jeweled core remaining dormant for many centuries until the next of the chosen Nightgem is able to awaken it, an awakening only possible within a time of conflict and unstableness in regards to the overall scope and scale of the ethereal plane’s coexistence with ours.
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1600 N.A. [Eldham]
i.
“Awaken!” rang loudly throughout the small barrack, each side lined with 4 beds that were filled with young women who were sent to this “battle camp” as a sort of punishment; however,Kelna Nightgem[Ingeborg’s Great Niece/he is Kelna’s Great Uncle], the next chosen in the Nightgem lineage to pursue their ethereal extent, sat wide awake as her colleagues groaned and moaned as they woke up and removed themselves from their bunks. Following suit, eventually, the 8 girls stood at the bed of their bunks, armored and clothed to the teeth as per protocol, and awaited their daily orders from their Sergeant Major.
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“As many of you are aware, the final selection of those worthy to fight under the Emperor is approaching, quickly. Many of you are still nowhere near the level of discipline and focus required to wield your sword amongst those blessed enough to have been granted with such a privilege and, therefore, the high council has ordered a sort of trial for the 8 of the you.”
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Every young girl winced to themselves in slight fear and concern as these trials were known to result in the deaths of those who were not up to par or those chosen by the council as inadequate, however, each one also remained still and unwavering in their attention as not a single one wanted to show weakness.
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“This will be the last and very final chance for you to be deemed worthy of presence within these lands. There will be no second chances. Go into this with this thought in mind: however harsh or painful your training may have seemed so far, know that this is only the beginning. I wish not to scare you, but to warn you of the extent that this fate will grant you. Cherish every moment of combat and conquest; though, in your pursuit, do not fail to remain present and dedicated to the lives of your comrades. Failing to do so is a shame no man can withstand.”
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Looking amongst each other, the girls remained stagnant, still fearful but confident that in their pursuit of life, they too may be granted the glory of surviving the trials of combat. Kelna, notably a standout within her unit as she viewed her time at the camp as an opportunity to embrace and pursue the ethereal core present within herself and the many chosen Nightgem before her and as Her Great Uncle’s blade stood strong and unwavering amongst her astute stance, her one hand on her the hilt remaining almost as still as the fabric of the time itself, she recognized her comrades amongst the many that would be slaughtered in their Emperor’s pursuit for dominance and, for the first time in a long while since she dedicated herself to the relentless training that was required and expected of them, she felt a small sense of sorrow and pity; a quaint frown painted her face as she looked down and gritted her teeth, her body physically repulsing her emotional reaction.
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“You all have 1 day to prepare for your final show. Make it count.”
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In almost an instant, their Sgt. Major left the barracks and after a moments pause, some of the girls returned to their bunks while others spoke amongst themselves. Kelna remained to herself, walking outside to take a view of the Wolfpine Royal Treeline, the sun only slightly piercing through amongst the top of the architecture and onto the courtyard outside of the barracks; not long after, a comrade of hers followed out and took a seat next to her on the steps of the Barracks, a teenage Goliath named Fhadove Reditch. The two had spoken a few times within training sessions and hadn’t established a friendship mainly due to Kelna’s lack of time of care placed towards intricate relationships, however, something had changed within her realization that she had the ability to pursue her true fate just as Kelna did and within recognizing this, she made a proposition.
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“Kelna.”
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The young lady remained silent as she turned to face the Goliath.
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“Do you think that we could maybe, spar and test each other? I’m feeling kinda.. lackluster behind my blade”
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“Haven’t you been practicing?”
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“Yes, but I just can’t seem to control myself when I attempt to utilize my power within combat. I want to get as close as possible to being in a situation where I have no choice but to control it and you’re the one who can do that for me. Without the risk of me getting killed, of course.”
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Kelna took this as somewhat of a slight, her comrade seemingly doubting her ability to end the life of one considered to be one of her own, yet a competitor within the context of rankings.
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“Have you taken this up with Sgt.?”
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“Of course.”
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“Fhadove, why me?”
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“You’re the only one, besides me, that’s not moping around in self pity that we’re all gonna die. Well, not all of us. Either way, can we do this now? Please?”
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The young woman stood up and faced Kelna, towering over her and smirking widely as she rested her arm upon her blade, a neutral and comfortable position that many blade wielders before and after utilized as it allowed for a fluid lane to release the blade outwards and on an angle on that maximizes force upon the window of opportunity that such a technique provides. “First Level: Burning Hands” Kelna spoke as she remained sitting on the steps, her hands forming together at the thumbs and connecting with her fingers spread. A thin sheet of flames shot forth from her fingertips in a 15- foot long cone, more than long enough to hit the Goliath from this range, and, in response, her opponent called out “Abjuration:Shield of Faith”, utilizing her sword to create a barrier between her and the flames. Her smirk grew wider as she doubted Kelna’s prowess despite her dedication and clear skill and, choosing to move them along to the next sequence of their Match instead of waiting for Kelna’s next attack, a technique taught to them as a means to resolve a conflict quickly and candidly, Fhadove casted Shocking Grasp and attempted to grab Kelna by her hands to prevent her from formulating another attack. Unfortunately, the swift and agile half-blood shoved her wrists forward as Fhadove got ahold of her forearms; recognizing her opportunity, in a flash, the young Nightgem stood herself up from her seated posture slightly, balancing on the balls of her feet as she calmed her breathing. Seconds later, she launched herself up and over the Goliath, the two meeting gazes as Kelna sat inverted and upside down, opposite of her opponent; as the two met gazes, Kelna recognized her opponents confusion and capitalized upon it, casting Blindness directly into the eyes of Fhadove, causing an instantaneous reaction of fear and worry in the Goliath while she landed safely on the ground behind her, her towering shadow no longer lingering over her.
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The Goliath continued to panic, quickly rubbing her eyes and attempting to reset her vision as she listened and attempted to track the almost dead silent footsteps of Kelna, twigs and branches amongst the ground being crushed with the slightest force as the young woman floated across them as swiftly as a feline. Struggling to find an option to restrain her opponents speed as she lacked the sight and tracking needed to do so, Fhadove casted Darkness at the base of her feet, formulating a 15-foot sphere of darkened ash and magic around the two of them as Kelna halted her circling of the opponent. Fhadove’s grin returned and she spoke out, still recovering from being blinded:
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“I’ll give you credit, I didn’t think you would try to blind me as soon as we started.”
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“I couldn’t risk letting you have an advantage over me, again.”
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“You’re still mad about that?”
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ii.
Weeks prior, the two had previously faced off against each other on opposite teams, however, the use of any sort of magic or spellcraft was prohibited during the event and Fhadove demonstrated an uncanny and unfaltering ability to flourish over others within close quarters combat, specifically due to her increased size and strength as compared to other women her age. Before granting a rebuttal, the young Goliath let off an Eldritch Blast towards Kelna, the beam of energy being easily blocked and parried off to the side with her blade.
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“It’s not my fault you can’t keep up, Kelna. You and I know better than anyone that in an time like this, you have to take advantage of every opening you can, or it might be your last.”
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“Yea, shut the hell up.”
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Before even finishing her statement, she let off a rush of attack towards the goliath, their blades clashing and scratching loudly against each other in a sort of rhythmic flow, a rhythm so prominent that many of the girls from the barracks had come outside to view the match purely out of the loudness of the clashing of their weaponry, Kelna wielding the Sunstrike while Fhadove’s weapon, Moonlight, was a fellow family heirloom, an even larger two-handed Greatsword, large enough that its height, when stuck in the ground, is almost as tall as many of the younger girls in their unit.
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After a few more moments of exchanging, Kelna’s blade went flying up and out of her hand, landing towards the younger girls that had come outside to watch them fight. Noting her imminent defeat, she resumed her fighting stance, only this time substituting her bladed blows with plamed strikes and parries with her reinforced wooden gauntlets and wristguards. She remained at a rhythm with the goliath, however, she recognized that she could not keep this up with such a large weapon and little to no protection against an “accident”; in response, Kelna managed to make space between the two during a slight pause and, adjusting her stance to one knee, almost on the ground completely as if she were to break out into an explosive sprint, called out into the ambient silence, only being occupied by the murmurs of onlookers: “Transmutation: Expeditious Retreat” as small sparks of lightning and dark aura engulfed Kelna’s body. She had only learned of the technique from old texts that she had snuck away and read as a child, however, the extent of its mastery was admired as somewhat of a folk tale as its use and mastery allowed the user to move at an incredible pace, the speeds being reached easily piercing the sound barrier of normal humanoid hearing. With time moving in slow motion from her perspective, Kelna stood confused and, quite fairly, concerned as she had no idea of the extent of the power that she was capable of expanding upon; regardless, she walked towards the Goliath, her eyes slowly tracking the shorter Half-blood as she approached and, reaching upwards quickly as to not risk being caught this close with a counter, she utilized her left hand to grab the wrist that wielded the greatsword and, with the other hand, she thrusted a stiffened overhand, halting it inches before it impacted the skull and temple of Fhadove which caused an intense reaction of wind from the impact of what would have been the punch landing; a gust of wind being blasted behind her instead, it’s velocity and force in real time caused a hole to be formed easily within the wall of the courtyard, it's puncture revealing the town of Yarrin and the Sarton Forest across the sea as the two competitors looked over the expansive forrest elevated below them through the hole.
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Before the two could exchange words, the guards of the Manor rushed outside from the main building behind the Sgt. Major and the High Guard, the group of them halting at the barracks courtyard entrance and catching sight of the paused position that Kelna and Fhadove shared. Grinning even harder than before, the Goliath spoke softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear:
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“I admit defeat.”
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Kelna moved closer.
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“You still have strength to spare.”
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“As do you. I’d rather not find out how much is my point, not right now!” she joked, laughing to herself. “Like I said, you win.”
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Before she could respond, Kelna was cut off by the Sgt. Major pulling her off of her comrade and dusting them both off as the whirlpool of energy and force that the two had built up had caused mass amounts of dust and grime to accumulate on their lower garments in such a short amount of time.
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“I’ve seen enough. Nightgem, you realize that technique of yours is forbidden?”
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Kelna stood confused as she shook her head in disagreeance.
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“I see. You are not to use that technique during the trial of selection tomorrow, is that understood?”
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“Why not?”
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“I do not answer to you, girl. Both of you, up and to the river so you can wash the filth off of your garments.”
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Both Kelna and Fhadove met eyes with each other as they received their order from their superior, the two of them nodding in silence towards her as they headed behind the main building of the camp and down through a hidden trail which lead to them to an enclosure of even more tall and thickened pine trees, only this area contained a small but widened river that served as an extension from the main ocean. The two young ladies entered and went their separate directions to bathe themselves, still meeting eyes occasionally in an attempt to catch their comrade’s gaze upon them; after a half an hour or so, the two returned to their barracks as everyone inside sat attentive around another of the older girls, her voice ringing loudly throughout the small hut as she revealed details of the trial that was at hand in the upcoming day. Through her, it was revealed that a sort of a tournament-of-wills would commence between the eight of the girls within the Sarton Forest across the sea, the tales of giant ship-eating dragons and tree-towering goliaths being common within folklore at this point which sparked thoughts of possible dangers they were to encounter alongside having to prove themselves worthy amongst their comrades; even to Kelna, a descendant of one of the strongest generations of warriors within the world, the unknown severity of the danger lying ahead of them proving too substantial to underestimate within her reasoning.
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iii.
Kelna took her seat at the end of her cot, occupying herself with texts on Transmutation and the Ill Effects that Follow, however, she continued to listen closely as the other girls shared tales and rumors of what could be awaiting them, many of them also sharing their immense fears and concerns candidly as the environment shifted from conversation to solemn reflection with almost all of the young girls realizing their lack of skill or dedication to training would soon be rearing it’s head when they were faced with true conflict. Unwavering in her curiosity, Kelna continued to listen until the night fully died down where their lanterns became hushed out by the ambient winds of the Eldham Sea cutting through the windows and walls of the thin hut; this time signified the state at which many of the girls had either fallen into deep sleep or were close to such and, taking this as an opportunity, Kelna slowly arose and wielded her sheathed sword alongside her lightweight garment, an alternative to her regular gear as her clad and reinforced wooden armor would make too much noise, as she made her way out of the barracks and towards the edge of the courtyard where her fight with Fhadove had taken place earlier. The large hole remained within the wall and looking through it, she noted a small hill below her that she would have to launch herself over to in order to safely maneuver down the side of the mountain and into the ocean without being harmed by the natural terrain; calming her breathing in response, the young Nightgem became almost completely still as she focused on correctly launching herself and fitting through the hole without issue and, after a pause, she launched herself through the hole as she straightened and lengthened her limbs, much like accurately diving into a pool of water, and her attempt overshot her mark as she continued to fall forward and further towards the ocean, missing the hill completely and falling directly into the sea from the side of the mountain; painful, without a doubt, but Kelna had suffered worse injuries within her past as a delinquent child and, after years of never touching water unless necessary, her apt for swimming finally proved to be useful to her.
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The next hour was highlighted by Kelna’s swim over to the mainland shore that contained the entrance to the Sarton Forest, her attempt occasionally being thwarted by her own breathing as she attempted to remain calm despite pushing her body through immense stress and pressure with the speed and pace at which she was swimming. After a final pause and struggle, Kelna pulled herself up and onto the shore of the forest, it’s trees brimming with the moonlight above as they lined each other for miles and kilometers on end from her perspective and as she rose to her feet, her sword clanking against her side, she took stride towards the entrance of the forest, the water where she exited bubbling once more as if a being had been submerged in it’s place, an occurrence she didn’t hear or pay mind to.
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Making it less than a quarter mile in, Kelna found herself surrounded and completely engulfed by the large and expansive treeline as her path remained lit from the moonlight, her walk unwavering as she vowed to prove to herself that the dangers within the forest were less than formidable as no one within recent decades has attempted to explore the forest simply due to the immense fear cultivated by folk tales. This fear would however be justified soon enough as, in the blink of an eye, the large head of a brown and green Serpent exploded from the ground below Kelna’s path, knocking her down and onto her back as it’s tongue rattled in pleasure that their prey made this catch so easy for them. This AncientEarth Serpent was one of the many folk tales that Kelna was familiar with through her time within Eldham as it was renowned as one of the most dangerous threats to any walking or breathing being, it’s intelligence being claimed to have surpassed levels unbeknownst to the limited scope of human knowledge; however, noting that she only had herself to fall back on in this case if she needed assistance, Kelna stood back up quickly and took to her blade, her stance and form positioning her into a striking position, awaiting the Serpent’s next move so she could counter forward in response. Rearing it’s crimson-bronze head once more in anger, it sprung forward and glided toward her with extreme speed and precision, it’s fangs narrowly missing her face as she dodged to the side in response, still wielding her blade handle as to give herself an ample opportunity to strike when the chance presented itself; however, the next three minutes were highlighted by Kelna dodging and maneuvering around the Serpent’s poisonous attacks, her stamina beginning to dwindle as the immense amount of focus required for her to continue to nullify her opponent’s attack pattern for much longer would become more than she could maintain at her current level of ability. Recognizing the chance to utilize the Serpent’s repetitive nature against itself, Kelna took one of it’s strikes at the feet and jumped upwards as it got close, gaining momentum from being launched upwards and into the air from the top of the head of the Serpent and, as she sat in mid-air, her body becoming parallel with the ground as she turned and positioned herself into a large and wide downward slash, she summoned forth Evocation: Charge which caused the gem in the hilt of her blade to glow and crackle inside the sapphire frame, it’s energy output quickly spewing outwards and onto the tip and edges of the blade, covering it entirely in Ethereal energy. This energy proved strong enough to the point that, mentally, Kelna noted her difficulty controlling and stiffening her blade as she approached the apex of her drop, the neck and weak-spot of the Serpent; regardless, she thrusted the remaining wingspan of her slash into the impact of the sword, the energy spewing outwards from the blade and directly into the serpent as it screamed loudly in pure agony, it’s poison leaking from it’s salivating jaws and fang tips as it was surely weakened by her attack. Landing back on the ground, her knees buckled slightly under her own weight, a result of her bones still growing accustomed to the ongoing experiments within the bounds of her physical limits, though she soon returned to her defensive stance as the Serpent looked to rebuttal, one of it’s eyeballs bulging out of it’s skull slightly as it’s skin around the impact site was burned and cauterized by the immense pressure and force of the energy from the strike. A loud, piercing hiss rang through the immediate vicinity as it spoke out “Earth Glide'' into the ambience, it’s body formulating back into the ground without any hindrance or effect on the soil; Kelna, noting it’s almost transparent behavior in response to her offense, quickly scanned the ground surrounding her in an attempt to note any distinction of the Serpent's position underground as she remained cautious. This went on for minutes on end as her paranoia only grew stronger while she continued to anticipate her attacker, which played her right into the hand of being more than off guard when the opportunity to falter arose and that would come at an eventual point of stagnation, her guard being let down momentarily only for the Serpent to come shooting up violently from the soil, its speed knocking her weapon out of her hand and its mouth catching Kelna’s forearm with its fangs as poison was injected directly into it, her only viable option being to yell and wince loudly in momentary anguish. The grip remained vice-like as more and more of its body continued to expand upwards from underground, their elevation approaching the top of the massive tree-line that surrounded the two; in an attempt to gain some distance, Kelna utilized her free arm, now lacking a weapon as it was knocked out of her hand when she was attacked, and extended her arm outward and into the slight gap within the mouth of the Serpent, her voice cracking and breaking in pain as she yelled out “Burning Hand: Flow!”. This personal modification of the technique was spur of the moment attempt as the young girl usually only relied on the possibilities and battle knowledge standards of her ancestral warriors and those who she felt could be trusted within the bounds of combat and, luckily for her, her gamble paid off as a wide sheet of flames expunged from her palm inside the mouth of the Serpent, traveling backwards and downwards towards it’s stomach while it’s skin on the outside began expanding and cracking due to the intense amount of pressure and flame building up within it. It’s grasp upon her was released as they both fell to the ground, it’s head landing directly next to Kelna as she landed on her back, and for a moment’s ambience, the two competitors sat silent and wounded amongst each other, the serpent hissing and gasping for air from the inside out while Kelna lay unconscious from the impact of the fall, the poison seeping deeper and deeper into her bloodstream as it’s effects, while unknown to many who shared tales of this Ancient Earth Serpent, would soon become a matter of not only life and death, but of stability and ability as well.
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Minutes passed before she awoke, the deafening silence being broken by a harsh gasp and spat for air from Kelna as she coughed and wheezed in pain. She noted that the Serpent’s corpse had been cauterized from the inside out due to her flames and, as it sat motionless, her eyes met the spot where the fangs had entered her forearm and, in it’s place, a small and round magical seal had formulated itself onto her forearm, burrowing slightly below the skin as it’s dicolorement made it stand out, however, it was not extremely prominent and could therefore be passed on as a simple birthmark or scar within this time. Unbeknownst to her, this seal marked her as the new vessel of the Guardian of the forest, Zeoghu, a Bronze Dragon who had spent the past hundreds of years guarding the edge of the mainland with it’s life from those perceived as intruders; in Kelna’s case, she was treated as an intruder in combat, though Zeoghu, after seeing her prowess and skill within her short battle with his original, admittedly much weaker vessel, decided to utilize her as a means to further his potential for power, only this time utilizing a host with mixed blood that had not been tainted by the whims of the ache of time.
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Taking to her feet, she looked around on the nearby ground for her blade, scanning the leaves and bushes heavily until the gem in her blade shined brightly in an attempt to make itself visible to her and, meeting her eyes, she quickly rushed over to the blade to recover it. Grabbing the hilt with only one hand, she attempted to raise it before being met with slight resistance from the sword itself, the blade feeling as if it had gained thirty or so pounds; placing two hands on it in response, her attempt to raise it was eventually successful, turning back around to view the Serpent’s corpse again as she sheathed the blade in finality, taking a deep and hard breath in before turning again towards the way she came in and beginning to walk. Much like the hour and a half trip required to get her from the Camp to the Forest, she made the trek all the way back the same, only this time she felt a much greater sense of control over her breathing and stamina expenditure within her movements in swimming and climbing and, within an hour, she had returned to the barracks within the camp, her walk slowing to a creep in an attempt to not wake anyone else up. Taking to her cot after entering, she spent hours attempting to drift off into some semblance of solid rest, however, after reaching the point of crossing over into the dream realm, her rest was interrupted by the loud gong being rung outside of the main building and, for what she perceived as the last time, she scanned the room of her comrades and sighed to herself.
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iv.
Attaining her usual posse of two guards behind her, the Sgt. entered the barracks and stood silently, notably not rushing the women as she usually did as she recognized that, for many of them, this would be their last day on Earth and she felt it necessary to at least allow the young girls time to awaken and ready themselves without being rushed or harassed. Soon afterwards, all eight of the girls stood at the end of their beds, solemn and somber among themselves as each of them followed one by one behind the Sgt. as she exited the barracks and, following each other down from the camp through the small mountain passage and down to the docks, the boat ride over to the Sarton Forest stood silent from start to end, the ambience thick with fear and unannounced nerves as the only noise being made came from the rowing of the boat’s oars and it’s bottom brushing up onto shore. Kelna was the last to get off of the boat, meeting eyes with the Sgt. once more before turning back and following the rest of the girls towards the entrance to the forest that she had been in the night previously.
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Spacing out and beginning to trek in their own directions, the girls were previously instructed to wait until the sun had reached its highest point in the sky at noon to commence battle with each other, the ultimate goal being to allow an ample amount of time for only one person to be left standing as the victor among their peers and with this time continuously passing ever slower as Kelna sat under a tree, analyzing the seal under her skin, the sun eventually hit its peak which caused Kelna to glare upwards and, taking a moment to breathe, sighed as she didn’t fear death by the hands of another human, but feared the uncertainty of how the seal and it’s power would influence and become of her.
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As she pondered, two small daggers came flying past her head and landed within the face of the tree she sat under, the whip of the blades flying through the air being the only other sound outside of the forested ambience; stepping out from behind a tree, a young girl named Hulgirm, a human,revealed herself to Kelna as a prompt to battle, her ebony glaive glistening in the sunlight with blood upon it’s blade and running down towards the chained handle and hilt. She smirked to herself as Kelna calmly turned to face her, removing her blade from her sheathe and wielding it with both hands at her waist, it’s increased weight being utilized as a sort of pendulum of balance for her attacks that would allow for heavier, denser strikes at the cost of a much heavier blade which would take time to adjust to, her growing sense of control over her movements and staminda expenditure continuing to grow and expand within herself as Zeoghu continued his work on fortifying and strengthening his new vessel; the two stood facing each other, separated by 20 yards or so of brush and leaves as Hulgrim spoke out “Transmutation: Heat Metal” softly, her bloody glaive beginning to glow red-hot as if it had been dipped in a sort of magma or fire for smithing, the glow strengthening as she wielded her blade above her head and dashed forward towards Kelna. In defense, Kelna rushed forward as well, however, she kept her head and center of mass low in an attempt to formulate every ounce of her momentum in her swing into the body of her opponent, the two making contact with each other soon after their respective marks as Kelna’s blade punctured and sliced through Hulgrim’s torso, her garment being ripped through completely as the blade edge indented her deeply and caused a newly opened gash in her stomach, darkened blood quickly beginning to spill out of the orifice. Due to Kelna’s attack, Hulgrim had not been able to lower her glaive onto her opponent in time and, with the confidence of slaughtering three of her fellow girls, she dashed at Kelna thinking she would simply be the fourth, however, quickly realized the extent of her failure to recognize that the bounds of limitations set upon this Nightgem were far greater than anything she had every experienced or witnessed, this point being made aware within her mind by the simple fact that Kelna was able to almost entirely cut through her torso with one swift movement, her one-motion swing from the waist being noted as a technique that would have required years of training and perfection to be as effective as it was on her. She quickly fell to her knees and onto the side of her face alongside her weapon, her mouth falling open and beginning to spew blood alongside the large wound on her stomach as her smirk returned, Kelna standing at watch as her blade returned to it’s wielded position alongside her waist; she had confidence within her new technique, however, even this effective of a result was unexpected to the young girl as she began pondering the possibility of her newfound strength being a testament to her bloodline and what her mother always mentioned to her as an “awakening” of sorts and as her opponent and former colleague sit bleeding out and twitching, gasping for air occasionally as her vital systems began to shut down completely due to the damage done to her stomach and the blood loss, a last ditch attempt to show some form of respect and end her suffering saw Kelna approaching the dying girl and casting Blindness/Deafness upon her, causing her twitching to halt completely as her shallow and harsh breathes became shorter and shorter as minutes went on and the with remaining life fading from her heart, her consciousness crumbling within itself, Kelna closed the eyes on the corpse as a final send-off to the afterlife.
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v.
Returning to her feet and beginning to trek forward, Kelna scoped out her surroundings as she noted the position of the sun, noting that a little more than half an hour passed since the trial had commenced and she assumed that, at that point, there had to have been at least 3 to 4 other competent and dangerous warriors left alive; her sword remained wielded with both hands and at her side, her breathing returning to a state of steadiness for any incoming conflict, however, the next chunk of minutes turned into a few hours that were spent continuing to scour the forest, it’s bounds and seemingly endless treeline encircling every direction she traveled as she walked by a few of the slain corpses of her comrades, the extreme blood loss in some cases signifying the weapon used and even the cause of death in many cases. Eventually, she reached the edge of the Forest and exited through the brush, being met with a small ravine that met a high and dense rock wall that separated the mainland of Yarrin and the Sarton Forest from each other; looking around once more, Kelna approached the ravine and began to drink from it, her thirst for water being mentally suppressed within her mind for the past few hours for the sake of allowing more room within her mind to dedicate towards her objective or enemy at hand, though this moment of stagnation granted her a deserved break. Continuing to drink, the treeline shook behind her as she quickly turned in defense and gripped the handle of her sword, readying her stance, however, Fhadove appeared from the brush and limped forward, her left arm being severed at the forearm as her other side wielded her massive sword, her entire body covered in scars and cuts that oozed slightly with every harsh jerk of her muscles. Only making it a few feet from the exit before falling to her face and passing out, Kelna rushed over and overturned the body, checking for a pulse before looking over her body and wincing to herself as her eyes met the missing hand on her left arm; pondering who or what was left that could have been this strong, her mind raced with possibilities as to the capabilities and extent of the limits of power of this threat as, with Fhadove being a monstrously tall and bulky teenage girl as compared to many people, the fact that she was attacked and damaged to the point that she fled in anguish as a last ditch attempt to save herself noted that the opponent, however strong, was persistent.
After a few moments, a familiar female High Elf stepped out from the Forested exit, her weapon being a rapier that glowed with an orange-reddish flame and within it, the shiny metal reflected the eyes of an infernal being, one that ancient history would come to known as Utad, the guardian of the Hinnod Ocean within the underworld where, as history would have it, he spent the past few hundred years guarding what remained what was being rebuilt of Grimhearth after it’s destruction before taking in a new vessel at her birth as a means of fulfilling a blood pact with her creator, a cursed and wretched sorcerer now lost to the bounds of time. This vessel, a young elf named Gelzira Fallheart, was abandoned at birth by the sorcerer and, after unwillingly traveling from Grimhearth to Eldham through the underground slave trade, her growing years being spent as a pawn being bet on by hungry and predatorial men, the offer to become a vessel of absolute strength for the monstrosity that isUtad was hard to pass up on as her 18th birthday saw her registering herself within the battle camp as a means of testing herself, her unbounded loyalty to the guardian being proven within her entry test where she was responsible for the slaughtering of an entire group of combatant comrades, her goal being to display to the Emperor her unwavering resolve. Now, standing still as she met eyes with Kelna, still leaned over Fhadove’s unconscious corpse, Gelzira spoke out to her:
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“Well, I guess it’s just you and me now.” she smirked to herself, continuing to lock eyes with Kelna. “Let’s not keep the Emperor waiting, shall we?”
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In what seemed like an instant, she covered the distance between her and Kelna, the only response being for the Nightgem to quickly wield her blade in defense, the rapier making contact with the Sunstrike blade as Kelna’s resistance against the elf was quickly crumbled under what felt like hundreds of pounds of pressure from her thin, serrated blade. Pushing back and launching herself away in order to get some space, she met eyes with the elf again, only this time their gazes remained locked as they both went in for an attack, the two blades meeting and clashing louder than before as the flame upon the rapier remained steady. Going back and forth, the two exchanged slashes and swings from many angles and directions, their speed slowly but surely increasing with each pause in the exchange and, after a longer pause than the two had expected, Gelzira utilized the space to cast Pyrotechnics which spawned a large and expansive sphere of black smoke around the two of them; scoping her surroundings, Kelna could only track the burning glow of the flame through the smoke as even it’s light was easily hushed out by the thickness and density of the fog, it’s pressure increasing slowly, and as she continued to focus, the seal implanted on her forearm began to glow and sizzle with lightning and energy similar to the reaction that would occur within the handle of her blade when she used Evocation: Chargein her previous battle with the Ancient Serpent, it’s noise becoming louder and louder as it began to sting immensely, causing a harsh and intense wince from the young girl. Returning her focus to her opponent, Kelna casted Blur onto herself as she stepped backwards and deeper into the fog and, keeping sight of her opponent’s glowing blade, she began to sprint around the sphere as well, her attempts to get close being thwarted each time as Gelzira had taken the liberty of spawning harmless, but bountiful and active clones of herself within the fog that Kelna continued to fall victim to. Growing more and more frustrated, her seal glowed its brightest yet as she felt an overarching sense of power and strength overtake her at once, the likes of which she had only heard about in tales of glorious battle and exploration and it’s strength being enough to halt her in her tracks completely, her movements and joints feeling somewhat lighter and almost seamless as if she was under the physical manipulation of a much higher being, one using her as a sort of puppet within this moment; the smoke sphere surrounding the two dissipated as Gelzira revealed herself once more, smirking wider this time as she felt that she had successfully accomplished her goal of confusing and tiring Kelna out, however, to ensure her victory in her eyes, she lowered her blade once more and readied her stance for a rushing slash, an attack aimed straight for her opponent’s head that would immobilize her immediately if the strike didn’t kill her on impact. In the moment, time stood still for an instant and, noting her opponents stance, Kelna took to hers as well but halted slightly, the sense of time itself stopping completely for a moment as Zeoghu made himself present to her, speaking into the ambient silence of time:
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“Do not fear, mortal. Channel the divine power of the True Gods through your blade and shimmer forth as your ancestors did before you.”
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With time returning to it’s normal form, Kelna finally lowered herself completely into her counter stance, her entire body coursing with energy on the inside and feeling as if she had thousands of years of battle and glory channeling through her veins, her strength feeling immeasurable in the moment as her breathing had slowed to a chilling pace. The two stood a decent bit apart, both ready to end the battle once and for all and as the Rapier continued to glow, awaiting it’s dance partner in Kelna’s blade, now itself glowing strongly as well within it’s jeweled handle and coursing with energy all the same; both girls dashed at each other, their individual Guardians making themselves visible to the opponent through their respective draconic spirit engulfing both of their bodies and their weapon entirely and as Gelzira darted to the side and utilized her momentum to launch herself up and off of the side of a tree for a downward slash, the flames growing darker and larger with rage as she yelled out “Blue Dragon: Acid Slash!” with all her might, the hydra spirit that engulfed her roaring at the top of it’s lungs as her flame blade came down towards Kelna from above. In response, Kelna swiftly launched herself and her blade upwards in one swift motion from her hips, once again utilizing the momentum of her weight and jump to put more force into and through the swing of the blade, however, this time she felt even more force and momentum being pushed into the swing than before, an amount that could only be explained as her guardian angel granting her a segment of their ancient strength; she felt her body begin to adjust to her opponent’s angle and rotate the instant she launched herself from the ground and, approaching the apex of the two blades meeting as the spirit of Zeogu that engulfed Kelna roared even louder than her opponent, the sound being heard as a dense strike of thunder to anyone nearby, a voice called out from deep within Kelna’s being and spoke out through her: “Ancient Bronze Dragon Dance: Zeoghu!” as her blade sparked harshly and violently with the energy and sparks of the ethereal energy within it, her body doing a pirouette of sorts in mid-air as the energy build up was released as the two blades met in tandem. The result was an extremely large and concentrated release of energy between the two that could be seen and heard from Wolfpine across the sea, the impact being so dense that a crater had formed below the both of them as each one was launched backwards into their respective directions, Gelzira being launched up and into the thick forest treeline while Kelna was knocked downwards and deeper into the cratered soil, the impact causing her to fall unconscious instantly for a few moments before coming back to minutes later.
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vi.
Her body sat motionless within a stiffened and harsh pain throughout her torso and her arms, her seal no longer glowing as it finally sat dormant after it’s activity throughout the past few hours. She attempted to raise up from her lying position, however, the pain proved too much and as she remained on the ground, Fhadove appeared over her, her missing arm being cauterized at the wound as her smile had returned with her spirit. The two girls were the only remaining survivors of the trial and would be expected to finish each other off in order to determine a true victor, though with the context at hand, both girls met eyes and solemnly agreed to a non-verbal connection that neither would try to hurt the other, instead opting to assist each other as the two supported each others weight with their own bodies as they made their way back towards the entrance of the forest. Eventually reaching the shore, the boat that everyone traveled there in had returned, it’s seats remaining empty aside from the driver and the Sgt. that had dropped them off; her gaze struck the two girls simultaneously and while she recognized that the two of them had not finished the trial officially,the physical extent of their wounds proved them skilled and determined enough to have survived amongst those lusting for the blood of those opposing them, a feat that she felt was honorable enough to allow the two girls to return without a conflict.
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Returning to the Wolfpine Camp after a solemn ride back, the two girls were quickly separated from each other and escorted into separate medical areas of the camp, Kelna being taken to a tent behind the main building where she was attended to by multiple nurses. Her seal remained dormant, though many of the nurses spoke amongst themselves about it and questioned its presence as they healed her now resting and calmed body and, after an hour of work, Kelna awoke from her slumber as bandages and gauze covered her cuts and bruises completely. Her sheathe and blade were sat beside her on a small table and, within the tent, only one nurse remained, her gaze being caught off guard by Kelna’s sudden movement after her long rest. She remained silent, though the two met gazes before matching their eyes upon a letter with a royal seal upon it that had been sat upon the table closest to the door leading outwards. Assuming the letter entailed some sort of acknowledgement of her actions and future assigned plans, Kelna quickly opened it and read it, its details entailing her need to travel to a place known as Lornia to assist the land in it’s many difficulties including disease, drought, famine and death which had begun to occur as atonement for the people’s past years of abuse of their godly blessings from Eohric, the Holy Elder and enemy of the original Gods. He ruled over the land in centuries past, though the people’s eventual accumulation of strength and assistance from the lawful deities saw his eventual defeat and banishment to the underworld; in response, he collaborated with Kronos and began to summon bounds of suffering upon those who defied him and, at that point, their only hope for true change was to receive help from someone not afflicted within the current hellscape.
Arising and taking to her blade, Kelna traveled down to the dock where the boat had resided and, as expected, a large rowboat awaited her with a guard inside, his bored gaze being broken by her arrival as she took her seat without speaking. Taking off into the ocean, the two traveled for the next few days, eventually arriving on the coast of Lyalon.
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vii.
The deafening silence of the coastal city shook the spine of both Kelna and the accompanying guard as the inlet from the ocean was lined with large castles and pires of stone, quartz and brick that seemingly ran for miles on end without a break. The orange tinge of the atmosphere was matched by the darkened rust of the buildings and landforms and, passing under a bridge, a group of large humanoid beings resembling crows and demonic dogs wielded flaming scythes and body-sized saws and gazed upon the two as they passed below them, their stare not leaving them until their boat had become a dot in the distance. Passing even more blocks of seemingly abandoned homes and churches, the royal architecture eventually coincided into a small port within a river bed and, giving the guard a nod, Kelna stepped out and onto the dock, facing the back of what seemed to be a large church of worship. Glaze and rust lining each window sill to varying amount from the inside outwards, she sensed a presence in her vicinity as she approached the building and, after finding a stiffened door on the side of the building, Kelna entered to instantly witness the grandest of worship halls that she had ever witnessed.
Suddenly, that deafening silence had been traded for a cold, murderous ambeince that rung from the top of the rafters to the broken and withered benches below, surely the sites where those who fought against Kronos commenced their daily prayers and sacrifices. The sunlight pierced through the broken glass and met Kelna’s silhouette as she walked around, exploring and searching in every room for some sign of life or presence; however, her search remained stagnant as by the time she had reached the top story on the third floor and had a view over the entire church below, there had yet to have been any movement or sign of life aside from her own and, with her frustration mounting, the young girl turned to look out the mosaic-paned window beside her before hearing a loud and thunderous breaking of wood and rubble from one of the floors below her.
After rushing down the wide and grand staircase to the first floor, the young girl unsheathed her blade as she wielded it in front of her in a defensive-ready stance and brought her pace to a crawl of a walk, her footsteps seemingly muffled amongst the aftershock of the loud noise; reaching a corner, she looked around it as any other, but her gaze was met almost instantly by a towering mass of clad metal and chrome armor, the helmet containing no eye or mouth holes as the being itself stood motionless but aware of Kelna, it’s left arm appearing seemingly welded to it’s Greataxe’s hilt while the other arm stood free of motion. A dark, deep black flame engulfed the inside of the armor and spilled out through the seams and cracks within it and, after a pause of ambience, the large dark knight slammed it’s Greataxe down towards Kelna at a speed so quick that she received a deep slash on her cheek within her attempt to dodge the attack. Her attempt to halt and view his attack was interrupted once again by another swing of his axe and, realizing her disadvantage, she quickly jumped and launched herself upwards back up towards the rafters of the upper levels, struggling to grasp onto the old and broken rock formations making up the pillars; expectedly, the dark knight followed quickly behind her, his large axe blade crashing through the pillars and floors above him as he tried to break the floor below Kelna in his pursuit, the loud cathedral slowly but surely being taken apart with each of its remaining sources of foundation being demolished with such force and speed.
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Running out of room to flee and approaching the large, glossy mosaique at the front end of the Church, the young girl made the split-second decision to throw herself out of the window in order to space herself as much as she could in her current predicament and, momentarily, she sealed her vision for the first time in a while as she braced for the wave of glass that joined her on her way down. Landing on her feet, she quickly wielded her blade again as she scanned the front of the church for her opponent and, noting that the loud clanging of the axe against the wood and quartz had ceased, her breathing slowed slightly as she relaxed, finally garnering a moment of reprieve. This moment was surely only a moment though as, seconds later, the entire Church building exploded outwards as debris came flying towards and around the girl; the large death knight, it’s eyes now glowing of a bright red hue, stood at the doorway of the building as he locked eyes with Kelna and, with both of it’s hands firmly grasping the large axe he wielded, the two finally engaged each other on even ground.
Taking the chance to use her speed to her advantage, Kelna quickly dashed towards and in between it’s legs as she left large slices and dents against the clad metal; however, her slices were revealed to have been too shallow as in an almost momentary response, the Death Knight turned to face her and launched a roundhouse kick against the young girl, sending her flying up and into the nearby roof of a home where a family had been hiding out from the city’s scourge. Coming to moments later, Kelna looked down into the home and saw a mother holding her son and daughter closely as the three sat in fear and anguish of what monstrosity could be nearby and, in an attempt to give them hope, Kelna struggled to pull up her arm from the rubble to give a half-hearted thumbs up at the children before she returned her attention to the direction of the death knight, it’s hollowed shell now appearing to be almost flying at Kelna as it launched itself up and towards her location. With only a moment to respond before the family below was crushed in the ensuing rubble, Kelna utilized her Vampiric Touch and engulfed her off-hand with a dark blue and purple hue of flames and, launching herself forward to meet the knight in the air, the two eventually clashed metal, with Kelna’s blade being bent backwards from the pressure of the knight’s speed and force with the axe and, fortunately, her off-hand successfully hit it’s target of being lodged within the knight’s hollow circular core. Releasing the slight buildup of energy within the core, the knight buckled within the armor and halted in its pursuit of the girl in mid air, the two of them falling to the ground and landing with an immense thud. The two quickly regained their composure and returned to their respective stances before the knight launched a flurry of strikes and swipes with his large axe, Kelna responding to each strike with a dodge or parry of her own; feeling her blade begin to falter behind the repeated heavy impacts, she launched herself backwards for a moments reprieve before dashing forward again to throw off the timing of the knight. However, before she could get close again, the knight met her in stride, his axe approaching her at an angle and making contact at the point that her left arm connected to her torso, the contact resulting in Kelna going flying backwards into yet another home and her arm being severed in almost an instant.
Waking to an immense ache in her joint and impending blood loss from her wound, the young Nightgem groaned loudly before trying to rise to her feet, a task she failed as she fell back down out of pure exhaustion, grasping at her missing arm as the pain had finally set in; however, her opponent remained focused, his stride towards her location being matched by his axe becoming engulfed in the same black flame that filled his suit of armor, it’s intense spark matching itself on both accounts. Executing a flash step to appear behind the girl in what seemed like a moment’s notice, the death knight swung through Kelna’s backside with the blunt side of his axe, sending her flying once more into another nearby building and cracking the right side of her rib cage in the process, her impact seeing her land with only an ounce of consciousness remaining; the small courtyard where the two had been fighting had become a cesspool of rubble, broken glass and wooden beams strung together by patches of her blood and, for a moment, the two locked eyes as rain, slowly thickening into snow, began to fall around them.
Finally finding the strength to return to her feet, Kelna stood with her blade in hand and her seal glowing brightly, her breathing still stagnating as she attempted to regain a consistent pattern of composure; mirroring her on the other end of the courtyard, the death knight stood menacingly, the only sounds coming from the armor being the drained, bleak cries of the dark souls that compounded its makeup. Recognizing the lull as one of, if not her only last chance to finish her opponent, Kelna closed her eyes briefly, the image of Zeoghu appearing and smiling to her.
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“Entrust your blade to me, Kelna. We have an end to meet, yet.”
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These words rang as gospel within her ears as her eyes opened once more, her opponent remaining opposite of her position. Attempting to take her striking position in response, the young girl sheathed her blade and angled herself into a slash through her target, a technique that had become second nature at this point; however, this time, she paused to take a deep breathe and spoke strongly and deeply into the spectral abyss surrounding the two:
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“Bronze Dragon Flash.”
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Without time to react to her immense speed, the death knight saw it’s final moments highlighted by what appeared to be a dark yellow and blue blur of energy maneuvering toward and past it at what seemed like the speed of light, it’s thunderous afterimage slashing and piercing the suit of armor deeply as the end of the sequence saw Kelna re-sheathe her blade as the knight fell to it’s knees, it’s spiritual core dispersing and disintegrating into the thin air amongst the dust, rubble and snow. A slight vibration rang through the ground as the suit of armor landed upon it, shaking Kelna slightly, though the ambient silence of the town had returned amongst the small battlefield that the two had created behind what remained of the grand cathedral.
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viii.
Kelna’s wound had cauterized itself from the immense heat and pressure generated from her Bronze Dragon Form, a lucky side effect of her gamble as her technique had been nowhere near honed enough for effective use within combat; regardless, she launched herself up and onto one of the few remaining buildings nearby and as she reached the peak of the roof, her eyes were immediately drawn towards the miles of brick-stacked houses and tight alleys, each highlighted by the faint glow of candles and torches within the occasional window. Further in the distance held some groups of patrolling citizens, seemingly searching for any sort of danger of trouble that may arise within the silent streets of Lyalon, though the source of those troubles was yet to be discovered by many of those who came to the coast searching for easy answers; outsiders were viewed as the lowest of scum as many corroded the “pure” land with the disgust and filth of the non-heretical arts that many practiced, whether for violent means or for healing and understanding. Lacking this perspective, however, Kelna launched herself forward once more, this time aiming herself for the next set of rooftops as she aimed to reach the massive citadel on the other end of the town on foot, hoping to find some form of refuge and reprieve there along with the possibility of information as to what she had gotten herself involved with by agreeing to be sent on this mission.
Running and jumping along the brick tiled tops, her footsteps echoed off and across the alleys and streets, the hunter’s below vocally acknowledging her presence on multiple occasions as she refused to halt for more conflict; eventually, she reached a large plaza of statues and fountains, now struggling to flow with any sort of consistency from rooftop to rooftop as the buildings had become much more varied in size and shape amongst the diagonal plaza grounds. The cathedral she had been aiming for proved to be much longer and wider than she initially anticipated from the distance and as she sat on the perch of the largest fountain in the plaza, taking in the scenery amongst the remaining drops of snow in the atmosphere, the cathedral bell rang loudly as another death knight, one smaller than the previous but longer and more slender, launched themselves from the top window and out onto the ground level of the street, landing a few blocks down from Kelna’s immediate view.
The immediate shockwave from the landing was enough to slightly shake the ground, though at nowhere near the level that the previous knight, now identified as Crown Paladin Elwyn of the Heaven’s Eight, was able to achieve; however, with this knight being his younger brother, Alfwen, and amped off of the news of his brother’s death, the paladin had more than enough motivation to show Kelna that he would not be as easy of a challenge. Locking eyes with her from a distance, the knight kneeled into a sprinter’s-like stance as black flame ignited on the bottoms of his feet, sending him flying forward as the decompression and expulsion of the flame caused windows to break among their foundation being shaken; quickly reaching her position, Kelna attempted to react with a dodge out of the way, though her timing was too late as the knight had already flash stepped behind her and released his Shatter technique, channeling a thunderously painful ringing and eruption into a reach-around hook, connecting with her jaw and sending her flying through a fountain and the sides of 4 rows of houses, eventually landing harshly in the alley of a tavern. Returning to her feet, the young girl met the knight at her extended blade, the two colliding metal as the force of the impact rang out as a shockwave of energy released from the two out and onto the street, shaking windows once more. Exchanging blows and series’ of strikes up and down the large alley street, the two were fairly evenly matched in terms of physical skill, even with Kelna missing an arm and lacking the stability behind her strikes that Alfwen carried.
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Their exchange continued through the alley and into yet another courtyard, this time enclosed by a massive garden lined with quartz and stone, surely a monument of the town as the marble statue upon the middle of the garden depicted a warrior on a stead, unidentifiable at thc current moment to Kelna; regardless, attempting to take an upper hand, Alfwyn feinted at her as the two came into range of each other once more, though the young girl read the knight and parried away his attack, her blade ringing continuously in unison with her opponents as it had been for the past few minutes. Taking advantage of her counter, she quickly flicked and pierced the eye socket of his helmet, the dark abyss within sputtering in response alongside his groan of pain; she retreated atop the nearby statue and resheated her blade as she awaited a response from her opponent and soon after his writhing in agony ceased amongst his corpse falling flat to the brick garden ground, a black lightning bolt struck down from the heavens and pierced his armor, setting his entire body aflame with the same black flame that his brother had possessed. Appropriately, the lifeless body of Alfwyn stood once more and his gaze matched Kelna’s immediately, though he refused to pick up his weapon and, instead, opted to flash step once more towards her direction, positioning himself beside the statue and releasing his Shatter technique through a focused jab into the side of the base of the statue, resulting in the entire structure scattering apart into thousands of pieces while Kelna, who sat atop it, now floated upside down in midair as a result of her reaction to dodge; in a moment’s notice, before she could unsheathe her blade to recant, however, her opposer launched himself vertically to meet her at the apex and launched a barrage of close-handed hooks and uppercuts into her abdomen and lower body, followed by a third release of his technique that sent her flying through a multitude of rows of houses once more, only this time her speed and force caused the deaths of many civilians in the way of her path as she landed back within the plaza near the cathedral where their battle first began.
To her surprise, the pain from his attacks had seemingly begun to lessen the longer the fight went on, an unexpected side effect of her developing innate resistances as the vessel of one of the true outer gods; she failed to recognize this connection in the moment, though it’s relevance would soon come to pass in a manner that would be impossible to be misinterpreted. Returning to her feet after landing in a weathered flower bed, the young girl dusted herself off and searched her immediate surroundings for her opponent, though to no avail; the plaza stood silent amongst the metal ambience of her blade coming out of the sheathe, though as she continued to scan her surroundings, the ground below her began to rumble and vibrate at an alarming rate as Kelna quickly lost her balance and stumbled against a statue, struggling to regain composure. Before soon, a large cerberus burst through the ground below and up into the middle of the plaza, knocking Kelna off balance once more and causing her sword to land in the creature's mouth in the process as the debris from the earth below and stone monuments combined into a hailstorm, falling into the nearby rows of houses and streets nearby; fully exiting it’s entry point below, the cerberus sat menacingly above the cathedral pire, it’s appearance being met with an ear-piercing roar of anger, heat, and fury, the likes of which Kelna had yet to witness.
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To her surprise, however, she felt a cold, metallic hand take ahold of her shoulder and lift her up, leaving her no time for questions or confusion; turning around to meet the armored warrior, she was met with four of them, her opponent Alfwyn included, signifying to her that he was apart of some larger, organized unit of fighters within the citadel hold; placing this realization into the back of her mind for the time being, she met gazes with each of the four, their demeanors appropriately matching their varying levels of expression and preparedness at hand. Unbeknownst to her, she stood across from the current minister of fire, Alfwyn, the Accursed Death Knight, Wilheard, alongside Death Knight Rowena, and Hunter Saebald, four of the Heaven’s Eight.
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Pictured (Clockwise): Rowena, Wilheard, Alfwyn, Saebald
ix.
Rowena was the first among them to speak out:
“Unfortunately, you two will have to finish this squabble later. You, what’s your name, foreigner?”
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“Kelna.”
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“You’ve not got a last name, is it?”
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“Not one that I’d be comfortable sharing with you all, especially after your friend and I’s little “dance”.”
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Alfwyn grunted in displeasure in response before Saebald slapped him on the back of his head, a common occurrence within the group’s endeavors due to Alfwyn’s bloodlust.
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“Well then, you slayed his brother, did you not? The ‘Great Crown Paladin Elwyn’, the Dark Beast of Lyalon?”
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“Yes.”
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“Then the two of you have a grudge to settle, yet. Surely, only your head in exchange for his would suffice.”
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“That’s IF he can get it.”
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Rowena smiled widely as her gaze broke Kelna’s and met Alfwyn’s, his displeasure still present within his demeanor and physical posture.
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“Your confidence is to be applauded. Though, the task at hand calls for more than just iron gall.”
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Wilheard spoke up:
“The Cerberus King has been released upon the overworld at last, young Nightgem! The Eternal Garden bleeds with exaltation as they vow for it’s crown, and yet the Eternal Mother has brought him right to us; how wonderful!”
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The man’s joy and excitement could not be overstated, the darkened abyssal slits of his mask being contrasted by his jolly and ecstatic demeanor, his joy being expanded upon as he turned his back to the group, facing the Cerberus and opening his arms as if to welcome it in for a hug. In response, the beast shrieked at the top of its lungs from its current distance, shattering the glass windows within the surrounding buildings and causing a minor tremor, while the cathedral stood intact and unaffected. Taking to his blade in response, Wilheard pointed the tip of his greatsword, the holy Demi-Blade, at the Cerberus directly and without removing his supporting arm from it’s current position within his royal overcoat, he released a large gust of translucent, wind-like energy from the blade and towards the monster, the ground around him caving in slightly due to the force of his release. The energy contained jet-like speed within it’s travel and as it reached it’s target, in response, the Cerberus released it’s own energy, a large Eldritch Blast that, when met with the Death Knight’s attack, caused yet another crater to form in the ground below the impact point as the two energies collided for an expectedly catastrophic explosion, though contained. The rest of those nearby took to their blades as well, including Kelna, though Rowena made an effort to get the next attack in as she flash stepped onto the nearby rooftops leading to the Cerberus; sprinting towards her opponent, the young queen casted Magic Weapon upon her blade, the Eternal Zweihander that shared a similar build to Wilheard’s blade. Evermore, bracing for a retort from one of the three of the Cerberus’ heads, she launched herself above the leftmost head and, with graceful and effortless form, she slashed at it with might and magic alike, the blue flame encompassing her blade spewing a magma-esque substance upon the beast at the point of impact. Before she could land on the ground, however, the beast grabbed her with its hand and, crying out in infernal pain, it proceeded to slam Rowena on the ground multiple times before throwing her swiftly into a nearby building; returning its attention to the rest of the group remaining at the other end of the grounds, Wilheard and Alfwyn took off in stride together with Kelna following not fair behind, the two frontrunner’s paces matching evenly as Wilheard spoke out, joyfully as ever:
“I know I don’t have to remind you, your highness, but-”
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“Timing. I got it.”
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The Knight gave the prince a smug grin before the pair mirrored their movements as they halted abruptly, taking to the hilt of their blade and assuming a half-guarded stance before summoning ethereal masks over themselves, the spiritual manifestation of which appeared as guardian warriors surrounding the two, both of which stood as almost as tall as the buildings and courtyard surrounding them. Continuing their stride, a flash of light appeared in the wake of their position and in a moment, the two stood on the other side of the beast with their blades pointed forward as if they had followed through in a piercing motion, still mirroring each other in halt as the impact of their attack set in; a large black and green lightning bolt struck down abruptly from the sky and alongside it, a large spike formation appeared under the Cerberus’ jaws, piercing one if it’s three heads but only injuring it immensely. It winced and shrieked loudly in pain once more and Kelna took the opportunity to cast Sleet Storm upon the beast as a 40-foot cylinder of freezing rain and sleet opened in the night sky, falling quickly upon the beast in it’s attempt to recover. Growing angrier and more impatient with each attack, the Cerberus retaliated with another Eldritch Blast, though this time it was aimed directly at Kelna and was fired from less than 30 feet away, leaving her only option being to parry the attack as she attempted to do, slicing through the flamed sphere as it dissipated around her body, the heat still inflicting some minor burns to her remaining armor and clothing. Rowena appeared from the rubble of her impact as she met her blade’s force with the teeth of the injured head, though her attack was stagnant as she was knocked backwards from the recoil of the strength of it’s teeth; viewing this, Wilheard and Alfwyn attempted to attack it from behind but met the same fate as their bladesister, sent backwards a few feet in recovery as the two remained standing, though unsuccessful in their attempt.
Suddenly, Saebald finally appeared from what seemed like an eternal absence in the wake of their current dilemma and, recognizing the threat at hand, took to her bow to release a skybound drop of a volley of arrows from a nearby rooftop, each glowing with a magical red tint; the impact of each arrow granted a small explosion of fire and energy, gravely injuring the Cerberus and finally immobilizing it’s injured third head which dissipated into a dark cloud of dust. Momentarily, though, the cloud formulated into the arm and wing of a griffin, now twice in size and covered in magma scales as it took a swipe at the nearby combatants who all managed to dodge out of the way, though barely.
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Rowena called out to the rooftops:
“Saebald! What the fuck did you hit it with?”
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“I can’t do anything like THAT!”
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“This monstrosity is transforming into a griffin, and yet we’ve no idea why?”
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Wilheard chimed up in response:
“The True Form of the Cerberus King! I’ve only read tales of such a forceful entity in stories as a child, but now it’s right before my eyes!”
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His excitement was once again contrasted, though this time by the Cerberus taking repeated swipes at Saebald as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding it’s attacks as it clawed through the buildings’ fronts and interiors with ease, though many of the citizens had fled the immediate area at this point so the playing field was generally safe grounds for them to go all out. After a moment’s pause of the group watching the beast attack, Alfwyn and Wilheard flash stepped in tandem to target the griffin arm of the Cerberus and, mirroring each other on opposite sides of the arm at the point of attachment to the body of the beast, the two swung down and up respectively, angling their slash at the connection to the body in an attempt to sever it; their attack saw moderate damage, though it did not sever the arm and, in immediate retaliation, the beast swiped at them with increased ferocity than before, almost as if the arm itself had a sentient being of emotion and anger. The two dodged and parried the attacks respectively as they attempted to garner distance between themselves and the opponent and, noting the moment’s reprieve while it was distracted, Rowena approached Kelna from the side and took her hand in hers, the immediate connection between the two resulting in a jolt of spiritual and cosmic energy through Kelna’s system, alongside a slight flood of emotional and spiritual energy that Kelna couldn’t help but reciprocate; the result was a spark of deep blue and purple that engulfed Kelna’s entire body, much similarly to Wilheard and Alfwyn’s spiritual masks, and locking eyes with Rowena momentarily before the girls dashed, one after another, after the beast in an attempt to catch up with their comrades, Kelna cheeks becoming warm as her blushing signified the first of a love that she ever had.
Unfortunately, the enemy at hand remained persistent, the battle between the group and the beast now spewing into the front side garden of the Cathedral, breaking through the brick wall meant to protect it as even more statues and monuments of warriors were broken in stride of the beasts’s flurries; in response, Kelna attempted to launch herself up and over one of the beast’s two remaining heads and in doing so, her blade sat sheathed as she aimed her open palm at the heads, releasing Scorching Ray as three large beams of fire, matching the hue of her spiritual mask, dispersed at bullet-esque speeds, piercing the second head of the beast cleanly while only grazing the middle head which caused the beast to writhe in agony once more. She landed on the ground nearby and Alfwyn quickly took her place as the arbiter, releasing a combination of diagonal and horizontal slashes to the stunned beast before a final strike, his signature black lightning raining down once more to smite the beast as he followed through with his blade; it’s loud shrieks had continued to grow increasingly violent and, in an attempt to retaliate, the Cerberus quickly grabbed ahold of the knight and, similarly to how he attacked Rowena earlier, slammed him against the ground repeatedly, though this time was paired with the increased force and size of the griffin arm that the beast had acquired which resulted in yet another crater forming in the impact of where he slammed him, continuing on for a moment before launching him over the architecture and far away into a row of houses miles in the distance towards the sea coast, his impact site not even visible to the group. Amongst the four remaining warriors, Saebald took the initiative and, spawning an ethereal pair of spears in her stride towards the beast, the hunter began a dance of sorts as she slashed and collided with the beast’s arm, her concentration and poise remaining unaffected which surprised Kelna due to her small stature; after a short back and forth, the hunter retreated in an attempt to gain distance for a counterattack and, recognizing this, Wilheard quickly sprinted to match her timing as the two matched paces in pursuit of their attack, tossing their weapons to each other respectively before slashing and piercing the beast’s second head, the force of the impact sending a shockwave of energy out and pushing Kelna and Rowena backwards. To their surprise, the head was immobilized and the beast fell to the ground without a sound, much as if it had died, though as the four stood surrounding it in anticipation, the second head dispersed into a cloud of dust, much like the third, and another griffin-arm grew in its place, the large and majestic set of wings now appropriately paired as the beast had now grown in 2-3x the size as it returned to its feet, it’s eyes now blazing with hellfire as it reared its head to roar once more, the shockwave of the sound being so loud that the group was knocked back harshly and abruptly, not able to prepare which sent all of them off of their feet. Within the clouded haze of the impact, the beast took to it’s wings and took ahold of Saebald, quickly flying up and out of the garden and into the sky above and away from them, the three remaining scrambling to return to their feet as they stood helpless and unable to assist the hunter.
The ambient orchestra of the battle had subsided for damning silence and, speechless, the three continued to watch as the Cerberus, now half Griffin, continued to fly into the distance towards the ocean and horizon, unbothered; however, a spark of light flashed across the sky in an arc, shaped much like a scythe, towards the beast and as it subsided, a following release of energy occurred across the sky as well as Alfwyn, now harnessing the full extent of his spiritual mask and heretical blood, sat standing in the ocean as his aura has grown to the size of the cathedral itself, standing well over the height of many skyscrapers and modern buildings. The arc hit the Cerberus and halted it’s flight slightly, though it remained on course towards the horizon and attempted to speed up in an attempt to outrun the death knight, now fighting as the Great Giant Warrior Spirit, Hanzedune; recognizing it’s attempt to retreat, the giant turned and formed it’s posture into another swing, this time following through with another arc of light and energy that hit the beast again, this time making it drop Saebald into a yard below and sending it falling towards the ocean as if it was a plane spiraling towards it’s demise. Before it could hit the water, however, he shoulder lunged at the beast and sent it flying towards the nearby mountain range, its almost lifeless body colliding and breaking through miles of mountaintops and rock formations before landing and impacting the larger mountainside; aiming for the finishing blow, Alfwyn reset his form once more and, dragging the scythe edge along the ocean as he followed through his swing, the impacting horizontal arc split a part clean through the sea itself, the ocean floor becoming exposed along the line of the route of the impact which soon split the mountain range and mountainside in half respectively from the amount of force and energy released, the Cerberus being torn apart alongside it as an avalanche occurred and the beast lay dormant.
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A breath of relief fell over the group as they stood watching from the top of the Cathedral, the only site high enough in the city that would allow them to view the exchange in its entirety without fault. Rowena took to a seat on the ledge of the open terrace and Wilheard stood himself against the back wall of the terrace, sharpening his blade as joyfully as ever. Kelna took the opportunity to speak to Rowena about the connection they shared in their battle and, nervously taking a seat beside her, she spoke up:
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“That’s the power of the Minister of Fire, huh?”
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“Don’t be intimidated. He’s just as vulnerable as any warrior when you have a blade to their throat.”
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“And you would know?”
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“Of course. Don’t let my looks deceive you, Kelna, I’ve more to my blade than just beauty.”
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“Like, what?”
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The two sat in momentary silence as Rowena met eyes with Kelna, pausing and smiling before formulating her response:
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“Wouldn’t you like to know! You have years yet to experience the bounds of what I’ve gone through, though I’d rather not burden your memory with the stain of my past.”
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“I want it.”
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“You’ve no idea what that entails.”
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“I’m open for it. Please, Rowena.”
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The two locked eyes once more, only this time the ambient silence was paired with the animosity of interest between the two as Rowena finally let down her guard and decided to chance her luck with sharing her true self with someone she didn’t know very well at all. The following hours were highlighted by bounds of stories and tales from Rowena’s homeland of Silash where she resides as the Queen by way of bloodline, taking the throne unwillingly after the death of her father and brother in the Siege of Southbia at the age of 9, a war that saw Southbia and its surrounding provinces ravaged by the horrors and villainies of heretical warfare, the corpses of combatants spanning for miles upon miles to this day throughout the arid, lonely desert; being forced into the role of proprietor and leader, the young girl quickly learned her place as she grew into the protector of flesh and blood that the city desired for hope and, at the age of 16, she was officially crowned the Queen and since that point, her strength has only increased as she continue to attempt to bar the land from the travesties that would follow the success of the plot of the underworld. However, interestingly, after the siege had occurred, the young girl requested to be taken to the battlefield to identify the corpse of her father and brother and, while unsuccessful in doing so, she gained a sense of perspective among the bodies of those sent out to their deaths that remained with her to this day and, vowing to refuse to let another atrocity like that occur, her attempt to remain the protector of her lands has been successful up to this point, admittedly with some faults here and there.
By the time the two had finished speaking, the sun had begun to rise on the horizon as the gapped mountainside and ocean floor were lit up respectively; Wilheard and Saebald had eventually returned to their rooms to rest, Alfwyn returned and glared at Kelna deeply before heading into his chambers, and the Cathedral stood stagnant amongst the destroyed gardens, neighborhoods, and courtyards nearby, the rubble following suit as the sunlight slowly creeped through the alleys and streets of the quiet city. Within the alleys, small groups of nuns and children walked throughout each section of town and prayed for the lives lost within all the fighting that had occurred within the recent day and, noticing one of these groups below them, Kelna took the opportunity to say her goodbyes to Rowena before climbing her way down to the courtyard in which the Cerberus originally came to the surface, the large hole in the ground being surrounded by the group of women and children as each of them sat on their knees, heads bowed and praying to the gods. Kelna joined them instinctively and respectively, as her maturity came with the growing recognition of the extent of heretical living amongst a whole society guided by it, and as the group sat amongst the silence of the morning, a young girl came and set beside Kelna and attempted to hold onto her right arm, though it’s current status of being missing saw her grasping at air, quietly apologizing profusely in an attempt not to upset Kelna or the nuns. She giggled at the young girl and placed her on her left side, hushing the girl and herself before they returned to their collective prayer72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0AnH3ZnWM
