Legend of Krystal Forums

by **Reaver** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:39 am

Satisfied but keeping in mind Era's threat, Reaver listens to Era's other answer to his question while watching which hallways he went through. In case he ever needed to get through the fortress or perhaps lead an army through the place, remembering the paths would be quite helpful. As Era tells Reaver each of the GCs, he matches them with the faces from the village. He mentally notes each of their powers that he saw along with any personality traits that might impact an interaction with them. The way Era summarizes his meeting with Luna almost makes him want to laugh but he doesn't want to come off as too crude. “I can think of a few worse ways of introducing myself but unfortunately none come to mind right now.”
He says with a smirk as they reach a stone door that Era opens with a touch.
The inside of the room feels in a way Reaver can only describe as “Charged”. He could literally feel particles of raw magic clinging to his skin and in a way it excites and terrifies him. On one hand this type of energy is not easily bonded to anything and for someone to do that they must have a lot of wisdom, things that he can learn from. On the other hand, whoever could do this has immense power and could probably kill an experienced battlemage like Reaver without a thought. The idea sends shivers up his spine and for the hundredth time today, he wonders why the hell he came to this land. “I hope these Dark Gates are safe as you say, because in five seconds I’ll know who to blame if they aren’t.”

The cold obsidian sends another chill up Reaver’s spine as his hand presses against it, and the darkness just seemed to swallow him as he walked through.The scenery change catches Reaver off guard and he almost falls backwards into the portal. He might have expected a giant volcano or a ransacked village but not a beautiful grass field untouched by humans or demons. “Simply glorious.” He mutters as he kneels to get a better feel for the terrain. Reaver looks up in time to see a man emerge from the small cabin to answer Era’s call. The man himself looks more like a scholar than anything else, but so far everything in this land hasn’t been what it seems. Reaver nods his head in acknowledgement of Reinheart Stein. “I am Reaver the Terra Battlemage, Heir to the throne of Romundus. I hope it will be a pleasure to work with you and share the many “bounties” of this war.”

Reaver takes a step back to allow Era and Reinheart have their duel. Reinheart’s little display of clearing a ring of grass makes Reaver consider his magic to be ground based, but watching the whole fight leads him to think otherwise. The way Reinheart negated Era’s magic and then went on to disable her in less than a minute was quite something. Reinheart seemed to possess maybe power over more than one elements but Reaver was in no hurry to find out. Also apparently this isn’t the first time Era has lost to Reinheart seeing how submissive she is to his depraved wishes. Reaver’s eye brows rise as he sees Era pretty much melt in Reinheart’s arms but the way she respects power and fighting prowess he can’t say he’s completely surprised. He starts to lose himself in this perverse situation until Reinheart snaps him out of it with his scornful remark. Reaver chuckles at the insult, finding it cute and immature. “Only little boys don’t share their toys, Reinheart. Besides I’m sated from enjoying the very fine ass of Lunalesca a while ago. I’ll leave you two alone until Adrian feels the need to contact me. I would tell you to have fun Reinheart, but I’m sure you will anyways.”

Reaver gives a mock bow before heading towards the woods trying his best to ignore any noises that might come from the couple. There would be plenty of time to lust over Era later but now he needed some clarity and time alone.

by **Icaelus** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:45 am

Stryder, Alma and Lyn,
Saviore Castle, Castle Gates.

Alma gave Lyn a smile as the princess caught up with her. Nice to know that she was tagging along. To be honest, things would've been a bit awkward if it had just been her and Stryder, despite them knowing each other for years already. Stryder was just that distanced to everybody..
Her mind fell to various thoughts as they ran after the Master Hunter. When had he actually taken someone out on a mission since the past few years? The answer was completely never. It felt odd to Alma. Things hadn't always been like this..Stryder, well, he had seemed like he had wanted to get closer with his Hunters, always taking them on missions and everything like that.

It had felt like...a family, at one point of time. For the orphaned and young Alma, Stryder had been the gruff, rough-speaking father figure that despite his appearance and personality, genuinely cared for you.

Of course, happy days didn't last, especially when the main reason they were together was to combat the invading demon horde. That fateful day where Stryder lost over half of his Hunters was a massive blow to them all. Stryder never said anything else from when he returned, except that the mission had been a success..but Lunalesca, Mex, Erayne and Vivienne had all died. They were lost.
Stryder had then begun taking important missions solo, never asking for help. He often came back badly wounded, shadows cocooning his worst injuries as he staggered back to his quarters to recover. He took care not to let any of his Hunters to see him in that state, but then he was wounded grievously and he had taught Alma the art of stealth. And she was his very best pupil in that particular field..
Indeed, the man had simply turned a degree colder upon the the so-called "deaths" of what could perhaps have seemed like a family to him at the time...his way of protecting the ones that remained, perhaps?

"..Ah, I'll smack him one too if this isn't as important as he's making it out to be.."
Alma said as Lyn's comment about nutting Stryder one broke her out of her reverie. The cold weight of the memory sphere seemed to intensify as she wondered about just what could've happened. What nightmare of a memory lurked in the murky darkness of that crystal sphere..?
She would watch the contents of the sphere after they were done with this mission. She couldn't just run away from facing this forever. Stryder had relived that terrible moment of loss to implant his memories into the spheres. She..couldn't be afraid of it.
Their feet bashed the stone floor of the castle rhythmically, carrying them out of the open doors of the castle towards the gates..

The pair eventually caught up with the Master Hunter, who cut an imposing figure as he stood in the middle of the castle gates. His black, ragged cloak flowed in the warm breeze that graced the land of Saviore ever so often, sunlight beaming off the metallic visage of his mask.
"Good. Follow me."
Stryder nodded with satisfaction, turning away from them and beginning to walk down the dirt path to Leniv, the small town that surrounded one side of Saviore Castle. The townsfolk of Leniv were a generally cheerful bunch, most of them waving cheerily at the sight of the Princess Amberlyn herself and Alma, who was a familiar face since her youth. The cheery waves and happy smiles of course faded when they looked upon the cloaked man in the metal mask, instead devolving to hushed up whispers and stolen glances. There was almost nothing known about Stryder, beyond his appearance and gruff persona. No last name, nothing. And he always wore the same clothes. Did he have like a hundred similar cloaks in some gigantic wardrobe somewhere in the castle?
Just the regular old tale-swapping and gossip that was never uncommon.
"The Divines were an ancient race of demons from a long time ago. Their lore has mostly been erased from the history of mankind, unfortunately. They wielded one of the greatest elements as their magic. Light. But that wouldn't stop them from becoming all but extinct, though I do suppose that is a certain lord's fault.."
Stryder spoke as they walked, turning down a side road that Alma happily noted, led down to the Bootleg's Peg, where she was of course a frequent face.
"The lord of the Divines, Guileastes was a..peaceful being. I...he wanted a world where peace reigned and all was fine. His brother, Aridan opposed him and challenged him to war. The demons split up into two sides, the demons that came under Guileastes' command assumed the name of the Divines. There weren't too many of them, but they were immensely strong, strong enough to wipe out waves of the demons under Aridan's command if so they wished. But they didn't. The Divines were pacifistic by nature and they held back from killing their former brothers and sisters, a sentiment that the other side didn't share as they overwhelmed the Divines and slaughtered them. One by one."
His tone hardening, the Hunter continued his tale.
"After overwhelming the Divine forces, Aridan and Guileastes faced off in an one-on-one battle. Brother against brother, to the death. The battle lasted for a long time and Guileastes eventually managed to gain the upper hand on Aridan. But he couldn't deal the final blow that would end his brother's life. That was his grand mistake. Aridan had no such qualms and impaled his brother with his sword, Light's Demise. Guileastes was mortally wounded by the blow, but leaving the world to destruction in Aridan's hands was unacceptable. The world needed to see a brighter day. With the strength of a dying god, Guileastes drew Light's Demise out of himself and shattered the blade, raising his own weapon, Dark Fate and running it over his hand and drawing his own blood. Guileaste's last resort, the spell Banishment. Aridan realised Guileastes' intentions far too late and was sealed away into the Underworld, along with his demon army. The lord of the Divines paid a price too. He was sealed into a human shell and turned into a statue, Dark Fate in his hands. He would then sleep for time unknown until someone worthy enough to revive him and his sword came along."
Stryder led them into an alley where they could speak in peace.
"Just needed a place to speak without anyone listening in. Walls have ears, even in Saviore."
The Hunter growled with displeasure, leaning back against the brick wall of the tavern building. He looked at the pair, folding his arms close to himself.
"Now that you know all about this particular bit of history, I might as well tell you the my greatest secret and the true purpose of the Hunters."
Stryder fixed both Lyn and Alma with a steady look, gazing right into their eyes and watching what they reflected. He saw the steadfastness of allies that would forever support his endeavor for mankind's survival.

"I am Guileastes. I, along with my brother Aridan, created the world you see today. I am the leader of the extinct Divines. Half the world was molded from my thoughts and imagination. Times had been peaceful once, but it would not last. I battled my brother and sealed him away, along with myself into the human shell known as Stryder. Lyn. Your mother Calena awoke me from my slumber and is the wielder of Dark Fate. She took mankind's first step to survival."
Stryder paused, letting the bombshell of information drop on the two. Alma had the expression of a fish on land, her mouth hanging half open with shock. The Master Hunter didn't wait any longer to let the news sink in, continuing right on.
"The seal of Banishment is weakening, which is why Aridan is able to grasp at our dimension as it is currently. Soon, he will be able to break the dimensional barriers and enter Strias. When that happens, there is but one way to stop him. My human self must be slain with Dark Fate and I will assume my true form. I was weak before, but it will not happen again. Aridan is beyond redemption. However, it does not end at Aridan's death. After such a long time, I am reasonably sure that my weakened mind of a human will be unable to handle the immense power of one of the creators of the world. I will break and fall into insanity. The Hunters..must slay me when that happens. That is our dark fate."
Stryder finished his tale, watching their reactions. How would they react to knowing their true purpose? Their true purpose was to kill Guileastes? That was the final task of the Hunters, who would ultimately kill their leader in order to safeguard the world from him. The two girls now knew the true burden that each and every member of the Hunters unknowingly carried. The weight of the world on their shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rilja,
Leniv, The Bootleg's Peg.

The Bootleg's Peg looked just like any other tavern, both on the inside and the outside. The clientele of the tavern looked to be pretty much the same, big, working men and travelers all settling down for the hot meal and the good ol' mug of ale before they went back to their work or whatever it was they did. Not many people during this hour and certainly no people of interest to take note of. The interior of the Bootleg's Peg was normal as taverns went, tables and chairs arranged here and there. An oaken bar took up the far end of the room, a few barrels of ale stacked right behind it.
A lone barmaid scooted from table to table, collecting payments and empty mugs as she went by, glancing over at Rilja for just a split second before returning to work. The burly barkeep stationed behind the bar was quite the centre of attention, however..
"BWHAHAHA!"
Onepart Danner as he was known to the general populace of Leniv, was quite the unique man. For one, he was..gigantic, the best word to describe him. Coupled with that booming guffaw that was let loose with every single joke his customers fed him, he cut the image of the jovial, friendly barkeep that everyone knew and liked. But below that friendly front that Danner put up, was a man surrounded with little secrets. Almost no one knew that Onepart had once been saved by Stryder from demons, unfortunately losing his leg in the process and thus unable to keep up with the rigors of the Hunter duty that Stryder would've offered him. He had instead settled down in Leniv and opened up a tavern, doubling as both barkeep and Hunter recruiter, if one knew where to look and what questions to ask for the latter.
Danner set a mug of ale down heavily before the customer that had made him laugh, grinning all the time as he looked up to catch Rilja's eye. The man nodded at her, the nod that was universal between all barkeeps that said "Look, I dun wanna any trouble but there's trouble to be had, mah friend under the table's always happy to say 'ello."
All said in that crude, coarse lingo that all barkeeps developed soon or later, of course!
As Rilja finally reached the bar and made herself comfortable as best as she could on one of the seats, Onepart was quick to approach her.
"'Ello, lassie! Fine day out today! What can I do fer you?"
The massive barkeep grinned down at the thief, his hands already busy cleaning off a mug with a rag that had obviously seen better days.

Your lead led you to Onepart Danner..but do you have the right questions to ask?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason, Lysa, Marco and Kazumi,
Greenwood Forest.

Lysa simply glared at Kazumi as he made his request.
"No! Why the heck wou-"
The girl shut up as Jason decided to spill the beans right there on the spot for all to hear, not giving two shits at all about her. She stared at her best friend, mouth half open with shock. Did that really just happen? The stare continued on for a good ten seconds before Lysa accepted reality that her embarrassing secret had come to light, and that her damn best friend had gave it all away.
She gave Jason a murderous glare. If looks could kill..Jason would've been ripped in half with some guy in a horse suit, his remains stamped upon and his soul dragged through all of the stages of Hell and Purgatory before reincarnating right on the spot, only to be killed by a horse kicking him. But of course, looks couldn't kill so Jason was safe from Lysa's version of hell on earth. Perhaps not so safe from his best friend, who was possibly plotting the best way on how to assassinate him currently.
Lysa turned away from glaring at Jason in a huff to answer Kazumi's question.
"It'll be a difficult battle if it does come down to that. Greater Corrupted are not to be taken lightly..I hope we can persuade Lunalesca to come with us.."
The Hunter considered the possibilities. She was reasonably sure that Lunalesca was still resisting Aridan's control and in a way, she was on their side, wasn't she?

She glanced over at Jason as he laid out their orders. They were going in after Luna. The girl largely ignored Jason, still annoyed by his actions as she closed her eyes, focusing to reactivate the vision link between her and Varius. Lysa's eyes opened ten seconds later, the color of molten gold glowing from her irises.
"Way's clear. Let's get going.."

The Hunter squad made their way into the forest cautiously, moving as stealthily as they could as they approached the encampment. The only sounds that reached their ears were the buzzing of flies, the insects gathering to lay their eggs in the still warm flesh of the corpses. The iron stink of blood lay heavy in the air as they trudged through the empty battlefield, coming up to the the spot where the double doors of the building had once been before Lunalesca had sent a gust of wind ripping through them.

"Nothing's coming up around us so far. Ready to go? Remember, we want Luna to come with us willingly..if possible."

Ready yourselves and hope Lunalesca is in a good mood today, Hunters..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunalesca,
Fel Orc Encampment, Chapel.

The art of swordsmanship was a skill that Lunalesca held closely to her. It had been a tie between her and her best friend, Lyn..a tie that she treasured. The tie that had been severed upon the death of the human, Lunalesca. She was Corrupted and nothing would change that. A simple pawn under Aridan's thumb, to dispose of whenever he wished. Luna sometimes wished that he would just kill her..but he never did, instead subjecting her to humiliating punishments..such as the rape at that man's hands she had just endured.
But if Aridan thought he could break her into submission just like that, he was dead wrong.

Luna smiled as she removed the metal mask that represented Stryder. It was worn, scratched and scruffed, but it was the only thing that gave her hope to keep moving on, to keep resisting her own dark fate as a Corrupted. After all..Stryder had gave her a part of his identity at the foot of the Frostpeaks. She would represent that bit of his identity.
"Knock, knock.."
The swordswoman's smile turned wry at her little joke as she replaced Stryder's mask, raising Whisper up and slashing downwards once, a gale-force torrent of razor wind blasting forth into the double wooden doors of the chapel, tearing them clean off their metal hinges. She stepped forth into the torchlit dimness of the chapel, leaving the bloody battlefield that several scores of Fel Orcs had fallen to her blade, dyeing the grass a bloody red and watering the earth with their foul blood. The art of swordsmanship was simply a refined instrument for murder.

The chapel was dimly illuminated by the flames that burned from the torches that were mounted on the walls. The windows had been boarded up, not letting a single ray of sunlight break through into the building. But the darkness wouldn't help the Fel Orc chieftain from escaping her. A massive figure stood before her, dressed in a mix of leather and metal armor. A giant war axe hung loosely in the chieftain's right hand, the glow of the torches shining off the wicked tool of slaughter. The demon didn't bother wasting his breath on words, instead screaming a terrible war cry and charging forth at the woman, axe raised and ready to take her head.
The katana flashed, singing the siren song of death. The chieftain stood there for a moment, dumbstruck by the speed of it all...and then fell apart into two halves, sliding to the floor with the disgusting slush of his intestines spilling to the ground..

Lunalesca turned away from the murder, a cold smile gracing her beautiful features as she sheathed Whisper. These demons would never threaten Strias again. But she had neglected to notice something, an obsidian obelisk that had replaced the gold cross of the chapel..it hummed with massive magical power..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reaver and Erayne.

Reinhart waved Reaver away dismissively, a gentle smile crossing his lips after he pulled away from Era's, a hand gently caressing her hair.
"Shall we continue this indoors?"
He grasped her hand, ushering her towards the door of his modest abode. Erayne blushed lightly at this treatment, though she did glance back to see Reaver's back vanishing into the woods.
"Uh..Rein? Did you tell him about the security hellhounds?"
Era asked, looking back to the rather strange smile forming on Reinhart's lips.
"Ah, I must've totally forgotten about it after witnessing your beauty, my lovely Erayne. Also, he seemed a bit complacent."
Reinhart said as the couple entered the house, the door closing itself shut behind them.

Time and clarity spent alone was something Reaver unfortunately wouldn't be able to do, what with being surrounded by two hellhounds currently. The two canines took cursory sniffs of him before deciding he was a threat..and he looked like he had some bones they could chew on. Growling and hackles raised, the two hellhounds started circling Reaver, waiting for him to make the first move..

Outnumbered, Reaver. Could be a good time to run for it..or perhaps test out your new strength?

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by **Inferi** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:31 am

While it was unfortunate that there was nothing her to immediately catch her eye, Rilja wasn’t discouraged. Objects or bit of information with the most value were always hidden under the surface, to quote one of the many people she had worked with over the years. Even if the person she was looking for was right here, Rilja had no idea what he or she looked like, and so probably could bump into them and not even notice. Then again, she did expect someone from the Hunters to be…different, although in what way she wasn’t sure. They did fight demonic creatures for a living, so perhaps they looked the part of some battle-worn slayer. That was the image she got, anyways, whether it was actually the correct one or not. It made her a bit nervous, thinking like that, as she knew she wouldn’t fit the part if that was indeed the case.

Strangely, she hadn’t been able to get a name or a description from anyone, something that had seemed a bit odd then just as it did now. Especially in the criminal underworld, one would expect them to have at least a bit of information on someone that would seem to be so important to the continued survival of the human race. Not that it was working all that well, if her caravan was an indication of something on a greater scale, although she wasn’t going to hold a grudge for that. Well, much of one. Regardless, all she knew was that the leader of the Hunters was a man who wore a metal mask, and that wasn’t nearly enough for her to attempt to track him down. If it had been, she wouldn’t be in this tavern right now.

The booming laugh of the barkeep made her roll her eyes a bit, although not in a negative way. Now that she was here, she wondered how she could forget it. It was a trademark of this place, as was he, and although she had never directly interacted with him due to never needing to, he wasn’t the kind of person you tended to really forget. Not permanently, at least. Even without the laugh, his stature made him easy to identify in a crowd, and now that she saw him Rilja remembered the whispers among her band about secrets he had or might have. As always, she suspected that such things were greatly exaggerated, although since her information had led her here the rumors one of the older thieves had mentioned about him having some kind of connection to a dark group might have some basis in fact.

Even though what she was searching for had to be here, Rilja knew that simply asking straight-out about it might not be the best strategy. While it did work in some situations, and many people liked it when people inquired directly about something, something like this didn’t seem like something she could just ask and expect a straight answer. There had to be a reason the group kept themselves so secretive, and if she had to threaten multiple contacts just to get the information to come here it was unlikely the information would be given up right away, especially to someone who was a complete unknown. Even if Onepart Danner did know her, or anything about her, the only thing she had was that she was a thief, which was possibly worse than being an unknown.

Taking a seat, Rilja glanced around the tavern once more, expecting exactly what she saw: nothing new. Some would argue that multiple scans were useless and a waste of time, but she would disagree. Many things could happen in the space of a few seconds, and only the person that was watching for them would catch a glimpse. Besides, checking everything multiple times was a habit of hers, in case she had missed something the first time. She couldn’t even say how many times a second glance had revealed something that she would have missed, saving her life on at least one occasion. It was a worthwhile habit as far as she was concerned, something abandoned only in times of emergency.

When she looked up at the barkeep towering over her, though, Rilja was momentarily lost for words. She knew what she wanted to ask, but not how she could ask it. Being so focused on just finding the way hadn’t lent her enough time to think about how to ask directions. Honeyed words, coin, and force had gotten her this far, but it was unlikely any of those would prove effective now. Managing to keep her mouth shut to prevent an awkward stutter from coming out, Rilja composed her thoughts before finding what she hoped was something acceptable and speaking it in a calm and quiet voice, loud enough for him to hear but not at a volume that would broadcast it to the others nearby.

“I’m looking for someone that knows how to kill demons.” she said, placing her forearms on the counter and looking up at him, a serious expression on her face. The question, although fairly direct, was not clear as to the intent, and she just hoped that if he was the person here she needed to talk to he wouldn’t assume she was asking for one of the wrong reasons. All the secrecy surrounding this group made the thief wary, but she couldn’t back away now. There was nothing to go back to, and she refused to let anything she had done be for nothing.

by **Zender_Solarheart** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:57 am

Marco lets out a brief sigh at the part about wanting Luna to come quietly. Not because he'd rather she be captured by force, but because it entails appealing to her morality, which obviously is something he's ill-suited for. He's well-versed in the process of disabling and/or killing those who would otherwise kill him, but after all those years of being hounded, his ability to talk things out has waned considerably.

"Diplomacy...isn't my strong suit." Marco comments in that dull, almost emotionless tone the other Hunters are likely used to by now, then re-positions himself a spot further back in the group. By his reckoning, the better negotiators of their team should take the lead; if things take a turn for the worse, then he can swoop in to help restrain Luna. With any luck, however, it won't even come to that to begin with...

by **napsii** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:08 am

Lyn nodded seriously. She was irate with Stryder, but the Master Hunter's no-fluff attitude was infamous. Even though he was the butt of gossip to the rest of Strias, even the commoners took him to be a man of serious character. Her eyes bored into the back of the masked Hunter's cloak as they ran on, boots clicking on the floor. The warm breeze flowing in through the open front doors was welcome; the titanic carved stone walls of Saviore, the terraced castle overlooking Leniv from a steep hill, was strangely oppressive, even with all of the livery and art that punctuated its corridors. She nodded her salute to the chrome-armored soldiers they passed on the way. The county had been so peaceful lately that the gates were left open during the day, but the princess picked up the looks of worry and brooding on their disciplined postures even as they saluted to her.

She followed Stryder down the path to the charming village of Leniv in contemplative silence. Although there was barely a cloud in the afternoon sky and she could just faintly hear tiny critters running through the verdant grass, Strias' natural charm was overrun by Stryder's shadowy presence. A few commoners passed them here and there on the path, most ferrying miscellanea to and from Saviore, and all of them regarded the Master Hunter with a leery look. Alma was usually seen for her tight-fitting outfit, yet when they looked upon their princess, their looks were pure joy. She smiled cheerily at those she passed, waving a polite greeting. Strange to think that even in her armor, she still commanded the joy of her subjects. Yet news of Remingway's demise would reach the commoners' ears shortly, if it hadn't already, and Lyn wondered if these same people would still regard her fondly when it did.

Her contemplation was ended by Stryder. History was something she latched onto dearly. The history of humankind stretched back millennia, and although many memories had been lost in wars, accidents, or ended with the death of those who remembered them, the historical tapestry of Strias alone was rich and valuable. There were other nations, too, but in recent centuries, Strias had all but lost contact with them. To the north, there was of course Romundus, which had once been allies with Strias until relations mostly perished about fifty years ago, and then the eccentric island nation far to the west, across the sea. Lyn did not know how to render its name in Strias' dominant language, but some of its culture had lingered in her country in the many centuries since the two nations last had formal contact: katana swords and articles of clothing like the kimono were imported from there long ago.

There were other nations, too, but Lyn knew very little of them -- even their names were debatable. The endless sierra of jagged mountains known as the Frostpeaks was a barrier that separated Strias' northern and eastern faces from the rest of the continent, while the west and south faces rested along the coast placing Strias in the very southwestern corner of the continent. With nature in their way, her country's progress towards meeting other civilizations was slow and impractical. Caravans of explorers would usually vanish to unknown fates, while ships that sailed too far out tended to disappear likewise. Strias' accounts of the world (however big it was) outside of its own borders came from the few that survived, bringing with them tales of danger, hardship, mystery and -- if they were particularly lucky -- news of civilization. She doubted that really anyone knew how many individual countries there were in this land.

There were times when not just Lyn, but also her parents and even scientists like Alviss wondered if Aridan was to blame for Strias' slow contact with the outside world. Perhaps most of the ships and explorers had been lost in accidents, or due to their own inexperience, but if she was to be believed that his goal was to conquer or destroy this realm, why would he start with Strias? Could the seeds of demonic taint have been planted in other countries, as well, or was there reason to his fixation on her country? She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, following Stryder as he spoke. If there was reason to believe the Master Hunter's knowledge of demons -- and the Divines that had once battled them -- was unparalleled, it was here and now. She thought of Light magic and was curious. She never had any reason to believe it had been real, but the existence of a parallel against the dark magic wielded by Stryder and many demons was something she had always imagined to exist.

This is... she thought, amazed. Interest had permeated her expression and she was already forgetting her qualms with Stryder. She didn't bother to question how he might have known this when the ramifications of the history were almost strong enough to make her fall over. Two brothers -- true gods -- fighting against each other to either save or destroy the realm they had wrought. It was like a tale pulled from a great epic, yet the Master Hunter spoke it as fact. This was the real history of the demons and the Divines, untainted by time and prejudice.

Dark Fate. she thought profoundly as she followed Stryder into the alleyway, leaning against the wall to support the weight of her incredulity. Guileastes, brother to the being that the Hunters fought tooth and nail against, had sealed away his sibling. And yet... what had happened to Guileastes? Stryder had always maintained that he was half of a demon, and yet...

She looked to the Master Hunter expressionlessly, awaiting for the pendulum of his knowledge to drop on her.

And when it did, Amberlyn could barely stand.

She tilted her head back, face pale and armored hand closed into a fist. With a deep breath, she cleared away the prickling shock that had begun to crawl up and down her body, like snake venom through her blood. Here, in the quaint village of Leniv at the foot of the Castle Saviore in the land of Strias, stood the fallen god once known as Guileastes. And before him, two women with whom he would trust to defeat Aridan... and then him. She closed her eyes. The weight of this new knowledge drowned out the noise and babble of Leniv, making her feeling isolated within her armor. The earth and the grass beneath her feet was not just of Stryder -- no, Guileastes' -- creation, but also of Aridan's. Did that mean that humanity had also sprung forth from their very blood? The implications were... crushing. The princess stood taut, composing herself and looking to face Stryder.

The knowledge was crushing, and yet Lyn felt as if she could float.

I was waiting for this. she thought profoundly, still expressionless. Yes, Stryder had always been an enigma. That he held many secrets was an open fact, and as Alviss might have put it: Secrets always unravel with time.

Yes. She had just been seeking out the inevitable. And here it was.

She said nothing for a while. Outside the alleyway, she started to pick up on the sounds of Leniv again: a blacksmith's hammer beating on iron, the whinny of a horse and the glee of an old woman as she received news of her granddaughter's engagement. Strange to think that all this time, she had thought them ignorant. And yet here she was, now among one of the handful of humans in the world to know the fate of their species -- their dark fate. Her dear mother Calena, the Queen, had drawn the blade Dark Fate from where it rested, and in doing so, summoned Stryder. The years since then -- however long it had been -- had entirely been the product of their scheming. The changes in the military, the strange legislation, the resources funneled into the shadowy order known as the Hunters: all planned. The princess thought of her mother's face, and felt she understood the Queen's weariness.

"It's all clear to me now." she said simply, breaking the silence.

"I always thought that I had a great destiny. My namesake, Amberlyn the First, probably thought she did, too. But..." she trailed off, looking to Alma, "I do not think this is just my destiny -- my fate. It is all of ours. Including you, Alma, and every other of the Hunters, and all of those who support and even oppose us. I had never believed that the Hunters didn't have a more important purpose. Not when Stryder first came to me, dressed in the garb of shadows, and offer his apprenticeship. Not when I was told Luna had perished on a mission. Not when my parents had poured their souls into keeping the sword in the chamber beneath the Tervias Monastery safe from harm."

She inhaled.

"It's all clear now." she finished. Then she looked to Stryder.

"But I wonder... why now? Why would you tell us this, unless we are on the very verge of Aridan's return?" she questioned, seeming controlled and thoughtful.

by **Reaver** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:54 am

Reaver face starts turning into a small smile as he wanders deeper in the woods. Strias definitely had some hidden beauty even if asshole hunters and demons ruined most of the land. "They really don't deserve this land. But when I'm done I'll take good care of it and they will all be working for me." He closes his eyes, listening to the earth with his hand on the tree trunk. His eyes snap open as he hears the soft padding of two hellhounds starting to circle him. Reaver eyebrows raise as they start growling, expecting them to recognize him as a Greater Corrupted and lay off. When they don't he slowly pulls both of his axes, spinning them with his wrists to make a high pitched humming noise. "Reinheart, you MOTHERFUCKER! Way to send dogs to do the master's work!" He growls, assuming that Reinheart sent them to eliminate any competition. "Well I don't go down easy!"
Reaver's hands grow verdant as he focuses his magic before he unleashes it on the first hellhound. Vines and roots whip up from the fertile ground before wrapping themselves around the hellhound's legs, keeping it immobile. Satisfied, Reaver turns to the other hound, swinging his axes. He charges at the mobile hellhound, aiming his first axe at it's legs to cripple it before following up with a slash to the head.

by **jayjaycaps** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:54 am

Jason hadn't noticed the glares Lysa had shot him. As far as he was concerned, telling Marco about her fear wasn't that big a deal. He had often told Lysa that she's never get over her fear if she kept it hidden, and he wasn't about to let her go and hide it, especially from a team mate. Taking point, Jason pressed on into the building, javelin and shield ready. The darkness of the chapel depressed him. Although he wasn't a religious man, he always thought chapels and churches should be bright, happy, and free from this violence and blood. Jason was taking it nice and slow, trying to ignore the sad nature of this once holy building. He rounded the corner just in time to watch Lunalesca sheathing her sword. Looking back at his group for direction, Jason was lost at how to proceed. Deciding talking was the best bet, he cleared his throat.

"Lunalesca?"

by **MiscChaos** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 2:10 am

Taking a deep breath, Kazumi prepares himself for what's about to come. Best case scenario they can talk things out. Worst case, the worst fight he's ever experienced. Still, he's good at talking. It's gotten him a lot of free room and board and food. This will just be like a whole new level of that. Hopefully. Maybe. To get the point of wanting no trouble across, he keeps his naginata on his back and puts on his most jovial smile. Well, not the most jovial. Maybe just toned down a bit, yeah that's good.

"Fancy meeting you again." he says after Jason speaks.

by **Icaelus** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 6:54 am

Rilja Neros,
Leniv, The Bootleg's Peg.

The pair of practiced hands that had been wiping the mug clean stopped moving, setting it down in front of Rilja with a hefty plunk, causing the entire counter to shake from that impact.
"BWHAHAHA!"
Danner laughed that hideously loud guffaw of his again, doubling over in laughter and in the process, smacking his bald head over the wooden counter.
"Doh, that hurt. Good one, lass! Can't be serious, can ya. Anyone with a blessed silver weapon could kill dead a demon for ya!"
The barkeep grinned at Rilja, though it did seem like his attention was someplace else, scanning behind her. After a moment of examining the clientele seated at the tables behind Rilja, Danner placed a muscled arm on the counter, leaning towards Rilja.

"Lassie, yer quite the direct one, ain't ya?"
Onepart Danner sighed, scratching his bald scalp with one massive hand as he reached below the counter and pulled out a bottle of some black liquid, uncorking it in one practiced motion and emptying the contents into the mug.
"Anyways, apologies for that little act, lassie. Many good men looking ta do some good would wanna join the Hunters in a heartbeat. Good men that have zero experience wielding sharp metal objects and would spare any demon asking for mercy. Hunters don't need untrained people. But you..that glint in yer eye. Killed a few people in yer time, didja? Don't matter ta me. The Hunters..they need stone cold murderers. People who know ta kill for the good of their kingdom and show no goshdarned mercy, ye hear me?"
Danner gave Rilja a conspiratorial wink, grinning widely at the thief. His hand nudged the mug full of black liquid towards Rilja
"Woulda have accepted ya right in, but every Hunter that doesn't get eh..."the blessing of Stryder, shall we say", goes through this lil test. It's a specially tailored memory potion that'll kill all your memories of wanting to join the Hunters if you fail the test. Sound good, eh? Bottoms up, lassie, let's drink to yer health!"
The barkeep laughed, filling another mug with normal ale and tapping it against Rilja's mug with a dull wooden thud.

What do ye do now, lassie?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alma, Lyn and Stryder,
Leniv, Alley.

Alma was struggling to process the bombshell of information that Stryder had just dumped on her. So..he was Guileastes. Even Alma knew the name of the benevolent lord. The history teacher had been very firm with that.. The fact that Guileastes wasn't just some mythical figure and was actually in the person right in front of her, however..
Yeah. That was just a tad bit harder to swallow.
"So..uh..um..You're Guileastes. Creator of half the world, staved Aridan off and all that.."
She said, running the words over and over again in her mind.
"That is what I believe I said, Alma."
The Master Hunter sounded slightly amused at Alma's befuddlement, taking his back off the wall and stepping up to them, raising his armored hands and placing them on both Lyn's and Alma's shoulders. Stryder never made unnecessary contact, Alma vaguely remembered..

"Trust in me once more, Hunters. I..have betrayed your feelings once and I will never forget how I have failed you. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."
The firm hands increased in pressure, but not uncomfortably.
Alma was still just a bit shellshocked. She had gotten over the original shock of Stryder being Guileastes..but now, here he was, the stonecold Master Hunter asking for them to forgive his mistakes.
"Um..I forgive you, Stryder."
The girl lifted both her hands to clasp Stryder's gauntlet, patting it reassuringly. Honestly, Alma wasn't sure at all on how to treat a Stryder like this. He..well, he felt a lot closer than he had ever been. The Master Hunter had never given off a personable vibe or anything of the sort, giving life to the rumors that ran amok within the townspeople, claiming that he wasn't truly human.
But now? Stryder..he was human as he could be.

"The reason of why I have told you this is also in relation to the mission we are undertaking. I have information that a Divine is still alive. Somewhere in remote Tervias, residing in a ruined temple."
Stryder took his hands off their shoulders, a hidden smile crossing his lips under the mask.
"First, I want you two to meet someone.."
The Master Hunter said mysteriously, stepping out of the alley to lead the way..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reaver, Erayne and Reinheart.
Remani Forest.

Reinhart sneezed as somewhere in Strias, someone cursed his name. Pity. He usually liked to keep a personable profile with anyone he interacted with. Well, perhaps maybe other than a certain crude individual..who was also probably in a standoff against numerous slavering, hungry security hellhounds. Ah well, it all worked out then.
"Rein..didn't you..um..want to do it?"
Erayne's voice drifted from the armchair that Reinhart had sat her down in along with a cup of tea, which from she sipped daintily with that natural lady-like grace she possessed. Coupled with that light flush that colored her beautiful face as she spoke, her voice embarrassed..
Curses. Reinhart had to fight to keep a straight line of thought. Business, women later. Even if the woman mentioned was the best damn one he had ever met.

"Ahem. Uh."
Reinhart cursed himself mentally as he stumbled upon his first words. Bloody hell. Was a woman all it took to throw his calm, cool personality into such disarray? Hopefully not. Erayne raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly got to the point.
"Ah, yes. To answer your question, I apologise. That was just an excuse to get rid of our gentleman friend, who I'm sure is also having some fun with the hellhounds. Though rest assured, dear Erayne. I'm quite sure that many men would kill to..do it with you."
Reinhart delivered his line without any trouble this time, smiling with satisfaction as Erayne once again blushed at his words. Well, it was the truth, wasn't it? He would damn well murder for the chance too. But far more important matters were at hand to simply mess around.
"So, what has been happening? Saviore Castle has seemed like it has been in quite some disarray as of late."
Reinhart posed the first of his many questions. This was somewhat of a regular routine between him and Era. Erayne, in her eternal pursuit for strength, had asked Reinhart to teach her magic. Reinhart had refused, but was enticed by the condition of a duel that whoever lost would do anything for the winner. All Erayne had to do was to land a single blow and Reinhart would consider the match a loss. A hundred duels later, Erayne still hadn't managed to touch Reinhart even once. It was all over the moment Reinhart made a move, all happening so fast that Erayne could never react. Either way, the majority of favors Era had performed was mostly supplying information to Reinhart, who lived all the way out in Remani Forest, away from civilization.

"Hm. Could imagine that happening, yeah. I mean, we did just raze Remmingway a while back."
Era said, laying back into the armchair with a sigh of relief. Getting punched by Reinhart had been quite the uncomfortable experience, even if he had held back. She took another sip of the black tea that Reinhart liked so much, enjoying it. Blackriver would never have such a refined drink available, sadly. Demons obviously didn't appreciate tea..
"Remmingway's gone, then? Interesting. Also..that man. Reaver. He mentioned Lunalesca? Something about her behind, too. What happened to her?"
Reinhart sat himself in an identical armchair opposite of Era's, his tone curious.
"Luna? Well..Master Aridan punished her. He repressed her will just enough to let Reaver rape her. That's why he's Corrupted now too, by the way."
She added, shaking her head at the very thought of Luna. She was so damn stubborn, that girl. To keep resisting Aridan like this..
"Such an uncouth man, this Reaver. What happened to Lunalesca after that?"
Reinhart inquired, interested. Lunalesca was quite the resilient girl, huh?
"Ugh. Luna this, Luna that. You're the same as Master Aridan! I don't know, she ran off somewhere into Greenwood, okay?"
Erayne grumbled, folding her arms in a huff.

Reinhart raised an eyebrow at the display of emotion from Era. Was she..possibly jealous? How cute..
"Dear me, Erayne. Are you perhaps..jealous?"
The man smirked, reaching a hand forward to Era's face, his touch gentle.
"Jealousy is unbecoming of a lady, dear Erayne.."

Reaver's magic worked perfectly, nature heeding his call as the tree roots whipped out at the hellhound from the ground, entangling the beast and restraining it from any movement. The demon roared its displeasure, straining against the bindings. Several of the roots gave way under the beast's strength, alerting Reaver to the fact that the bindings probably wouldn't last much longer..

Reaver rushed the second hellhound, his first blow completely missing and slicing nothing but air as the demon jumped back to dodge. He got lucky one the next hit, running the hellhound's face through with a slash from his axe. The hellhound bounded back, growling angrily. The blow had been too shallow..(15 Damage.) And now, you had a very angry hellhound on your hands..uh, that other one just broke free from it's bindings too. Two, then.
The injured hellhound looked skyward, howling to the skies above. The forest answered the call, several other howls rustling the tree leaves with their raw volume. A distant noise of big animals approaching was easily audible to the Corrupted man, sharp as his senses currently were.

You could probably take out these two hounds, given enough time. Time, unfortunately is not on your side. Good opportunity to book it out of there, Reaver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunalesca Meanders,
Fel Orc Encampment, Chapel.

Lunalesca's attention immediately shifted to the shadowy figures in the doorway, the only entrance and exit of the chapel. She tensed as the leader called out her name in full, not expecting a surprise like this. Hunters. She hadn't thought they would've found her here..but then again, the earlier two must've had reported their suspicions and Stryder must've sent them after her..or to take out this camp. Whoops.
But still, Stryder made sure his Hunters understood reason. Twisted as it was, coming from a demon's mouth. Luna grimaced at the thought as she removed her mask, slipping the piece of cold metal back into the folds of her kimono. She raised her hands in a gesture of peace.
"Hunters..I mean no harm to either Strias or you. Please, leave me be."
She said guardedly. There were far too many Hunters for her alone to win against, and she had no desire to battle against her former colleagues. She searched for either Lyn or Alma within the cloaked figures, but there was no sign of them. Pity. She would've liked to see Lyn one final time before she died, if things turned awry..
Behind her, the Darkgate pulsed..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason, Lysa, Marco, Kazumi and Sortaix,
Fel Orc Encampment, Chapel.

The white-clad figure in Stryder's metal mask glanced to them, stiffening with surprise as her name was called. Lunalesca moved slowly, first removing her mask and then raising her hands in a gesture of peace, before speaking.
"Hunters..I mean no harm to either Strias or you. Please, leave me be."
Each and every of her words were sincere, all of the Hunters could feel. It was odd hearing such words from the enemy that they were supposed to kill on sight..

"Um. Lunalesca? Nice to meet you! I'm Lysa! We don't mean you any harm either. We came here to take down the camp..and you've obviously done our work for us. Thanks! But..um..we can't leave it just like that. You know Alviss, right? He kind of found a cure for Corruption. It's not perfect yet and he says that he'll need..a Corrupted person to experiment it. I don't know what it means..but you'll be able to return to being human!"
Lysa stepped forward, a cheerful grin on her face as she imitated Luna's gesture of peace, holding her hands up too. Lunalesca audibly gasped at Lysa's words.

"I-Is that..true?"
Try as she might, Luna couldn't stop the the tears that started flowing, watering the seed of hope she had planted somewhere deep in herself a long time ago.
She wasn't lost. She could be saved..

The obsidian obelisk behind Luna started shining with a bright light and the woman spun, surprise registering on her expression again. She had been careless. The white light filled the entire room, blinding everyone for a split second.
"Hey, Luna. Oh, you have company!"
A voice said cheerfully from the top of the obsidian obelisk. Everyone's attention immediately drawn to the source of the voice, a girl with short white hair sat upon the zenith of the Darkgate, a scythe spinning slowly in her hands. Mex.
At the foot of the obelisk were a dozen Fel Orcs, armed and ready to start taking down some Hunters..

Apparently, it was all just a trap. Not a good situation, Hunters. What do you do now?

Enemy Status

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by **Zender_Solarheart** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:23 am

Marco remains silent through their "negotiations" with Lunalesca, though he keeps his eyes peeled for anything dangerous. Speaking of eyes, his left one has a brief revisit from that mild stinging sensation from earlier...a fluke, most likely, though his mind does ponder it for a moment. He can't deny the relief in knowing that Luna wants to cooperate, but the only hint anyone else might notice is his hands loosening up from their tense posture.

...and then, the black obelisk in the chapel shines with an ominous light...one which he can practically feel the evil in.

In an unexpected twist of fate, the group is greeted by another, far less cooperative Greater Corrupted: Mex. She seems ready for battle, too; that scythe looks like it could take the head off of a lion without struggle, even in human hands. Marco can only imagine what a GC could do to them with it...and he doesn't like what he imagines. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, a group of Fel Orcs came in with her, ready to do battle. Clearly, this is either a grand case of sheer bad luck, or a trap...and Mr. Galneryus is inclined to believe the latter.

"We've been compromised. Destroy the hostiles."

Wasting no time in gaining a vantage point, Marco shoots Graveworm up at a rafter in the chapel (assuming there are rafters to perch on; if not, he simply dangles from the wall/ceiling he hooked onto), seeking a more complete view of the situation. From that higher "ground," he also gains a better place to launch an attack from, though the present situation makes anything like an ambush a long shot, if possible at all. Still, any angular advantage is better than none, and that's something he'll likely need against such opposition.

by **Inferi** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 6:22 am

At first, Rilja had started to frown, not wanting to have to go to any extreme measures to get information out of Danner. Even if she didn’t know for sure whether he knew something about what she was searching for, her instinct was telling her that he did. Starting anything right here would be miserable for her, though, and there was no possible way she could win in a straight contest against a man of this size. She would have been forced to think of something underhanded, and while she didn’t mind that it wasn’t something she wanted to jump to.

Fortunately, none of it had to even be considered. The way he looked around as he spoke, which she noticed just after the words registered in her mind, told her that he wasn’t concentrating on actually saying what he was. He was scanning for something, in the same way she had when she had first entered, and when someone did that it usually meant they were about to say or do something that they didn’t want many to see or overhear. Catching that kind of reaction was something she had been taught a long time ago, since a thief needed to know how to read people and know if they were about to be swindled, double-crossed, or even just lied to.

She knew that what she had said was a bit direct. Unfortunately, that was just the way she was. Subtlety in conversation wasn’t her strong suit, no matter how much her friends had tried to teach her to get better at it. One of the thieves had been incredible in the way he could talk, and it had always mesmerized her to listen to his voice, whether it had been speaking to someone they had to get information out of or just when the two of them had been conversing. Maybe that was why she had fallen for him over the years, and the pair of them had been together for the last two years she had been with the group. Those memories were the ones that burned the brightest in her mind when the thought of everyone being dead, the flames and ash that she had found on the site burning through them one by one in her mind.

Anger filled her eyes for a brief moment. Those things had taken the most precious thing in her life away, and she wasn’t going to let them get away with it. Her thumb unconsciously went to a ring on her index finger, silver with three sapphires embedded in it and the inscription “The world is yours, so take it.” The ring was the only thing she had been able to find of his at the site after the attack. It was all that was left, and she would never show mercy to those responsible. She wasn’t a murderer, as Danner seemed to think, but she could easily make the transformation to deal with these creatures.

Regardless of her feelings, however, drinking what Danner poured seemed like…well a bad idea. Taking the mug and peering into it, Rilja looked back up at the barkeep, and then back down at the liquid. While she did not object at all to taking a test to become part of the hunters, she really would like to know what exactly it was first. From what Danner had said, she wouldn’t remember anything about wanting to become part of them if she failed, but what exactly was she failing? Was the potion specially tailored to figure out if she was fit for them, and would act accordingly? It didn’t make any sense, and the cautious thief in her felt it necessary to at least see if he would say anything first.

“What exactly is the test? You’re giving me something and saying I should drink it, but that doesn’t make any sense.” she said, looking back up at Danner. “If I’m supposed to be taking a test, then I at least deserve to know what it is that I’m doing.”

It occurred to Rilja that saying something like that may make her sound like she was trying to be annoying or smart, and she hoped that didn’t jeopardize any change she may have had. It wasn’t enough to make her take back what she had said, though, as she believed that knowing what she was doing was far more important than looking like she would just got ahead and do what people said she needed to in order to become part of this group.

by **napsii** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:45 pm

Lyn leaned back against the wall, humming a tune to herself.

For having just learned her mentor, the masked man she had trusted to help save Strias and the lands beyond from Aridan, was quite literally a god, the princess was digesting their new circumstances in stride. If anything, she found Alma's shock amusing. She wondered if it was ironic that as a kid, she had thought that Alma was one of the scariest people in the realm what with her scars and her fancy for knives. Here stood that same woman, now looking like a naive student who had just managed to wrap her brain around a stubborn math problem. It was funny enough to make Lyn's lips curl into a ghost of a smile. But the princess was already starting to feel heavy -- onerous -- with the burden of responsibility. Her smile faded. To be honest, her mind was running blank. This revolutionary knowledge was like a boulder resting on her shoulders: it was enormous and impossible to ignore, but there was not much to say of it. And she was starting to feel as if she herself was made of stone. She had always claimed that her career as a Hunter was to save the world, but she had never considered the implications until now. Strias' royal army was ferocious, but mere humans wouldn't last a week against demons in equal numbers.

There was nobody else but the Hunters. It was them against a god.

She looked at Stryder, hearing what felt like regret in his voice. Even though she knew she be mad, given how many lies had been woven over the fate of Luna, the Hunters and only-Stryder-knew how much else, but she wasn't. A metallic taste permeated her mouth, not out of disgust for his belated apology or for surprise that he was capable of saying "sorry", but rather her own bitter inability to see the Master Hunter as anything but Stryder, the man in the mask. When she had met him, he had put forward that he was half-demon. In hindsight, he hadn't lied. At the time, Lyn had believed -- even if it was unconsciously -- in the soul. Even if the blood of demons was in his veins, he was still human. She knew now that there was no human blood within him, of course, but that changed little. When she had witnessed him put his life and limb on the line to save innocent people, and to dedicate himself to mortalkind and the world he had created, she had known that there was humanity within his soul. He was not like Aridan. But why couldn't she see him as Guileastes, the fallen god who had melded half of the world with his very will? Why couldn't she see him as a great titan who fought bloody wars on a higher plane?

Without saying a word, she nodded her acceptance of his apology.

Because whoever he was, he was still Stryder.

Don't worry, Luna... she thought profoundly, looking up to the clear blue sky again, I'll save you.

Without complaint, she started to follow the Master Hunter from the alley. A Divine lived? At this point, it wasn't the most outrageous thing to posit, but the princess was brimming with intrigue. Like with Alma, the preconceptions of history and religion that had been passed down to her by Strias' renowned scholars had been shattered by Stryder's exposition, including the idea that the Divines were all but extinct. If Guileastes lived, then could have the other Divines have survived, too? She wondered what a Divine would be like. Pacifistic by nature? Stryder was once the Divine, and he did not fit her definition of pacifism. Aridan's demons and the Corrupted had built their place in folklore because they had emerged at so many times or another throughout history, but there was preciously little to be said about the Divines. Perhaps like Guileastes, they had taken to hiding, and waited out the countless millennia. She shivered at the idea of such an existence. But they were rumored to be very powerful. Maybe the Master Hunter could convince them to fight once more? She was already anxious at the idea, by now convinced that this Divine really did exist, hiding in Tervias. If there was a place to hide in Strias, it was there.

Tervias was a stretch of dense wilderness in the northeastern corner of Strias, beginning several leagues to the northeast of the capital city near the center of the realm and stretching up until it pressed against the Frostpeaks. It was quite frigid in the fall months, but froze into a breathtaking snowy wonderland in the winter. Despite this, only one or two roads had been established through the thick forests, leading to either the heart of the northern Frostpeaks or the small hamlets in the foothills of the mountains. The bush was thick, the trees tall and imposing and the wildlife vicious. There were colossal bears that could beat down soldiers with pathetic ease, and supposedly even giant black birds that carried wayward explorers off to their graves. Hence, it had been ideal for more ascetic religious sects, who had built their temples in the forest clearings. The sects had since gone extinct, but with so little human interference, the ruins of their churches had probably survived intact for centuries. The Divines had once been hailed as holy beings, so if there was a place for one to reside in Strias, wouldn't it be in one of the very places that had worshiped them? She knew that her mother, Calena, had apparently once adventured there as a child.

She felt like she was being led around by Stryder again, but there was very little to say. Cryptic as usual; that was the Stryder she knew. Actually, she often wondered if he spoke so enigmatically just to provoke her childish curiosity and make her follow him out of interest. She turned to Alma instead as they walked, wanting to distract herself.

"So, Alma, I forgot to ask how you've been doing lately. When Stryder kicked you out of bed, we were kind of in a hurry. So, how are you doing?" she questioned with a little smile, some spring returning to her voice. She could tell that the red-eyed Hunter was thinking some dark thoughts, too. As for what she knew of Alma, the princess could rightly say that she understood very little. Come to think of it, she knew next to nothing of just about every Hunter. Was being enigmatic part of the job?

She rubbed her chin, pondering absentmindedly.

by **MiscChaos** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:57 pm

Kazumi gives Luna a long, hard look as the enemy ambush pops out of the obelisk behind her, trying to get a feel for where she's at. He doesn't know how good an actress she is, though his travels have made him really good at picking out those with bad intentions and he didn't feel that from her at that moment. So he concludes that she really didn't intend for this to happen, that this caught her completely off guard too. So that means if he does well enough, he could possibly still save her. With that resolve, he pulls the Naginata off his back and assumes combat position.

"You couldn't hold off for 5 more minutes..." he mutters darkly as he gives the Orcs a once over. Diving right into their ranks would be suicide, the result being having 12 orcs jump on him in an instant. So instead he basically taunts a few, baiting them to come his way so he can counterattack whatever they through at him. To kill some time before that, he says, almost jovially though his voice still carries annoyance from negotiations being interrupted "So, what brings you here, Mex?", as he's saying it remembering to keep an eye on her. He's not sure how she works yet, so he needs to keep her in sight.

by **jayjaycaps** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:31 am

Before Jason could even say anything, Lysa had stepped in and started talking to Lunalesca. In truth, Jason was thankful she had stepped up. Jason was a soldier, not particularly good with his words. But that was why he and Lysa were partners; they worked well together.

Things were going well for a while, but Jason refused to let his guard down. Lunalesca was still a Greater Corrupted after all, and highly unpredictable. He was glad he decided to keep tense once Mex showed up, as Jason was ready for a fight already. Shielding his eyes for a moment from the blinding light, Jason analysed his situation.

Eyeing the twelve Fel Orcs, Jason hurled his javelin into the group. Keeping his shield up, he reached back into his quiver for another one. He'd prefer to keep the Fel Orcs at bay for a while, hurling javelins into the group to pick them off at a distance.

by **Reaver** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:45 am

Reaver roars back at the hellhounds, feeling annoyed at Reinheart for dropping him in a situation like this. "Well Fuck you too! YOU STUPID MUTTS" He slashes at them to keep them away while he thinks up a plan. The last thing he wanted to do was run back to Reinheart and Era, and the hellhounds were calling reinforcements so fighting would be moot soon. "I guess running to fight another day is my only option right now." He grumbles as he slides he axes back into his sheaths. Reaver presses his hands to the ground again, groaning as his magic starts feeding on his own essence to fuel it. The roots tear from the ground in bigger groups, swatting them out of the way while Reaver runs deeper into the woods.

by **Icaelus** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:54 am

Alma, Lyn and Stryder,
Leniv, Alley

Alma took her hands off Stryder's gauntlet as he turned away, stepping out of the alley. Now that her mind had calmed down a great deal, she was able to sort through what Stryder had said much more clearly. Stryder had claimed himself as Guileastes, one of two creators of the current world. The Stryder she knew would never lie unnecessarily. She had no reason to disbelieve him. And as such, she couldn't avoid the fact that he himself had mentioned that..they, the Hunters would have to kill him. Stryder himself..or rather, Guileastes. They would kill him to safeguard the world from it's creator. Bittersweet irony at it's finest.

Whatever. Alma wasn't letting Stryder get away with that one. The man had sacrificed much already..and he wanted everything to end with his death? Yeah. Bullshit.
"Stryder. You said..we had to kill you. What did you mean by that?"
Alma stepped up, shooting her hand out and grabbing hold of Stryder's sleeve, stopping him from walking on. She pulled the god back into the alley, stepping around him and cutting off his path.
"Tell me."
The girl said firmly, folding her arms in a stern fashion.
"Stubborn since day one."
Stryder shook his head with a sigh before he shot a glare at Alma.
"Yes. That was what I said. You have to kill me if I lose control. I don't know if it will happen or if I can keep myself under control, but it is a possibility that it will happen. And I want you two to be prepared for it. Steel your resolves."
The Master Hunter went on, frustration obvious in his voice. It felt like for the first time in his immortal life, he was at a loss of what to say. The years Alma and Lyn had been with him could be considered a long time for him, but for Guileastes who had lived for eons, it was but a blink of an eye.

"I..don't want to kill you, Stryder. I don't even want to think of it."
Alma mumbled, dropping her arms to her sides. She returned Stryder's glare, her luminescent eyes blazing with defiance. The man that stood in front of her right now..Alma considered him..the father she never had. A father. One of the things no matter how hard you worked for, you could never have..

Her life had never been happy or even bordering on survivable. Abandoned by her parents, she was then taken in by a band of mercenaries. Growing up with a blade in hand, the mercenaries guided her every step of the way along the path of a murderer. She had only been five when she killed her first man, one of their fellow mercenaries that had been caught thieving from the leader's pack and then attempting to desert them.
The dagger had been heavy in the child's hands. Even heavier when she took the man's life, plunging it straight into the man's heart where the leader had drawn a bloody X across the poor bastard's torso with his knife beforehand. It was either kill him or die herself, Alma reminded herself till this day. The mercenaries had been a cold, merciless bunch. She would've grown up to become one of them..if not for that one fateful mission.
Before the knowledge about demons had spread, many people had died trying to take on the demons themselves. Countless civilian militia, mercenaries and guards. All part of the Corrupted army now, probably.
The band of mercenaries she was in was only some of the immense casualties. They had been hired to destroy a demon camp, an easy job had the usual steel weaponry actually worked. The blades and axes of steel simply bounced off the demons, who took pleasure in slaughtering the mercenaries ruthlessly. She had just stood there, terrified beyond reason. The demonic claws that sunk between her ribcage and ruptured her heart had felt surprisingly cold, just as if Death himself was taking her into his cold, eternal embrace.
Perhaps Death wasn't so bad, after all. It was a form of escape. Escape from this world. She could finally leave her life and if what the priests preached were true, start a new one.
As she lay dying, her fallen comrades began rising, one by one. For a moment, she had thought they had raised themselves, unwilling to die to the demon scourge. Couldn't have been more wrong. She would later know the beings that clumsily grasped at life after their death as the Lesser Corrupted, mindless shells of the person they had once been.

And she..was going to become one of them. Death's embrace had never been so temporary..

A dark cloaked figure swept into her view, his shadow twisting and churning violently along his side. In his hands gleamed weapons of pure silver, wicked instruments of murder. The demons fell by the dozen as the man annihilated them, shadows ripping through their bodies as fast as he slashed his way into the demons, wading through the bodies of the fallen. His blades were relentless, ever eager to reap the lives of his enemies and so they did, over and over and over..
After what had seemed like an eternity to the dying girl, the man in the cloak crouched before her. A mask of metal concealed his face, but she could easily tell that his eyes were focused on the stab wounds that had mortally wounded her.
Alma remembered as clearly as day what she had said to the man in the mask. Two words, simple as that. A dying wish.
"Kill me."
The man hadn't said anything, silent the whole time as he lifted a hand to her wounds, pressing heavily upon them. She didn't have the strength left to scream as the shadows enveloped her wounds, sinking into them. The pain was indescribable, but the girl couldn't help but smile strangely. Perhaps people weren't so bad after all. The man was fulfilling her wish, at least. He was torturing her to death.
The ordeal continued for hours, the man visibly becoming more and more exhausting as time went on. The pain that had originally been excruciating was also fading to a dull ache, one that was more or less just an annoyance.
When the cloaked man finally withdrew his hand, the pain was more or less unnoticeable. She had even felt good enough to sit up and yell at the man. He had simply patted her on the head, ruffling her hair as he released a relieved sigh, speaking for the first times since they had met.
"Should be okay if you can yell like that."
He..had been healing her, exhausting himself for the sake of a complete stranger. She could..live. Her cold front dissolved into tears as she hugged the man, who simply sat there and sighed again, awkwardly patting her head.

She would soon know him as Stryder. The first person who cared about her.

And now the very same person wanted her to kill him. To kill the man she thought of as a father. How could she ever do that? It hurt to even entertain the thought of turning her blade against Stryder.
Alma took an unsteady step towards Stryder, who instinctively stepped back too, to his own surprise. Even so, he couldn't avoid the inevitable.
"Uh. Alma, stop. Don't do th-"
His warning was promptly ignored as Alma closed the distance between them, hugging him tightly and burying her face into his torso.
"Still just a kid.."
The Master Hunter sighed wearily, raising a hand to pat Alma's head with that same awkwardness that she only remembered so well.

Just like old times..

As Lyn broke the silence, Alma let go of Stryder, stepping away from the Master Hunter.
"Um. Sorry. Let's get going."
Alma muttered, as Stryder simply turned and walked out of the alley, his cloak sweeping behind him. The Hunter looked to Lyn with a self-lamenting expression.
"How..am I doing..? Well. I kind of just embarrassed myself to death.."
The woman groaned, raising a hand to facepalm herself as she trudged after Stryder..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rilja Neros,
Leniv, The Bootleg's Peg.

Danner paused halfway in the process of raising his mug to his lips as he noticed that Rilja wasn't exactly enthusiastically gulping down the contents of her mug.
""What's wrong, lassie? It looks worse than it tastes, I be sure of it! Stryder told me it tastes like blackberries."
The barkeep added the last sentence as an afterthought, his grin slowly fading as Rilja explained her intentions about the test, that she wanted to know more before she committed any further to it.
"Sharp one, ain't ye! I had been planning ta tell ya after ye drank up, but this be fine too! Stryder always liked his Hunters smart."
Onepart laughed, setting the mug of frothy ale on the counter with a hearty plunk.
"Alright, lassie. Listen up. The test be a simple one, really. All ye gotta do is ta find Stryder in three hours."
The mountain of a man held up three fingers to signify the importance of time ticking away, flashing his brilliant grin at the thief once again.

Danner picked up his mug of ale once again, moving it to tap lightly against Rilja's for the second time, raising it to his lips and taking a hearty swig, emptying the mug in a matter of seconds.
"Bit unprofessional of me ta be drinkin' on the job, but I reckon it's fine. Coupla drinks never killed no one, did they! Bottoms up, lassie!"
The barkeep laughed, refilling the mug with ale from the barrel behind him and basically drowning his stomach with the alcohol with another hearty swig.

The condition of the test has been laid out. What do you do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lysa, Jason, Marco, Sortaix and Kazumi,
Fel Orc Encampment, Chapel.

Mex very slowly stood up as Kazumi called out to her, glancing at the Hunter with an air of disdain as the man began taunting her right away. Really. These damn Hunters were so annoying at times..
The Corrupted girl sighed as a javelin sailed into the group of Orcs, impaling one right through the neck. The damned orc fell to the floor, choking on his own black blood as he writhed, grasping at the final straws of his life.
A fireball flared to life at the tip of the girl's fingers, then cast down. The flame sailed almost lazily down, igniting the doomed orc. His screams tore through the room, echoing within the confined space for a few mercifully short seconds, dying down to nothing more than the crackle of fire burning flesh.
"Did you hear him scream?!"
Mex laughed gleefully as she slowly raised her hand, pointing directly towards the Hunters and Lunalesca.

"Anyway, let's cut the crap. Aridan wants to see you, Luna. Don't make things difficult and come along. Of course, I can't let these Hunters escape, either. Why don't you slice them down where they stand? Oh, but leave the girl, though. I like killing women. They scream so..musically. Such a nice sound, don't you think?"
The girl gave the group a rather insane smile, spreading her arms wide open.
"Kill them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kazumi.

The Fel Orcs roared their battlecry as they charged, immediately heading for Kazumi and Jason, who stood on the frontlines, Lysa and Sortaix in the back. Two immediately went on the offensive against Kazumi, angered by his taunting gestures and swinging wildly with their cruel iron weapons, an attack telegraphed enough for any Hunter worth his salt to dodge with ease. Kazumi would indeed dodge the blows easily, sleekly ducking under the wicked iron blades within a hair's breath, twirling his naginata along with the momentum of his dodge, slashing sideways and halving one of the Orcs while ripping through the stomach of the other Orc, who fell back as his intestines spilled out. The look of horror and silent agony was numbed by the demon's shock as he dropped his blade, hands desperately trying to keep his organs from falling out in a futile attempt to survive.

The demons would fall by his blade..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason Argo, Lysa Shires.

Jason was significantly worse off than Kazumi as four of the Fel Orcs had gone for him instead, looking to end his life. The threat he posed with those javelins were enormous. If a damn spear sticking out of you didn't kill you, it would sure as bloody hell disable you. The Hunter would manage to get another javelin in, skewering another Fel Orc right in the gut, felling him instantly where he writhed on the floor, trying to dislodge the weapon without avail. He would lay there helpless till he bled to death.
The other three were too close.
Heavy iron blades smashing into his shield and throwing him back onto the ground, Jason was helpless till he managed to get up, which the Orcs were smart enough not to do, closing the gap to deliver the final blow..
"Jason!"
Lysa screamed at the same time as the cry of a Strian Eagle pierced the air. Varius swooped down from above, raking silver-tipped talons against an Orc's face, robbing the demon of his sight. He flailed wildly from the pain, accidentally decapitating one of his fellow demons and solving a problem for Jason at the same time. The last Orc raised his blade, towering over Jason..only to be stabbed in the back, the tip of a silver shortsword sprouting from his torso, where the heart usually beat. The demon collapsed to the floor, no longer a threat.

"Are you okay?"
Jason was safe. For now. Lysa however, was now in trouble. She had been negligent in her worry for Jason. The blinded orc was rampaging, pain letting his motions strength as he rushed the source of the voice. The freight train of a Fel Orc smashed bodily into the petite girl and collapsed on top of her..the loud snap of bones breaking. The tip of Lysa's silver sword once again stabbed through the Orc's torso where Jason could see it.
But Lysa was silent in her desperate victory. She wasn't complaining, demanding that someone get this stinking Fel Orc off her right this instant. She wasn't grumbling as Jason knew she would've been. She should've been cracking some joke about sticking it to the Fel Orcs. But she wasn't.

She wasn't even moving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marco Galneryus...Mex Inferia.

Graveworm had struck one of the many wooden rafters supporting the roof, withdrawing the chain to yank Marco up to a perching position where he had a perfect vantage point..if he had a ranged weapon, of course. The decision to get to higher ground had been a mistake on his part, however. It put him into the jumping range of Mex.
The demon girl had simply watched her troops get decimated by the Hunters..and even insane, she knew that she would lose if she didn't join the fight. And so join the fight she did..
Mex jumped, a malicious yet childish grin coming across her face as she swung her massive scythe downwards at Marco, who barely managed to avoid being sliced into half by sidestepping away from the giant blade, smell of dried blood uncomfortably familiar to Marco as it zipped past him, instead obliterating the wood rafter that Marco stood on. As Marco fell, he managed to unsheathe Blind Guardian just in time to deflect Mex's kick, the force of which was so immense that it blasted him into the far corner of the chapel. Three of the remaining Fel Orcs broke off, encircling the Hunter and cutting him off from his comrades..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sortaix Silent...Mex Inferia..

It had all been too much for the simple countryside hunter to take. From the hunter of simple animals..to the Hunter of demonkind. The transition..it had been one Sortaix had been unable to cope with. At first he would've been satisfied in his new abilities as a Hunter, his crossbow bolts decimating Stryder's shadowhounds with ease. And then Stryder, the Master Hunter had took the weapon from him, revealing what he had done as nothing but pure luck. Pure beginner's luck.

He hadn't been suited for this. Stryder had chose wrongly..

Reluctantly following Stryder's orders and wondering how he could tell them that he couldn't do this, the simple man had been shocked into silence, much like his namesake after he had witnessed the extreme violence that had been necessary to produce all these mutilated corpses. He had walked on with the group, not seeing, not hearing anything. He had doubt. Doubted that he would survive.
He had been ultimately right.

As soon as the battle began, it had gone all wrong for Sortaix. He had fired his initial crossbow bolt off and it had produced less than stellar results, completely missing the horde of Fel Orcs that charged them. The work of the Demon's Deck. Somewhere in his mind, he could hear the Joker's chuckle..he could almost see it, too. Was the Joker supposed to hold a scythe..?
Provoked by his bolt, two Fel Orcs had prioritized him, getting into range before he even had the chance to reload his crossbow, his allies all occupied with Fel Orc problems of their own. Swinging their massive iron blades, he had no choice but to use his crossbow, helplessly deflecting blow after blow from the Orcs, denting and battering his crossbow into a twisted mix of splintered wood and metal. With one final slash, they knocked him back into the middle of the chapel..where Mex Inferia landed, having just dealt with Marco personally.

He had raised his crossbow in an attempt to defend himself as the scythe flashed. His mind vaguely registered that he could no longer feel his legs. He looked down at the scythe, fresh with his blood. It had cut his bottom half clean off, his legs and some would say more importantly, his manhood, just lay there, useless to him now. He was roughly dragged upright by his collar to face his Reaper. A girl with pretty, pixie-like features and white hair.
Huh. Never expected his Reaper to be quite as beautiful as that..

"Hey..you're quite the handsome one..have I seen you somewhere before..?"
The Reaper gave him a crazed grin as she drew his face closer to hers. By the rights of any reasonable man, Sortaix should've been terrified. But he just faced his Reaper with calm acceptance. It was often said that when you were dying, memories of the life you lived flashed past your eyes. He was seeing..himself..a life he he lived a long time ago. Where he had happily embraced the very same white-haired girl.
The girl pulled on his collar, drawing him into a kiss. A kiss to a dying man, taking painful and his final breath away from him. If there was a kiss of life..then this was certainly the kiss of mercy. It held memories. Old memories from a past life. Happy ones where he had shared his lips with the woman he loved..Mex.
"Lil miss Psycho. I'll miss you."
Sortaix smiled his last as he reached up with a superhuman effort, ruffling Mex's white hair gently. There was a cold, sharp pressure on his neck. The Reaper was collecting her dues.

The scythe flashed once again, his reaping painless at the very end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lunalesca Meanders.

If anyone had looked back to Lunalesca at this point of time, wondering why she hadn't joined the battle against Mex and her demons yet, it would be because of her own internal battle raging within. It was on a scale far larger than the skirmish going on. It had at stake her very will, struggling valiantly against Aridan's control..
I..will..be..free.
The mental battle would continue to rage. If she lost, she would forever be a puppet to Aridan's each and every whim..and the Hunters here would most certainly be wiped out. If she win..she could continue to struggle against Aridan a little longer. Not a fair trade off, was it?

Of course it wasn't. Nothing in life was fair.

The life of a Hunter was often short-lived. Even more so if you doubted yourself. Sortaix Silent had realised too late and the sight of his head cradled in Mex's bloodstained hands was a somber sight. Yet..oddly, the Hunter had smiled in his death, even as Mex had taken his head. For the first time Lunalesca had known Mex, her face looked devastated, lost. Had the Hunter meant something to her in the past? She didn't know. But it could perhaps bring Mex back to the land of the sane. Deep down, she knew what had happened in the secrecy of Blackriver Fortress.
Insanity had always been a favorite of Aridan's to keep his subjects in check. It bestowed upon them strength, speed and power..at the cost of their very mind. Aridan had summoned Mex and touched her mind.

Burning with new resolve, Lunalesca smashed free from Aridan's mental warfare. A feat that no other had ever accomplished.
"Mex."
Luna's voice cut through clearly to the other girl, who turned soundlessly. Tears streamed down her face. For as long as Luna had known Mex..she had never cried for another person. Just who had Sortaix been to Mex?
Either way, his death was going to save Mex from herself.
Whisper sang a sad tune as Luna drew the blade, the whine of metal sounding almost reluctant as it turned on a friend..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reaver,
Remani Forest.

The hellhounds screamed back promised death and suffering that would've had Mama Hellhound whip their behinds if she'd ever heard such language from their maws. Well, too bad Mama wasn't around, already deep in some mass demon grave somewhere, or incinerated already. The demon dogs charged, kept at bay only by his incessant wild flailing of his axes. It was only a temporary measure and even as a Greater Corrupted, he wouldn't have the strength to keep it up for more than a few hours. And who the fuck knew how long Era and Reinhart were going to mess around?
He would have to come up with another idea. The one he did come up with was risky, but it was either that or die and become dog chow.

The hellhounds slowly started to back off as they sensed magic emanating from Reaver, who was drawing upon the power of his very soul itself to cast his magic. Sharpened roots sprang to life, impaling hellhounds in their tracks as they ran from the fury of the forest. Vines ensnared the demon canines, dragging them up into the canopies of the trees above, never to be seen or heard again. The magic had been much, much stronger than Reaver or anyone could've expected..The remnants of the hellhounds..maybe about two were running away at top speed, presumably off to repopulate their new diminished race..

The wind blew behind Reaver, carrying with it some sort of curious clapping sound, sounding as if some one was congratulating him on having defeated the hellhounds.
"Hello, Reaver. You look a little worse for wear..but no matter. You can come back to the house now. We are..done with our "business."
There seemed to be something of a smirk to Reinhart's voice as he spoke the last word, eliciting an embarrassed cry from Erayne who hadn't said a single word.

Well. Seem seemed like they were finally done..and Reinhart seems to want you to come back for something..

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by **Inferi** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:47 pm

Wait, what?! She had to find the man she had been tracking for weeks in three hours without even any knowledge of where she was looking? That was her test, and she would forget about all her desires to even complete it if she failed? Maybe she was being pessimistic, but that sounded impossible. In multiple weeks, using nearly every connection she had, all she had been able to find out about him was that he was a man in a metal mask, and that she had to come here to find out how to find him. And now she was being told that the only way to find him was to do it herself, with a very small time limit, and failure meant all of her drive just wouldn’t exist anymore?

A part of the thief considered getting up and walking out the door, continuing to try and find the man by herself. At least then she would be on her own terms, and able to have as much time as she wanted. It held marked advantages, but the fact that she wasn’t on her way out the door now showed that she knew it wasn’t a viable option. Her search up until this point gave her all enough to know that she would never find him on her own, and she was tired of chasing shadows on her own. It was so much harder than being able to just talk to someone else about your ideas, about what you were tracking, and just able to hear what they thought about it.

Oh, how she missed her group…they would know what to do.

She couldn’t continue chasing shadows for the rest of her life, though, which she knew in her gut is what would happen if she refused to drink this concoction. There was no choice here, and if she failed…well, she wouldn’t remember it, would she? She would return to a life without anyone but herself, with only the memory of what had happened. Would she then just go through the same path, though, or would it permanently remove all desires to find the Hunters? Without specifics, she didn’t know, but that didn’t matter right now. It wasn’t important, and since there was only one decision to be made she had to deal with whatever the consequences may be. Whether she forgot it all or not from taking the test, she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself if she walked away from this.

Taking the mug in a hand that was shaking just a little bit and bringing it to her lips, Rilja looked up at Danner and asked, “Can you at least tell me what he looks like?” before tilting up the mug and starting to drink. It went without saying that she was nervous, but she knew that if she hesitated she might not be able to go through with it, which was why she didn’t wait for an answer before drinking. The thought of losing the only purpose her life had left was scary, but that was the end effect of every route besides this. At least this had a chance of success, and she knew that a chance of success was better than none.

by **Zender_Solarheart** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:05 am

With him perched atop his vantage point, Marco's eyes quickly dart around the area, looking for any Fel Orcs he can get the drop on. As his eyes rise back up to check for any more immediate threats, he finds one:

Mex herself, jumping up in an attempt to cleave him in twain.

The speed of a Greater Corrupted is not one to be taken lightly, and the rush of wind where Mex's scythe nearly struck true is evidence of this to Marco. The odor of caked blood is one he finds all too familiar; the assassins which hounded him often left a surplus of that on whatever ground they ambushed him at, and there were times when he had to wait for as long as 2 days before he could clean their life's fluid from his own blades. To gamble with that scythe is to gamble with the Reaper himself...a fitting analogy, from his perspective. Marco was never much of the gambling type in the first place, least so when death is on the line, so he reaches for Blind Guardian to prepare his counter-attack...

...only to have the rafter beneath him give way, shattering into a cloud of splinters beneath his feet. On the subject of feet, Mex sends one of hers at Marco, which he just barely manages to ward off with Blind Guardian. The loud "clang" from her sole on his blade is accompanied first by stress in his right arm from the impact, then by a rush of wind at his back, this time from his own speed instead of the enemy's weapon. Without even a heartbeat's breadth to react in, Marco can only steel himself for the impending crash into the Chapel's far corner.

"GRRGH!"

For a moment, darkness takes Marco's vision, and his hearing mutes itself...but he quickly snaps back into consciousness, and rises to his feet, drawing Nightwish in his left hand, and taking a defensive stance with both that and Blind Guardian at the ready. His left hand is held low and further forward, Nightwish's conical "blade" angled up and forwards at the Fel Orc most in-line with his front, ready to deflect attacks from any of the three foes encircling him. Blind Guardian, meanwhile, is held parallel to his head at forehead-height, kept further back as a means to counter the blows he deflects.

Should the Fel Orcs not provide him with an attack to counter, Marco will instead fire Graveworm straight at the front Fel Orc's head, aimed between the eyes, and attempt to gouge out its brain, or at least its eyes. In all likelihood, this will prompt one of the Fel Orcs to that first one's sides to charge in, at which point he will use Graveworm's withdrawal process to slash at the enemy's waistline in an attempt to knock him off-balance. From there, he should be able to deflect the second one's attack, weave around whatever strike the third sends at him, and use Blind Guardian to strike #2 from behind, preferably in the head. He's not built to ward off attacks from the confines of that corner, so he'll need to improve his position as soon as possible.

by **MiscChaos** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:11 pm

Kazumi acknowledges his small victory with grim satisfaction. He will not revel in the death of his enemies, down that path lies the madness he's seen so many warriors fall to in his journeys. Instead, he'll merely acknowledge that the deed is done and move forward to the next task, burying his foes when he's done. Presuming that he doesn't have to fight off Luna or Mex of course. Then, he'll have to skip that burying part.

Then thought turns off entirely as he hears blade cut through bone. He's not cutting anyone down, Luna's still fighting her mental war, and Marco was last seen going up, so no comrade with a blade could be making that sound. He turns, expecting the worst and he finds it in the form of Sortaix being rend in two by Mex. Very fiber of his being screams for retribution for his fallen comrade! But the final actions of Sortaix's life... they give him pause. Did he know Mex? Was that a reason Stryder had picked him out? Because his death seems to have instilled something other than insanity incarnate into the scythe girl. She's crying. And Luna is approaching her, intent on combat. That's a fight he doesn't have the strength to interfere with, so he turns to find something else to do, seeing Marco trapped against a wall with 3 Fel Orcs advancing. He doesn't have time to stand by and process things anymore. He will NOT lose another comrade! The other 2 Fel Orcs should be busy enough since they stand between Luna and Mex, so he charges the ones going for Marco as silently as possible, trying to keep the element of surprise on his side. Once he's in range, he spins in a complete 360 to give his strike momentum and slashes across the neck of the middle Fel Orc, trying to get as many of the bastards in one strike as he could, and releasing a harsh battle cry to shake the Orcs now that his blade was too close for a proper counter attack.

by **napsii** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:25 pm

Lyn stopped. Alma had that look on her face.

It was the expression that only the red-eyed Hunter could manage: a bitter cocktail of anger, defiance and fear. The princess had known Alma for a long time -- she was present on the day when the purple-haired girl first started appearing around Leniv -- and in her experience, one of the best ways to assess any situation was to read the red-eyed Hunter's face. She dry swallowed, watching in silence as Alma dragged Stryder back into the alleyway. Even before they spoke, the princess knew what was going to be said and so she turned away, crossing her arms less she have to face the weight of Alma's emotion head on. When Stryder, during his exposition, had mentioned that they would likely need to slay him, Lyn had denied it at first -- discouraged herself from thinking of it. In her mind, there had been not been a future in which the Master Hunter was not present. She sighed, her breaths staggered. Who was Stryder to her? She had known that Alma had treated him as the father she never had, ever since the red-eyed Hunter told her about the day in which the masked man dragged her in from the cold and the dark. Lyn's parents had always been there for her: they were strong, and they had always regarded their daughter with kindness and wisdom.

But it was many years ago that they had told her their might alone was not enough, and that it was the masked man known as Stryder would be there to shape her future. As any young girl would be, she had been afraid of the Master Hunter's cloak and mask and coarse demeanor, but like oil to a flame, she had warmed to him. It was he who had introduced her to the eldritch lore of demons, and authored all of her knowledge on the devastating war that had raged in Strias in secrecy for decades -- centuries, even. It was he who had instructed her in the ways of magic, and hardened her mind and her body by teaching her the ways of war. Under his tutelage, she had hefted shields and armor, crossed swords with countless men, women and demons, cast earthshaking spells, been cut by swords, bit by arrows and burned by magic. He had changed her. He had... made her into a warrior. A Hunter to oppose Aridan and save her country, and all the countries beyond its borders. And thinking back, she realized that no matter how many times he had chewed her out for her incompetence or recklessness, criticized the strength of her ideals or told her that her hair looked dumb, she had never disliked him. She had looked up to him.

He had never been just been the man in the mask, nor just the Master Hunter. He had worn a mask to trap his identity and his thoughts from the world, and yet to Lyn and so many others, he had been many things: a hero, a father figure, a teacher. Without even knowing it, Lyn found her armored fist clenching with emotion, her lips trembling. What would a future like be without him? What would Strias do if Stryder was not there? Eyes tightly shut and glazed with tears, the princess rested her head in her hand, her barely suppressed tears soaking the chainmail palm of her gauntlet. She didn't want him to simply... vanish. She didn't want to have to drive a sword into him, of all people, even if it was necessary. She just didn't want it to happen, dammit! She clenched her fist tighter, ready to punch a hole in the wall next to her if it would give her catharsis. But even as she pondered it, she felt something different -- like a presence. There was someone else here besides her, Alma and Stryder. Immediately, she snapped her eyes open to the darkness of the steeled hand that was still over her eyes. There was a tugging sensation on her greaves. Coarsely wiping away the film of tears on her eyes with the back of her gauntlet, she looked ahead, eyes adjusting to the sun.

She blinked. There was nobody there?

"Excuse me, Princess?"

Confused, Lyn's head pivoted around until a flare of golden hair caught her attention and she looked... down. Standing in front of her was a young, blonde-haired, bright-eyed and pigeon-toed young girl dressed in a dirty tunic and simple sandals, both articles furbished with ornamentation that made Lyn wonder what kind of girl this was. But what caught her attention most of all was the elaborate sidetail sprouting from her hair. The girl kneaded the ground with the tip of her sandal and the princess immediately straightened. There was no fight. Rapidly collecting her composure and pushing back thoughts of Stryder's death, she knelt down slowly to the girl, who had barely reached waist height.

"Yes?" she asked as softly as possible, relieved that she had managed to stop her voice from cracking. She was eerily aware that the remnants of tears were staining her cheeks -- perhaps because the child seemed so fixated on her face. The girl nuzzled the ground again, obviously working up the courage to speak.

"D-do you... um..." she stammered, nervously fiddling with her sidetail. It was then that Lyn realized what this was about. Gently, she raised a hand, tracing a metal finger across the girl's hair. Even though she came from poverty, the girl obviously wanted to look her best.

"Yes... you have beautiful hair." she said warmly, drawing a visible look of surprise and relief from the girl, whose cheeks speckled pink at the compliment.

"Thank you!" she nodded deeply, giddy. Already her eyes were starting to glance beyond Lyn to Alma and Stryder's embrace, which Lyn herself hadn't noticed until she spotted the girl looking past her. She smiled again, but the kid was already homing in on the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Princess, were you crying?" she asked nervously, touching the princess on the cheek in concern. Lyn considered her reply for a long while before she sighed.

"No, I'm okay." she said, patting the girl on the shoulder. The child nodded. Again, Lyn raised her hands to the girl's hair, slowly and carefully refining her hairdo. When she was finished, she leaned back to survey her handiwork as the girl stood there, blinking.

"There, now it's truly fit for royalty. What's your name?" she asked. The girl started to beam with the compliment, and doubly so as she looked down into a puddle on the ground to see how impressive she looked, even if she was stained with dirt.

"I'm Aera! Thank you very much, Princess!" she said excitedly, barely able to contain her mirth. Lyn nodded again, standing up and looking back at Alma and Stryder. There was something about them that was just...

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Aera. Now, I am a little busy, but why don't you run along and go show your hair to your friends?" she suggested. Aera nodded giddily and turned heel, beginning to run off.

"Thank you again! Bye! I hope I'll see you later!" she clamored, and Lyn waved daintily. Just like that, the girl was gone.

And strangely, Lyn didn't feel as afraid.

She turned back to Alma and Stryder as the red-eyed Hunter finally deemed to release the masked man from her embrace. Even though their situation was morbid, there was indeed something about them: they were cute! Amused with how awkward Alma was, the princess beamed a bright smile and patted the red-eyed Hunter on the shoulder. To Stryder, she offered a glance: eyes swept with understanding, framed by a smile for the future.

"There are worse ways to die." she quipped to Alma as she took her hand, pulling her along gently.

"Now, come on. We should go to... wherever it is Stryder wants to go." she shrugged with her usual inspiring enthusiasm, looking questioningly to Stryder.

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