Darkness of the Unknown I

Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:22 pm

Night of Fate
Ash 70th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

Five days ago the world had fallen into a state of chaos, five days ago things had happened that felt like the end times had finally arrived. Darkness rolled in throughout the day in the form of an eclipse, the shadow it created generating creatures of the night anywhere in the shadow's wake. Then once nighttime fell things would quickly become intense, the darkness magnifying as the light of the moons barely illuminated the pitch black of the night.

For some people who might've been like Rickter, they would've found ways of dealing with such conditions, even accepting that maybe part of themselves always lived with in such a state within. Yet while there was no denying the existential balance between light and dark within others, the Eclipse itself presented a very real problem that threatened not just the wolf; but his packmates as well. So for five nights after toiling to provide aid where necessary, and seeing the bulk of shadows repelled by the waytowers throughout the city, the wolf and his pack had taken the evening to rest and recuperate before their next big skirmish.

"Rickter?" The voice of his beloved pulled him out from his thoughts as he observed the night sky, pondering the significance of events and how they would correlate with one another. From the moment he'd felt the embrace of shadows on that first night, the memory of what should've came echoed in his thoughts with a near constance. Yet he'd received the mysterious Rune at the same time his other powers had awakened, and thus, Rickter's growth as both a mage and a demigod left him uncertain toward the future.

He smiled of course when he looked to his beloved as they sat within the gardens, the Palace of First Wind lively as Sky Guard and city official alike rushed to get in and out. The chaos of the Eclipse kept everyone on their toes, that much was for sure, but for the pack that rested among the stone chairs and benches; things were about to get ever more lively. "I'm alright love." Truth was he only felt half honest about that statement, the reassurance in seeing her protected aiding with that only by a little. The armor that Telion donned now suited her much better in his eyes, and not only kept her better protected but also provided her some small aid in combat.

That was all the reassurance he could afford now, and the swirling clouds of darkness overhead remained all the more ominous in his brightened blue eyes. He felt strange ever since his awakening, able to perceive new things he hadn't quite found easy to process yet. Even so, that didn't stop him and his comrades from fighting this ceaseless battle, nor did it keep him from noticing the faint calling of something dormant within the Astralar Mountains to the north. None of this made any sense to him yet of course, not when Rickter hadn't had the time needed to process everything that'd been happening.

"So, I say if we're going to keep picking off shadow creeps, the next time we do we should start keeping score." Telion's eyebrows rose as she looked from Rickter to Hannah, who was also donned in her own brigandine armor and leather duds underneath it all. "What? Might as well make it something fun, otherwise Patrick'll get bored and do Gods know what else."

"What? Oh come on, you're not bashing me for that time I saved your ass the other night, are you?" The Atinoran remarked with a tilt of his head, as the remark merited a chuckle from the alphas of the pack.

"You about zapped me with those wild-ass lightning tricks you like to do! Do you have any idea how long it took me to straighten my hair back out after that?!" She gingerly snapped at him as Rickter felt something in the air, rather, he thought he heard the subtle ring of aether further down the mountain of Cloudhaven. Patrick opened his mouth to retort back to the rogue, but the shift of Rickter's gaze had quickly garnered their attention at just the right moment. Funny. His packmates were paying ever more attention to him lately, a sure tell sign that they held ever higher concerns after recent events.

The ringing in the distance peaked within his ears before Rickter finally winced, and just in the span of a few seconds, the rise in pitch ended with a flash of violet light from the district further below. An explosion erupted within Cloudhaven District, the light a mix between dawn and the void as plumes of flames roiled into the sky. "Oh shiiit..." His companions reacted with awe as Rickter's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed on the section of the district that soon erupted with lights and smoke.

The clap of thunder in the air was unmistakable, an explosion had occurred near one of the Great House's domain. "That was one of the waytowers..." Telion noted as the other Illumite defenses flickered in response to the event. "There's people down there, and that blast-"

"I know." The wolf remarked as the concern rose in his companions, each and every one of them looking to him for input. "We need to move, now."

"So much for resting tonight." The rogue sighed as she untucked her legs, rising from the spot she sat on as Telion stood to gaze down at the rest of the district. "Better get ready to be ass deep in shadows again."

"What's the plan, Rick?" Patrick checked as Rickter too finally rose from his spot, the wolf's gaze shifting from the situation below to his comrades. Shadows were already swirling overhead where the explosion took place, therefore, they only had the moment to decide their first course of action.

"... We head out to provide support. A storm is brewing and citizens are going to be caught up in it. The quicker we provide relief for everyone, the quicker we can resolve the situation." He addressed as he felt the stirring of something massive within the darkness swirling about, his heart already dropping from the eerie uncertainty that awaited them down below. "Let's go!" There was a unified agreement between his packmates, before the ragtag group moved to head for the entrance to the palace gardens.

Before they were bounding toward the Court of Gold Pages.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Patrick"

Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:30 am

It did not take long to reach the main square of the Cloudhaven, this being the central hub of the district that broke into many different paths. One could reach any of the Great Houses from this area, and while it remained protected by a couple of neighboring waytowers, the mass of shadows overhead where the explosion occurred seemed to thicken. People within the square already had their share of reactions to the unfolding event, the initial shock and awe passed as locals and foreigners alike pooled together to make their moves.

Shadows rained down from the sky before they'd splatter on the ground, forming pools of darkness before humanoid creatures started to crawl out from their depths. Immediately, rays of light began to radiate from the neighboring waytowers, as the Illumite defenses unleashed showers of light to pelt at the encroaching darkness. Warriors and mages within the square didn't hesitate, with the aid of light hailing down to assail the shadows, they took to protect those who were unable to fight; while the rest of the citizens hurried to gather those injured or helpless and move them away to safety.

"Split from here," Rickter barked, "Try to help as many as you can while we make a break for the detonation zone!" His eyes scanned the three behind him for a moment, a hopeful stare found in them as he noted how scared and prepared each of his companions were. "Remember to use your Illumite shards, and keep your elixirs handy, whatever we find at the epicenter will not go down easy!"

"You got it, Wolfman!"
"We'll meet you up ahead then!"

Both Hannah and Patrick focused on the massive plume of shadows spiraling before them, their forms cloaked with aether before they both dispersed into Slispace. After they teleported Rickter looked to his alpha next, her eyes brimming with determination as she stared into his in turn. "You ready?"

"Ready!" She even nodded with affirmation, her right hand flicked downward with a flourish of light after the statement. Once her weapon manifested in her grip Rickter turned to inspect the square once more, before the flick of his wrist also signaled the materialization of his Pact weapon. It was a good thing they'd been at this for the past few nights already, otherwise, Rickter might not have had the mental discipline ready to combat this next wave.

"Stick close to me, love." He murmured for her to hear above the chaos, before his shoulders dipped and the wolf started into a sprint. The dancer followed after him when Rickter took off for the outer perimeter of the square, his blade angled away from him as he prepared to charge in for the first set of attacks he'd chain together.

With one final step into his charge toward the first wave of shadows that crawled across the ground, the dark recesses of the square provided a boost to their numbers. But with solders of the Skyguard teaming up with Slayers from the guild, and the active waytowers outside the square, many that quickly became produced were culled if not dramatically weakened by the light.

Regardless, they were not all safe from the shadows. And the longer the chaos continued, the darker the swirling clouds overhead grew. It was with a blink of an eye that Rickter zipped into the threshold of his targets, three shadows soon cleaved in halves the moment he'd stilled the Seeming current. After having slid in to slash at the first few shadows, the creatures near him slightly recoiled before they began to lash out. The wolf swung his blade Way to Dawn with a heavy weight to his slash, as he cleaved another set of three shadows apart in one strike.

Two more leapt at him from behind, and reactively, he twisted around to bring his blade overhead. While not as impactful as a more predetermined attack, the strike of his quick blitz smashed both the shadows down into the ground. Just as they were nearly about to recoil from the impact, the wolf then brought his blade outward from his body with an angle to his wrist. He demonstrated a practiced pull with the blade as he curved the blade around to perform a double slash, shredding the two shadows he staggered along with two more caught up within the combo.

When the moment came where his left boot rested flatly, Rickter shifted the weight in his body to where he pulled at the heel more. With the throw of his power into one final swing, the wolf unleashed a full circular strike in a single rotation. The might of his strike cleaved through another set of four or five shadows, as he pulled his weapon back in close to regain his footing from where he stood. Meanwhile, his alpha Telion had closed in on shadows that threatened his left rear flank, with a gust of wind shrouded around her form.

The moment she drew close within proximity of the shadows, Telion unleashed a wicked slash with her saber Rainfell. The gale she generated unleashed in a brief gust around her, knocking several shadows back a few feet, while she carved her way through four of them in one stroke. The dancer did not slow her assault afterward though, as she quickly pivoted on her heel, to perform a precise thrust into the closest shadow she could jab. With another flick of her blade she curved her next swing into a precise strike, which tore the shadow in two as she pulled herself into a piqué.

What recuperating shadows that threatened to surround her next were caught in the motion of her twirl, and the trajectory of her blade cut into two more of them twice, before the dancer released her final attack unto her enemies. With a pirouette on her heel she twirled around to unleash another bout of air, the gusts thin with a razor-sharpness to their strikes. Seven shadows were shredded to dark matter by the swirling gales, as she regained her footing to skip back and retreat near Rickter.

The two stood thick within the horde of shadows threatening the area, and they were just getting started with cleansing them from this part of the district.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Patrick"

► Show Spoiler

Thu Feb 16, 2023 9:09 pm

The shadows surrounding them moved with the intent to swarm and overwhelm them, at least at first, but with their weapons projected and ready Rickter and Telion realized such wasn't the case. The humanoid dark entities crawled exuberantly all around them, as the pair made a few more strikes defensively before they realized the swarm began to gather into a cluster swirling its way from the dark alley of a nearby junction. An amalgamation of shadows came together in a twisting plume of darkness now, as their red eyes continued to spiral within the black mass that swept through the square.

Rickter and Telion pulled back out of the way in the nick of time, as the tide of shadows quickly swarmed and overtook soldiers and mages alike. Screams filled the square as rays of light in the air spiraled into action, before streaking heavily to deal damage to the plume of darkness threatening to overtake the crowd. "What do we do?!"

"Draw its ire, weaken it while the Illumite waytowers pick off the excess shadows!" The wolf urged as he rushed forward, his blade raised with both hands on the hilt when he lunged in for the first strike. His beloved was not too far behind him, their sole target being the mass of shadows threatening to overtake the people in the square. With a mighty cleave from above, the wolf brought his blade down to split the shadows as much as he could, while Telion poked around from his right side to slash at the writhing dark mass in action.

Shadows leaped out at Rickter immediately, a barrage of them determined to lunge at him as he projected his blade, and then Telion pulled herself into a twist that allowed her to make several jabs in one go. As soon as the shadows clawed at the surface of his blade, the wolf spun around to perform a counterstrike slash, and tear through the barrage that threatened to overwhelm him. The swarm of shadows nearly seemed unphased, with not even a hint of relent to their assault.

With a straightforward thrust into the base of the swirling black mass, the plume seemed to ripple from the force of his weapon, as Rickter and Telion combined their attacks together to overwhelm the shadowy forces before them. The wolf pulled his blade around to perform two slashes from left to right, while the bard performed her next move with a piqué as the twirl of her blade hacked at the mass a couple more times. As Rickter finished his combo Telion made one more clear strike, the wolf's blade coming down in a mighty slash when he briefly leaped off the ground. With another pirouette to unleash another burst of wind blades, both of their combined finishing blows cut through the shadows before them.

Some were culled from the main bulk but the teeming mass of darkness hardly seemed phased.

Instead the plume of darkness moved away from them, before the peak of the shadows surged out from the top, and the entire mass struck at them like a wave of shadows. Rickter and Telion both felt the might of the force these joined shadows generated, enough to where both the bard and he teetered with their own cries of pain. Though the wolf slid back as he regained his footing, and maintained his hold long enough to see that his beloved had not had such similar luck. Telion fell to the ground with another sharp groan, clearly staggered by the attack thrown at them, and left vulnerable if the wolf had not reacted in time.

"You call yourself a guardian!" He swore to himself, under his breath, as he quickly closed the gap between them, generating a layer of aether throughout his aura as soon as he reached her position. The mass of shadows did not relent. They quickly spiraled into their next attack, ready to plunge into the bard from above just as Rickter reached her. Yet they would not touch her, not as long as he drew breath, and was able to repel them with his own might. The ward he instilled through his aura activated to generate a bright dome barrier, one that sizzled and popped loudly as the wave of shadows began to disintegrate.

"Come on, love, on your feet now!" He urged now that he'd knelt by her side, the Jovmandr's Elixir he carried pulled from his belt as he brought the drought to her lips. The bard's eyes flew wide open at the sight of what took place above them, surprised at how quickly Rickter had taken to save her at a moment's notice. A drink of the elixir allowed her to feel a bit of relief as the wounds she sustained quickly started to heal, and the barrier that protected them reached maximum capacity before the energy was finally released. With a series of wild pops, the aetheric repulsion unleashed, and caused the plume of shadows to rebound as the mass retreated away.

"Thank you!" The bard urged as he helped her on her feet, the wolf's eyes never leaving their target as he readjusted his sword.

"Always." He reaffirmed her before the shadows moved once again, releasing another wave from the base of the writhing plume as they attacked anyone still in sight. The Illumite defenses hammered another set of light rays onto the square, culling what they could as the mass entity remained intact. Clearly if they wanted to do any real damage to this gods awful thing, they would have to exercise greater power just to push it back some. "Hit it with magic!"

"Right!" With the two recomposed and synergized once again, Rickter and Telion moved in for their next set of attacks. The wolf's blade flickered as his Eminence emblem shimmered, before the flames of Dawn burned off the edges. Telion's blade burned with flames as well but they were ordinarily bright red, the pair closing in to perform their first barrage of attacks together. The wolf's first two attacks consisted of a horizontal slash that followed with a sweeping strike, which cut through the mass of shadows like a hot knife through butter.

Telion's blade movements mimicked Rickter's, as the pair of them brought their weapons around to perform an upward strike with their element of choice. Finally, when they both pulled away with a whirl in their swing, they each finished their combo with an attack that would hopefully deal significant damage to the writhing mass before them. Telion cast her left hand out to unleash a major dose of flame, which blasted at the midsection of the towering shadows encroaching them, as Rickter rushed forward to smash his blade downward through the blast.

The force of the combined attacks generated a heatwave throughout the square, as shadows within the swirling cloud dissipated in numbers from the shared blows. As the mass of darkness reeled back and the bright swirling eyes deepened to a crimson red, both Rickter, and Telion became veiled with a shroud of the elements they used. Light danced and flickered throughout Rickter's aura as he stood close to his beloved defensively, the Eminence emblem still glowing brightly beneath the gauntlet of his left forearm. Telion's aura radiated flames that were a brighter shade of red, nearly turning cerulean as she remained ready for the next set of attacks.

The black mass writhed after its brief retreat, spurring into action as it lashed out like before, prompting the wolf to dash out of the way while his beloved cartwheeled to avoid being hit. Another rush of shadows from the peak of swirling mass, this time aimed directly for Rickter as it rushed through the air, threatening to smash into him if he didn't react in time. Rather than perform another stunt with his barriers though the wolf saved his aether, and dashed once more to avoid the impact zone of the entity's attack. Shadows crawled out like a rippling wave once it smashed into the ground, leaving ample opportunity for the other two to strike as they regathered.

"Now!"
"I'm with you!"

The wolf activated Seeming to charge right in, quickly bridging the gap between him and the writhing mass that recollected itself. Telion charged in as well with her own blade primed, though her speed was nowhere near as fast as Rickter's. With a combined pair of slashes from the couple, Rickter brought his blade overhead to smash it downward, and generate a burst of light which surged from his weapon. Telion pulled away to launch another flame at the cluster, causing a burst of fire to explode off of them while the wolf also pulled away. With a wicked twist of his heel he performed a quick rotation, unleashing a brief wave of silver light from the whirl as Telion closed in on the flank to slash upwards with a pillar of cerulean fire.

Together they tore heavily into the cluster of shadows, and together they pulled back to share one last combined effort, while the entities they culled continued to burn and dissipate from their entourage of attacks. Rickter closed in once more to barrage the mass of darkness with several strikes, as Telion generated a brilliant blue ball of heat near her left hand before casting it at the entities. With one final rotation after his barrage, Rickter thrusted his blade upward into the air, and generated one final burst of light from his blade that surged outward.

The radiance of his final blow sent the writhing mass reeling back, which aligned perfectly with Telion's aim when she released the brilliant blue miniature sun upon them. Heat roiled throughout the square intensely then as the shadows caught in the blast zone were immediately incinerated, before the bard zipped into the space above her blue flare, and struck the mightiest blow she could in a downward arc. The flare exploded beneath the force of her attack, and lashed outward away from her form as it incinerated more teeming shadows from the dark storm before them. As the embers of her flare quickly dissipated into the air though, the dark plume writhed violently as it shifted across the battlefield chaotically.

With that final chain of combos, the entity rushed into the air once more, before plowing into the ground to disperse into the shadows born from any structures nearby. The plume of darkness they fought dispersed as the remaining shadows in the area were picked off, leaving Rickter and Telion to stand alone in the center of the square.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Patrick"

► Show Spoiler

Sun Jun 30, 2024 6:33 pm

Rickter

Points: 8 XP
Loot: n/a
Injuries: Nothing that hasn't healed since the time this thread occurred.

Comments: N/A

Darkness of the Unknown I

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