A Wave of Gravebound

[Chronicle]

A Wave of Gravebound
5th of Searing, 124th Year, A.o.S.

To the miners of the Novalys Mining Company, it seemed almost like any other day. The warmth of the new heatwave generated a mugginess in the air nearly heavy to those who walked the streets. Light rains saturated the peaks all across Kalzasi as people either indulged in the relief of the cool moisture or sought shelter from the gentle downpour as they went about their day. The mines would seemingly remain unphased by these changes in the weather, as the divisions of the company went onward to work on digging out another section of the mines.

Having gone three levels deep from the main shaft, the division of miners on duty was tasked to dig out a few ore veins. Soldiers of the Sky Guard continually did their rounds at regular intervals, with members of two often paired as they were seen patrolling through the tunnels to inspect for danger. As quiet as things had been due to the strange gases that leaked a couple of months back, none were keen to let up their guard when they knew what to expect lurking within the vast Deep below.

It was during the mining operation itself that the eighth division on the third level noticed something had gone astray. In stopping their progress at picking away the rocks with their axes, the men and women within the chamber heard something big pound beneath them.

Boom.... Boom...

There was their warning of the dangers that were eminent to the miners and Sky Guard, rising in sound with the arrival of each growing bang that felt closer than the last. Shouts soon came from the Third Level of the Mistreach Mines as those who heard immediately shuffled for the nearest tunnel, hoping to exit before they might be cornered into a part of the mines with no hope of rescue. As the rising panic soon reached the surface level itself, those within the Keep were quick to react and sound the alarm.

Within minutes after the bells began to chime, the final boom marked the upsurge of Shinaegri that broken their way through. A few tunnels throughout the mine collapsed from the strain caused by the underground activity, leading those left inside to be cut off and requiring a different route to the surface. The Sky Guard and Dead Legion members began to mobilize, gathering at the forefront of the Mistreach Mines while those who escaped quickly stood side by side. Pickaxes, hammers, and whatever tools or actual weaponry they could've assembled were geared toward the entrance as the noisy mass of monsters bellowed and screeched from within.

The Shinaegri had come back to the surface once again.

!	Message from: Chronicle
	This is a modded Prompt for Bazyl and anyone else who might wish to join, please begin by posting your arrival to the scene of the event. I will provide everyone at least a few days to jump in before progressing things, so that we may get the event underway and wrap things up in a timely manner.

[Bazyl]

Bazyl leaned against the cart, savoring the familiar taste of espresso—rich and bitter, warming him from the inside. The bustling streets of the Commons were alive with the usual chaos of vendors calling out their wares, steam rising from food stalls, and people ducking in and out of shops to escape the mugginess of the heatwave and the occasional light rain that drizzled from the sky. Bazyl found a peculiar comfort in these small moments of normalcy amidst his often chaotic and dangerous life. Today’s plan was simple enough: meet with an old friend at the academy to discuss the floating isle of Terra Nimbus. He knew the information would likely be the same as the heavily filtered news from the Great Noble Houses, but it was worth confirming. Mostly, though, he just wanted an excuse to visit his favorite street vendor.

His attire was a modified kimono-style Hitatare, practical yet elegant, allowing for easy movement while keeping him cool in the oppressive heat. His throwing axes were strapped visibly at his waist—an ever-present reminder that Bazyl was never truly off duty. Full armor would be intolerable in this weather, and while he wasn’t expecting trouble today, the city had a way of surprising even the most prepared adventurers.

As he finished his second espresso, the invigorating kick of caffeine washed away the last of the morning’s sluggishness. He decided to make a quick detour to the Mistreach Keep, hoping to scout for potential hires among the roster of old veterans and eager adventurers. His recent skirmishes in the Astralar mountain ranges had made him realize that they could use more hands—people experienced enough to hold their own.

Pushing through the throng of people heading toward the Keep, Bazyl felt at ease. The rhythmic bustle of the city, the chatter of the crowds, and the occasional clang of blacksmiths at work made the world feel alive and vibrant. But just as he reached the entrance, the bells of the Keep rang out, cutting through the air with a sharp, urgent clamor that made everyone freeze. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath; conversations halted mid-sentence, and people paused, caught in a split second of shared apprehension.

Bazyl’s grip instinctively tightened on the handles of his axes. The bells were a warning—something had gone terribly wrong.
Sky Guards and Dead Legion members sprang into action, moving with disciplined haste as they gathered near the entrance of the Mistreach Mines. Bazyl watched as miners stumbled out of the tunnels, wide-eyed and breathless, their faces streaked with soot and terror. The scene was one of frantic urgency; miners and guards alike stood side by side, hastily arming themselves with whatever they could find—pickaxes, hammers, swords, and spears.

Bazyl joined the formation without hesitation, positioning himself among the defenders as they braced for whatever had forced its way to the surface. The air was thick with tension, the anticipation of battle hanging over them like a shroud. He scanned the trembling mine entrance, his heartbeat syncing with the dull, rhythmic pounding echoing from below. It was a deep, resonant boom, growing louder and more menacing with every second. Bazyl planned to utilize the range and power of his throwing axes to strike the first two creatures that emerged before switching to melee combat, knowing his resources were limited.

[Hilana Chenzira]

The sisters had been keeping busy at the House of Waves with the Maze family, but in between rounds of cooking, Hilana had elected to hit the market and see what else could be found there that might stir up her creativity and substitute for some ingredients from their homeland. Fortunately, in the Plaza, there was no shortage of vendors. Athalia was always down for a shopping trip, no matter what the subject was, and had figured she could visit some of the textile vendors and see what all was there. They'd been told to charge it to the Maze family; and so that was the plan. Lia had an idea to make some stuffed animals for the twins, and Hilana was hunting spices and vegetables and peppers. Whatever they couldn't get here, they'd get at home.

The colourfully dressed southerners made their way from shop to shop, from stall to stall. The Featherlight satchels were being steadily filled with supplies, and they were fixing to head home when the alarms started to sound. "What was that?" Lia looked around, craning her neck, speaking in their native tongue quietly. To her, it was certainly a sign to go back to the manor where they were staying and stay out of the way. Whatever was going on, the Kalzasern natives could surely handle it. It wasn't that she was afraid; it was more to do with the fact that this could be a problem and they could be in the way of professionals who were trained to deal with it.

"That can't be good. I've not heard that here at all when we were visiting," Hilana answered with a pause, standing on tiptoe and looking to try to figure out what the source of the alarm was. Her attention turned to the shadows, and on the earth itself. "That's not good at all. There are monsters at the mines, Lia." She listened to the shadows, gathering from them what she could. "I imagine that the guards will go to work on it, but there's people trapped within, too. We should see what we can do as Elementalists."

"How is it that trouble always finds you?" Athalia wanted to know, sighing at her sister. "Isn't the saying 'Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you'?" All the same, she would follow Hilana, as her sister shifted her satchel and her rucksack, passing Lia some of her restoratives to put in her pockets. There may be a need for doctors, too, and she would be able to assist in that direction as well.

"I couldn't tell you," Hilana returned almost dryly. However, the two sisters started off in the direction of the clamouring. Where others had armour, Lia was dressed in a calf-length caftan, with sleeves that went to her forearms. It was lightweight linen, dyed a deep blue and splashed with green. Her younger sister, though, wore her typical long skirts that looked like they should have been on a stage rather than out and about for daily wear, hanging off her hips and the long tiers dyed in reds and yellows. She wore a sleeveless linen blouse that left most of her midriff exposed, and only just contained her chest. Her long ebon hair was piled on her head in a thick bun, and Lia's was loose and down to her midback. "But needs must. We can help, after all... and it's what Rickter would do. He was willing to help our home, we can help his."

Lia couldn't argue with that logic, and she knew that in cases of emergency, Hilana's skill as a doctor and surgeon were often welcomed. While they weren't visibly armed, both of them were capable mages by Solunarian standards, and their shared Rune could be utilized either which way - offense or defense, and everything in between. "May we assist?" Hilana spoke to one of the armed and amoured Avialae, talking in Common now. "We are both trained Elementalists and I am a medic."

[Hikami]

龍A Wave of Gravebound龍

龍5th of Searing, Year 124, A.o.S龍

龍 The Hero of Udori found his morning to be peaceful, as he sat on the surface of Lake Udori meditating, trying to reach the entity that had made him into an Iceborne, however something was off. The ice spirit within his body was restless, more than usual lately. It concerned Hikami as he knew better than to not heed the warnings of the spirit. When the alarms sounded he looked to the city as he could see the sky guard had mobilized. Wings of fleshlike crystal manifested from his back as he took to the air, moving into a surveying flight pattern.

As he flew over the city he could see that most of the Sky Guard had been heading to the Mistreach mines. Not wanting to fall behind he was rushing along as he came upon Mistreach as the miners came filing out. There was a defensive line already forming but he could hear the rumbling of the Shinaegri coming. They would get rolled over, not only that, there were civilians and injured there as well. Hikami began pulling the moisture from the clouds overhead, his eyes glowing like crystal blue waters.

He came to land where some medics were working. His fleshy crystal dragon wings and tail swayed back and forth as he landed. His right hand was raised above him as he was still pooling the moisture from the clouds into his hand. Looking at two of them he came to hear they were elementalists. "The Shinaegri are fearful of elemental magic, mostly fire, but my ice decimates them well enough." he spoke to them both, one of which he felt a dulling sensation as if it was too familiar but no longer part of his memory. "Though I am unfortunate to not be able to hear the voice of fire, if either of you have it as your arche, I ask you join the defensive line."

With that he turned and lifted himself to join the other defenders, floating a few feet above them all. All the moisture he had been gathering finally coalesced into a sphere of cold energy before condensing into his hand turning it a frozen cold blue. When the flesh demons came, he would hit them with a wave of cold that would freeze them in an instant. 龍


"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Chronicle]

For those that arrived the tension in the air became palpable among the local populace, but it was also determinable just how prepared Kalzasi always remained for threats such as this. Sky Guard soldiers stood at the forefront with shields and blades drawn to present a wall of defense, while the civilians from the mining divisions had collected tools and weaponry to brace for the first wave. Spears and pikes were presented between the soldiers to give them support from the rear, and the rumblings from below hectically vibrated their way closer to the surface. Bazyl having situated himself among the crowd of militia gathered stood behind a handsome warrior not of the Sky Guard, but of the Dawnmartyrs, as the silver plates on his mail looked well polished and maintained. "Yeu there?" A husky voice spoke past the man's shoulder as his head barely turned, only revealing a partial look at his determined eyes beneath the rich brown locks of hair on his head. "Stick close t' me, cover me arse if ya can." An accent hung heavy to his words, suggestively from the south as he kept his shield presented forward.

As the clouds above condensed from the powers of the iceborne elementalist that arrived, the approach of the Vastiana sisters followed with their offer of assistance to a white-robed man. A Synnekar with a skin tone of ash and hair color of silver, and wings that quickly linked him to the Briathos heritage, as he stood among several other white-robed individuals. Mages from the College of Glass had assembled here, each donning their own preference of magical tools, but the Siltori descent Synnekar in general did not possess a weapon at all.

"Foreigners?" A younger Hytori male took note as the Siltorian Avialae eyes flicked from the cavern entrance to them, noting their choice of garb and how colorful they were compared to Kalzasern attire. "Your assistance would be most appreciated!" He then commended, as the white-robed Synnekar placed a hand on the other's shoulder and offered a faint smile to the pair when he gazed upon them.

"Indeed," He then regarded as the silver hues of his irides danced like starlight, "Elementalists and a medic, with impressive wards also." Even through his calm and observing demeanor Hilana and Athalia felt the pierce of his gaze, as the underlying defenses instilled by their peers and a faithful companion tingled the surface of their skin. Then, of course, Hikami's call out to them and other Elementalists in the area led the pale Elf to chuckle a bit, before focusing his gaze back toward the entrance of the mines. "Both of you accompany me, please, there's injured that will need your medical assistance when we reach them below..."

The bellows from within soon breached the entrance, and within moments after, Shinaegri barreled out from the mine in varying shapes and sizes. Abominations that ranged from stray mongrels one would commonly see in the streets, to hunkering man-sized beasts with twisted flesh and sinew, all of which came out with a roaring hunger for the crowd awaiting them on the surface. Just as everyone anticipated, and Hikami in turn reacted, a blast of cold soon coated the first wave that came surging out of the tunnel.

Other mages responded in tandem with the application, utilizing Elementalism to draft up a wicked gale for those at the forefront. The frontlines felt a gentle gust before the winds whipped into a roil, slamming the frozen amalgamations of twisted flesh back toward the entrance. It created just a five-second lapse in the Gravebound's advance, offering just a taste of what awaited them on the other side. "Here it comes." The white-robe warned the crowd of defenders as the rumbles finally rattled the entirety of the mineshaft's entrance. The Sky Guard and Dawnmartyrs present hoisted up their shields next, and in doing so, a wave of aether flowed outward from the White-robed Synnekar to coat the area. Shields and weaponry were reinforced with a physical resistance ward, with another layer introduced to provide the same for every armored individual at the frontlines.

"Get ready mates!" The Dawnmartyr in front of Bazyl called out with his shield raised high, his sword arm craned so that he was prepared to thrust the moment more of the beasts came through. A loud boom thundered at the frozen entrance as stone and dust shuddered from the impact, before another boom sent ice and stone flying into the air, and a massive Shinaegri the size of a stone-born Moratallen plowed through with taut writhing muscles of flesh. Chunks of rock and ice poured out at everyone before they bounced off another ward, pelting to the ground without so much as touching those in their original trajectory. With a ferocious bellow into the skies above, Gravebound proceeded to pour out of the widened entrance of the tunnel, their numbers suddenly increasing exponentially compared to the first wave that came barreling out.

"Hikami!" Deep within himself the anchor of Auriel's Benediction inside Hikami quivered, both out of fear but also excitement for having felt the presence of this voice. "Focus! Clear a path for everyone!" It urged within him before the voice died out like an echo in the breeze, as though he had heard the will of the Northwind itself. The intent of the message was clear, however, urging him to orient his concentration on the throes of Shinaegri pouring from the cavern.

[Hikami]

龍A Wave of Gravebound龍

龍5th of Searing, Year 124, A.o.S龍

龍 The initial blast of cold only seemed to delay them for but a mere moment, as more seemed to surge forth. That was fine, as Aoi Ryu's frozen visage came into his hand he was about to move to attack, though something stopped him. It felt familiar yet unrecognizable, and the elemental spirit within him was both fearful and elated by the voice. It called for him to make a path into the warrens. What was it with him and disembodied voices calling out to him? Beckoning him to listen to their pleas? As much as he wanted to fight the horde, not to mention the hulking brute that charged through the frozen entrance, people's lives were at stake after all.

With a deep breath he began to manifest the winds around him. Unlike those that were conjured by the other elementalist, his were twice as powerful, and with each swing of Aoi Ryu, he decimated the Shinaegri. The display was one of martial beauty as he delivered blow after blow to the stampeding horde, finishing its combo with a powerful bellow of wind that shredded the incoming flesh demons. However, another wave could be seen coming and he hissed at the encroaching monsters. "Let's see how you like this!" he roared, the tip of Aoi Ryu kissing the ground as torrents of vicious winds coalesced around the polearm.

"Kaze Tsume{Wind Claw}!!!!" With an upward swing, Hikami released a massive twister of wind that tore the incoming shinaegri to a messy fleshy pulp. It didnt seem as though any more were coming, but he wasnt going to take that chance, as he took to the air and soared forward. He would clear the way as instructed, he just hoped the other could handle the hulking brute. 龍


"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Bazyl]

His eyebrows lifted as the sight of familiar armor caught his eye, and a familiar accent reached his ears. It had been a long time since he had fought side-by-side with the Dawnmartyrs. The last time they had stood together was during the siege of Ailos, a memory that sharpened his focus. He steadied himself, curling his fist and giving two light thumps on the Dawnmartyr’s armor. "I got ya, mate. Just like old times." His voice was firm, filled with the weight of battles past. With a steadying grip on his axe, he turned his gaze toward the entrance of the mines.

Above them, the sky darkened as the clouds condensed, a phenomenon he knew all too well. He didn’t need to look up to identify the source. "The Hero of Udori Lake," he muttered under his breath, recognizing the telltale sign of an approaching storm conjured by the powerful mage. Bazyl held mages in the highest regard. If only there were more like the Hero of Udori Lake or the upper echelons of House Briathos, perhaps the Graveplague would have been eradicated sooner. But the Cult of Mending wasn’t lacking in powerful mages either; the Graveplague, after all, was a product of their own making. Bazyl feared it would grow into another catastrophe on the scale of the Sundering if left unchecked.

As the swarm of Shinaegri monsters burst from the mines, Bazyl braced himself, his heart pounding in time with the earth beneath him. He waited, knowing that none of the beasts would reach him unscathed. As expected, a blast of icy magic froze the first wave of Shinaegri in their tracks.

"Got your back," Bazyl said to the Dawnmartyr ahead of him. Through the gap in the shield wall, he hurled his axe at a rushing Shinaegri, before quickly grabbing another axe and throwing it with practiced precision at another one. As the wave of Gravebound barreled toward their line, Bazyl switched to melee, ready for the inevitable clash.

[Hilana Chenzira]

When the dark-haired possibly-Avialae with the strange wings spoke to them and advised of the monsters' weaknesses to elemental magic, the Vastian sisters nodded in acknowledgment and thanks for the tidbit of information. They would, however, wait for the instructions of the White Robes. They, presumably, had something to do with the Circle of Spells, as Hannah had mentioned Black Robes with some level of deference, which meant skill and ability. And when in doubt, look for the authority and follow it. That was the type of order they were used to in Solunarium, and when it came to things like this... it was better to fall in line and be helpful as opposed to being a liability of a loose cannon.

When the Hytori spoke to them, the sisters nodded, and Hilana beamed up at the Siltori-seeming Avialae. He rather looked like Talon, and she had to wonder if there was some connection there. This was not, however, the time to inquire; perhaps later on. "Yes, sir. We are happy to help however we can. I am Hilana, and this is Lia." They may not have been particularly dressed for it, but this was an impromptu interruption while shopping, and this was where they would need to hopefully avoid damage and shield others as well. But Elementalism was useful like that, a solid magic for offense and defense, and done properly... it should give them and the others a fighting chance. The wards they had would also be helpful.

"Those wards were built by our close friend," Athalia admitted. "While I also have Negation, it is very much a work in progress." She didn't want to mislead the sage into thinking that she was capable of recreating them; it was better to be honest about their capabilities rather than fail at a crucial, critical juncture because of erroneous expectations. All the same, the sisters would stick close to the silver-haired Avialae. Lia was watching the entrance, and both sisters were listening to the earth. Hilana crouched, touching it with her fingers before standing up, squaring herself and breathing deeply. They were coming.

Piece by piece, Athalia put together a handful of lodestones, each of them the size of a cherry, and loaded them, one by one, with lava. It would be easier to make them mobile, and with the size, it would be less likely to cause any problems for the other defenders. Especially if she could stop them before they hit the warriors. The bodies would likely slow down and hopefully damage the ones that followed, too, and if that further hampered their mobility, it could reduce the impact on their infantry. The filled ones went into her pockets, leaving her hands free to help guide her aether.

Seeing as the dark-haired one seemed to focus on wind, Hilana decided that light and shadow might well be her better bet. Fire was Athalia's specialty, and water was less conducive, earth would be troublesome for the physical fighters on the front line. That left her with her two attunements. "Are you ready?" she murmured to the shadows, though perhaps it might have seemed like she was talking to no one in particular. Her own shadow swelled around her skirts, though, in reply. Ready. She had to admit she didn't know anything about these undead horrors, but observation would let her know how much they relied on their senses. That was always something that could be disrupted and possibly helpful if it could disorient them. "Deus Avaerys, Rex Regum Incompariblis... Domina Varvara, Domina Divina... In your name, they will fall."

As they burst out of the mine opening, Athalia scrutinized and started picking targets to hit with her lodestones. She guided them with wind, though kinetics would have been invaluable, and smashed the first lodestone into the back of one of the shinaegri, letting it rupture and lava to spill out of it, coating the creature and starting to burn it. She could repeat the process, a calm expression on her face and in her stance. Precision mattered here, especially with the gale-force winds going on, and she was glad of her classical training.. One couldn't cancel another Elementalist's work, but you could work with it. Her taller sister with the colourful skirts focused on the shadows of the beasts, shaping them in order to make points and wedges, and manifesting them at the last minute, jamming them into limbs to impair their ability to move with speed and force.

The big one, though... that one was going to be a problem. But there was still light overhead, rays coming from the sun, and Hilana would take that light and manifest it, looking to stab the monster with it in its face and limbs. Athalia would direct two of her lava-loaded lodestones to it, striking it on the rump and shoulder in order to break the crystal and release the magma contained within.

[Chronicle]

As the iceborne cleaved the very spaces of the mineshaft's entrance with wind, the whirling gales responded to the whims of his technique as they roiled and slashed toward the unwavering number of Shinaegri pouring out. Already the various mages within the vicinity near the front lines were begrudgingly toiling to try and reinforce the powers being displayed, however, with such mighty turbulence being unleashed they were instead required to act in a method of self-protection for their own peers. Gales from Hikami's mighty wind technique practically howled as Gravebound was sheared and shredded into bits and pieces, viscera and lumps of bleeding flesh being tossed into the air so that it all rained on the group at the forefront.

"Eikaen's balls, this shit's gettin' outta hand!" Korgan hollered over the roaring winds with his shield arm still raised, the Sky Guard and Dawnmartyrs present budging against the strain of aerial force battering their shield wall. The elementalists among the group were strained for a moment longer, before several sigils flashed in a dancing pattern across the stone beneath their feet. Already, a new layered ward surged to redirect the rebounding gales from Hikami's technique toward the remaining Gravebound, causing even the tidbits of Shinaegri that rained from the air above to spiral back toward the cave entrance.

Hikami's advance quickly led him past the lumbering Shinaegri that had come bursting out before, as the beast had been severely battered by his barrage of wind attacks. Having entered the mineshaft to clear the way, however, he'd quickly notice that his body felt a bit strange. Parts of him were becoming squishier than normal, requiring a bit more concentration to maintain the solidity when he treaded beyond the threshold of the mine's entrance. More Shinaegri would be coming at him from deeper within the belly of the mine, although, a large number of them clustered around a noisy band of men who kept them all at bay.

Roars from the group could be heard inside as pickaxes and other tools were being used to defend themselves, but it would only be a matter of time before the miners inside became overwhelmed and fodder for the Gravebound Horde.

Meanwhile, the lumbering Shinaegri that beheld a Moratallen physique threatened to close in with a smashing tackle at the front lines, yet having to be the only remaining obstacle left for those outside, due to the unified force of those outside coming together in a more organized gambit. The Vastiana sisters applied their crafts well to deter what remaining numbers were left, between their Kinetics and the lodestones used to decimate the stragglers. As the bigger Shinaegri stepped forward in pain, a secondary ward activated in time to unleash a volley of aetherial strands from the ground it had stepped on. Tethers of negation magic coiled around what remained of its legs and reactively ensnared the rest of the Shinaegri's body within a network of arcane threads visibly glowing to the naked eye.

"My my... You're certainly a bit larger than the average Shinaegri." The pale-skinned Avialae remarked with a narrowed gaze on the beast, the anchor to his arcane network of threads glistening around the tips of his index and middle finger. With a quick and precise twerk of his hand the gesture spurred his magic into reaction, sending his aether to reactively tighten until the strands ensnaring the beast sizzled and pop across the ghastly mob's flesh. A sickening squelch filled the air before the frontlines as the beast didn't have time to react, not even with a groan, before the arcane threads shredded the being into pure viscera on the stone beneath it. With a brief moment spent in a small but silent victory, the soldiers at the forefront yelled as the actual charge began to pursue behind Hikami.

"A pleasure to meet you, by the way," The Avialae then complimented to the sisters with another brief flicker of a friendly smile, "you may call me Rorom if you will." He kept it brief as his starry silver eyes focused back on the mines ahead, knowing that time was of the essence if they wanted to drive back the horde.

"This is it!" The Dawnmartyr urged as he shifted to a soft charge, only to stop and pluck the thrown handaxe his compatriot had tossed out aptly earlier.

"C'mon Silty, we gots t' bash more heads in!" The knight urged with a toothy grin as he helped the handle toward Bazyl, his rigid outline shared with a bearded face and icy-blue eyes filled with a hopeful passion. The exchange with Bazyl had only been brief and forged in the heat of battle, however, the knight before him already seemed intent on treating him like a close companion; even so much as giving Bazyl the nickname "Silty" in their shared battle.

"Come," Rorom urged to the sisters as he and the white-robed mages near Hilana moved toward the entrance, "they'll need us deep within the mines if we're to stop this breach." The white-hooded sage had a feeling in particular, after witnessing the display of magic Hikami released earlier, that such behaviors would only take a greater toll if left unchecked. And as the head of the College of Glass, Rorom was not keen on letting others die at the hands of the Gravebound where he could help it.

Inside the first level of the mineshaft where Hikami had entered, however, that gang of miners still tussled and slaughtered every Shinaegri closing in, reducing the numbers that threatened to teem the Iceborne now that he'd reached the first level of the Mistreach Mines.

[Hikami]

龍A Wave of Gravebound龍

龍5th of Searing, Year 124, A.o.S龍

龍 Being the first one in he flew down the corridor, following the sounds of conflict coming from up ahead. It didnt take him long to reach the other miners held up on the first level. With a wave of his hand, two replicas went forth, skewering the flesh demons before coming around where the miners were. With a flick of his wrist, they began to spin, turning into frozen whirling death to any flesh creature that tried to get passed them. "Get back and hunker down, leave this rabble to me!"

Soaring in front of the group he landed, spinning and unleashing a razor sharp arc of wind to cleave through the horde. The cave ceiling had shaken from that, causing the Iceborne to take notice. He couldnt afford a cave in, so instead he decided to rely more on martial talent than his magical ability. Both duplicated weapons went forth, under the command of their wielder to skewer and hack down any enemy in their way. For the Shinaegri that got passed his pact weapons would be met by the Iceborn's wrath personally.

Between the blade of Aoi Ryu and being crushed by his frozen dragon tail, Hikami was fending off the stragglers. Channeling cold aether into the head of Aoi Ryu he stabbed the weapon into the ground extending out towards the Shinaegri. Those caught in it were immediately frozen solid and with a snap of his fingers, they shattered into glittering cold dust and shards. He would repeat the process till the horde was no more or the others reached where he was to clean up the rest. He could hear the miners behind him as they too were defending the flanks. 龍


"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"