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Re: [Open] grim tidings

Posted: Sat May 13, 2023 4:12 pm
by Talon
T A L O N
Talon cut down one of the creatures that leaped for him, lopping off its head with an ensuing pop and sizzle of silver-white fire that reduced the rest of it to ash. He did not stop to observe his kill, confident in his ability to handle lesser monstrosities after spending the entirety of his adult life fighting creatures in the Warrens. Aoren worked with him in tandem such that any observer would see only a flourish of swords followed by short but precise bursts of fire that were silver, red, and sometimes even black. But as fate would have it, even the most skilled warriors could only skirt a dance with death for so long.

Talon felt it as a bone-deep cold that bit into his shoulder. He immediately recognized that this was not his pain but the pain of his bondmate. He whirled, swords cutting the limbs of a ghoulish looking humanoid creature that had reached for him. His eyes found Aoren immediately, seeing that his bondmate had been tackled. One of Aoren’s raven wings was being clawed at, his husband yelped in pain. Reaching out with his kinetics, Talon grabbed the creature atop Aoren and flung it into the swarm that was amassing. That was when he saw the gigantic towering shadowspawn that was lumbering forward. Immediately he sprinted forward, coming to stand protectively by his bondmate. The ground shook for a moment as he grabbed hold of the aether flux weaving it into a dome of razor-sharp netting that he sent solidified and sent expanding outward from their position. There was a ripple in the air as his dome expanded outward, slicing through the creatures as it went. Talon extended a hand to his bondmate. Aoren grunted as he pulled himself to his feet.

Are you--?” Talon began. Aoren winced, his left wing quivering slightly.

I’ll be okay. I think the arm is sprained, though.” Talon could see droplets of blood on the feathers. Reaching out a hand, Talon touched his husband and teleported the two of them out of the center of that swarm and to a safer position atop a nearby building. When they appeared back on their feet, Aoren found a nearby surface to sit on. Tentatively he extended his injured wing and Talon wordlessly began inspecting it visually with both his mundane and Semblance aided sight.

Nothing broken. Just sprained.” Aoren nodded. The both of them then looked at the massive towering creatures.

Plan?” Aoren allowed himself a momentary reprieve as Talon gently brushed his fingers over his husband's injured wing.

Talon thought for a moment. He watched as the creature headed toward the square was blasted by a large explosion. He surmised that was the ogre and his forces. He saw the barrier encircling them. He did not even need to form the words before Aoren was sighing. Their thoughts flowed between each other as easily as breathing.

How did I know you were going to say that?” Talon extended a hand and helped his husband to his feet. Talon could only smile softly.

Because you know me.” Aoren rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck.

Yes. I do.” Aoren let out a breath then extended his hand in a gentlemanly fashion. “Shall we, my love?

Fire began emanating from Aoren’s form. The skin of his body began to harden like obsidian rock as his veins ignited with volcanic fire. The black feathers of his wings became polished onyx accented with red-hot fire. His red hair became tongues of fire and the hellfire that burned in his eyes blossomed until both of his eyes were mere pools of molten fire and lava.

As Talon took Aoren’s hand, fire also began to overtake his form. The crown of his nimbus manifested in full and the guise of his Mortal Seeming fell away. Silver-white flames wrapped around his body and the Light of Dawn shone through from the very core of his being. Light like the rising sun illuminated the world in every direction as Talon allowed the godly half of his soul to take the forefront. He became a nova of silver-white fires with eyes that shone in a bluish mercurial light.

Slowly, the two of them ascended into the sky. As soon as they did, a ring of swords appeared around the both of them with Aoren unleashing his Arsenal. No sooner than this, a flight of the shadow spawn as well as those capable of leaping into the air came for the both of them. Talon gave them none of his attention. Before any could even touch them, most were incinerated by the intense heat emanating from Aoren’s volcanic form alone. Those that were not reduced to ash, were cut to ribbons by the protective ring his husband had conjured. With Aoren protecting him, that left Talon to focus on the two giant shadow monstrosities. With his eyes turned first to the one bearing down upon the fortified square, Talon raised his hand.

As his hand rose, silver-white fire and crackling lightning began to form a spear of divine fire and concentrated Light.

Begone.

Talon dropped his hand and sent the first spear launching toward the shadow monster. It cut through the air, leaving a trail of dawnfire and Light in its wake as it traveled. The Light burned away all shadows it encountered along the way, infused as it was by the very essence of Talon’s divine domain. Expanding outward from Talon himself, all sources of Light were now bathed in his divine radiance, with the Demigod of Light having allowed his domain to shine in full.

Off Topic
Aoren has enacted Elemental Synergy using his Arche of Fire and is blending Fire and Earth to become a living volcanic elements. He has unleashed his Arsenal, invoking the Master techniques to create a ring of protection around himself and Talon formed from swords that will move to cut down enemies with both sharp edge and volcanic force.

Talon has also enacted Elemental Synergy and is blending together his Arche of Fire and his Divine Light with Dawnfire. He is in full Demigod mode and has unleashed a spear of Light against the shadow beast attacking the fortified square.


Re: [Open] grim tidings

Posted: Sun May 14, 2023 1:32 am
by Leon
To be honest, up to this moment, there were only three times in his life when he despised his choices. The first one was when he faced off against his father during his coming home ceremony at his grandfather's burial. The second was when he 'accepted' the offer that his former CO in the Special Division made. The third time was when he agreed to accompany the ogres to retrieve the cargo. If only he weren't blinded by his greed and curiosity, he wouldn't have stepped foot on that boat, he wouldn't be firing the signal flare, and maybe the fighters that rescued him wouldn't have come to the docks, and maybe those shadow monstrosities wouldn't emerge.

Leon took a deep breath, pulled the bolt, ejected the empty casing, loaded a new one and aimed. That's when he saw the goblin at the edge of the encampment. The barrier engulfed the encampment. Despite having the barrier, Leon doesn't feel assured at all. His gut feeling told him that every shadow creature in the Northside would be coming for them, like moths to the flame. He looked to his left and right, and the ogres and hobgoblins formed a line. The bravery that would make those on the frontlines proud, he thought to himself. Though faced with a certain downfall, no one under Gresh's command wavered. Why? Why would they hold out? Even the legionnaires only sent three fighters. They could have abandoned the encampment and escaped south or to the sea. The barriers could halt their advances, so why-

At that moment, Leon looked over his shoulder to see a woman hugging her crying child, a crippled shaking in fear holding on to his gun, and an older man helping the ogres pass along the crates of ammunition from the makeshift depot. Now he understood why his grandfather didn't yield an inch from the frontlines, despite the Imperial Army's overwhelming numbers. Gresh's shouting pulled his attention back to the front. After looking at the weapon's size, Leon knew it got firepower similar to one of the Imperial tanks. As an engineer who had been around those vehicles long enough, he knew that the recoil would send him flying, given his proximity to the weapon. Leon retreated a bit from the front, climbed the small makeshift tower of crates, took a prone position, rested the barrel of his gun and aimed at the shadow titan.

"What a fucking monster….." Leon muttered when Gresh lifted the gun and fired at the creature with one hand.

Taking the opportunity that Gresh made, Leon switched his target from the shadow titans to the smaller shadow creatures. He pulled the trigger, then the bolt handle ejected the empty casing, loaded a new one, and pulled the trigger again. Leon knew they needed to thin the horde while waiting for the weapon to cool. After firing several rounds, he felt a tug on his foot; he lifted his head backwards and saw a young girl staring at him. The girl tossed him a casing of ammunition.

"From Doc," she said before disappearing back into the crowd.

At that moment, Leon didn't care if they survived the night. For once in his life, he welcomed death with open arms. It was only a matter of time, right? Their downfall was imminent, after all. If only he were as strong as his grandfather, maybe he could contribute more. His mind went back to the two warriors that saved him. If they're here, maybe we could buy more time to send some people to the legionnaires stationed at the Gash.

He then peered into the scope, intending to examine the titan's condition. It was dark, then a blinding flash of light. He quickly pulled away, lest he be blinded by the sudden brightness and kept his eyes closed. "What the fuck was that?" he muttered.

Re: [Open] grim tidings

Posted: Sat May 20, 2023 2:12 pm
by Tailen
Grim Tidings
Frost 14th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

Image
Things were rolling out faster than what the Bloodhound could keep up with, then again, such was the way of battle or even war once the chaos unfolded. While his mettle had yet to be tempered for such things, Zevern wasn't going to refrain from giving it his best where it counted most. The goblins and ogres which followed Gresh's command toiled tirelessly, using their magic powers to preserve the battleground from the shadows that threatened to teem them.

Meanwhile, the lumbering colossal shadows were threatening to close in, that is, until the other two Avialae present worked in tandem to unleash volley after volley of attacks. There existed such grace between their shared combinations, enough so that Zevern himself might've coveted such skill and synergy. Regardless, the soldier wasn't going to abandon his post on this arduous night. With his blade glowing from the Lunacite he used before, Zev charged outward to the edges of the barrier, and then pull himself into a turn at his left with a hefty swing of the blade.

He followed with several more hacks and slashes that led him to turning away into a skip, seeking shelter within the barrier's edge once more as he thought to catch his breath in the moment. And then while the battle continued to near its epic conclusion, light poured from the dancing duo of warriors fighting for everyone's survival. The Bloodhound needed a moment to shield his eyes, before noticing that the glow imbued on his sword had brightened with intensity. He had not known that such powers could exist, let alone stem from such an individual, but the soldier wasn't going to waste any chances on maximizing its potential.

"Time to switch it up!" The Bloodhound commanded of himself when he gripped the hilt of his longsword with both hands, with his rune of elementalism glowing as he channeled aether down the blade. Though light in comparison to the fury of elemental powers being demonstrated above them, Zevern's sword vibrated as the light emanating from it swirled into a vortex. It was with a cleanly obtuse slash that he unleashed the energy into a forward cut, the direction of the magic unleashed creating an arc blade of luminescent air once sent forward.

Shadows that continued to swarm were cleaved in one easy swoop, while the moonlight arc he unleashed cut at least thirteen feet forward before finally dissipating. He unleashed another aimed cleave from his position, chopping through the air to unleash another moonlit arc, that would continue to cut down shadows left and right with each repeated swing. Zevern did not know how long the charge would last on his blade, though, he did not care as of this moment any longer.

He merely focused on the forefront of their fortified battleground, hopeful that the two in the sky above would end this skirmish soon.

"There's no question whether it comes to can or can't, some things you just do."

"Common" "Kathalan"
"Dialogue" Monologue