"Weren't the Adh Nuaihm supposed to be...?" he asked Elindra, the woman shrugging her shoulders. She had been sent to perform operations in Daravin, and he the Free Cities, stationed in Kalzasi. They went together, because it was safer than traveling alone. Rugged old Vendrael advised it, and Taelian had been keen - of late - on taking his advice. Somehow, it always appeared to work.
"They're obviously very secretive," the woman said, finally. She looked tired, hungry; both of them were out of breath. They had been walking for what must have been six hours straight. Even for Ebon Knights like them, cooped up in leather armor with Searing's heat still not having fully subsided, this amount of walking brought ire to the body. Taelian was not a particularly sweaty man, but he was sweating, and his skin began to itch.
It was humid. Silfanore needed a good four weeks of separation from Searing before the air was anything but drenched in moisture.
"Dranoch," Taelian warned. In the distance, half-obscured by a ruined building -- one man draped in crimson red attire, a misty white veil clear at the core of his irises. Beside him was a young, frail-looking woman whose mouth was open. She was visibly panting. Within seconds, her mouth opened much wider - unnaturally so - and she let out a crazed scream as she dug into whatever pile of flesh laid beyond the collapsed wall obstructing their view.
She was a new Botchling. That man must have either been the one who had created her, or a guiding mentor.
"Do we fight them?" Elindra asked. She drew her bow from her back; she was one of the few Ebon Knights to be successful as a long-range marksman, given the ability of the Dranoch to close in on their positions so easily. The woman was known for her skill in evasion, keeping distance, and being aware of her surroundings. Often, her enemies were not aware of her until they were immolated -- such as now.
"Yes," Taelian replied. "Shoot the red-cloaked man, Elindra. The woman is weaker than him. She's only recently born."
And she did, imbuing Flare into the head of her arrow. She shot with alacrity and accuracy, and by the time the man heard the arrow whistling and whirring, it was too close to him. He only managed to dodge enough for it to avoid his throat, though it still lodged deep into his shoulder, coming out of his body on the opposite end. With Flare imbued, the arrow burned a vast amount of his upper body in that single impact. He was grimacing and obviously terribly in pain, but the man was likely a Cardinal and so had great tenacity.
Re: Leave
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:09 am
by Taelian
"Elindra, fire again. Core of his chest," Taelian suggested. It was too late, though; his progeny began to scream, and the man sprinted towards them with incredible haste. His left arm had gone completely limp, but he drew his right talon forward with a thick coating of shadowy energy surrounding each individual digit. He was preparing to kill one of them with an immediate strike, swift and nearly unable to be parried or repelled. It appeared by the way in which his trajectory adjusted, that he was going for Taelian -- and it made sense. A marksman would be dead on her own.
Taelian's weapon brandished, he was ready to defend himself. He immediately drew his arm back and formed a Flamelance, throwing the high velocity spear at the approaching Dranoch, though the Cardinal almost performed an inversion to avoid it, before priming his claw forward and swiping at Taelian. Ready for it, the Ebon Knight blocked by aggression, striking into the man's claw and attempting to cut through his augmented flesh. The shadow, acting as an armored coating, prevented him from being cut and Taelian was forced to step backwards. Elindra had already begun to gain her distance, aiming her bow at the Botchling woman who approached much more slowly from the ruin.
She fired, and the woman was struck. Most of the left side of her body was blown out by a fiery implosion, consuming her flesh.
The scream, this time, was far more piercing than the last.
Taelian drew his blade back, and focused on performing the same ability that Elindra just had. Flare, which had augmented her arrows for a single strike, enough to nearly demolish a Cardinal on first blow. Enough to kill a Botchling. They exchanged blows between blade and single claw, the man weakened yet weaving away from Elindra's arrows, which threatened to strike Taelian as they surged across the field.
This fight was surprisingly unfavorable. He was losing their melee. The Cardinal -- he had been around for a long time. Taelian was hungry. And he hadn't been at his best in years.
He needed to perform Flare. He remembered that it was much like Enkindling, imbuing the Beacon's warmth into the weapon. Letting it surge through the steel, only that it was a concentrated and forceful amount. Enough to wash fire over an enemy, or even to explode from within their flesh, washing over them with destructive ripples of kinetic force. It was easy to weave into his weapon, almost like a precursor to Emblem, which he had never known.
Taelian breathed, feeling his aether touched by the radiance of the Beacon. It flowed carefully into the edges of his bladed steel, around the Enkindled veins that ran across its length. Taelian's blade met the Dranoch's dicing claw, and charred from his clutch to his elbow. It wasn't quite as effective as if he were more skilled, but it was enough. The Pyromancer drew his blade back, then, using the moment of repose -- gripping it with both of his hands, firmly, he swung forward and cleaved the man's head from his neck. Just like that, a Cardinal was dead.
Re: Leave
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:32 am
by Taelian
"That was something," Elindra commented, seemingly very pleased with herself. "It feels good to kill more of those sick bastards on our way out. I don't even want to know what that woman was feeding on," she remarked, shaking her head. But she would find out; they both knew she would. Curiosity had always gotten the better of them, and so rather than veering away from the building their pathing became inclined towards it. As they got closer to the ruin, they could both tell. Their eyes peered for a moment over the fallen stones, and there it was: likely the corpse of a Siltori young. It was not something worth continuing to look at, and so they continued to move on, not speaking of it again.
"You were impressive," Taelian noted. "I think we would have lost that fight without you. How haven't they made you an Ashwraith yet? You certainly fight like one."
"Balls aren't big enough, I suppose," she grinned.
"Don't be like that. Clariel and Vinera are two of the most prominent Revenants, and they're both--"
"I know," she said. "I'm kidding. The truth is that I don't want to be an Ashwraith. I don't want the responsibility of leading a group. I just want to supplement my team - whoever that is - and kill those mongrels wherever I can. That's why I'm going to Daravin; they've started to pop up near Arlain. Can you imagine it, our ancient capital being ransacked by Dranoch? I won't allow it. Besides, they say there are great weapons still in Nilfandel. Aldrin wants me to investigate it; see what could be. He says that our people have endured so much waste from the Mists, that we're the most likely to survive magical ruins like that. I'm not sure I completely trust the man, but, he's brought us this far. Hasn't he?"
Taelian nodded, slightly. "I suppose," he replied.
They continued to walk. Another hour came, and they spotted the head of an old Clockwork bunker, barely risen above the soil. That had to be it.
"Adh Nuaihm?" Taelian asked himself aloud. Elindra nodded.
"Likely," she said. "Let's knock and see what happens."
The two stepped towards the immensely thick vault-like entrance, and knocked politely, then began to stomp their feet. A small dust storm began to brew north of them, causing for the trees to sway with the colossal gale. He'd seen the signs earlier, the wind picking up, howls in the distance. The Mist gathered.
"Don't make us burn through this, you sodding--"
The hatch opened. A gaunt, blank-faced Siltori stared at them from below, beckoning the two Ebon Knights forth. It was a good thing, too; they wouldn't have been able to burn through it. No way.
They spent a few more hours chattering at the enclave as the Adh Nuaihm prepared the underground rail, in order to transport more than just them. There were Siltori and Dratori all throughout the metal interior, mourning the loss of their home but relieved to be leaving the Dranoch's tyranny for good. He looked to Elindra one last time before they left, smiling as she spoke to a single Siltori man, traveling alone. She had apparently caught his fancy.
Taelian sat by himself at the farthest corner in the back. There were two elderly Dratori seated nearest to him, and though they often attempted to engage in conversation with him, the Famished man said nothing.
He was finally leaving. Yet somehow, other than the occasional itch from the sweat and leather against his skin, he felt nothing.
Re: Leave
Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 8:36 pm
by Nyx
Taelian
Points: 5/5
Magic?: Sigilic Pyromancy, 5 Points Awarded
Lores:
Sigilic Pyromancy: Flare
Sigilic Pyromancy: Imbuing arrowheads with Flare
Sigilic Pyromancy: Flare is like a temporary, larger Enkindling
Sigilic Pyromancy: Flare can be explosive or burning
Blades: Striking in order to block
Blades: Riposte
Loot: +5 Black Remedy Progression Points
Injury and Overstepping: N/A
Comments: A wonderful little thread to help train up Taelian's Sigilic Pyromancy as well as get him those Black Remedy progression points. That being said, every thread of your seems to introduce NPCs that will eventually die, leaving gaping holes in my poor aching chest. Please don't kill too many NPCs after making me grow attached them them. It is less than fun.
