Where the Temple Leads

[Cyrus the virus]

Bringing the Slykrit Blade in front of him in preparation, Luc watched as the Gorian'fel suddenly slowed and turned, curious. Without wasting a moment, the mage thrust his blade forward and urged the fire to burn, rushing forward in a narrow stream to strike at the face of the beast.

It fell back, pulling its head from side to side to avoid the hungry fire. Eventually it rushed straight into the flames, attacking that which harmed it, and Luc needed to abandon his attack. The ground below him cracked apart and gave him a circular platform to stand on, which rose up into the sky as the Gorian'fel charged under.

Turning upon his floating pedestal, Luc spun the Slykrit Blade above his head, creating a ring of fire which he sent into a spin. Sending it down at the creature below, he crafted a furious whirlwind which only spread out the fire more, creating a flaming tornado-like attack.

The Gorian'fel was struck by it, roaring in pain as the fire struck. Its hide melted beneath the fire, which only seemed to grow in intensity as Luc focused. Trees, shrubs and bushes nearby felt the fire as wall, as tongues of flame whirled out of the wind. Soon he could maintain it no more, but to his shock, the Gorian'fel still stood, though most of its body was blackened.

"Still it lives," he said, amazed.

Then, catching him completely off guard, the Gorian'fel braced itself and leapt right for his platform, using powerful legs to ram straight through the large circle of floating earth. Luc dropped his sword and fell to the ground, slowing his fall only slightly. The beast landed not far off, on its side, but it slowly began to rise again.

Grunting, Luc did the same.

[Kially Gaith]

Keeping his back to the wall, he was proud to see that Luc saw well to Kially’s weak plan. It had gone just as he’d expected…That was until a large bunch of trees turned an even deeper shade of rapidly changing red. Crimson, to cyan, to orange, and back, in a multitude of heat and flames.

When Luc fell, he couldn’t decide between what to be angry at first: Luc for destroying what he was supposed to protect, or the beast for attacking and endangering Luc.

This situation made no sense, but he knew if he didn’t do SOMETHING, then the whole occasion would result in more tragedy, be it the blood of Luc, or even more helpless trees and plants being set a blaze.

Standing to his feet as he grabbed a pebble rooted into the soil with a burst using both his hands against the scorched floor, the heavy metal of war would begin as the child ran in the flurry of razor sharp leaves, some burning, some smouldering, some still fully shaped, it mattered not, as the child used his one physical advantage against the currently bewildered and somewhat dazed beast – His speed.

Getting up close, the large fiend would take a flurry of natures finest, tearing up it’s chest line until Kially reached the head of the thing, where he’d leap towards it as it roared, his hand charging the pebble with an edge at the very last given second. "Jüesry orervgf!" The beast was now aware of the boys offensive due to the voice/leaves and retaliated with a swing of it’s mighty head in the lads direction, which impacted Kiallys solar plexus with a flash of green, Lucs spell protecting him from the mass of hurt that would of occurred.
The impact, all the same, sent Kially flying like a rag doll, his legs and arms out front, his torso behind, without pain, towards a tree, where he’d once again impact solidly with a second flash of emerald green, then the ground with a final and less bright third flash of the lime light, which dissipated before the boy could take any more damage, much to his fortune.

However. The beast did not follow the path taken by the airborne sent Kially as for when it had swung its’ head, it had aptly positioned itself for what was sheer luck. The beast now bounding up and down between the hind and front legs, in utmost pain, because, for its mistake, the left eye of the mighty opponent was split in two through the middle, by a lowly pebble which remained implanted cleanly in the socket, having been thrust in by the child that had taken a risky (yet successful) dive at the legendary foe.

Kially however, was still in shock. He had expected pain, he had expected the crunching of bone and the tearing of flesh when his supple frame had left the ground. He had truly underestimated the power of Lucs spell. But painless or not, the body was not supposed to move with rag doll physics and he still ached from the vibrations of impact all the same. He was just fortunate that not a single injury had occurred upon his person…Yet…That, and he was unaware where the pebble had impacted, having tookthe strike of the beast before affirmation could be acchieved. All said and done...It was now upto Luc to finish the job.

Translation - Die already!

[Cyrus the virus]

Rising to crooked, determined legs, Luc summoned his sword back to him using his power over metal. Sensing it several feet away, the blade came to his call and flew to his waiting hand, igniting once more at his touch.

Kially rushed into the fray, Luc's scream demanding he get out of the way. Gruesome as the boy's dismissal was, the mage was confident he wasn't terribly hurt, so much faith he had in his homebrewed spell. Still, he shuddered to imagine what Kially would look like, had he not been protected. The legendary beast's rage turned back to Luc, whose burning sword was like a beacon to it. His anger, too, had only increased.

The Gorian'fel had lost some stream, but the mage was just heating up. With his anger to fuel him, he approached with slow steps. The creature burst into a quick run and Luc threw a hand forward, spawning a spire of earth from the ground ahead of it, on the same side as its damaged eye. The pointed spear tore into the creature's side, tearing a roar from its tired throat. Swerving his hand in a circle, he created another on its opposite side, pinning it in place.

Then, rushing forward while the Gorian'fel was still writhing in agony, Luc closed the gap and thrust his blade upward into its neck. With a mental command, the flames grew more intense, swallowing the beast's head in hungry fire. In seconds, its cries ceased and it went limp, though it remained standing due to the earthen spires.

Luc sheathed his blade as he extinguished it, taking long strides to Kially's location in the forest. "Are you alright?" he asked, but the boy seemed it. Reaching down to pick the boy up by his underarms, Luc pressed his hand against Kially's back and chest, checking to see if he'd cry out. "It seems it. Good. That was a foolish move, child. A Gorian'fel is no foe to charge blindly at. If anything, you could have struck from a distance with some magic, hiding from harm."

Rising to full posture, Luc sighed and approached the dead creature, its face so charred and black that its maw was no longer recognizable. Even in the dead of night, its eyes had shone brightly. "It's the way I dealt with danger before I developed the magic I have now. Have you any knowledge of Gorian'fel? It's said that even a small piece of its hide is a strong deterrent to mental attacks."

Luc searched the creature's body for an undamaged portion, managing to find only a small bit on its underbelly. Using a blade fashioned from wind, he cut through the tough hide, ripping off a small square of it. Cleaning it of wet flesh, he examined it. "Such protection from such a violent beast. It's too bad there isn't enough for the two of us."

Suddenly, he tossed the piece of fabric to the child. "We can have a tailor make that into a hat for you, if you like. Or perhaps some fingerless gloves, we'll see. To find someone who can craft that may take some time, as the only one I know of is in Eluriand. Eluriand and I are... not quite compatible."

Keeping a firm hold on his blade of wind, Luc forced open the clenched jaw of the Gorian'fel, cutting deep into the flesh of its maw for over a full minute before finally letting out a gasp and revealing two whitish fangs.

"A keepsake. Gorian'fel are rare creatures, I'd like to remember this." he tossed a tooth to Kially. "We'll find some string and make our memories easier to carry with us. Until then, hold tightly your prizes. You're a brave child."

Luc took a moment to gather his scattered items, annoyed that his cape and gloves had been covered in dirt. The tome was intact, however, with not even a speck of dirt on it. Instinctively, a shield of wind had covered it - though Luc didn't recall creating such an effect.

"I feel my spells have replenished," he spoke once more, as the first hint of morning lit up the eastern sky. "When you like, I can take us to Radasanth to begin our day."

Looking up at those many leaves, like hearts impaled on forks of wood, Luc found himself anxious to get the sky's view of this forest. The fly to Radasanth would take no more than an hour, but only after he got his bearings.

((Spoils: A Gorian'fel tooth as a keepsake. It's a tooth. A smidgen of understanding of the Ancient Naturian language.))

[Kially Gaith]

Kially watched helplessly as he remained lay on the floor gaining his composure. The initial three impacts had been painless, but the ragdoll effect through the air left him aching, his body had still moved in many ways that it should not – He’d be sore when the adrenaline finally ran out.

As the beast fell silent, Kially sighed in relief, allowing his head to rest into the moist soil. No sooner had he done this than had Luc hoisted him to his feet, apparently checking for injury. Kially did not flinch, but did indeed notice that his hips and shoulders ached and throbbed, a feeling he recognised from occurrences of pain long past. He understood he was not injured, but simply over exerted and strained from what had happened before them.

Taking in the event that had occurred, Kially found himself standing in silence, curious as to Lucs actions. Kially truly had no knowledge of gorian’fel, nor what properties any of them held, be it skin, teeth or internals.

As such was explained to him, Kially tilted his head on side, despite the mild chastisement from Luc, nodded obediently. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” Then came towards him, a strip of what he could only describe as a small square of flesh and a tooth, unlike any other child, he’d catch them and stuff them in his pockets without a second thought, even if both were still wet and covered in both dirt and blood.

The tooth as a memento seemed like a good idea, a collection of memories from their travels would symbolise both power and a deep hidden friendship.

Kially was still officially exhausted, limping lightly as he followed Luc in step, leaving behind the lifeless corpse of the mighty gorian’fel to the flies and mercy of nature.

"To Radasanth!" Spoke Kially, throwing up a hand in victory, before flinching at the light pain his shoulder provided.

Radasanth, huh? What chaos awaited the city?

Spoils request: A small strip of gorian’fel hide and a gorian’fel tooth for a memento

[Breaker]

Where the Temple Leads
Quest Judgement

I just want to say one quick thing, and then on to the numbers. With a relatively small effort, you guys could boost the scores of these threads 5-10 points, easy. You're definitely good enough writers, and it would make these more enjoyable to read. That said, here's your judgement.

Story

Continuity: 2
Setting: 6
Pacing: 4

Character

Dialogue: 5
Action: 7
Persona: 6

Writing Style

Technique: 5
Mechanics: 6
Clarity: 6

Wild Card: 5

Total: 52

EXP and GP Rewards

Cyrus the Virus receives 1930 EXP and 100 GP
Kially Gaith receives 400 EXP and 100 GP

Other Rewards

Cyrus the Virus receives his requested spoils under the assumption that the tooth has no special powers.

Kially Gaith receives a gorian'fel tooth with no special powers and a damaged piece of gorian'fel hide. Unknown to him, the hide was damaged beyond repair in the battle and as such has no special powers. It is just a piece of animal skin.

[Witchblade]

EXP and GP added!

Kially reaches level 1!