Just one more day...

[Dissinger]

(Closed to Shadar Logath)

"Stop, please!" The man cried as he began to crawl back. He tried holding up a hand in mercy as the figure before him moved swiftly the hood of his cloak not even revealing his face as the bloody daggers cut through the man's neck, the blood spray joining his friend's blood at the hands of the robed murdered. With his Death all that remained was the robed man, and a single guard, holding his sword and shaking.

The man watched as the robed figure turned, the robes swishing and the dripping daggers were raised. He began to run as he tried to make it to the road. He was trying to make it to civilization and perhaps survive, however as swiftly as he began to run, so did the man begin to draw the blackened steel kunai. His finger threaded the loop as his hand slid the bloodied dagger into its holster.

The man was going to make it he began to reach the tree breaks before the kunai was flung with precision beyond his comprehension. He turned to look at the robed man only to stop, his body taking a couple of steps as he stumbled and hit the ground, the kunai emerging from his forehead as his dumb luck made the kill much faster than the man would have wanted. A slight huff left his lips as he moved forward, the bodies of the men laid out before him.

Reaching down he pulled the kunai roughly before he grabbed the body by its foot and began dragging it back to where he had ambushed the guards. He had pushed them into fighting him in the forest, simply because today was a day his rage griped him. Still he remained somewhat in control as he let his darker emotions free for a bit. Putting them back on the leash she began to clean his blades as he sat on the body of one of the guards, a sergeant form the looks of his uniform. Still he snorted derisively as he continued cleaning his blades.

“Maybe with luck the next ones will put up a real fight…” He muttered under his breath.

[Shadar]

Farther down the path, against the glaring sun as it set behind the trees, stood a man not at all disturbed by what he saw. Coldly, Shadar chuckled, and the woman on his arm looked at him askew. “What?” Brigitte asked in a voice quiet enough that it sounded like a chirp. Very fitting, that, for she was part bird herself. The fiery-haired woman stepped back slightly to look at him, her talons scraping on the worn earth and her wings, in place of arms, wrapped protectively about herself. It was habit now. In the few months she had been exploring this world with Shadar, it was often necessary to hide her impressive bosom. It wasn’t that strangers gave them trouble. They had been avoiding civilization for some time now. It was because of the rude creature that was impossible to leave behind.

“Remembering old times, I bet,” barked the rude one as his image materialized next to her. He was a were-jackal, which was a rare enough sight in this world. But, more strangely, he was adorned with purple fur, red robes, eyes of fire, and a sparkling diamond affixed to his forehead. “Didn’t I tell you about that, birdy? He used to be a very baaaaaad man. Slaughtering babies and all that,” the being known as Diamond Jackal continued, looking sideways at the harpy with a taunting expression. As usual, it worked.

Brigitte groaned loudly, laying her head back and looking up at the sky just to avoid looking at the ugly face of her creator. “I didn’t ask you, idiot,” she said with enough anger that it almost came out as a squawk, “You did tell me before. Lots of times. And I still don’t care. So, shut it!”

Shadar, who up until then seemed to be ignoring them, took his turn at sighing now. With a flicker of thought, he stopped holding the illusion he had placed before them to amplify the setting sun’s glare and mask their approach. The robed man would have to be deaf to have not heard the argument. “Let’s go say hi, then,” he said over his shoulder with a very pointed glare at Jackal. Perhaps Brigitte deserved a reprimand as well, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Before the demon voiced his inevitable comeback, Shadar started walking forward and Brigitte quickly moved to walk along side him. Just as before, she wrapped her wings around his shoulder and leaned slightly into him. From practice, their steps fell in sink and they left the pouting illusion behind them, which soon disappeared back into the air with an annoyed growl.

“Impressive,” Shadar said cordially as he and the bird-woman approached the man and stopped. Neither seemed frightened at being so close to a man who was cleaning his knives after a fresh slaughter. Brigitte just eyed him guardedly, as she would any Althanian-born mortal aside from Shadar, and he put on a friendly smile. “You remind me of myself back when I was younger.” It seemed a strange statement, for Shadar’s smooth, hawk-nosed face and short silver hair looked very youthful. “Do you mind if I scavange?”

Without waiting for an answer the two stepped off the path and into the midst of the killing field. As they wove between trees and stepped over bodies, Brigitte drifted from his shoulder slightly, as she knew what he was planning to do. “I’ve seen better quality, though,” Shadar mumbled to himself as he looked over the soldiers in their battered steel armor. He knelt next to the nearest body and rapped his fist against the breastplate splattered in its owner’s blood. “It’ll do.” Placing one gloved hand over the metal, he tensed his arm and a swirling darkness flooded from the black leather to coat the armor. Then, just as suddenly, it drained back into the glove and took every scrap of metal with it.

“Didn’t some people on the road mention a cloaked man with different colored daggers? They were scared,” Brigitte asked over his shoulder as she held a wary eye on the stranger and hugged herself tighter.

Shadar looked up and truly studied the man for the first time. “Yeah, I think so,” he answered nonchalantly. “Seems you’ve been making a name for yourself!” he shouted to the man in a joking tone before he reached for the dead soldier’s helm.

[Dissinger]

Seth had been an angry man the past few days, almost understandably so. As he watched the man and his companions enter the glade however, his look was far more deadly than to allow the man to enter his area unmolested. He sighed as he watched the man begin to absorb the metal of the breastplates. Immediately his mind was calculating different explanations for the phenomenon as he snorted derisively. He had made a name for himself, it was only by his grace had he not given his victims a true view of their killer.

Reaching up he pulled down the hood revealing brown hair and grey yes to the man who had arrogantly walked into the scene before he spoke, "Funny, the way you carry yourself, I was about to say the same thing. Prideful, arrogant, foolish..."

He let the last word linger in the air as he rose to his feet. His eyes lingering on the well endowed harpy only long enough to determine her battle capabilities. Looking as the man began to pick up the helmet of his next absorption he heard the comment about the daggers. Smirking he waited for what the scavenger might do, only to see him not change a single bit. Eyeing the bird he spoke, "The name is Seth Dahlios, I don't need to make a name for myself, I’ve already been given one. So, what on earth do you think you are doing, just walking into a field where men were brutally slaughtered, more than likely before your very eyes?"

Sheathing his daggers quickly he rested his hands on the pommels, ready for a moment’s attack, to protect himself. He couldn’t be so sure how powerful the man before him was, but for him to stroll in meant one of two things, the harpy was the bodyguard, in which case he would have to kill it quickly and disembowel the thing. The other possibility was that the man himself was powerful, and the harpy was mere a companion much in the same way many people took pets. For the moment he would be stil, but the rage within him rose with ever beat of his heart. Liliana had been so close and he had lost her, now someone was going to pay…

[Shadar]

Brigitte noticed the momentary glance he gave her and sent him a hiss in response. It was remarkably catlike given the body it came from. Shadar, too, finally gave the man a proper response. He stood with a small groan of exertion and juggled the helmet in one hand as he spoke. “Seth… Seth… sounds familiar. Anyway, only one of the deaths was before our eyes, if you really need to know. Not that it would matter either way. I know what’s on the other side. It’s all a creation of the mind, really. They’re were they want to be, or where they think they deserve to be.”

Don’t get all stuck up. I’m the one who told you about that. Credit where it’s due, if you don’t mind, Jackal said within Shadar’s skull, which is where the dream demon actually resided.

With only a rye twist of the mouth, Shadar ignored the comment. This Seth Dahlios person seemed as if he might give them some trouble despite not a harsh word from them, and he needed to be watched with full concentration. Of course, he couldn’t let it be known that he was prepared, so he flippantly tossed the helmet into the air and swiped his hand through it, drinking it in within the span of a blink.

“Do you know who he is?” Brigitte asked warily as she backed up to stand closer to Shadar’s side, though she didn’t reach for him this time.

Blankly, the half-elf just stared at the stranger until something in his eyes sparked and he nodded his head in affirmation. “I think I do. Well, I know the name. It was from before I… left… Althanas for a while.” He still found it hard to describe the circumstance that had removed him from this plane of existence for so many years. “Right before I left, in fact. The Bandit Brotherhood had turned into just the Brotherhood, and I remember hearing this guy’s name as one of the people who joined then. I didn’t pay much attention, though.”

“So… you don’t know who he is,” Brigitte suggested before Shadar could continue rambling on about things she’d never heard of. He shrugged in agreement, and she responded with a breathy, “Oh…”

A bit of a shadow fell over Shadar’s face, then. Brigitte’s head tilted to the side in interest, so he answered before she could ask. “I knew the leader of the Bandit Brotherhood. He was a good friend, even. But, he’s gone now.” For the first time since his return to Althanas, he actually felt a pang of sadness. But, he buried it along with all the old memories. They weren’t important anymore.

[Dissinger]

Anger, while still gripping the thief was not his controlling emotion. Now he was bordering on paranoia, as the man admitted watching the murder, then continuing to absorb the materials of the guard's uniforms. As Seth watched the impressive display of casual magic he remained aloof as the man began to explain things, Gisela rang through his head as he heard about the Brotherhood amongst other things.

"That would have put you out of the loop around the Gisela, which means you knew probably Yari and Gild..." Seth replied softly. He then looked at Shadar as he said, "I'm sure Yari would like to know one of his drinking buddies is still around..."

He turned to go, figuring at this point he couldn't kill the man. It wasn't his place to kill someone like Yari's friends, and nor would he kill a brother. He had promised to protect the members of the Brotherhood, not kill them. To this end he resigned himself to letting the odd scavenger live, with the thoughts of the citadel coming to mind. With a casual salute he said, "Help yourself to their gear, I got my fun out of them...I'll probably have to go to the citadel to blow the rest of my steam..."

Liliana had been in Radasanth, a fact he had only found out post Lornius Corporate Challenge, and a fact hidden by her brother. His rage had consumed him and he had picked a fight with the members of the Coronian guard on patrol, not even bothering to think about the consequences. Now however he wouldn’t have to clean up the bodies, and this mysterious thief would take the blame for their deaths.

It was a situation he was more than willing to accept. As he moved to leave the clearing he smirked at the Harpy before he spoke up, "Might want to work on your people skills, hiss at the wrong guy, might get killed..."

[Shadar]

“Just try it!” the harpy shouted after him, but she quickly quieted as Shadar placed a hand very firmly on her shoulder. His face appeared stunned and his body shook. It wasn’t from relief or happiness, but from anger as his eyes narrowed and he whispered, “Don’t move,” to Seth. Like a vortex of wind, the words circled around the man and echoed over and over.

What the hell are you doing? It isn’t time for a magic show.

Give your power to me. Now!

Jeez, fine. Don’t be such a spaz.

His form now tense, his face now the farthest thing from friendly, Shadar stepped forward. The air around him started to shift, turning to a mess of red and black shifting together like a mix of ink and blood. It spread forward past him to form a cone-shaped tunnel with Seth at the wide end, fenced in by the shroud as it closed there and blocked out the sun’s dying rays. “You’re delusional,” Shadar said viciously as he stepped forward, his features appearing to burn from the red light upon him. “You have no idea what’s happened, what I’ve seen. No? Of course you wouldn’t. Well, I’ll tell you.” As he marched the tunnel behind him narrowed even more until it seemed to close, tightening the bubble around him and Seth. The colors that left in this closing drifted behind him in a mist that threw tendrils over his limbs and shoulders like a grasping animal. “I saw him DIE!” he shouted, his voice reverberating from the swirling walls. Madness seemed to shine in his eyes, and the mist gathered at his hands in vicious claw-like shapes. He stopped only a few paces from Seth. “I know the laws of death. I know you’re wrong. So, either you’re mocking me, which I swear you will pay for. Or, you’re telling me what you think is true. In that case…” His lips parted in a sick smile, baring animalistic fangs. “I’ll kill both you and this imposter!” Aggressively, he raised one clawed hand, now very solid though the steely blades still had mist dancing around them, and said in a more casually threatening tone, “Which is it?”

[Dissinger]

"Don't move," The words were dripping with rage, and when they swirled around the Lavinian he closed his eyes, feeling his own anger begin to rise. He stopped as he heard the words, the accusatory tone as he turned to face the man, only to see the beginnings of a rather feral transformation. He looked at the man only a moment before he saw the entire world draw slowly to a point, just behind the mage.

Daggers were quickly drawn, Spite and Malice out of their sheathes as he left Ebony and Ivory in their spot. His eyes seemed to darken as he let the rage pass through him, and continued to listen to the man’s tirade. He was angry that Yari was alive, and he was going to kill Seth for it, well he would be damned if he was going to let that happen. The Lavinian had taken a likening to life, finally after the months of tormenting himself.

How ironic that he now be faced with a man, and being forced to fight with him in his world.

That was the best way to describe the surface around them. It had distorted reality, becoming similar to a necromancer's mage sphere, the place upon which they would do their atrocious rituals, and break the laws of nature. It was this fact alone that he continued to remain cool, simply because he could identify it, and he refused to be in fear with the unknown. Looking at the mage before him he spoke his lip curled into a sneer, "Well now, it seems I don't have to go far to get this anger out, though from what I can see, you got a few anger management problems as well..."

With a casual twirl the knives began a dance in his hands before the spun to a stop, the blades traveling along his arms allowing him greater flexibility. He then grinned as he said, "Now, I have to ask, if I kill you does this place go away? I'd hate to think I'd have to beat you into submission and force you to release me before I finish you off..."

He deliberately ignored the other man's question, knowing that rage would be unleashed today. He knew the man didn't want an answer, he wanted a scapegoat, and Seth would be damned if he was going to play the game.

[Shadar]

Shadar rolled his head back and laughed bestially. The walls shook with the force of it. “Will it go away? Wouldn’t you like to know?” Still chuckling, he met the man’s gaze again and smiled with sick delight. “It would be just terrible if you were trapped here. What do you think I meant when I talked about being locked away from Althanas for years?” He paused a moment to let his words sink in as he raised his claws, dripping in ink and blood, to appraise the realm. “Homely, isn’t it?!”

Quickly, so as not to leave an opening, he crossed the claws in front of him. They scraped against each other and let off a sound like building flames. “You won’t have to worry about that, though,” he snarled as he bent his knees in preparation. “If I can’t get the answers I want from you, I’ll have to do it the harder way. By digging them out of your skull!” As the last word echoed around them, Seth’s head would feel the barest sensation of swelling, as if it was becoming a bigger target for the demon that was now leaping at him with one set of smoking claws aimed straight for the eyes.

“You see,” Jackal, now in visible illusion form again, whispered to an awed harpy, “It’s very easy to trick mortals. Give them something confusing, wait for them to make sense of it, and then have your way with them.”

“Mmm hmmm,” Brigitte said under her breath as she watched the rampaging Shadar within the bubble. That’s really all it was, a bubble large enough that the victim wouldn’t accidentally leave it. She could make out vaguely the red and black, but it was nearly transparent from the outside. Awkwardly, she stepped closer to Shadar, the real Shadar, who was standing outside the bubble and staring at it intently. His face was tense with concentrate, but his eyes burned with the same anger as the beastly illusion of himself.

“Don’t bother him,” the dream demon growled under his breath as he floated into her path. “And don’t make any noise. We can’t spoil it for him this time.”

Brigitte looked away from him in a huff, but she remained silent. As hard as it was to accept, the floating dog knew what he was talking about, at least when it came to this. Squinting, she looked into the last sliver of the sun as it fell behind the trees. Darkness was coming, soon to make the world more like the nightmarish void Shadar had created.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw movement from both him and his image in the bubble. As the bestial form lunged, Shadar extended one hand out to the side and flexed it. Four blade appeared in his fingers, likely from the metal he had just harvested. In perfect sync with the illusion’s claws, he snapped his hand forward and sent them in the same trajectory. If Seth took the hit, he’d definitely have proof that the claws had hit him, and if they actually stuck, the illusion would have to have left them in him, only to regrow new ones as the old lay smoldering in the man’s flesh. In the likely event that Seth dodged, as Shadar fully expected of him, the echoing of the word “skull” and the sensation he had caused in Seth’s nerves would cover the sound of them landing in the forest behind.

[Dissinger]

Seth watched the bestial man laugh and snicker, his retort to the man's question a bit delusional. Seth however took it in stride as a bit of sweat trickled down the back of his neck. The situation was unnerving to say the least. He had never seen something like this before, and while he had rationalized it, his cool was starting to break as the man continued his bestial rant.

It was then the plan formed in Seth's mind, he would have to time it right, as he would only get one shot at the monstrosity before him. Concentrating the man spoke, talking about gathering the ideas from Seth's mind. As he waited he got the opportunity of a lifetime as he watched the man lunge forward, although he could feel something within his head, making it feel inflated. It disturbed him a mere moment before he saw the treacherous actions of his opponent. As he shook off the feeling he jumped to the side as he hissed, "Life is passing you by you lunatic, better get used to it!"

Grey energy coalesced down his arm as the familiar orb of energy formed in his hand. A small grin lit up his face at the only familiar thing in the world before him. It was an odd feeling taking solace in the very thing that damned him, but it was all he had at the moment. Throwing it at the lunging man he said, "How about a taste of my tricks you egotistical freak!"

Landing off to the side of the man he slid a small ways but didn't hit the edge of the arena he had been locked in, instead he tried to steer clear of it for now dealing with the problem before him as he waited for his slow orb to hit his opponent. He would need to use that time to viciously rip him apart saddened by the fact he would have to kill. Left with no choice he waited on the all important orb that even now was streaking towards its target.

If only he knew it wasn't real...

Still Seth had no clue as to why the orb finally struck its target, but never stopped, only seeming to go through it. If the man was of any substance in the world, he should have been hit with the orb and taken it, his actions slowed. A gritting of teeth was the only indicator of Seth's irritation at his failed trick but he had to hope for an opening.

[Shadar]

Shadar had been prepared for a melee counter, but not magic. Seeing this man’s work, all he had planned for was speed and skillful bladework. This spell, whatever it was, couldn’t be analyzed in a split second decision. So, he did nothing. It phased through the illusion and straight out of the bubble, where it struck a tree only a few feet to the left of Shadar. At the edge of his vision, he saw its effect. The energy smacked the tree and crackled over it like grey lightning. But, as the branches swayed and shed their leaves, they slowed to a snail’s pace. The boughs bent slowly, and the leaves floated down as if falling through water. Mentally, Shadar kicked himself.

Well, damn. You could have created an effect like with no trou-

I know! he snapped, his jaw clenching. Perhaps he should have been thankful. Seth’s dodge right before throwing it had taken him out of the way of the blades, but it had also changed the trajectory. If he had stood his ground, the spell would have hit Shadar square in the face. It wasn’t much consolation at that moment, though.

Snarling with the newfound anger, the illusion landed in a crouch and wheeled about to face Seth. “What a fool you are,” he spat, his fangs gleaming in the bloody light, “To try using magic upon me in my world! I choose which rules apply here, and the only ones I will accept are the physical, just so I can…” He flicked a claw with each word, “Tear. You. Apart.” He approached again, but slower this time. If he scared the poor boy too badly, he’d run and ruin everything. “Now,” the words almost dripped malice just as the claws dripped bloody darkness, “You will tell me where I can find this ‘Yari’ of yours.” He began breathing heavier, his breath now misting darkly, and the claws grew ever longer and fiercer in the liquid fire that encased them.

“Brigitte,” the real Shadar said in a strained whisper, not looking from his work. Immediately, the harpy was at his side, clearly intent on holding him as they did when they traveled. But, now wasn’t the time for comfort. “Get ready to fight.”

Brigitte’s eyes narrowed with purpose. It was, after all, what she had been designed to do. With only a faint whisper of wind, she lifted herself into the air and circled above the bubble.

Don’t disappoint me, the dream demon growled as his illusion faded once again.

I don’t plan on it.

[Dissinger]

To Seth's benefit he had not allowed himself to show the fear that gripped his chest. The actions of the monster before him were quite frightening when his magic didn't work. However, he tried to remain stone faced as the sweat trickled down his brow; he had already been fighting, and hadn't even gotten a proper rest period. Now he would have to fight a battle he couldn't seem to win without magic? He had to find a way out of there.

It was at that time something odd happened, the crackle of energy not unlike the effects of slow upon a target could be heard. Frowning he waited as the beast began its talk about the rules. He was making it so magic wouldn't work here, yet Seth was slowly piecing it together, and the more he did, the angrier he got. The beast was trying to deter him, to dishearten him until such time as he could kill the man.

He snickered hearing the words about having to destroy Yari before he spoke his words devoid of fear, "Well now, seems your in a pickle, you want to beat Yari that bad, gotta beat the information out of me. But that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. If you really were his friend, you know the answer to that question already..."

Using the words as a veil upon his actions he sprinted forward right at the man before him before he smirked. Dashing he slid right past the man as he made to go through the back. His theory sound as he knew that stop had hit something that he couldn't see through the hazy light through a red lens. That brought only one conclusion, there was something beyond the boundaries, and so as he slid forward he had to hope for the best, sliding right by the man as he moved to get out of the arena, going straight for where Slow had gone.

It was a theory, and it was a hazy one, Slow had managed to do something outside by going that way, which meant that he would have to go in that same way to get there. He could only hope he could leave the dream world, and bring back the realm where his rules applied.

[Shadar]

“Dammit,” Shadar growled when he realized what Seth was doing, and it didn’t take him long to figure out why. He could have covered the sound if he had been more careful.

You disappoint, the dream demon said haughtily. He seemed far more concerned about rubbing it in than he was about the killer that was about to be freed.

Shut up! the vessel commanded with anger that was dampened by his own disappointment. Take control, fade it halfway except for my form, and do a spark effect when he leaves the bubble.

That’s right. Leave it to the guy who knows what he’s doing. Aside from the moment of gloating, Jackal did as he was told. He still had a slight concept of self-preservation. Shadar felt the strain on his mind lessen. It didn’t diminish completely, for the illusion was too complex to shift instantly over to Jackal’s piece of his brain. But, it would be enough.

As Seth reached the edge of the bubble, the dream demon began his orchestration. The wall right in front of the man shifted to near transparency, just as it looked from the other side. He’d be able to see the forest through a dark film, and like any animal, he’d move toward that safety. Just as he did, the air around him crackled and danced with red electricity. Not a single light touched him, but they would be loud and brilliant enough to keep him focused only on where he was going and what he was running from.

As the distraction began, Shadar reached down and hoisted up the body he had stripped of armor earlier. In his free hand, a three pronged steel bar appeared almost as tall as a human. Quickly, he jammed the two closer prongs into the earth and skewered the top in between the body’s shoulder blades, causing it to stand in a believable, though limp, position. Then, as the sparking reached its climax in both glare and volume, he darted into the bubble opposite of Seth’s exit point. As he did, he noticed that it was indeed darker within, but fading at a steady rate. If anything would point out that it had been an illusion, this would do the trick.

The instant that Seth broke clear of the illusions, arriving unhindered a few feet in front of the tree that still swayed at an agonizingly slow pace, Shadar stepped into the beastly illusion of himself. It didn’t visibly change at all, acting as a shell over him while retaining all the malice it once held. There was very little movement as the illusion slowly dispersed and fell around it, darkening its form as if it too was disappearing.

Trying his best to hold still in that shell -barely breathing even- Shadar glanced sideways at the propped body that now wore his real world image. It was clear to him that Jackal had designed this illusion, for it appeared weaker and more frightened than he knew he looked. Or, at least, he hoped he didn’t look like that. “Don’t come near me,” he heard his voice burst from it fearfully as it looked at Seth and raised its hand by the smallest degree. It wasn’t enough to block, but more a submissive gesture, as the legs tensed slightly in what appeared to be preparation for a maneuver called, ‘Running for one’s life’.

[Dissinger]

Seth finally made it out as with a burst of sparks he was blinded and slid to a halt. The sounds had overwhelmed his senses. Closing his eyes he let them reset as he waited his hearing starting to come back and opened his eyes. Before him, a mysterious sight to all but the Lavinian was going on. Slow while not affecting the illusionary beast, had hit this tree, and begun the process of slowing it in time. With a graceful turn he looked about before he saw him, the puppet master.

He held up a hand in an effort to try and stave off the thief. However, for a man who could do such an illusion, why on earth would he be so submissive after absorbing that much steel? The question boggled him as he threaded his finger through the loop of a lung popper. Without a second through he threw it right on target, to hit the man in the shoulder. As much as he was infuriated, he couldn't kill a brother. Not in cold blood, even if they sought the same, he wasn't a murderer anymore.

"As much as I'd like to, I won't take a brother's life in cold blood, even if he is a former member..." He said firmly. His eyes racing about, the harpy had to be somewhere around. He was frustrated with the fact he couldn't figure out the tricks this man was throwing about, however, he would make sure to give the man a few things to think about in the meanwhile.

The whole situation seemed off as he waited for his attack to reach its target. Tensing as once again the blades twirled as he knew the Kunai would be reaching the frightened man's shoulder, any moment now...

[Shadar]

Messily, the kunai hit its mark.

“Aaaah! Why’d you do that?! Are you some kind of psycho?!” the illusionary Shadar screamed as it tilted around its stand and fell limply to the ground. The arm appeared to twitch as if it was trying to reach up to the kunai drawing a red line out of its shoulder.

Mockery, Shadar thought in the rhythm of his shallow breathing.

Hey, he didn’t go for it like you wanted. I might as well have fun, right?

No. Fate.

Shadar got the sensation of one of the demon’s eyebrows rising. Wha? he asked, to which Shadar only grimaced. Honestly, he wasn’t paying attention to the fight anymore. As he stood there in the mess of melting illusions, his vision darkened by the effect of the collapsing bubble that had already bled out all of its redness, he could only reminisce.

I’m no brother or member to anything that still exists. The Yari he follows… he’s too shallow to even figure out what I’m saying. It’s a freakin’ fake! he shouted at the demon, his fists clenching.

Anything’s possible. Don’t you realize that by now? We just got back from another plane of existence, for gods sake. Couldn’t he-

No! Shadar interrupted, his mouth twisting into a snarl, You’re the one who’s forgetting. We saw his last moments. He was too wounded to go on, too wounded for us to heal him. Both me and him agreed… that it was time to go. It was the hero's death he wanted. I felt his soul leave his body like water through my hands.

Now with his anger focused, Shadar walked forward. The bubble was now a cloud of black that sank into the ground, but he rendered it transparent from the inside directly in front of him. It was all he needed to see. There, framed against the forest in the darkening light, was the only target that deserved his anger tonight. It was solid now, not a flashy illusion, but a very real intent that he called to his right arm. The only reason a fake appeared and has fools under his wing is because fate has it out for me. I broke her chains, so she’s taking her revenge. A true blade bubbled out of his gauntlet now. It sprouted just below the wrist, around the hand, and stretched forward into a deadly point. Nearing the edge of the shroud, Shadar bent his legs and lunged forward. He burst from the illusion, swooping just above the ground with his blade raised to his side.

In that split second, he knew the world both around and within him. The illusion was still whimpering like a child, the black leavings of his trap were fading into the air, and something was calling to him in the Void. Looking deep in his mind, he saw the space where the material in his gauntlets was stored. There, of the many assorted objects, he found the Sunburst dagger and a vest of mythril chainmail. They were both from his days fighting at Yari’s side. The chainmail itself was a gift off of the bandit’s very corpse. It wasn’t the objects that called to him, though. It was their properties. The dagger had been enchanted with fire, and the chainmail with weight reduction. With a razor-sharp thought, he severed those material ties and brought the enchantments to the surface of the Void.

On the back of his hand, the fire-imbued ruby from the Sunburst dagger grew, and on the side of the blade were etched the runes that had been upon the chainmail. Light as a feather and wreathed in ethereal flame, the blade slashed at the kunai-wielding killer. Its surface hissed as the air behind it lit up with the line of fire it had drawn on its way to the man’s heart.

[Dissinger]

The kunai hit but the result was not something he wanted. The man fell and called out. Seth shook his head seeing the site as the man tried to act over the top and elicit a bit of pity from Seth. It was far from him to pity anyone, let alone a man that used to be in Yari Rafanas' company. That alone seemed off with him as he began to move slowly towards the downed man. As the man cried out Seth snorted, "You'll get pity from me when you don't act the same as I..."

Drawing the daggers he wanted to Strike at the man and stop him from tormenting him further, however once again he felt the hot heat of anger betrayal hit him. From out of the dream world the illusion conjured to make him feel trapped, came the true Shadar Logath who was coming at a nigh uncanny speed. Seth growled seeing the man, and was shocked when the flames trailed the blade. As much as he controlled a bit of magic, this man had something far out of his league.

Now knowing he was facing the true Shadar he growled lowly as he too rushed forward to meet the man not bothering to stop himself. Using his dagger to parry the thrust forward off to the side, he began to try and bring the shoulder up to hit Shadar's sternum. His goal was to knock the man off his feet as he moved with his own fluid grace. His growl growing as he snarled, "Bout time we got this started eh?"

[Shadar]

With amazing precision and strength, Seth deflected the burning blade up over his head as he buried a shoulder up under Shadar’s ribcage. The impact was solid, causing him to groan audibly. He was indeed knocked off his feet. Though, that didn’t count for much. With all the forward momentum he had, as well as the force from his opponent projected slightly upward, Shadar was due to flip over him and land sprawled across the forest floor. He only did part of that, though. As he was knocked upward, he wrapped his free hand around the man’s other shoulder and pivoted with that point as his center. When he was upside down and directly above Seth, the tops of their heads almost touching, he simply stopped in the air. It wasn’t as if he had hit anything, he just ceased moving as if all his motion was carried away on the wind. Upon his right arm, the blade elongated into a chain of burning links, almost long enough to touch the ground.

Then, with a push from the killer’s shoulder, he spun a full circle in the air. The chain circled below him and drew a mesh of flame around his opponent in an upturned cone shape. Grunting with satisfaction, Shadar landed on his feet next to the momentarily imprisoned man. “Started?” he scoffed as the fires began to fade. “It’s practically over, tell your leader that, and take this as proof!” With a flick of the wrist, he snapped the chain across where Seth’s face would be. Its fire was fiercer than the dissipating wall, and it left a fresh wedge of flame hovering in the air like an axe blade shoved into a burning trunk.

Then, he snapped the burning metal back into the nothingness of his gloves and jump up against the nearest tree, the one still suffering from slowed time. Listlessly, the falling leaves blew out of his way as he came to one of the lower branches, planted a foot there, and launched himself through the canopy. He burst through the top of the foliage to see the stars peeking out with youthful energy, and among them circled a dark shape. Falling like a dart, Brigitte reached him and fastened one talon around his arm to throw him higher. At the maximum height, where the trees were a carpet below him and the killing field was once more just shadows of dead bodies, he willed gravity away from him once more so as to glide out over the forest as opposed to plummeting back into it.

“We’re going to clean up some remnants of my past,” he said with an expectant grin to Brigitte as she winged her way to his side. With only a faint, accepting smile upon her lips, she nodded and silently kept pace with his flight. Shadar continued, looking straight ahead now, “These are the kind of memories that need to be buried in a deep grave. I hope you don’t mind getting dirty in the process.” He knew she wouldn’t, and neither would he in the slightest. His hands felt too clean these days, anyway.

((Bunnying approved by Dissinger))

((I would like to request the ability to apply those two enchantments to arm-mounted weapons when in a focused emotional state. Let's say... once for every 15 posts worth of time?))

[Dissinger]

Seth had won, oh how he had won. He had connected with the bastard, and gotten through the shenanigans to hit at the core. He felt the satisfying feeling of flesh upon his shoulder before things went wrong. It was almost unfair what happened. His perfect victory being stolen out form under him as he flipped over the thief and began the sequence of events that would forever be known as that day.

Locked in the cage of flame his own fires of anger ignited into a raging inferno as he longed to throw himself at the manipulating thief. However there was no doing as the scavenger began his taunts making Seth growl lowly. Soon however the true slap to the face came quite literally when the fiery chains reached out and hit him across the face. He howled as he clutched his face crouching on the ground breathing sharply in and out.

Shadar soon disappeared floating off into the sky and leaving him alone in his rage. He continued to clutch his face as he breathed deeply trying to lessen the pain, far worse than what he could have imagined. He hit the thief square in the face, taking him jaw to temple with a burn that sizzled against the flesh of his fingers. Quickly he groaned as he clutched for the gift of the magi, hoping it would make the burn go away a momentary pain far more endurable to the constant pain he was currently dealing with.

He felt small nicks and cuts close up and braced for the pain he would feel when he would be receive healing on his scar, however he groaned in pain once more as he realized it wasn't going away. The flame being so clinically efficient had cut into the thief's face, and cauterized the wound...

He would forever bear the scar of today.

He howled into the air in rage as his cries of anguish echoed through the Concordian forests. His rage knew no bounds as he clutched the side of his face. He had never prided himself on looks, but he always felt a rage at anyone who would defile his face. As he was there kneeling in the forest he felt the bitter tears escaping him. His face, was ruined by the new scar that now encroached, displayed vulgarly for anyone to see.

He hissed as he growled out, "When I get my hands on you, I will tear you apart you bastard. I will make sure you suffer for this, I don't care who you knew, you are dead meat when I get my hands on you..."

(Notes: Seth now has a scar on the left side of his face drawing a line directly down from the jawline to the temple.)

[Storm Veritas]

Judgment Time!

Sorry about the delay on this one. I actually read it and then reread it, because it involves two vastly different styles and a really incredibly confusing battle script. Per usual, I will score as a quest unless you guys would rather see a battle rubric used (but be forewarned that the EXP rewarded is far lower).

This was an odd one. I wasn't really sure what was going on at points, and even after review there were some things that just weren't very clear up front. Both of your are tremendously creative, and both show some great writing skill. That by itself lends for an interesting thread. Sadly, some of the decisions made seemed to be ill-advised, and I struggled to keep track of the action.

My main takeaways:

Shadar - some of the most creative writing I've ever seen, but you really have to give better description regarding the visualization of things like the massive tunnel you create to send the two of you into some parallel setting, and a better description of how / why you choose to and are able to manipulate the universe so easily. It's not overpowered in that you use the "imaginary" escape hatch, but it is still very tough to keep track of. PLEASE write more - I was fascinated reading this, there were just some things that I really didn't take to immediately.

Dissinger - Per usual, a quality effort, although your work seems more stand alone than cooperative here. I can relate to you in that I share a similar struggle - when faced with someone vastly different in writing style, you don't do much to mesh the writing into a clean, evenly transitioned read. Could be worse; it's never boring.

Introduction - 5 Good, but not as good as you are capable of. Starting in mid-action was a great little pace-setter for an energetic thread, but it also foreshadowed a lack of explanation as to the precise motivations of the characters.
Setting - 3 Easily your weakest point collectively. You have to definitively set a concrete visual when you attempt such fantastic ideas as described here. Effective metaphor, detailed description, or even identifiable analogy would have all improved this.
Dialogue - 4 Technically fine, but a bit stale. Dissinger is usually an absolute wizard with dialogue, so perhaps I'm being harsh here.
Character - 4 Not poorly executed by any stretch, but not well developed or defined. We see more inspection of the Seth character than the very interesting yet mysterious Shadar character. As a newcomer to reading Shadar, I want to know more!
Writing Style - 8 The disappointing element in this battle wasn't that it didn't work, but rather that two tremendous writers didn't create something more seamless. But then, perhaps I'm just an idiot. Certainly possible.
Rising Action - 6 Good, although it is a short quest and limited thereby.
Climax - 7 Clever, satisfying, fine. One person finds a creative way to win, one finds a unique way to lose. I can dig that. In a short quest / battle such as this, the climax is never a huge payoff.
Conclusion - 7 I was satisfied here, but it was sort of wrapping up a bit of a convoluted showdown. By itself, the conclusion was finely executed, so you get a good score for that.
Strategy - 8 Not much I can say here, the strategy is just as subjective as the Wild Card here. I thought that the in-battle tactics were as creative as most anything I've seen, especially with the way you two set the stage for each other and really tried new stuff. I guess this is more "effort points" for really attempting a bold idea.
Wild Card - 6 Cheerio.

Total Score - 58
Dissinger (level 8) gets 2200 EXP and 100 Gold and a Nasty Cut.
Shadar (level 5) gets 1875 EXP and 100 Gold. The move is fine as long as they are non-ballistic weapons. Don't go enchanting AK's on us now.

[Thoracis]

Rewards Added!

Shadar levels up!