Raging Orion (Closed)

[Arden]

Raging Orion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CsLefLisE)



Closed To Silence Sei.

Set after the events of the Cell, referencing events their-in and establishing in-character reasoning behind Duffy's initiation into the Ixian Knights.

The arena is a simple wide savannah, covered as far as the eye can see with knee to waist length bluegrass and reeds. The breeze will grow in strength to almost hurricane strengths the angrier and more aggressive both combatants get; this wind will rip the grass from the earth and cause the stars themselves to fall from the sky in a maelstrom of destruction.

1924

The dark was a foreboding weight on a man’s shoulders. It could crush those who were unprepared for its descent and bridle those who were fearful of its shadows with dread. Blank held no such fear, for the night skies of Scara Brae and Radasanth, if not all of Althanas were his proving ground. It was here amongst the petty peoples and black market traders that he found himself at one with the world, like a wash woman in the cellar, or a thief in the night; this was how he felt alive.

It had been only a week since he had encountered the paladin Lorenor in the confines of the Citadel. The weight of his defeat had come two fold, one from painful rending of his body by the beast’s fangs. Two, he had endured nights of concerned ‘advice’ from the troupe, who expressed a desire for their trophy defender to maintain his vigil over them, and for him to ignore all his self doubt and need to find himself in the silence of his mute state. He had thrown caution to the wind and ignored all their pleas; too many years of his life had gone to bantering to their every whim. This search for meaning and life was his path to expression. Arden Janelle had to find out who he was; he had to rediscover everything that made him blind and scared to speak to the world. He had to rekindle his drive and find his strength again.

On his second visit he had written his own note. The prior engagement was devoid of trivialities and fancy stages for battle to rage, but this time, Blank had an idea. Ideas unlike men were undying. A land had an eternity to witness the motions of the living waltz across its back, and in that time the landscape would change a thousand times. Like the sand beneath their feet in his previous battle, things ground down and things eroded. Once, that sand floor would have been a mountain range before being weathered and battered into nothing by the elements. It was this principle of the life cycle that Blank had requested form part of the dome.

He stood at the centre of the battlefield, wearing nothing more than loose fitting trousers, simple wraps about his feet and his hair low and unruly over his shoulders. The sound of crickets in the knee deep bluegrass filled the air, and the light of the blazing moon overhead illuminated the savannah for all to see. There was nothing else in the dome except for the two great doors which formed the exits and entrances for the dramaturgical players, and the shrill tenseness in the air that sparked with enthusiasm. A gentle wind brushed the tops of the blades so that they danced in unison, swaying in the breeze conjured into existence by the ancient magic of Radasanth’s ecclesiastical zealots.

Arden could sense the desperation in his own body, for he knew that his opponent was the very same scattered son of Akashima that Duffy had encountered in the Cell. Death was not to be Sei’s judgement for he doubted he could defeat the Protector of Radasanth. Blank would find his own strength through crushing the will of others and through showing that the infallibility of gods was nothing more than a myth. He gripped his fists tighter and punched them together with an echoless grunt. Whilst he waited for the doors to open and for battle to commence he looked up at the stars in the illusory sky and smiled; Orion’s Belt raged brightly overhead and he vowed that his fury and rage would shiner brighter still.

[Silence Sei]

Sei hated the citadel.

It did not matter what age he was, or how impressive of a record the mute had, Sei hated the citadel. Being able to play with death like it was a toy always irked the mute. The rooms created by the magics of the Ai'Bron monks were also cause for loathing in the mutes mind. So many things happened in this one massive building that shouldn't have happened at all. By participating in such a bloody sport, Sei Orlouge was condoning the actions of the citadel.

So why was the hero here?

Duffy Bracken, a warrior Sei had been introduced to during the Cell, issued a challenge to him. While the mute had dispatched of the actor quickly and efficiently, the boastful warrior had claimed there was a member of his troupe that could not be defeated. Blank was said to be the power of the Tantalum, often being the awe of the crowd as well as his own friends. Sei typically dismissed such bragging from people, but Anita was not so emotionless when it came to such things.

Anita had struck a deal with Duffy. Anita would agree to the challenge on the mute's behalf, and Duffy would tell Blank the time and the place of the fight. Anita knew of her father's distaste for the citadel, but her head was clouded with envy. How could there be a man stronger than Sei Orlouge? Duffy never made it sound like the warrior was the telepath's better, but Anita took such undertones in the words that slipped from his tongue.

When Anita informed Sei of the situation, he was absolutely livid. She had had no right to challenge someone as his liaison. Now he was committed to doing battle in a place he had ill will towards, against an opponent he could care less to fight. Sei Orlouge may have wanted peace, he may have been a hero to Radasanth, and he may have hated violence, but he was a man of his word. Even if Anita was the one who accepted the challenge from Duffy Bracken, Sei would keep the word she shouldn't have made.

Sei now stood on the battleground chosen. The moons rays shined down in a beautiful way tonight. The melody of insects and amphibians alike echoed throughout the grassland. Sei's eyes were shifted upwards, gazing at the stars that seemed to lead the way to his destiny today. Anita stood in awe, kneeling down and picking some of the soft grass up with her hand. The blades were moist, as if the humidity was already sinking into them. Or perhaps that was the plants sweat, a foreshadowing of what was to come?

Sei felt a cool breeze pass though his form, lightly blowing the large white cloth that draped over his right shoulder. Anita's dress also tried to follow the wind as it flew past her blue dress. Sei's head turned to the side and nodded to his daughter. Anita returned the nod and took several steps back, trying to not interfere in the fight that was about to commence.

Resigning his hatred for the citadel in his head, Sei turned his head back to Blank.

"Shall we get this over with, then?"

[Arden]

The telepathic message rattled around Blank’s mind like an omen. Ironic, he mused, remembering a tale he heard about the ‘Protector’ of Radasanth being a mute. That rendered several of his weapons ineffective right of the bat, but Blank hoped that Sei would understand his own plight and that they could learn from one another’s fragile state of being. With no way of responding other than with body movements he nodded twice in quick succession before walking towards his opponent with his free hand brushing the grass.

How mighty the giants of the world fall, if only someone brave arose to challenge them…when the gap between swordsmen approached the two hundred feet mark Blank stopped and crouched. He disappeared from view instantly and landed on all fours and mocked the roar of a lynx crawling through the jungle canopy in silent pursuit of its prey. He sheathed the Rheilhand and ran to his right with as much speed as he could muster, careful not to reveal his body to any ranged attack. The reeds and grass rustled in his wake and he circled Sei in a wide arc.

Raging winds in the distance gave him some degree of cover, and the twilight would aid his advance, but he knew it was only a brief moment of weakness that Sei needed to strike out and render Arden’s cover useless. With hands and feet pounding the dry dirt and periodic swipes pushing aside the grass, the silent swordsman veered in on the mystic and brought his dream to life. He had longed to see the heroes of the world in their glory, today that dream would come true, and he would shatter the illusion of hope that Radasanth had for the mockery of a man that stood before him.

[Silence Sei]

The warrior known as Blank was a mute. Sei knew that before he had even gone into battle with him. Duffy informed the telepath of Arden's lack of speech problem. The man eyed the warrior was he began to make his way towards the hero. With great speed, the man ducked into the grass about half way through his trek towards Sei. The tall grass that surrounded them was going to be rather annoying for the orange haired warrior, so h decided to get rid of Blank's greatest advantage.

He reached into his pants pocket and took out a throwing fan. Crouching to the ground, Sei instantly tossed the sharp weapon straight ahead of him. The projectile sliced through the grass as if it were paper, leaving the greenery coming up to the bottom of Sei's shins. The telepath reached into his opposite pocket and withdrew another fan. He threw this one as well, only directly behind him, to the same result.

Sei then took out his single chakram. He had meant to get the matching chakram fixed soon, but this encounter put off the endeavor. Grabbing the handle of the weapon, Sei remained crouched and spun around, making a large circle around his form. He then threw the chakram to the east of his original position to shorten the grass there. Sei had disarmed himself, but he was standing in the middle of a T shaped crop circle now. If the might warrior from the tantalum wished to remain hidden, he couldn't traverse through any of the opened up areas. This only left the west as the most unprotected spot.

The question was, did Arden think Sei was going to expect an attack from that area or not?

What was a battle to the man called Blank was a chess game to the mystic called Sei. He had laid the pieces out before his foe. He was forcing the hidden warrior to make a move. Anita stood in amazement of the sheer cleverness of her father in this battle already. The mystic's eyes shifted around as he motioned for Anita to keep an even safer distance. This was not her battle, it was her Papas.

Anita obeyed and made sure she had gone a good fifty five paces from where Sei had been standing. The battle was going to be very quiet in the eyes of the teenager. What with Blank not being able to talk, and her father not wanting to interfere with the other silenced man's mind. "Guess I'll just stand here and enjoy the shooting stars," Anita said sarcastically. She looked up at the night sky and sat down, taking in the sights and wishing Taka was here to watch the comets with her.

[Arden]

Blank’s chest pulsated with tension but he ran on regardless. His ears and head throbbed with the sheer force of his blood rushing around his body. His cover disappeared momentarily and he almost stopped in hesitation. Something had begun to clear away the grass with lightning speed and grace. A few moments later it happened again and out of sheer curiosity Blank skidded to a halt and the grasslands fell into utter silence once more.

For all intent and purpose, lest Sei possess some form of extra sensory perception Blank vanished. He waited a few moments to catch his breath before creeping very slowly and carefully back to the gutted line in the savannah. He raised an eyebrow as he poked his head through the grass and examined the path of the strange weapon. He looked to his right and caught the tail end of a weapon protruding from the soil, and then to his left to where Sei stood. He’s making an arena, cutting my options…he’s good Blank mused.

He retreated back into the grass and snuck along the cleared line to where the fan rested. It’s design was elegant, and utterly alien to him but he slowly reached out and picked it up. With a smile, he tucked it into his pants and with a whippet’s grace, kicked once more into a run.

From Sei’s perspective the grass would have sprung once more to life. Thundering and peaty pangs of the storm welled into Arden’s nostrils as he approached Sei in an arc that would bring him out into the rear of the t-shape. He stopped, ruffled the cut grass with his arms like a bull ready to charge and smiled with a triumphant glint of fire in his eyes. His heart beated heavily in its cage, and he ran. Overhead, the moon shone and the wind howled, and in the far upper reaches of the unreal sky great shards of a shattered star fell towards them slowly.

Blank settled his eyes on Sei’s back, certain he would turn any meet to greet his blade and laughed in silence as the swordsman bobbed up and down in his vision along with the motion of his charge. Without words, the clanging of their blades and the gutting of their flesh would speak out their pains to the heavens, a poem of war and bloodshed, a koan of misunderstanding and expression.

Halfway towards Sei Blank unsheathed the Rheilhand and left his animalistic crawl to run upright with the blade held out to the left and wide. It’s single edge towards it’s target carried the power of The Aria behind it.

[Silence Sei]

The blade stopped just inches before making contact with Sei's ribs. The sound of a shattering window vibrated throughout the fictional arena. All around the body of the telepath, glass shards appeared, as if Arden had just shattered a mirror. The glass shards floated in mid-air for just a moment before firing outwards in their dome formation. Sei's eyes met with his opponent, and the mute shook his head at the sloppiness of his foe's opening move.

"Here I thought that if Duffy was suggesting you, you'd have a bit more skill and thought put into your moves."

Anita had found herself ducking behind some of the tall grass used to previously cloak Arden once the breaking glass was heard. Anita always knew that that sound meant to take cover. The girl still held a few scars underneath her blue dress to prove what happened when you didn't find sanctuary from a mystic's trademark spell. She hoped the glass wouldn't get to her due to how much grass was between herself and the battle.

"Watch it, Papa!" Anita shouted in frustration, "Or at least give me a heads up next time!"

Sei had been distracted by his daughter's yelling. He didn't notice if Blank had managed to evade the counter measure or not. The mute's focus had been, and always would be, Anita first and foremost. Arden could wait to settle his pointless bloodlust, at least for a couple of moments.

[Arden]

The blade collided with the mystical providence of Sei Orlougne's power, and Blank's face lit up with joy. So easily provoked, he mused, dissapearing at the precise moment the shards erupted outwards in a razor blade wind. The blue threads of light that swarmed in his absence sang a lullaby as old as the stars themselves, a brief glimpse of the other world Blank fell into sprawling out into the Citadel.

Blank landed on the jetty once again and sighed. The pieces of his trap had fallen very elegantly into place, but all the while he loathed the notion of being Duffy's puppet. Every moment of his life was a pledge of time and energy to someone else's cause, or so it seemed. He was either under the command and tutelage of the Master of the Scourge or plying his wares for the benefit of the Tantalum, never his own benefit. Still, he had agreed to act out Duffy's glimmering show of ingenuity on this occasion as there was plenty he could benefit from in doing so.

The mercury sea brought Arden's attention back to the realm of the living and he admired it's beauty in silence. In the distance, the horizon burnt with a shimmering golden corona and the skies glimmered with visions of worlds within worlds, like a kaleidoscope of dreams and twisted visions. This place, Blank had come to realise, was no The Aria proper, but a medley of tunnels and gateways that connected a thousand single planes into one hub of solitude. With a blink, he felt the sickness rise in his stomach and smiled.

It was time to remind Sei of his conversation with Duffy Bracken in the Cell, and to bring home the truths that had been thrown like daggers across the adamant lined arena.

He re-appeared unscathed before the swordsman and dropped the Rheilhand to his side. As Sei looked back from his companion Blank leapt back along the groove in the bluegrass and stopped fifteen feet away. He made no motion or threatening gesture towards his opponent as he left the disbelief he hoped his spell would cause settle in.

With a smile he said a single verse that Sei had heard before. His accent was that of a Scara Braen vagabond that wore white and happiness as fashionable accompaniments to his smile. The Aria hummed and bound Duffy and Blank's minds together as one. From somewhere unseen the Tantalum spoke.

"Into the arena stepped the hopes of fools,
A disciple of gods carrying world-bearing tools,
With dagger and sword and Tindergear primed,
Young Duffy arrived in the arena begrimed."


Slight bunny approved.

[Silence Sei]

Sei didn't understand why his glass shards had not pierced the skin of his foe. Unless Arden had the same kinds of ability to become intangible like Neville Longinus from the Cell. Sei shuddered at the fact of facing such an overpowered demon like that once more. What was stranger was that Sei was starting to hear the same kind of mysterious voice that he had heard encountering Duffy during the Cell.

Sei was really starting to dislike all of these Tantalum tricks.

From what Sei could gather from the spoken words, Blank was now channeling Duffy through his body. Sei didn't know now if he was having a rematch with Duffy Bracken or still in his fight with Blank. If it was the former, Sei would have easily been able to predict the moves, though setting such a clever trap earned Duffy points in the heroes min. If it was the latter, then Sei still had an x-factor he couldn't determine.

Was Blank intangible or not? How did he get through Mystic Protection without a scratch on him if he did? Perhaps it was some sort of teleportation magic? Sei did not know the answers to any of the questions he was presenting to himself, but he was about to find out.

Sei closed his eyes as he smiled, feeling his magic working their way towards Blank. The tall grass on both sides of the man would provide substantial cover for Sei's next move. Out of the thickness of the grass blades came a series of seaweed strands from each side of Sei's opponent. They would attempt to wrap themselves around the wrist of the man in an effort to bind him in spot. Sei kept all of his focus on Arden (Or Duffy, or whoever the hell he was now) as he took several steps towards his foe.

Within a couple of seconds of the seaweed appearing, several volleyball sized rocks began flying down towards Arden. This was not the effect of the falling stars in the sky, but of Sei's own Octopus' Garden ability. The stones would rain down for a total of eight seconds, all homing straight in on the hopefully bonded man. As the last couple of seconds approached, Sei jumped in front of Blank, taking a rock to the back.

Or did he?

Once again, the shattering glass echoed throughout the grounds. Once more the glass shards appeared, and once more they fired out in a dome. Anita was still down so she should have been safe from the secondary blast. Arden however, was at point-blank range. If he did not posses the ability to phase through stuff, he was about to be in for a world of hurt.

[Arden]

Blank scowled and hissed without air passing through his lips as the tendrils of Sei's magic spiralled out of nothing and bound him to the spot. He made no attempt at avoiding his bonds, nor did he take to insults or jibes against his opponent. It was as if he expected it, or as if he were waiting for something to happen.

"That's right Sei, bind people to your will who stand in awe of your power, captivate those who believe in you...then watch them perish as you fail to protect them, fail to save them when they need you most..." Duffy's words calmed Blank as he was reminded of his location. His bonds tightened and wrapped around his wrists with an almost excruciating firmness. He had been bound often enough in his endeavours with the Scourge to realise that his circulation would swiftly deteriorate.

Fake stars of ether fell down, the first crashed into the bluegrass with such force it sent a shock-wave out across the field. The second fell behind Arden, and then the third smashed into the ground close enough to send mud clods and dirt up into his eyes. He flinched, and when he opened them again, he saw Sei dive towards him and the tumbling sight of another rock collide with the mystic.

"Watch the world admire you, and cry as they die in your stead - we spoke of sacrifice, but now we shall speak of responsibility!" Blank smiled, unsure if it was his own motion or that of Duffy's emotions flowing through the bond they shared. He tensed his muscles and lifted his right knee to knock his balance off, and as the torrent of rock and maelstrom of glass erupted outwards from the swordsman once more, the blue vapour trails of power formed around Arden and he vanished from sight. The debris caused him to teleport blind, a state that would be restored when he travelled back into the Arena...

The Aria appeared for the second and final time. Already the energy reserves he had in his muscles were drained, pulled to their limit by the binding of his wrists and the constant flickering form between realms. The silence of the silver sea calmed him momentarily, and allowed the formation of the plan's final act to come to light. When he re-appeared, he knew full well that the last remnants of Sei's magic would come crashing down and he would not be unscathed; he would be powerless and blind to avoid it. He would be broken, battered and bruised, but it would be Sei that felt the brunt of the pain.

He wretched, contorted his muscles and fell to his knees and dissipated once more. His anger was almost fever pitch and his surging emotions caused pain to rip through him as he teleported back through the ether into the real world.

Within a hairs breadth he flashed back into existence, free of his bonds but arms held wide and head arched back in defiance.

The last of the rocks collided with Blank's chest full force, like a cannonball fired from a pirate main and knocked him back almost ten feet. The wind left his lungs swiftly followed by his guts. The thud came a split second after his prone body disseminated from Sei's sight into the bluegrass.

Blank gritted his teeth and tried to move, but could not without grimacing in pain. He looked down at his chest and prodded it gently with inquisitive fingers, before determining that several ribs were broken. "Get up Blank!" Duffy roared through the link, causing the mute to speak the Tantalum's mind and urge him upright.

With strength, anger and a seething song of madness in his mind he rolled slowly onto his side and kept his spine as straight as he could muster. With his strength seeping from him quickly he appeared from the grass with his crimson hair dishevelled and blood and bruising smattering his naked torso.

"You must understand why I sent Blank to fight you, and why I did not come in his stead. Sacrifice, as we discussed, is the greatest part of being a true hero." His words spiralled between Duffy's accent and Blank's long lost Akashiman slur, the nausea and pain from his injury interfering. He let Duffy take over and steeled the last of energy for one last clash of weapons in the coming storm.

"A hero is only as strong as his friends, and his friends must offer themselves on their own accord to the hero's cause." Blank pointed upwards to the stars and smiled as the arena's nature came to light.

The wind grew to a howl and whipped what remained of the grass into a dancing fire of nature. The star shards appeared brightly overhead, and the darkness of the night was peeled away with orange hue and golden aura. Blank's tanned skin shone with a bronze shimmer and his hair sprang to life beneath the oncoming comets.

"Blank knows that our cause is worthy of death, even if it is a death denied by the power of the Monks. He will lay down his life for the troupe, for the prophecy we are both intertwined with, and most importantly. He will take anyone and anything with him..."

Arden brought his sword to his front slowly, and gripped it with both hands. With defiant and slow steps he approached the mystic with every intent of fighting to the last. His one good eye blurred sporadically, and his back ached as if he had been broken a thousand times over a barrel, but their plan had to work. He was the silent messenger, and the herald of the stars themselves.

"The stars gravitate to those who believe in them..." Duffy's last words echoed through Blank's bloodied teeth and the link faded. As he drew near Sei, the roar of the comets swept away the roar of the wind and it's fiery shadow covered the arena. It fell directly onto the greatest source of anger it could feel, and would not stop until it claimed it's fill of hatred and wrath.

Blank smiled and admired his golden body, shining in the star's light.

I told you so, he thought, happy that he had played his part well. He stepped into Sei's guard and deftly swung the Rheilhand into Sei's blade.

[Silence Sei]

Sei's stones worked wonders against his foe. Though Blank once again teleported to avoid the effects of Mystic Protection once more, Sei was satisfied with the boulder slamming into his foes chest. Maybe Duffy would shut up about stuff he didn't know anything about now. Unfortunately, Duffy kept speaking through his friend, talking once again about sacrifice being the mark of a true hero.

"What do you know of heroism?" Sei questioned the rogue, "You hide behind masks on a day to day basis. If my information network is correct, you used to be a vagabond. You know only of atonement, Duffy Bracken, so don't spout words about what it takes to be a true hero at me." Sei had sacrificed himself countless times in order to save his friends.

He had once sacrificed his arm for his daughter. A few years later, he had sacrificed his age for the same person. While he was Chief Strategist in Alerar, he constantly had to make sacrifices, both of his own troops, and sometimes even using himself as a decoy to draw out the enemy. Sei was an expert on the craft of sacrifice, and Duffy Bracken wanted to lecture him on it.

The comet came hurdling down while Blank made his charge towards Sei. The mute simply jumped backwards a bit in an attempt to avoid the blow. While Sei had completely avoided Blank's hit, Sei threw his hands out towards his foe. Sei realized too late that he didn't have the split second it would take to cast Mystic Protection on his opponent. Sei jerked his entire body the other way around seconds before impact, instinctively covering his form.

Of course, Sei was safe from the shooting star. The mute had managed to cast Mystic Protection on himself once more before Blank came at him. Sei's face was in a scowl as he thought about how he was going to beat the hell out of Duffy for being so callous with the lives of others.

Sei may have hated the citadel, but he was really starting to hate the Tantalum troupe.

[Arden]

The Rheilhand arced up and over Blank's head and struck the Mystic Protection with a fate bound ring and a crystalline rattle. Blank glared into Sei's eyes from behind his citadel of pious lies and light and smiled at how exquisitely the plan to break the 'hero' had gone. Duffy had laboriously lectured Blank on the nature of his deeds before he had nodded solemnly in agreement, and he now understood all the reasons behind it.

With a deep voice Arden Janelle spoke in his own accent and with his own mettle. His words were given power by the dwindling death throes of the silver sea in his mind. He echoed a burgeoning need to take responsibility for one's actions and in speaking, he tried to show Sei that sometimes you had to take fate into your own hands regardless of the cost.

"One day soon, Sei, you will have to decide."

He nodded in Anita's direction unthinkingly, but ominously.

"Between your own world and your own beliefs, or your love and theirs...or those of the people you wish to defend. Regardless of your choice they will not thank you and they will not be forgiving..."

Blank almost wanted to cry whilst the Aria gave him the chance to voice his emotions but he quelled the need for the 'greater good.'

"I hope you make the right choice because neither I nor Duffy could." The images of his mother's corpse flashed before his eyes, and he screamed in desperation. Duffy felt a pang of regret, and watched all the pain Lucian had caused to his friends culminate into a single moment of pain in them both.

Blank's body grew in luminosity as the comet verged on him like the End of Days. The heat hit him first and knocked him to his knees as if all the strength had been drained from him with the wave of a wand. He looked up without reservation and admired the blinding array of flickering flames running along the scintillating surface of the falling star.

"We were too weak, but through us, we hope to show you the strength needed to not make the same mistakes..."

The Thief and the Silent Swordsman spoke briefly as one and then the the world ended.

The fires coruscated in a great shock-wave that spread out across the savannah and scoured the land of grass and reed and weapon and war. The sound of the apocalypse grew from a single deep thud into a roar that ruptured earlobes and cracked time itself. Blank did not survive the inferno long enough to even scream, yet alone pray for a quick end. He had made his decision and Duffy had made his.

Time always had room for the underdog. In this age it would be the Tantalum Troupe, the dark hand of good deeds taking the fall for the salvation of Althanas. Even if many of those troubles and evils were caused by the troupe's own machinations and it's inability to right it's own wrongs. It had a purpose, a goal, a culmination of effort to work towards.

Sei Orlougne was victorious once more. Duffy and Blank waited for the true test of the Mystic to begin in the Citadel's foyer. As the stars aligned overhead and Orion's Belt crossed the heavens, the Prophecy of the Forgotten Thayne Tantalus drew the Thief, the Charlatan and the Hero together for a common cause that was more important than any of their selfish reasoning or morals combined.

It drew them together for the salvation of the Island Nations.

[Silence Sei]

The sword had made contact with Sei's barrier, but the comet had made contact with Blank. A large explosion sent the mute flying onto the ground, face down in the taller parts of the grass. Sei rose up around the same time as his daughter, both of them looking around for a sign of Blank. The other mute was nowhere to be found on the battleground, just a giant crater where Blank had been. Sei had felt the heat of the comet's explosion, felt the fire as it licked at his cheeks. He looked to Anita with sorrowful eyes when they had approached the spot that used to be Blank.

"Do you still have that camera you got from when you turned twelve?" The girl blinked at the question and nodded. Dropping her backpack to the ground, Anita unclasped the cover and searched through her giant inventory. After taking out a highly advanced pink square of a camera, Sei took the device from her. He snapped a few shots of the scene and tossed the camera back to his daughter. Anita blinked as she followed Sei out of the citadel, wondering what the hell had just happened.

~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock at the inn. The jade eyes stuck themselves out from the crack of the door. Before Duffy Bracken could react, a hard fist slammed into his nose. The blow sent the rogue tumbling backwards onto the floor. Sei kicked the door open, holding several pictures in his hand as he tossed them down at the actor’s feet. His eyes were filled with tears of pure anger, and he had to restrain himself from hitting the boy again. Duffy checked the blood that was trickling down his nose as if he was amazed the mute had made him bleed.

"You sacrifice yourself to death without holding any regard for life. If that wasn't bad enough, you throw your suicidal tendencies onto your friends in such an uncaring way it makes me sick. You are scum Duffy Bracken. That was what was left of your alleged 'friend' after our citadel battle. After your God damned 'test'. Sacrifice is not what makes a hero, it's remembering those that were sacrificed that shows a man's heroic mettle."

Sei almost threw another punch into the youth's face, but stopped himself inches before doing it. "Every morning when I wake up, I pray for all of the men who lost their lives for the cause of Alerar. I went to their houses and looked their widows in the eye. Do you know how painful it is to tell someone that they just lost the person they cared about most in the world?! You don't! You have no idea the ordeals I have gone through!"

Sei turned his back to the man, spitting on the ground to show Duffy exactly what Sei thought of him at the moment. "Natalie Vicecroft. A teacher. Twenty-six years old. Killed because I was too engaged in my own activities. Victor Lestat. A miner on vacation. Killed because some asshole preoccupied the 'Hero of Radasanth' in a tournament just a little bit longer than was needed. He was nineteen. Talendra Wilson. A stay at home mother. Age thirty-seven. Died in a carriage accident Sei Orlouge could have been there to prevent if some arrogant piece of trash didn't think my time was better spent fighting in the citadel."

"You're going to meet me at my Tomb in two days Duffy Bracken. You're going to come alone, and if you try anymore of your accursed 'lectures', I won't hesitate to kill you. You've already sacrificed two lives for something I already knew, but you will not sacrifice again." Sei stormed out of the room, soon to return to his home. Duffy and Sei were going to have a long talk about destiny and fate.

And even if Sei had to beat the sense into the man, Duffy was going to find the meaning of a true hero.

[Duffy]

Duffy leant his had back and pinched his nose, chuckling to himself long after Sei had left. He was used to the connection of stern fists to his overly attractive nose. It had taken on a squidgy form over the years from repeated impacts from frying pans, women's parasols and hammers.

Ruby and Blank glared at him from the darkness and stepped slowly out into the spartan room's light. They had watched, and listened, and frowned at the mystic's words and done nothing to prevent it as instructed. Many of Duffy's haphazard schemes had gone awry over the years and they had both been parley to watching them crash and burn, so their scepticism and cold looks were only natural.

Ruby sipped water from a cup and Blank leant against the wardrobe, arms crossed and his skin still crawling with after pangs of fire. They waited expectantly for their 'leader' to speak his mind and explain what it was he intended to do with his summons. Bird song and chatter drifted in through the open window and broke up the monotony with the idyllic sounds of normality.

Duffy smiled at Ruby, and then at Blank, and pinched his nose. He settled his head level very slowly, and prodded his nostrils to check for renegade blood flow. Satisfied that it had stopped, at least for now, he rested his hands on his hips with a cheeky smile and his hair askew in a mousey brown mop.

"Oh we're going alright...I can't wait to see the look on his face when we show him the Orb!"

They looked at one another for a moment then burst into praise and laughter.

At the back of Duffy's mind two prospects swirled together in a virulent soup of prospect and fallacy.

Either Sei Orlougne takes on the curse of Wainwright's Eye, like we have with his Riposte and his heart...

"Or I die to my father's envy..."

A flock of crows scattered into the mist as Ruby sang the first note of a sea shanty, and the waves of celebration rolled through the tavern and went long into the night.


Spoils:

The Orb of Attainment: Reforged at the behest of the Prophecy of Tantalus, Wainwright's Eye is a deep purple sphere that glimmers with an inner golden aura. At present, it holds no power whatsoever. Should it's true wielder, Sei Orlougne learn to see the truth through the Troupe's perspective, then it shall gain occulomanacy and oramancy powers when the spirit form is taken from one of the six wraith's of Lucian Lahore. It is an item that has featured in numerous previous quests, and at present, it shall remain an item in the possession of the Troupe as a whole, and not any one particular member.

Comet Shard: Blank requests a small fist sized chunk of the comet as a souvenir. It is a turquoise and vermilion and golden porous rock, worth nothing, but could be used to reforge a blade with a material that is strong as steel but much lighter in the future (ROG approval required when any such re-working is done.)

[Taskmienster]

Raging Orion :: Commentary where necessary, if you guys want clarification you know how to get to me. :p



Continuity
Blank [6] :: Not bad, though it was little more than simple “I’m in Citadel to fight for someone else.”

Sei [6.5] :: The story with Anita and taking her battle was better written out, but along the same lines as what Blank was fighting for.

Setting
Blank [7] :: Beautifully written, though at times it’s a bit convoluted.

Sei [6]

Pacing

Blank/Sei [6.5]

Dialogue
Blank [5.5]

Sei [6]

Action
Blank/Sei [6]

Persona
Blank [6]

Sei [6]

Technique
Blank [7]

Sei [6]

Mechanics
Blank [8]

Sei [6]

Clarity
Blank [6]

Sei [8]

Wild Card

Blank/Sei [7]


Score:
Blank [65]
Sei [65]

Rewards:
Because it’s a tie… I’m rewarding you both with 70% of the base experience that would have been earned by the winner.

Sei :: 1925 exp | 100 gold

Blank :: 1925 exp | 100 gold
((Since the Orb has already been used, it’s allowed, but only for the use which is outlined. The shard is approved))

[Taskmienster]

Exp and Gp added.