Mystic War~ Chapter 1: Team 4

[Enigmatic Immortal]

The smell of something burning filtrated Adolph’s nostrils as he stirred in his bed. It was a smell he became accustomed to when he was defending the city of Valdta. He stirred slowly upwards, drifting his stone like eyes over the castle grounds, finding an orange glow at the gate of Castle Ixian that flickered in the darkness light dancing partners.

“Awake the other Chaplains,” Adolph gruffed in a tired voice, layers of sleep pushing away slowly as he forced his body awake. He was talking to the only man he slept with in his chambers, and that was Harold Andres, a friend he made in the battle for Valdta. The younger man turned in his bed, eyes casting doubt upon the rather strange orders he just heard.

“Awake them, now!” Adolph said with more force. Harold nodded once, already casting his blankets aside as his feet swung to his boots, fingers nimbly lacing the strings before he marched off in quick step. Adolph looked towards the window again, lowering his gaze to accept more details. A mob, thirty or forty people. The glint of weapons were broadcasting in the pale glow of the fire light, and Adolph hastened his actions. He turned to his closet, fumbling with the bronze knob as he ripped it open. He pulled at the darkness, clawing to find something as he tossed a leather tunic and a heavy mace upon his bed.

Changing quickly into battle gear, a practice that he learned to do in three minutes, he finished the last touches raising up Crozius, his enchanted maul, and testing it with a few swipes in the air. Adolph then turned to the door as Harold stepped in, a soft force of fifteen people all ready to go to battle. He stepped forwards, addressing them as a few other doors opened. He witnessed Tobias and Ta’gaz stepping forwards into the hallway, the larger muscular trainer and the lithe elf were already dressed in their usual attire, though the elf looked like she just recently fell asleep.

“Administer yourselves to the troops, keep them calm and alert, and do not let them panic! Nobody is to make a move until they cast the first stone, or Lord Sei Orlouge orders it. You are all dismissed!” With a quick military like nod his Chaplains saluted their commander and dispersed in different directions, their pace hurried, but controlled to not incite hysteria. Adolph would be damned if mistakes were made. Adolph looked to Ta’gaz and Tobias.

“I have a favor to ask of you two,” Adolph said plainly. Ta’gaz nodded sternly, as if he didn’t need to ask. Tobias yawned in her nod, acknowledging she was listening. “Tobias, please tend to Stephanie and Azza, if you would. I will require your presence with me Ta’gaz after I have you lock all the training rooms. There are weapons in there, and I do not want to give them up.” Ta’gaz turned and began to jog quickly down the spiral staircase as Tobias did a few quick stretches and ran towards the family barracks.

With no more orders to give out the Reclussiarch of the Ixian Knights turned to Harold and gave him a soft turn of his head, a motion for the youth to follow him. Harold was already dressed in his leather armor, marching in pace with his commander as the two moved down the twirling grey stone stairs. As he marched he kept his ears open and his mind clear, the better to hear the enemy and receive telepathic orders from Sei.

“Only when Jensen isn’t around is when the fun starts,” Adolph sighed.

[Hysteria]

Talen shifted restlessly in bed. The thin white sheets twisted as he tossed and turned, but no matter his position he could not get comfortable. The air was filled with life, a sort of energy that prevented the boy from drifting off to sleep. Talen flung the sheets off him with a sweep of his arm and pushed himself into a sitting position. His hands rubbed his eyes impatiently as a gentle whisper came from the dark.

“Tonight sleep would not be a good idea.”

The young shadowmancer didn’t bother looking up, he knew the voice of his occasional informant and constant annoyer; Vaness. The girl, in so much as a shadow spirit could be a woman, was a relic from a past Talen couldn’t remember. Something of a friend, or even possibly a lover; who seemed to love to toy with the youth. What’s worse, Talen could only hear her, his power had not developed enough to see the spirit yet.

“I think there’s a rule about games at this time of night. In fact I’m pretty sure there is.” Said Talen.

“I come all this way, I risk peril, sudden and certain death, and this is the thanks I get?”

The boy sighed and stood up. Although he found the spirit insufferable, he knew that she would bare important news, news that warranted he get dressed.

“Yes, yes. Thankyou for coming Vaness. What is it you wish to tell me?” Talen said between sliding on his pants.

“You know the Knights of the Dawn?”

Talen paused in the middle of putting his shirt on and shuddered. The youth had recently entered the service of N’Jal, and small group of excommunicated Knights had attacked him nearly immediately after. The true Knights of the Dawn was just as hideously set upon his and similar other’s complete destruction.

“Yep, them. Well it seems that they are about to attack this castle.”

“Eh? Sorry. I thought you said this castle” Repeated Talen.

“I don’t believe I stuttered Talen. THIS castle indeed.”

“That’s preposterous. Why would they attack the Ixian Knights? Sei’s possibly the most pious man alive.” Talen lifted one of his Zodiac blades and slid it into his belt.

“I’m afraid I am all out of omnipresence today, try again tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright. Well those zealous bastards would attack a horse if someone accused it of talking. I suppose we might just be unlucky.” Talen paused and looked up to where he thought Vaness was, “Are you going to be staying around for this one?”

“Not likely boy. Those guys love using light spells. I intend to hightail it out of here as soon as our conversation ends.”

“And when would that be exactly?” Talen slid he boots on and waited for a response. When none came he smiled, “Thanks Vaness.”

It didn’t take long for Talen to finish preparing. The youth knew that if the Knights of the Dawn attacked it was unlikely that the castle would hold and anything left behind would undoubtedly fall into their hands. He packed all his belongings into a small bag he used for travelling and slung it over his shoulder. The pale boy wore most of his cloths, his black pants and shirt and greying cloak.

The halls were silent for a few minutes as Talen made his way down the kitchen. His feet echoed on the cold stone floors and the boy could have been forgiven in thinking that the quiet was going to last forever. Just before the boy reached it men started to rush through the halls in a half panic. Talen kept himself calm as the men ran past, as a Captain of the Order he felt it was his duty to inspire the men. Unbeknownst to him, the men though of the small Captain as something of an oddity, not going so far as questioning Sei assigning him, but somewhere close.

Talen turned the corner and entered the kitchen. A few men were packing up some food into cloths and loading it into bags. The youth didn’t need to ask what the men were doing; he recognised escape provisions when he saw them. The men paused as he entered, expecting him to issue a new order. The youth waved his hand and the men continued.

It didn’t take Talen too long to find what he was looking for. The kitchen didn’t stock too much alcohol, but there was enough to generate a few glass bottles. Talen picked up three of the large bottles and shoved a tea towel into his pocket. The boy had not been in a siege before, but he recognised that fire and bottlenecks could be very useful in repelling an army.

The boy quickened his pace as he walked towards the courtyard. He pushed one of the bottles under his arm and held the other two. He placed his thumbs inside the necks of the bottles and focused his magic as he walked. Shadow energy for Talen was little more than a reservoir of endless potential located on the other side of a thin layer of reality he called the veil. For most of Talen’s magic he used shadows as a portal, transferring that energy into the shadow and using it as a weapon. The exhausting part was separating the veil and letting the energy enter. Using his thumbs as a focus point Talen did just that, bringing in the more volatile energy and condensing it into a liquid. The thick black oil slowly started to flow into bottles, filling each one.

The courtyard was a buzz of activity when Talen arrived. The youth peered outside and slowly edged his way outside. The boy moved with purpose, cutting behind the Ixian troops and to the wall. From there he climbed up onto the ramparts and moved along the top of the wall and sat down. The boy was too small to have been noticed getting to the wall, and now there, worth little more than a glance to the fierce Knights of the Dawn. Talen put down the three bottles and pulled the towel from his pocket and drew his smaller Wakizashi. Carefully to hide his actions he cut the towel into three strips as quietly as he could and stuffed two of them into the full bottles. The black liquid slowly leached up the material via the mystery of osmosis as Talen watched the scene unfold.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“YOU WILL BACK AWAY FROM THE MAIN GATES, NOW!” Adolph shouted, his voice cutting through the night air and forcing away a few of the lesser men of the Knights of Dawn. His maul was held off over his shoulder, his other hand pointing to the forest path that led away from Castle Ixian.

“You give us what we want and nobody has to be hurt,” A rather imposing man in full plate called back, his tone even to show his honest intent. Adolph felt his leather armor tug at the robes that covered him, the wind billowing the torches of the castle as several of the line soldiers brimmed the wall, notching arrows. “Your aggression is being noted and we will not tolerate this for much longer.”

“Duly noted,” Adolph said sourly. “You take one step forwards into this hold, and that will be your last.” The leader of the rag tag group smiled brightly to Adolph, showing his teeth as he stepped as far as he could before violating the Chaplains mandate and threat. The man was taller than the Knight, his short hair spiked upwards in a violent manner that only intensified his grin. Adolph let the strands of his hair cover his face under his robe, letting only his piercing cold eyes through.

“You seem like a sensible man,” The warrior spoke so only the Chaplain could hear. “I’m not going to run rickshaw here. This isn’t like your Ixian Knights, where you send the Gisela Reaper out to kill people in brutal horrible ways. We do it like you and I do. We fight them, and kill them swiftly in the crucible of battle.”

“You hunt down people and humans and eradicate them for nothing more than hate,” Adolph replied, showing no intention to give into anything this man said. The paladin’s behind the leader of the Knight’s of Dawn began to step forwards, noticing several people walking towards the main path to the tombs. Adolph’s chaplains all took a defensive line behind their master as they rose up their weapons.

“You are making a mistake, soldier,” The Paladin said.

“I am making a stand, murderer,” Adolph replied.

The tension rose as the two soldier’s sized the other up. Adolph’s maul lowered to a ready position as the Paladin lifted up a mace. The two armies began to stamp their feet in anticipation as they shuffled back and forth, and at last it happened, and swiftly. The sound of glass shattering, the mystic protection of a mystic went off, and it was like a gunshot erupting in the air. The Paladin swung his mace forwards, swatting it into Adolph as he deftly blocked with his maul. The Chaplains let out a roar as the Knight’s of Dawn rushed forward, screaming for blood.

“HOLD THEM BACK!” Adolph shouted. “DO NOT LET THEM NEAR THEIR PRIZE!” He then turned his attentions to the smarmy Paladin, focusing his entire being on destroying the man before him.

[Hysteria]

The sound of shattering glass singled the start of the fight. The arrow that had nearly cut down Kyla Orlouge did more damage to the Ixian Knights than anticipated with so many allies struck by the Mystic Protection. Talen was less than impressed with the sight, he liked Kyla, and revenge was a dish he loved to dine on. He lifted one of the bottles and pressed down on the contraption on his wrist. The small device gave a small crack sound and shot a spark into the soaking rag, causing it to catch on fire easily. With a casual toss the bottle landed amid the Knights of the Dawn splashing fire through their ranks. A few screams of pain echoed through the courtyard as some burned in their suits of armour, but for most it proved ineffective.

There was chaos, the fire was mostly a distraction rather than an actual threat. The youth watched as a volley of arrows struck the invaders, but was disheartened to see only a few of their number fall. Talen lifted his hand into the air as shadows spewed forth from his palm and formed a small black flower.

“Oh the wall!”

Talen’s eyes shot towards the invaders as one of their number identified him as the molotov thrower. Three charged towards the ladder, climbing quickly despite their heavy armour. Talen lit the second bottle and tossed it at the ladder before they could reach him. Screams of agony filled his ears as the men were caught encased in burning liquid. A crash ended the sound as they tumbled from the ladder and onto the courtyard floor. Their burned suits started to rattle as they started to move inside their flaming coffins.

I need to really make that stronger. Thought Talen at the relative small amount of damage he was able to inflict.

The courtyard was chaos; the boy turned back to the scene of fighting and wondered exactly what he should be doing. His answer came as a crossbow bolt slammed into the wall behind him. The youth rolled onto his side and out of range of the archers in the yard. He needed to find out what the others were planning, was everyone going to escape and leave the youth alone in the castle? Talen pushed the thought aside, but the nagging feeling persisted.

[SirArtemis]

'Why do I always find my way into the wrong situations?' Artemis asked himself, frustrated by the timing of his trip to Castle Ixian. The courtyard before him was a mix of a veil of fog and a mist of blood, creating an almost dreamlike realm before him.

'Stop complaining,' whispered a voice in the corner of his mind. It was the voice of Sei Orlogue. The mute had given Artemis a small earing to wear that linked their minds for easy communication. If Artemis needed to speak with the mystic, the earing allowed him to ring the doorbell of Sei's mind, asking to be let in. 'Take advantage of the fog. Clear a path for Kylin.'

'You know I don't like killing,' the vagabond responded, already anticipating the response.

'Well I suppose you need to get creative. Just know that any you keep alive will likely kill again.'

With a sigh, Artemis let his eyes close as he gathered himself. With the aid of his sentient bow, Judicis, he concentrated his ocular ability into one eye, forcing his body to register two images simultaneously. As his eyes reopened, the world appeared in both spectra.

With preparations complete, he pulled out the twin mythril daggers at his sides and jogged softly forward, using the advantage of his infra-red vision to choose a less dense area of the battlefield. The cold fog limited his depth of sight, and splitting the vision diminished the effectiveness of both. However, the benefit of seeing the bodies of the battlefield while also being able to distinguish friend from foe was invaluable.

Finding a thinned-out area and stepping over the bodies of the recently deceased, Artemis snuck up behind a duo fighting, identifying the enemy quickly. As the man backpedaled from his attacker, he moved within Artemis' range, who quickly sheathed one dagger. Freeing his other hand and using both to propel his weapon, the blade slid precisely through two vertebrae of the mans spine, gliding easily through the cartilage and ejecting out the other side through the esophagus.

With one enemy dispatched, he let the body fall and slide off his blade, lifting one finger to his lips to show his ally his intent. A quick turn and a few steps away, another enemy approached. Artemis crept forward, knees bent and eyes examining the points of heat on his body. Coupled with his knowledge of metalwork, he knew where his first and only blow need land to dispatch this fighter quickly. There really weren't many options.

The man's armor was heavy, full of dents and covered in blood, a sign that he was likely already experiencing some exhaustion.

"Forgive me," Artemis whispered, too quietly for anyone to hear. As the warrior stepped forward with an overhead swing of his sword, the vagabond stepped into the mans swing, guiding the blade down and outward. Another quick step forward and Artemis' other dagger shot up too quickly for the exhausted and slower warrior to respond. The dagger pierced him under the chin and continued until it reached the top of the man's skull, stopping the attack. Quickly sliding the blade out and letting the next body fall, Artemis surveyed the area.

One man remained, approximately fifteen yards away, the infra-red vision allowing Artemis to see through the dense fog. As he sheathed his daggers and pulled out Judicis, he sent a message to Sei through the earing, inviting him for a conversation. While he waited, he let his fingers fall upon the taut string of the bow and pulled it back. A black mist conjured in the form of an arrow and Artemis aimed for the target. Letting the arrow fly, the sentient bow aiding in the shot, the magical projectile landed perfectly between the shoulder blades of the enemy, paralyzing him completely and temporarily.

'Yes?' Asked Sei, accepting the intrusion.

'Your path is clear. Find me by the magic of the earing and move quickly.'

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Adolph felt his chest heave in exertion as Crozius felled another Knight of Dawn. The enchanted Maul was capable of being five times as strong as the average human soldier, so when he hit, it was usually a death blow. Now was no longer the time for civilized behavior and proper combat technique. They were spilling into the Ixian Knight’s home like ants fleeing a flooding hill and they needed to be stopped at every turn.

“My blood be fire, my wrath be my sword, let my hate fill outwards and crush their skulls!” Adolph chanted the mantra of battle, his Litanies of Hate that he preached in battle. Each Chaplain knew these versus well, and he was proud as they picked up where he left off, continuing the chant as they repulsed soldier after soldier.

“Show these defilers of the Natural Order our hatred for their views. There is no right in what they preach!” The paladin of the Knights of Dawn countered his oratory with his own, both men being separated by a pile of bodies as they fought to get to one another. Though the Paladin now seemed to try and break into the castle when he found how destructive Adolph’s Maul was. The Knight of Apocalypse bent down and lifted upwards, tossing a warrior of Dawn over his shoulder as he turned with a two handed swing blasting another squire in the face, felling him to the floor as the Knight’s of Dawn surged forwards.

“Tear them limb from limb! Rake their backs and slit their throats! Shed blood for the name of the Horsemen! Enlighten them to the will of the End Times, and illuminate their souls to the fury of the abyss!” Adolph counter preached. Two more Knights of Dawn kissed the grave.

As good as Adolph was doing, and as great as his chaplains were faring they were letting more and more warriors into the castle. Soon they would be overwhelmed. Adolph turned to his warriors, finding four of his number missing and let out a snarl of spite. “We retreat to the castle to protect our lords! Go go go!” Adolph ordered, his voice easily carrying over the screams of warriors and the cries of death.

Like a well oiled machine the warriors all began a slow pattern of retreat, keeping the host at bay as Harold ran ahead of them to open the main doors to Ixian Castle. The Paladin ordered a charge into the main castle gates, and like a flock of seagulls they descended upon the Chaplains. A few Ixian soldiers ran out to help hold back the tide, but like the Chaplains found themselves pressed backwards.

“DUDE, NOT COOL!” Pell Duyo, night guard of the Ixian Knights shouted as he turned tail and ran, screaming. Adolph rolled his eyes as he made his way inside, hearing Harold behind him.

“Any particular reason you plan to let the Knights of Dawn run rampant within these walls?” Harold asked. Adolph gave him a warning glare before nodding.

“Yes, I plan to let them run like idiots, ransacking the place in their unholy zeal. And when they split up into smaller search parties…”

“The larger elements of the Ixian Knights can mobilize against them. You are in effect breaking down the castle gate only to let them run in so you can open the flood gates and shove them back in an unstoppable assault. It’s costly, most likely going to result in high damage, but will solve the problem.”

“Only if we fight to protect what we care about,” Adolph said searching the halls for one red head in particular.

“Mrs. Odara, again, my lord?” Harold mused speaking of Stephanie. Adolph looked back to him and shook his head.

“No, that ship has sailed away for good. Jensen was right, I do love Stephanie, more than anything in my life, but only as a sister. My true heart lies with someone else.”

“Might I inquire whom, my lord?” Harold asked turning to see Pell Duyo return with Ta’gaz and four other warriors. Adolph looked up and smiled to see Ta’gaz arrive bringing the cavalry with him.

“No you may not ask, now let’s link up and take care of this filth.”

“Four in the fucking AM,” A taller gruff man said behind Ta’gaz. “This castle has lousy hours.”

“What’s your bitching for, Wind? Can’t take the heat!” A shorter, but no less muscular bodies man with flaming orange hair chuckled like he had one to many energy potions.

“I have such a low tolerance for your perkyness at this hour,” The man replied.

“Nathanial, Yogi, shut up and fight the enemy not each other. Lilith, Nakah, let’s show them what it means to have a warriors spirit!” Ta’gaz ordered to his oracles. They all nodded once as Lilith sprinted forwards, her speed impossible to follow as Nathanial breezed by, a whisper in the wind. Nakah lifted his pants up and charged forwards like a bear after prey, and Yogi merely cracked his knuckles and ran forwards, eyes ablaze as were his fists and feet. Ta’gaz ran with them, keeping pace behind Nathanail as they broke into the courtyard like a tidal wave of power.

Adolph followed behind them, Maul lifted upwards as he slammed it into warriors. Lilith used her unnatural speed to be in several places at once, keeping an entire seven foot section blocked by herself alone. Nathanial was surrounded by warriors, but he moved with such agility that none ever even came close to touching him. Yogi slammed fist into face, foot into jaw as he bellowed about the wrath of the volcano.

“Time to show you what tolerance is, yes?” Nakah shouted jovially as his broad arms gripped two soldiers in his embrace, easily breaking backs and tossing them into their allies. Adolph quarter turned to see Ta’gaz push forwards with one fist, a ball of magma shooting out of it and blasting into the chest plate of a warrior of Dawn.

“I will not hold them much longer,” the bored, emotionless tone of Lilith said.

“Water never could do much!” Yogi taunted before he was hit in the side of the face by a shield.

“We are giving them to much area to work with. Nakah, Lilith, get inside the castle and rally other troops that are separated. Ta’gaz, you and Yogi fall back and cover the door as long as you can. Nathanial,” Yet as he looked to the Oracle of Wind, he found him jumping up a series of banners and climbing onto the castle walls, chasing after a grouping of Knights of Dawn.

“Go Adolph! We’ll hold them back!” Ta’gaz gripped the Reclussiarch by the arm and tossed him inside the castle with the last surviving members of his Chaplains. Lilith and Nakah were already rushing down the hall.

“Alright men, split up, find yourselves a lost facet of the army, and preach them the Litanies of Battle. Lead by example, and be safe.” They all nodded as they ran ahead of him. The knight looked back to see Ta’gaz and Yogi holding off the castle entrance with other members of the Ixian Knights. He nodded to them respectfully before he ran off after the infirmary.

Hey Hys, I'm thinking you and Adolph can meet up and work together to get to the infirmary.

[Silence Sei]

((Just so we can quickly advance the story, I'm going to make a few posts with each of the Ixian NPCs to showcase off some of their wartime abilities and whatnot, as well as helping to finish this thread up soon.))

They came in droves, pouring into the most likely spots warriors would have gathered in Ixian Castle. Several training rooms had been filled with Knights of Dawn, looking to eliminate any Mystics they saw. Of course, the only way to differentiate Mystic from Human was spilling blood to begin with. As such, any person that the warriors saw, they hit with their weapons. Sometimes there were killing blows, sometimes far less. Lives were being lost all for the sake of finding one specific race.

Of course, if they found any obviously non-human races, those were just bonus kills.

The enemy had sent a small legion of four men into the library. After all, the Ixians could have wizards studying spells to make them disappear at the moment. Instead, as the quartet entered the room, they found themselves looking at a teenage boy. Running his hand through his shaggy brown hair, he looked up from the purple book he had been reading.

"I've been expecting you guys," Andrew Octane spoke with a smirk, closing the book and straightening his leather jacket. His eyes went from each of the four members, seemingly random people assigned to secure the large room with an assumed small amount of people.

His gaze first met a purple haired warrior, his locks running down to at least his mid-back. He gripped the shaft of his large war axe tighter. The silver blade glinted in the light of the torches, indicating he had taken care of his weapon. He was the largest of the four, two shoulder lengths wide and around six feet tall. When he growled at the 'child', Octane could easily make out the shiny white teeth. Andrew made sure his crystalline blue eyes met with the amber orbs of this man. "Jackson...."

"...Heather..." was the next word out of his mouth, his pupils finding the blonde girl beside him. She stood close, indicating a relationship to Jackson. Her short hair had several bangs that nearly covered her green eyes. Her five and a half foot form twirled the equally tall spear in her hands, prepared to do battle with the youth. Saying her name, however, threw the girl off as much as it had stunned her comrade.

"...Tyreese..." Octane now looked at the darker man, his blue eyes almost having the same tinge as the boy himself. He had dreadlocks that reached down to his neck, averaging somewhere between Heather and Jackson in size, but double in their girth. His weapon of choice was your typical short sword, one that had already been stained with some traces of crimson. The only one who had seemingly shed blood; he was obviously the most violent member.

"...And Johnson, I believe." Octane now moved from his desk, looking to the last member of the group. He stood behind the other three, clutching the twin daggers he had with a bit of shaking to his hands. The rookie, it appeared. He had a crew cut of red hair, and stood just a head above Tyreese, and he seemed the slimmest one in his party. Obviously the most handsome, despite the scar across his left eye trailing from eyebrow to chin.

"I'm surprised that the four of you made it this far, considering what issues all of you have with one another," Octane said with a smirk. In reply, the Knights all looked to one another with questions in their eyes. What was this kid talking about? Furthermore, how did he know their names?

"What do you mean our issues?" Jackson asked, taking a step back and raising his weapon towards the approaching Octane. His voice was gritty, and as he took the step back, the rest of his team followed.

"I mean what I said," Octane said simply, pointing to each Knight as he began his evaluation. "Heather has been cheating on you with Johnson for weeks now. You've had a feeling about it all along, but you just needed somebody to tell you before you could truly believe it. Tyreese has seen their affair from afar, but didn't tell you for a slim hope that after the ensuing altercation, he could claim her for himself. A silly notion, considering Heather feels that he doesn't deserve to lick the scum off of her shoe..."

"It's a trick," Johnson said, his dual weapons shaking with more fervor now, "The Ixians are trying to start in-fighting by spreading lies."

"If it's a lie, why is Heather's perfume on your person, Johnson? The two of you engaged in your lustful acts just before this attack, didn't you? If you don't believe me..." Octane took a step back and raised his hands up, a grin still plastered against his smart-ass face. "I'll step back and let you take a whiff for yourself. Heck, I can smell it from here."

"Surely you don't believe him love..." Heather whispered seductively to her boyfriend, who was now turning towards the new guy, "I'm not even wearing any perfume..."

"But he is..." Jackson finally announced, just before lunging at Johnson. "You're dead, Rookie!" Johnson, in response, griped his daggers and shifted both feet behind him, diving at his leader.

"She loves me!" Jackson announced, the two warriors starting to engage in a brutal struggle of dodges and counters. Heather widened her eyes turning around to Tyreese. Hopefully, he could be the voice of reason among their merry band.

Unfortunately, she was met with Tyreese's blade in her gut. Looking downwards to the sword, then back up to her killer, Heather slumped over. "Not worth the scum of your shoe, huh bitch?! You should have always been with me! Neither one of those deserve you! I loved you, Heather, and all you did was insult and belittle me! Not anymore!"

Once Heathers lovers saw Tyreese kicking the object of their affection off of his weapon, they turned on him. Soon, all three of them began a struggle involving weapons being slung, flesh being torn, and blood splattering the front desk of the Ixian library.

When the altercation finished, Jackson had been left standing, all three of his friends lying dead before him. He now turned to Octane with a growl. His axe was bloodied, and his face had been scratched, his plate mail dented and his body weakened. Still, he could take a defenseless child.

"I'd look behind you," Octane advice as he wiped some of the blood off of his jacket. Jackson paid no heed, taking three steps towards the youth before the spear tip showed itself between the man's eyes. Behind him, Johnson had managed to grab the fallen Heather's weapon, and with his last breath killed the man inadvertently responsible for her death. Johnson smiled as he fell, Jackson's body following suit.

"Warned you," Octane rubbed in, carefully stepping over the fresh corpses in his way. "Now that that's taken care of, maybe I should get out of here..."

As Octane finished the thought, he heard the ringing of blades connecting, and the sound of several Ixian Knights yelling their battle cries. Octane sighed as he began to walk towards the sounds of the fighting. "On second thought, I kinda like the Ixian Knights. Might as well help however I can..." Octane took an apple from his jacket, polishing it before approaching his next victims.

[Hysteria]

Smoke blood and bodies filled the courtyard and the sound of shouting and the ring of steel on steel was a sad symphony played by both sides. Talen watched from his vantage point as more and more Knights of the Dawn streamed into the courtyard. The appearance of the four spirit warriors did little to stem the tide and things took on a dire appearance.

Thigns only got worse for the youth as more knights swarmed up the battlements and onto the wall. The youth was cut off from the castle, the other Ixian Knights and any normal escape path. The boy turned his blue eyes to one of the advancing group of knights as they moved warily towards him.

“I smell N'Jal on him.”

“I smell a horses arse in armour.” Replied Talen.

The knight charged forwards and Talen remained still. The black flower in the air above the youth wilted and the petals fell. The palm sized petals did not fall to the ground, but rather twisted up through the air and into the charging knight. The man lifted his shield on instinct and the dark metal discs bounced off harmlessly.

“Fuck.”

Talen swore at his apparent failure against anyone who wore armour. The youth saw no way of fighting his way to freedom, so he did the only thing that he could think off. Shadows lifted up around him, twisting as they formed a large solid cage around him. In a blink the shadows had hardened and Talen was encased in metal.

The youth sat down and began to weave another spell, focusing on creating a path for him to travel into the castle. The sound of the knights pounding on the metal cage sung urgency to the youth and he pushed himself to do it as fast as possible.

On the wall a knight stepped forwards and lifted his giant maul and smashed into the cage. The black metal bent under the mighty blow. Another struck the cage again and again until a sickening screech and the cage tore open. The knight looked inside but found nothing.

Talen's feet plodded on the stone floor as he ran through the corridors of the castle without a sense direction. He simply didn't know what to do. The youth turned the corner and felt cold steel as he ran straight into a Knight of the Dawn. The man barely budged as the youth tumbled backwards and landed in a heap on the floor. Through dazed eyes Talen looked up and saw three more knights behind the one he had run into.

“Greetings friends! Were you here to inspect the plumbing? There's a terrible leak in the sewage system.”

Talen scrambled to his feet and ran as the men descended on him. The youth's legs pumped as fast as they could as he sprinted down the corridor with the knights close behind. Ahead the youth could see a corridor that split off to the side. Talen pointed his hand in front of him as he ran and released a spray of black liquid. The youth leapt over the spill and landed hard. His legs groaned as he forced them to twist and turn corner and kept going. The crash of the knights slipping and falling brought a brief smile to his lips.

The youth realised that he was heading towards the infirmary, and he figured that it was as good as any place to be. He slowed his running to a fast walk and proceeded cautiously. The youth heard knights coming and ducked into a room. The room was someone's quarters, and that person had seemed to fail to escape. In the middle of the room was a man's body, huddled on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Talen grimaced at the sight but pushed himself on. He stood behind the door in the small gap between the door and wall. The knights marched down the corridor, stopping and looking into each of the rooms as they did. Talen held his breath as they peered in.

“Nar, this one's clean. I killed that guy myself. He said he was just a cook. Won't be cooking anything any more!”

The knights laughed as they walked to the next room. Talen walked out from behind the door and over to the man. The youth laid a hand on his cold body in a fairwell and then sat down on the bed as he wondered what to do.

[Silence Sei]

The siege was going somewhat well for the Knights of Dawn. The warriors were easily sending all of the Mystics within Ixian Castle fleeing for their lives. It would be easier to dispatch them in a less fortified area. One general in particular had managed to lead a battalion onto the castle walls, sending body upon body flying off of the large base. The group was composed of about twenty soldiers, all well experienced and thoroughly trained in battle. The less experienced archers in Tracer the Sniper's Ranged Unit did not stand a chance.

The wicked general laughed as he watched his men slaughter the bow men. Running a hand through his slicked back black hair, he was quickly interrupted from his momentary hysterics by a tap on the soldier. Turning around, the man saw a teenage youth in black armor, the KoD insignia plastered on his chest plate. The young man's blue eyes looked scared, and his lip was quivering.

"Well?!," The impatient General demanded, "Out with it boy! What do you need?"

"General Braki, My name is Ensign Cinocal. I'm here to inform you that a vast majority of Ixian Knights have gathered in the East Tower. They've held themselves up and our men can't seem to break through the main entrance. My CO has asked for your aid in coming in with your unit from above to pincer their forces." The youth's soft voice, a voice not fit for war, seemed shaky at best, as if he were scared for his life.

"Stop being such a coward, Ensign. We'll help your unit." The General spoke before turning to his men. "Stop playing around boys and finish these Mystic Huggers off!" The sounds of blades meeting flesh seemed to echo in a symphony of sorts, resulting in a smile from the cruel commanding officer.

Cincoal lead the group to the East Tower of Ixian Castle with little effort, staining the stones red with the blood of warriors along the way. The younger man stood back and let the other soldiers charge forward, piling in all nineteen other men at one time. General Braki quickly lead behind the rush, planning to finish off anybody his well practiced unit did not kill for themselves.

When all twenty men arrived, however, they found the tower empty.

Turning around to Cincoal, Braki's eyes widened. The young boy had become something completely different. The black armor had remained, but seemed to coat the youth's entire body. A green visor was placed over the eyes of the being, and he grew a few extra inches. What had once been the youth's right harm had transformed into a canon of sorts. White light seemed to fill the inside of the weapon, and once the men heard the loud humming of the weapon, they all turned and tried to charge the man known as Cincoal, to no avail.

The blast produced by the cyborg Laconic's plasma Canon caused a loud explosion that rang throughout Ixian Castle. The East Tower began to blow up in several places, and crumble. It was a necessary step in order to gain an advantage of some sort against their aggressors. Sei would have to understand. The robot jumped back a few feet from the collapsing tower, looking down towards the altercations and tapping the side of his head. Several different outlines of soldiers came up, accompanied by pictures, and soon, Laconic found whom he was searching for.

"General Gretzel! Lady Aislinn is on the escape! Find the Oracle of Wind and you find her!"

[Hysteria]

The shallow sound of voices dropped and fell silent as the Knights of the Dawn moved away. Talen looked around the room hopelessly. There were three options laid out before him, to hunt and kill as many knights as he could find, track down and protect any survivors or run for it. None of the paths spoke to the youth, and the youngest Knight of the Ixians simply sat there.

“I'd run.”

Talen twisted suddenly and fell off the bed as he stared wide eyes at the ghostly apparition next to him. It was the cook that lay dead on the bed.

“But then I don't know how to fight.” The ghostly apparition looked down at his body, “I guess that is pretty evident.”

“Shouldn't you be in a better place or something?” Talen asked as he regained his composure, but remained sitting on the floor.

“How should I know? This is my first time.” The ghostly visage cracked a smile, “I can see things you know. I can see many people dying all across this castle. A lot of Knights from both sides are falling under each others blades.”

The ghost paused as it weighed up how to speak its mind.

“I have not done this before, but I have a request. There is a nurse, a woman who worked in the infirmary.” The ghost's eyes seemed to fill with life, if that was possible, “I don't think she every knew who I was, but she would always be polite in the mess hall and... well... I had a bit of a crush on her. She is trapped in the infirmary at the moment, her and many others. As my last request, I would much like it if you could save her.”

Talen looked into the pale face of the ghost and sighed. The youth was not as heartless as he acted, and he could not deny a final request. The ghost saw the boy's decision before he spoke it and smiled.

“You have my thanks.”

The image shimmered and was gone, once again leaving Talen alone in the room. The youth pushed himself to his feet and looked where the ghost had been. In its place was a small box, with the note 'For Katelyn'. The youth picked it up and slipped it into his pocket with a small grin. It wasnt everyday that one got to fulfill someone's last wishes. Talen drew his sword and lifted it up in front of him. The weight of the blade was calming, a sheltered storm from the chaos of battle. The youth took a mental note of his remaining spells, he had used many already and if he was not careful he would find himself stranded without protection.

Talen lowered his sword to his side and lifted up his free hand. Shadows lifted from his palm, bubbling up from the skin and solidifying into a black rose. Talen wondered what his best course of action was. There were bound to be a decent number trying to break through into the infirmary, and the youth knew he had to take that into account. He sheathed his sword and lifted his hand up and formed another of the black flowers. Both budding buds slowly started to open and with each petal that bloomed, the spells grew stronger. Talen walked from the room with a flower in each hand.

A cold stillness had descended on the halls, or perhaps it was Talen's mind that had become quiet. Through the walls the din of battle raged on and every so often the youth could faintly make out the sound of sword on sword and an occasional shout. Louder were Talen's foot steps across the stone floors, a thunderous fall in the quiet solitude. Talen slowed down as he approached the cross-section of halls that would lead him to the infirmary. With each step closer the sound of a large repeating bang grew. The youth edged to the corner and peered down the hall. About fifteen Knights of the Dawn were standing in front of the doors of the infirmary. Four of them carried a small battering ram, and swung it back and slammed it into the doors over and over. The thick wood of the door cracked and splintered, a few more hits and it would fall.

Talen dropped to a crouch and scanned the knights. They were mostly armoured with chainmail, with their faces bare. The youth knew that even if his spells did the very best possible, there would still be a few left. Talen would have to go in fast, strike down as many as possible, then finished the rest. The youth stood up and lent against the wall for a second to compose himself. His eyes lifted with steely determination and Talen bolted down the corridor towards the knights.

“Contact...” One of the knights smiled and pointed towards Talen, “Look, a crazy kid holding two flowers.”

Talen leapt into the air for no other reason than it felt right and thrust the two flowers forwards. The black petal exploded into the air, twisting and flying towards the knights in a torrent of spinning discs. There was a hail of petal on metal as the spell did its work. Knights cried out in pain and surprise as they fought against the swarm.

Talen landed and drew his sword and continued to charge forwards. The black clad child ducked, weaved and slashed his sword at the stunned knights. Sprays of blood and tarnished metal were the youth's reward as he and his spells managed to cut down ten of the fifteen. Talen skidded to a halt amoung the bodies as the remaining knights moved forwards. The youth backed away slowly as the figure of death approached and the only solution seemed to be retreat.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The knights stumbled forwards under a mysterious blow. Talen darted forward and thrust his sword into the face of one of the knight, a sickening squelch. Another monstrous blow and the knights fell. From behind the knights saw the mighty war hammer of Adolph and a wave of relief filled the youth.

“Talen! Good to see even the pipsqueaks of the Ixian Knights can take out so many knights.”

Talen smiled, even though Adolph had taken a leaf out of the annoying book that was Jensen Ambrose, he was a sight for tired eyes.

“Come, we should get into the infirmary.”

[Quentin Boone]

Enigmatic Immortal receives:

576 EXP
36 GP


Hysteria receives:

648 EXP
[*48] GP


SirArtemis receives:

143 EXP
12 GP


Silence Sei receives:

470 EXP
24 GP


Congratulations!

[Philomel]

Enigmatic Immortal:

Strengths:
-Your use of multiple characters was particularly strong. From the beginning you managed to keep track of your characters, and you knew precisely where they were throughout. It can be hard to lose track of characters in the heat of a battle.
-Your opening was particuarly strong, using many words and a punching awkening that opened the complicated thread and allowed a view into the world of the Mystic Battle. By leading the chase you managed to not open the thread with a punch but send a message through of your position in this fight.
-All in all your actions were all clear and precise, and your presence in the battle was considerably well focused and formed. Well done.

Weaknesses:
-Within your opening post there is a point when action sentences follow directly after speech. After a block of speech has been spoken there should be a new paragraph, and this sometimes disrupts the flow of the entire read. However, this is a minor point and can simply be corrected with a very quick scan before you post.
-All in all it would have been good to see more of Jensen, as your main character, a little more within the piece. It was clever the way he only appears at the end of the first post, but for having many characters this became a small weakness in your writing.
-You submit many names within your piece, some which are difficult to pronounce. For the scanning reader this becomes a stumbling block in the flow of reading, and though imagination is a great tool, sometimes it becomes difficult to continue.

Hysteria:

Strengths:
-One of your clear strengths is that the relationships between your characters is tremendously constructed. This is particularly strong between discussing Talen's reactions to the spirit Vaness, their conversations and the dynamics of their connections/friendship.
-Talen, despite being an incredibly powerful character was truly made connectable and appealing, in a way "human". This is particularly apparent when Talen acknowledges he needs to make his energy weapon stronger.
-Clarity being one of your greatest talents, you manage to obviously and rightly make the actions of your characters known and not vague.

Weaknesses:
-Your writing could have been assisted with an amount of imagery and metaphor. Similar to other writers in this thread it would have made it more advancing and perhaps exciting.
-Also you rely more on dialogue than on action in some cases. Try experimenting a little with your ratios.
-There is a tendency also here to "play it safe" and although you make actions clear there is some leeway into experiementing with text, sentence form and structure which could move your writing into various new exciting avenues.

Sir Artemis:

Strengths:
-Even those you wrote a little less than others, you managed to keep very well with the flow of the rest of the writing and use undeniable skill to carry your words across.
-There is a great amount of realism that you hold within Artemis that makes him likeable, and also causes the reader to feel sympathy for him. Being able to do this can sometimes be the key between boring writing and incredible writing and you have clearly hit the "very effective" end of this spectrum.
-Overall your description is beautiful, and by carrying on in such a style your writing will likely get only better.

Weaknesses:
-Though your description is good, you could have been slightly more ambitious with linguistic techniques, such as metaphor or personification. This would add another layer to your already good description and add a little more life to the general writing.
-Once or twice you missed the place where a new paragraph should be. A new paragraph should appear after every block of speech.
-It would have been good to see a little more of dialogue here, or perhaps a hint of what Artemis is thinking. Though his actions are clear and well written, the person beneath is also important, and how they feel.

Silence Sei:

Strengths:
-Well done for not letting the many characters, and the characters of others overwhelm the importance of your primary focus. Quodos shout-out for you here.
-Though your character is incredibly powerful, and your writing good, you do manage to keep him subtle at times and do not overwhelm the other players and allow them a chance to shine. An odd strength but a considerable one.
-Being one of the main writers here you kept post length, constant. Along with a good use of sentence structure and correct spelling, altogether this fitted together with the many other writers.

Weaknesses:
-Again, similar to others you could have used more techniques. A simple bit of imagery can change a boring paragraph into something magical.
-Sometimes your actions and the writing itself seemed a little staccato and awkward. This is unfortunately due to adding in more characters, which confuses the flow of the entire piece.
-Also, there is slightly too much reliance on dialogue here, particularly in post 7 where you have a mass of conversation and a lack of correct puncuation. A new paragraph should always appear after a clause or segment of speech.

[Alyssa Snow]

EXP & GP Added!