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Post by Kuma on Dec 16, 2016 5:58:56 GMT
Darkness.
Infinite Darkness.
Hallways carved in shadows deep beneath the ground, hiding from the sun. Echoless chambers that never once were lighted, neither by nature or the human hand. Spiralling staircases of obsidian, the material in which this oppressive darkness was trapped within, crossed paths like roots from a great old tree, reaching deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth, like clawed fingers digging down escaping from the sunlight. In the lowest level a tomb… no, a cage for an ancient evil that rests bound by arcane secrets and relics. Once a powerful Aztec Sage, or at least a Shaman, Ontenamoyeloz, who unearthed mysterious powers no man should possess, was the prisoner of this crypt, brought to this resting place during the twilight years of the Aztec Empire. For centuries he lied there dormant, still restrained in the frontier between life and death. He became a living embodiment of Death, borrowing power from Mictlatecutli, God of the Underworld.
But now, after so many years something woke him up. And the dark energies swirling inside his body have started to flood the surroundings of his prison, a “windowless house” built inside a vein of Obsidian surging from a dead volcano. The necrotic wave slowly expands killing everything around the temple and bringing it back to life, turning them into slaves of the Sleeping Avatar. They move outwards chasing more living beings to fuel the awakening of their new lord. Yet nobody actually knew about this, they only saw the Undead as a symptom of a misplaced spell or a low-level necromancer meddling. The Hidden World Organizations in North America gave the situation little to no importance, as they mostly focused on the cities rather than the countryside. In fact they were almost happy about it happening in the desert, as it was easier to cover up rather than actually sending people to deal with it.
Still this wasn’t a circumstance easily ignored by the Hidden World Community, either the ones nearby by or ones extremely far away. As the HW Organization from USA had created a quarantine area around the undead blight the BHA branch in America couldn’t act, but people quickly realized that the same restriction didn’t affect the other branches. So a young Hidden World Academic, Roderick Roode, decided to use his wealth, amassed through exploration and recovery of magical relics, to hire somebody from the highly regarded Yatagarasu Branch of the Bounty Hunter Association. But thanks to the situation in Japan the BHA couldn’t send a whole group of individuals to help with the issue that forced Roderick to vacate his latest dig-site, yet he was insistent enough, and was willing to put the money, to hire at least one Bounty Hunter for the job, and the Yatagarasu Branch sent somebody who had equal parts experience dealing with and boiling hatred against the undead. Callis Nomene.
1 Mile away from the Quarantine Area
Callis new clothing wasn’t magical, unlike the set of Knightly clothes he brought from his Home Dimension. Still whoever did it, surely a seamstress hired by his colleagues of the Yatagarasu Branch, did an excellent job including advanced techniques and fabrics that didn’t exist on Centris. That’s how, even covered head to toe, under the blazing sun, The Beast Knight wasn’t sweating. Part of it was his natural resistance to the elements, thanks to his Saevus blood. He walked towards the lavish tent Roderick had set as the center of his camp. The travel was quite puzzling to the Beast Knight, as until now he had only taken a plane once, so the experience was a mixture of surprise and bewilderment each time he peaked out the window. There were similar machines back on his world, but they were either magical powered and old, so the power they once had was barely there, only able to fly, or there were actual mechanical flying machines, which were more in the lines of gliders or rudimentary ultra-light planes.
-Excuse me, I’m coming in.- He might be quite inflexible about certain topics, but the Beast Knight was adaptable when it came to the customs of other people and after living for a couple of years in Japan he had already started to emulate their customs, mostly because he actually like the traditional emphasis and courtesy rules that existed in the country of the Rising Sun. He almost took started to take off his boots before stopping this almost automatic act and looking at his employer. -Come on in, make yourself comfortable.- Roderick was a man on his early 30’s, with a buzzcut, more out of comfort than style, sturdy body, square chin… well you could say he was really square, as his broad shoulder sloped down in an almost 90 degree angle. Seemingly he used to play Football during college. -Or at least try to, sorry for the mess.- He added while pointing around him with both hands. The tent was a mess of dirty equipment, clothing and papers. For a moment Callis showed a moment of discomfort, as he was more on the tidy and ordered side, but the sucked his momentary disgust down his throat and inquired about the situation as he introduced himself. -Greetings, I’m Callis Nomene, member of the BHA Yatagarasu Branch, you’re Roderick Roode I suppose.- The Beast Knight did a small reverence as he talked. -I’ve only read an outline of the situation, so I was hoping if you could further explain the circumstances on the region to facilitate my job.-
The Archeologist looked at Callis with an amused look, noticing that the Beast Knight didn’t even attempt to sit down or rest. -Well aren’t you a stoic one! Going straight to point- He moved closer and patted Callis shoulder looking at him with shining eyes. -I like that!- He proclaimed with a big dumb smile as he waded through the hoarded equipment towards the nearest desk. -Just let me -WHOAH!- Roderick attempted to pick something from the desk, a map, from what Callis could see, but he tripped on a knotted rope falling flat on his face. For the first time since he entered the tent the Beast Knight moved attempting to help his employer to get up, but in a very dramatic gesture Roderick raised his hand without lifting his face from the ground, stopping Callis on his tracks. -Don’t worry, I’m okay.- He started getting up. -I’m used to it already.- The archeologist turned around with his nose broken and blood pouring out from his nostrils like a torrent. Without any semblance of pain he cracked his nose back into place and used two piece of nearby paper to block the nostrils with small balls. He smiled, half of his face covered in blood. -I’ve cooped up here for 2 weeks already, getting 1 or 2 scrapes isn’t going to push me down.-
-Are you sure that you are okay Mes Roode?- Callis asked quite confused about the man’s resistance to pain. As stoic as he was even the Beast Knight would at least wince if he broke his nose like that, even more if he fixed it back into place. -Yeah, I’m made of a sturdier material than most, don’t worry about me.- He shaked his hand downplaying the issue, talking with a nasal voice, having his nostrils clogged with bloody paper. -Here.- He finally passed the map to Callis who looked at it. There was a large X marked on it and around it a large circle in red ink. Roderick pointed at the x. -My old camp was nearby this location, I got evacuated by the local HW authorities.- He traced the circle with his fingertip. -And this marks the perimeter of the quarantine area, something really weird started to happen in the area, the dead are roaming the Earth again.- The sole mention of undead shifted the atmosphere around Callis, until now he was like an iceberg, cold, resilient and silent, but the idea of the living dead walking nearby ignited a flame of determination behind his eyes and deep within his heart. Even with some encounters a couple of months ago making him re-think his stance on the undead vermin he still felt animosity for the rotten bastards.
-So, undead are crawling inside that zone and you want me to exterminate them?- The fiery conviction escaped his chest riding his words as steeds, almost every muscle in Callis’ body started to tighten as he uttered this question. This wasn’t hatred or rage, just the dutiful heart of a Knight burning inside him. Roderick chuckled, thinking that Callis was joking, but he quickly realized, noticing the sapphire embers the Beast Knight’s eyes turned into that he wasn’t joking and stopped laughing as swiftly as he started. -No, I don’t want you to exterminate them all, I’m only hiring you to retrieve a relic I found during my excavation and I couldn’t take with me.- The Dashing Archaeologist showed Callis a tablet with a photo on the screen. A small dagger, possibly a ceremonial knife, made completely in Obsidian with an intrincate handle made out of gold. The Beast Knight intensity dropped several levels upon hearing this and his employer noticed it, so he quickly added. -I don’t actually care how you get it, if you want to move in a spiral pattern cleaning up the area before reaching it I don’t see any issue.- With those words the aura around Callis exploded once again.
-I’ll get the relic.- The Beast Knight proclaimed as he walked out the tent. -Wait don’t you want to rest up?- Roderick asked, trying to open a space for Callis to sit down. -No.- The Knight refused as he opened the tent door. -Eradicating undead vermin is something that takes precedent to everything else.- He closed the door, map in hand, moving towards the Quarantine Zone with confident strides as the tail of his coat waved behind him, pushed by the desert winds.
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Post by Iris on Dec 16, 2016 7:08:09 GMT
It was rare that Aria went out of her way to assist anyone, or anything, outside of her own tribes. So when the strange plea trickled through the tribes, moving along the grapevines of their different, yet so similar cultures, Aria found herself dutifully contemplating the task. Much further south from their position, one of the more sparse and scattered tribes had been asking its nearby brethren for assistance, but they were continuously being denied, seeing as how their kind’s nature was one of cautious footing already; so what exactly had Aria seriously considering this request? Truthfully, it was something she had wanted to consider, or even think about, but Aria could smell the discourse flourishing in their communities; their kind was disappearing and Aria wanted nothing more than to keep her people alive, keep them flourished, and that meant taking certain steps that she didn’t want to.
“You’re going to honor the Nantan request, Aria?” The elderly woman’s voice chatted idly beside her large leader’s relaxed, yet stoic form that sat, filling up the entire center space of her tent. Over a pair of crossed paws with claws that put many knives to shame, Aria’s large head stared silently forward with a thoughtful, yet troubled expression brewing beneath her large, golden eyes.
Aria only let out a loud, heavy exhale that blew the opening of her tent back and forth slightly, acknowledging the woman next to her. “It’s an interesting choice to make. They’re a very small tribe, that much is certain, even smaller than ours. The desert’s an awfully difficult place to live… perhaps that’s why they’re so small.” Thinking out loud, the woman next to her twisted strands of long, matted hair in Aria’s coat, turning them into fine strands that she slid solid blue stones and beads into, weaving them with a deft mastery in her weathered hands. “Not many seem to like them much; I believe they’re claimed as “scroungers?” It’s certainly strange of you to consider going all the way out there on your own…” Numek, the elderly woman who’d been in Aria’s life long since her beginning days, took on a much more motherly and stern tone at this juncture. “Aria, I understand what you’re aiming to do...but…-” A loud, dissonant sound left the beast’s maws in answer, gruff and quick like a choked out bark. She was dismissing the woman’s words without the desire to be scolded on the matter, yet unlike her many tribesmen who would have given up, Numek just...kept going. “You’re the Chief, Aria. Certainly you know what we can and can’t do without you, what if you were to get hurt? You bandage yourself about as well as a fish lives on land.” Another loud sniff, a deep and wet exhale from her warm snout while a quick, dismissive growl left her, Aria didn’t wish to acknowledge the truth of the humiliating statement.
With a massive stretch, causing Numek to drop the hair she’d been working on, Aria gave her body a great, massive shake that buffeted the air and made the skins of her tent flap wildly before suddenly, she shrank. Her fur gave way to a messy head of unkempt hair and the nude, dark woman was simply scoffing as she sat down, her legs crossed while she scratched at the back of the small pair of ears atop her head. “It’s not that simple and you know it, Numek. We need all the support of tribes we can get. When I met with the tribe that lives further east, they were all but gone. The humans keep pushing in their lands, building their disgusting metal villages that fill the air with stink and poison; if it keeps up much longer, they’ll certainly die.” Grumbling to herself, the stoic chief seemed more like a sullen child as she lamented the states of their brethren. “The Nantan are small and already live on a thin line of survival and death, they’re hardy and fast and if things came down to it, I’d prefer to have them with me...than against me. Now, more than ever as the humans hunt us and take our land...we need to be together. If I don’t honor the request, no one will.” Holding her palm out in exclamation, Aria’s clawed fingers curled into a fist as she felt the heat of hatred rise like a simmering bile in her throat; her distaste for humans was disgustingly strong. “I can honor this request and then, by honor, when we need their help, they’ll return the favor. I’m not going to let us die out as well.”
It was only after a heated altercation of two forces, unmovable in their thinking, that Aria had used her authority over Numek to finally get her way. As Aria saw it, there simply was no easier way to do this; either gather allies and risk injury, or sit still and watch her people and alliances slowly trickle away.
Traveling the great distance had been daunting, even for a beast of her speed and stamina. Not to mention the ever growing change in temperature was abrasive for her, a wolf whose coat was better suited for the intense and unforgiving nature of a wild winter.
The desert was definitely the worst place she’d encountered in a very, very long time. The heat bearing down on her coat, which withheld the great warmth, was making her pant vehemently with every grand stride; having to take great detours to avoid human contact certainly didn’t make the trip easier.
It took her a great time getting there, but finally Aria could smell the strange, sandy scent of the tribe she’d come to assist. Of course she was greeted in a manner that would only be understandable with their small numbers and even smaller allies; an intense and great hostility. Yet she felt no threat from them and when she fully came forward to the two lean wolves that’d come to meet her, she could sense the sheer instinctual fear they’d had towards her as they’d sized her up; and what a great size it was. Their kind were much more small, much more lean, their forms lankier to allow them easier traveling within the scorching sun, as well as an easier way to gain their speed to catch the very elusive prey of the deserts. Aria, on the other hand, was built like a wall of a beast; all fur, claw, and muscle. Needless to say, she easily pressed forward and in the unspoken language only their kind could understand, she conveyed her message.
The leader was a small and scrawny man whose tawny skin was covered in dark, black soot markings that held a meaning she didn’t entirely understand. Not to mention, his accent was definitely a bit more difficult for her to understand...but sitting across from each other, the tired man could only stare at her with incredulous surprise. “You’ve actually come to help us?” Aria shook her hair clean of the sand she’d been gathering before looking back to the man, nodding in answer. “Just tell me what it is that needs to be done, at this time more than ever we have to stick together.” The man, obviously apprehensive, began to explain the tale of recent events. With every word, the air in the camp became more morose and Aria’s mood began to grow ever-more foul; to tamper with the dead was a disgusting transgression, yet to bring them to life again? Unforgivable. “I know we don’t have the best relationship with the other tribes...but we need your help. These dead...they aren’t just the bodies of those lost to the sands, but some are even our brethren, meant to walk forever in the warmth of a bountiful sun. But here they are, risen again..desecrated...they’ll never get to feel the warmth of eternal sand again. I beg of you, Potawatomi Chief...I need you to find what, or who is doing this, and stop them.” Aria’s gaze glistened with a fire greater than the measly coals in front of them, her teeth growing ever bared. “I’ll end it.”
The tribe leader begged upon her one more favor as she’d prepared the next day to leave towards the site she’d been directed to. “Potawa, I have one more request.” Aria had been tying the straps to her body, a large cloak covering the rest of her skin; something Numek had found for her recently. In her right hand, she held her spear and her fingers, lined in intricately painted red rings, tightened hard around its shaft as she looked to him beneath her hood. “What is it?”
The sheer air she was giving off made him nervous and antsy, he didn’t want to be around her any longer than he had to…”If...while you’re out there, you see any of...our kind walking again, I wish for you to…” He couldn’t even say it, but the pain in his eyes echoed a feeling she could empathize with. Aria briskly nodded, gruffly grunting in agreement as her calloused feet pressed into the sand. “I’ll take care of it.”
It’d taken her much longer on foot to make it to the area, but Aria figured that her beast form was simply too large and easy to spot, at least she could be somewhat stealthier like this...if not for the sheer aura of emanating wrath she was feeling. Any beast close enough could feel it, the simmering sort of heat that met head on with the scorching heat of the sands that she perused slowly, sniffing at the hot air for a trace of something, anything, but she was coming up empty...until a foul stench hit her nose, along with a dreadful sort of feeling that slithered up her spine like serpent.
Atop a dune, Aria’s cloaked and imposing form looked out over the horizon, attempting to pick out whatever it was causing that disgusting feeling to rise, but all she could see for miles was a sandy area, disturbed clearly by human intervention...but it was empty. She couldn’t find their stench anywhere recently on the plot of land, but she just knew something was here...that was when, with her great sight, that she spotted a caped figure in the distance with the scent of something both foreign and familiar lingering around it. Whatever it was, it was alive and it wasn’t from this land; it didn’t carry that warm, heated smell she’d encountered. No, no, this was something different...it was almost reminiscent of her kind, but it was still far too foreign for that.
Regardless, Aria’s eyes narrowed to golden slits as she hunched down and slowly made her way behind a nearby, disturbed rock. Crouched against the golden sands, sniffing intently while remaining unmoving, Aria began to ponder her thoughts and actions. Was this an enemy? What was it doing here? Was it the cause of what was happening...and should she attack? Being headstrong and hasty here would be her undoing, not to mention that it was so terribly bright and hot out, that transforming would more likely hinder her than anything.
Frustrated and still feeling her deep distaste for the disturbance of the area, Aria lay in wait, a predator watching silently to see if this was really prey or not and gods help them if she decided they were worth killing.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 20, 2016 3:08:54 GMT
Callis advanced with light and calculated steps. He was familiars with desertic areas, as two large deserts were part of Centris’ geography. As his trail of footstep grew longer he couldn’t avoid go back to those times, first travelling through the desolate white sands of Ater Arva and much later on his life crossing the great Aurealis Desert to reach the Gine Confederation in the southern extreme of the continent. A half smile appeared on his face as he remembered the thrill of exploring new lands after spending most of his life in Via. The Beast Knight’s smile vanished as he realized that in most of those memories he was either being chased for not being enough of a Viani or for being a Viani. He looked around for a second, almost guilty of showing frustration, and clucked his tongue, sighed and lowered his eyes, stopping for a moment, until he felt a chill coursing his spine.
Something was off.
The Beast Knight lifted his head as his body started to tense up, instinctively preparing for the upcoming combat, if there would be one. -Somebody is watching me.- He muttered, his eyes slowly narrowing into slits as he scanned the area around him. He could feel the eyes locked on him, yet he couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary, as the wind was strong and whoever was watching, if there was somebody, might be trailing him while considering his scent. Callis took a couple of tentative steps forward as his fingers twitched, ready to close around the handles of yet to be summoned Notio Gladius. But then he felt something, a slight rumble on the floor, vibrations moving through the sand, making them too diffuse to pinpoint their source. The Beast Knight could almost hear a sound, almost too inaudible to even be heard by him.
Suddenly sound wasn’t the only thing he was noticing as lines in the sand started to darken, moving towards him like invisible snakes. The pale yellow sand turned ocher, then deep brown and finally got a shiny black finish. The Beast Knight tried to think fast, running towards a close by rock formation, his coat tails waving behind him as he was rushing against the wind. The black sand started emitting a glow, moving from the original black spot and expanding through the erratic lines drawing ever closer to Callis’ back. The light glow became lines of lights surging upwards, waving like fabric on the wind, always following the trail of black sand. This sudden luminescence was quickly followed by light scratching noises, as if something was digging in the sand. The Beast Knight, who managed to jump over the rock, escaping the mysterious black sand, looked in awe and terror as dried up flesh bursted from below the dunes.
Undead humans crawled out of the sand, dried up husks with old and ragged leather garments hanging from their almost skeletal bodies, as their flesh had vanished to predations leaving only parchment thin skin over the dusty and stained bones. Right after them larger masses of bones awakened from their deadly slumber, horses, as depleted of flesh as what seemed to be their fallen riders, standing up while lifting buckets of sands that after floating for a second drifted downwards, sliding off the broken and ragged saddles. -By the Ancient Magus!- Callis exclaimed as the black sand stopped expanding and the light grew dimmer until vanishing. -How many kind of undead vermin does this world hold?- He wondered, talking to nobody in particular, as he examined the currently slow moving reanimated cowboys, surely travellers who found their death in this treacherous desert long ago.
One could say that in the spectrum of the undead, from rotten voodoo zombie to well conserved Vampire they were in the Crunchy category, dried up piles of bones closer to reanimated skeletons than anything else. Two peculiar features were the focus of Callis’ attention. First they were holding weapons, meaning some semblance of dexterity was still in their skillset. Second, and more important, was the black ragged rocks that moved through their bones like climbing plants, entangled in the cracks and joints like veins of precious minerals deep in a mine. The density of the material grew larger towards the spine and the neck, surely having some kind of node inside the head, as their eyeholes were clogged with the material, so were their throats and mouths, making it seem like ebony stars were sprouting out of their skulls. A green gleam, in the middle of the crystals seemed to be working as their proper iris, giving them an eerie stare.
The Beast Knight summoned one of this blades, surging like an ivory thunderbolt from his arm, forming into a longsword. He was in a feral-like stance, crouched over the rock, with both legs and one hand gripping the surface, his muscles retracting like springs ready to propel him towards the clumsy creatures, that slowly dragged their tattered boots over the sand, mixing the black with the pale yellow sedimentary powders as they advanced. -Come on creatures of the Underworld!- Callis proclaimed with a flourish of his sword. -Meet the Knight who will send you back to your everlasting rest.- The Beast Knight wasn't one for this kinds of boasts, at least not in public, but many of his BHA comrades had insisted on him becoming a bit more verbose, as they told him that his usual restrained and uncommunicative demeanor during missions was counterproductive for their job and truth to be told, quite boring. So he decided to attempt some verbal fencing this time around, as a test, considering that nobody was around. (Or at least he thought so)
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Post by Iris on Dec 20, 2016 23:56:37 GMT
Years of living for the hunt had taught Aria many things; patience was one of them. The golden eyed chieftain lay low and quiet, her breathing shallow and controlled even as the winds struck the desert’s golden sands, sending the sharp grain against her weathered skin. Yet even with all her expertise, Aria noted the change in the being’s behavior from afar; the overall tension of its body, the change in their walk, the slight looking around...like deer when the heard the foreign snapping of a twig. They were aware she was here.
Similarly, Aria’s eyes narrowed while she felt her teeth beginning to grind together slightly. Not knowing if Callis was the cause for all of this, or not, was driving her crazy; she’d love to snap him in half if it was him after all, but unwanted altercations was something she’d like to avoid. Even if it was driving her stir-crazy.
Aria started just faintly from her position, the strange noise of the desert foreign and odd; did these places always make this kind of noise in the middle of nowhere? Yet looking back to the figure in the distance, noting the strange events occurring against the sand, even Aria’s lack of familiarity with the desert let her know that this was simply no common occurrence...and it was doubly noted when the corpses began rising from their sandy prisons.
Heat boiled in Aria’s chest at the sight of the desecrated dead, their bodies no better than twig kindling if not for the dark rocks inside of them. Having previously had an encounter with some unwanted rock creature before had left a bad taste in her mouth where these were particularly involved...and the taste only grew as her hatred for such an insult grew. The dead had no need to be brought back, they’d lived their lives and whether it was good or not was not hers to judge, she just simply believed that the dead should stay DEAD.
The man’s grand speech was drowned out beneath the rushing and pulsing blood in her ears, the patience of her hunt disappearing as quickly as it’d appeared. Did this individual really have time to stroke their ego as the innocent bodies of the dead were brought back like some kind of sick puppetry act?! With a loud snarl that echoed even across the gap that bridged between the two, Aria felt her hands tense and tighten against her stone, the claws threatening to expand while she scraped them against the solid surface, peeling into it as if it were soft, warm clay. Aria couldn’t just stand by and let this continue any longer; if this person was any danger to her, she’d take him out too!!
Her cloak poured out from behind her, thrown high into the air and fluttering faintly like the passing of a bird’s wings; in the same instant, the dark-skinned woman stood with a flourish of her large spear at her side, spun wildly before she grasped it and with her feet firmly planted, Aria sucked in one whistling breath, teeth clenched so tightly her jaw hurt, and with all of her frightening physical strength poured into the shaft...she threw it, the spear making an even sharper whistle as it aimed towards the nearest, human-sized reanimated she saw fit. However, the spear wasn’t the most frightening part of the encounter, it was the shredding of the faint traces of cloth that had been bound to her body, after. Aria was giving in, gladly, willing to walk with her beast into this battle and come out victorious.
Atop the stone which seemed pathetically small in comparison to her earlier, Aria’s large paws had her situated proudly for the moment and she threw her head back, letting out an ear-shattering howl before her paws crushed through the top of the rock with sheer force as she rocketed forward, teeth gleaming with hot saliva, barrelling her way forwards with the intention of taking them all out in crushing blows between her teeth, or simply by barrelling into them with speed and strength similar to being hit by a car. She didn’t care if the stranger tried her here, she figured she would be more than enough to instill the fear of the wild into him as well.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 21, 2016 4:35:15 GMT
Callis jumped off the rock, with a dashing start as he pushed against it to charge forward. The Beast Knight was only using a single blade, even if he was fighting undead, because he wanted to measure the kind of power the enemy had, so a single blade, with tighter defense would be ideal for that. He lunged with a half step, flourishing his blade into a stabbing motion. He aimed directly at the head, theorizing that whatever that black mineral was it might be the cause of the reanimation. “I hope this works” Callis thought as the tip of his shining blade was about to reach the eyehole. -CLANK!- To the Beast Knight’s surprise the blade didn’t pierce through the substance, bouncing against it, sending the recoil of the failed attack through his muscles and bones. Callis was shocked, as this was the first time his newfound weapons failed him, as up until now they had cut anything that lacked their power.
As he back-stepped, rising his guard, the Beast Knight considered the possibility of these creatures being reanimated with the same power as the one he used to summon his blades, but he quickly dismissed that thought, while also parrying a rusty knife slash coming from the undead he attacked. The weapon collapsed upon clashing with Callis’ blade, incapable of resisting the edge of the Notio Gladius. Once again he prepared to attack, a riposte to the failed slash by his opponent. This time around the Beast Knight aimed at one of the joints. The Black Mineral was thin enough to be affected so his blade sunk through the dried up bone, leaving an alabaster stream of light behind the slash. The undead’s arm dropped to the sand, but clearly it didn’t seem to bother him. The Beast Knight was wondering how would he defeat them but as he pondered that he heard the whistling of a weapon flying through the air.
One of the undead, who was closing in besides one of the skeleton horses was caught off-guard by the spear, that pierced through his raggedy get-up and cobweb infested ribs, coming out from the other side, ending up impaled into the horse spine. Neither seemed to feel pain, even with bone chips flying off their bodies, but as the horse moved the spear shaft started to sway. The vibration, added to the way the spear was intertwined with the Undead Cowboy’s body made for an excellent disassembler. The worn out ligaments couldn’t take the movement, almost as unnatural as the fact they were helping a pile of bones to move, and snapped. many body parts falling limply on the sand. The Beast Knight was retreating, vaulting with a one handed round-off over the stone to gain some distance as his eyes couldn’t avoid focusing first of the spear and then following the trajectory at the transfigured Aria.
-In the name of the Unda Horde, what is that?- He asked, keeping an eye on the slow moving menace as The Firm Chief charged like a bull towards the Undead Vermin. What followed could be easily described as a “strike” if I’m allowed to borrow a word from the Bowling lexicon. The Wolf Warrior crashed like a wrecking ball against the humanoid piles of bones and tattered clothing. What followed was a literal rain of bones, as each part of the creatures flew upwards and then fell into the sand. Callis deflected some of them, the ones falling over him, but he couldn’t avoid staring at the creature before him. He had met werewolves before, but this was the first time he met one as powerful as Aria seemed to be. He didn’t know what to say or how to introduce himself to the newcomer. He didn’t even know if she was an ally. Yet his trusting nature took over and he moved out of his cover, dispelling his blade and moving with both hands over his head.
-I mean you no harm.- The Beast Knight caught a glimpse of her transforming, so he knew she had an humanoid form. -I’m Callis Nomene, Former Knight of the Kingdom of Via, currently employed by the Bounty Hunter Association.- He stopped walking right besides the rock. -I was tasked by my current employer to procure a relic he unearthed during an archeological expedition inside the quarantine zone.- The Beast Knight slowly moved his hand to his jacket pocket and pulled out his BHA ID. -Could you return to your humanoid form so we can talk about this? Maybe we can collaborate if what brings you here is similar to what bring me here.- Callis always attempted to use diplomacy whenever was possible, plus he didn’t feel that fighting against a giant wolf that destroyed a whole troop of enemies, which he was barely starting to understand, in a single swoop, was smart.
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Post by Iris on Dec 22, 2016 0:32:17 GMT
There was a high to the thrill of both battle and hunt that never left Aria, even when she was just a young pup. The feeling of her blood coursing, her breaths held tight in her chest only to be let out in snarls of victory or defeat, the sensation of her body being at a peak that she never felt anywhere outside of her beast...she’d never get over the sensation! Through this, the veiled excitement that mingled with her fury felt palpable as she tore into the measly corpses easily, only stopping when she felt no more resistance around her. Yet now, she was faced with a new encounter. ..one that she hadn’t decided what to do with.
Tensely, Aria watched the man walk from behind the large rock with his hands clearly showing his passivity, but Aria didn’t make it to where she was by blindly trusting. Giving a great shake of her body, causing the loud clinking of her beads and the remaining bone fragments that had landed on her hide, Aria let out a great exhale from her snout before baring her teeth with a vicious snarl of warning; she’d assume he’d seen and she wouldn’t hesitate to continue her work if he tried her. However, her demeanor immediately changed as she heard him, clear as day ...speak her language.
One would think she’d be pleased, but a sudden wrath filled her. This man wasn’t part of her tribes, or any for that matter, he didn’t carry the scent at all...and despite the bettered relations of some tribes with the people who invaded their lands, their language was simply too complicated to learn that easily, that young...and this man didn’t seem old in the slightest. Her shift was a strange one, something that happened in practically the blink of an eye. In the place of the large, lumbering beast was the bare body of the dark skinned female, her body covered in a mixture of hairs, bright scars, and dark red paint that made stories and trails along her flesh. Her long, gray hair was messy and braided in random portions, shaking with the same beads that had been on the beast and she popped her neck from side to side, glaring at Callis with a barely held back fury. Aria crossed her arms over her chest, holding her head high and her gaze looking down as far as she could on him, spitting her words as if she were disgusted at the idea of even talking to him, but she had questions and wasn’t leaving without answers. “Your words mean nothing to me. I want to know how you speak my language. Your accent is foreign and you barely smell of a wet pup. Callis Nomene, Former Knight? Kingdom of Via? You’re no member of any tribe I know and I know them all.” And aggressively she came forward, a snarl just barely hidden under her lips, a deep rumble in her chest as she spoke, her deep desire to protect her culture, land, and people from the outside world that she felt would sooner destroy them than help. “How do you know?” Her voice boomed out, powerful and unwilling to take silence or excuses for an answer. This wasn't even a question, this was a demand.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 22, 2016 3:10:42 GMT
Callis stopped talking as Aria’s transformation begun. For a moment he didn’t actually realized what was happening until it was too late. The sight and smell of the Firm Chief’s naked body hit him like a slap, making him take an instinctive step backwards, his hand dropping his BHA badge. A cold shiver crossed the Beast Knight’s spine as she walked forward, once again he took another step backwards as his eyes wandered away from Aria’s body, searching anything else they could focus on. Finally he found what to focus on, his own boots, as the sound of his heels knocking against the rock, signaling that he wasn’t able to take any more steps back, so he lowered his eyes. She kept advancing and he heard her questions and demands, still he was a bit too shocked to reply. For a moment he thought that the words would never come out from his throat, as if the wind from his lungs was trapped by an invisible cage. Finally he managed to stutter a reply.
-Eh...m-m-ma-ma-magic.- He only uttered that word as he pointed at his own throat. -I-I-I’m…- His breathing was getting heavier and started feeling light headed. -U-us-us-usi-using…- His natural resistance to the elements protected his skin from burning under the sun, yet right now his face was a red as the back of sunbather who forgot to put lotion, as the blood rushed to his head. -A...a… S-s-s-spell…- Finally he lowered his arms, not by his own initiative but out of the sudden weakness of his muscles, shivering out of embarrassment and shock. -I-I-I-I m-m-me-mean yo-yo-you no-no harm…- He kept forcing his vocal cords, making it painfully clear that talking was an effort for him in this situations. Finally his courtly manners kicked in, removing his red coat and stretching it towards Aria, while facing to the side, trying to avoid looking at her. -P-p-please c-co-cover yo-your-yourself u-u-up.- Callis invited her to use his coat while struggling not to faint right there. He was wearing a sleeveless blue sports shirt underneath, revealing his scar-ridden arms, maybe even more scarred than the sum of Aria's whole body.
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Post by Iris on Dec 22, 2016 8:27:00 GMT
“Magic?” She spat the word skeptically, only pressing her advance forward, effectively leaving no escape from the bare distance between the two. Up close, Aria smelled of something wild, borderline feral, a stench of wood and leaf mingling beneath the hot sun and the few inches she had on Callis were enough to allow her to seemingly tower above him, looking down on him as he stuttered and therefore, wasted her time. “Stop your pathetic whimpering. You use magic to understand me, is that it? You filthy…” Aria felt her blood boiling; so now the outside was using magic to defile her tongue too? Could her kind just not live in peace without being touched in any way by the outside? Her tongue clicked against her teeth as she tried to cool her head, angrily grinding her teeth until her jaw hurt. This pathetic man that trembled before her meant her no harm, and she’d foolishly dare him to try if she didn’t have more important things to do...though there was something she was unwillingly curious about.
When Callis offered her clothing, telling her to cover herself, she merely roughly pushed his hand aside and leaned in to the man bearing his body with futility to his cause of getting her clothed; Aria hated clothing and the only thing she hated more was accepting it from someone she didn’t even begin to trust. “What are you then, exactly. You smell wild, but you aren’t, are you?” Her golden eyes were narrowed, probing and she breached the barrier of personal space, inhaling and sniffing much similarly to an animal, invading his scent. “I don’t like it.” Bluntly, Aria gave her searing review and pulled away, turning her back on Callis as she finally left to give him space, intent on getting her OWN clothing back.
After having left the heated sand behind with her words, Aria brought up the cloak her elder had given her, giving it an easy shake to rid it of some sand before tying the neck tight back over her body, only making her way back in powerful strides as she pulled her spear from the ground, giving it a singular spin. Sheathing it to the holster on the back of her cloak, Aria made her way back to Callis to climb over the rock he’d been on, grunting as she stood on the top and begin sniffing again, all she needed to do was smell the stench that this horrid place offered in order to find it. “There’s a problem in this desert and I intend to fix it. Good luck surviving if all you intend to do is quiver.” With that, she hopped off on the opposite side, a low rumble in her chest as Callis’s disconcerting scent wiggled its way beneath her skin, mingling with the sand this place incessantly offered. Something about the way he smelled, like a caged beast… “Beasts aren’t meant to be caged…” She pondered out loud, her beliefs burning with an overwhelming fire. ”They’re meant to run free.”
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Post by Kuma on Dec 23, 2016 2:12:33 GMT
-I-I-I-I’m j-j-just a-a-an ad-ad-adven-adventurer.- Callis tried to explain after she rejected his coat. He could barely breath as her scent was basically intoxicating at this point, as much as he tried he wasn’t able to take it, much more of it would possibly knock him out… or maybe something worse. As she inquired further about him, pointing out his feral half. He tried his best to reply, fighting against his stutter. -I-I-I-I’m a-a-a kni-knight… I-I-I-I’m n-no b-beast.- He was actually a bit offended by her attitude and her words, but at the moment his whole body was closer to collapse than any semblance of functionality, his legs feeling like jello after each sniff of her musk. Finally she walked away, the Beast Knight leaning against the rock behind him, completely exhausted. Luckily for him it seemed she went to search her own clothing, and now that Aria was a bit more covered, and a bit further away he could breath again.
Callis stared at her as she moved. She behaved just like the Saevus back on his world. Even if half of his heritage came from that fierce race of warriors he couldn’t feel less connected with them even if he tried, as he disliked them, too open-hearted, too easy to trust others, too harsh on their judgments, with volatile personalities. When she grew closer and declared her intent Callis felt a bit relieved, as she was on a path that didn’t put her on a collision course with his mission. Once again she pointed at the beast that lies deep within Callis, but to the surprise of the Beast Knight, who at first thought she was condemning him for having such monster being part of him, she was actually chastising him for trapping it under the lock and key of his discipline and determination. A bit less flustered Callis started replying to her. -You say… you say that, but…- He looked away, his face a stern mask of seriousness with just the fading red on his cheeks remaining.
-Whatever is caged inside me isn’t myself.- The Knight finally raised his head, for the first time since the encounter, locking his blue eyes directly into Aria’s. -I don’t want to lose myself to whatever lurks within me.- This short burst of seriousness died out as soon as it started, with him once again losing the rigidity on his expression and turning away, still a bit intimidated by Aria. But as this happened, imperceptible for him and surely for Aria as well the bones scattered around were starting to get swallowed underneath the sand.
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Post by Iris on Dec 23, 2016 20:44:30 GMT
Aria’s body visibly tensed, even beneath the dark, tattered green cloak, causing the small strands of miscellaneous beads and small victory charms tied just beneath the head of her spear to catch the bright, midday light. Her voice was stern and savage, an unbridled disappointment and disgust in the heat of her words. “You deny the one that will always be with you.” Aria felt a personal offense to his words; a deep distaste born from a past she wouldn't allow herself to forget. “When all comes to an end, you think you will walk that final path alone?” Eyes narrowed, she forced herself to release the tension in her volatile body, slowly picking her way back through the sands. “You won't. And I pity you, for the beast certainly won't forget what you've done to it.”
With that, Aria hunched down against the growing winds, the sand attempting to bite against her bare skin as she took of running, following the scent of man.
Aria arrived at a higher level of the excavation site, overlooking the bulk of the ruined city that stretched beneath. It was easy to see her distaste while she crouched down, an expression of obvious irritation lining her features. “Seems humans couldn't survive here very well...if only they'd looked for the right help.” Aria meant the wolven tribe that knew the Aria as well as any other beast in the area, but humanity loved to forget those who helped get them to where they were now...Distinctly, it reminded her of her ever growing distaste for the man she had just met; how could they all so easily forget the beast?
Aria strode past the barriers of which quartered off areas she couldn't quite understand. With her keen sense of smell kicking, Aria could only pick up the faintest recent traces of whatever human, or humans, had been present..but nothing quite else. All she could really feel for certain was the ever growing sense of anticipation and dread this area was giving her, her instincts allowing her a foreboding warning of what lay just below…”What's going on here…?”
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Post by Kuma on Dec 24, 2016 2:44:58 GMT
Callis decided to follow Aria, even if she flustered him a bit she seemed like a very competent fight and after meeting the flavor of undead he was facing more hands, or maybe in this case, paws, could be really helpful. Still her scent irked him, not just because his weakness to women, but because she felt just like his Saevus family, proud and stern, as if housing a monster inside their bodies was a badge of honor rather than the immense burden the Beast Knight felt. The Saevus were known in Centris for their inhuman combat prowess, but whenever they needed to go the extra mile they would release any semblance of humanity and enter a state commonly known as Saevus Ira, a blinding instinctive rage coursing through every fiber of their being making them ignore any damage they received and push their already superhuman attributes far beyond their limits.
To Callis, trained in a measured and calculative fencing style most of his life the sole thought of letting loose like that didn’t seem a smart choice or even a natural one. The Beast Knight channeled his enhanced musculature into precise and focused movements, trying to muster his strength into a very small point, adding up strength through accuracy and perception, picking the weaker points. But even him couldn’t avoid taking advantage of his more feral like traits, likes his uncanny flexibility. That’s where his acrobatic fighting style drew power from. “I can’t waste my time in idle thoughts, there is a job to be done” He thought, using his original accent instead of the more relaxed one he ended up developing, it took him 2 years to adapt contraptions into his speech, it would take a whole lot longer to do the same on his mind.
As he pondered about this, inspecting the surroundings of the town he wasn’t paying attention behind him, as the bones of the fallen enemies were tailing them, seemingly moving on their own, half covered by the sand. The Beast Knight checked the area with interest, the town was old, but the craftsmanship was superb, the blocks of stone were perfectly fitted against each other, and even the time and the wind, erosion crafty henchmen couldn’t take down the structures. He placed his hand against one of the corners noticing the smooth surface on the wall, testament of the skill of whoever built it. Callis decided to stop appreciating the architecture and moved towards the excavation area. This wasn’t the first time he had to investigate an archeological dig, he did that once in Japan, were the coffin of an ancient warrior was disturbed opening the seal for some horrible creatures he had to defeat with the help of the BHA.
The area Roderick excavated seemed to be a temple, a small one, that was half sunken in the desert when he arrived. It was easy to notice that the building was much more important than the others, bigger than any other house, made from larger rocks and each of them was carved, even if the carvings were a bit blurry, telling what seemed to be stories about different subjects, heroes, monsters and gods. Callis wasn’t an academic so he couldn’t even attempt to translate the language and seemingly his translation spell couldn’t do it either. After looking at Aria for a split second to check on her, he entered the structure to find nothing, no knife, no equipment… nothing. Still it was too dark to judge so, in a pragmatic use of his powers, he summoned a Notio Gladius to use as a makeshift torch. The white light radiated out from his blade illuminating the area. Callis almost dropped it from the shock as the whole ground shined like black diamonds under the light.
The whole floor was covered by the black sand and scratch marks adorned the walls. The Beast Knight almost ran out of the building until he realized that the sand was inert, he crouched down to grab some only to find that it was heavier and harder than regular sand. All the clues pointed at the dagger being taken from here by those creatures. He decided to explain the situation to Aria, as painful as it was talking to her and popped out from the half-sunken temple only to find something worse than a frightening conversation outside.
Moments before…
Right as Callis entered the Temple the bones that had been tailing the duo had started to gather, slithering over the sand like alabaster snakes. It was clear that what was moving them was the black substance attached to them. One by one they arrived behind one of the houses out of the sight of Aria or Callis. The winds hid the sound they made on the sand and the sand itself camouflaged their scent. The bones started to pile up, being reconnected by the black mineral, the same the black sand was made of. With a mighty roar the newborn creature towered over a low building, to the left of the temple, in the area built on the lower hills. It was massive, made not only from the bones Aria scattered before, but from more bones the Obsidian gathered on its way towards the village. 10 mts tall and almost 30 long a gigantic Jaguar made from the bones of the deceased appeared in the village, slowly moving, and shaking the ground under its marbled paws. As the others it was being held together by the black Mineral and was moving towards Aria and Callis’ location.
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Post by Iris on Dec 28, 2016 0:34:03 GMT
Aria’s gaze, narrowed against the sand, scouted along from her middle ground vantage point. The whole looked as stale as it smelled, devoid of anything besides the faintest traces of the excavation team that was slowly having their scent buried beneath the sands and wind; she was having a hard time pinpointing the whereabouts of the ominous feeling she had. “Perhaps...it's not on the surface.” Her musings were lost within the second they appeared as the thundering steps of a beast most foul appeared.
There were two feelings that berated Aria at that moment. First, she felt pure surprise; how could something so massive slip past all of her senses? Then secondly...there was the rush; a promise of a hunt, a tangle with a beast that would put her abilities to the test… Hunched down against the side of the building, Aria’s widened gaze slowly shifted and a single feral smile adorned her face. So whoever was behind this thought they could fight her with a beast? There was no way she would back down to this personal challenge.
Tugging at the strings keeping her cloak on, Aria felt the cloth tear slightly from the ferocity of the pull she gave. Hunkered down in the spot where the woman once stood was the beast from before, snarling in delight as it was released once again. With her massive paws holding her solidly to the ground, Aria stood, imposing and proud with the hot wind flicking her intricately woven mane around, the beads and stones creating an tense symphony. Aria paused, only for a moment to glance to the Beast Knight who she now smelled with frightening clarity.
The wolf’s eyes, even as an animal, seemed to look down upon him from her stance. Then she looked away, focusing on her quarry as her muscles tensed in excitement from the upcoming battle. Aria threw back her head and let out a fearsome howl that shook even her bones, announcing her claim of this creature’s sad and miserable existence.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 28, 2016 3:11:09 GMT
Callis was utterly and completely shocked by the whole situation, he wasn’t expecting to find a lumbering pile of bones in the shape of gigantic feline. -By the Ancient Magus what is that?- He proclaimed as a second Notio Gladius manifested on his hand, his fingers grasping the shining blade by the grip, getting almost as white as the blade itself, as he clenched them around the swords. -We need a pl…- The Beast Knight tried to talk strategy with Aria, but her howl cut his phrase short. He tried to resume talking but the Bone Jaguar replied in kind to the Werewolf’s challenge. The roar of the Undead Feline was a bit more powerful than Aria’s roar, launching a cone of green and black waves towards Callis and Aria’s location. The Beast Knight jumped out of the way, rolling over a ledge and falling to the level just below, as the whole village was built.
-LOOK OUT!- The Beast Knight shouted at Aria, noticing the incoming attack. The Sonic Howl turned the temple that stood behind the location that Callis just vacated into pile of shattered stones. Hopefully Aria also avoided the blast, that was what went through the Beast Knight head, as well the fact that he still didn’t knew her name or the source of her transfigurative powers. He didn’t have time to think about that at the moment, though, as he tried to gather his thoughts so he could formulate some kind of strategy to defeat such a fearsome foe. Callis wished to communicate with Aria, but the reverberations of the Sonic Howl were still echoing around, difficulting his hearing and making the ground tremble under his feet as the vibrations from the impact slowly radiated outwards from ground zero, dissipating deep underground, under the ruins of the town.
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Post by Iris on Dec 30, 2016 0:29:56 GMT
The sick stench of the bone beast's breath assaulted Aria's heightened senses, making her bare her large fangs in retort. Whatever was coming her way was making her instincts go crazy, warning her to not be hit by the incoming blast. With a quick look around, Aria charted her brief escape and felt her muscles tighten and tense as she hunkered low to the ground, only to give a mighty push off, launching herself downwards towards the same level Callis had.
Her large body hit the ground with a thick thud, her claws sinking into the sand that gave more than it held, causing her dismount to be a little less than graceful as she tumbled over onto her side, scrambling back up whilst kicking sand wildly; she wanted to face this beast at all times!! With her body in a constant state of preparedness, Aria didn't seem relaxed in the slightest as she felt the feral desire to lunge forward, bite, destroy...but something was edging her off from the idea. As hot-headed as she was, she'd learned that it was always best to trust her instincts, they were given to her for a reason and right now, they were telling her "Think, watch."
With a low rumbling ever-present in her chest, the sound as deep and consistent as an idle engine, Aria's hot breath was pouring from between her teeth as she tried to stave off the desire to blindly fight; it was only then that her glittering golden gaze gave an immediate snap to the scent she'd picked up that was all too close. The pathetic pup from earlier and in his hand was a weapon unlike any she'd witnessed, its brightness hurting her eyes. Instantly, she snarled and looked away, turning her attention back to the bone jaguar, carefully placing her feet as she slightly paced to the opposite side at an agonizingly slow pace; she needed a way in...she could snap those bones with just a few bites, but if it kept using whatever that prior attack was, Aria felt she'd be less than successful...
As much as she hated the very idea of it...Aria cast her large head just slightly to the side, peeking at Callis with a dangerous glint in her eye; she was on edge, that much was obviously apparent, but there was something of question in the gaze. Without words, she was biding her time and patience, asking him silently for help.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 30, 2016 2:54:25 GMT
The Sonic Roar not only demolished the temple, it pulverized it and the ground beneath it, creating a deep tunnel into the hill with cracks slowly radiating from the edges. It was more than enough evidence that getting hit with one of those was bad news. Another couple of blast hitting the hill and it might collapse after dangerously losing integrity. Not that the Beast Knight knew about the dangerous grounds they’re threading. Callis was too preoccupied trying to find a weakness in the Alabaster Goliath, so focused that he didn’t notice Aria’s request for assistance, at least not at first. Finally he turned towards the Wolf, realizing that she had been watching him for a while, as the Bone Jaguar slowly dragged its gigantic frame towards them. -I think that the bones aren’t the vital part, the black mineral holding them together seems to be what’s moving the creature…- The Beast Knight theorized. -If you can keep its attention for enough time I can climb on it and find the thinnest part of that substance and check if cutting it would interrupt the unholy magic reanimating this atrocity.- Callis was talking with determination and conviction, easy now that he wasn’t suffering under the effects of his mental blocks when acting around women.
Hopefully Aria would accept, as the Bone Jaguar was already lifting its paw, moving his sharp claws towards them with surprising speed, whistling against the wind as they came, humming a song of death.
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Post by Iris on Jan 2, 2017 2:45:06 GMT
A loud exhale following the quick shift of her head was the only sign that she’d even heard Callis, let alone understood him. The monstrosity was nearing and she didn’t have the privilege of time, so Aria simply took to dashing forward as the creature began to bring its massive paw down. Now, Aria wasn’t one to particularly back down from challenges of physical might, but it was clear that its powerful breath ability alone would injure her, if not possibly kill her...and the way the bones whistled as they cut through the air was enough to let her know that getting hit would really be the last thing on her list of priorities. This would have to be a battle of stalled out speed and luckily, she was VERY fast.
Turning the battle into a game of cat and mouse...well, jaguar and wolf, Aria was simply making her way forward to narrowly avoid the vicious paw’s smash, her intention more to force the large creature to turn its back as she made her way passed it, kicking sand wildly in her wake; if she could keep its vision off of Callis, and its back turned more clearly towards him, maybe he could do something a little quicker.
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Post by Kuma on Jan 4, 2017 2:57:19 GMT
The Jaguar followed Aria, her act as the decoy was being quite successful, since the creature was considering her the bigger threat for some preordained reason or maybe purely instinctive. This didn’t mean that Callis was less of a threat, but at the moment the gigantic wolf caught the attention of the undead behemoth a bit more. Taking advantage of the distraction the Beast Knight rushed down the hill, his boots silently sliding over the angled walls of the step excavated in stone holding each level of the town. This wasn’t the first time he fought an enemy of this size, the Unda, horrible disfigured creatures from Centris, came in many sizes, some even larger than this one. Another positive for Callis was the lack of soft tissue, as the Unda were usually slimy and difficult to climb or grab, while the myriad of bones forming the Jaguar’s body were much convenient to use as a ladder.
With animal nimbleness the Beast Knight climbed, de-summoning his swords to allow use of both hands. It was more difficult that what he thought when he started, as with the Bone Jaguar following Aria the whole body moved, making places to hold on to disappear and change places as the shifting bones. Callis almost lost a couple of fingers once or twice, but managed to climb up to the spine, looking for the thinnest bit of material he could cut. The Jaguar kept launching fierce claws towards Aria so the Beast Knight had to keep a strong grip on the large spinal bones. He was starting to miss his cloak, as if he had it he could take it off with ease and use it as a makeshift security harness, but right now he couldn’t think about the past, he needed to focus on the present, so he could actually live the future.
The Beast Knight found, in just a moment, that the shoulder joint of the front right paw was the least thick when it came to the black mineral keeping the whole pile of bones together, so he prepared to attack, summoning both swords while securing his foothold to avoid falling. He lowered his blades like a guillotine over the neck of a man, but to his chagrin the brilliant swords bounced off the black mineral. Callis greeted his teeth with frustration, just peeking for a second in Aria’s direction. He didn’t know for how long the Firm Chief would be able to keep the distraction going, but Callis didn’t want to find out, so he gathered his resolve and focused on his blades. “Sharper” he thought, as slowly his weapons started to move, the edge was vibrating, as three different streams, two going down and one going up started forming. Basically he was willing his blade into a chainsword.
-SHARPER!- He shouted, the light of his blades extending under his skin through his veins, slowly making his arms as brilliant as the swords. -SHARPER!!- This time around the Bone Jaguar listened and stopped dead on his tracks. That was the moment Callis used to attack. The compression caused by the sudden stop surely made the mineral more brittle, but at the moment his sword might have cut it on its strongest state. Callis lowered both arms, his swords leaving a stream of light behind them, tracing their trajectory until hitting the Black Mineral. The shower of sparks was only a prologue to the cut and then the grand finale, as the whole leg disassembled into the bones that were composing it. The Beast Knight jumped off the Jaguar rolling on the sand as he landed, with the agility of a cat. As he stood up the Bone Jaguar fell, not totally defeated, just losing its balance upon the sudden loss of a limb.
Callis stared intensely at Aria and pointed at the joints with his swords. -We need to destroy the black substance, it seems to be the source of the dark magic animating it.- He was too high on adrenaline to realize who he was talking to, he just hoped that her fangs would be enough to damage what hold together this abomination, because his whole body hurt after boosting his blades, as if he had run for days without a meal or water. -Let's go for the neck Messa!- He swallowed his pain and tiredness, moving towards the downed enemy with both blades still on their enhanced state.
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Post by Iris on Jan 10, 2017 1:53:09 GMT
Her blood rushed violently through her body, the pounding of her heart beating into her skull. Aria was hyper aware of her hot breaths, staining her tongue with fiery heat, and the beautiful feeling of her powerful muscles working beneath her thick and heavy coat. Running from the beast was exhilarating, feeling her paws repeatedly press into and off the sand, knowing full well she could go even faster if it were solid. Every swipe cut it close, the whistle of the wind was sharp to her sensitive ears and she snarled in return, egging the beast on, goading the chase to further. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the golden head atop the beast’s back and kept at her distraction, hoping it could prove enough...
Leading the large, bone feline towards the crumbling area from earlier, Aria narrowed her eyes against the sand and surveyed the damage in an instant. It was crumbling from the creature’s earlier attacks! Skidding to a stop, Aria prepared to leap, yet stopped as she heard the loud slam of the monster falling into the ground, the strange clacking of its bones hitting each other in multiple places, and then Callis’s call out for assistance. Whatever that material was, it looked thicker than anything she had ever bit through...and she wasn't keen on losing her teeth in this battle just yet. Letting out a loud sound similar to a bark of understanding, Aria bunched her body down...and with a powerful leap that stirred the area in a small gale, Aria hopped to the crumbling area from before.
With the earth already threatening to give way, Aria pushed back until she felt practically solid ground against her feet, and then pushed off to the building nearest the precipice. Using the side of her body to absorb the brunt of the hit, Aria sent the large rubble down against its crumbling edge, aiming to crush the beast beneath possibly a ton of rock itself!
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Post by Kuma on Jan 12, 2017 3:35:59 GMT
The rumblings of rolling stones and avalanching earth echoed against the nearby hills. A landslide or rocks, sand and gravel fell over the Bone Jaguar, the sound of the bones getting crunched under the weight was as disgusting as one could imagine, a melody of snapped bones forming a strange harmony, as the biggest rock hit the creature on the head and the shockwave was transferred to the other bones, a full body radiating fracture. Choked roars were the only thing the Bone Jaguar managed to do, even trying to use his Sonic Roar to combat the incoming rubble, but after breaking a couple of stones it hit the moving sand, too inestable to properly receive the sound waves, so the might attack that could render rocks into dust was stopped by dust, quite ironic if you think about it.
Callis had to run like hell to avoid the incoming landslide, being a ground level wasn’t the best to avoid it and even with his uncanny agility and speed he couldn’t outrun nature. -UGH.- He groaned in pain as several rocks, that rolled ahead of the deluge of sand, hit him on the back. If he hadn’t his new clothing on he wouldn’t have survived such hits, but thankfully the jacket was worth every cent he spent on it, reducing the impact he received. His clothing was mostly reinforced against concussive force, as he believed that having an actual armor for bladed weapons would make him careless in a duel. After getting hit he lost his balance and rolled down the hill, the sand tsunami slowing down behind him. As he rolled he thought how lucky he was of having friends in the BHA who convinced of getting the new clothing, he should thank them when he returned there.
Finally he stopped rolling, almost with perfect synchrony with the end of the avalanche. Callis was flat on his back, looking at the blue sky, breathing irregularly. He was alive, but his eyes were closed and he was a bit agitated. -I think I might need to make myself clearer next time.- He whispered, between breaths. - I feel like an Unda Horde stepped over me.- Callis felt quite miserable at the time, but he needed to complete the mission, so with a lot of effort he started to stand up, with the ruined hills and village as the backdrop.
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Post by Iris on Jan 12, 2017 5:43:33 GMT
From the rubble and the dust, Aria’s large form appeared within the haze. A hulking, skulking mass that stood atop the highest point of the destroyed creature mingled with destroyed architecture. As the sands blew, the shape that was large one moment was almost immediately smaller and she hopped down tactfully, her calloused feet preventing injury from the pointed bits of rock and bone.
On the ground, Aria rolled her shoulders and neck, scratching at the area behind her ears that felt irritated with a grunt. With a slow kneel, she quietly bowed her head, eyes closed in a silent prayer to the dead whose lives she had to take once again, as well as the spirit of the beast she had just ended. There was a mutual respect she had for a creature that fought with its primal side, even if that creature was an abomination.
With her prayer ended, Aria took a deep breath and rose, her look severe as she glanced around. “Whoever is responsible will pay for this act of dishonor. The dead have paid their dues...they should be left to sleep.” With her cloak now missing among the rubble she had brought down on the creature, Aria grumbled and began to search through the crumbled remains, sniffing intently...however, it wasn't the cloak she cared about.
Tossing and digging, growling quietly to herself, she finally found the depth of her scent and after pushing aside remains and stone, she withdrew the weathered spear...and a torn and shredded cape. Holding her items to her side, Aria approached the battered Callis, still looking at him with a guarded expression. “How sad is it that a pile of bones can welcome its beast more than a living one?”
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