• Ready to join Post Terminus?

    Click to get started and submit your first character.

    Getting Started

[Plot] [Open] Week 165: Ferocitas

Status
Not open for further replies.
Aelflead had barely taken four steps before she felt the air turn sweltering with heat. She remembered that it was hot close to the dragon, but the only time it got this hot was when- "Vis damn it, again?"

She immediately stopped moving forward and turned on her heel, cutting a new path sideways, towards the beach, left, right, left, and flayed her arms in a separating motion towards her party. She was hoping that the pillars of flame soon to follow the intense heat she was feeling would have a harder time hitting something moving erratically and less of a chance to hit anyone else by "happy" accident.

To her party, however, she looked as if she'd gone mad and was attempting to fly. So puzzled by her confusing new pattern her party almost stopped but recounting the demon wind that's reduced their party's size by half just moments ago they began to copy the brusque woman's wild pattern.

They didn't know what the redhead was warning them from, or if her strange actions were, in fact, a warning, but they could always question her later if they survived. The last few to second guess her for just a minute were flayed carcasses behind them and underfoot.

[208/961]
 
Reality twisted on all sides of the great daemon as the portals of Infernalis opened around it. They began to shimmer rapidly, ahead of the archmagi, behind the huge dragon and to either side. Then suddenly, torrents of flame exploded from all four portals, burning the ground and incinerating what little foliage remained.

“Shields!” one laicar man from the legion cried desperately, but no amount of wood and metal were going to save him from the intense conflagration. He dropped his sword and cowered before the inferno, only for a shadow to part the fire before him. All along the frontline, experienced spellcasters had recognised the form of Bellator magic. Together they coordinated their efforts and conjured as many walls as they could to block the attack. Without them, the force would have been shattered, but they had too close to the fiery nightmare to avoid casualties. The flames still engulfed a portion of the attackers and sowed discord among them. Those that did not perish, dropped to the hot ground and rolled desperately to extinguish themselves. The pungent stench of burnt flesh tainted the air. Formations began to collapse as some of the fighters lost their heart under the magnitude of the attack.

The bulging eye protruding out of the ram-horn watched as small groups of imps and twisted creatures began to prey on the distressed soldiers. They were promised a slaughter and that was what they were going to get.

The robed figure stepped out to the side of the dragon, after being shielded from the blast. One lingering flame caught his eye.

A pitiful box of trees and leaves. One corner of it was ablaze, but somehow it still managed to be. The Januin smiled beneath the black hood.

“Worthless.”

The archmagi extended one arm. Reality shimmered again, this time in the form of a small portal adjacent to the robed one. A larger portal appeared underneath the floating cube of green. One hand tapped the small portal and a pillar of flame erupted from the ground, threatening to consume the construct whole.

[346/1,056]
 
Ignis frowned, unable to feel relieved when their shelter survived the first bout of flames. She was certain there was more to come. Unfortunately, she could not predict the next burst of flames very well. She'd barely been able to spot the cloaked figure striking at something when flames burst through the twigs and vines holding them afloat.

On instinct, as their shield disintegrated, the enlil snatched Amicus to her chest. All four women plummeted towards sure death until they slammed into a web of vines.

The vines nearly gave way, stretching as they slowed the women's fall. Bark and leaves began to form around the vines as they straightened out.

Ignis struggled to inhale; all the air had been crushed from her lungs upon impact. A weak rasp of pain escaped her lips at bruises she could feel forming. She turned her head to the side, tears sliding down her cheeks. Her nose smarted terribly and the blood running down her lip made the avian suspect it had broken.

The enlil coughed and sucked in a ragged breath, air swishing down her throat.

“Vis... damn...” she wheezed, “thing... should have... stayed dead....”

Cora, which had managed to dodge the flames, warbled tiredly as if in agreement.

“I have half a mind to send it back to Infernalis myself,” Laurel grunted. She sat up, groaning. The laicar likely had a cracked rib or two, but that wouldn't stop her. The battle hardened woman pulled off an over the shoulder pack she'd been carrying and began to rummage around.

Pulling out a small device with wires and tubes, the laicar gave a feral grin that stretched her facial scar.

“Let's blow them to hell.”

Dianette pumped one fist in the air to show her agreement, but hadn't sat up yet. The young half-velen rolled to her side and gingerly pushed herself to her knees, favoring her left side.

“We should really get that cloaked figure, too.”

“I have a plan,” Laurel announced. “Birdie, how fast can you get us close to the dragon and the cloak?”

Ignis squawked instead of answering; Amicus rustled apologetically in response.

“Pretty fast,” she whispered from behind her hands, which had come up to guard her nose, eyes watering again. The enlil ripped a strip of cloth from her cloak and held it gingerly to her nose. Having it reset hurt like Aquila’s talons.

“Good.” Laurel nodded. “Hey featherweight,” the gruff laicar addressed Aeria, “how's your throwing arm?”

Their descent began just after Laurel's question, the curved platform beneath then accelerating at a rather frightening pace.

Laurel pressed a button on the device and held it out to Aeria. “Throw it once we're close.”

[449/2750]
Bombs Away
dahilitium bomb coming your way :-)


 
All of Aeria’s desire to sock Laurel in the jaw had vanished. Under the circumstances, a little bit of a slight to her was a minor consideration. They were on the brink of being seriously injured or potentially even killed and taking umbrage at an insult would have been tantamount to insanity. Her stomach returned to normal after their sickening drop and she took the proffered bomb from Laurel’s hand. “Oh I’ve got pretty good aim. You give me the word and I’ll let ‘er rip!”

The way that Amicus caused the platform to swoop down was both exhilarating and frightening. It was also incredibly aggressive which was something that she did not associate with the little mons infans. He was just too cute to be doing this. She wasn’t complaining, however, as they closed with the cloaked figure and its dragon steed. She had once heard that one should wait until one saw the whites of the enemy’s eyes and although this one’s eyes had no whites, she was close enough to gaze into that empty void.

With a powerful, well-timed throw she sent the dahlitium bomb flying down right into the midst of the two terrifying figures even as they continued to sail by. There was no time to do more than chuck it and find out what would happen after the device detonated.


[2033]
 
Meanwhile, Aelflead was trying to rise to her feet.

Her awkward dodging had turned out to be a bad gamble, and instead of ducking past one of a numerous amount of portals she was sure were going to appear, she'd nearly been vaporized by the massive gout of flame that'd decimated another chunk of humanity's patchwork army. It was only thanks to quick thinking on the part of a demvir painted with symbols in gray that she'd been spared no more than some bruises.

"It's a little early for a victory lap, we're not even inside yet." The demvir's face was a smooth, expressionless, piece of metal with holes cut into it to allow green glowing eyes vision but it's warbling voice was more smirk than Smiles' whole being was grin.

She pointedly ignored the machine and went to stand, only to find herself getting dragged back to the dirt again, reaggravating the bruises she'd just received. Before she could turn to fling the demvir off of her, a small point of light sailing through the air caught her eye.

A closer look at the object told her what it was before her sarcastic new friend's electronically produced hiss of "Stay down!" reached her ears. Her ire immediately drained from her system, and she turned two dimensional.

[217/1,178]
 
Last edited:
A huge bang crackled through the air as the bomb exploded, chucking shrapnel against flesh and bone. The ground shook with the rumble of a deep growl. One huge bat-like wing had protected the archmagi from the blast, but the creature was in pain. The wing sagged after suffering damage from the explosion, but Ferocitas was not deterred. If anything, it was invigorated.

The dragon twisted its body to gaze upon the group of brave women. The pupil of its disgusting mouth-eye shrank as it focussed upon them. As steam rose from the damaged rune-patterned wing, the other suddenly spread and pointed to the sky. The ancient glyphs began to glow red for a moment, then with a single powerful wave, four bright orbs were hurled out of the pattern towards the hurtling platform.

In the wake of the gust generated by the spell, the robed archmagi dropped to one knee and placed his hand to the ground. When he raised it again, he unleashed a handful of gold dust into the air. Moments later, a thick rain began to pour from the darkness overhead and beat against the battlefield. The thick droplets evaporated into steam upon contact, releasing a poison into the air.

As the unnatural rain began to coat the main force of the assault, the gathering swarm of daemons grew more tenacious.

“Form ranks!” one battle-hardened veteran shouted. “We need to carve our way to the dragon while it’s distracted!”

Scattered soldiers fought to rejoin the main group and healers reversed the effects of the previous inferno on those that were still alive. Together, they defended and recuperated so that they could regroup and continue their advance.

[280/1,336]

LATE NOTE
Dragon used four Lightning Orbs and Archmagi used SLOWWWWWW.
 
Last edited:
“Good throw,” Laurel commented with a resolute nod.

“This doesn’t look good,” Ignis murmured, squinting at the thrashing dragon. The bright orbs were blinding, causing the avian to shout and cover them with an arm.

Seconds later, their platform swerved violently in order to dodge the magical attack. The vines and leaves tightened, blocking out the light just before explosive lightning and thunder shook their cocoon.

The smell of burnt wood wafted in, but their stronghold remained intact. They had dodged enough of the lightning to stay afloat.

The shield relaxed a bit, allowing daylight to stream through the spaces between the leaves and branches.

Ignis groaned, still unable to see. Colors danced across the backs of her aching eyelids and vague images from Amicus’ mind mingled in the background to form a confusing collage.

“Let’s see if we can hit it again,” Dianette suggested. “Laurel, do you have anything stronger than that?”

The gruff lacair woman pulled another bomb from her pack and fiddled with the wires and knobs on it.

“Alright, feathers, if you can throw this as hard as you threw the last one, I think we can do some real damage. Aim for a wing or something. Its head if you can.”

Dianette glanced at Ignis. “Are you alright?”

The feathery woman just groaned and held up a shaky thumbs up.

[225/2975]

bomb diggity
auritium bomb coming your way

 
Last edited:
As Amicus shielded them from the blast, Aeria wondered about the toll that all of this was taking on the little mons infans. It was difficult for her to believe that he wasn’t suffering some ill effects from all of the force he was deflecting. She hated that there was no time for him to rest, but there was nothing that could be done about it. The sooner they had this over with, the sooner they could deal with the aftermath.

Aeria took the bomb with a solemn nod. She was gaining respect for Laurel’s no-bullshit attitude and her ability to manufacture wonderful explosive devices. Right now, those explosives might prove to be the difference between life and death for her and many others. She hefted the bomb. “I’ll hit that fucker right in the head if I can. I’ve had about enough of this shit.”

The vehemence in her tone even surprised her a little as she felt Amicus bringing them around for another bombing run and swooping down. It was difficult to see through the mist and fog, but the dragon’s size made it an easier target. She could see the outline of its head and when they were close enough, she aimed and threw the auritium bomb. Now once again, they could only sit and watch to see what would happen.

[2257]
 
Under new assault from the flying foursome, the remaining army at large followed the cry of one voice and bore down on the dragon and its master like the plague. The closest few were the leading group of barbarians and massive gunmen, and they struck first.

Those that were able immediately opened fire on at the sight of the archmage. However, the recoil from gunfire seemed subdued and staccato to the gun-toting bruisers, and their hammer and axe wielding counterparts swings looked slowed as if swinging through water.

Even the brother machinae who'd knocked Aelflead down knew that he was perceiving time slowly. Something was wrong, something was off.

That was when the demvir noticed the rain.

Aelflead, up to this point had not moved since the second time the living machine had floored her, trusting its judgment from saving her neck the first time. But now she had grown impatient, and her back was growing stiff from not moving.

With a heave, Aelflead drew her sword again and shrugged the automaton off her in one motion. Then, with a roar that seemed to be more for herself than any other reason, she charged the mage hiding beneath the demon and aimed to cut out the tongue that taunted the army he stood against.

"Wait! This is Verti-!" The demvir tried to call in warning but was drowned out by the sounds of sword against claw, and Aelflead's own roaring.

As the half-scale bared down on the robed, sickly looking creature and swung, time came almost to a stop for the woman, and the swordswoman's expression turned... Sour-er than before while the rain washed over her.

notes of importance
So in case it's not totally apparent, Aelf is attacking with bigat sword. I'm pretty sure this is a a garunteed miss because of slow, and being caught unawares by it for her impatience, but since she's close enough seemed like a good idea to go for it.


[276/1,454]
 
The sight of a single, red-haired warrior sprinting towards the fiercest of foes spurred on a few individuals from the assaulting force. A few dozen of the most capable warriors joined Aelflead and charged towards the robed figure. Though the steam hindered their swiftness, they had gained so much ground. The nearer they grew to the grotesque dark mass, however, the more they lost their sense of bravado. They grew light-headed in the warm rain, their legs began to feel like stone. Despite their struggles, they surged onwards. But it was not enough.

Two smoky circles appeared in front of the smiling Janu. Upon striking both of the ethereal rings, a powerful force flung the adjacent attackers through the air. As they scraped across the rough ground, a screeching gale ripped through the air. A blade-like beak splattered crimson fluid across the field. Agonising screams pierced the ears of the few who thought themselves brave enough to challenge the might of Ferocitas. A wave of airborne terrors descended from the black sky to gorge upon the first morsels of their feast.

As the man just meters away from Aelflead was disemboweled by the cruel mockery of the enlil, the ground began to rumble. The stamping of hundreds of feet signified the staggered approach of more soldiers from the bold Terminus army, ready to thwart any horrors that came near them despite their hindrance.

The sudden crackle of an explosion surprised man, woman and daemon alike. The following bellow from the draconic nightmare shook the ground even more than the approaching forces. Smoke rose from scorched scales along one side of the great dragon, intermingling with the steam generated from the warm rain.

The bellow was already loud, but grew to an ear-splitting roar. The red mouth-eye fixed itself upon the leafy cell as it shifted. Such a flimsy construct. It did not deserve to be. Ferocitas lifted its good wing. The runes glowed gold for a brief moment before a vicious lightning bolt exploded forth, too swift for the floating green platform to evade.

[344/1,680]

Note
SLOWWW continues, making people feel dizzy. The Archmagi used a more powerful Repulsor, hurtling the first melee attackers back. The Dragon used Lightning Cannon, at the foliage platform and everyone inside. Enjoy!
 
The sound and force of the explosion shook the leafy construct, making it difficult to stay upright. Ignis began to pray to Aquila for extra protection, the words tumbling past her lips even faster once the dragon’s roar filled her ears.

A thin shield curved around their leafy platform, but it broke instantly under the power of the lightning strike. The electrity danced across the leaves and vines, a few sparks making their way to the small squadron of women.

The static made Ignis’ feathers puff up, tiny sparks jumping from feather to feather. She grunted at the pain, teeth grinding harshly. “This shield won't last much longer... we have to kill that dragon soon.”

A window opened up in their platform and the fluffy avian peered out.

Laurel began to devise a strategy to deal a devastating blow to the dragon and cloaked figure.

“Featherweight can you aim for the head? Dianette, I need you to target that person standing under the dragon. We won't last another attack very well. We’ve got to be decisive and well timed. Leaf, get us as close as you can. This is going to be a hit and run.”

Ignis panted, trying to sort through different sensations. Her nose still throbbed and the electricity made her feel a sense of throat constricting dread.

Amicus shivered, but directed the platform as asked.

“Take this.” Laurel handed Aeria two more bombs connected with a crisscross of wires. “Push that button and then throw them both. As long as it's within ten meters, you're golden.”

Dianette picked up her fallen rifle, ready to aim.

Cora soared ahead as their platform picked up speed.

“I guess it's now or never,” Dianette said, taking aim and struggling not to twitch. The aftereffects of the shock made controlling her muscles more difficult than usual.

“Let's hit it with all we got. Hopefully the dust the explosion kicks up will give us some cover.” Laurel's face was grim.

A volley of bullets preceded their approach, like a staccato herald of death.

Cora swerved and weaved above the dragon and magi in an attempt to draw their attention away from the others.

Darkness swirled in front of Laurel, framed by burnt and scarred wood. She struck the back of the portal with her good arm, the sound echoing loudly around them.

A dark portal opened up beside the cloaked figure and a claw lashed out at the magi, seeking to rip flesh.

Just after, Dianette pulled the trigger. A charged shot erupted from her rifle, the sound ringing in all their ears. A bullet soared towards the dragon's eye.

Ignis clutched the side of her head, and fell to her knees from all the sound thundering around her. Her eyes watered and clenched shut. The battle was taking a toll on the enlil. Amicus rustled sympathetically and patted her shoulder, but continued to steer their platform. The sooner they killed this dragon, the sooner they could rest.

[496/3471]

Full on Assault
Ignis used Deflector 1 tier defense; the leaf shield absorbed 1 tier of damage as well
5 tier attack from Cora
3 tier attack form Dianette
Laurel used Coiling Abyss
Gave Aeria two aritium bombs :)

 
There was a palpable rise in tension as the gravity of their situation began to sink in. Aeria finally started to shake with nerves, but pushed hard back against them. This was no time to go to pieces. She had a task to complete and she was going to complete it, even if it was the last thing she ever did. Evil like this couldn’t be allowed to live, not at any price. It was the fate of Araevis that was in danger here, not just her own skin. Aeria responded crisply to Laurel’s instructions. “I’ll aim for the head. I can provide us with cover too!”

The first order of business was to prime the bombs and heave them at the creature. As Amicus swept in, Aeria focused all of her attention and energy on aiming the bombs. She wanted to get closer than ten metres if possible, just to give them as much of a chance as possible to survive this ordeal intact. They drew closer and she pushed the button, flinging the connected bombs downwards towards the gaping maw of the dragon.

As soon as this task was done, Aeria gathered her magical energies and sketched the outline of a squinting eye in the air. She took a deep breath in and when she exhaled, a dense cloud of fog spilled out and wrapped itself around the platform, providing an obscuring cloud to aid in their escape from the wrath of the demonic attacking forces.

Word Count: 2505

Note
The user exhales a dense cloak of mist in front of them, creating a cloud of concealing fog that fills a 15m radius. Augmenting with Terra Regia increases the range of the mist by 5m per grade, to a maximum of 40m.)
 
Far below bruises and cuts covered more of the warrior's bodies than skin and plating. The new demons joining the battle were as much of a nuisance as they were a threat, those still scrambling to their feet were platters for the demented beasts until gunfire and leaping strikes scattered the vultures and provided cover.

As much of a blow to her pride as it was to be rescued, the redhead was glad the rest of the allied forces had caught up to them, especially after watching golden buckshot scatter a swooping monster into feathers and black blood centimeters from her new vantage on the ground.

"Get up and keep moving!"

Rough hands gripped the woman's arm and hoisted her to her feet. Vertigo had slowed even her an ability to rise among other things. The hand that'd dragged her to her feet was dark like the earth beneath moss and wrapped itself around a gun barrel the minute the perpetually sour woman was standing.

BLAM!

Before Aelflead could decide not to thank the man he was barking orders at her and unloading his weapon into demons filling the void left by the one he'd blown away moments ago. "You dumbasses leadin' the pack need to get moving again!"

BLAM!

"I don't know how many of you there are left but distract the mage at least. We can't take meddling from him and the dragon while their buddies chip away at us."

BLAM!

Aelflead struggled to respond but had only managed to purse her lips for the beginning of a "What?" before she was being shoved roughly back into the crowd of combatants.

[273/1,727]
 
Last edited:
The metallic explosion was immediately followed by a deafening roar. The dragon thrashed in agony as black smoke poured out of its mouth. In pain and rage, Ferocitas threw itself to the side and swung its good wing. By chance, the wing caught what remained of Amicus’ floating platform through the enveloping mist, sending branches and greenery hurtling to the ground. The rest of the cell quickly lost altitude before it shattered, scattering the passengers across the field. The great daemon staggered side to side, thunderously stomping the blackened ground. Its body eventually collapsed, shoving dust into the cloud of mist above.

Even though the largest beast was incapacitated, the horde maintained a relentless assault. Scything claws and vicious teeth rent flesh, screams of pain cut through the air as the blood of the living intermingled with that of the forsaken. Every time a warrior fell, however, others would step in and drag the wounded to the centre of their ranks, where healers called upon the power of Castus to mend the injuries and allow them to continue fighting. Since the Terminus force was vastly outnumbered, it seemed their only saving grace against hopeless odds.

That was, until the ground began to undulate through the crowd. One robed velen woman called upon Bellator to hurl a ball of lightning at the scourges that roamed the skies. Moments later, a scaled worm-like creature burst out of the ground and gripped her ankle. With a sickening crunch, she screamed at the top of her lungs. She couldn’t help but glance down. All she could see were three rows of dagger-like teeth covered in her blood and a plate of armour where its eyes should have been. It looked smaller than a person, but it retreated back through the ground quickly and tore at the woman with such force that she was dragged with it.

“Help!” she cried. Her arms claws at the softened dirt, but it was no use. A nearby gunman grasped her wrist desperately to prevent her fate, but she was not the only target. All around the battlefield, practitioners of the arcane were targeted by the carnivorous worms that bore their way through the ground.


The archmagi meandered away from his dying archdemon as if he cared nothing for its wellbeing. One sleeve of his dark robes had been torn and deep crimson stains were visible through the gaps. He had not expected the clawing spell. If he was in pain from his injury, however, it was not apparent. As the thick warm rain began to cease, his coppery eyes glanced between those that had fallen from the green platform. Laurel was sprawled out, motionless. Dianette was breathless and clutching her arm. Ignis was nearest to Laurel, but when she tried to stand, pain split through her leg and forced her to the ground. Aeria was the furthest away from the others, and closest to the threatening Janu that closed in on them.

“You cower from the biggest threat,” Tharros spat. Despite the distance between them all, his voice carved itself into their minds, as if he was shouting directly into their ears. “You fling your machinations from your frail sanctuary, ignorant of the death that surrounds you.”

Tharros approached Aeria. She tried to shuffle backwards, to get away from the archmagi, but winced as pain throbbed in her abdomen. Her eyes fixed on his golden mace.

“Your kind could not possibly comprehend Ferocitas.”

Aeria froze in the shadow of her grey-skinned assailant as he raised his cruel weapon above his head.

[593/2,273]

Note
Last round of SLOWWW.
 
Should I try a spell? Should I try to move? These thoughts were jumbled into Aeria’s mind along with a persistent lack of ability to do anything at all. She was transfixed by the mace that it had raised above her head. Her stomach hurt terribly and it made moving quickly an agonizing experience. She could try to raise the halberd that she held to block the blow, but the haft of it was no match for the Janu’s mace. She was in no position to stab with the weapon either, finding it difficult to try and rise. This was it. She was going to die here. At this thought, something inside of her shifted now and she regained a little of her usual defiance as the Janu raised his weapon.

She could do something, even if it was futile. With a heave of effort that sent a wave of nauseating pain through her whole body, she sat up and simultaneously swept the halberd around in a circle at the Janu’s legs. It gave her the reach that she needed to strike and she hoped that, if nothing else, the blade slicing at the archemagi’s legs would distract it enough to buy everyone else some time. If the mace came down and crushed her skull, so be it. There was nothing left to do but fight until there was no life left in her body.

[2740]
 
Ignis hated feeling so helpless. Her leg throbbed and her head pulsed. Unfortunately, there was little Amicus could do for her. The enlil's eyes burned with desperation and her chest tightened. She watched with horror as Aeria struggled to defend herself. Then, the avian’s face twisted into the ugliest expression before her lips parted and a horrifying sound ripped past her sharp teeth.

The high pitched shriek was surprisingly loud for having come from such a small and seemingly broken woman. It keened and grew higher in frequency, belting her anger and frustration at everyone who could hear.

Ignis screamed because this battle was horrific. Because it wasn't fair that her best friend was about to get her skull crushed in front of her. Because Deni had probably been right. Because if Aeria died it was partly her fault for insisting they go to war. Because everything hurt and she felt trapped. The avian howled until her voice gave out and her ears rang.

Dianette curled on the ground and shook at the earsplitting noise, frozen by the blood curdling sound. No wonder... no wonder her parents used to tell stories about enlil being like living nightmares in battle.

Amicus whimpered and shook, leaves rustling pathetically. The sheer volume and weight of his partner's cries and emotions were overwhelming. He whined and grasped for the edge of her cloak.

Ignis coughed hoarsely, tears gathered in her eyes. Her body shook and the fingers of her good hand curled in the dirt. Her body heaved until acid forced its way up her raw throat and into her mouth. She spat out the burning fluid and gagged.

[275/3746]

Banshee

Used predation. 3 tier binding on everyone within 10m.
 
Black robes were ripped by the knee-level sweep from the spurii and the ear-splitting shriek momentarily distracted the imposing Janu, but he was already mid-swing. A strike that was meant for Aeria’s face instead crashed against the edge of her shoulder, enough to cruelly tear the flesh, but perhaps not fracture bone. Not satisfied with her brief cry of pain, Tharros leapt back with surprising agility.

“You cry as if you have experienced the horrors we were subjected to,” the Archmagi hissed. A small metal cross-shape appeared in front of him. One pale gangly hand grasped the portal and brought forth an electric orb.

“You were never forced to feast upon the flesh of monsters to simply be.”

He threw the ball of lightning through the air towards Ignis, then pointed accusingly at Aeria.

“Ferocitas gave us the instincts required to save but a few of us from the vistra that invaded from your lands. The same instincts will allow us to conquer your fragility.”

Tharros lunged forward once again, arching his arm out in a big swing as he aimed to crush the spurii with one more savage blow of his auritium mace.


The battle raged on, daemon biting and clawing at mortal, mortal shooting and beating back against the overwhelming force. The subterranean terrors continued to pull individuals into the ground, but they quickly began to lose their element of surprise. Nearby soldiers and gunners stabbed and shot at the beasts whenever an ally was targeted.

While the fight continued, the body of the dragon stirred. Mercurial in every movement, the scorched monster slowly heaved itself onto its feet.

“Burn...”

The ram-skull collapsed open and revealed the eye, dripping in crimson, shards of metal embedded within. The ground rumbled with one last bellow. The air began to shimmer around its body as the heat intensified once more.

“You all... shall burn.”

[313/2,586]

Note
Tharros threw a Lightning Orb towards Ignis' feet. Enjoy.
 
Amicus was able to summon vines and thick branches to protect Ignis from the lightning orb coming their way. The orb crashed into the magical shield, sparks crackling along the vines and searing the leaves out of existence. The mons infans panted from the effort. His veins burned from channelling so much of Ignis’ potent energy.

Meanwhile, Dianette threw a sealing ring as hard as she could at the magi. The velen ran towards the spurii and cloaked figure, one arm hanging limp at her side.

Eyes vacant, Ignis stared in the general direction of her fellow engineer and best friend. A series of bullets ripped toward the magi from Cora, whom the enlil had summoned once her voice gave out. The gunfire sounded distant in comparison to the ringing in the avian’s ears. Eyes burning and watering, she watched, feeling hopeless. Silently, Ignis tried to will her friend to roll out of the way of the next blow, unable to even speak.

The acidic taste in her mouth and the stinging sensation in her throat let Ignis know that this wasn’t some tragic novel, but real life. She flexed her fingers, one hand throbbing, definitely bruised, perhaps fractured in some places. Her hand closed around a firearm, which had been laying on the ground. Weighing it as she wrapped her index finger around the trigger, the enlil took aim and fired two bullets towards the magi’s head. The cloaked stranger would die here, Ignis decided. She did not care to understand ferocitas, only to end this. She was so tired. Her limbs felt heavy and she ached in too many places to distinguish between one injury and the next.

Her breathing was shallow due to the broken nose. Arm falling to her side, the avian vaguely taking note of the sudden increase in temperature. Still, she watched, unable to tear her gaze away.

Laurel awoke, her entire body throbbing. The scarred soldier turned her head and cursed at the sight of the dragon. “Vis-damn go back to hell already!” The laicar snapped, irritable. She forced herself to her feet and felt a surge of adrenaline burning through her. Growling, Laurel summoned magical energy and a diamond-shaped portal appeared in front of her. Grasping for the dahilitium powder in a small pouch strapped to her side, the laicar tossed it at the portal. Black lightning danced across the portal’s surface. Laurel’s vision blurred, black starting to take over. Stubbornly, she swiped at the back of the portal, unleashing a blinding flash of lightning that struck the dragon. As thunderous rumbles echoed from the attack, the battle hardened woman began to lose her grip on consciousness. Her knees buckled. Laurel didn’t see the sky when she hit the ground, her eyes were already closed.

“Ughnn...” she groaned.

[466/4212]

Fighty Notes
Ignis used double tap for a 3 tier attack. Cora’s attack is 5 tiers. Sealing Rings & Lightning Cannon from Dianette and Laurel respectively.

 
A wall of bloodied turf and bodies exploded into view immediately after the dragon's enraged roaring, looking very much like a twisted saban special effect. Their point of origin? Not a special fx operator,(they weren't in the budget) but a bruised, out of breath and and generally surly redhead who had been over slow-motion effects since they became popular.

Aelflead had been watching the last minute take place like a movie on fast forward in front of her: Ferocitas falling, the flying tree shattering into splinters and spilling a screeching bird, a shaking mess, and a woman onto blackened ground in front of a bathrobe wearing madman.

The dark clouds that had been hindering the allied forces with venom for what seemed like hours didn’t clear up until after the blue-eyed woman lost a good chunk of flesh to the evil bathrobe and the massive demonic mockery of a dragon had roused itself back into consciousness.

With her access to reality in real time finally reinstated, Aelflead wasted no time in playing an active role in her own life again. In the spurii’s first few seconds lucid her booted foot became a miniature shrapnel bomb.

She cocked her foot back mid stride and let it rocket forward into the packed dirt like a shotgun. buckshot at the arch-mage and his roaring pet lizard. A small thank you went out to the brusque cannon-toting man who'd thrown, half-shoved the woman deeper into the fray and into position to act.


[248/1975]
combat notes
Aelflead's passive: "Passion"
- Activated Barbaris Tech Earthshaker(Cost:500 Vigor) to target Ferocitas/Tharros
 
Last edited:
Somehow the agonizing, searing pain awakened something inside of Aeria. There was so much adrenalin in her system that she didn’t feel nearly as paralyzed any more. She rolled out of the way of the mace, screaming in pain as she did so. The pain was terrible, but she hoped that the bullets being fired by Cora would distract the Janu.

As she rolled, she gritted her teeth and used the halberd she held to lever herself to her feet. If she was going to die, she was going to do it standing and facing the enemy, not laying on the ground in utter defeat.

There was still magic in her and she was going to use it. None of Occultus’ distracting spells would have much effect on the magi, but she could use fog to her advantage. She sketched the shape of a squinting eye into the air and exhaled a dense cloud of fog, filling the air between her and the Janu to add to the overall distraction.

[2910]
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Current Date in Araevis

Back
Top