Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 23: Rest and Resolve

[the_whistler]

Heinz:

The mercenary nodded, acknowledging his employer's words before returning to the room, hanging back a few paces around the door entrance. So dedicated to her cause, Heinz remarked wryly, hearing the shaman present the ultimatum to the priest. Her will is perhaps- most likely the only thing that keeps this group together, raising his eyes slightly at the man's response. A convenient excuse, though it fits with his story and what Beau said.

"Understood," he responded to Morgan's order. At least this frees me from watching over him constantly. "Seems like he'll be asleep for awhile," Heinz commented quietly, departing soon after the thunder sage as the conversation grew more personal. I owe her thanks for healing me, probably more than once, thinking back to the latest battle.

"Don't remember who healed me then anyway," the thief frowned, slipping down to the stables as soon as the younger members of the party had left. Probably went to explore by themselves, Heinz guessed, reattaching the saddlebags, goods intact before he left for the bustling streets of town.

General Conrad:

"I'll be working on fixing that problem myself," restating what he had previously affirmed for the prince's benefit. Watching the pegasus knight depart, the general sighed internally. It would've been near impossible to discuss the matters I intended to talk about with the Septimian prince here anyway, not to mention my subordinate's own mental state. Nevertheless, had Ixion not interrupted my plans, this situation could have turned out much more satisfactory.

He turned towards the prince. "Prince Tristan, it would probably be for the best if neither of us bothered Captain Viveka for awhile. She needs time to recuperate from the stress, I imagine, as well all do from our travels. I hope traveling with the Crimson Weapons on this quest has not been too much of a problem for you," the knight remarked politely, pausing for a second. "... What do you intend to do about Jace's takeover of your country?" he asked.

Jumping Game:

Smiling mischievously, a lithe figure swiftly climbed over another fence and up the roof of a nearby building. "Why, it's been such a looong time that I've seen any of you but the 'Hero'," sniggering to herself. "I'm sure you'll be thrilled to see me again!" humming an old mourning hymn as she neatly skewered a nearby rat, leaving it to wiggle frantically in the ground and bleed itself to death.

OOC: Heinz leaves with Ralf before either Raemond or Viveka are there.

[-Cynthia-]

"Yeah, maybe we should leave her alone, I'm not really sure how to fix dark magic in the head anyway. Traveling with you all hasn't been so bad so far I guess, but it's not really how I expected a heroic quest would go. Hard to say whether that's because my idea of what a hero is was wrong or whether you all are just unusual," Tristan said to Conrad.

He scratched his head at Conrad's question. "Err...good question General. I don't really have an army or anything so I can't just march up and take Burgosas back. Not like I would want to do that with Halton attacking anyway. I guess I could try to petition Elyisima for support but we're awfully far from there, and the other nations all seem to have serious internal issues."

[Script]

Larry, the Undead Spy

"Well, it looks like it's time," the spy said and whistled.

Directus

Councilman Richtor stood near the window of one of the offices he had in the building. This one was designed for the purpose of being an information hub, and as such there were a dozen windows filtering in light at all time. Information was at the highest importance since the war, and he wanted to go over the most important bits as soon as they were flown in. From those placed with Burgosas, to Paul's continued reports on the Crimson party, and of course, Larry's reports from Anglenar. With a light tapping on the reinforced window, Councilman Richtor was aware the latest report had arrived. He tiled the window and carefully removed the tiny scroll from the bird's leg before waving it off. He watched it fly up to the aviary before turning his attention to news from the warfront.

Larry's messages were always straight to the point, so even with all the ciphers he has put it through Councilman Richtor still recognized the words on the scroll instantly. "Screams, Probably, Not," and "human". Not the most encouraging message by any stretch of the imagination.

"Mendozza!" the ruler shouted. "Somebody get Marduk in here now!"

"Here, Richtor," the General bent down under the door to the room and entered. It seemed they were lucky enough that the good General had been right outside.

"Word from Larry," the Councilman pushed the scrap of paper into the white gauntlet of the older man.

It only took a second for the veteran to recognize the wording. "I'll get everything I can set up immediately."

"Yes, yes, you'll do that and I'll--"

"Panic!"

"If you don't mind?"

"Go ahead." the General shrugged and stepped out.

"Yes!" Councilman Richtor began to panic.

---

This was gonna be difficult, General Mendozza thought as he stomped down the halls, flights of stairs and solid ground of the base floor. Even with full mobilization of the reserves, there were still enough refugees and out-of-towners to prove a problem. If any of them decided to defy the orders the General would need to give to guard against the inevitable attacks by any faction coming for them, then it would play completely into the plans of their enemies. Halton was coming, or were at one point, and this new "not-human" threat that Larry and speculated about could only be one thing. The one thing he was training the city for, the one thing he wasn't willing to not be overly cautious about. Larry didn't embellish quite as much as Paul, but neither the Master or Apprentice would be stupid enough to joke about a demon attack in official reports. This was trouble, and it could be coming right for them.

The General exited the building to salutes of the doubled-up guard. No assassins of men would enter this building unless they were working for the city. But the killers from demon-kind would not be so easy to hold, though he would do his damnedest to ensure that didn't need to happen. Even if the speculated one wore the form of human, Marduk would find it.

"Cavai!" the General shouted for one of the messenger captains.

"Yes, General!" the too-thin man came running up in seconds.

"Get your entire company moving around town. Anyone not of Directus is too be relocated to Visitor's Centers and the Outland Inns. Get to each gate and tell them to turn away all outsiders and get me the Watch Reports. I want every out-of-towner from the past week verified and located and made damn sure they're 100% good old fashioned human."

"Human, sir?"

"A demon may be coming my boy and make damn sure everyone we have is notified too!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the messenger Captain sounded too damn happy.

"Get going!" The General wasn't in the mood for proper procedure.

"Sir!" The man saluted and ran of with incredible speed.

Mendozza sighed. The kids had been raised with all the glorious tales of the war spinning about in their heads, of the heroes and fighting for humanity. Mendozza knew damn well Richtor had done it on purpose. But it was necessary. They needed to aspire to this, in case the demons ever returned. The naive would learn soon enough the horrors of fighting the demons, and those who hadn't been sheltered as much as those like Cavai would accept the coming fight with a grim resolve.

It was probably foolish to completely change the defensive plans of the city on the speculation of one man. But there was no damned way Mendozza was gonna let another city burn because he didn't take the threat of the demons seriously again.

---

Later in the day, after General Mendozza had briefed the other heads of the threat, three man teams of infantry, healer and mage were dispatched throughout the city with horns to blow in case of trouble. Spies took to the roofs, to look for any sign of infiltrators. The mighty gates of the city were closed, the guard tripled and any travelers turned away. Defense along the fallen wall was doubled, not even a leaf would get in without being noticed. Veterans of the former war walked the streets of the city in their armor for the first time in years. Riots--caused by those refusing to comply with Mendozza's relocation orders--were quickly suppressed and the perpetrators dragged to jails. This was not a city to be trifiled with.

[Inactive Account]

There was nothing to see down the abandoned well, but the louder noises from outside made it through the wooden cover, echoing down the shaft. Soon after the youth had curled up at the bottom, it heard the usual sounds of early morning replaced with those of marching feet, orders being called, shouting, then silence.

The day was quiet, but barely seemed long; the thing was accustomed to waiting. The rim of light around the edges of the top of the well eventually faded as the sun set. Once it was gone, the shadows reared up around their container again, shooting up to push aside the well cover, then propelling the slight figure up and out. Retracting the shadows again until they were needed, it ducked out into the street.

[Script]

Fodder Three-Man Patrol 44

"Ah, we've been walking all damn day, when's our break gonna be called?" the soldier, with a crest on his feature-hiding helm named Sam, complained.

"Who knows," the fire mage, a brown-haired boy just out of training named Saul, replied.

"Once we find the demon!" the cleric, a blond girl named Santa, yelled

"Yeah, that'll be the day," Saul whined some more. "All we've had are disgruntled outsiders and riots." He adjusted his helmet. Thing just didn't set right.

"That is our duty," Saul said and slapped the should of the soldier. "Can't want much more than that."

"Yeah!" Santa chipped in.

"I can want--huh?" Sam knocked Saul's hand off. "Anyone else see that?"

"See what?" Saul rubbed his hand.

"Some kid, I think," Santa confirmed Sam's sight. She had good eyes.

"Hey kiddo, get out here!" Sam shouted.

Mendozza of the Center

At the center of the city, General Mendozza waited along with an entire company of cavalry. If any horn were blown in the city, this company--and three others positioned in key areas would be the main defense force.

"So," the leader of all of Directus' troopers, Colonel Frask--a tough and able veteran from the war--spoke. "You don't think you're going overboard?"

"Not a damn chance," Mendozza replied from his seat on the war wagon. "And even if I was--"

"Caution's better than dead yeah." Frask looked out over as much of the city as their position allowed. "But we can't keep this up for too long, not with Halton coming, not with Jace possibly planning anything." Mendozza said nothing. It was true, and both men knew this. "Well, I've followed your gut this long, and it hasn't failed enough that I won't follow it."

Mendozza nodded.

[Inactive Account]

There were no civilians, but there were soldiers. Those would get in the way.

"Hey kiddo, get out of here!"

The creature's head turned. Impassive blue eyes took in a trio of soldiers. The shadows reared up, and the three were engulfed. If these military types continued to appear, this was going to take a while. The thing began the long walk down the street, aiming to pass straight through town.

[Script]

Fodder Three-Man Patrol 44

"Eh?' was all any of them managed to get out before being engulfed.

Spy Zam

Walking on rooftops was fun. Walking on rooftops while being government sanctioned was more fun. Having to follow a loud and obnoxious complainer was not. So in order to drown out all the whining coming from his assigned patrol, the spy Zam was keeping a healthy distance. So, when the noises ceased, the spy felt hoped and rushed out to keep a close eye on them. Only, they weren't there? The spy looked around, and saw no trace of bodies. The nearby houses were currently empty--like a good deal--so, where did they go? The spy Zam scratched his head. This was probably a big deal, a patrol up and vanishing. But, he didn't have a horn, the spies had to rely on their lungs to get any messages around.

"Arumikuy!" the spy shouted a code word. "Sigh, sigh, shimp!" A few seconds later and Zam heard "sigh, sigh, shimp-arumikuy" echoing off into the distance. It was the current code for: missing patrol, unknown cause. The first code word would identify the area the patrol was missing in.

Mendozza of the Center

"Sigh, sigh, shimp-arumikuy," the receiver for the spy shout network said.

"Dammit, a missing patrol," Mendozza said in restraint.

"That's..." Colonel Frask spoke a single word.

"Looks like I was right, though damn it all that I was. Get the word out to approach anything with caution!"

"Sir!" the receiver ran off. Within a minute, more shouting crossed the city, telling each spy to keep their attention sharp. With two minutes a horn went out, and all those patrols in the streets were aware--something had happened. There would be no repeats.

Guard of the Center Road

"Eyes up, ears sharp boys!" Sergeant Roll, an accomplished Fighter on the training field and one of the heavy patrols of the main roads of Directus shouted to his men. "Keep those torches burning and point out anything that even looks like trouble! We won't go missing will we?"

"Sir, no sir!" the nine men under his command shouted.

"Damn straight," The Sergeant looked to the roofs. "That goes double for you spy!"

"Haha," she laughed. "One of my eyes is worth more than all of yours! You already have a guest coming!"

Roll sneered and looked down the street. Some brat was coming. "If he so much as looks at me funny stick his ass Lou."

"Sir," the archer replied and notched his arrow. Even though it was a kid, the man hadn't let the order stop him for a second. Monster or hero? Well, they'd find out soon.

Sergeant Roll walked ahead of his men and yelled at the kid. "Hey kid, listen to the curfew orders and get your ass to a Visitor Center!" Kid wasn't from around here though.

[Inactive Account]

There were more in front of it now. Torches, weapons. They had a split second to realize that the darkness behind the creature was not natural before the shadows surged forward. Torches were seized and flung aside. All that remained when the shadows subsided was the archer, minus his bow and most of the hand that had been holding it. Half an arrow clattered to the ground; the severed bowstring sagged. Before the shadows surged forward again to finish him, the thing considered. If this many continued to oppose it, it would take a while to get through the city. Perhaps things could be sped up.

"Go," the creature told the man. "Tell your people to get out of my way. My business is not here."

[Script]

Last Man Standing

Dammit, there was no way for him to stop this thing. It was so fast, how the hell? Lou took two steps back, and broke into a full run back to the center of the city. General Mendozza would know what to do! Lou gripped his arm stump and bit down hard on his teeth to distract the pain. It didn't work very well.

Woman on the Roofs

Dammit, that was scary scary. But, the thing didn't seem to like fire. They could use that. But, it also relied on her to get the word out. Lou--if he made it--would be too blinded to think of it. Fleia hoped over to a neighboring street, making sure there was no easy way for the demon to go through before she shouted. "Retam! Decker, Kyra, Shoul, Rickle, Fla!"

Mendozza of the Center

"Retam! Decker, Kyra, Shoul, Rickle, Fla!"

The damn thing was coming down the center. Arrogant piece of shit. But the codewords could help. "Alright, everyone listen up, the demon's coming down the center of town straight on! Arrogant bastard is strong as hell, but it seems he doesn't like fire! Clear the main pass up to hear of all our forces! Have them encircle and entrap it while following it here. Fill this area here with as much flammable booze as we have. Get mages with siege tomes up at maximum distance, and archers the same!"

The men available scrambled to do their job. Horns sounded and shouts ran through the whole city. The path for the demon would be clear, but as soon as he stepped on the trap, a massive area beyond the third gate--the quickest route through--would be set ablaze, peppered with arrows and the gates behind thrown shut.

An archer with one arm came running up to the men moving under orders, but one look at everything being set and he knew exactly what was happening. He promptly passed out and was carried to another location out of the way.

[Inactive Account]

The creature's progress went largely unimpeded for a while, but stopped: the smell of alcohol filled the air up ahead, and the street ran with it. A fire trap, most likely. There were a few options; either the shadows could mop the stuff up, or the whole thing could be bypassed. It opted for the latter. The humans wouldn't be able to contain or kill it, but they would certainly slow it down, and it had messages it needed to deliver. Speeding up, it ducked down a side street, turning again to run parallel to the main road. That smell... it was foiled again.. Well, it didn't much like doing so, but it could avoid the ground. Shadows pooled around its feet, then launched it upwards, and it was running across rooftops. It kept the shadows in to minimize itself, bringing them out only to bridge gaps between buildings.

[Script]

Mendozza Waiting

Seconds turned to minutes. And minutes turned to agony as no sign of the mystery demon showed itself. Dammit, had it smelled the trap?

"Zephyr! Raul, Wesil!"

It seems it had.

Rooftops Chase Scene!

Normally, escaping to the rooftops was a smart idea. It was rarely--if ever--guarded, and even then lightly. But this was Directus. Spies were trained to do the smart thing and keep to the roofs. So, when the demon tried using the height advantage to get away, it just gave its position away to a particularly sharp-eyed spy. "Zephyr! Raul, Wesil!" the spy shouted. He began to chase after the demon, keeping a two roof distance between himself and his target. It had gotten this far, and underestimating it would be killed. He hadn't survived the war by underestimating the demons. At the first sign of trouble, he would duck back to the streets. As he kept pace as best he could--age had its downsides--a handful of others began boxing in the demon. Jumping from all these roofs was dangerous in the best of times though, and at night even the veteran spy had trouble making the jumps across the streets. Some of the new blood weren't so lucky, and fell to a painful landing because of a misstep or misjudge.

"Zephyr, Raul Twine!" the first spy shouted. The others nearby complied and spread out. Like the veteran they would run at the first sign of trouble.

Mendozza Moving

Mendozza and the cavalry company charged after the direction that Zephyr Wind Rall's code shouts were coming from. Though he wasn't quite the combat monster Paul was, Rall was still a smart, capable and quick-footed spy. He should be able to keep tabs on the demon while not falling to the same weakness as the poor recently departed.

Revenge

Colonel Frask carassed the hilt of a special package he had gone and retrieved while preparations were being made for the aborted trap. The weapon was an antique, maybe having a single swing--two if he got lucky--before it shattered. But the old Light Brand had killed many a demon in the war. He vowed to add one more to it. He whipped and kicked his steed hard. He damn well wanted to be the first one to have a crack at the monster.

[Inactive Account]

Even on the roofs, opposition. The spies that chased the creature might match its pace while it was forced to run like a human would, but they couldn't hope to kill it. Whenever one got too close, an arm of shadow whipped out and grabbed them. It didn't take long for the rest to stop getting too close. The wall that encircled the city was coming into sight; once over that, the thing would be able to go properly fast again, and continue to its actual goal.

[Ether]

Damian ran blindly, the world around him seeming... blank, dull.

'It doesn't seem that way, it is.'

Yes, it was not a trick of the eye, or some sort of odd gimmick, the entirety of this world had been laid awash in a coat of ebony, like a tsunami of ink washing over a once vivid painting... the sounds of the serene forest, the smell of damp grass, it had all dissapeared with the light.

'Yet, I still run, and I do not fall...'

Damian could feel the solidity of the ground beneath him as he landed from his long strides, he was sprinting by this point, away from that spot... the whole world awash in black... that spot still haunted him.

'It will still be red... but why will it be red... I do not know.'

The attempt was in vain. The mental barriers Damian put up, desperate to wipe that place, that event, from his mind, were doing absolutely nothing.

'I do know... it is red because there is blood there... Tessa's blood... and I am the one who shed it...'

However, he still tried. With all the strength he could muster, his only wish was to cleanse it from his mind, to keep his own sanity in check...

'What did happen there?'

Perhaps it was a bliss set upon him, perhaps it was but a trick, but suddenly, Damian could not remember it.

'Why am I running? I know something happened, but what? What am I running from?'

Delirium began to sink in, as the memory dissapeared. This was his realm... as he could the bodies, could he too will the memories away? Would that null the point of the whole endeavor... did it really matter?

Damian stood still, looking around him. Everything was pitch black... he could not even see his own hands mere inches from his face... could not feel the ground beneath him, could not hear, could not smell, could not taste...

'Wait! I taste something.'

The flavour was odd, yet familiar... it held the distinct, metallic tang of iron...

'What is this? I know I've tasted this before...'

The black world flashed scarlet.

'No, it can't be...'

Damian lifted his hand to his face, and bit down on his finger.

'Pain... I can feel pain again.'

The taste was the same... no, that was a lie. Damian's blood was heavier, the taste more bitter, whereas this taste was... sweeter.

Yet the sight... the returning sight... was unmistakable.

The thick red liquid running out of Damian's mouth and down his chin... it was clearly blood.

'But who's blood is this, if not my own- no... I don't want to know... that much I can tell.'

A grotesque image flashed through Damian's head, the sight of a petite blonde girl lying on the grass, a pool of her own blood about her, stemming from her slit throat, and out her mouth...

'No... no, it can't be...'

*Thump*

This faceless girl, mouth poised in what looked like a scream... but looked more like a kiss...

'No, don't show me her face!'

*Thump*

Blue. Her eyes were blue.

'I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE!'

*Thump* *Thump*

This girl was...

*Thump* *Thump* *ThumpThumpThumpThumpThump*

"TESSA!" Damian screamed out the name of the victim, vivid images flooding his head once again. He collapsed to his knees in agony, and began to sob.

'It was Tessa... and I killed her... I did this! I am tasting her blood!'

Damian quivered, his entire body going into spastic attacks.

'I did th-"DAMIAN!"-is... I am to blam-"DAMIAN!"-e... and why am I hearing my name? No one is calli-"DAMIAN!!!"-ng out to... there it is again.'

Damian looked about confusedly, seeing no one, nothing. The shaking began to worsen, his body now almost flailing about.

'Well would you look at that? I've fina-"DAMIAN, PLEASE!"-lly gone crazy... although, how could I not? taking a life so pure?'

As his eyes scanned the blank scenery once again, a shimmering caught his eye... his knife. The very same that had killed Tessa.

'It is only right that this is the one.'

Picking up the knife without moving anything but his hand and arm, Damian looked at it with both vehement hatred, and longing.

'That ends me as well..."NO!"'

The sound of the dagger piercing into soft human flesh, the feel of resistance on the handle as it drove itself in... the solid impact of... armour?

'But where is the pain?'

"D-Damian... please... don't do this."

That voice... it was familiar...

'Who's voice is...'

"I don't know what happened, but that is no reason to kill yourself, Damian... I won't let you do that... I'll always jump in the way."

"...Aiya!?" Damian opened his eyes in shock. He could see again, his delirium fading. oh how he wished he could go back to it...

Against his chest, breathing heavily, clearly laboured, lay Aiya. The warmth of the blood pooling from her stomach and onto Damian's chest shocking him, as her steel gauntlet stopped the blade from entering his heart.

"AIYA?! NO, NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING... not again, not again, not again, not again... NOT AGAIN!"

Pulling the knife out desperately, Damian began to suppress and wrap the wound. The bloodflow just wouldn't stop, no matter what he did, it just wouldn't stop...

"It's no use, Damian... I am just glad my life went to a worthy cause... in the end, I saved you, too..." Aiya smiled at him, blood framing her lips, as she went limp in Damian's arms.

"Aiya? Aiya! Aiya!? Get up, s-stop joking around with me, you aren't dead, this isn't happening... it isn't... it can't be..." Damian said with panic, shaking her lifeless body as tears began to stream down his cheeks indiscriminately.

"Why are you sad?" The voice pierced Damian's mind, causing him to jerk upward.

"You were going to kill her anyway. Just like all of the others. Just like everyone else you loved... you were going to kill her too... so stop the act, monsters like you don't feel emotional pain... stop mocking the rest of the world." Those words struck Damian with a livid rage.

'Do you think I enjoy this? Do you think I do this for fun? This hurts, this hurts more than anything you could imagine, it hurts a lot more than this will.'

The Gungnir was jabbed towards the voice, the faceless figure, a terrified scream puncturing the air as the bloody lance tore into the body, again and again and again.

"How could you say that, how could you? This hurts so much, it hurts to live, it hurts to breathe! I HATE YOU!" Damian shouted, his voice beginning to rasp as the Gungnir reduced the once-human to a bloody pulp...

His eyes widened as he looked at it. Shock coursed through his veins as Damian looked at the mutilated corpse.

"No, that isn't possible, you were just..." Damian looked back. There was nothing there... then, this bloodied excuse for a human being, barely recognizable, that he had said such things to in their last moments of life...

"Aiya..." Damian's face turned incredibly grim. He did not even know what to think anymore... all he knew was... now she was gone too...

"Congratulations." The masculine voice, accompanied by the droning sound of clapping. Damian looked towards the source, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Ixion?"

"Yes, Damian. I have been keeping tabs on your progress... how wonderfully merciless, how... deliciously brutal." The druid licked him lips as he spoke, advancing towards the Haltonian Colonel.

"You are perfect... that hatred, that power... you will make the perfect host, the perfect... puppet."

'A puppet? Is that what I have been, all of this time?'

Damian had naught a chance to think on it, as the tendrils of dark magic blazed towards him, gripping both his left and right arms...

"...!"

A nigh-tsunami of blood, as unspeakable pain rushed through Damian's body. He fell to the ground, the only thing registering to him the fact that his arms were now both bloody stumps, and nothing more. Gungnir lay about a foot to his right.

"Now then... give me your body!" The druid lunged, not using his magic. Did this require close contact? But why would he want a body he himself had just mutilated?

Forcing his body to move, Damian managed to kick himself off towards his weapon, evading the strike.

'A whole lot of good this thing will do me without arms-!'

A flash of light, causing Ixion to cover his eyes. Damian had no such luxury, as the radiant light from the Gungnir permeated his mind...

"What?!"

Ixion's voice rang through the area, wrought with surprise.

"How in the hell did you do that? That shouldn't be possible!" Ixion remarked, backing way slightly.

Damian stood, with a confused look on his face. He could feel Gungnir in his hand-

'That's not right... my hand was disintegrated.'

He looked down, his arms replaced with glowing white appendages, Gungnir gripped in the right.

'What is this? Is this the power of a divine artifact?'

...

"No."

"No? What do you mean, no?" Ixion asked, this sight scarring even him.

"This is not... the work of Gungnir... it is something you taught me, Ixion... I need no divine tool, for in this world..." Damian spoke slowly, yet confidently, leaning forward slightly, as a golden halo made itself visible atop his head.

"I am God."

Gungnir was hurled with blinding speed, piercing Ixion through the heart, and pinning him to the tree behind him.

"No... is this... all I can do? Did everything... come to this end?" Ixion's image faded away, leaving in it's place that of Gse-Borg. The personification fell limp, as the demonic lance clattered to the ground. Walking forward, Damian picked up the weapon.

"Gae-Borg... heed my call. You are mine to bear, mine to control. I am your master."

*********************

Damian jolted awake, sweat coating his form as he lay upon his given bed. Looking around the familiar room in Irvinheim, Damian looked to his hand, the easily recognized Crimson Lance summoned into his hand.

He smiled.

"So this is it, huh? How it feels to defeat that thing?" Damian asked no one in particular, standing up and moving towards the door.

"You may have not been real... but you have done a lot for me... the least I can give you is a proper grave..." Damian said solemnly, exiting his room and moving towards the courtyard.

[Snowy_One]

As she had walked throughout the castle, Mana had been lost in absent thought. Her mind raced back and forth, going over the feeling of being lost to the winds once again, trying desperately to recapture the scraps of memory of her flight that had so entralled her to the point where she had been incapable of conscious thought. "Am I really getting this old?" she asked herself as a false memory surfaced, only to be swept away in less than a second. "So old that my mind is now a stranger to the times I spent lost in the wind? How long have I even been in this castle? Two days? Three? I can't even recall properly anymore." She shook her head in mild amusement. She knew this was inevitable. As people grew older, the passage of time seemed to change for them. Any person lucky enough to become wizened knew this, and she was now more than triple their ages anyways. "Ah well. I supposed it is pointless."

She smiled and looked up. Overhead, the gentle touch of sunlight reached down to touch her cheek. She had come outside, into the courtyard. Relaxing her vision just a bit, she could see the faint motions of the air as it passed by overhead. Comforting her. Inviting her. She wished she could just spread her wings and fly away; leave this place. For all the good she was doing, she might as well. Damian wasn't listening to her at best, Ixion was ignoring her, and she had done little to halt his attempts to unlock the weapon. It would be ever so easy, to spread her wings and return to the air...

And she knew she couldn't. Eventually something would go wrong. When that happened, she would need to be right on the doorstep. Even if all other nations in the world declared war on Elyisima, it would not matter as much. She would need to return, yes, but for the first day or so TISME could handle themselves. Mana sighed as she sat down, kicking a small pebble. She was feeling REALLY old today for sure!

"Hello Damian." she said, sensing the motion of air behind her as the man entered. "So... You finally did it I assume?"

[Script]

Rooftops Chase Scene Take 2!

Ah, some of he dumbass new meat had gotten too cocky and screwed up. Dammit, this was such a shitstain mess even if they somehow managed to stop the damn thing they'd already lost too many good men and women. Rall refrained from any nasty stress habits as he kept up his pursuit. At this rate they'd make straight for the exit. If anyone got in the way... "Zephyr! Welsh, Shear, Shear, Fla!" the message carried across the night and to the archers atop the walls--and the spy nearby. "They're coming right for us! To the sides hurry! Stick the damn thing when it runs past! And throw some torches at it too!" The bow soldiers complied and filed to the side, giving the demon a straight shot over the walls. It would just have to go through a shooting gallery of fire and arrow first.

The spy on the wall looked back at the direction the demon was coming from. Not too far--but too far to be of help--the line of cavalry was coming.

[Inactive Account]

One last rooftop. The creature sped up. These were a persistent lot, and there would likely be some attempt at attacking when it made for the wall. Shadows pooled around its feet, and at the end of the roof it shot upwards, propelled by a mass of shadow, much higher than it actually needed in order to clear the wall. As it arced through the air, it pulled the shadows in close around itself, hiding in a protective ball of darkness and minimizing itself as a target.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Kiryn

[Ether]

As Damian entered the courtyard, he heard the headmaster greet him.

"Well, I think I have. I cannot know for sure whether it is dead and gone yet, but at the very least, I feel liberated... I feel... human again." Damian said with a wistful tone, moving to stand next to Mana, before kneeling to work the soft ground, forming a small mound.

Looking about his person, Damian found it... the dagger. Carrying it with him was not something he looked forward to... it held a hard memory to swallow.

Unsheathing the blade slowly, Damian jabbed the dagger into the center of the mound, leaving it to stand upright. Placing the sheath at the base, Damian uttered a quick prayer to the Lady.

"...Thank you."

Standing silently, Damian looked back to Mana.

"I apologize. That was probably something you had no interest in seeing."

[Snowy_One]

"On the contrary Damian." said Mana, smiling as she stood up. Coming to stand beside him, she placed her hand upon his shoulder, looking down at the dagger. Though she could not know what dream he had just gone through, she was no stranger to symbolism. No stranger to hidden meaning. And no stranger to the refreshed flows of air that moved through his lungs. Bending down, she lightly touched the top of the dagger hilt.

"May the Goddess forgive me my rage. May she strengthen my weakness. May she cleanse the blood upon my hands. Deeds I have wrought that cannot be unwrought, I have committed. All in you name. In your name, I have killed innocents. I have fled my post in your name. Goddess comfort me and Lord give me the strength to never commit such a deed again. Give me the chance to atone for my misdeeds." she said before lowering her voice down to a level which Damian could not make out before she whispered one final string of words.

"We all have our trials and deeds. I am happy you seem to have at least come to terms with them. I failed mine ever so long ago." she said, standing up to face him once again. "I am sorry I was of little use to you. Maybe I was too slow, or maybe a hand harder than mine was what you needed after all. Tell me, though, do you think that you are now the master?"

[Ether]

"I would not say you had no part in this, no use. You proposed an alternative viewpoint, and while at times it did seem a bit... counter intuitive to my goal, I know you had your reasons for it, and I feel as though that opposition may have pushed me to pursue it harder. I do not know if that was part of your intention, but I do think it was an effect it had." Damian replied, looking at the grave marker with downcast eyes.

"Do I think I am the master? That... I don't have an answer for yet. I feel as though, at the very least, I am in a better position. I do not think I should have further problems with loss of control, but after what happened in the past, to grow lax would be foolish." Damian said, thinking the matter over himself.

'If it were to attempt to wrest control from me again... would I be prepared to defend that control? I can not know for certain...'

[Snowy_One]

"I am surprised. You acknowledge your own weakness." she said with a thin smile. "Don't worry." she patted his shoulder. "Your weapon will come back to challenge you, to hurt you, to sear you. That is its nature. That is what it does. A weapon forged of hellfire must hurt the soul of the user. You will be stronger though. Strong enough on your own? Maybe not. But with others to help you out, yes."

Mana took her hand off him, her feet moving softly over the earth as she made her way to a nearby flowerbed. She bent down, cupping one of the small buds in her hand. "You had to rely on your divine weapon, I assume?"

[-Cynthia-]

Ursibus

Xaver was waiting rather anxiously on the steps of the Grand Cathedral outside Ursibus, practicing destroying rocks with wind magic as a form of relieving boredom mostly. Finally, two figures appeared walking...perhaps more like limping towards the cathedral.

"Where's the Commander...and all the others?" he asked Henry and Kamilla, standing up. Maybe they're just faster or something...

Meanwhile, Petros walked through the streets of Ursibus under a cloak, often bumping into people due to his large size. So where is this Grand Cleric anyway? I'm starting to think Ruby might not have had much of a plan here...can some fleshy old man really do anything against the Lord of Azure Flame? he thought to himself

[Phoenix]

We got pwned

Kamilla hung her head down not knowing if it would be her or Henry that would be conveying the terrible news to Xaver. Simply waiting to find out didn't seem right though. She had a voice and she could still use it. If Henry wanted to add something, well she was certain he would do so.

Kamilla: We lost. Althea and the others are gone.

She was speaking but she couldn't look Xaver in the eyes and simply kept her head down slightly hidden behind Henry.

[Script]

Walls of Freedom

"Dammit!" the spy shouted as the thing bounded right over there heads. "Shoot, fire!" The archers complied, and sent a barrage of arrows in the direction of the shadow demon. Not content to let that be all, the spy futilely threw some torches in the direction as well.

[Inactive Account]

As expected, flaming arrows filled the air as the creature jumped. A few tore into the shell of shadow as it fell; the arrows themselves were consumed, but the flame burned until the thing landed outside the wall, rolling in the dirt and withdrawing the shadows to put the fire out. As soon as the flames were doused, the pool of shadows formed around its feet, and it was on its way again. No more sheltering in cities, it decided: the military in this area was too aware of its presence, and would slow it down too much. Instead, as the dawn came, finding the creature many miles from Directus, it opted to remain in the wild, taking shelter from the light in a small cave formerly inhabited by a bear (the unfortunate occupant had fled in a terror as soon as it sensed the creature nearby) and curled up to await nightfall again.

Another night's travel-- or possibly more, time ran together for the creature-- and it was very near its target, not far from the town of Worthington. It had noted with interest as it traveled the state of the Septimian capital, and the fact that another city had apparently been taken by Helenos, but just as quickly taken back. It did not bother the dragon currently in residence there; she sensed it, but did not attack either, hardly caring about it, preferring to fill the ruins of Altenau with plants, returning it to nature since the humans could no longer use it.

Unfortunately even as the target began to register on the creature's senses, the day was dawning again. It was plains all around here, so it had to resort to digging a hole in the ground in the shadow of some large rocks-- not hard with the use of its shadows, but hardly a fun task-- and hiding there. If the target sensed it also and came to it, very well; otherwise, it would seek the target out at night. It settled in and waited for the day to pass.

[Script]

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Wall

"Dammit!" the spy on the walls shouted. Some of the archers with initiative tries to send another volley after the demon, but it was too far gone. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

"Aren't you a sweary." a voice came from behind.

"Ah, sir Rall," the wall spy turned around to face his superior. "As you could realize, the thing managed to get away. The arrows and fire didn't slow it down much," he explained.

"Tch, things too fast for us to catch now too. Damn," the senior spy glanced over at the juniors following him. "Get things in order here, I have to report to the bosses."

"Sir."

Rall jumped off the wall and started running to the line of approaching cavalry.

"General," he said once within distance of the war leader's wagon. "It escaped."

"Damn!" one of the cavaliers said. No, wait, he was a Paladin.

General Mendozza started down the ramp of the wagon before speaking. " All men stand down!" he ordered before turning to Rall. "Did you manage to wound it? See the direction it ran off in?"

"We managed to get a few arrows and flames on it, but nothing serious it seems. It just ran off straight from the spot it was going."

"So we might need light," Mendozza glanced at the wall. "I shouldn't have repositioned all mages to city patrol. That was sloppy, we might have stopped it otherwise."

"General," the Paladin--ah, it was the Cavalry Colonel, Frask?--positioned his steed closer to the two. "Request permission to take Alther Company in pursuit."

"Denied Colonel."

"I see. Then I retire my position as Colonel of Directus. Good night," the Paladin yanked on his reigns and swung his mount around.

"Hold it Frask!" General Mendozza crashed forward and stopped the cavalry leader. "You have a duty to uphold you just can't--"

"I have no duty!" the Paladin screamed! "Not anymore! All I'll have is vengeance!"

"Colonel Claus," General Mendozza was significantly irked now. "I am giving you a direct order to stand down!"

"As I said, I retire!" The Paladin with revenge on his mind wheeled about fast--faster than the heavily-armored General could move--and kicked his steed towards the wall. It was a futile gesture--the gates were closed. "Open the gates!" he shouted. But anyone in the gatehouse would have easily heard the argument between the two. They wouldn't--"OPEN THE GATES!" General Mendozza yelled.

Former Colonel Frask Claus didn't even look back as he charged out into the night.