Everflame: The Shard

[Cifero Windtail]

"Grenching is a small area not too far from Arendale," Feuilly explained. "The Pass is the main way to get to where we're going." He frowned. "It's also one of the most monster-ridden places you can come across. There have been tremor serpent sightings, odd disappearances, and numerous other weird events."
(Whitewolf, ask what a tremor serpent looks like.)

[KittKat chunky~]

Together the smaller beasts fought savagely, but as other pack members died one by one they soon turned tail to flee. It was not long until the few that remained after the guard's attack ran whimpering into the undergrowth. In the centre of the body-strewn area now only one hunting beast remained, the pack leader hissing and roaring defiantly, saliva flecking off long tongues and razor teeth.

The great beast pinned Ellin below its powerful claws, snapping jaws at any who tried to approach. It seemed to have grown in size since the fight began, until it rivaled that of a large shadow of a horse, spines shivering from its flanks and mane. Long gashes ran deep into its side from the otter-girl's blade but the wounds seemed only to aggravate the beast into a higher state of madness. Ellin shouted a word of command at the beast, to which the creature cocked its head to one side and stepped back from her. Even as she started to get to her feet triumphantly the beast let out a gurgling hiss of feral laughter.



Through the blood-crazed madness, a glint of intelligence in the beasts eyes. It spoke, voice rasping and guttural, as its jaws chewed on every syllable "I... Do not bow to thy command small mistress..." With a wracking spasm of spines and its flicking tongue it let out another rasping laugh "Only command of the clan elder... Is mine to bow to..." With that it batted Ellin aside like a straw doll and advanced on Imshi, ignoring the many blades of the guards around it.


From under several of the bloodied bodies of the hunting beasts, Yenchi crawled to his feet. Dark red matted his white-dapple fur, ear limp and torn and several deep gashes to join the scar on his chest. He stood slowly, between the alpha beast and Imshi, twin knives of carved bone dripping ichor. The great beast paused, eyes flicking over the feline. It laughed again, shuddering where it stood until the quills on its back shook and shivered. It spoke again with a wracking hiss "How... Precious."

[tangletail]

Leo's brows furrowed together as he pressed himself up closer against the walls after hearing the faint sounds of something Feral like sniffing just ahead. He dared not to move as he heard the foot steps come closer to the small rag tag group, and slowly began to dig his claws into the wall in anticipation. He could hear his own heart beat now as it began to sound rushed, but oddly relaxed which had confused himself. His eyes would follow the fluid as it came close to him, slowly drifting off to the side and then downwards as if being conducted by some unknown intentity. His breathing which had been calm and silent now halted as he could practically feel the prescene of the guards coming closer to them until it had practically became unbareable to his own sanity. His vision now began to warp and twist into a scene of incredible horrors as his own stress just seemed to skyrocket while he now dipped his chin downwards. His claws dug even further into the wall, leaving their own scratches in as he finally laid eyes on one of the horrid things. Before he had a chance to move, or do anything, the creatures god aweful had him pinned against the wall by his throat, and by que, his heart now had skipped a beat and began beatting frantically as the adrenaline had surged through his body.

 
With a frightened and staggered hiss, the feline promptly raised his hand up to snatch the heavy duty flash light from the clip of his shoulder as he was pushed against the wall with a loud thump. The other hand had quickly went up to grab the creature by the arm as he finally pulled the flashlight free and quickly swung it as hard as he could to try and crush the strange creature's temple, or at least do some kind of damage to it. Upon contact the flashlight's torch light would flicker for a moment under the shock as it would then quickly be brought back around to try and break it's elbow while he frantically pulled up his legs and attempted to push the creature away from himself with a kick.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The Queen looked down at Talin from the walls of the city, perched as she was on the gatehouse. Her teal dress softened her look to an almost formless gentility. "Do you wish I play your games, and act the fool? Or do I have your execution fulfilled as I was supposed to, and show how truly foolish I am?" She leaned over the wall peering down. Her red streaked hair spilled around her neck. "I would rather neither come to be true. Tell me I didn't save you for no reason. Tell me what you saw at the village."






Aman dropped to his knees and bowed to Nero. "Yes my Lord, such wonderous violence will be wrought, my Lord." He then clambered to his feet, joining the vicious cheer before heading out, leading the abominable army of twisted forms. Their weapons clutched in lumps of flesh, their feet tearing the dirt with protruding bone as they marched onward toward the violence of the future. Aman led, his innards in tatters, coiled and shredded about his knees. Up ahead, through wide lidless eyes, he gazed up toward the incline, where two figures stood at a ridge, silhouetted against the sun. One wore a cloak, the other was a small child.





Chosen Akela tugged the piece of cloth up, bringing Listy up a hill, meeting a ridge. The black dome smothered the village ahead of them, and they both looked down, watching shadows in the blackness march and sprawl. Akela knelt down beside Listy and pointed down toward the village.
"That's where we're going, right?" she asked. "I mean, if stuff's happening as we get closer to here, it probably is right?" She looked over to it. Someone looked back.






Neesa was sprawled to the side, looking up at the confrontation. The great beast towered over Yenchi, teeth bared and blood dripping to the grass. Then there was a shadow. It flickered in the sky, clouds whipped. The air warped, then she appeared. A dark cloak, body poised over the beast, dropping down, bare feet onto its back. Looking down from under her hood, she watched with a smile as the beast lost its strength. Stood on quivering legs, its eyes lost focus and rolled up.




The monstrosity twitched and snarled at Leo, pressing the cat up against the wall, while the other twisted angel pushed past, spear aimed. General Caisen pulled up her pistol and fired off a shot, blasting through the head of the first, spilling meat across Leo and out to the stairwell. The second jabbed with his spear, slicing past the General as she aimed again. All the while, the serrated tail of the second whipped and sliced into Perra who was knocked bleeding against the wall.

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin crossed his arms and pouted "You're no fun at all...". Shortly after composing himself, Talin gave her a even gaze and a serious face. "Nero has returned, and Shard City's populace was either turned into monsters, or they were devoured by the 'god-ling'." He saw a little arch in her eyebrow and he let out a sigh through his nose. "No, these are not monsters in the form of townspeople, these are people turned into creatures with their innards dragging outside their body, and their skeletons changed into forms suited for ripping and mauling. If you send a scout to validate my report, they will either be devoured, turned, or return in a state of madness."

He then furrowed his brow as he locked eyes with her. "Aria and Dim Lane have left my custody and fled from the City as I attempted to stop Nero before he could leave the city. Please forgive my failure to follow thy wisdom, as I had the foolish belief that I could stop him on my own." He couldn't help but show sorrow as the next string of words left his mouth. "Am I to be restrained and locked away, now that my 'mission' is done?"

[x]

Listy wished she could see what Akela could see, but the texture of the air, the smells on the breeze, the temperature, it was enough to tell her that they were going in the right direction. "I...I think so..."
 
Something cold and sleek rushed into her head all at once and the deer swayed on her feet, trying as hard as she could to hold onto the cloth, then, seconds after, falling to the ground, landing on her side with a thud. She whined in pain, and her hooved hands reached towards the city with a will of their own. "It hurts..." she cried, and her legs jerked as the feeling inside her grew more concrete, more real, like there something was struggling to escape her body with hatred. "I can't stand it, it hurts......" Though she could not see anyway, she closed her eyes and struggled in vain to get up. "I have to go there right now, or it's just going to hurt more."
 
From the corner of each dark eye, equally black tears traced fresh, much darker stains down her cheeks.

[KittKat chunky~]

The beast fell to the ground with a dull thud, quills flicking and twitching as it lay to rest. Ellin watched the creature go down from where she lay in the grass with the smallest hint of a grin. Slowly she stood to her feet, one hand clutched to her side as she shot a glance across at Imshi. The vixen met eyes with the otter then, with tears in her eyes, ran to Yenchi.

She pulled him into an enveloping embrace, ignoring the hot blood that matted his fur and muffled protests. Finally she released him and stood back, a pink flush in her cheeks as she muttered "You would have lain down your life for mine, had help not arrived."

He merely nodded, eyes not quite focused on her. Even as she gripped him tight at the shoulders he swayed slightly where he stood. Finally he turned to Ellin, glancing from her to the guards. The otter girl shied away from his gaze, instead dropping her blade to the ground before them as she spoke in a hushed voice, quite different from the victorious laughter of a moment before "I take full responsibility for what has happened here today... The hunters would not have chased had I not helped carry out the orders. Imshi, I only hope you can forgive me."



At the walls of the city a lone pair of figures turned from the scene and started back into the depths of the city. Shrouded in shadow, one could be made out to be an otter in the brief glimpses of early morning sunlight. She sighed, fingers gripping the hilt of a blade "Both of them should have been killed by my hand... You're plan with the hunters failed, as I believed it would." She paused for a moment, drawing the blade "And my daughter should have done better. She too has failed, and the clan cannot have such a girl to be the next elder when I am gone."
 

[tangletail]

Dipped his head downwards as the gore had splashed over his body and saturated his dark fur, and already messy enough white hair so he could avoid having his eyes blinded by singed and chared meat with splashed spoiled blood. He grimmaced as he saw the sphear pass him, and hit someone else, but that currently remained the least of his concerns. With some effort, he forced his body to push himself off the wall and dip downwards so he could get some leverage over one of the other guards to grab his sphere and press it into it's body all while attempting to lift him up and toss him down the halway and away from them. “Give me one of the guns after this!”

[Entaru]

Nero's gaze followed Aman's as they began their march, eyes setting upon the two figures in the distance.  The cloaked figure brought him little concern...but he could feel something else up there.  Not the cloaked one, but the child....the child piqued his curiousity.  He felt a familiar warmth in his core, long extinguished upon the collapse of his dimension when he looked at the child. He could almost taste his old world the moment he saw the child.  Could she...?

[kivabunny]

"tremor serpent?" aeron said confused " what is a tremor serpent?"

[Cifero Windtail]

"Yeah, what is it?" Viola said, flicking an ear.
Feuilly thought for a second. "Hmm... well, it's hard to say what it looks like, since most people don't live to give a description... but I'd say it's a big, long worm-like creature with a carnivorous streak that tends to attack in groups of two or three." 

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Queen Tizzarath looked down at Talin, her eyebrow raised, her arms at her side, calm with hands pressed to the castle walls. A little twitch in her lips hint at a smile as Talin displays his humility and failure.
"Well isn't that a rare sight," she says with a sigh. Her face pulls with a spectre of sadness. "You were foolish, and now you've endangered people by leaving them undefended." She stands straight, stretching her back and looming over him. "But as the law stated, you are all exiles and i have no reason to protect any of you, and nor should i kill you for fighting monsters." She shrugs and turns away heading back along the wall. "By all rights, you don't exist," she says. The guards watch her leave, some frowning, others simply surprised at her.





Chosen Akela drops to Listy's side, she hovers her paws around the girl, frustrated in her bustling, unable to touch.
"okay," she says. "okay, I'll get you there, hold on." She puts grabs Listy's hips,pressing at her clothes, making sure not to touch her directly. Even then she winces, pain pouring through her fingers. Lifting the girl, she hurries down the hill, keeping to the trees toward the black mass, holding Listy ahead.






Neesa stands to her feet, smiling at the group as they make up. All the while, the guards step back, creeping away toward the city. The chosen woman stands upon the fallen beast. Its slow breaths pushing at her bare feet, white furred feet. She watches the group of escapees, a smile on her face glistening sharp teeth among the shadows of her hooded cloak. She turns to the guards. They've kept their distance some way away, keeping watch. She shrugs and steps off the fallen beast. She picks it up with one hand and flings it over her back, hanging like a bag.





General Caisen snarled at Leo before she took aim and fired, blasting through the second abomination. It splattered across the stairs and fell back into a heap, leaving three of the group standing, while Perra lay at the floor bleeding. Beem was at his side, hoisting him up to his feet. The General walks on past and rolled her eyes at Leo. "Even with a gun, you'd still be pinned to the wall and instead of me shooting it, you'd be blasting a hole right through to Perra's head." She scowled at him and clambered past the bodies, heading up the stairs.




Aman pointed up as he spotted the two figures move down the hill. "My lord, they come. The little one is injured. Should we attack?" he asks.

[Entaru]

Nero holds up his hand to silence Aman.  "No....let them come.  They are but two and I am interested in their purpose.  Keep the troops marching.  I will handle them myself if they are hostile.  Besides...we march to spread fear, remember?  What better way to do that than to send a messenger?"  A grin curled upon his corpselike face as he began to walk to the two.  He knew that they were coming for him, but sensed no malice.  Almost as if it were another worshipper amongst the two.

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Talin's body went stiff. His mind couldn't get past the thought that Talin Kor'vial, who he believed all his life was his identity, no longer existed in the city that he lived in for just as long. He had dropped to his knees, but he didn't feel the impact on his knees. His eyes watered from scarce blinking, but that too was unnoticed by him.

A voice, both alien and familiar, trailed up his spine before reaching his ears and pulling him out of his loop of inactivity. "Well boy, if you're not Talin Kor'vial... then who is this creature I see before me?" From where Tizzarath left, he saw himself with jet black fur and no lips. Every moment of the mouth caused black ooze to drip out from his lower jaw while his glazed eyes looked at the still recovering panther. Though he couldn't smile, the self-image was still able to smile like a true monster as he got in Talin's face.

"Maybe I should go visit Aria and tell her Talin doesn't exist... maybe make a mo-" The guards could see Talin lash out at something in front of him, but he vanished halfway through the swipe. To Talin, he just dispersed the illusion, and found himself standing in front of Aria while finishing his swipe. He just sat there for a few moments as his right eye started to twitch, then he wrapped both arms around her and started crying, but no sobs or shudders were heard.

"By the Grace of Seeker, please let her be real..." he whispered unintentionally to Aria's ears.

[kivabunny]

"well.... that sounds interesting and somewhat fun...i've never had the pleasure of slayin such a beast, shall we begin our travels?" aeron hefted his warhammers......and promptly began walking in the wrong direction.