Ryudo Lee's Legacy

[Stygian]

The darkness at the edge that still hung over the woods had moved, and when facing the Fae's incandescent magic, it made for a powerful contrast. Shadows that should have been driven away were accentuated by the bright light, snaking and rippling at the edges of it. When exposed to the light, for a moment some of the slithering darkness seemed to coalesce in between Rei and Aisha, forming the outline of a tall man-creature, standing and watching calmly, its green-glowing eyes radiating chill as they took in the scene. It only lasted for the shortest of moments though, before the light vanished and the forest was again plunged into evening darkness.

   Where had the wolf gone to? The Stygian was most displeased with this turn of events. Right now, any place was worse than here. The angel's darkness had been beaten down, if not eradicated, which was just as well; it had been out of control in the first place, and probably would never have come under it. But if the wolf was gone, and if he could not sense any darkness for his feral side to feed on, that meant that he was going to turn to hunting for souls directly, which meant he would be lost to them if he did not return immediately. And Stygian lacked the capability to go after him and bring him to senses. There was only one who could do that right now, it seemed. And she too would hardly have been able to find him, it thought.

   When darkness and quiet enveloped the woods again the stillness seemed almost palpable. But not ten seconds had passed before Aisha could hear that whisper again, something that drifted out of the darkness like a chill wind, making her fur stand and sending shivers down her spine.
   We have no time to lose. The wolf. We must find the wolf at once!

[Gareeku]

Looking around, the transformed Gareeku suddenly found that Pan had appeared next to him; the one who had prevented him from getting to the darkness the angel possessed. Snarling angrily, Gareeku began to advance towards him, when he suddenly spotted something in the distance; a band of travellers. Smiling evilly and licking his lips, the transformed wolf suddenly flapped the wings on his back and took of in a fast flight, eager to feast upon the travellers' souls...

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha growled with frustration as she charged the angel, her blade having missed where she intended to slice it...that is if it had a neck to speak of.  But not more than a second passed before she stopped in her tracks and Carran unleashed his powers.  In the dazzling light, she was thrown back a few feet and landed on her back, arm shielding her eyes lest she'd have probably gone blind.

Then, it died down.  The pantheress started back up on shaky legs, walking back to where the others were...the angel was on the ground, and immobile it looked like.  She could feel the whisps of darkness starting to disentegrate, though there was still enough to cause her tail ring to shine in the night like a beacon.

She plunged her sword tip into the ground and leaned on the pommel, catching up with the slight exhaustion that plagued her system, also probably a little sick from being around these dark vapors for long.  "So, what do we do with..."  But when she looked around, she found that Gareeku was no longer able to be seen...and neither was Pan.  Aisha slapped her forehead, realizing what this meant.  I'd rather have kept him HERE where there was this darkness and no other souls to go after...

This was coupled by that whispering voice again...familiar and seething through her mind and causing her to involuntarily shudder.  But it spoke her very thoughts and she couldn't ignore them.  Aisha gripped the sword's handle and yanked it out of the ground again.  "Gareeku.  We have to find him.  Now!" she yelled with impatience and a small choke in her throat.

Gods have mercy on the innocent souls that find him...or mercy on Gareeku if those souls belong to adventurers...

[Cogidubnus]

[This might be my last post for the weekend - such is life, yes?]


Startled out of his reverie by Carran's explosion, Cog picked up his hat and dusted it off. The ashes on it smelled of the Priest, he noticed, and the werewolf gave a sour grin. "Like she said, beyond death." He muttered, placing it back on his head. The angel appeared to be down - Gareeku, however, was nowhere to be found. Cog began walking towards Aisha, eager to find out what could be done to find the maddened wolf, and muttered to himself. "Dead? Somehow, I don't think he ever left..."

[Cheese Foxlee]

Winger growled a little under his breath.  Things were getting to be a bit to loud for his taste.  He grasped his new sword tight and lunged at the angel; determined to take it down once and for all. He chopped at it. It seemed a bit stupid to him to attack mindlessly and just run in with his weapon held high and his head low, but it had been working so far.

Edit: Topher has no more pokemon to battle. Topher blacked out. Topher lost  100 coins.

[I cannot and will not RP for someone else.]

[Azlan]

The urgent tone of Aisha's voice roused him from the gray haze he had slipped into.  Slowly Carran struggled to a sitting position, with half-lidded eyes he watched Winger hack at the Fallen.  The being's head turned and they locked eyes, the last remaining piece of the coherent darkness darted out.  With that last act, the Fallen became inert. 

The dark bit sought refuge in its vanquisher and streaked towards him, at the last second the fox caught it.

"I do not think so."  Carran stated, his head swam and he threatened to pitch over.  The fox steadied himself and gazed at the small black flame, "I cannot create life, only the universe itself can do that.  I do have the ability to  extend, enhance by the application of energies, healing and rebuilding of the form.  However, you are not a thing that should be given living form.  Instead I shall craft you into something I can use, that way there is at least some random loot from this encounter!"

A brief amount of magic later, Carran has a new shorter bladed sword that reasonably matches his Isenrail.  "I shall call this Tyrfing, after the sword forged by Dain."

After this little sidetrack, the fox carefully stood, a sharp pain in his head reminded him of his recent exertion, "I feel like I just dran ten gallons of brandy in one sitting."  His head did indeed throb and he felt quite sick, never the less, he approached Aisha.

"Indeed we must find him, but the Fallen... we should not leave the pieces of this type of thing lying around."

[Joat]

Pan is still a bit disoriented from the ride. He looks at Gareeku.

Who’s he charging at?

Just a band of travelers.

Oh…

WHAT!? I need reinforcements and fast!

[Internal diologues are fun!]

“TELEPORT!” Pan yells. Nothing happens. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Combining the two spells must have made me run out of magic. Okay, Pan. You can do this. Just remember where to hit and he’ll be out like a light in no time.

He then rushes after Gareeku. With his speed, he is probably going to catch up somewhat quickly unless Gareeku has enhanced speed.



“I have a pretty good idea of what Pan was planning. He should be back by now. Something must have gone wrong when he combined the two spells,” Sylva says, “It looks like I’ll have to do something risky. Something I’d never try under normal circumstances.”

She begins to chant a spell. She glows with an dark aura.

[Stygian]

Stygian watched Sylva chanting, wondering what the fool girl would try and do next. It was getting much more impatient than it had been for a long time, impatient enough to actually begin considering dragging off the panthress and helping her get to Gareeku somehow, no matter what that would cost or the effort of it.
   Stygian shot a quick look to the remnants of the fallen angel. The shattered creature was devoid of power as it lay, but the pieces of it themselves were no doubt just waiting to take it in. But it wasn't stable as he had hoped it would be. For that, it seemed that it needed its heart. And it would be damned if it let some slow, singleminded bloody adventurers get in the way of completing it, no matter whether if they were the ones meant to piece the thing together or not.
   Absentmindedly, Stygian made a small thought to itself and slipped back its shadowy form, retreating into its disguise. It would wait for now, if grudgingly. But if they would not move...

[Cheese Foxlee]

Winger breathed heavily.  The angel was finally down for good, now he and carran could turn there attention to helping the others.  He stepped over to his partner and leaned on his shoulder.

"Your right, we can't just leave the rustbucket lying here in a heap." He shook his head, and chuckle a bit, at a passing thought.  "You wouldn't happen to know a shrinking spell or something would you?"  He asked in jest.  "Or maybe you and I should take  little breather while our freinds fight amongst themselves."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's gaze was mostly cast to the air, into an empty space of her own design.  She heard the words of the others as they started to recover from the battle with the angel, and the panther only looked down upon its metallic, scarred surface with more curiosity.  Slowly, hesitatingly, her sword was resheathed, the boiling blood in her system cooled a little by Carran's words and Winger's humor to the situation.

"I guess...we do have this to deal with in front of us first," Aisha said, gesturing to the fallen creature, though she refused to banish Gareeku's plight ouf her mind.  The group was starting to split before anyone even thought to really get started, everyone with their agendas and opinions on what to do.  Aisha was on one of those crossroads...the angel was at first the main priority, but she never factored in that Gareeku would...

Her head swerved to glance at Sylva with a sort of impatient glow in her eyes.  "PLEASE tell me it can bring Pan and Gareeku back, whatever you're doing.  Or else I'm leaving on my own once we take care of the angel," she said with finality.  "If anyone plans to stop me, forget about it and either come with me, or stay."

[Joat]

Sylva finishes the spell. “Dang it. He’s out of range. Anybody got Telepathy or a Location spell or something so we can find out where they are?”

[Gareeku]

As he flew, the transformed wolf looked down, spotting Pan in pursuit. Ignoring him for the time being, Gareeku flew on with great speed, quickly closing in on the group of travellers, throwing sand up as he landed back on the group. Noticing his arrival, the group looked at him not with fear, but with curiosity.

"Well hello there! And what brings you out to these sand-filled parts?" a member of the group, a brown-furred jackal, asked. It seemed that they did not know what fate was about to descend upon them.

Saying nothing, Gareeku hissed as his wings formed into tentacles, grabbing each traveller by the throat and lifting them up off the ground, licking his lips once more at the thought of consuming their souls...

[Joat]

Pan jumps up and grabs onto the fur on the back of Gareeku’s neck and proceeds to hit a few specific points on the back of the said neck. If this attempt is successful, Gareeku will fall to the ground unconscious.

[Stygian]

The girl's magic that had congregated had formed into a coherent, if an unpolished shape. However even with a verbal component and meditation to aid her focus, her magic simply was not up to the task, and the spell had dissipated without effect, the dark trails of it just holding on the place while evaporating. Stygian only just held back a sigh. These people... He would have to be blatant, sadly.
   Now, the panthress he knew could calm the wolf. If only he knew why...
   
   Gathering his power, Stygian used all somatic and ritual support he could to focus, and used his mind to bend the darkness...

   Another fleeting whisper came through the air to Aisha, like a chill wind under her cloak.
   You. Potential. There is a pathway to your companion. To the shadows. Go! Her head almost wanted to turn of its own against where the voice seemed to want to lead her, so strong was the sense of direction it passed to her. It wanted her to run into the depth of the forest, against where the bat priest had fallen, where the light of the moon could not find her.

   Not far from where the black crozius sat lodged securely in the large grey ash tree, the shadows of the woods seemed to deepen as they had before. At the heart of them, darkness condensed, twisting into a gateway to another place. Dry and sandy winds suddenly swept into the forest, from a place far, far away.

[Gareeku]

Looking up at his prey with a satisfied smirk, the transformed wolf was about to strip them of their souls when he felt something on the back of his neck, hitting at different points. Snarling with rage, Gareeku reached back, grabbing hold of Pan before flinging him away. Now rid of the interference, the transformed wolf turned back to his captured prey. If someone didn't try and snap him out of this monstrous transformation, then the wolf would very shortly be dining...

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha sighed quietly, calming her nerves further before she would snap at anyone else.  Things were going nowhere, and arguing would only complicate matters.  She decided that at one point, she would go off on her own, if that's what it took to get her friend back.  At most, she felt a little responsible for him, even if he had come back with her on his free will.

She had started to go towards where the angel lay, and was also about to voice an apology to Sylva, when the whispering came back...this time with just as much impatience as she perhaps had.  Her ears swiveled instinctively, but there was nobody else there to see.  She mouthed "what...?" but didn't speak out loud.  Her head turned to the dark area of the woods, as if something had taken her head and pulled it that way.  A path...to Gareeku...?

Aisha was about to call someone's attention to this event, but she thought better of it and held her tongue.  One, she knew not whether anyone else could hear the whisperings...and two, the panther couldn't risk anyone else.  With a look around, making sure nobody noticed as she slipped away, Aisha turned and ran towards the woods.

With a bit of poking around, Aisha found the spot...right where the priest had fallen.  She pondered the significance of the spot, before shaking her head, taking a deep breath, and entering the vortex.  She raised an arm over her eyes to block out the sand blowing in her general direction.  Her paws stepped from the near-damp and fertile soil of the forest and sunk into the cool dunes of a desert, which was still drenched barely in night and therefore not too hot yet.

It seems that what led her here knew what they were doing.  Before long, Aisha came upon Gareeku, still transformed...and holding his captured prey before him, still alive and fearful...hopefully.  Without a second thought, she rushed towards the wolf.  "NO!  Stop!"

Don't let this happen...don't...

[Azlan]

Carran did not notice Aisha sneaking off and was concentrating on disassembling the pieces of the Angel.  Meticulous care was given to how each piece was separated, then wrapped in fine silk and carefully placed in his pack.  The fact that whole legs and even the torso fit in his little haversack with ease seemed a tad bit odd, but not too surprising as this fox was a mage.

"We have a few companions that are out of commission that we need to collect before we proceed.  A... where did Aisha go... damn it.  She must have gone after Gareeku, I do not blame her, that is something she needs to do alone.  For that, the rest of us are a liability."  Carran sighed and hoped for the best in Aisha's encounter.

The fox's eyes darted about for a second and he shook his head in pity and a little masked disgust, "Lingering darkness, I wish it would go away, its intervention is no longer needed.  Such minor nuisances only detract from the journey, as it has no real purpose or aid to add to the whole."

[Snuggles]

Rei's body even though most of  the dark energy is gone from the angel she is still in the state from before. But the state she is in now is showing more black and darkness then before, and the person seen before that was on the line in the middle of the two sides is gone.

Rei's form starts to show up like she was blinking again but i looks uncontrolled. At first she starts around her body then it starts to expand outward. But as soon as she moves past where Pen and Gareeku teleported her form stops from appear there and starts to appear where they teleported. She starts to blink in this area as well and before anyone could do anything else, she blinks a touches Pen, Aisha and Gareeku almost simultaneously and brings them all to the world that is being seen through her transparent body. Gareeku finds himself on the blacked side and Pen and Aisha find them selfs on the other.

[Stygian]

Out of the concealing shadows of a stony crevice, Aisha stepped into that distant desert. The moon and stars stood high over the place, and gave such a good light that the wolf cubi who was usually her companion immediately came into sight. He had found some travelers, it seemed...

   Stygian had placed a hold effect on the portal he had made, not a simple task when it dealt with such a gateway. The darkness of it clung to the forest like glue, and with good fortune it would hold for as long as it had to or until it was unraveled. With luck this would all turn out well, even if there was no planning to it at all...
   Himself, Stygian made every effort to conceal his own presence, returning to be nothing but a simple shadow and a force in mind.

[Cheese Foxlee]

Winger sighed. a nd looked around, trying to take note of who was missing and who had pssed out.  Right away  he noticed Topher passed out on the ground, and tryed to get him back to his feet. 

"I suggest we head back to the inn, so that we can get our bearings and deside what to do next." Winger said with a grunt as he lifted the cub over his shoulder.  " I'm guessing that we'll have to go after this heart thing."

[Cogidubnus]

 Cogidubnus sighed as the desert wind whipped his hat back off his head, and he brushed some loose hairs out of his eyes as he watched Aisha and Gareeku. He had been following her for awhile now. He had lost her for a moment, but again, his senses were sharper than they should be. Though she had made certain no one had seen her leave, her scent had still led him through those strange shadows. He grinned: His eyes weren't the only things sharper than they should be.
  "To calm the beast..." Cog said as he viewed Gareeku. He remembered his own days of blind bloodlust - those were not days he preferred to recall. It took powerful magics to calm such a lust for blood...or, something more mundane. He grounded himself as best he could in the sand, and readied himself to let loose another blast of force. If Aisha could not calm the beast, the time for discretion would be past.

[topher chee]

   Topher slowly opened his eyes when he realized he must've been captured yet again.  In an instance, his body became one which was covered in flames.
   At this point he fell to the floor, noticing it was only Winger who was assisting him.
   "Sorry about that ^^;."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha halted her running for a moment, trying to catch her breath in the bone-dry air of the desert.  Even in the darkness of night, the place was proving to be inhospitable to the unprepared.  The panther however didn't lose her focus.  Gareeku was still holding the frightened travelers within mere inches of their deaths, and it seemed that her voice alone wasn't going to reach him.

I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'm crazy... Aisha's mind chanted as she rushed forward again.  Not wanting to appear hostile to Gareeku's transformed state, she kept her weapons sheathed.  Let's just hope that I can really get him out myself...

She came upon the wolf just as the desert almost seemed to disappear from her field of view, reaching to grasp his wrist.  "Gareeku!  Come back!"

[Gareeku]

The transformed wolf was about to consume the travellers' soul when his ears perked up upon hearing a familiar voice. Looking around with a surprised expression on his face, Gareeku watched as Aisha rushed towards him, forgrtting about his prey and dropping the terrified travellers to the floor, who then took off rather quickly. As Aisha reached out to grab his wrist, the transformed wolf then reached out and grabbed hers with an almost docile look on his face, allowing himself to be dragged back by the panthress.

[Azlan]

Carran nodded sagely to Winger's suggestion, "Indeed, the heart is a large part of this situation.  Perhaps more clues would be gleaned from the point where this Angel fell to.  We should check out the impact spot.  It is the best lead right now."

"We cannot afford to wait, we must begin this journey now.  We can rely on Aisha to be able to bring Gareeku back, I am confident on this.  She is the only one here that can have that effect.  If she cannot, then a wild, soul-eating wolf is the least of our worries.  There are much bigger forces at work here.   I would like to face this with the others, but if necessary, the two of us will be sufficient.  Come, we have not a moment to lose!"

Hefting the backpack with the Angel's parts, the fox began heading for the distant spot where smoke still rose into the sky.

[topher chee]

  Topher looked down at a few shards of the gold they must've left behind.  He took them in the palm of his hand and began to melt it into a ball.  He called to Winger, "Hey fluff butt, catch."  He said playfully.  As he spoke the ball of gold shimmered in the faint light available and disappeared into his wing.

[Cheese Foxlee]

Winger looked at the ball in his hand and then to  sword that was crafted from the angels fist. "Lets get going." he called to the topher.

As he walk his thoughts were centered on the angel. Why had it returned, and how did it get in to such bad shape.  He walk on tossing the ball into the air and catching it in his wing as he thought.

[Joat]

“Ow. Great. First Slevrani, now Gareeku. Well, anyone else up for making a total mockery of the talents of Officer Swift today?” Pan thinks aloud.

[topher chee]

   Topher nodded at Winger's request and started walking beside the rest of the group.  "Why exactly do these angels come?  And why exactly are we the only ones trying to stop them?"

[Stygian]

The wolf woman began stirring, heavily sitting up where she had dropped to the ground earlier. She put a hand to her head and whined a bit, supporting herself with her other one to keep from wobbling. Then she opened her eyes fully and saw the darkness that lay around her, and looked as if she wished she had stayed down.

   Can they please hurry up? That portal is only holding so long as I keep it open, and it's a pretty draining kind of magic... Stygian thought to himself.