[Roleplay] Perpetual Twilight

[Saga]

Crystair, a land once ruled by a kind and gracious King. For endless centuries, the same bloodline forever sat upon the crystal throne, and the kingdom eternally flourished. It was a beautiful land, with silvery trees and lakes of the clearest, shimmering blue. To the east, on the glittering horizon, one would see the dark spire that represented the land of Umbra, its tip forever shrouding in its perpetual darkness. To the West lay Precipia, land of the winged ones, though they had long since gone into hiding.

There had long been a legend told to the children of Crystair; a fabled story of the one known only as “Lionheart”. In these stories he was a courageous man with the bravery of a hundred men and the ability to control the purest of light. It is said that with this light, “Lionheart” could destroy the darkest of evils, cleanse the hearts of the weary and relay messages of the recently deceased. But the children did not believe these stories, after all, surely such a great man could not exist?

Perhaps the most skeptical of all who heard these stories was the young Crown Prince. Even at the age of four, he found these ‘tall tales’ just a little hard to digest. On the one hand, he wished such a man existed, for the war with Umbra would finally come to an end and his parents wouldn’t keep him literally under lock and key. But another part of him knew such people were not real, that these heroes were nothing more than characters in stories to aid the children of the world to sleep easier and feel safer.

Umbra, the land of eternal darkness, an evil and foreboding place. No good had ever crossed its border with Crystair and for many centuries, the two kingdoms had been locked in war. However, a new power was rising in that gloom, driving towards the highest seat of power offered to it. In just one short year, he rose to the top and killed the current Queen in cold blood. Umbra know had a new king, a man so dark that even the shadows quaked in his wake. And yet he waited, biding his time. He knew that soon, his opportunity would come to take the eternally beautiful kingdom of Crystair.

Just after the Prince’s fourth birthday, a strange, bloodstained child was found wandering the village just outside the castle. A dagger gripped in her hand, the child was easily mistaken as an orphan of war. However, she had not merely found the dagger after witnessing her parents’ demise; rather she had indulged in the murder of a rather offensive man who seemed to think that she would return to his home with him by tempting her with sweet things. The young boy that found her did not think of things this way however. A brave child, he approached the girl and guided her to his house where she was quickly cleaned up and fed.

For four years, the girl refused to speak and the family into which she had been adopted feared that perhaps the child was dumb. Yet, she squashed this belief when she spoke the name of the boy who had saved her, and taken her under his wing. For a further four years, the girl spoke only to her new Brother, and would often follow him to watch him as part of the Royal Guard. It was on these little trips that the girl often saw the young Prince, and in time, she went with her Brother more to catch glimpses of the boy rather than to watch the training. The girl was slightly envious that her Brother seemed to be on quite friendly terms with the handsome young Prince.

And still the Tyrant and his Dark General, a man clad in dark armor who was believed to be no more human than shadow, waited.The Prince reached twelve and with it came the awakening of his inner light. A single soldier survived the attack up the Umbran border, only to die upon making it to the throne room. The Prince, however, was able to relay the message of the recently deceased warrior to his father, thus preventing the dark forces from invading Crystair’s border villages. The Queen, now fearful because of this show of power, appealed to the girl’s adopted parents. By this point, her wings had sprouted, revealing her to be of the Winged Ones bloodline, and the Queen, knowing the ferocity and skill of these naturally born assassins, knew the Prince would be in safe hands.


And so the Prince and the Assassin finally met. The Brother was promoted to Commander of the Royal Guard shortly after and three grew closer. It would be this bond that proved to be essential just six years later. Finally the time had come for the Tyrant to take Crystair and he did so with little to no resistance. Having waited so long in the darkness of Umbra, his forces had grown to outnumber those of Crystair and so it was not so much an invasion as a massacre. Yet the Prince, the Assassin and her Brother fought valiantly, getting to the throne room seconds to late.

The King and Queen lay slaughtered, Crystair’s new ruler sitting upon the throne. Upon resting eyes upon the Prince, the Tyrant ordered his death. However, the Assassin lived up to her title of the Prince’s personal bodyguard by dispatching of all who came his way. Not that she needed to worry, for she had learnt over the years that the prince was a very capable swordsman.


And so our story starts here, with the Prince, his bodyguard and the brother being chased from their lands by an army of Dark Soldiers. A handful of Crystair Loyalists find themselves following the Prince, even as the Dark soldiers close in. The commander of the Royal Guards orders the others to run whilst he fends off the soldiers, possibly trying to make up for the death of his King and Queen and his inability to save them.

The others listen to the commanders words, making a break for the border.

But what will become of them now...?

 

[Ness]

Eurygnome.

That was the name they gave me when I first stepped foot into that foul orphanage. They didn't use it for long, though...


The sound of a scuffle in front of the throne snapped Rhade out of his reverie. He sighed and opened his eyes to take in the scene before him.

The general chaos in the throne room had mostly diminished. Most of the bodies had been removed and yet the smell of freshly spilled blood still lingered. Rhade took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The smell was exquisite. It scattered the loose remnants of the distant memories still lingering in his mind so that he could focus his full attention on seeking out the wayward Prince. But first...

Rhade opened his eyes again and looked down in front of him. Two of his men stood before him with a firm grip on another man wearing the colors of Crystair. The insignia on his breastplate showed that he was a member...well, a former member of the Royal Guard. The man stared up at Rhade with eyes full of hatred.

"Your Grace, we found this man without...he was attempting to murder you." While he spoke, the guard brought forward a long dagger and presented it to Rhade hilt-first. Rhade quietly took the dagger and tested its weight. An urge to drive the blade into the man's face overtook him...but then another idea came to his mind. He turned to face the other guard.

"Bring this man's family to me."

Rhade noticed a flash of fear in the Crystairian's eyes, but it was quickly extinguished as he spat on the ground. "To hell with you, Tyrant! Only one King reigns in Crystair!"

Rhade did not speak, but stared into the Crystairian's eyes. He will break...as all men do when faced with the most terrible of choices.

It did not take long for several of Rhade's soldiers to drag a woman and two boys into the throne room. Rhade stepped down from the throne and lightly touched the tip of the dagger to the woman's cheek. He turned and fixed his cold, green eyes on the Crystairian once more. The man's face twisted with rage but said nothing. Rhade moved on to the youngest boy, who could have been no more than eight or so years old. Rhade reached out and ruffled the boy's hair.

"LEAVE MY SON ALONE!!" the Crystairian guard cried out. Rhade smiled and dragged the boy up to the throne by his hair. He sat down, pulled the boy close and placed the dagger against his throat. His father immediately stopped struggling and stared at Rhade, eyes wild with desperation.

Now I have him.

"Surely you know the strongholds of this area well. Where would the Prince flee to?" Rhade quietly asked. When the guard did not respond right away, Rhade pressed the knife to the boy's throat so that a small trickle of blood began to drip from the blade. "I will ask one last time, for I am not accustomed to waiting. Where would the Prince flee to?" Rhade pressed a little harder and the boy cried out in pain.

The Crystairian guard slumped to his knees and wept. "Forgive me, my Prince..." he said quietly. He proceeded to tell of the various strongholds and escape routes leading out of the capital. When he was done, he looked up at Rhade with tear-streaked eyes. Rhade smiled.

"Thank you." He removed the dagger from the boy's throat and gave him a small nudge. "Go on now, your father's waiting." The boy started to run towards his father, arms outstretched. Rhade ignored this and studied the dagger's blade for another second.

How sharp it seems.

Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, Rhade threw the dagger into the back of the boy's head. His mother screamed as his lifeless body crumpled to the floor. The boy's father jumped to his feet and screamed, "YOU BASTARD, YOU PROMISED..."

Rhade was upon him in a second, his smile having vanished from his face as if he had never smiled before. "I promised you nothing. No man raises a knife against me and does not pay some price. Be glad that I grant you the ability to father more sons...for I am a merciful king." Rhade frowned in disgust and waved a hand. The pitiful family was dragged away, all of them in tears. Rhade looked down at the dead boy's body then kicked it out of his way as he strode back to his throne. As he sat back down, he spoke to the two shadowy figures standing behind the throne.

"What do you make of the guard's information? Can it be used?"

Rhade allowed himself one last rumination on the past as he awaited the answer from his two most trusted servants...

Eurygnome...no, that is not how I will be remembered.

 

[Gaige]

The brutal sight of his parents dead before him, along with the coppery scent of their blood was more than enough to lapse the prince into a solemn, artificial silence. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to cry.

It had only been a few hours since the Umbran Army had ravaged the proud nation of Crystair. What had taken decades to build and what had been maintained for centuries- all torn down in such a short space of time.

He was running through the halls of the castle now, with only a few people by his side, each one able to fight if it came to it. Though he was hoping not to have to. This was what he had trained for all these years, but suddenly, the thought of putting it to use made him feel sick to his stomach, even if it was against those who had killed his parents.

He had no idea what he would do from here. All he knew that this was an emergency retreat maneuver, and all to preserve his life. He knew that if it was down to his companions, he wouldn't be fighting at all, but he was never one to sit back and elt the others do things for him. Whether that would end badly or not was yet to be seen.

Still, two of his closest companions were among him now, a relief in itself. They were people he knew from childhood, which instilled something more in this situation. Not calm, for that was impossible, but a kind of small comfort in this home that had turned so quickly into a battleground.

He reached towards one of his two Seraphim blades, Gabriel, placing his hand over the hilt, the only part exposed from the brown leather sheath, one of two attached to his waist. So these were what he would be using in battle? The swords he'd trained with for all these years. If he had to kill, these were his weapons, and he would feel, while not less guilty, less sinful for killing his oppressors with weapons of light. His weapons of light.

Continuing through the corridors of torn tapestries and trampled carpet, with the corpses of the Royal Guard strewn everywhere, Talistis Balinar, Prince Of Crystair, had never wanted to leave home so much in his life.

 

[CassinoChips]

Gennaen watched the proceedings in the throne room of the Palace of Crystair with only a passing interest. The Crystairian would inevitably break, and tell Rhade everything the Tyrant wanted to know. Gennaen had seen this same scene play out so many times in the past that it was as boring as it was predictable. The threat of violence, the betrayal, the murder, the tears. It was as if Rhade and the Crystairians were actors in a drama, their words and emotions carefully scripted by one of the great playwrights.

"What do you make of the guard's information? Can it be used?"

There was a barely audible pop as Gennaen stepped forward, out from the shadows behind the throne. "The guard was telling the truth. Inasmuch as it was the truth that he knew. But you and I both know that the Prince won't be in any of those places. He'll have a handful of hiding places kept secret from everyone but himself and the rest of the Crystairian Royals." Gennaen casually brushed a cinder from his shoulder. "So no. It can't be used."

Sighing, Gennaen continued. "We will have to find him the hard way. By looking. Taylana, any suggestions?"

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

Alyss was in the middle of cooking when it happened. At first she had mistaken the loud clangs outside the door as rowdy soldiers eager to grab a bite to eat. However, what came smashing through that door was something much less preferable to that. There were at least ten soldiers, enemy soldiers that smashed the door down that instantly laid their eyes upon her. She was unable to see their faces as they were covered by the helmets. Her heart leapt in her chest, and her eyes widened to the size of plates. If they all attacked at once, she would not make it.

In what was no less than a miracle, eight out of the ten soldiers ran back down the hall. She overheard one of them mentioning that “it was just one girl”, no doubt they believed that two of their men could handle her. Without a doubt they were expecting more people here. The two armor clad men slowed advanced on her position, swords drawn, and obviously out for blood. Without hesitation, she drew her blades as the first man came swinging his sword down upon her. Her right hand katana, Dragoon, blocked it with ease. With her left hand, she was able to thrust panzer into the chest plate of his armor and pierce his lung. With a heavy grunt, the man started falling downwards to the floor, stopped only by her blade which was resting in his lung.

Quickly withdrawing her sword from his chest, she let the man fall face first into the floor. She went for the killing blow, but was quickly stopped by the other man. He swung with a horizontal swing as he belted out with a piercing warcry, the force of it causing Alyss’ hair to move as she ducked under it. As the blade went past, she quickly stood upright, and using this as her opening, she took off the man’s head with her right katana. As she turned around, she saw the other man slowly rising to his feet, with no time to spare she shot lightning from her fingertips at him, killing him instantly. If he hadn’t have been previously wounded, that more than likely wouldn’t have killed him.

She had little time to spare. The castle was being overrun, and the most logical decision at this point was to meet up with the commander. However, it was then she saw Prince Talistis running from the castle… She was able to come to the conclusion that the castle was lost. She didn’t know the details, but if the Prince was retreating, along with his bodyguard, then the most logical conclusion was that there was no longer hope for the castle. Grabbing a brown messenger bag, she flung it over her shoulder and began filling it with food and drink. As for the meal she had been cooking, she poisoned it. If anyone ate that, they would find themselves dying within the next hour. She wouldn’t allow the enemy to eat her meal while quartering themselves under the castle she had been calling home.

With her bag filled with provisions, she quickly ran after Prince Talistis. She quickly caught up, with her right hand resting upon one of her Katana’s. As she ran alongside of them, she said in a hushed tone, “Prince Talistis, Lady Solstice, you have my blades”. She said nothing else as they retreated from the castle.

 

[Tipsynaruto]

Another Umbran Knight dropped to the ground with a solid thud. Blood poured out from the deep wound as Cuchulainn slid out of the armour it had pierced. Though usually used when mounted, Henrietta was equally devastating on foot as proved by the body count that laid on the ground. Her squad had been patrolling when the Umbran Army swarmed in. Of the 20 that had rode out, only 6 remained.

Rally men! Cleave a path through this rabble and head straight towards the Castle!

It was a tall order. There were too many of them to do anything without going suicidal, but they had to regroup with the Royal Family.

Captain! We'll cut a path through them. You and the private make a break for it.

It was the most logical choice. Go on a battle of attrition and die eventually, or make a break and at least reinforce the Castle with two more knights. A tough choice that had to be made.

Its been an honour. Fight hard and make sure you have company in hell.

Hooah!

Her remaining comrades charged from their defensive position, engaging the enemy in one point, breaking through the line. Henrietta dragged the Private through the gap and ran without looking back. The four were strong fighting men, but against those odds, they only had tens of seconds at most. Boots pounding away at the path, Henrietta pricked up her ears and there seemed to be no pursuing troops yet, but in that instant, a soft "twang" pricked her ears and with reflexive experience, tilted her head sideways and attempted to push the Private to the other side, but it was too late.

The arrow missed her helmet by mere centimeters. Henrietta spotted the sniper, a paltry 10 meters away. Even for her, dodging that was quite lucky. The Private stood no chance. The bolt sheared through his chest armour and punctured deep into his left lung. The shock was in his eyes, that the piece of wood sticking from his chest was unreal. His knees gave out slowly and in Henrietta's eyes, in slow motion. Her body moved on instinct, continually moving at charging speed as the sniper began to knock another arrow in his bow when Cuchulainn slammed straight through his head. Henrietta pinned him to the tree behind, watching his final twitches before planting her boot on his chest and pulled out her polearm with a sickening "sthick", specks of blood flecked onto her armour and drenching the blade of her polearm

There was no time to be sad. Henrietta continued to move on ahead, through the gardens and towards the castle interior when she sighted one of her goals, the Prince, accompanied by the Assassin and the Commander with an additional Crytsair Swordswoman. Double timing it, Henrietta approached the group, matching their running speed.

My liege, Henrietta Genevive of the 501st Heavy Knights Royal Guards. Allow me to assist in your retreat.

 

[Whoareyou]

He knew what his duty was now. Though he had failed to save the current Monarchs of Crystair, his orders had been clear from the start. Whatever happens, keep the prince alive. Though he had been loathe to even consider leaving the throne room after his former charges had been murdered by the Umbran soldiers, he knew that if he failed now, his years of service would be for nought.

As he ran alongside the young prince, and his bodyguard, the commander thought back to that moment in the throne room. He knew that any man in the prince's situation would most definitely want to stay and fight the Umbrans, but considering the Umbran "Dark General" was easily Aervyn's equal, and the Tyrant probably even stronger than that, the odds were highly stacked against them, and despite his position, he had ordered both the prince and Solstice out of the throne room whilst holding off those soldiers who were quick enough to give chase.

He had dispatched those with relative ease, apparently no-one from the Umbran High Command had been in the room at that time, otherwise there might have been trouble. However now, he was back at the prince's side, running through the castle, in a vain attempt to escape the full might of the Umbran army.

Several other people had joined their small band as they made their way through the halls of the castle, one of whom he recognised as a royal guard who had been out patrolling when the attack had begun. As they carried on, he knew what they must be searching for, one of the secret routes out of the building none but the prince alone knew the locations of, as obviously the prince had realised that the Umbrans would have blockaded any conventional route out of the building as well.

They may have at least been close to safe for the mean time, but the escape had only just begun, and he knew at least one person who would be after revenge for what had been done to the Monarchy of Crystair...

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Virginia was used to guerrilla type tactics, after all as her mother said, "Don't pick a fight you know you're not going to win. Try to whittle down their numbers until they are at a manageable size for you to defeat them."

Virginia spotted a group of 5 Umbran soldiers, and she was separated from the rest of the Guard. Pulling out her two daggers, she had to plan her moves accordingly if she planned on coming out of this alive. Virginia leaped into the air and landed precisely on top of the soldiers. The Umbran thrashed about as he tried to pull the Felidian warrior off him, but to no avail as Virginia plunged Vajera down onto the soldier's neck and twisted it, doing fatal damage to his bone and windpipe.

Virginia jumped off the soldier as he fell to the ground, dead before impact. She looked back at them, and goaded them to pursue her, the 4 remaining soldiers took the bait and ran after her. Virginia knew the layout of the castle, something she doubts the pursuers knew much at all. Turning around the corner, down the hall and turning the corner again, Virginia managed to out run and get past the guards. It was there that she saw the Prince and some survivors from the Castle Assault.

"Hey guys." Virginia said, running towards the Prince and their soldiers, Catching her breath for a moment, the Felidian said, "Virginia Vinierno, Royal Guard Scouts Team. I'm willing to help you out of this castle."

 

[Pandora]

The adrenaline that was pushing Demitra was anything but slow. A smirk had formed on her face as she gave a low chuckle at the sight of her victim, a more novice Crystarian soldier, gagging for breath as his life was being drained out of him. It was definitely one of the soldiers in the defense part of the army, but he had taken several steps out of line, and to his dismay had to be punished by her out of all the other Umbrians. Her grip around the man's neck tightened as he attempted to push her off of him, but at this rate he was definitely too weak. But before his last bit of energy was absorbed, Demitra had stopped the process of the emasculation, making the soldier gasp from the sudden release. She had cackled as he slumped down against the white walls of the castle, clearly not being able to put up a fight.

"Did you honestly think you could win one over on me?" She said to him, clear as crystal confidence in her tone. "You have another thing coming."

Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly advanced enough to take all the bit of life from the man with her ability. The amount she did take was rather exhilarating, for she could feel how much vigor was within his being. She glanced over at the sword that was sloppily dropped near the grass plains that were several feet away from where the two stood, the weapon that this soldier tried to use against her in defense for his majesty; but there were more than enough Umbrian forces roaming through the castle now, more than likely to put up a fight to find their prey. For now, Demitra only roamed around the castle gates, eliminating any of the Crystarian scum that tried to interfere with their mission.

Her attention immediately sharpened as she saw that the man had something held between his fingers. It looked like some kind of whistle, and then Demitra realized what he was trying to do. He was going to call for help. Too bad he wouldn't be able to call in time. The soldier's head had lowered down a little, trying to focus on bringing his hand up so that the reed would reach his mouth, so the green-eyed woman grinned as she saw his shock when an arrow suddenly shot through his armor. He cried out loudly, dropping the small whistle from his hand before the last breath he desperately tried to hold on to had finally gave out, and his vision had shifted to the woman with a longbow firm in her hand before his life finally faded. She heard metal clacking running towards her from behind, clearly another soldier, as she quickly turned her body around to face her other opponent.

"Arnold!" The other soldier had cried out, witnessing the death of his partner before him. His eyes immediately averted back to the huntress. "You...!" He had went for the charge, but Demitra immediately noticed that this man wasn't wearing a helmet, unlike the other Crystarian forces. He might as well have been naked, seeing as he was just giving himself a vulnerable spot to hit. He rose his sword high, shining with vengeance as it had nearly swooped down towards her. She immediately side dodged the sweep of the sword, managing to take the soldier by surprise as she had managed to sneak the sword out of his hand during the evasion. In the same amount of time it took for him to swing the sword, she mimicked the attack he initiated, and watched as he was decapitated by his own weapon. The headless soldier immediately slumped down to the ground, and the woman dropped the blood stained sword on his body.

Demitra's smile had faded, feeling that this wasn't exactly the most exciting battle she's been in. Maybe because it wasn't her... She thought to herself. She had imagined her twin sister in the soldier's place, with the same gruesome attacks done to her that could lead to the end of her life, but the imagination didn't give her the thrill she had hoped to get. Unfortunately, her missing sister was nowhere seen in Crystair from where she had searched. She would have to play with these pawns of light for the time being. Hearing several cries and command shouts from within the castle walls, Demitra scoffed as grabbed onto one of the low ledges of the barriers, and used them to climb up the roofing of the castle level by level. By the time she reached the middle roofing of the castle, she walked near one of the statues that was carved on it and hid by it, her bow still tight in her hands. From this level, she could see most of the town, and the warfare that was currently taking place. Feeling a grin form on her lips once again, she waited patiently for any more foolish soldiers to cross her view.

 

[Aerius Sygale]

Leading up to when the Umbran Soldiers came, Crimson Wolf watched out secretly from some distance off from the Kingdom of Crystair, set on handling any incoming threats that drew near, to help keep the peace.

But when he saw an army approaching, to face them alone would be suicide, to barely dent their numbers. With remorse, he merely proceeded to follow along a safe distance away from them, unseen, and unheard over the footsteps of many soldiers, as he knew he couldn't do anything on his own to halt their advance.

As he had feared, as he followed along by the outskirts of Crystair, nothing was able to stop their advance. Along the way, however, he noticed a couple of people fighting their way through them to get to the castle, one of them had wings.

After some time had passed since they entered the castle (OOC: Or is it supposed to be a palace? I am just assuming castle...), he noticed them exiting it with haste, and some others then followed and met up with them, seeming to be offering their assistance to them.

Crimson had thought to do the same, but until either he saw a good opportunity to make his presence known to them, or he gets detected, he would proceed to follow along unseen until then.

(OOC: Sorry, mostly just reworked the History section of my character's bio for my first post in this RP, but there has already been so many other replies to this, so I had to make a post as soon as possible.

Plus, Vikki did it first anyways, and I did actually add some to what I typed before, like that he sees others going up with the prince and that winged one, and actually didn't really copy/paste anything, but typed it all up from scratch. )

 

[mattbgamer]

Jastan was sitting in the Barking Moon pub sipping his 'hard' drink that he just ordered thinking about the last job he did and how it went south, when he started to hear screams from outside. Jastan honestly didn't think anything of it because it was the middle of the night and all sorts of undesirables creep around in cities this size. Hell to think of a murder rate in a city this size is unfathomable, not to mention it is something you really don't want on your mind while trying to drown your sorrows. It was the second and third and eventually too many to count screams that made Jastan's attention perk up, just as he turned around on his bar stool several Umbranian soldiers broke down the door.

"Dammit I just ordered this drink" Jastan muttered to himself.

Quickly gain his composure he throws his glass at the nearest one and quickly draws his Holy Seeker. As the second soldier thrusts his sword at his mid section Jastan dodges it just in time to feel the wind and force of the attack, Jastan swings his sword at the thrusting arm and lops it off with one swipe. As the soldier screams in agony the first soldier that Jastan threw his glass at had regained his senses and started a mighty swing of his sword. Jastan quickly puts his sword up in defense and gets thrown back into the bar with the sheer force of it. Without missing a beat Jastan counters slicing at this mid section slicing a foot long deep gash on the attackers stomach, Jastan watched as the soldier tried to stop the blood and his insides from falling to the floor but didn't comprehend that his pitiful life was now over. With one fluid thrust Jastan stabbed the man threw the heart and kicked him off his sword with his foot.

Just as he had done that he was tackled to the ground by the second soldier. Apparently this soldier had a little more oomph in him than Jastan thought, as the soldier attempted to punch Jastan he was having a hard time because he had only one arm. Jastan easily threw the soldier off and quickly got up, the soldier got up also but it took a little bit because of the loss of so much blood the soldier was getting disoriented. Jastan took the opportunity and swung his sword head height and hit his target head on, as it fell off and rolled on the floor Jastan propped himself up with his sword and thought to himself that he really need to quit drinking. He usually doesn't get this winded fighting off two measly soldiers. Just then he heard a rustling from behind the bar and heard a voice say.

"What in the hell is going on here?" the bartender said while getting up off the floor after being passed out.

"Well old man it looks like the Tyrant has finally attacked and all hell as broken loose, it would be a mighty fine idea to run for the hills now old man while you still the chance." Jastan said while peering out the broken down door looking at the all the chaos that is happening out there.

"I just might do that, what about you? You should get out of here too." the bartender said.

Jastan slowly shook his head. "No my place is here, if anybody from the Royal family has survived I will help them....it is the only thing that keeps me going." Jastan said as he walked out the door in search for anyone from the Royal family, not looking back at the carnage going on around him.

 

[Himeno-Pretear]

"this day just isnt getting any better" She said felling the fourth challenger that evening "Everyone wants to kill everyone else" she mumbled as she took a new opponent off his feet with a mental blast, driving her blade into his chest ending his life swiftly "I just wish i wasnt counted in the everyone else section" All she had wanted to do was relax that day and had gone to the capital city for a rest, a break from fighting, just her luck she came when there was a war going on. Another opponent came running up and she just dodged him and watched as he ran into a spear, shaking her head she surveyed her battlefield, she saw a lightening strike and ducked down, if there was one thing she was afraid of it was storms. then realising there were no clouds she thought it mustve been a spell and looked to where a man now lay charred to a crisp and followed the spellsword to the princes entourage. "Faythe rhodes at your service mi'lord" she said deciding that for now it would be best to remain on the princes side until someone offered her more money

 

[Saga]

The shadows enveloped her lithe form, masking her presence from all but the two who would know she was there by sheer instinct alone. After all, she very rarely left the presence of either man, for she enjoyed the malicious aura that exuded from them. How she delighted in the feel of evil and the caress of darkness. Taylana stayed her tongue as her King and Liege played his little game. Sure, it wasn’t how she would typically go about things; after all, she is a woman and females are more refined, but it served the King’s purpose.

What sent the little thrill of… - well, it could be classed as excitement but Taylana ignored that idea – pleasure down the woman’s spine was the look of terror in the former Royal Guard’s eyes as her King toyed with his son. Her blood-red eyes closed as the small blade flew, taking the life from the child in less than a second. The fear and anger from the father… his aura of pain and suffering! Oh it tasted so wonderful to the malignant woman still shrouded in the blanket of shadows behind the throne. Her senses were afire with the soldier’s raw emotion, sending waves of tingles through her core. Some would think her strange, many more would think she was evil; but Taylana didn’t care. Feeding off the fear of others… what was so bad about that?

[FONT=&quot]"What do you make of the guard's information? Can it be used?"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
Her king was no fool. She watched the back of the throne steadily until she could no longer hear the footsteps of the hostages and their captors, cold eyes clouded as though in thought. Her mind was elsewhere, following the little orb of white light she had sent deep into the castle to hunt for any remnants of the Royal Army. Her mind was literally in two places at once.

It was the voice of the Dark General that brought her out of her misty reverie, his voice seeming to reverberate around the throne room as though she was hearing it inside a deep cavern. Dragging herself back to the Throne Room and away from the pantry where her little orb floated above a pair of crumpled Umbran soldiers, Taylana sighed inaudibly.

“The guard was telling the truth. Inasmuch as it was the truth that he knew. But both you and I know that the Prince won’t be in any of those places. He’ll have a handful of hiding places kept secret from everyone but himself and the rest of the Crystairian Royals. So no, it cannot be used. We will have to find him the hard way. By looking. Taylana, any suggestions?”

A smile formed over the woman’s luxurious mouth as she slid from the shadows, long black hair seeming to be a part of the darkness itself. Scanning the room casually, she flicked her raven hair over one shoulder and brushed her fingertips lightly across her pale forehead.

“As our dear General says, the Prince will not take cover in any of the places your little hostage spilled. He will be heading out of the Castle, to put as much space between you and him as is possible. We should begin our search outside of the walls. Not far from here… the site of the Royal Tomb is located. Because these tombs only allow passage to those of Royal Blood, it would make sense that he would be heading there for the time being.” Taylana turned her eyes to Rhade and allowed a little smile to quirk the corners of her lips. “We are not alone, dear one.”

A small ball of shadow and light formed in her palm, hovering for a second before flying from her hand and out of the room. She had sensed another presence in the Castle on her scan of it with her Aura powers. A presence that would surely aid them. The High Priestess smirked as her little ball of light shadow crashed into view of Demitra, a hollow voice emanating from it. Come to the Throne Room. We have a task for you.

Extinguishing the little ball with her mind, Taylana turned her attention back to Rhade and the General. “Help will be along shortly. She will be perfect to send to the Tombs.” She would have liked to have gone herself, naturally, but to reveal herself so early on in this little game could prove fatal to the Tyrant’s reign. No… she would wait it out. Sooner or later, she would be needed on the front lines and until that day, she would sit at the King’s side, serving him as she had always done.

When the day came… she would make the rivers run red and blot out the sun.

_________________________________________________



How had it come to this?

Solstice asked herself that question for the fifteenth time in the last hour. What had happened to their beloved kingdom of Crystair? How had they not seen this coming?

How had it come to this?

Bloodlust cut through the air, pure white blade slicing neatly through the exposed arm of her assailant, muscle and sinew neatly cleaved as the limb fell away from its owner’s body to thump heavily to the ground. The man cried out in pain, collapsing under the pressure of losing his arm, losing blood at an alarming rate. The Assassin didn’t stop to finish him off, her feet pounding the ground as she followed her Prince.

How had it come to this?

“Prince, I’m here!” she spoke softly as she ran to his side, a bolt of dark energy leaving her palm to bowl over three followers. “Let’s get you to safety.”

How had it come to this?

Prince Talistis Balinar… the last remaining heir to the throne. On her life, she would get the boy as far from the Castle as possible. He was the most important thing right now. More important than the entire of Crystair; more important than her own heart thumping in her chest.

“Prince Talistis, Lady Solstice, you have my blades.”

The Assassin turned her gaze to the girl running alongside them, a bag slung over one shoulder. A little jolt of hope swelled in her chest. They were not all lost. Somewhere in the castle… those loyal to the Prince lingered and here was one now, proving that even in the most dire of times, help comes when it is most needed.


“A welcome addition they will be indeed,” Solstice patted the young woman on the arm, smiling softly and in a way that she hoped was encouraging.

How had it come to this?

Solstice allowed her thoughts to drift back to the throne room. Her King and Queen… their bodies lifeless and limp. Surely… if they had arrived sooner, they could have prevented that? Why did they have to die? At least they died next to each other. Well that was hardly a comforting thought, was it?

“My liege, Henrietta Genevive of the 501st Heavy Knights Royal Guards. Allow me to assist in your retreat.”

Another! Solstice glanced around the small group protecting her Prince. Four… there were four of them willing to defend his Royal Highness. Perhaps they would actually make it out of here alive.

“Brother…” she looked to the young man she had forever known as her kin. “You take point, I’ll take the rear.” Solstice knew her brother was akin to a human battering ram. If he needed to, the Commander would cleave a damn path through any that blocked their way. Solstice, on the other hand, fell to the rear of the group and allowed her black wings to erupted from her back. Spreading them as a sort of shield around the rear guard, she continued after the prince.

“Hey guys. Virginia Vinierno, Royal Guard Scouts Team. I’m willing to help you out of this castle.”

One by one their little group was expanding. Solstice spoke clearly. “Everyone, Prince Talistis knows the only way out of this castle that our enemies do not. Is there anyone amongst us who can collapse this hallway to break their advances for a while?”

The Assassin looked around the group. Her own shadow attack could possibly manage it but she could not predict just how reliable it would be. However, if any of their group couldn’t manage it… well, she’d have to give it a go, wouldn’t she?






[[bah crappy. T_T]]

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

"A welcome addition it would be indeed", Lady Solstice said allowed. She turned to Alyss, and patted her on the arm. Even when retreating in defeat, with a simple smile Solstice was able to make Alyss feel at least a little better about the situation. She didn't know for sure if the King and Queen were dead. However, logic could only dictate that they were.

"Everyone, Prince Talistis knows the only way out of this castle that our enemies do not. Is there anyone amongst us who can collapse this hallway to break their advancements for awhile."

Alyss turned and looked downwards. It really was as if she would never see home again. The castle was the first home she had known since her Foster Father died. Now they were running away from it and collapsing hallways. "I-I am sorry. My abilities are constricted to swords and lightning, nothing explosive."

She felt as if she were letting them down in their time of need. However, she also knew that she couldn't be too hard on herself. Now was not the time to to get distracted. If she couldn't help in this aspect, she would simply have to make up for it later. "My apologies. Please do not think me useless," she said as she gave a quick bow. She would prove herself to them and make her nation proud.

 

[Tipsynaruto]

“Everyone, Prince Talistis knows the only way out of this castle that our enemies do not. Is there anyone amongst us who can collapse this hallway to break their advances for a while?”

I may be able to do something.

A chance to serve! Although the explosions weren't supposedly used for collapsing hallways, Henrietta planned to compensate with multiple explosions. From its sheath, she drew Duravel out and settling herself into position before launching a flurry of strikes at the pillars and the overhead arch in the hallway. At each swing, Duravel launched an explosion outwards, shattering the walls and sending large chunks of masonry onto the ground. With the supporting pillars gone, the arch imploded downwards under its own weight and finished the blockade. A sizeable wall of rubble now stood between the Prince and pursuing forces that may come from their rear. Satisfied, Henrietta slipped Duravel back into its ornate sheathe

Will this do?

Truthfully, that small maneuver took a bit out of her. It was going to be a short while until she was able to use her sword's special ability again.

 

[Gaige]

As his bodyguard and long time friend spoke, Talis raised his head and gave a shaky smile, even though he was feeling anything but optimism at the moment. There was something about Solstice's charisma that made him feel a little more at ease here.

And as much as he would have liked to just waltz around feeling sorry for himself, people were depending on the secret passage that they rightly assumed he knew about, and he had to get them out of here, and then...

Well, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

"I-I am sorry. My abilities are constricted to swords and lightning, nothing explosive." As the cook and warrior Alyss spoke, seeming a little downcast, Talis smiled in what he hoped was a comforting way at her. "I-it's OK. We'll get out of here." He started looking around for the passage, but before he could, a series of deep rumbles stopped him in his tracks. It came from another of the loyalists, Henrietta, who had sent a flurry of shockwaves out to collapse the hallway as Solstice had asked.

Moving a painting of his grandfather out of the way, a small crawl space was revealed, just large enough for anyone, even in heavy armor, to get through.

"It widens out later," he stated in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, and without waiting for Solstice or anyone else to check whether or not it was safe, he started crawling through the space in search of an exit.

 

[Silver Shadow]

OOC: Apologies again, and also I will edit my post if it seems wrong. I don't think I should be part of all the major action.

IC: A snort sounded from near the wall in the Barking Moon Pub. A lone figure, who was earlier slumped on the table, raised his head, a bottle of some un-named drink in his hand. The bartender looked over at him and stared.

"You were sleeping that entire time? You sure you should be drinking that?"

The bartender didn't get an answer, as the man suddenly got to his feet, barely steady at all. Another three soldiers burst through the door, weapons drawn. The bartender let out a yelp and ducked behind the bar. The drunk paid no heed.

As the soldiers began to advance in the bar, the lead one felt a bottle hitting his head and it bursting. The lead soldier blinked owlishly, before turning towards the drunk that was staggering towards them.

"Get -hic!- get the hell outta my -hic!- my favorite -hic!- bar, you pieces of -hic!-of shit!"

Orion then allowed his body to stagger to the side as the untrained solder used a fast overhand swing. The solder, surprised, found his wrist being grabbed with a lot more force then you might expect from a drunk and the blade being stopped just above the floor. Head turning, the soldier found Orion's face accelerating towards his. Slamming the soldier with a head-butt, Orion then pulled him back in to knee him in the gut. As the soldier doubled over, blade dropping to the ground, Orion's hands clasped together above the soldier's head and slammed down on the back, dropping the soldier to the ground.

He wasn't moving.

The next soldier was a bit more cautious. He advanced forward as Orion's unfocused eyes turned towards him. The soldier thrusted, even faster then the overhead swing, before noticing that he couldn't see Orion anymore.

At least, not until Orion shot both feet straight up into the soldier's groin while balancing on his hands. The soldier screamed in pain, the sword dropping, and was promptly floored as Orion spun on his hands to sweep the soldier's legs out from under him. Pushing himself back up, Orion landed on the soldier's neck, hard.

He wasn't breathing.

The third soldier had a spear, and decided that distance was best. Stabbing out with the spear, the soldier found Orion jumping over a table as the spear was going forward. Landing on the other side, Orion flipped the table over, allowing the spear to be buried in it. Grabbing two chairs, Orion took two unsteady steps backwards, then he sprinted two steps forward and jumped over, smashing the soldier's head between both chairs before he could get his dagger out of his sheath. He, like the others, fell to the ground.

He had no pulse.

Orion dropped the chairs, turned towards the bar, and staggered over to sit on the bar stool. He raised one hand...

"BARTENDER! -hic!- GIMME ANOTHER UN -hic!- OF THOSE -hic!- DRINKS!"

And went back to business as usual.

 

[Whoareyou]

"Aye I'll take point."

As Solstice headed to the back of the line, the prince stopped at a painting and removed it from the wall. He began to climb into the crawl space he had revealed. Aervyn placed his gauntleted hand firmly on the prince's ankle.

"Prince Talis, perhaps you should let me go first. As I'm sure you're aware by now, our enemy are much stronger and undoubtedly more knowledgable than we could ever have planned for, wehave no idea who or what could be waiting for us at the other end of this tunnel and we could do without losing you at this juncture."

He stared hard at the prince, awaiting his response, knowing that if it was necessary, he may have to remove the prince from the space by force. His orders had been clear, keep the prince safe, allow no harm to befall him. Even though the kingdom was lost, he knew all this could be reclaimed or even rebuilt as long as his highness survived this ordeal.

He was aware of several minor explosions to his left, and the hallway collapsing inwards, an attempt to hold the Umbran soldiers back, and whilst that may work for the time being, there were many of them, and they would find a way through or around the blockage before long, time was of the essence.

"Your highness, please, move."

 

[Gaige]

Upon feeling a strong grip on his heel, Talis turned around from his position on his hands and knees to see his friend Aervyn with his hand around his ankle and scowled up at him, clearly not happy with this intervention.

"Damnit Aer." He turned around so that he was sitting on his rear in the crawlspace, hands on the metallic floor of the tunnel as he looked up at his friend and role model. "I can take care of myself you know. I know these tunnels better than you."

But he knew that Aervyn would pull him out if he had to, so he crawled out willingly, wiping the dust and grit off his clothes as he looked up at Aervyn. "Well go on. Lead the way," he said with the hint of a smile on his face.

 

[Whoareyou]

He listened to the prince protest, and then quickly perform a U-turn, perhaps after realising that he was deadly serious about dragging him out of the tunnel feet first. Allowing himself a small smile of relief as he himself clambered into narrow tunnel himself, he was honestly quite pleased that the prince hadn't caused a scene, that would have been bad for morale, which was the last thing they need at the time.

"Prince Talis, stick close behind me, if we come to any forks I'll shout back, you can just let me know which way we need to go." With that, Aervyn started crawling through the space, edges of his pauldrons scraping against the sides of the tunnel.

He knew Solstice would probably wait until very last, putting herself between any danger coming from behind, and the rest of the group, but most importantly, she would be between the prince and any danger. He also now noted the number of other people who had joined them, two of whom were part of his own royal guard. Pleased there were at least some survivors, he vowed he would avenge those who had lost their lives in this conflict, one day.

(Sorry that one was a bit short.)