The Paths of Tragedy

((Well, looks like I'll be moving in, too. Let's get a move-on with this, guys; the tourney continues the storyline.))

Felldoh's spear found it's mark between the shoulders of a particularly brawny soldier. It was absolute chaos in the coliseum. Bodies of the less-skilled warriors were littering the grounds, and the squirrel had lost Brome, Hera, and Jake in the chaos.

Felldoh withdrew his spear from the soldier's body and whirled around, laying out another soldier, a deep gash crimson on his chest.

"They don't know when to quit!" Felldoh muttered, running through the crowds to find Brome and the others. Hera and Jake could take care of themselves, but Felldoh was worried about Brome; the young mouse wasn't a fighter, and he would be vulnerable in a chaotic place like this.

Felldoh heard Jake's roar above the din of the battle, and rushed towards the origins. He found red Dragon, more than six and a half feet tall, tearing this way and that, rending any soldier that approached the small mouse beside him.

With a roar, Felldoh launched himself at the Dragon, only to find it turn around and catch his spear. What surprised him even more was that Jake's voice came from the mouth of the Dragon.

"Yo, Felldoh, relax. It's me, Jake. I just transformed-" Jake whipped his tail and sent another soldier flying into a wall. "-into a Dragon. It's one of my many skills." He whirled around, sending his claws raking across the chest of another dark soldier, slaying him instantly. In the heat of battle, there was no time to be merciful; it was either kill or be killed.
 
SORIS

As Soris witnessed the ordeal from behind the barrel, he quickly understood that this was no place for him. After all, he is a fox.
Seeing his caretaker in trouble, somewhat fired him up, but the soil here, it would take considerable time to make something grow.
He had lost the sight of Damian for now, as the horde of incoming soldiers where overwhelming.

On one side, there where a mage, on another side a red dragon was literally clawing himself through the guards.
Though, Damian was blocked away.
Seconds later, the deep sound of a larger blunt object being swung was heard behind Soris.
His natural quickness made him jump around 2 meters ahead, turning in the air.
Just as he took flight, the wind slightly tugged in his tail. And a mace, around the size of Soris, made a deep hole in the location that he was lying. Sending remnants of the barrels, as well as the stone title he was on.

"Fuck this" Soris muttered, as he ran towards the dark soldier. He ran up on the handle of the mace, and made a small jump, He landed in the soldiers face, and using his strong hind legs, he poshed off, in a jump, off the soldiers eyes. Using as much claw as possible.
The soldier fell to his knees, clenching his face in agony. Soris headed for the cart that was for some form of flower ceremony. Perhaps intended for the winner. In either case, this was his thrumph card.

As he ran, some of the soldiers ignored the "petty fox". But the ones that tried, where too slow for the fox.

Soris was attacked by a few more mace users. One swung towards him, but he sidestepped, making the mace crush the stone floor, and get lodged in the debris. He then jumped onto his back, and one of the other made users swung, aimed for Soris.
Soris grinned. "Dumb move" As he jumped off. The soldier crunched the other ones back, killing him on the spot.
Soris landed on the one that just killed his own team mate, and barely managed to jump off him, as a short sword whipped bast Soris, opening up the mans throat.
Soris landed a few meters away from the one with the ventilated throat. And headed for the cart.


Just as he was nearing the point where he could jump in it, he jumped. But his tail was cought in mid air, a meter or so from the cart.

"Let me go" Soris snarled towards the soldier. Though, his response suggested he was in no mood to let Soris go.
Soris called on his power, and suddenly, the soldier found himself without eyes. As rose branches, had extended from the cart, and into the mans scull.
Soris landed on his back, but quickly regained posture. His fur had lost its glans from the sand. And his eyes showed hate for the soldiers.

Soris let out a primal cry. Echoing through the battlefield. Due to its high frequency (high pick sound) it was rather unique for the fox species.
As any battle cry, it was used to call forth ones power, and this was not any different.
The cart filled with various plants, began to blossom, but not in the way one would normally guess. the flowers, and small trees, became bigger. Branches started entangling, and impaling the dark soldiers. finding its way to the softer tissue of the eyes, under the arms, and the neck area. And ending them in a swift, accurate motion.
Needless to say, thus was mentally draining, but he had little choice, as the innocents where slaughtered, he did as be could to save them.

From the distance, Soris would be seen as he was talking to someone, yet there where no one there.
In close proximity, one could hear that he was making "random noises" which one could expect from an animal.
What he was doing, was conversing with the spirits of nature, guiding them to do as he wished.

Though, he was not without danger. A random mace and sword passed him in close proximity from time til time. As some desperate ones tried to hot him with them.
but the spirits where on his side. They too had a will of their own, and some of them chose to parry, or redirect the incoming objects.
 
Both soldiers with swords and maces headed towards Karne. There were too many to be handled, so Karne decides to take another stance. He moves his right leg 45cm forward, bends his left leg a bit and bends his both arms, but his right arms is lower from the left one (Judo stance). Then he charged his Chi on both his hands and feet (5 each; total energy loss is 29). Now he felt a bit tired.
As the soldiers were closing, Karne runs towards them. He closes in to the mace-wielder and does a thrust with both of his hands spread. Karne leaves a dent in the armor and as the soldier was pushed, he fell on other soldiers making a domino fall of 5 soldiers. After that two other soldiers, one with sword and one with mace, were closing to Karne.

"Damn it, where is the end to this soldiers?"

Karne then bends his body and knees and keeps his hands semi-opened (Leopard stance). As the sword-wielding soldier was four meters away from Karne, Karne hops forward and the jumps on the soldier like a leopard. He lands on the soldier, and the soldier falls down hitting a step on a stair with his neck.
Karne then jumps off now then soldier and turns to the mace-wielder, also preparing for another angular attack.
 
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OOC: This RP is going fast lately.... /Sarcasm.
Well I'm hoping that my posting now, will activate the Post gene in all of you ^^
Im taking the liberty to close the portal outside the barrier.

-------------------------------

Entas awoke, with surprisingly little pain, he remembered Felldoh crashing into him, and Him loosing the fight.
He smiled to himself, the better one won.

As the startup diagnostic was complete, the visor started showing him image.
*AAAH!* Entas shouted out, as he saw directly in the face of one with white hair.
Jonad became curious as the visor started emitting a red line along the black part of the white thing on his patient's face. Not to mention the extended part moving around.

He offcourse jumped back a little, as his patient suddenly screamed out. "Are you in pain?" Jonad asked "No, I was jut startled" Entas replied. Jonad let out a sigh of releif. "You lost the battle, and was badly wounded-" Jonad started explaining. "I believe you should be ok now though, I had to put you to sleep, to maximize the healing effect" he stated, while smiling slightly.
Entas looked around, and heard quite the commotion. "Whats going on?" Entas asked. "Some form of invasion is the best way to explain it" Jonad explained. "Im a pacifist, so I will not fight, but you. You are experienced. I ask of you to help the civilians escape, and the guards to fight of the invasion." Entas thought for a second. He was not in pain, and he was combat trained. However, the lack of a weapon, made this hard.

"IF it is a weapon you need, there is a few lying around in here, as some times the contestants are impaled by them... Barbarians" Jonad explaied.
"Fine, I will help, as I cant just sit here" Entas stated as he got out of the bed. "I am Entas, thank you for healing me".
Jonad smiled. "It is my job. Think nothing off it. I ma Jonad Sizoc.".
Entas walked over to the table, and the visor instantly began to scan for a suitable weapon.

Entas realized why the visor had chosen the previous weapon. the visor is for research primary, thus it chose the one it had the least information on.
Entas smiled, as he sighed. He forced the visor into combat mode, and it instantly chose a single edged sword. The so called Katana. Or at least an equalient of it.
"I hope we meet again, Jonad" Entas smiled, as he ran off towards the arena.

As Entas came out, he faced the chaos that was the current situation. More or less instantly after he got there, a mace, and a short sword was incoming. And he had to evade.
He spun towards his right, parrying the blade, and evading the mace. The blade ended up hitting the armor of an enemy soldier, unfortunately it made no damage to him. The mace ended up in the wall, then on the ground behind him.
There was way too little time to get a hold of the complete situation, so he just ran into it.

He was instantly surrounded by 3 soldiers. That attacked at the same time, all using short swords.
Entas evaded one of them, and using his own sword, he parried one of them. The 3rd he grabbed the hand of, and using the momentum, he drive that blade, through the gut of the parried soldier. He spun around, dragging his own blade, along the throat of the soldier he grabbed the hand of, and using the momentum of his spin, to make a strong overhead slash, that went through the thin armor, and opened the chest of the 3rd soldier.


Soris was becoming rather exhausted, but took no chance of stopping just yet.
Suddenly, there was a few soldiers that worked together, and Soris' plants managed to take down a few, but a mace wielder came through. The mace came down, and Soris barely managed to get off. The mace shattered most of the cart he was sitting on. And he turned towards Soris. But little was done by him, as the said plants run dim through.'
Soris had to take a chance. He mutated a plant, to make a large man eating one. As the civilians had gone out from the arena, it was just the capable warriors, and the enemy soldiers left.

The flower grew, and ended up with a basic life. Only have 2 main thoughts. "Kill" and "Feed".
The plant instantly grabbed hold of 2 incoming soldiers, and entangled them with vines. One of the soldiers, was thrown with such force, that the armor cracked as he hit the stone wall. The other was literally eaten.
Soris' mental energy was exhausted for this moment. He had to stop, or face a possible black out.
He still had his physical strength, thought his mind slightly clouded due to energy fatigue.
He had to take shelter, but unprotected, he could turn out dead.
Soris saw a suitable spot, there was a large crack in the arena wall, it was sufficient for him to enter.
He took sprint for it. But in his cloudiness, he missed an incoming soldier. Though the soldier did not.
Soris was kicked, with enough force to send him flying several meters, being slammed into a wall. He forced himself to his feet, but his vision was fading. "No... not like this" he thought to himself. He tried to cry for help, but it was too late.
"Good bye" he stated in his mind, to any memories he had, sure he would die. And he fell unconscious.


Alumar had little problem with the small cannon fodder. As one after the other was blown literally to pieces. His initial idea, presented itself yet again.
The portals had to be closed. He pointed both his hand towards the sky, in a 'cup' form.
A large, and several meter long thick yellow beam formed. Which he then slammed into the ground ahead. De materializing some of the soldiers, and half of some. He used this opening to run towards the portal outside the barrier.

He stood 10 meters or so away from the portal, as he lifted his cape. He brought out his wand. "Hope this will work" he stated, as the wand's gem started to glow a strong and deep red color.
In his right hand, a mere centimeter away from the skin, a dense yellow orb formed. As it formed, small tines of yellow lightning started to spark to its sides. This was his highest form of [Energy Blast]. He hoed it would be enough to shut down the portal.

He aimed on the ground on the inside of the portal, if this would work, most of the damage wound be on the inside, and not in the arena.
Alumar sent the sphere towards its target, then immediately cleared the area in front of the portal.
There was a significant energy drain, but Alumar knew out would regenerate itself after a short while.
The portal, starter to spark slightly as the sphere entered. Only to then explode, sending out a few solders, that crushed themselves in the wall that was facing he portal.
The blast was so strong, that it sent a few soldiers through the portal, and into a wall.
But, it worked, in a flash the portal closed. And Alumar had to move, to not be attacked.
The immediate area around the portal was empty for now, he used that area to rest as long as he could, before the forces would get enough of it, to attack Alumar.
Though, he estimated that least half of them, would face him, in a revenge plot. So he hoped he would not be alone.


Entas turned around towards the large sound of the blast, and saw nothing due to the large number of soldiers.
"How many are there?" he asked no one in particular, as he parried an incoming slash. The slash came from a soldier, that was in return kicked with all his force. The soldier was sent backwards, only to end up hitting the back of his head in the pointy corner of a wall. Entas immediately turned around. only to barely dodge an incoming mace. The mace ended up doing some damage to the stone ground. Entas twitched slightly. If that hits him, he would at best, just break something.


Jonad sat there, in the room he was lead to.
He had no choice. He had to do something to help.
He stood up, and ran towards the arena. First now seeing the chaos that ravaged the arena.
He used a second to take it in, only to brush it off. He was grabbed by a fellow white mage.
"You, we need you. Let the fighters fight, follow me to the infirmary" He stated, and ran off. Jonad followed him, knowing he would do a better job there.
He was lead to a room, where countless warriors where crying out in pain, some with fatal wounds, some with broken bones.
Jonad did not even think, his instincts took over. He walked over to a washing bin, and washed his hands to the best he could, then ran over to one that seemed critical, and began doing what he did best.

------------------------------
OOC2: For the lazy reader, Soris is in the need of helping, and the rest is doing fine, One portal, the one outside the barrier, is now CLOSED. ^^
 
OOC: Why do you think I left Hera unaccounted for? I knew SOMEBODY would be needing help soon enough.

Hera's blade was little more than a flashing silver blur as it carved its way through the knights. As he rent another soldier in half, his vision was momentarily unimpeded. He saw a fox, obviously sentient, fall under the blow of a particularly accurate soldier. With a flourish of the Dragon Blade, Hera lunged forth and carved the soldier's head from his body, watching the body crumble beneath him. He ignored the plant life that was obviously not natural to the coliseum, and knelt beside the fallen animal.

Hera banged his sword against the wall, above the fox's head, yelling, "Hey, you alright?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake's claws met another soldier's chest, and the body crumpled onto the floor. Felldoh quickly dispatched a trio of persistent knights, thrusting his spear into each of them.

"Jake," the squirrel called over his shoulder, "We can't keep this up, we have to find your grandfather."

"I know," Jake yelled. "But we have to keep Brome safe, too. Don't worry, I'm already keeping an eye out for gramps, but I need to keep them from stabbing me, too!" The sarcasm in Jake's voice made Felldoh chuckle as he swiped yet another soldier foolish enough to come within range of his spears.

"Well, like I said, we can't keep this up forever. Let's get this over with and look for Hera Ledro!"
 
As Rornal looked towards his portal he began to slowly approach it, it seemed that most of the soldiers were starting to defend it, obviously it was weak for it to need heavy guarding. Rornal readied himself for a fight and ran towards them with his armour clunking behind him. "Alright, bring it on!" Rornal performed a leg sweep with his sword which dealt with the frontal troops. He then found himself pincered by troops on either side, he then started spinning blocks to stop any injuries, occasionally slaying a troop only to be replaced by more. "Oh screw this!" Rornal then slammed his blade into the middle of the portal holder which created a large boom throughout the arena. All the troops held their heads in pain, Rornal struck again, the portal however did not go down. It seemed his sword could not break the holdings. "I guess I've got no choice now..." Rornal lowered the barrier around the arena, if he could not break it, others would have to. Rornal jumped back and held his sword in front of his with his arm straight as he span around slowly, keeping track of every foe that came near.
 
Karne runs towards the mace-wielder. As he came two meters close to him, he jumps to the right and then on the soldier. He kicks the soldier with both feet in midair and he used the kick to push himself off from soldier. He makes a backward roll and lands on his feet, but soldier made few three steps backwards because of the impact from hit and stumbles on the fence.
Karne at first thought a barrier would knock him off, since he saw it when the black knight raised it, but he fell on floor of battleground. He walks to the fence to see what happened, he couldn't see the barely-visible barrier anymore. He also notices that the portal on outside is destroyed.
Another soldier, sword-wielder this time, came behind Karne. But it wasn't hard noticing him because of his footsteps. Karne then turns around and grabs the soldier and throws him over the fence, and Karne with him making sure he was above him. As the soldier hit the floor, Karne rolls over him and then he stands up on his feet.

"Need some backup?"
 
Soris had a visitor, so to speak. However he was in no condition to reply.
When the sword was banged against the wall, Soris simply twitched, from the high pinch sound. This confirmed his life signs, but he was not in a position to do much.


Alumar had regained most of his energy, thought he was somewhat fatigued still.
He got to his feet, and noted that the barrier was gone. He took this as an opportunity to close the other portal. But it would be interesting getting there, as many of the remaining soldiers, chose to defend the portal.


Entas looked around, one portal was closed, the barrier had dissapeared, but this was all he could see. Due to the large mass of soldiers in the vicinity of the other portal, he assumed that it was still operational, and under guard. He headed there at his best speed, though he was slowed down from the wave of soldiers.

----------------------
OOC: I give Hera permission to G-mod Soris, as he might attempt to move him from his position.
He is allowed to do so, until I make him awake
 
"Hell yeah!" Rene shouted as he charged forward and drilled himself into the enemy, he spun his blade all around hacking at any enemy within 2 meters of him. He ran forward and jumped up slightly landing his foot on top of one of the soldiers head. He threw himself forward and raised his gun, he summoned all his magic into a bullet. He fired carefully, the bullet sped towards it's target. As it went forward it began to glow before erupting in a massive blue fireball. It struck it's target. The large black portal that the enemies were coming from smashed. As the shards fell to the ground every single one of the black soldiers screamed in unified agony. As each soldier fell to their deaths, Rene landed nimbly with his gun still smoking. He sheathed his blade and turned to where he left Damien. He quickly ran over there and found him hiding.

"You okay mate? Here have this drink, it'll counter the effects of the KO bullet."
 
"Dammit," Hera cursed. The fox had taken a rather hard fall, and it didn't look like he'd be getting up anytime soon. With a quick swipe of his tail, Hera shorn through an oncoming soldier. The Allsie whirled around and grabbed the fox, hoisting the vulpine over his left shoulder. "Time to get you out of here."

Hera searched among the chaos for an opening, but it was not his eyes which told him where to go. Above the din, Hera could hear the roar of a Dragon, and he grinned widely when he recognized the bellow as Jake's. Hera crouched and launched himself into the air, skating over a blade that was aimed for his waist. He dispatched the offending warrior with a quick swipe of the Dragon Blade and shot through the air.

It wasn't five seconds past until he saw Jake and Felldoh, battling their way towards him through mobs of soldiers. The Allsie landed beside the Dragon, after putting on a burst of speed to get to them. He positioned himself between Jake and Felldoh, with his back to Brome.

"You guys have been busy," Hera said, his flailing blade keeping the oncoming warriors at bay.

"Aye matey, we've been having a wonderful time." Felldoh caught a foe's blade on his spear and tilted it, sending the soldier to his demise on one of the deadly war spikes.

"What's with the new shoulder pad?" Jake called, nodding his head towards the fox on Hera's shoulder.

"Found it unconscious on the ground, and I couldn't just leave it." The soldiers were finally starting to die down, so Hera stood up a little straighter. "Now we've got two people to protect."

"I don't think we can take them all," Felldoh called, "We're three warriors, not three hundred."

"So we wait for back-up," Hera said simply. He wanted to wait for his match to show his full power, but if he had to fight seriously, he would.
 
-Entas spun on his right foot, managing to inflict fatal wounds on 3 warriors.
As his spin stopped, he was rather tired. He saw a blue ball explode, taking the portal with it. This was seen via the choppercam.

-Alumar had just sent a small group literally flying over the coliseum walls. He was beginning to enjoy this.
A blue flash, followed by an explosion. Ended the other portal.
"Good" Alumar grinned, now there wont be coming more of them.

--All the warriors screamed at the same time. It was horrible, and at the same time a glorious sound.
They fell to the ground, almost like their life force came from the portal, which just backed up Alumar's minion theory.

Within a short while, all the soldiers had fallen to the ground, leaving no one left of them.
Alumar thought that he should try to awaken one of their spirits, to seek information.
However, the fail of the spell, indicated that they did not have a soul.
Thus confirming Alumar's minion idea.
They where mere dolls. Controlled by a larger necromancer of sorts.

In any case, the invasion seemed to have stopped. Which was a good thing.
First now, the fighters that defended the arena, and countless civilian and military lives, could be clearly seen.
They where only a handful. Some more unique then the other.

Alumar looked to his side, and noted an overgrown rose.
He looked at it slightly confused. How did this happen. Who did it?
He could really not care about it for now.
Alumar pointed his left hand towards it, and with a single blast of fire, the 'head' of the flower was blown off, and the rest was burning down.
Alumar sat on the nearest seat, and grinned. he got to use his powers again. It felt good.

Entas looked around, it seemed that it was over. He sat down, his back against the wall. He had gotten only minor wounds. That would heal in the next few days.
 
(I was wondering if we could speed up this tournament in order to move on with the storyline. I know I have not being that active, but is just that, during June, I'll find it very hard to log in to FFF except during weekends. Can anyone tell me what has been done so far?)

------Lucius-----

As Lucius remained standing silent before the window, staring down at the trees outside, he thought about all the pain and suffering he has brought upon his family, specially upon Julius. Lucius set his sight eyes to the clouds above, sinking his eyes on the the heavens allowing his mind to be set free and lost between dreams. But then, he snapped back to reality, and remembered that Hejaloki, his once old nemesis now turned into an unexpected ally, was also inside the room. Lucius sighed, as he turned away from the window and met face to face with Hejaloki, his old nemesis was on the opposite side of the room, waiting. Lucius' facial expressions changed abruptly, showing some sort of deep concern towards the current situation and, at the same time, a grim indifference towards the fates of the others that were involved; Cairn, Hera Ledro, Jake, Alumar, ...all of them were unexpectedly involved in the "dark one's" personal vendetta against humans and fairy creatures alike, no, it seemed more like a vengeance directed more to the planet, to life itself.

"It is so ironic, how the roles between my brother and I shifted, for now he is the enemy, and not I. Now, what do you need to know about me?"
 
Hejaloki knew the trouble in the mortals mind. Wishing he could ease the pain of Lucius and himself. He looked out the window briefly. He then stood up and reached in his pocket. He took out Archzil's medallion and held it up for Lucius to see.

"I understand for I was once in the darkness and..." Hejaloki thought of his fallen wife and the hatred he directed to Archzil in ages past. He has already forgiven Archzil.

"Never mind. What do you remember of this? For I know it holds a great secret of and yet I can not access its power."

Hejaloki let his thoughts wander for a second about the past. Then he looked back at Lucius from under his cowl awaiting the answer.
 
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"I only have shattered pieces of my once imprisoned mind, memories suspended within the shadows of my soul. I can not get a hold of these memories and make any sense of it, but I am certain of one thing; Armageddon will come, and he will finish what he started a long time ago."

Lucius commented, his soul carrying the burden of blame, for he had served as the instrument of evil and fed Armageddon with power and hatred. For once, Lucius and Armageddon's minds were one, Lucius hatred was Armageddon's nourishment, and it continued to infuse the demon with immense strength until Lucius managed to break free from Armageddon's control.

""Yes, this is my curse....my sin....and...."


Suddenly, a maniacal voice was heard echoing through the chambers of the Colosseum, the voice resonated within the minds of the people around driving some of the warriors into a bloodthirsty madness. The onces that were tainted by the devil's cry began to slaughter each other. The guards seized the dark ones and plunged them into imprisonment, securing the areas. Blood splattered on the walls and floors across these sanctuary of valor, Lucius recognized the grim scenario: this was Armageddon's doing and it meant that "Julius" was near.

"Hejaloki! You hear....is him!"

------------------------------Julius---------------------------------

From above the arena, the darkening clouds swelling around a dark knight who was descending from the heavens with elegance and dignity, yet there was a villainous aura around this man. Eyes shining red, piercing through the clouds as the darkening mist around the dark knight began to dissipate, and he landed softly yet firmly on the very center of the arena. For those who thought that the nightmare had ended, this man was going to prove them with a faith shattering reality that the horror has just begun.

As he glared upon the monstrosity and madness that his mere poisoning influence had brought, Julius, the man clad in a nightmarish armour, began to step further towards the very center of the arena. He had heard the voices inside his head, and he was listening to them. From the orifices of his helm came smoke, almost as if he were breathing fire, and there was a stench of sulfur that seemed unbearable.

He suddenly made a sudden stop, his firm, menacing steps flattened and scorched the soil below his iron boots, and he was there, enjoying the chaos and ruin. Many wondered how could something so impure, corrupt and evil exist, and it was evident that they never heard of the "ancient demon" thought to have existed only in legends. The knight rose his right arm, slowly toying with the air with his fingers, smoke and fire emanated from his hand, and then he grasped the hilt of his blade firmly and unsheathed his weapon. A razor like sound was heard shortly after he drew his blade, and a trail of ashes was left behind after the sword's pass.

"Is there anyone here with the guts to challenge me?"


Julius yelled out as he taunted his opponents with sickening comments and hurtful truths. He reminded them of their weak nature, he ignited the sad memories inside the hearts of men, bringing those painful memories back to life. Julius loved to hate and hated to love, now he was one with the "black monster", just like his twin brother once was several years ago. Yet no one could hear, that deep within the darkness there was a voice crying out for help and for being released of this torturous purgatory; the last remains of Julius sanity were begging for atonement.
 
Hejaloki heard the voice and said, "It is him."

Hejaloki looked down. Then back to Lucius.

"Even now I can hear the yells of Julius soul crying for help. Yet I am helpless against the power of Armgeddon. For Armgeddon hides in cowardice from me in mortal bodies, as I do not."

Hejaloki tossed the medallion to Lucius.

"I think it will serve you when the time comes."
 
Skaol looked with shock as the dark soldiers fell to the ground, apparently dispelled of whatever animated them. "Then it's over," he sighed, chancing a glance over to Wylliam. Wylliam, however, was staring pointedly at a fixed point on the other side of the arena, determined to look anywhere but in the eyes of his closest friend. "Wylliam, I-"

"I'm really confused right now," Wylliam interrupted, still staring intently across the arena, "please, let me be for right now."

"But-"

"Enough!" Wylliam yelled, spinning on the spot and staring Skaol straight in the eye, "What you said made sense, but I just can't accept it! I don't know what to think, I-" He reached up and grabbed both sides of his helm as if trying to keep his thoughts from bursting out, then sank to his knees, letting out a shriek of misery.

"Wylliam! Wyll, what's wrong! This isn't like you!" Skaol shouted, but it was in vain as Wylliam continued to shriek, tears streaming down his face.

"That isn't a normal nervous breakdown, fool," a melodic voice sounded from behind Skaol. He turned and saw the speaker to be the scholarly looking man with the violin case. The man pointed up to the sky, saying, "Look."

Skaol followed the man's finger to the point in the sky at which he was pointing, letting out a gasp as he saw an evil figure begin to descend from the clouds, darkness radiating from his body. "Weak minded idiot," he muttered, staring down at the huddled form of an agonizing Wylliam, "That knight's aura is muddling his already disturbed thoughts. I don't see how, him having such a thick skull and all..."

"Well?! Can you help him?" Skaol demanded of the man. The man stroked his chin for a bit before cocking back his leg and delivering a swift and powerful kick to Wylliam's chin, sending him flying back ten feet. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! I SAID HELP HIM, NOT-"

Skaol was interrupted by the sound of Wylliam stirring, raising himself to a sitting position, then scratching the top of his helm. "Er... what just happened? Why does my head hurt? Who in God's name is that guy?" He asked, pointing at the dark knight standing in the middle of the arena.

Skaol smiled with a sigh and brought his hand to his forehead. "You have not changed in the slightest..." he whispered under his breath. Without actually saying so, the two seemed to have made a pact to fight for their ideals in their respective ways, while sharing a common bond of optimism. He suddenly remembered the man who had snapped Wylliam out of the dark knight's power. "Sir," he said, turning to the man who returned his gaze coldly, "thank you for your help. What is your name?"

The man scowled as he replied, "That was just luck. I simply wanted to kick him for annoying me with his whining. How could I have known that that would work?" As he turned, however, he paused and said with reluctance, "I'm Testament. Now leave me alone."

---------------------------------------------

As Testament turned away from the pair of humans, he looked to the figure in the center of the arena. Seems like a human got in over his head, he smirked, making his way to the edge of the stands. "I'll fight!" he shouted over the din of panic at the dark being. It wasn't that he wanted to help the humans, he just wanted to put this cocky one back in his place. At least, that's what he kept telling himself as he walked down the steps and onto the arena floor. Once there, he put his violin case on the ground and removed his instrument Violince from it. He shouldered the dark violin and placed the bow lightly onto the strings. "As the challenger, you must make the first move, correct?"

((OOC: I realize that this is rather long post, so here's the short version: the presence of the dark knight messed with Wylliam's already confused thoughts. Testament 'helped' by kicking him in the face. Testament then accepted Julius' open challenge, and is now on the arena floor, violin in hand.))
 
(OOC: I think I can work with this. XD Thanks to Julius of course. BTW, he does have a helmet on, correct? Because if he doesn't, well, then of course we all know Zeria is going to flip XD)

Zeria had left the building for only moments, and in her return, she found chaos. Two unfamiliar people in the arena, ready to fight. She ran in, staying off to the side. Her expression filled with horror.

"What the hell?! What are you?! Who are you?! Why are you disrupting this peace?!"

She gripped the handles of her blades tightly, ready for anything. This knight...how could anyone bring about such destruction?! And why did this ominous feeling seem so familiar to her? Why were so many presences of people of her past swamping the area, making it hard for her to think as she recalled every memory of it all, bringing tears to her eyes?

"Damnit, answer me!"
 
((OOC: Julius, you just called in the thunder :devil2: Due to Julius' obvious power, Hera and Jake's curiosities are now...aroused...))

Hera and Jake buckled, their minds reeling at the power that had just appeared. It was a lucky job, too; as they ducked down from the descending force, a set of blades swiped over their heads simultaneously. Both warriors shot their tails forward, thwacking the unfortunate foes across the heads and knocking them senseless.

"You feel that too?" Jake asked gruffly.

"Yeah," Hera affirmed. "It felt like my head was going to explode for a moment, there..."

"What?" Hera and Jake turned around to see Felldoh and Brome staring at them, completely nonplussed. With the defeat of the last two soldiers, the entire area was wiped clear of all enemies, and warriors were groaning and congratulating each other upon surviving the onslaught.

Hera bent down and laid the fox he'd slung over his shoulder onto the ground. "Jake and I can sense energy, you might say, but only if it's from a living organism. If a life comes by, we can sense it; if we know the person, we can tell who it is without seeing them, since everybody's energy signal is unique."

"Yeah, and this one's strong enough to put up a good fight," Jake said, grinning.

Hera nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Who knows, we may get a challenge out of this tournament after all."

"Not if they get to him first." Hera turned to Jake, who had closed his eyes and bent his head, squinting as he concentrated. "That idiot who was at the mansion is there, and so is Wylliam. So is Zeria and another guy, but I don't know who he is."

Hera nodded. "Yes, I, too, can feel them. We'd better not sit around here, though. It's obvious that this is a hostile power, so we might as well go and help out. Wylliam definitely isn't strong enough to take him, much less Zeria. Those other two don't feel as though they're powerful enough, either." Hera looked down the hallway that lead to the arena. "Heck, maybe we're not strong enough. It'll certainly be interesting."

In a trice, the time for speculation was over. Jake shot down the tunnel, and Hera turned to Brome and Felldoh. "Listen, you two: I need you to stay here and watch over the fox. Brome, do what you can to heal him. There shouldn't be much to do; just wrap his head up in some bandages. Felldoh, stay here and protect the both of them. Jake and I will go out to the arena and handle this...whatever it is." With that, Hera gripped the hilt of his Dragon Blade tightly, and shot after Jake, speeding down the tunnel.

Not five seconds later, Hera found himself in the arena, and only two more seconds passed until he was alongside Jake and the other warriors who were there. He held his sword loosely at his side and poised himself, ready to strike or defend at a moment's notice. Jake, too, was positioned in an offensive-defensive stance, allowing him both strategies at a moment's notice. The Dragon had a wickedly-anticipatory grin on his face; his warrior blood was aroused, and he was awaiting for a fight.

"Let's go," were the only two words that came out of the Dragon-child's mouth as he stared hungrily at the newfound force. And quite the force it was, too...
 
Skaol looked with surprise at the latest arrivals. One appeared to be a dragon, which was rare enough. The other was a completely foreign entity, a blue furred creature with a blade at the end of his tail. Wylliam followed his gaze to the two.

"Oh! Skaol, that's Jake and Hera. They're members of my caravan. Guys, this is Skaol. He's a Captain in Aldabra-"

"But before that, I am human," Skaol interrupted with a benevolent smile to the two beings, "the appearance of this new threat is of far greater importance than my missive to kill you. I will now use my discretionary authority to enlist in your aid to stop this threat." Skaol's smile widened as he continued, "I have no qualms about using the system to get out of jobs I deem amoral. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to beat all of you."

Wylliam laughed and smacked Skaol on the back. "Don't be so modest. You're just to lazy to try, I bet."

"You know, you ought to try a little modesty..."

"No time for that!" Wylliam grinned, gripping his spear tightly and charging at the dark figure. As he shot past Testament, the effeminate man shouted after him, "You idiot! We don't know what he's capable of! You're going to get killed!" This fell on deaf ears, however. When he was ten feet from the dark knight, he gathered all of his strength into his legs and leapt high into the air. The wind rushing past his face acted as a catalyst to Wylliam's excitement as he began his descent spearfirst toward the dark knight.

Skaol looked with exhasperation toward Hera and Jake. "So, he's changed after all. Now he's even more excitable and foolish."
 
---------------J U L I U S---------------

The dark knight laughed cynically, his sickening laughter echoed through the barren arena as the harsh winds carried the warm heat of the midday sun. Although he enjoyed the fearsome appearance his helm gave him, Julius opted for removing his helm to feel more free. Before removing his helm, Julius stuck his sword on the ground, and then he slowly placed his hands on his helmet. Suddenly, his helm turned into a dark mist and shape shifted to an expressionless white mask. On the mask there only were two oval orifices for his eyes, yet no smile, no resemblance to anything fearsome, just a simple mask hiding his face. In fact, with this mask he looked more angelic, yet the aura around him gave away this false sanctity.

Soon, Julius grasped his weapon and pulled it from the ground, now aiming it to the group of fighters that arrived at his presence. His aim shifted from left to right as he carefully studied each and one of them. Several questions were tossed to him, yet Julius answered none and he remained silent. Among the warriors he sighted Zeria, and although he recognized her, Julius was unable to feel anything, for his mind and soul were enveloped in shadows.

"[FONT=&quot]Cur in gremio haeremus? ([/FONT][FONT=&quot]Why do we stay in the cradle?[/FONT][FONT=&quot])"

Julius said as he passed his left hand over his silver hair as he sighed. He took his sight away from Zeria and fixed his stare on the soil on which he was standing.


"Cur poenam cordi parvo damus?([/FONT][FONT=&quot] Why do we provide suffering to (our) little heart?[/FONT][FONT=&quot])[/FONT]"

His second statement echoed throughout the winds and then he followed up with another comment. At the same time we could hear voices whispering, asking "Who is this Zeria? Doesn't she realizes that she has already lost? Why does she cries out for a love that has long since whithered and died thanks to our lord's purification from such trivial matters...Now what we need is to get rid of the "other" girl...her name...what was her name?"

"[FONT=&quot]Noli nomen vocare ... (Do not call my name...)...I am here my love...yet where are thou? I can't call out thy name in the dark...for the shadows have hidden thy name from me..."[/FONT]

Julius finalized his brief monologue without even staring at his opponents. For an instant, there was a brief moment of humanity that could be felt from his last words. He was indeed calling for someone, someone he longed to see once again, but who?

The dark knight rose his eyes and fixed them on the heavens, then he rose his blade and aimed it to the skies, his mighty blade held high, and it shined with a an enchanting yet dark aura. His eyes then changed from a darkening red to an evil yellow, and then he lowered his sight to set his villainous stare on them. At the same time, he brought his sword down too.

Having heard Testament's challenge a few moments ago, Julius decided not to allow this challenge to remain unanswered, and so he decided to meet him in battle. Without replaying verbally, Julius rose his blade and waved it to the left, resting his sword on left his shoulder as he took a defensive stance.

His right shoulder clearly aimed at Testament, Julius eyes were set on him as if he were trying to pierce through his flesh and see straight into his soul. Suddenly, Julius stepped once forward, slightly moving his sword up and away from his left shoulder and then he brought it down fiercely and diagonally to his right, cutting through the air and unleashing a malicious wave of corruptive energy towards Testament.





 
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