my brother

There's but a shake of his head. Truthfully, he did have other matters at stake.. and what would Basil's presence really change? If they wanted to execute Kofe..

Then they could do so later on, after Basil actually leaves.

"There's no need for that, Alice. Even if I stay, it doesn't change much in the long run - if a particular idea was already made up."

"I trust that something foolish won't be done." A pause, to which he adds.

"And I know that people realize what abusing my trust could lead to."

A subtle warning? But.. to kill Kofe could potentially mean catastrophic consequences for Osrona that is already in a rather troublesome state.

He needs no other statement made. Instead, his gaze turns back to Mars.

"I believe we're done here."

"Unless there's something about that letter we were supposed to receive."
(Basil)

The Keeper stops in his tracks, a statuesque stillness, eerie in nature. Ashen eyes befall Filia only briefly - they are vacant, as if distracted in thought, consumed by something of greater importance.

That anger - that fleeting fury - boils within his core. How uncharacteristic of him.

There is a rigidness to his motions as he pivots, lips parting to betray words he never quite knew he wished to utter:

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed."

Digits twiddle, ebbs of mana commanded forth. Kofe, hauled a few metres at his flank, stands the focus of his attentiveness. Nothing else quite matters.

His wrist flicks forth, propelling that singular crystal toward his cranium with blinding speed.

Glory to Osrona.
(Sethon)

[OWYN INTERCEPTS BASIL WITH A ROLL]

"You-"

An immediate wave of stardust is sent out. Intended to either sweep Sethon of his feet, or knock him back, or otherwise cause his aim to slip up and miss. Truthfully, what follows next is something that probably nobody on entirety of Esshar wanted to see..

A roaring Rhoynish.
Charging right at you.

But.. it seems that as much as he was going to charge in after the initial interception, what follows is the shock of Owyn stopping him in his tracks, no doubt to stop him from this.

"LET GO!"

"LET ME FUCKING GO! THAT'S MY FUCKING BROTHER YOU MORON!"

An unforgivable act to just make Basil stand there and watch as Kofe dies.

How could they actually expect him to have peace with that?
(Basil)

There is something that needs to be learned here. Something that everyone must understand- that no matter what happens, she wouldn't have allowed it to happen. She wouldn't allow Basil to get into something that one of his own had went into... Because while Kofe is most certainly his brother, she would not make him subject to the law of Osrona...Nor would she allow him to succumb to those that are around. Virulent and yet beautiful, the red cosm flutters upon her form would expand in full glory....The earth beneath her feet rumbles, the cobblestone cracks, and rends of earth dare to rise in order to block the pursuit.


"You won't be dying because of him."


The arrow is lifted and one eye is closed. Between index and thumb is the string pulled...But what is at the head of the arrow is what is most fearful. Fangs of cosm and flame can be seen...They lick and chomp at the air before the arrow releases, aiming to strike true to the sternum of the warrior..

Strike true. Does she aim.

To not kill him.
But most certainly, incapacitate.
(Mars)

Owyn's hands seem to yank Basil in all of his rhoynish rage, attempting to calm this incredible anger from within. He knows how it seems, but he also knows that Kofe is someone who has been digging their own grave for as long as they've known of him.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Contrasting greatly the loud and booming voice of Basil, the Lionheart is quiet and stern, seething with a hiss towards them in their forcible efforts to subdue his pack member.

"I'M your brother, you're MY brother. We're PACK! Kofe? Isn't pack!"

And in his earnest heart he can truly say, that particular rhoynish could die a million times over and wouldn't receive even a blink from Owyn. But Basil? Making himself a target even more than he already has?

Owyn.
Mars.
Tiernay.
Urizen.
Nox.

Edelaide.

The List goes on and on, the amount of people that would be devastated by such a turn of events. And none of them, all alive and those who were well, would rather die than watch him try and step in for someone who had done wrong.

"So even if I have to fight you myself, you big oaf of an idiot, I'll do it if that means making sure WE get to walk out of here."
(Owyn)

You cannot expect the Rhoynish to stand aside when their own are being killed like that.

And while Owyn and Mars try to make their point, no matter how valid.. truthfully, it doesn't matter - the moment that he noticed Sethon even try to kill Kofe at all, it immediately sealed the fate for that man in his eyes. He would be someone that he'll hunt, even if he lives to tell the tale right now.

All that he sees is red.

"You're out of your mind if you think I will stand aside."

What comes is a low growl; it seems, however, that other people were going to actually do something about it - for as much as he was stopped, and unfortunately, he cannot reach his brother in time..

It does not mean this rage fades.

"You don't get it."
"None of you do."

Yet, as much as he cannot reach Kofe in time -there's still time to reach Sethon afterward.

And he won't be missing that chance, so long as he gets past another.
(Basil)

He's accustomed to this growl, this sound that comes when Basil is well in his flow of anger. But, he, like when it dealt with Mars, cannot let them go to this length. He would put even his own self on the line so long as it meant that they would be able to leave alive.

And what stands for the moment now, is to make sure Basil is occupied to the point where he simply cannot and will not try to step in.

A curl as fire seems to burst around him. It sweeps over him like a cloth, and from his back sprouts what seems to be something different. Something wonder, a Glorious blaze of power. As strong as an Inferno, and he allows it to press along him.

This, the stencil. The outline, this imagination. It settles within him well enough, that his determination comes within his self.

"I don't have to get it. I don't have to understand what you do, Basil. I know what I understand, and what I get. That's all that matters."

The wings spread cinders along the ground, but they fade in and out, they are not quite complete. They are not whole, but they are present.

"If you've got anger, direct it at me. I'll handle all of it."
(Owyn)

Owyn's might is not enough to stop Basil.

For as much as the Lion before him was a formidable force on his own, it was not enough to keep the Rhoynish down; of all things, he shouldn't have expected himself to be met with any sort of 'reasoning' from Basil.. especially when it comes to his own family. But..

He also realizes that he might be late.

The flames explode against one another, an endeavour in which he finds himself overwhelmed by the fiery disposition that Basil is capable of- for as much as he intends to hold him down, as much as he succeeds in bruising the Rhoynur enough to make him feel it.. perhaps, it's the rage that he carries which seems nigh impossible to overcome.

And where he sees an opening in this exchange?

The tint of stardust shines. A calling of the rosegold star, one that intended to keep him away, one that pushes its might in collapsing star against Owyn.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

But..

As much as it pushes him aside.. it does not incapacitate him. His blood boils at the mere fact that they tried to stop him, that perhaps he will be too late now.. but he never intended to hurt another family over one being threatened.

Instead..

What is directed next is a collapsing, superheated flame - right against Sethon, with intend to not only take him down, but even potentially kill.

Whether he's late to save Kofe or not...

He'll be coming for him.
Right now.
(Basil)

The Keeper of Faith would never harm his King willingly, and yet, where Alexander strikes forth, so is he forced to defend -

The King has suffered great injury throughout the bedlam of combat, and as chaos unfolds, it resonates in the sluggishness of his actions; so used to His Majesty whipping about in a flurry of resplendent, heavenly gold, this sluggish, meagre effort was a pathetic display on his part.

Perhaps it were best he -

A well-set swing collides with his physique, flinging him aside; digits strike forth in response, crystalline fragments - blunt, as opposed to keen - battering the physique of the King of Esshar.

He is summarily hurtled across the square.

His stave is lifted in defence of Basil's attack, though that ruby shard remains true to its target -

Oblivion drew near for dear Kofe.
(Sethon)

There is unbound rage found in the Rhoynish. The tales of the Rhoynish dictate that they're the enemies of the dark, the emissaries of the End for the Nethradin and Shaytan; that their fury and might alone is able to terrify even the denizens of Helheim itself, the most wicked creatures that could possibly be found.

And today...
It's shown to everyone why.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS."

A roar. A blood-chilling roar, filled with the essence of primal rage that is shown in the way that he strikes, the tint of rosegold rapidly flaring when it seems as if Basil becomes no longer a man that was shown to others moments ago.. when he becomes a force of nature, here to deliver the punishment unto Sethon for attempting to kill Kofe earlier. Yet.. the force of nature carries biased, emotional intent behind it.

It's what hedeems his own blood that was almost killed. It's what he deems a brother, a family- and the strikes resemble that each time they're delivered upon Sethon. To say that Basil goes through unharmed? It would be terribly wrong - for each time that he nears to him, flames licking upon the skin of Osronan and the cosmic stardust singing his flesh..

It's rather clear the sharp, thorny vines cut across his body just as much- the spores which intend to snuff out his breath working their way about him, and the crystals pierce his body cause the blood to gather around the plaza, the testament to the sheer brutality that is found in this combat. If anything, it's rather clear that his body suffers a punishment of its own, but..

A roar.
That deafening, blood-chilling roar.

Is it odd to say that it seems to not impair Basil, despite the injuries gathering upon his frame? To any other magi, perhaps.. but it's the Rhoynish blood that causes his cosmic magic to flare like this, for him to charge in so blindly, so enraged against Sethon- he's caught off guard, grasped upon the throat, and..

"Die."

What appears next is Sethon being slammed into the ground, held by the throat- the superheated stardust appearing right before him, and where he's made to face it - his face, his entire head is smashed into what feels like sun's surface. Searing, burning him in the most agonizing fashion.. and while one could expect the Rhoynish to be done with it, the face of the man is slammed into such molten surface.

Again.
And again.
And again.

Until he's sent rolling forth across the ground, perhaps some of his body beginning to catch on fires as well due to pushing through this molten surface. Whereas Kofe remains safe..

The Rhoynish approaches towards Sethon in distance, a killing intent found in his gaze.

"I'll kill you."

"I'll fucking kill you."
(Basil)

The damage has been done. Several magi fighting within the area- cobblestone caught up within the upheaval of crystal and explosions. The promise of death ringing within the air while vermillion life essence spills upon the ground. Here, death is so promising.. And yet, she would be here to prevent it from continuing...

She's far beyond angry with the actions of Basil. Because it leaves him vulnerable. Because it makes him...caught up while he's lost within his unfathomable rage. Regardless though, there seems to be an interception from the woman...

Another wall is conjured, deflecting the overbearing cosmic magic shot within the form of Sethon...Her bow now trained upon the being of Basil.

"Basil. Stop now." There is no longer anessence of 'questioning' within her voice. It is a demand...But should he continue pursuing forth, she'd definitely shoot first.
(Mars)

The Keeper does not shy in the face of the screaming brute -

On the contrary, though snapped to his senses and blindingly aware of his fleeting lapse in judgement, his arcana is drawn forth in defence of Basil's assault.

A superior Magi, certainly, but one he meets headlong all the same - with confidence and vigour, and adrenaline set to fling him in frenzied defence.

Those keen, sapphire blades do little to ease the blow of pyromania that scorches him fervently, searing garments away as if there were naught more than a blade of glass.

And for all his efforts - against Lazuli, Kofe, and the King of Esshar himself - this is where he falls.

Basil's punishment is perhaps a fitting one -

Though a scream barely leaves his lips before unconsciousness grips him, blinding, blistering agony stripping away flesh and muscle, and thrusting him into the sweetest oblivion.

There is not a peep as his head is careened repeatedly into the molten surface. Naught but blistering silence from the Keep of Faith, and the shrill, frenzied screams of the Rhyonish upon him.
(Sethon)

The form of Alexander, beaten and battered, returns. A hand shoots out, gripping the fallen Keeper by the garbs after the rhoynish ran rampant through the city. Time magics take effect, shifting and immediately causing the entire area to come to a stand-still.

Where Sethon's face was a near bloodied, molten mess, it starts to reverse before anything truly terrifying can remain.

And Alexander Leonaus Petrakis moves forth. Mind set as steel.

"Leave. All of you," he commands of his people. "Filia, Arch Priest Del, with me. No more traitorous words, no more traitorous actions," a glance to all those who called for heretical defiance in the past. Kofe's outburst. "Marie, Alice, wait for me in the castle later." Blood ran down his face, where crystals cut into it. Burns marred his face where Rinn wounded him earlier that day, before all of this began.

"And Alabastre. It is clear something happened today, whatever it is. Your letter? It was a mutual agreement, but it seems like nothing will come out of it," he says, a glance to Basil's raging, rhoynish state, demanding more blood. More murder.
(Alexander rei Petrakis)

It all happened quickly. Voices roaring about, forces clashing. Was someone going to perish? Kofe, for his crimes and attempted assault? Del hoped for no one's death, and it all got out of hand quickly. The city torn into shreds at this point, inwardly, and their enemy was aware of this.

Because two individuals couldn't wait until the army made a retreat further into the city.

But it's down now, to Basil acting against Sethon after a successful attempt at getting away from Owyn. Everyone deserved a chance, all of them, however...

Kofe was out of hand.
Yet he didn't deserve death.
Sethon didn't deserve this.

The Arch Priest moves, finally, after standing so idle, so still. Stunned, actually, by the violence that unraveled and crumbled all over the place.

Screams from their dearest Keeper. Someone so kind, sweet, left a writhing blistering mess on the ground.

They move to his side, he's pulledclose, handled dearly as golden mana poured onto his form. It would maybe ease the pain but, it likely wouldn't, not yet.

Kill him? Basil, to Sethon?

"You're forgiven, Sethon..."

For his attempts at the life of another... They held him now before looking to Filia, then Alexander. With him? Yes, but their burnt, blistered Keeper.

"Basil, go home."

Walk away, quietly. Nothing has to occur...
(Del mer Joyau)

There are few things that can enrage Basil like this.

Among them would be threatening his family, or even worse, attempting to kill them in such manner. But.. when he is set off in such manner, it feels almost as if nothing could truly end that frenzy. The blood of the Rhoynish boils, and whereas he's expected to be simply stopping in such manner..

It just doesn't happen.

A roar. One that comes as a deafening sound, enough to chill the blood of those present - and whereas these gathered present themselves as an obstacle to Basil..

There's only a frown.

"No."

He charges in. Past the people involved, past the people that attempt to calm him down- the heart of the Rhoynish burned strongly with the feeling of being slighted; as if everything surrounding people have done could be something that only harms Basil..

The other Alabastre? Stopping him.
Osronans? Trying to kill his brother.

And a wave of cosmic stardust intended to push past them all - for while he doesn't particularly intend to maim them..

He doesn't intend to stop either.

He'll have him - or they'll have to subdue him.
(Basil)

They must've forgotten who she was. They must've forgotten what she stood for. The anger that rushes through her being is renewing...the careful rocking from ball to heel flutters within this chaotic heart. But the most chaotic thing is found within the manner that the two fight...Husband and wife, love and ferocity clashing against blind rage in moments such as this. But there was one thing that she was not expecting...Him raising his magic towards her, in a manner that was not just uncalled for, but betrayal..

Regardless, the fight is just as sickening as one would have imagined. The two magi - well-versed in both cosm are found in a cataclysmic collision, the world around the two quaking...Pieces of armor blown away, flesh singed, breathes ragged and bated and yet...She remains true to the aspect of her magic..

"Basil!"

This anger blossoms and yet...Even amidst the tunneling vision, what is gathered within the last ounce of her power is nothing more than a single fire arrow aimed within his direction...

Thunk!

It is like hitting a tree-trunk...the burning arrow landing harshly into the shoulder of the male, knocking him off balance as she speaks. "This is your last chance...stand down." Another order. Another moment.


"For me...Please."

(Mars)

It isn't about Alabastre. It isn't about Lionheart either. Truthfully, he never intended to drag any of them in this - it was personal to him, and he never expected them to intervene, let alone do anything about it. What he didn't expect them to do is intervene for what Basil views as an enemy..

For a would-be killer of Kofe.

Yet, he doesn't back away; there are times when he doesn't listen to anybody else... and not even her. There are times when the overwhelming rage boiling in his blood becomes something that nobody can control- for it becomes a storm that is quelled by nothing until it reaches its destination.

And the only way to do anything about it is to endure it, or push back. Although, the words that she speaks, when she knocks him back in such manner, when the arrow is stuck in his shoulder?

His last chance?

"Or what?"

He reachesout to the arrow, and yanks it out of his shoulder; blood spills, not in a manner that could present grievious injury, yet it's there.. weakening him, no doubt something that he could take time recovering from later.

"Are you going to force me to watch my brother die?"

"Or maybe you will tell me that my own family doesn't matter? That someone I grew up with, someone I consider my own blood - that I should leave them behind?"

She knew his heart. And this only makes it all more terrible. Does she not remember what he's done for Tea? How he charged in against the queen and her guard, even as a child, no matter the potential consequences?

Family was everything.

"You stand by your family, no matter what."

"Or else you cannot be called family."

His gaze narrows upon her when he says that. Can't she see her wrong? Can't she see that she betrays everything he stands for by trying to subdue him?

This will go on.
(Basil)

Weakness? There is something that she derives most of her strength off of....There was something that she hadn't wanted others to see in moments such as this, especially, since she had desired to carry herself a particular way for those to see. But what is disgusting of her remains to be the same. In moments such as this....The virulent feeling within the pit of her heart isn't something that she can stand...And so, this instant, when her vision blurs and unconscious takes her...For even the most briefest moments, she tries to remain true.

Her downfall is a slow one. Might and pride descending into the vast darkness of her consciousness....Her body planted, comforted by the earth as she remains true. But in moments such as this...She dares to give him the ultimatum.

"Then-...Then I need you to choose, Basil. I cannot be with someone who will throw me away and follow their family to the ends of the earth." She wants him to choose.

"We are your family. For years, when no one would pay attention to you- when you were discarded by ilburg...When you would bleed and cry about being mistreated...We would stand beside you. Not Kofe. Not them...But now...Now it's time for you to choose." She breathes in and out, coming to a shaken stand while raising the bow and arrow once more...

There is no lethality present, but...There is a softening of her hardened gaze. For her heart truly breaks in moments such as this. Choose, Basil. "Choose me or him...I can't ignore it anymore. You put our entire family in danger in doing this without second thought...So now, you have to pick. What will it be?"
(Mars)

She dared to go there, didn't she? She dared to make the ultimatum to him, but if anything, it felt like an attempt to chain him down.. an attempt to tame him and turn him into nothing more than a tool. By now, she should've realized a long time ago what exactly she signed up for when she chose to be with him this way.

For while the flames knock her aside and he sees her rise again, his gaze narrows.

"You did not just say that."

It's almost in disbelief.. because it feels like she could ruin everything for something that she had no real business to begin with. Instead..

"I did not throw you away. I did not throw away Alabastre either."

"None of you had to come intervene about this - none of you have to deal with my personal issue with that man killing my brother." A pause.

"This does not concern you, or us as a family - this concerns me, andme alone. Just because I'm in this family does not mean I have to throw everything I feel aside - it's selfish that you ask me to do so, to give up everything I am." Even then, the flames gather again. He would not back down.

"And Kofe is family."

"This isn't about Ilburg either. He was there for me. You should know that much - because I listened to you back in Myllenoris." Back when Ilburg were in big trouble, back when Basten was captured, as well as Cayden..

Did he fight for them? No.
But Kofe is a different tale.

"--You're breaking my heart."

"Not just by saying this, but with how you are."

"With how you know absolutely nothing about me, after all these years."

She'll have to stand aside.. for it seems that the flames gather further on- now, intending to knock the Felinae for good.

And have his target.
(Basil)

Is that what he really thought of her? That she would aim and manipulate him to turn him into some type of tool? That all these years of loving him through every faulty decision, every wrong turn would result within something like this? The mere thought of it would've made her sick if he mentioned something of it...Because she gave years of her life. Not just to anyone in particular, but to a Rhoynish that had nothing...That possessed nothing but the desert and the clothes on his back and that personality that people would outright kill him for.

"You just threw me away.." It's not something that she would like to have infront of people but...This weakness is found within the way she rubs at her features. Emotional. Passionate. Tears form when he dares to speak about something of the sort. "You threw me away, Basil...After you promised for all these years that you wouldn't have. After you said you would think twice...You...You would fucking run into a crowd of people and die for a man that aimlessly attacks? No....You weren't even thinking of me...of us." Heartbreak? No, she doesn't mean to-...Not infront of everyone in such a manner, but she shatters.

"You fuckin' stupid, selfish asshole." the proper speech is broken, the 'facade' of some royal woman cracked down by the emotion that spills forth. "Can't you see it, Basil?" Her head shakes from left to right.

"You are my concern...You are suppose'ta be my husband, you are supposed ta' be my man...But look at how you're acting...Look at how you're pushing me aside for someone who doesn't even think about his own lover?" She's lost for words....Lost, that he would dare attempt to toss her aside like this...

"Unlike everyone here Basil, I knew y
before you knew your fuckin' self. I gave you everything...I gave you all of me." But this is much different. Much different than what she would have expected. For they fight...And they fight. And although she succeeds in stopping his onslaught...

She feels...
As if she destroyed herself in the process..

"-I...I think...I think we're over, Basil." There wasn't much else to say...Even with these ragged breathes, she can do nothing more than drop her weapon and simply limp away. "-I'm sorry that I'm not 'nough for you..."
(Mars)

Maybe it's because he lacks spirit to fight her fully. Because as much as the flames continue to gather time and time again, there's a tint of hesitation that is found within each strike that he has to deliver- and that hesitation is something that ultimately brings about his defeat.

But she views it that way, doesn't she?

That this would bring an untimely demise to Alabastre.. whereas it is something that he intended to take upon himself only- for every drop of blood that's supposed to be spilled, it is something that he would be dealing with on his own. Instead..

"--I never did."

Never threw her away. Is it of any use to tell that to a wounded heart, however? For as much as there's visibly no particular expression on his face, save for a pensive disposition.. somewhere on the inside, it feels like he's breaking.

As if he would rather let those flames consume him.

Yet he's made to endure; even something as difficult as this. Can a Rhoynish like him cry? Not here, perhaps.. but a curl of a lip suggests as if it could happen anytime- instead replaced with a furrow of a brow; the best attempt he could possibly make to hide away whatever it is he felt.

"...I'm sorry that you cannot understand me."

That she cannot see as to why he wouldn't be able to just leave Kofe behind like that. For while she could think that the two share very little, the fact remains the opposite..

And she just asked him to let Kofe die in exchange of being by her side. But.. he doesn't speak of her selfishness. Does he try to be a 'better person'? Does he try to reserve this for another place? Or does he have nothing else to say?

Instead, when she remarks it's over..

He heads away in silence- for while there's nothing on his face, something suggests that it weighs heavy upon him with how his lips curl. Something suggests that if he were to stay any longer, he might as well break.

He won't be coming back to Alabastre.
(Basil)